Thanksgiving

We had a houseguest over Thanksgiving - Jenna and Andy's dog, Crosby. They left him with us while they spent the weekend in Pittsburgh with Andy's family. They gave us a truckload of equipment and a long list of instructions on care, feeding, etc., but I think it was a test to see if we can be trusted with their baby in the future. Did we pass???

We took him with when we went to Ted and Pat's for dinner. He loved their fenced-in backyard!

The dogs next door gave him a real work-out as they chased back and forth along the fence. Chuck and I did the chasing for the rest of the weekend!

When we weren't watching the dog, we played with Maddox and Matthew, my nephew's 3-year old son. The boys are only a few weeks apart in age, and they are really starting to play well together!

Play dough was a big hit!


Matthew brought his own CARS table, and it was just the right size for the two of them.

Corey and Ted and their boys (kind of different than the Thanksgiving picture from 3 years ago when they were both newborns).

Since Pat babysits for Matthew one day a week, they have lots of toys, and Maddox had a good time checking them all out.

Teddy carved the turkey, as usual. It was great!

I decided I needed a picture of me with my "baby" Kyle, and somehow Corey and Maddox snuck in behind.

Time to eat!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Now, on to Christmas preparations!

Cookies

Maddox is a great helper in the kitchen! Last week, when he spent an evening with us, we decided we needed to make chocolate chip cookies.

He had a little trouble stirring after all the "ingredients" (his word) were mixed in.

However, he didn't have any trouble eating the cookies. Looks like he's a "dipper," just like his daddy.

Mmmmmmmm! Good!

Gotta wash that down with some milk.

Now time for a little relaxing on the couch with grandpa.

They both had full tummies after eating those fresh cookies!

Coming soon....Christmas cookies??

Happy Birthday, Phebe!

Today is Phebe's 7th birthday!

We all love you and miss you!

Happy Birthday!

Crazy Minnesota

I think every Minnesotan would agree that this has been a really strange summer and fall. Summer temps were very cool, and then suddenly we had a gorgeous September with warm, sunny days and no rain. Then October hit and it was cloudy almost eveyday, and we had four snowstorms (well, not really storms, but snow on four different occasions). Now it's November and the temps have warmed up and it's beautiful again! It's been in the 60's the last few days, with clear skies and bright sunshine. I had a chance to get out and finish up some yard work this afternoon, and discovered my last geranium is in bloom, and it has buds all over it! I haven't watered it since September, and I've never brought it inside or covered it to protect it from the nighttime frosts and snow. Go figure.

Looks good, doesn't it?

Look at those buds!

Just had to try out my zoom!
I wonder how much longer it will last?

As I was cleaning up the garden beds, I found this plant in bloom, too. The one right next to it was laying on the ground, totally dead from the frost. Very strange!

Lake Pepin in November

Chuck and I took our annual fall drive to Lake Pepin on Sunday. We've been waiting for weeks to get a sunny, warm, weekend afternoon, and it finally arrived on Nov. 1. It could have been a bit warmer, but at least it was partly sunny. We visited an apple orchard/winery/cidery just south of Maidenrock, and then headed on to The Pickle Factory in Pepin. We were disappointed to find it closed for the winter so had to return to Stockholm for our onion rings and Bloody Mary's. Mmmmmm!

We missed the beginning of the Vikings game, but because of the 3:15 start, we returned home in plenty of time to watch the Vikings beat Green Bay. Yeah, VIKES!!