Happy Birthday, Phebe!

Phebe celebrated her 6th birthday on November 14th! The festivities actually started about 3 weeks ago when she partied with Maddox and Rowan, but this weekend she was the star attraction! Several boxes arrived during the week from Florida, so she got to open them on Thursday night.

It was almost like Christmas!
"Look! I'm 6!"

Thank you to all the Florida relatives for the great gifts!

On Friday, Kyle surprised Phebe by showing up at school and eating lunch with the birthday girl. Looks like he has a clean plate! It's been a while since he enjoyed a good old-fashioned school lunch.

After school, several of Phebe's friends came home with us for her "kids party." While we waited for the last guest to arrive, the girls played in her room.

The marker board (gift from Corey and Heidi) was a big hit.

Here's the whole group, posing on the "bleachers" and ready to cheer on the contestants in the pin-the-feathers-on-the-turkey game.

The kids had to yell "Boo" and "Yeah" to help get the feathers in the right spot.

The finished product - not bad, huh? I'm not so sure about the one covering his face....

Next it was "drop the turkey stick in the jar." Each girl got to drop 12 sticks.

The best score was 8 - good job!

After several more games, an art project, and opening presents, it was time for supper, and finally....the cupcakes! Each girl got one candle, and Phebe got 6 (there's actually a cupcake hiding behind that paper cup - bad photography!).

One blow and they were out! The kids had a little time to play after supper, and then, after the guests left, Phebe joined her aunts, uncles, and cousin Maddox at Chuck E. Cheese's for some games (I had a wedding rehearsal to go to - nothing like squeezing a million things into one day). I caught up with them all at Buffalo Wild Wings for more dinner after the rehearsal. Chuck missed all the excitement since those crazy deer up north are still calling his name, and he couldn't miss a weekend of deer hunting.

Whew - what a day! Phebe was exhausted, and although she fell asleep in the car on the way home, she woke up as soon as I drove into the garage and wanted to play with all her new "stuff." Sorry, kiddo. Grandma's tired!

So, happy 6th birthday, Phebe! We're all so glad that you are here and we could share this special day with you!

Fall's Last Hurrah

The first weekend in November was in the 70's, and then last weekend it was snowing! We took advantage of the warm weather for a Sunday afternoon drive to Pepin, Wisconsin. My plan for the day was to wash windows, clean gutters, and work on report cards, but Chuck and Phebe had other ideas. They won, s0 we went to an apple orchard, hiked around the breakwater at Pepin, and stopped for a picnic on our way home. Guess who was still doing report cards at 11:00 at night? Oh well....

By the time we got our charcoal going and some hot dogs roasted, the sun was setting over Lake Pepin. We totally forgot that daylight savings time ended the night before, so it started getting dark really early. It was beautiful!


I don't think we've ever gone on a picnic in November!

Phebe ended up roasting her marshmallows in the dark!

That didn't stop her from enjoying a gooey treat - she loves smores, and usually ends up with marshmallow all over her face and hands (I was prepared with a wet washcloth)!

What a great way to spend a warm fall afternoon. However, it is now snowing, and our gutters are full of leaves! Hopefully, we'll get one more nice day before winter settles in for good.

Halloween

I'm totally convinced of it - Halloween should ALWAYS be on the last Friday of October. Kids could stay up late and eat all the candy they wanted, and I didn't have to deal with them in school the next day! This year, we had a blast with Phebe here. However, we really missed seeing Maddox. He was sick during the week, so Heidi and Corey just took him around their own cul de sac and skipped the CF parade and the annual relative visits.

I paid a surprise visit to Phebe in her classroom during the kindergarten party.

She looked so cute in her kitty costume.

After school, we went downtown for the annual community parade. Phebe thought we were going to be watching a parade - she was very surprised when she found out that she and all the other little kids WERE the parade! She met up with lots of her friends from school, and after walking down the main drag together, the kids could trick-or-treat at all the businesses.

Kyle and Phebe sorted everything from the afternoon haul, and also sampled a few things. The evening haul was a whole lot more! I think Kyle was reliving his childhood as he took Phebe to all of the houses he used to visit 20 years ago.

Ready to go! What a night!

Birthday Bash

Maddox turned two on the 24th! I can't believe it's been two years since the "little" guy was born! To celebrate, Heidi and Corey planned a Halloween themed party at their house. Since Rowan was sick for his 3rd birthday a few weeks ago, and Phebe's 6th birthday is in 3 weeks, we had a joint party for all three of them. Everyone came in costume, and what a blast! I was a giant M&M, Chuck was an elf, Andy was a bucaneer (a pirate with dollar bills paper-clipped to his ears - get it??), Jenna was an 80's girl (she just went to the New Kids on the Block concert last week), Heidi was a 60's girl, Corey was a chef, and Kyle was an old man (he couldn't wear his mask because Maddox was scared of it). The other guests were all in costume, too, so it was quite an interesting crowd.

The cat caught the mouse!
Phebe was the cutest little cat!

Maddox loved his Happy Feet card, and all of his presents!

Elmo, alias Grandma Michelle, even came to the party.

Here are all the parents with the little munchkins.

Maddox was much neater with his cake than last year. He just kept poking his finger into the frosting.

Phebe was more interested in the little gift box full of goodies!

Happy Birthday, Rowan, Maddox, and Phebe! It was so much fun helping you all celebrate. And thanks, Heidi and Corey, for hosting.

North Shore Mini-Vacation

We planned a Fall Getaway on the North shore for the whole family over the long MEA weekend, and what a great time we had! Jenna, Phebe, Corey, Heidi, Maddox, and I took off at about 11:00 on Thursday morning, and our first stop (other than lunch at Hinkley) was Canal Park in Duluth. The air was a bit brisk, but that didn't stop Phebe and Maddox from checking out the big break-water rocks!

I think I was focusing more on the kids than the horizon line, or else my camera is taking crooked pictures. I'd guess it's the photographer. Oh well...
We decided Phebe is part mountain goat as she scampered over the rocks.

They were both too tired to walk out to the lighthouse.

Someone gave Phebe some bread to feed the birds, and they loved it!

We saw the real lift bridge, too, but this one was more Maddox's size.

After hanging out at Canal Park, we went a bit further up the shore to Two Harbors to visit Great Grandma Flo (Chuck's mom). Neither one of the kids had met her before, so she was very excited for our visit, and had lots of goodies ready. Maddox decided his nose was a good place for frosting.
Monkey see, monkey do....
Phebe thought Maddox's hair would look good with a pony. He was very patient as she worked on his hair. It didn't last long, though.
We finally made it to our lodging for the weekend. We had a two-bedroom suite rented just north of Gooseberry Falls, and it worked out great as our "home away from home" for a few days. I brought along a coloring book, markers, and crayons to help keep Phebe occupied.

However, she wasn't the only one who used them. Thursday night entertainment - coloring, anyone? I'll have to admit, I even colored a picture or two myself!

On Friday, we headed north from our suite and did some hiking along the lake at Tettagouche State Park. Family picture - pretty cute, huh?
Maddox loved throwing rocks into the lake. He didn't quite get the idea of skipping them yet!
Phebe loved climbing all over the rocks. It was hard to get her to sit still for a picture!
She followed Corey all over the place, and even made it out to this big rock without falling in!
We brought along a picnic lunch, and found this great table beside the trail at Tettagouche. We were even joined by a little chipmunk.

We did some more hiking after lunch. Phebe found some giant leaves, and also a comfortable ride on Corey's shoulders.
We hiked up to an outlook at Shovel Point.

Diapers need to be changed even along the trail.
Maddox was so patient!Later in the afternoon, we headed to Palisade Head, a huge cliff area over-looking Lake Superior. Heidi and Maddox opted out and went back to the suite for naptime. We grilled brats and hot dogs for dinner, and then played UNO with both kids until bedtime. Chuck, Kyle, and Andy arrived about 9:00 (they all had to work on Friday- poor babies!).
We headed to Gooseberry Falls on Saturday morning, and since the parking lot near the Visitor Center was full, we ended up parking down by the lake and hiking up to the falls. It was a beautiful day to be outside!

Kyle and Phebe enjoyed the rocks near the mouth of the Gooseberry River - quite a difference from Florida's sandy beaches!

Corey, Maddox, Phebe, and Kyle wandered the rocky beach near the river.

The hike to the Lower Falls is about a mile long, so needless to say, Maddox had a ride the whole way. We took turns, though, and we all discovered muscles we didn't know we had!
There was a lot of water going over the falls, and also a lot of people! It's really fun to jump around the rocks above the falls, and Andy and Corey didn't always set the best example for the kids. Phebe wanted to go out there, too, but.... no way!
We flagged down a passer-by to take a picture of us all in front of the Upper Falls. After hiking all the way back to the lake, we headed to Betty's Pies for lunch, but the wait was way too long. We ended up at the Rustic Inn for a great lunch. Maddox was exhausted and almost fell asleep on the table, so they went back to the suite for a nap while the rest of us returned to Grandma Flo's for the afternoon project - setting up Chuck's deer stand.

It's off to the woods behind the Two Harbors house. Chuck and I had already scoped out the woods in the morning and found what Chuck thinks is the perfect spot for the deer stand. Time will tell.....Of course, it was a group project to get all the parts into the woods, assemble it, and attach it to the tree.
Andy tried to balance the whole thing while Chuck secured the ratchet strap to the tree. Only one near fall!
Then it was time for four generation pictures. Here's Chuck, Flo, Maddox, and Corey.

And here's Flo, Chuck, Kyle, and Phebe.


And finally, a picture of everyone! What a crew!

Kyle and I left Saturday night to return to the Cities (we both had to work on Sunday), and the rest came home the next day.

It was a great weekend, and we left many sites unexplored for future trips!