Halloween

Yikes! It's almost Thanksgiving, and I haven't posted Halloween pictures yet. It's tough when I'm try to keep up two blogs. Somehow I manage to update my classroom one almost every week, but then my family one gets neglected. There just aren't enough hours in the day!

This year, both Corey and Jenna came down for the local downtown Halloween event. Kids dress up in their costumes and all of the store owners pass out goodies. Since Halloween was on Sunday this year, the celebration took place on Friday.

Maddox and Corey

Jenna and Charlie

Charlie was the cutest little pirate ever, and Maddox was definitely the strongest Power Ranger in town (check out that six-pack!).

Maddox is in to anything that has to do with a Super Hero!

After collecting candy downtown, we went back to our house for Dudley's pizza and breadsticks (Jenna and Corey's all-time favorite).

Charlie was showing off his new sitting-up-straight skills. What pirate doesn't need his favorite dragonfly with him?

Arrrrrgh!

Arrrrrrgh, again!

Ahhhhh, finally, time to get out of those crazy costumes and relax on the couch!

I wonder what they'll be next year?

Charlie is 6 months old!

Jenna and I took Charlie to Sears on Saturday to have his 6 month pictures taken. He looked like such a little man as he sat and smiled for his pictures! He's growing sooooo fast! He'll be walking and talking before we know it.

What a cutie!

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

Maddox turned four on October 24th! We celebrated on the 17th with a family gathering at the party room at Corey's place. It was a Sunday afternoon, so the Vikings game was part of the entertainment, and they even won!

Maddox wanted an Incredible Hulk cake, so of course that's exactly what he got!

Chuck, Paul, and Ted were the official cooks at the rooftop grill. Maddox chose the menu, and the hamburgers and hot dogs were great!

Cheese puffs, veggies, and pretzels were part of the menu, too, along with chips, fruit, and ice cream. Maddox is a true gourmet!

Nummy!

Presents!

The hot wheels launcher from Melissa was a hit!

Of course, you can't have a 4-year old party without games, so I made up a pin-the-face-on-the-pumpkin game. Matthew tried it out, but Maddox just wanted to stick the face on without the blind fold.

Corey did this one.

Maddox and Corey are quite the rock stars!

Ahhhh, a little downtime to check out a new book with Melissa, Kyle's girlfriend.

Time to blow out the candles!

Happy Birthday, Maddox!

You are INCREDIBLE!!

We didn't quite manage to get an organized picture of the whole crew, but I think everyone except for Teddy and Corey are in this one (Charlie is on the floor getting a diaper change). Nicole, Andy's sister, was even here from Pittsburgh.

We love you, Maddox!!

MEA Trip to Two Harbors

MEA weekend comes at just the right time every year - the weather is usually great, and we're all ready for a short break after the first wild, crazy, hectic six weeks of school. This year, we left Thursday morning for a quick trip to visit Grandma Bracken in Two Harbors.

Jenna and Charlie joined us on our road trip.

Great Grandma Bracken loved the chance to see Charlie again. He grew a lot since we were there in July! Jenna and Charlie relaxed Friday morning while Chuck and I hiked around in the woods, looking for the perfect place to put up the tree stand in preparation for hunting season.

Then, we headed north to our all-time favorite spot, Gooseberry Falls. We popped Charlie in the front-pack and took off on some of the hiking trails around the falls.

It was a gorgeous day, and Charlie seemed to like all the activity. I really think he wanted to hop out of there and join all the kids climbing around on the rocks.

I'd say he looks a lot like his mommy in this picture.

So serious!

Hiking with a 20 # baby in a front-pack is a lot of work! We didn't quite make it all the way to Lake Superior.

Looks like we really wore the little guy out! He crashed as soon as we got back on the road. We were home by Friday night, refreshed and rejuvenated by the fresh air and beauty of northern Minnesota!

Pumpkin Patch

We headed out to a pumpkin patch a few weeks ago to pick out the "perfect pumpkin" for Charlie. Of course, he couldn't have cared less which one we chose, but it was fun for us!

How about this one, Charlie?

Hmmmmmm, maybe...

This one looks good.

Don't bug me, Grandpa. I just want to find my fingers!

We ended up with a couple of good ones for ourselves, too.

Of course, of the five we bought, the one we got for Charlie is the only one that has rotted so far. Oh well....

Family Golf

We finally got a beautiful afternoon for this year's family golf outing. It only took us 4 years! We watched the 12:00 Vikings game and snacked (lots) before we headed to Summit Par 3 for a round of best ball. We are quite creative with our rules, and since it's never crowded at the par 3, we all go around together. This year's teams were Chuck and Corey, Andy and Joyce, Paul and Jane, and Jenna and Charlie. Yes, Charlie went too, but he'll have to wait until next year to actually golf. :-)

What a perfect afternoon!

Andy and Joyce checking out their next shot.

Charlie spent most of his time in the stroller, but he wanted to see what was going on, too.

That green looks pretty crowded with 6 golfers on it. Fortunately, no one went in a sand trap all afternoon. They were still pretty soggy after our 8" of rain on Thursday.

Hmmmm! Where did Chuck's shot go this time?

Great form, Corey!

Smack it, Joyce!

It was really soggy in some areas, so Andy decided to protect the bottom of his pants by tucking them in his socks - very cool!

Paul and I actually used a few of my tee shots! His were sometimes too long...

or off to the right or left :-)

Hit it, Chuck!

Charlie needed a little snack,

and a diaper change.

Ahhhhh, all better.

Tough going uphill with the stroller!

And the winners were:

Jane and Paul, and Andy and Joyce in a tie, even after a one-hole tie breaker, so

the trophy stayed at our house. Hopefully, we'll get Ted, Pat, and Teddy out with us next year!