Ethan and Mom

A picture taken by Ethan's teacher, Mrs. Jopp, at Deer Lake Apple Orchard.  I already posted about the field trip, but I just had to post this picture also since I just received it!!

With Fall Comes Apple Orchards!

On Sept. 25th I got to go with Ethan's class on their first field trip to Deer Lake Apple Orchard.  The weather 

didn't cooperate and
it rained most of the time we were there, but still a lot of fun!  On Monday of this week, Leah and I took Amelia (Leah's daughter), Brynn, Max and Brandt (my nephew) to Apple Jacks Apple Orchard.  We picked our own apples and raspberries, saw some animals, ate some lunch, climbed through a log and sat on some ENORMOUS pumpkins.  They ate more apples than I thought humanly possible, but that is all part of the fun!

Camping at El Rancho

We went camping with the Smith clan at El Rancho for the weekend of Sept. 19th.  They are like my 2nd family growing up, so it was a great time to have everyone and their kids together.  The kids played great together and had fun running around playing with trucks, toys and making bus crackers.  Kylan and Faith even used the frosting as "sunscreen"!  Needless to say, they needed a bath after that one!  Even the adults got in on some action.  To bring back the family reunion tradition, Yvette brought eggs for an egg toss.  FUN!!  Gage the puppy, who is 4 months old now, got to join us on this trip.  He was excited to be outside all weekend and get to play with his pal, Sam (my sister's German Shepard).  It was our last camping trip of the season, but it was a great one to end on!!  Thanks for making it a great weekend everyone!

Como Zoo

On Sept. 10th, we were able to enjoy a day at the Como Zoo with Grandpa B. Our neighbor and Ethan's good friend, Jack, also came along with us to spend the day.  We lucked out with perfect weather. We saw all of the animals (even a baby Orangutan and a Cougar that got REALLY close to us!), had a picnic lunch and went to the DQ for dessert.  It was a tiring day...Max and Jack didn't make it long in the car on the way home before taking a snooze!

We've been busy since the last post!

Yes, I know it has been a long time since I updated our blog!!  I'll try to make up for lost time!  We were fortunate to spend a very nice afternoon at the State Fair.  Ryan took the afternoon off.  The weather was great and the kids had a blast (so did Ryan and I!).  Ethan started Kindergarten.  He goes all day, every other day.  Mrs. Jopp is his teacher and he just LOVES her.  She said that he is doing very well so far and that he is "a smart boy".  Always great to hear!  It's amazing what he has learned already.  I love the kindergarten stories!!  Every day I know just who "pulled a ticket"!  Brynn started preschool at TLC in Elk River.  She has Ethan's teachers from last year, Mrs. Kim and Ms. Bobbi.  They are the best.  She is attending school with my friend Jen's twin boys Joey and Charlie.  Jen and I met when Ethan and her daughter Lauren started preschool together two years ago.  We've been friends ever since and are so excited that we could get the next "batch" in together as well!  We think Brynn and Charlie have a little thing going!!  Along with preschool, Brynn also started Just For Kix.  After watching Nativa (aunt), Alyssa (family friend) and Bobbi Jo (family friend) at their performances, we thought she'd love it since she always wanted to go on the floor with them!  Her first performance is Dec. 14th to "Big Girls Don't Cry".  Should be quite interesting!

Tina's 10 Year CSB Reunion!!

In June, Tina celebrated her 10 year college reunion (I feel old!) at St. Ben's.  A group of us, who have all been friends since freshman year, got two suites in Lottie (our sophomore residence) to spend the weekend living it up like the college years.  GB Leighton played Friday night, followed by, you guessed it, Sals!  Saturday was a reunion picnic (see photo), a visit to SJU, and more fun in the dorms.  You can tell we're all getting older...one night of the bar scene was enough.  We spent Saturday night playing cards and chatting.  At least we didn't go to bed early!!  I feel so fortunate to have attended CSB and that I found the best friends in the world to share that experience with and have them a huge part of my life still today.  YOU'RE ALL THE BEST!!

Shady Rest Resort...Spanier style!

Grandma and Grandpa Spanier with Max, Taylor, Brynn and Ethan

Brynn...our water lover!

Grandpa and "E-train" (nickname given by Grandpa Spanier!)

Brynn must be tuckered out from all of her swimming!

Max decided that he likes the water now...at least a little anyway

We had a great week at the cabin with the whole Spanier clan.  We went to Shady Rest Resort on Lake Amelia in Villard from Tuesday through Saturday.  We had the best weather, accommodations and, of course, company.  The kids had the best time playing, swimming, pontooning and spending time with their cousin Taylor, Aunt Jana, Uncle Eric and G & G Spanier.  It was a special week and will certainly be repeated next year!  Thanks to the Schwieters' and the Thomas' for taking Gage for us...unfortunately they didn't allow pets at the resort, so they were our puppy sitters!  The kids really missed him (us too) and it was great to see him again.  He was well taken care of and loved to pieces while we were gone, so that is a good feeling.  He even grew while we were away!