Fall Harvest and Apple Picking

One of my favorite things to plant in our garden each summer is squash and pumpkins. I think it's because we have to wait the longest for them to be ready and it's so fun to be harvesting fresh produce in October. This year we harvested a record number of squash in our garden with a total of 15! We also have 2 large pumpkins that will be perfect in time for Halloween!








We spent some time today picking apples at one of Brian's coworker's house. They have been planting apple trees gradually over the past 20 years and now have an orchard of about 100 trees in their backyard! It was such a beautiful and charming afternoon. We picked Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Red Delicious, and one other I can't remember the name of. We also picked out a pumpkin and a bunch of gourds.

The Littlest DMB Fan

Happy Birthday to My Mama!

Despite some sad family circumstances, we were still able to have a nice birthday weekend. We spent a quiet two days at the cabin, and ate lots of good food. We celebrated with cake on Monday night, and Addie was insistent on going and getting me a school bus birthday cake from Dairy Queen. We have no clue how she came up with this grand idea! Even though they were not able to find a school bus cake, we still had some Dairy Queen cupcakes and they were delicious!

The Great Minnesota Get Together

We all had a great time at the State Fair this year! We usually go on a weekday evening to avoid crowds, but have seemed to run out of time to do all the "kid" activities with Addie. So this year we went on a Sunday morning, and will definitely make this our new tradition. We ate, played, and even got to hang out with Grandma and Papa. Here are some of our favorites from the day:










Addie LOVED the Kidway. I'm certain she would have gone on every ride if we had let her!


Acting like a silly chicken with Grandma




Working on the farm. Addie had a great time, but Brian and I thought it was too bad Cargil runs the whole thing. She even had to feed corn to all the animals. Ugh.













Sweet Martha's cookies and the Giant slides. Two MN State Fair MUSTS!

Summer Outings

Addie and I had a busy and fun summer! Here is a highlight of some of our favorite activities!



Minnesota Zoo and Como Zoo (the highlight there has become Como Town!)










Addie loves splash pads so they became a weekly activity. She also enjoyed the Science Museum with her friends.










We went to the Eagle's Nest to get through the really hot days and were lucky to be invited to a private tour of Target Field for my Uncle Mike's birthday!










We spent a beautiful morning at the Sculpture Garden and the Walker's Open Field. Addie also had a blast walking around Minnehaha Falls and even climbed all the stairs by herself!

Addie and I had such a great summer. It's funny how the same activities become so different from year to year. I feel so blessed that I am able to spend this time with Addie, and will miss this time once the school year starts. Good thing there's always next summer!

Swim Swim Fishie

Village Fest

We live right on the border of Minneapolis and St. Anthony Village. Due to the Central Ave. library being closed and our decision to join a health club, we have become more involved in the St. Anthony community this year, so we decided to attend the St. Anthony Village Fest. Friday night there was a parade that rivaled Halloween with all the candy, toys, and Mr. Freezes that we received. Then Saturday there were many different festivities including face painting, games, inflatables, and the coolest petting zoo ever.