Sunday, October 19, 2008

Fall fun

Quick update with some recent fall fun activities.

We went to a nearby pumpkin patch to pick our Halloween pumpkins. Even though it rained a little, the girls loved looking for pumpkins. Jayda would run from one to another yelling "Mommy look at this one, it is perfect!"


An old-fashioned wagon for them to sit in with pumpkins.



We also spent a day at the Minnesota Zoo last weekend. Perfect cool weather to be out and about, and so many pretty trees to see while looking at the animals.






Part of the zoo is an actual working farm with cows that they milk, pigs, and goats. You can feed the goats with food from your hands. Addison thought it was so fun, but every time she got close she would jump back and start laughing.



Not used to seeing a moose at the zoo. I guess growing up in the West, where moose run wild in the mountians makes it seem strange to have one in the zoo.



As I said before, tons of trees at the zoo with some really nice fall colors

Monday, October 13, 2008

Gotta love it...

Gotta love the price of gas these days.... I saw it even cheaper then this at another station yesterday. Crazy how a few months ago it was at least $1 more a gallon in some areas.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Fall berries & ski lifts

One of the many things we like to do in the fall is to pick raspberries. Not too far from our house is a nice big raspberry farm where you can go and pick all of your own berries. I took the girls the other night and they loved it (just look at the mess on their faces). Addison ate every single berry she picked, and Jayda ate about half of what she picked. It was a fun time for them and we still ended up with a lot of raspberries.



Having fun picking, before she realized they tasted so good and then she just kept eating them.


Sometimes it is nice to be small and close to the ground!


We still got a lot to take home...



Another fun event we did was visit a local "ski resort" in Minneapolis (it doubles as a golf driving range in the summer). It is only about 25 minutes south of downtown, and is the highest point in the county. The ski resort opened up one lift from 5-9pm for you to ride up, enjoy some fun events like a fire pit, food, band, live animals, etc... at the top, and then you can walk down the lantern lit grassy ski slope to the bottom.
It was fun and the girls enjoy the short ride on the ski lift.

At the bottom


Enjoying the ride with another family.


At the top of the resort just before it got dark. Notice the extremely high elevation! :)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Fall is in the air

Fall is in the air- it is nice and cool outside today, the leaves are beginning to change, and our lives are spent outside everyday trying to enjoy the weather as much as posible until the inevitable long winter rolls around where we will stay inside for the next 7 months.

Jayda started pre-school a few weeks ago and loves it. She gets to go 3 mornings a week to the elementary school where they teach pre-school also. It is fun to see her interact and learn from them and she looks forward to going everyday she can.

First day of school




Both Jayda and Addison are taking some "dance" classes. Of course Addison doesn't really dance much, or do anything in the class but watch, but she thinks it is so much fun to put on her leotard and go. We bought her the smallest ballet shoes possible, and they were still two inches too big. Jayda on the other hand does dance and run around in the class. She enjoys the ballet, tap, and the tumbling that are part of each class. I know you are wondering what I do while they are in dance- I walk back and forth between classes and watch the girls, and pity the poor parents trying to control the toddlers that aren't in dance. That is the main reason Addison is in dance.





We got together with some of Todd's residents and went bowling last week. First time that Jayda has ever bowled and she thought it was fun to roll the ball down. When she tried to roll it by herself it barely made it down the lane, so we found this cool ball rolling thing for kids and she loved it (and we didn't have to help her)!



Some other miscellaneous activities these past few weeks:

Playing at a nearby area called "Teddy Bear Park"


Fall bike rides in the leaves. She loves to ride her bike everyday and won't stop asking when we get to go again. She has already worn through a full tire (and tube) and we had to buy a new one. She just keeps on riding....


This is what Addison does when we turn our backs. She is trouble, and keeps climbing up to play with any computer or anything else she knows is off limits.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Taxes...

I'm not really into politics, and never really get into the issues or battles much, so I am surprised that I even want to post about something political. I am sure many of you have watched the democratic and republican conventions, and that you have your opinions on the various issues, etc....
Today I came across this chart about the different tax plans of McCain and Obama. It compares the income of an individual and how the tax plans of each candidate would effect that income. I thought it was interesting and maybe you will too....