Minnesota Harvest Orchard

On September 21st we went to the Minnesota Harvest Orchard in Jordan (http://www.minnesotaharvest.net/). It was a beautiful day! Ryan got to ride a pony and that was really exciting for him. We visited the petting zoo (not so fun - more comments later). We took a tractor-trailor ride out into the orchard, but decided not to get off and pick apples because the kids were getting tired at that point. The ride was really fun though! We also went inside their store and I picked up some yummy corn relish (it's really good mixed with sour cream and used as a dip for chips). Everything was fun, except the petting zoo. We paid to get inside and get some chow for the animals. Once we got inside though... it was crazy. We were swarmed by animals - one even jumped on me while I was holding Grace. I thought it was weird that they didn't have the animals lined up behind gates or fences. They were just running around free. And there was this one animal - a big sheep I guess - that was such a bully trying to get the most food. Now that I think back on it, it's kind of funny. That sheep was funny. But I would've preferred a more organized, contained environment. Also, there was manure everywhere!!! You couldn't walk without stepping on it. Gross. Ryan didn't care though. He loved the petting zoo, so I guess that is all that matters. Ryan got to see and touch a big horse too. These pictures are in really random order.


Grace and Scott waiting for the tractor ride to start.


Ryan, patiently waiting for the tractor ride to start.






He was mad Scott made him stop looking at the ducks to take a picture.










A couple years ago when we took Ryan's picture here, he had pink eye! Poor kid. But not this time.


THIS is the bully sheep! :)




Ryan knew that this was a llama. I couldn't believe it. He spotted it before we did and said, "There's a llama!"


Waiting for the pony ride.

Checking out the big horses.

Happy 1st Birthday Grace

Grace turned 1 on September 19th. I can't believe how fast the year has passed. We had a party for her on Saturday, September 20th. Both sides of the family came. We served a taco bar for lunch and a "make your own sundae" bar with cake for dessert. Grace seemed to have a really good time. I think she liked the excitement of having all of those people there. She got a lot of fun toys and clothes that fit her (thank you everyone). Here are some pictures from the day.

Grace's cake was made by the wife of one of my co-workers. I thought she did an amazing job!

This is Gracie's little "smash" cake.

At this point I think she wanted to dive right into it, but...

...when she finally got her chance she decided to be a lady and just pick small pieces off.

After a little encouragement she got her hands dirty.

And then she wanted to share.

Yeah! Grace is ONE!

Opening presents.

Playing with the tissue paper. She liked that.

Mark and Ryan (Malorie in the background).

Frank and Cate.

My Dad, my aunt Diane, my cousin Erin, and my Grandma T.

Grace and Mark.

Grace, sharing her corn and black beans with Bumpa (my Dad).

Scott's Dad, Mark, and Grace.

My Mom and Grace.

Ryan was trying his best to wait patiently for the cake.

Scott's Mom and Cate.

My sister Jess and Grace.

Kurt (Scott's brother), Ann (our sister-in-law), Cate, and Vicki (Scott's sister).

My cousin Erin with Grace.

Grace, my cousin Erin, and my Grandma T.

Me and Grace.

Scott and Grace.

Scott and Grace.

Mom, Leave Me Alone

Ryan is just over 3 1/2 years old now. He's got the potty training stuff down now, except for the hard part (the messy stuff, the #2, the poopy stuff). We're really trying to work with him on this, and one of Scott's ideas was to let him "read the paper" while he was trying to go. Ryan got into the idea, but I don't think he was too happy when I tried to take some pictures (taken on 9/15/08). :)

It's September? What?

I can't believe the last time I posted on here was August 28th! I can't believe it's already September! It's already mid-September! Wow. Anyway, this month has been pretty busy for me and it's flown by. I've hardly taken any pictures this month, but I've posted a couple of them below.

This is at my parents' house. Ryan had a blast playing fetch with the neighbor dog. The dog had a blast too! He didn't want to stop.




This is at our house. My mom and niece (Malorie) came down to visit last Saturday. Ryan has a fun time playing with her.




This is Grace snuggling with my Mom.