A fabulous fall season

Fall 2009

Fall has always been my favorite season. I enjoy the colors of the leaves and the crisp air. Doug, Collin and I have enjoyed a lot about the autumn season every year, and fall 2009 has been no exception.

Ironically it felt as though we skipped fall all together and moved straight to winter when we built the first snowman of the year long before Halloween. Although the afternoon of snowball fights, snow angels and snowmen was fun, we were perfectly content when it melted the following day and fall was here after all!

Once fall was back, we celebrated at a festival held by the church attended by Collin's godparents, Katie and Darin Bartsch. Pumpkin painting, face painting, pumpkin basketball and of course pumpkin golf were enjoyed by everyone, despite the soggy/windy day.

In Collin's world (and Doug's) any day with golf is a good day....

To prepare for Halloween, we took a family field trip to a local pumpkin farm in Andover. Complete with hayrides, a corn maze, a potbelly pig that greets you, and the largest pumpkin patches I've ever seen, it was a great afternoon. We were able to leave with a large pumpkin that later decorated our front step. Collin also had his first taste of homemade pumpkin seeds baked in the oven, made from the "pumpkin guts" that he helped to scoop.


Don't let the picture fool you, this was a very big 25lbs pumpkin!

The weekend before Halloween, Doug was in Ohio. So, Collin and I spent some time with the Butcher cousins Riley, Kalie and Avrie Butcher at "Zoo Boo,"an evening event held at Como Zoo in St. Paul where the employees wear costumes and hand out candy to kids as they stroll through the grounds of the zoo.

"Trick or Treat"...Collin, Riley and Kalie hiding in Charlie Brown's pumpkin patch at Como...

Then, of course, it actually was Halloween. This year we took advantage of some of the props we already had at home and Collin trick-or-treated as a "doctor". Thanks to Doug's Aunt Shirley Dummer who is a fabulous seamstress, we were able to avoid the scratchy and thin Doctor's scrubs that came with the white lab coat in favor of these hand crafted comfy, soft and thick blue ones just right for a brisk Halloween night.

Dr. Collin inspecting his gear before a grueling night of trick or treating.

We hit the town at dusk and collected a lot of candy, also stopping at the community Halloween party hosted by the church associated with Collin's daycare, Elim Christian Learning Center. Each year they hold a "warm up" station and free hotdogs, cocoa and games for the kids.

November has been spent enjoying the unseasonably warm fall weather. With not a snowflake in sight, we enjoyed time at Grandpa Don's new house just outside of Hector, MN. The tire swing is a favorite.

And, of course, Daddy had to check out the 10-point buck that Grandpa Don brought home after a hunting trip. Never a fan of hunting myself, this appears to be one of those things that Collin has gotten from Daddy's gene pool. He was not a bit scared of the buck and happy to help out where he could!

And, despite all the fun we had enjoying the fall weather, there is one thing that the autumn season is not known for...good swimming weather. So, this past weekend we were able to spend some time at an indoor swimming pool at the Mystic Lake hotel for the weekend with Grandma Nola. Collin made ample use of the pool and took advantage of the time to practice the skills he learned in swimming lessons this summer. It takes a lot to wear out a 3 year old and by the end of the weekend this mission was accomplished!

Time to relax!

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, just one of the many things we are thankful for is the wonderful time spent with family and friends this fall!