Happy Fall

Autumn is here!!!

   Our 2nd grader.

Best buds (Jayden and Beck)

Beck and Jayden playing some football game with Jeff.

We took an afternoon to go and enjoy some apple picking.

The bees were buzzing around us, the heat was a little too much,

but we looked past that and had a blast.

I'm pretty sure we ate a couple extra pounds of apples while we picked.

Oops!

 

Grant came to hang out with the boys before school one morning.

Guess who didn't get to push him to school?  Me!

The boys were having such a fun time playing with him and taking good care of him.

So what does an Auntie do when she babysits?  Let the kid play with chalk.

I don't know who was more full of chalk, Jayden, Grant or I.  The boys loved it.

Jayden, Grant, Grandpa and Grandma Stoffel and I took a trip up to the farm.

Jayden was in heaven as always and he decided it was a good day to go frog catching.

One of the catches.

Grant loving the grass.  Mr. Blue Eyes

Jayden found one of his pumpkins in the patch that has his name on.

It was so funny watching his reaction.  He was slapping his leg, laughing.

He couldn't believe that a pumpkin could grow that way.  I hope he always can "believe".

At the eye doctor.  20/20 vision!!!

Can you believe it, Nicole(in the teal van) is a movie star!!!

This is one of many clock towers Jayden has built.

But this one is special, it is that tallest.

We have one proud kid.  If he could build all day long, I think he would.

Thank goodness for a wonderful imagination.

My mom and I took Grant to get some apples at a local orchard.

I had to take advantage of this picture opportunity.

Jayden:  "Mom, can we go on a bike ride?

There is a tree I have to climb and it would be great to go tonight"

Me:  "Were is the tree?"

Jayden:  "I can take you there, I know right where to go, I'll show you"

Me:  "Sure, lets go.  Wait, how far away is this tree?"

Jayden:  "Lets just go and I'll show you.  I have to climb it, it's the perfect tree climbing tree."

Jayden and Grant getting ready for the 2013 pumpkin picking extravaganza.

Grant crawling.

Nicole and Grant Getting deep into the sand and having fun.

Jayden loving being at the farm and keeping an eye on his gourds.

Mike and Grant found another pumpkin with a name...GRANT.

Grandma Stoffel and Jayden peeking through the corn.

Me and my buddy.

The pumpkin crew.

Nicole was walking with Grant behind us as we were loading the pumpkins and she yelled "Snake".  Of course Jayden dropped what he was doing to go and check it out.  Here he is trying to catch the snake.  He did end up getting it.  Only thing, the snake didn't want to be held at all...it bit Jayden in the hand.   He was a champ and put it down and let it go.  Went inside and washed his hands and just moved on with the day.

With our pumpkin delivery to my Aunt Paula and Uncle Bill's house,

Jayden spotted another perfect climbing tree.

Thanks Uncle Bill and Aunt Paula!!!

Happy Fall to everyone and may you have a wonderful October.

Until next time...

Jeff, Heather and Jayden

Happy and Sad

Sometimes I wonder how someone can be so happy and yet sad at the same time.  Well, that is how I'm feeling as the summer has come to an end and the school year has begun.  Happy that our family had such a wonderful summer.  Sad that we ran out of time to fit in adventures that we wanted to do.  Happy that Jayden loves school and is so excited to be a 2nd grader.  Sad that he has grown up so much over the summer and that he is a 2nd grader.  There are a few other things that make me feel this way, but that doesn't matter.  What matters most is our family had so much fun this summer make so many memories, the sadness fades.  We are looking forward to a very fun school year that I'm sure we will have lots to share.  Happiness is all around us, so lets have fun, enjoy what life brings and erase any sadness! 

EAA 2013.

Jayden found this random golf cart an

had to take a picture in it.

Tora Tora Tora

Jet Truck.

It think this was the favorite for the guys.

Mini golfing!  Jayden made a hole in 1!

Jayden finally lost a tooth...actually 2 of them.

Only 1 day apart from one another.

He pulled his own teeth out.  What a daring guy!

What can I say, but what an awesome experience at this Zoo!  Bud and Carrie run this zoo and it is the neatest place to go.  When Amy, the kids and I arrived, we looked at one another and thought "oh my, we drove all this way for this".  We changed our minds in a quick hurry and realized it was the best zoo ever.  You follow around with Bud as they feed all the animals, something you would never get to do any where else.

One of the cool things at this zoo is that you can feed some of the animals.  Here we are feeding the hippo "Wallace".

Bud made a warming shed for him this past winter and this spring they had to removed one whole side of the shed.

Why?  Wallace gained 1000 lbs over winter.

He eats about 250 lb of lettuce a day.

It rained most of the time while we were there, but the kids loved it even if we had to carry umbrellas.

Jayden and a red tailed boa.

He loved every minute of it.

"Hey Amy, I dare you to hold it"..."only if you hold it too".

I thought about it and said "you first".

You never grow too old for a dare.

Here I am as I followed through with my part.

I hated every minute of it.

It was the first time I touched a snake an

I have to say, it isn't slimy.

I was surprised by that a lot, they are very muscular.

Amy and I together on our adventure.

Oh wait, who is taking this picture?  Louie!!!

Here is Louie.

He is a very friendly chimp and makes you laugh.

Warning:  he doesn't like kids...guess that means he is for the adults to hang with while the kids hang with the baby animals.

A gal I work with suggested a reall

cool place to visit with our family.

I took her advice and look at the beauty we found.

 Cave Point Beach in Door County.

If you are brave enough to go into the cold water of Lake Michigan, you can swim into

the caves at the bottom of the cliffs.

A gal told us that some even cliff dive.

 A very nice man asked if he could take our picture.

Here it is.

The weather was warm so why not go swimming.

We headed next door to Cave Point Beach to

Whitefish Dunes Park to enjoy a swim.

The park attendant said

"It's 69 degrees today, shouldn't have too much shrinkage".

Well, it was a little cool, but was great

to cool off on such a hot day.

We swam and lounged and enjoyed ourselves.

So are we bad parents for letting our child play by this?

Enjoying a swim and playing on the beach.

What do you do when it is really nice outside and it is the weekend?  Tear your kitchen ceiling down.

Here is the almost finished project.

We still have a little to do, but thankful it went pretty smooth.

Yeah, against my will we have two new pets.  Shall I say more?

For the end of the summer surprise for Jayden, Nicole made a blanket for him.  She did an awesome job capturing all the fun they had together.  Pretty sure the blanket will be worn out, he snuggles with it every night.  Thanks Auntie!!!
 
Our garden took off this year like no other.
The guys were enjoying a picking every day that consisted
of this many and more.

 

What time of year it is?  Salsa time!!!

Welcome Back To School Night!  Yeah for 2nd grade!  We are excited for the school year to begin.  Jayden will be in a split class of 1st and 2nd graders with a very nice teacher Mrs. Cust.  She is new here to Wisconsin from Florida, so hoping she enjoys what the weather will be this winter.

As a last weekend approached before school started, they guys were trying to figure out what they were going to do.  It was a Daddy weekend, so of course they had to go all out.   Mount Olympus in Wisconsin Dells was the place to go.

 I rode this roller coaster.
 
And this one!

We hope you enjoy the month to come and have lots of fun.  Find happiness in the things you do, the people you are with and place you go.

Until next time,

Jeff, Heather and Jayden