From Summer to Fall

You will see from the progression of pictures here over the past week and a half that the MN weather changed from summer-like 80 degrees to cool fall temperatures in the 40's and 50's.

M and D love wearing our shoes throughout the house.



And D is still obsessed with flip flops after seeing cousin Tara wear them on her visit to MN.



M loves his train set. And he decided to wear a hat like Daddy one day last week. Usually he just rips it off as soon as it's on his head, if I'm even so lucky as to get that far with it.



D doing her artwork. She is very into coloring and stickers right now.



M reading a book. I'm so happy both kids LOVE to read books!



The kids eating some Ginger Gold apples they got from the Victoria Valley Orchard.



My sister takes the best pictures. I can't even get my two kids to look at me to take a picture, and she can get a picture of all 5 of the cousins that looks like this. Luckily she shares them with me so I can enjoy them, too. She also took the next one of M going down the slide. I could never get a picture like that! These were taken at K's 5th birthday party over the weekend.





Ah, Mr. M. Still obsessed with putting food in his hair. We took early baths, right after dinner, that night. Pj's were on by 6:00 p.m.!



We went to a pumpkin patch--Exotic Pumpkins in Andover-today with our homeschool preschool group. I wondered what was so exotic about pumpkins and what that name really meant. I learned that there are many varieties of pumpkins and many of them are not orange at all. We saw blue gray pumpkins, cinderella pumpkins, fairy tale pumpkins, white pumpkins, striped pumpkins, etched pumpkins, small ones, large ones, you name it. Plus lots of gourds and squash (which is really what a pumpkin is anyway, right?). Here are D and M posing with some of them.











Literally as soon as M hopped out of the car, he went right up to Farmer John and wanted him to either pick him up or hold his hand. Luckily he has grandchildren about the same age, so he obliged. And what one little boy wants to do, his big sister also wants. Thanks Farmer John!



We had story and snack time in the red barn, also filled with pumpkins, corn, and squash. Christin read some books about growing pumpkins to the kids.



I bought one of the black striped "kakai" pumpkins, which supposedly have the best tasting pumpkin seeds. I'm excited to make them and hope the kids like them, too.

Las Vegas Cousins and the State Fair

D and M's cousins Paul and Tara came to visit us over Memorial Day weekend. First stop--the State Fair, of course! Here's a picture by the gopher.



Paul helped relieve Steve of his backpack carring duties. I'm having deja vu of a year ago in Colorado...



M looks so small in this picture!



Paul took D down the big slide. He said she giggled the whole way down.



Walking through the fair.



Sweet Martha's got another one hooked on her cookies.



Checking out the Midway.



We also spent one day in Stillwater. Here are some videos from our day there. Thanks Paul and Tara for such a fun weekend! We all had a blast with you.

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D started her "creative movement" dance class this week. She is third from the right. She seemed to have a lot of fun.

State Fair Part I

So sad to see summer go, but so fun to enjoy the tradition of the State Fair. Here are some highlights from our (first) trip there on Saturday. Steve loves looking at the John Deere tractors on Machinery Hill (and picking out which one he'd like "next").

The kids had the best seat in the house on Daddy's back and shoulders. D could see above the crowds, and M got a comfy ride (but poor Daddy's back!).


D learned how to put a milking machine on a cow's udder (this cow is not real) and we watched (real) cows being milked.


D got to go in a calf's pen to pet it. The calf was about two weeks old.



As you can see, M was not in the action shots because he spent most of his time in the backpack. When we did let him "run around" (with his monkey backpack/leash), he was like a mad man and, well, that just doesn't work well with the crowds at the State Fair. Next year I'm sure he'll make it into more pictures while someone else will be spending most of their time in the backpack.

Parades, Police Officers, and Trucks

D has quite the imagination and can make up some pretty fun games on her own. In the picture above, she is playing "police officer". She pretends she is a police officer in a parade and throws "candy" (aka her toys) on the floor and then she runs around picking up all the candy. We've gone to quite a few parades this summer I guess. We will have to be sure and to teach her what a police officer's job actually entails, aside from being in parades.



In the video above, M is carrying a truck he just got and hasn't let go of yet (his new thing--trucks, buses, any large vehicle) while attempting to walk in my shoes.

And Then There Were Five

I didn't take many pictures of the kids this week. I don't know what happened! I think I've been distracted by my overwhelming feeling of "morning" sickness all day long. Yep, that's right, baby Stiehl number three is on its way. We are very excited! The due date is March 31, 2010. Here is the first picture of the new addition to our family. I asked how the ultrasound tech could even identify where the baby was at this point. She said they look for a cluster of white lines and when there's a hearbeat in them (which even I could see on the screen), they know that's the baby.

Steve took this video of the kids at the beach one evening this week.



D spent two nights at Grandma and Papa's house this week. We went to pick her up Saturday and had a picnic lunch with the cousins as well. Here are some pics from our time at the lake.

Another Trip to the Zoo

We went the the Minnesota Zoo on August 2nd for Steve's work picnic. They had a lot of new things for the kids to explore.

D got her face painted.


Do you notice D is wearing her "zoo dress"? If you look back at any pictures of us at a zoo, this is what she is wearing. She remembers wearing it to the zoo in Colorado Springs back in September 2008, and insists that she wear it whenever we go to a zoo. I don't know what we'll do next year, when it positively will be way too small for her (it's already a little on the short side). I better start looking now for an orange and yellow dress I guess.

Daddy's favorite picture, with the John Deere tractor.


D and M are at such a fun stage now, they love playing together. D loves to do what M is doing, and M loves to copy what D is doing. When D goes to wake up M in the morning, she runs to his crib, steps up on the mattress through the crib slats, and they hug each other through the bars. And as soon as M wakes up from his nap (which is almost always before D wakes up), he wants to run to D's room to get her up and play. He goes right to her door and starts calling her name.

More of CO Trip

SUNDAY

We went into town again on Sunday to watch the Burro Races.

Getting the burros ready.

And they're off!

We saw some of th racers on the trail by the cabin. It was a wet and rainy day and when we left the cabin at 5:30 to head back to the Springs, there were still people out running/walking with their burros (and the race started at 10:30 am!). Clearly, this race takes a lot of patience and endurance!

D and M entertained themselves before the parade began in the afternoon by drawing.

MONDAY

We visited Focus on the Family after posing for a family picture with Pike's Peak in the background.

The kids enjoyed playing and climbing at the playground area.



Next we headed to the Air Force Base. We took a short walking tour through some of the grounds and looked at some of the buildings. The church on the base is so unique looking--it is the only structure on the base without a flat roof. The tour guide said the flat roofs were supposed to be boring and give the students not much to look at so they'd study more, while the church points upwards towards the heavens.


The church was divided into four sections.

The Protestant church was upstairs.

Downstairs was the Catholic church...

...the Jewish synagogue...

...and the Buddhist temple.

TUESDAY

We headed out to the America the Beautiful Park. The water was flowing down the "O" sculpture, and the kids had a blast splashing in the water.

WEDNESDAY

We headed back to MN. M entertained himself on the plane by putting stickers all over his body. Hey, whatever works!

Our friend Hussein stayed with us for the weekend while he went to some interviews at the U of M. We enjoyed a nice dinner out on the patio Saturday evening.