The Silver Maple Comes Down

We were all sad to see the large Silver Maple cut down in our backyard Thursday, Dec. 29th. Isaac and Audrey gave the tree one last hug before the crew came to take the tree away...

Christmas 2011 Photos

Audrey helping Grandma Macumber with Christmas lights after Dada and Isaac put the tree up.

Kids helping Mom put ornaments on the tree.

Audrey having fun while getting ready for Falkum Christmas...

Isaac not having fun while getting ready for Falkum Christmas

Audrey ready to go!

Happy Halloween!

This was a Halloween of firsts! It was the first pumpkin Ryan and I have ever carved together (in 12 years...crazy!) and the first time Isaac and Audrey went trick-or-treating. They both did very well--they might have missed saying "Trick or Treat" at most houses, but they nailed the concept right away and didn't always understand why they couldn't take fistfuls of candy at each house! At least they were very good about saying "Thank you!"

 Eww...don't let it touch me!!!

 Okay...so maybe just one scoop...

Never mind...Dad can do the work!

 Final product

 With Grandma Falkum in our Halloween outfits!

 First time trick or treating!

 One of many attempts to get the kids together for a picture!

 Miss Piglet ("Baby Dira")

Audrey and Indira checking out the trick-or-treat goodies

Fall Fun

Picking apples at Minnetonka Orchards

 Audrey posing

Taking a stroll with Grandma Macumber

 Corn Pit at Sever's Corn Maze

 Petting Zoo with Grandpa Falkum

 ...and again with Aunt Stacy and Cousin Graham

Audrey and Landon hanging out at the "big slide" - Sever's Corn Maze

Fall 2011 Images

Audrey's Side of the Story...

While Isaac was at the State Fair...

Getting pigtails from Grandma Macumber

Trying to get Mr. Duck to sing 'The Chicken Dance'

With the Iowa cousins

The Illinois cousins

At Junge Park near Grandma's house

On our way to the car to go to Ross' for breakfast... Audrey was mad about playtime ending, but....

... quickly found herself in hog-heaven after a hearty Ross' breakfast and silly time with Cousin Mel

Overall, one happy baby!

Flying Solo

Believe it or not, this past weekend was the first time that Audrey and Isaac had been apart for more than a day. Audrey went down to Iowa with Ryan to see Uncle Tim on vacation from his tour of duty, and Isaac stayed home with me to take it easy and recuperate from his bout of pneumonia.

Isaac did have a relaxing weekend (he slept 13 hours one night!), but got out on Saturday for a couple of hours of State Fair fun. And boy, did he have fun!

 The first thing we did was get him a snow cone (hence, the red lips and face in the rest of the pictures!

 He ate a whole cob of corn himself!

 We visited the sheep barn...

...and the swine barn...

...and the cow barn, horse barn, and Miracle of Birth center. Whew! If you ask him what he remembers about the fair, though, the first thing he'll mention are the "dump trucks." Ah, yes...he wouldn't be a two-year-old boy if he wasn't in awe of the giant green dump trucks that drive around the fair continuously through the day!

A fun weekend didn't stop him from missing his sister and dad, though. I heard a lot of, "Where'd Audrey go? What's Daddy doing?" this weekend. It's hard for a toddler with no real sense of time to understand the "They'll be home tomorrow" concept!

Hangin' Out in the Hood

One of the neatest things about where we live is our proximity to so many family-friendly places. We are surrounded by parks, lakes, playgrounds, baseball fields, tennis courts, and pools.

Our favorite weekend hangout is across the street at the Lake Hiawatha playground and new splash pad. We've been trying to make the most of it in these final weeks of summer!