Next foray into crafting...

Polymer clay. Another quick class at the library, this time making flowers in a tube.

The first attempt turned out pretty good.

So off to Michael's I went to make use of a 50% off any item coupon.

And we're still working on perfecting the technique. We drifted into making little animals....

Day trip to LaCrosse

Dinner and lights. I love both.

Gingerbread houses!

Gumdrop sunflower. Licorice fence. Lighted roof.

Pool (with diving board) in the back. Brrrr.

Hot tub with gingerbread men. 

Flat roof after disastrous roof at library's build you own gingerbread house.

Satellite dish on the roof.

This kept them busy for quite awhile, gave me time to sort of  tidy up the house on Sunday!

Hair Apparent

Banning State Park

So nice to get out and walk!

October Sunday walks

Sometimes by myself.

Sometimes with the daughter (Snail Lake)

Sometimes with the family (Grass Lake)

And sometimes they even smile and make each other laugh.

Dog wash.

It's like having a baby in the house. 

Truly.

The ratio of dog pictures on the camera roll is staggering.

MN State Fair wouldn't be complete....

Unless we got an ice cream in the dairy barn and watch a Dairy princess get her likeness carved in butter. Just sayin.'

I promised them if they earned their free ticket to the fair by reading books for the library's summer program, then I would take them. This was 2 days after we got back from our CO vacation. They enjoyed it (and I guess so did I!)

Someone

Got a mini drone for his birthday. And someone flew it waaaaay high up into the neighor's tree within 10 minutes of first flying it. 

It did fall down the next night when we had some rain, and luckily it still worked.

We took it over to the local part, where Mom was scared he was going to fly it into some unsuspecting person. Or some suspecting person.

National Public Lands Day @ Hidden Falls

This was pretty awesome (and free, which makes it more awesome).

Learning how to shoot with a bow.

Climbing

And even some critters! They got to watch a (different) snake eat a mouse. Yuck.

Then they were 9!

Or as I like to say, "NEIN!"

giant birthday donut/cake. A Krispy Kreme cake mix from Grandma Candy that Roman wanted decorated like a donut.

And a birthday pumpkin pie. This girl LOVEs her some pumpkin pie (and pumpkin everything else). We went to Aldi a few weeks ago and left with a bunch of pumpkin flavored things (bar mix, pumpkin flavored bagels, pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin/squash sauce for pasta. pumpkin gnocchi....what am I forgetting? Pumpkin wax melts. And, I am sure something else that escapes my memory.