Happy Fall Friends and Family!
We hope you all are enjoying the fun autumn brings with the influx of asian beetles, raking leaves and winterizing your home. Ok, there is a lot of fun things to enjoy this time of the season, especially with a toddler and a preschooler in the house. It gives you permission to do the kind of childish activities you loved to do as a kid....and perhaps enjoy it more than your kids! Anybody else know what I'm talking about?
Now that Josiah FINALLY figured out how to pedal his tricycle this summer (he recieved as a gift from aunt Tracy for his one year birthday!), he thinks it necessary to gear up appropriately for his excursions. At least if he inherits his Papa's track record on cycle accidents, his eyes, head and torso will be adequately protected.
This September, it was a family affair running in the annual WI Cow Chip Festival 5k/10K Run.
A fun first for Josiah....his first camping trip with Dad. A mere 100 yards from the house but he slept like a rock the whole night in the tent, despite our nearby train that goes past a half dozen times in the night. We knew he was so excited to "camp" because he wouldn't stop talking and was complimenting everyone and everything. Note to Mari, he still LOVES the bear hat you made him!
With all the pumpkins from our garden we were blessed with this year, we spent a morning at Nonnie's house decorating pumpkins. Very abstract pieces thus far in my childrens art career but we'll see that develop a bit more. 
Earlier this month, our family flew out to the east coast for a wedding and catch up with some friends. Josiah was the ringbearer and both kids managed pretty well considering they didn't get thier regular 3 hour afternoon naps. Ryan and I decided we'll take Rochester traffic anyday over DC traffic, yuck! You do, however, realize how much you miss your distant friends when you get a chance to personally reconnect with them for a weekend.
Mandi, my sister, and her two kiddos made their way up from Texas one last time before she adds child number 3 to their crew. The cousins love eachother so much, it's fun to see them play together like they see eachother everyday. Josiah was heartbroken all the next day after they left.
Grace is our little animal lover and I love to see her treat our dog so kindly! Maybe that will translate into taking good care of her parents when we get older. She is completely obsessed with backpacks so I made good use of this and she now carries her diapers, wipes, etc. She also is really getting into the "princess" phase. Despite my efforts to downplay the whole princess thing, she is drawn to it's magical powers and believes she can sing like Ariel. She's a tough little cookie as you can imagine with a brother like Josiah but still follows him everywhere.
God bless and have a great fall!
