Hiking In Kettle Moraine

Anna and I kicked off October by spending a morning hiking in Kettle Moraine State Park.  Anna loves this place, but I've never been there.  So glad we went!  It was beautiful!

I must admit that my girls were pretty much a wreck the entire hike.  Even Anna said she had never seen them so cranky.  Thankfully, lunch and the site of this tree cheered them up and made for some cute photo opportunities.  

Max was really feeling his wolf spirit.  

Yay for fall!!!

September Wrap Up

Our September was grand.  The proof is in the pictures.  

Fun with play-doh.  She did her name all by herself.  And look at that smile; she melts my heart.  

Minion Operation.  Such a hit!

First soccer game.  He scored the first goal!

Sunday evening ice cream socials with two year olds.  Messy business.  

Bridget became incredibly attached to my mom when she was visiting in August.  Multiple nights she was sobbing for Grandma Laura.  We finally made her a paper chain to count down to Grandma's next visit.  Lucky for us it was just three weeks away!

A high school football game in the rain.  The girls and I lasted through the first half.  The boys stayed the entire time to cheer on Nile!

Football is always better with friends.

Richard and I were able to get dressed up for a fancy night out at a country club for a wedding.  It was wonderful.  Love this guy.  

Bridget went to a Fancy Nancy birthday party and decorated this lovely hat.  

Rachel is crazy and keeps us laughing.

During my time in Milwaukee I have been able to get to know some extraordinary women.  Yolanda is one of these.  I just met Yolanda in April when I was assigned to be her visiting teacher in our new ward.  In these few short months we've had some great conversations.  She is loving, kind, and full of faith.  Yolanda moved away in September and I was able to spend one last night with her helping her pack.  She is amazing and I am so fortunate I got to know and love her.  

I loathe homework, but I love sitting with this guy.  I love to watch his concentration face and the way he holds his pencil.  

Watch out.  This girl is strong and wild!

Football Road Trip #2

Richard and Marshall completed their second BYU football road trip of the fall.  Unfortunately, it did not result in a win, but still, good memories were made.  

They left on Friday night with the Hassells and made it to Ann Arbor at 2:00 am!  Lucky for them, the kids slept for a good chunk of the drive and they were transferred into the hotel flawlessly.  

The next day was filled with the game festivities and time with friends.  

Marshall was so excited, and also a little bit nervous, as he usually is with things like this.  :)  Despite the terrible loss, and his complaints of boredom (who can blame him!), he had a great time.  

I am so glad these two guys are taking these trips.  What memories for them.  I love each picture Richard sends me of these two with stadiums in the background.  Even though the Cougars did not come away victorious, Richard said the atmosphere was fantastic.  

After the game, the entire Hassell party had dinner at a restaurant and then went swimming.  Great day.

The day was great, but the night was terrible.  All four Hassells and Richard and Marshall shared a hotel room.  From all reports, it sounded like a miserable night.  Fitz was up most of the night with a croupy cough, Max kept changing his sleep location, and Marshall threw up at 4:00 in the morning!  Marshall is currently on a bad streak with hotels.  Yikes!  They all made it home Sunday afternoon, happy to be home, and incredibly tired.  A trip to remember!

Apple Holler

A couple of weekends ago the boys were in Michigan for the BYU game, so we had a girls weekend and lived it up in Wisconsin.  I took the girls to Apple Holler and we had a great, great time.  This was a first for us, and obviously, a last.  I am so glad we fit it in this fall!

Back to the goats.  Bridget loves them.  

Gotta love the cheesy cutouts.  

The sequence of these next two pictures cracks me up.  Poor Bridget.  

Someone wanted to be a flower.  

The girls played in this corn for at least 30 minutes.  It was a hit!

And yes, Rachel wore her nightgown.  

The tractor ride to the apple orchard.  It was too bright for Bridget.  :)

We found some apples that were at just the right level for these two.  They had a great time picking and filling their bags.  

Beautiful!

Run 4 It

The kids participated in the annual school Run 4 It Fundraiser.  This is probably my favorite event of the year.  It might have something to do with the kids running in over-sized tee-shirts.  Not much can be cuter, in my opinion.  But, despite the too big shirts, I do love watching my kids and cheering them on.  This year was extra fun because I got to cheer on two kids!  They both did awesome.  

Marshall never stopped running and did 9 laps (2.25 miles) in 20 minutes.  The last two years he did seven laps.  I am so proud of his improvement!  

Bridget ran later that afternoon.  She was SO excited all day long to run, after all, she has cheered Marshall on three times now.  I honestly was just expecting her to run one lap and then walk the rest of the time.  But, she completely surprised me and RAN almost the entire time!  She ended up doing six laps (1.5 miles) in 20 minutes!  She was the first girl to complete a lap, and ran it in 2 minutes 25 seconds.  So proud of this little runner!

Seriously, look at those kids in those shirts.  

If you zoom in, you will see that is one intense face she's got on.  

Unlike Marshall, she acknowledged me every time she passed me.  :)

After four laps I started to run with her and we did the last two laps together.  She is too cute.  

Two little runners.  :)

So proud of these kids!  I love cheering them on and seeing them succeed!