Fall Cleanup

Yesterday was a wonderful fall day - crisp, with lots of sun.  We spent time getting the yard ready for winter.  Below are some pics from our day - Madilyn wasn't a fan of raking, but the promise of some playtime in the leaves was enough incentive to get her moving.  

Yes, Sarah really is using the leaf vac.  She stayed at it for quite a while, and seemed to be having fun.  She sure was proud of herself when she was done!

Farewell to soccer

Today was the last day of Madi's soccer for the season, and perhaps for her career.  After dabbling with the sport at age 5 (or so, I can't remember), she took a few years off, and didn't seem to miss it.  Last year, though, her friend Ava asked her to be on her team.  Unfortunately, it just didn't work with our schedule, so we had to pass.  This year, however, we made room in the schedule so that Madi could play.

Turns out, though, that she doesn't really like it much.  I give her credit for sticking with it through the whole season, and not complaining about going to practice or the games.  She was a trooper, but we both agree that she's probably done with the sport for now.

Here are some pictures from this season.  Her team was very recreational and laid back (perfectly suited for Madi) and ended up with a 1-3 record for the season, ranked 6th of 7 teams.  There aren't many action shots because (1) Madi didn't have a lot of field time and (2) I'm not good at taking action shots!

Great action shot... too bad there's not a ball in sight!

At least she had fun!

Overheard at a soccer game

Sarah knows that people on the sidelines shout during a game, but she doesn't quite get it. Here's a sample of her exclamations:

Fire!
My iPod is stolen!
You need to do the front showcase!
Ms LaCasse!
Emergency!
You can do it! (wow, that one was unknowingly appropriate...)
Various groaning and screaming sounds, along with insane laughter (lots of this)

We definitely get some strange looks from other parents...

Porcupine...gone!

My husband shaved off his (super extra prickly) deer hunting beard today!  Hooray!!  Now I might actually kiss the guy...

Trunk or Treat

Every year our church hosts a "trunk or treat" party.  This year, because our ward is so small, we combined with two other wards, creating a Utah-normal sized ward.  This was quite a shock for our girls, who are used to much smaller events.  It was fun, but too much of the evening was spent waiting in line, either for the games, or at the end during the candy parade.

Because the weather outside was cold and rainy, they did their trick or treating inside.  They lined up any adults who had candy in chairs along the hall, had all the kids line up, and then had them parade down the line, getting candy from each person.  It went incredibly slowly, and really wasn't much fun.  But, a bucket full of candy at the end cures a lot of ills, and everyone went home happy.

 Sarah announced that this year she wanted to be candy corn, because "it's my favorite Halloween candy!"  Though the power of the internet, Mom was able to make it happen.

Madilyn wanted to be Princess Peach, from Super Mario Bros.  That girl loves her video games.  Both Mom and Dad were slightly unsettled to see her looking so beautiful in makeup...

Madilyn brought her friend Andrew, who sported a coordinating costume... Luigi from Super Mario Bros.

Riding the Pumpkin Train

Yes, there really is a train called the "Pumpkin Train", and we did indeed take the trip.  The ride starts in Osceola, WI and travels through some pretty country to Dresser, WI, where the depot has a pumpkin patch as well as games for the kids, etc.  My friend Ann talked me into it, on a day when the kids were off school for conferences.

Everyone had a really great time!

The whole crew, waiting to board the train

All of us, squished onto one seat on the way to the pumpkin patch.  The conductor came by and punched our tickets, just like an old-time train ride.

Sarah wasn't too keen on going inside the "haunted" depot.  Madi, on the other hand, thought it was a blast, and ran through several times (it wasn't very big).

Madi's height gave her a decided advantage in the hay maze...

Madi and I had lots of fun pumping the hand cart up the tracks.  Got a nice history lesson from our guide, too!

Madi was in heaven meeting the sled dog team.  Sarah insisted on finding out the names of each dog.

One of Sarah's favorite activities was the coloring station.  She didn't really want anything to do with face painting...

Madilyn, on the other hand, became a cat to match her shirt.

Included in the price of the ticket was a free pumpkin.  I invoked the "you need to be able to pick it up and carry it yourself" rule, but still ended up lugging two pumpkins back onto the train.  At least it was the final thing we did before leaving for the ride home.

Ann and I on the return ride, with our matching face-painted spiders.  It was all fun, but the police officer and the other drivers looked at me pretty strangely when I was involved in a fender-bender on the way home!  (Max was not seriously injured, but the Bonneville that caused the accident was totalled - but that's another story!)

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin

I spent most of September denying Sarah the opportunity to buy a Halloween pumpkin... our rule has become "no pumpkins until October".  So, of course, the first Saturday in October has become our pumpkin hunting day.  We always head to Axdahl's in Stillwater, because they do such a great job arranging the pumpkins, and it's always a great photo op.  See the results below!

Ready to start our hunt for the perfect pumpkin.

Madi was pretty impressed by the huge stack of pumpkins, and had to clown around a bit before getting serious about her quest for "the one".

Madi declared these "freaky". 

It was a wonderful day for taking pictures.

If, at the time, I had been thinking about blogging this adventure, I would have taken a picture of the girls with the pumpkins that they chose for a closing photo.  Sorry - didn't happen.  I can tell you that they both chose smaller pumpkins than last year, which made Dad very happy at the cash register!  (Last year we let them pick whatever size they wanted, as long as they could pick it up.  They didn't have to carry it - just lift it.  This year we were smarter and had them carry their own...  worked much better, and was much cheaper.)