For all the kitties I can't take home...I got my Johnson's babypowder & Cool Water cologne

Been a while since I've written, holy man!

So my boys are growing at a rapid rate, time is flying, and I don't want to forget those ever special times and things they say and do that mean so very much. I'd like to write down little quips & funny things that happen, because lets be honest, my memory is not what it once was. Add to that the daily grind & distractions, it is easy to forget the precious moments that make our lives worth living. When times get us down, or when we just want to remember, I want to have this here for my family to talk about around camp fires while roasting s'mores.

The other night was hilarious. Ryan had Walter out shooting a long barreled .22 revolver with him. Daddy was controlling everything, but we just wanted to give the almost 4 year old a chance at what most kids don't get to experience at that age, let alone ever. Apples recently knocked to the ground by wild weather made good targets. Daddy set them up, like sasparilla bottles in a row, out back at our target shooting area. Side note, everyone should have one of these, they are a great stress relief. Daddy explained the dangers, as he will every time, discussed keeping your finger out of the trigger guard until ready, breathing, and held Walter's hands, helped him aim, and like I knew would happen, the boy had NO fear, absolutely none when squeezing the trigger.

Walter thought he was the biggest Man ever born, strutting around with pride. Discussing the cylinder and the barrel and how guns work with Daddy. Who has to interject a question, but his silly mom, who knows nothing of such things. I asked, "How did it go? Did the gun kick you?"

He says, without missing a beat, and giving me a face saying, You foolish girl, Momma,
"No, it doesn't have legs."

Daddy & Mommy both giggled under our breath and talked about it later, laughing at our bright son. We never want to forget, this silly, special Walter-ism. There will be many more to come.

Osceola to Dresser Pumpkin train...

Lots of fun. Hay maze, bouncy gym, haunted house, pumpkins, good food...and a broken down train that left us stranded there until 3 pm. We had fun though, very busy with all of the kids, but we think they had a really good time.

Walter got pooped out and actually fell asleep in my arms which was a first in a LONG time.

Chubby Winter Coat fun

Walter just started doing this scrunch faced smile that is just so funny to see. It will be in many pictures to come I know.

Well, it was a nice fall day last week and we decided we'd play outside. I didn't want him to get too cold though, so I put on his winter jacket. Pumpkin Head the 2nd came to be...

AuntHannah's return to Wisconsin

We had lots of fun with Nanners. She met Tucker Matthew for the first time, Rod's son. We hung out with Grandma G at the Senior Center in Ellsworth, and even got to Baypoint Park in Red Wing on a gorgeous afternoon.

We cooked a lot and made a giant muffin for Ryan on her last day visiting.

Uncle Rod put Walter on the slide for the first time. He didn't like it.

We put Walter on the swings for the first time also, not a fan.

He enjoyed eating rocks and climbing on the huge rocks that line the Mississippi River.

Ryan and I will miss her a lot. We had a really enjoy when she comes to stay.

Chilifeed

Wow, it's been a while. I have a lot of updating to do. We had our chilifeed / Walter's birthday party on October 4th, 2008. It was a lot of fun, and so many people came!

Walter and friends enjoyed painting pumpkins and eating paint. Checking out his Dad's Belarus tractor, and eating everything they could find. Grandma Linders won again this year. Rhonda Austin got second place, and Grandma Gert won 3rd place.

We also had a pinata that the kids liked. Their favorite candy was the wax dracula teeth.

Dub's 1st Birthday! September 25, 2008

It was a lot of fun. I started out the day around 3 am, prepping the cakes. They took me 5 hours, I am embarrassed to say, but I had a lot of fun too. Walter was kind of cranky, until his guests showed up. I made soup, beef barley. I had 2 gallons of leftovers, so I guess I made a bit too much.

We played in the yard for a while, in the stuff dad had laying around. We also played in the garden, finding 12 yellow bells to cut up for winter.

Then around 5 pm all of the good eats, friends, and family got his spirits up. He got a 4-wheeler from his Aunt Amber, that he loves. He puts it on its side and works on the engine, just like Dad.

Walter didn't want to just dig into the cake. Ryan had to show him how it works and that it was okay to just get messy.

This week we are prepping for the chilifeed/big birthday party. More coming later.

Labor Day Weekend Labor

We didn't do much of excitement, other than working on our shed. We decided we had better get going on the floor & doors before winter is here. We've been on hiatus with the shed, just saving for it and the slower winter months.

So we have another well behind the shed. It was used for the barn well before, but we wanted to use it for the in-floor heat and a sink basin for the shed. So, we started digging to find the pipe coming off of it, headed for the barn...or so we thought.

We dug down about 4-5 feet on the side facing the barn. No pipe. Thank goodness for the backblade & bucket on our tractor, but the work was still tough. Using post hole diggers (hand ones)...we dug down below the pressure tank...no pipe. Did we really think these blessings of God's creation would do something as stupid as putting the pipe on the backside away from the barn? Surely no...well...after digging some more...yes they did. Thankful to have found it, we had a water fight to get rid of the sand and dirt, then we ran into the kitchen to slam some ice water and rest, Walter napping the entire time. Then we got showered & dressed to go to Menards to pick up supplies. We loaded our trailer with 8' of foam height for the floor. It was a funny but freaky driving back home. I think we got about 3 mpg.

Walter got to hang with Grandma Gert & Grandpa Gary and then when we got back, we went to my folks for dinner. Double dose of grandparents day, which was nice for him.

Walter's new things...he's mobile and constantly walking everywhere.
He's learned to say, "Baby."
The only way he's scolded for digging in dog food that works, is to make him have a time out in the recliner. He hates it and throws a fit. I hate to admit it, but it's kind of funny. I gave him his milk to try to calm him down, and he threw it, in defiance.

He is growing attached to one stuffed animal. A dog that you can record messages on. Ryan's dad got it for Walter for Christmas, so I don't know where/how to get a back up one. I guess we'll tackle that obstacle when we get to it.

Otherwise, not a whole lot going on. Just processing tomatoes. I've made 12 qts of soup, 19 qts of juice, 8 qts of salsa, and I still have more to process, but I've been keeping up really well.

More in the days ahead...