what happens to me in october...

so, for the past 8 years, i have spent the month of october...doing this

which leads me to needing to drink lots of this! :)

the haunted house is our largest fundraiser.

it's hard for me to really believe that this is my 9th year!

i don't like scary movies and wouldn't care to go through a haunted house...but it sure can be fun to work in one!  our staff, volunteers, and youth do such an amazing job and it makes the extra hours and long nights a little easier to handle! we have 3 nights left... i think i can, i think i can, i think i can! :)

park fun...

it was a beautiful day...a max and momma day to be exact.

we started our morning with coffee and hot chocolate and talked about what we were going to do.

max wanted to go on an adventure.  he wanted to go to a park...a "new" park.  

so, that's just what we did.

he tried out the swings.

we tested out the playground.

at this point, he was a pirate and i was a shark swimming around in the water below! :)

he tested out this slide...mainly because it is his favorite color! :)

he was a fan!

it was a nice day to spend outside.  

with how crazy my octobers are with haunted house, it's always so good to sneak in this extra special time together.  i love this little guy so very much!

the little farmer...

we made our annual trip to the little farmer the last weekend of september.

the weather was perfect, we went early before it got to busy, and had an awesome family day!

we started with caramel apples - breakfast of champions.

and after we got a look at the huge line when we left, i'm glad we got them early!

next we did some exploring of the playground.  

max loved these tires.  he pretended he was simba from the lion king!

me and my love.

i love his arm around my neck in this picture.

after a lot of playing, we went to wait for the wagon to take us to the pumpkin patch.

seriously...could he be any cuter?

after finding the perfect pumpkins, we waiting for the wagon to return.

one more quick photo opportunity before heading into the gift shop and then driving home.

we picked up a couple of pies for dessert for a family dinner later that night.

i can't wait to visit this place year after year and make many more memories! :)

octoberfest...

max and i headed down to octoberfest with grama and aunt heidi.

it was a beautiful day!  we were ready to enjoy the music, the food, and whatever else it was going to offer.  unfortunately, i had to work that night...so i would not be able to enjoy the beer.

first stop...the food.

max's choice...a cheeseburger.  i enjoyed an amazing pulled pork sandwich with pineapple cole slaw.  it was fantastic!  

next stop...the music.

copperbox was our band of choice.  they are one of our favorites every year at octoberfest.  and now that drew subs in with them occasionally, we like them even more.  max took most of it in like this...hands in his pockets and tapping his foot.  it was hilarious!

last stop...whatever else.

we did some walking, we ran into people we knew, mom and heidi were in search of nachos and founds some good ones.  and since i knew i wouldn't have to worry about calories from beer, i enjoyed this gigantic chocolate chip cookie.  don't worry, i shared! :)

seriously - time flies...

 little farmer - fall 2009

little farmer - fall 2012

how could time have possibly gone this fast?

in just 3 years he has grown from our tiny, little, noisy baby to this handsome, intelligent, wonderful boy!

weekend in door county...

we had something in the works...we were going to surprise grammi for her birthday!

her birthday is actually in october, but because of how busy my/our lives get, grampa ken decided to plan her birthday weekend in september!

we worked it out to "rent" d&d's cottage and the plan was in motion.

drew, max and i went up on friday with aunt amie.

it was nice to just relax and hang out together.

max enjoyed the view on saturday morning.

after some shopping, bargain finding, and being silly at target, it was lunch time...and time to surprise grammi.  we headed to the bar and grill where she was waiting...and not suspecting anything.

i wish i would have gotten a picture...but there were 7 of us, with party hats and noise makers...sneaking into the front door of the place.  grammi and grampa ken were sitting at the bar.

max walked up and tapped grammi on the leg...she turned around and "SURPRISE!!!!"

we had a great lunch, did a little shopping at a resale shop and then headed over to the harvest festival in downtown sturgeon bay.

we listened to music, got max a cool hat, and checked out the car show!

that night we went back to the cottage and played, relaxed, talked, ate, and just had fun.

way to go ken and drew for putting this together.

i can't believe i didn't take any pictures while we were at the cottage or one of the whole group.

the next morning we decided to head to fish creek and egg harbor.

my favorites!

so silly!

family shot!

we did some exploring and shopping in fish creek.

on our way back we stopped at a bbq place for an awesome lunch!

what a FUN weakend.

happy early birthday grammi.  we LOVE you!

never a dull moment around here...

we don't know what the days ahead will bring us, but with max around we know that they will be full of...silliness, pure joy, lots of snuggles, laughter, tears (cause being 3 can be difficult), and neverending happiness because of this little guy!



apple picking...

it was a BEAUTIFUL day and we decided to go apple picking.
after a little searching on the computer, i found an orchard just a few miles from our house.

max was so excited.  he was ready to go and start picking.
i chose an apple high up on the tree so i'd have time to take a picture! :)



max and daddy using some teamwork!


just strolling through the orchard.
it was a great day...perfect weather, so many apples on the trees, not worried about time...

:)





showing off his find!



a great way to end our weekend...and the pie i made was pretty good too! :)