Pheasants, Parties, & Pumpkins, oh my!

This weekend marked the Iowa pheasant opener.  

After coaching Marie in her t-ball game, Andy, Papa Joe, and Nathan headed out with the dogs in search of pheasants while Grammy, Marie, Bennett and I went to lunch and enjoyed the beautiful fall day including relaxing, going for a walk, swinging, and playing outside.

The dogs and guys were successful and they had a great first day out.

 

 In the evening we attended a Halloween party given by Marie's school.

The kids were anxious to wear their costumes (one girl more than one boy) and off we went!

Marie dressed as "Merida" from "Brave; Bennett a Nebraska Football Player

We played Bingo, jumped in the bounce house, and Marie even got her nails painted.

After the party we went for ice cream followed by telling spooky ghost stories before bed. 

Uncle Nathan stayed overnight for a slumber party.

Both kids were so happy he was here to play with them for awhile this weekend!

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We also carved out some time to carve our family pumpkins this weekend. 

Marie and Bennett both wanted to design their own jack-o-lantern faces while Andy carved the requested dragon "Toothless" from the "How to Train your Dragon" movies. 

 We carved, danced and sang to spooky music, and even roasted pumpkin seeds.

Happy Halloween!

Dog Training

Everyone knows we love our dogs.

But during the fall, we spend even more time with them because of hunting season.  

Although I am not the one hunting, we all pitch in with training.

Marie and Bennett are no different...they love to take the dogs out and work on commands with the dogs. 

One of their favorite games to play with the dogs is "bird down." 

This is where they drag a dummy with pheasant scent around in the tall grass without the dogs seeing.

Then they open the kennel and yell "bird down."

The dogs run out and try to find the hidden treasure.

Training also includes making sure the dogs are not "gun shy" by introducing the loud noise of a shot gun followed by praise.

With this being Maya's first hunting season and only the second season for Gus, we have been spending a lot of time training.

The kids are always anxious for this job but with it comes a lot of safety training and responsibility. 

Andy spends a lot of time teaching the kids about safe ways to train and hunt. 

This marked the first year that Marie was allowed to help with the gun sound training. 

She (with a LOT of Daddy's help) shot the gun (with proper ear protection).

She loved the experience and was very responsible with it. 

Even I took my turn with the gun...belly and all.

Thankfully Maya kept running around playing as if she heard nothing at all. 

We are anxious for a fun and safe hunting season for Andy & the dogs!

Still Here...

Life has taken over and I can't believe how busy we can feel at times!

In between school activities, appointments, and work we are finding time to have fun.  

 One Sunday afternoon we helped Grandma Nel with some yard work. Everyone ended up coming to help so the kids had a great time with their cousins followed by pizza at night. 

This was an unplanned get together but it was just what we all needed. Lots of laughter and family time.

 Marie attended a big sister class at St. Luke's Hospital.

She learned how to put a diaper on, toured the labor & delivery unit and postpartum areas, and talked with other siblings about how they can help when the new baby arrives. 

She had a great time and jumped right in on the diaper changing....good news for mom and dad!

 At the end of the night they all put on their big sister/big brother backpacks and visited a newborn in the nursery.

As I am approaching week 29, I am noticing that my tummy is much bigger and chores around the house are taking their toll!  Today as I was folding laundry and making beds, Marie noticed I was tired and offered to help.  God knew what he was doing when he gave Marie to us first. She is such a big helper and I know I will be so thankful to have her around to keep the younger boys and dogs in line.

 Bennett is following in his Dad's footsteps and can only talk about football and hunting this fall.

Dad picked up a few toy shotguns which Bennett and Marie love to play "hunting" with in the basement while they look for pheasants and turkeys.

He loves helping Dad train the dogs and he is always ready to put on his Husker gear for Saturday football games. 

He is also taking up driving...he needs some work but doesn't he look cute?

This fall is flying by but we are having a ball so far!

Grandparent Celebration

On Friday, Marie's school had a special program and visitation celebrating Grandparents. 

She was lucky enough to have Papa and Grandma Nel surprise her at school.

Her class sang "It's a Small World" and painted autumn leaves. 

She loved being in the spotlight and was very happy she had her special visitors see her school and meet her teacher.

Enjoying Fall

This weekend while Andy was away at his annual residency retreat, the kids and I stayed busy with a visit from Abby, Alissa, Anneke, Aunt Mindy, and Grandma Nel.

We braved the cold and windy day while having a blast at the pumpkin patch.

The kids took their time enjoying every activity at the patch.

 

After the pumpkin patch we went back to our home to meet up with Paul and Keri for Alissa's birthday celebration.  

It was a great way to distract us from Dad being gone this weekend!

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On Sunday, after a residency brunch, we took a little time to tour the fire station during an open house. 

Bennett was in awe of all the tools, uniforms, boots, and of course the fire trucks. 

 

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We also took some time this week to enjoy the pond for maybe one last time this season.

The dogs loved retrieving in the water and the kids loved digging for snails. 

It definitely became chilly once the sun began setting but it was a great fall evening to enjoy as a family.

Thank Goodness for Siblings

The past few weeks Bennett has proven to us over and over again that he is 2. 

He is full of energy, asks a million questions, prefers his ideas over ours, runs everywhere instead of walking, oh and one more thing...he throws tantrums.

It is much different parenting Bennett and Marie. 

We have to approach them differently, discipline differently, and even reward them differently. 

When Marie was little, it was all up to us.  

But thankfully, Marie is our little helper with Bennett.

When Bennett doesn't want help from one of us, he goes right to Marie.

On more than one occasion Marie has been the only one to pull him out of his fit and back to reality. 

This usually happens in the morning when we are trying to get out the door with all our chores done.

Marie takes his hand, reads him a book, and calms him down. 

The best part is even though she is caring for him she still gets him to complete his chores.

"Don't worry, Mom.  I'll take care of it."  She says.

 This new little baby is going to be so lucky to have a big sister and big brother here to help him whenever he needs it.

 

A Weekend in Aplington

We continued our busy weekends of September with a trip to Aplington, IA to see Andrew & Liz.

They recently moved into a new house there as well as started a new chiropractic clinic.

The kids were so excited to make the trip to their "craziest" Aunt - Marie's words, not mine.

Friday afternoon started with the whole family getting adjusted by Uncle Andrew at the clinic. The kids colored pictures for his office and we all walked out feeling much better. 

After pizza on the deck we went to an Aplington-Parkersburg football game. 

It was a beautiful cool evening and we all enjoyed the fresh air and popcorn. 

Saturday was busy and filled with fun adventures. After a relaxing morning which included playing with the dogs, visiting some horses, and trimming trees, we went to lunch so we could watch the Iowa game. 

The boys and girls were ready for some alone time so the the girls headed to Cedar Falls for shopping & cupcakes while the boys watched more football and went golfing.

Marie enjoyed helping us look for baby items while Bennett drove the truck, golf cart, and played in the sand traps.

We all came together at night to play at the park, grill supper, and watch the Nebraska game. 

Meanwhile, the dogs were busy wrestling and chasing each other non stop.  

They were all very tired by the end of the day. 

We woke up Sunday to a cool and cloudy day. We all took the dogs out to a gravel road for a run before lunch.

This was such a great weekend!

It's so much fun to see Marie and Bennett with their aunts and uncles. 

Thanks to Andrew & Liz for letting us stay with them and thanks to Cali for putting up with our 2 crazy dogs.