Anniversary Trip

Our trip to Bayfield was fantastic! A few days together enjoying the great outdoors in such a glorious location is so refreshing to the soul! Not only did we get to see some really neat scenery, we were able to pick up a whole bunch (35 lbs.) of fresh apples and apple products! The best part was just soaking it all up at our own pace...with no deadlines, appointments, schedules or demands. Just natural fun the way God intended it to be!

Here is a map of all the fruit and flower orchards in the area. We didn't visit all of them this year, since we are now getting a better idea of which ones are better than others. Hauser's is always a must-see!


This is where we stayed at night to save on lodging fees. (just kidding)!


There were apples growing everywhere!


The harbor was especially enchanting on this partly sunny afternoon!


Perfect color on the Old Iron Bridge!


More beautiful trees!


Hiking through the woods was the highlight of Christy's day!


Sam kept trying to get those yummy looking leaves, but his mittens just wouldn't let him get a good grip.


Rebecca, Becca, Becky...whatever you call her, she is still as sweet as apple pie!


The Old Iron Bridge nestled in Autumn fluff.


A cotton-candy sky! ;-)


Sam was so cute when I was trying to unwrap him from his "baby bunting"!


For those of you who just can't get enough about us and our adventures, here is a slide show set to the tune of "Biscuits and Gravy" by Acoustical Potluck:

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Eric and I will be celebrating our 10th Wedding Anniversary this month! I am excited about that, and I am also excited that he has planned a trip for us! We will be traveling to one of my very favorite places...Bayfield, Wisconsin! We have been there a couple of times, but only during the off-season. This time, we are actually going to go when the trees are still in full color, and the shops should still be open! According the the website, the week we arrive will be the "peak" of the color for the Fall foliage. We will arrive on October 14th and stay until the 17th. I really enjoy the beautiful scenery and the peaceful, relaxing atmosphere of Lake Superior and Madeline Island. I know that you all are going to think we are crazy, but we are going to take our kids with us. There are so many fun things for them to do, and we would be missing them terribly if we left them behind. Besides, if we take them with, we get to stay much longer! ;-)

Sweet Sleep

With each of my babies, I have learned the value of a good night's sleep. I would rather have a peaceful night of deep sleep than any other luxury this world has to offer. This week has been especially hard on all of us, sleep-wise. Sam is cutting teeth, and he is letting us know about it...mostly between the hours of 2-4 a.m. Eric and I have started working in shifts at night to soothe Sam back to sleep. The other night we had just managed to get him back to sleep, and had fallen asleep ourselves, when Christy came in and said that she had had a bad dream about a baby crying! We are all looking forward to Sam returning to his usual 8-9 hours of sweet sleep every night.

My Favorite Season

Eric bought these beautiful Fall flowers for me!

Autumn officially begins on Monday! This is my favorite time of year. I can have confidence that the hot, humid Summer days are behind me. I can look forward to the cool, crisp breezes and chilly nights. It is natural to feel the urge to snuggle up with my children, reading many books and having long conversations about the changes in life. The Glory of God is displayed in such splendor all around us as the leaves change to rich colors of red, gold, orange and yellow. Signs of harvest show how God is so good to supply us with many simple pleasures.

Renaissance Festival

This weekend we traveled to a land far, far away (Shakopee, MN), to visit Kings, Queens, Princesses, Princes, Knights, Jesters, and a vast array of other characters. We listened to minstrels play, and tasted some of the local fare. We heard many "thees" and "thous", and even had tea with a royal entourage! Despite dark clouds, torrential downpours and a plague of gnats, we had a great time at the Renaissance Festival!


This would have been a great family picture, if only Sam would have looked at the camera!


Doesn't Sam make an adorable little "arrow" in Eric's "quiver"?


This is The Castle entrance. Our girls are the little kids in brown.


Eric taking a break with the kids in the "Secret Garden"


Becca was captivated by "Jamison the Juggler"!


The girls enjoyed making a craft in the kid's craft area.


Christy is a pretty little peasant, isn't she?


Here is Becca looking sooo cute at the entrance of the kid's craft area.


This was what the girls looked like before we put their coats on.


If you have a fast Internet connection, this is a slide show of our experience at the Renaissance Festival:

Camping girl-style

We read Ryan & Julie's blog, and decided that camping looked like a whole lot of fun! So, since we don't have a real tent or supplies, we did some day-camping in our yard. The girls had a great time! Don't you just love all the pink?! We also fired up the grill and roasted marshmallows and hot dogs. Eric even cooked a marshmallow for me that was the epitome of perfection...golden brown all the way around! I should have taken a picture of it!

Grandma's Pictures

Grandma Becky downloaded onto our computer some of the pictures she had taken while she was here. I thought some of them were too cute to pass up, so here they are! I now I'm probably biased, but I think I have some of the cutest kids in the world! ;-)