The Rest of October

I've definitely been a negligent blogger recently.  Here is a look at the rest of our October:

We attended a family game night at Delaney's school.  Delaney joined the Garman family for one game.

 

Delaney cheered for her last Upward football game.  They were cheering at the awards ceremony here, which is why they are in the parking lot.

 We skipped the downtown Edwardsville trick-or-treating to attend Ann's last home soccer game. It was her Senior Day.   Trevor tried his hardest to figure out how to get the cheese out of the little compartment and he finally succeeded!

 Harper lost her first tooth!   Oddly enough, she lost her second tooth just three days later.  

 In years past, I have had 3-4 Halloween posts due to all of the festivities that we took part in.  This year I only have two pictures total.  I had PT conferences the night that Glen Carbon trick-or-treated, so I hurried home to sit with the girls for a few minutes while they handed out candy after going around the neighborhood.  The night of actual Halloween was very cold and rainy, so we skipped the parade.  I did go to Delaney's class party, but forgot my phone in the car, so no pics of it either!  They were both dressed as fairies.

Small Group Hayride and Bonfire

Erin planned a hayride and bonfire for our small group at Mills Apple Farm in Marine.  Even though it was last minute, all but one family was able to attend.  The day had been warm, but as soon as the sun went down we had perfect hayride weather.  Good times!

The munchkins on top of a bunch of hay.

The Rudds

The Cochrans

The Busches

The Hipps minus Zach

Yuping, Yong Fong, and Caroline

Minneapolis

Allan had to go to Minnesota for a business trip, so the girls and I took that opportunity to fly up to meet him then spend the weekend with Iain, Julie, Ross, and Corinne.  It had been 3 years since our last visit to MN, so we were long overdue!  It was the first time that I ever flew with the girls by myself and I was nervous.  The girls were such professional travelers, though!  They walked through the airport like they owned the place. Delaney even reprimanded me about having my tray table down too close to landing time.  

Since we have been having such mild weather in StL, I was anxious to wear some of our fall clothes and boots.  Minnesota weather did not disappoint!  The rain stayed away for the most part and we had high temps in the 50's.  

Friday night we had dinner at a local pizza place with a nice outdoor fireplace.  On Saturday, we took morning trip to Target (a must when in Target country), then home for lunch, then on to a hike at Minnehaha Falls.  It was beautiful and the kids had a great time skipping rocks.  Dinner was grilled steaks and fish, but then the rain started so we cooked s'mores on the flame from the gas stove.  

On Sunday morning, we had the privilege of attending Corinne's First Communion.  It was just a coincidence that we were in town for it.  The fact that Allan and I are her Godparents was the icing on the cake.  Funny story:  Before the service, we enjoyed donuts and coffee in the fellowship hall.  As we were finishing up and cleaning our spots, I asked Iain where to put my dirty coffee mug.  He pointed to a rack of mugs to the left of the coffee dispenser - the exact same place that I got my mug from!  I drank out of a used coffee mug!  I think that makes me an honorary member of their church or something.

After church we went for lunch, a little shopping, and a couple of rides at the indoor amusement park at The Mall of America before getting dropped off at the airport for our flights home.  Allan flew Southwest and we girls flew Delta, so we were at different terminals.  Our flights took off and landed almost at the same times, though, which was very convenient.

We had such a good time!  I hope we don't wait another 3 years to make another trip up there.

Allan challenged Corinne to eat 6 saltine crackers in 1 minute.  She couldn't do it, can you?

The top of the falls

Minnehaha Falls

Iain, Julie, Ross, and Corinne

Corinne and Harper strike a pose.

Cousins on a bridge

Cousins skipping rocks

Cousins in a cave

Believe it or not, this is the Mississippi River.  It's not the start of it though.  Iain says you can straddle the river at it's very beginning.

Our Goddaughter

This is a video of the girls on a ride, but I'm too lazy to upload it to Youtube.  They both smiled and giggled the whole time.  Use your imagination.

Delaney at Legoland. 

Harper slept almost the whole flight home and Delaney put together her new Lego toy.  I actually got to read my book!