Fall So Far

It would be an understatement to say we have had a beautiful fall thus far. It has been darn near PERFECT if you ask me. Temps in the 70's and 80's, no rain and lots and lots of sunshine. Two weekends ago we took the kids to a Rock and Fossil show in Omaha. We didn't really know what to expect...man were we impressed! The kids were totally in their element and had a blast looking at, learning about and buying rocks and fossils galore! Those of you who know Olivia and Tony best, can about guess what they did as soon as we got home...

...yup, they set up shop. Complete with tickets and an admission fee! They had fun setting up their own rock collections and brought home baggies of gems and fossils to do their own digging. I only wish I had bought a few more of those bags...talk about HOURS of entertainment for just a buck!

Above is Livie's Rock Shop...."Peace, Love and Rocks" I believe it was called. She has gathered quite an impressive collection in her 12 short years. Most of them have been found on our travels.

Here is what she dug out of her gem bag...pretty!

Tony chose a fossil bag rather than gems. He received this giant magnifier for his birthday, boy did that do the trick.

Tony's collection isn't as large as his sister's, but he's got some pretty cool stuff.

Here is his collection of fossils that he dug out on his own.

The next day was glorious, and we headed to Fort Atkinson - a restored Fort from the days of Lewis and Clark. It's just about 10 minutes from here and they do reinactments once a month June-October.

Tony's best friend Sam reinacts with his Grandma. What a neat thing for them to do together! Tony is REALLY REALLY pumped to possibly do this with Sam next year. History is one of his passions, and I think he'd really enjoy getting to "go back in time."

The band is made up of high school band students from Omaha. They did a great job.

Tony got volunteered to help press cider. He wasn't very keen on the idea, but I think he secretly enjoyed it!

BOOM!

This past weekend, we headed up north for Celia's 4th birthday party. We took off after school Friday and since the kids had Monday off, I rearranged my work schedule (great perk) so we could make a long weekend out of it.

What do you do when your niece tells you that she wants a TRIPLE DOLL STROLLER for her birthday? You get online and marvel and all that is out there at the tip of our fingers. A triple stroller for dolls, who knew?

While we all enjoyed a day of fun, Celia didn't seem to appreciate our singing at all.

Sunday we headed out for a fall hike. Celia promptly fell down as we started out and I had to capture the moment...too funny.

1-2-3!!!! It was surely a fall wonderland and my kids really enjoyed all the leaves.

Was hoping this would be my Christmas card...unfortunately Tony has his "Uncle Brian" face on...."really? another picture?" That's ok...I got a better one that I'm keeping under wraps.

Enjoying a delicious picnic...Celia was DISGUSTED with Tony and Liv's peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches.

When we got back, the kids still had enough energy left to rake the leaves in Erin's front yard and enjoy jumping in the pile.

On Monday we made the long journey home to Nebraksa, but not before we stopped at "Minnesota's Largest Candy Store." It's not too far from Chaska on Hwy 169. Worth a stop if you are in the area!

I hope you are all enjoying as equally a beautiful fall. The farmers are happy and harvesting like crazy. Last year at this time we had 4" of snow! Eek!