Thanksgiving + Family Pictures

We spent part of Thanksgiving break at my parents house.  I always love the chance to be outside there.  Its not too cold yet and just feels like a last outside hurrah before winter.

We always have to walk to ride their land- so here is Ben looking cute in the brush.

Mike took the tent and camped with the kids one night.

My brothers and their families were there so they set up a super fun zipline with Paw's truck.

         

This one is a perfect angel at school but she is wild and free and rambunctious when she has the chance.  

 Cute Sarah Kate

 My mom's birthday fell on Thanksgiving so we had to celebrate her too! :)

I think it was her favorite gift to have us all there.

My mom's brothers, my dear wonderful uncles, have both been ill lately so we relished the chance to have extra time with my Uncle Henry.

 Then our usual tradition of family pictures for our Christmas cards. 

The girls had fun being together and doing shows for us. 

Looks like Peter had fun too! 

So nice to have time with my sisters in love- and be gifted with some wild LuLaRoe leggings.  Ooo, comfy!

 We made it back home in time to get some time with the MN cousins.  :)

A Farm House Trip to see Maw

 We made our summer farm house visit.  

Maw had to work one afternoon so I babysat and did that my sending the kids out to run in the field.  They had a great time, picked some beautiful Queen Anne's Lace, and didn't get a single tick.

 This guy explored around the out buildings.  Isn't he breath-taking?

 It was also breath-taking to watch these kids run through fields of green- a picture of childhood summer!  

 Let's take a picture, kids!

 I thought it would be neat to take a pic with the kids wrapped around the tree.  Didn't work out for me.  Who knows why they didn't get my country photo op memo?

 We went back to the Sylvan Heights Bird Park again this summer.

 Please note the country girl, chicken farmer's hold on the parakeet. Love it!

Back at Maw's house, we had a little water play. Future hydro engineers right here---

 My little cuddle buddy got cold in the water and needed some warming snuggles.  Done.

Glad to fill our tanks with some country summer.  Thanks, Maw & Paw.  

Take some time off next summer, Paw. We missed you!

Fall Photo Shoot

Back in October, we took the kids to my parents house for the weekend so I could do a photo shoot with them.  When my cousin got married back in May, his photographer did pictures at the old bridge near my parents so I thought it would be fun to try pictures there.  It feels near impossible to get them to all be happy and look at the camera at the very same moment.  This first one became our Christmas Card.  The rest are mostly funny outtakes!  

{I also wanted to be able to capture this girls' short-lived toothless grin.}

 They found a little frog.