Cam's Animal Scramble

Our dear friends from St. Louis sent Cam and Kyle birthday presents. I thought this would be a good opportunity to attempt to post a video online. Here goes...

Thank you Cin & Jack, we miss you and love you.

Trunk or Treat

We participated in our churches first attempt at Trunk-or-Treat. Cars decorate their trunks and kids walk to the trunks and get candy and other goodies. It was cooooo-old but we bundled up and had a really good time. Our trunk's theme was Spooky School.

Superman, Firefighter and 2nd grader with a winter coat on.

A scared firefighter, a smiley Superman and Cooper has some spy gear on - hard to see but he was indeed in a costume, of sorts. Thanks to our friend Katy for taking the picture.

Showering Auntie Jodi

We had a wedding shower for Jodi (Corey's little sister) early in October at Flandrau State Park in New Ulm, MN. There were many little and big helpers and lots of fun and silliness.

Here's Cam snuggling with Great-Uncle Brad (well mostly he's snuggling with Sammy the dog).

Samantha is a very good sport.

The boys are doing some serious table-scaping.

Playing games.

Corey is making breakfast the next morning.




Kyle playing with his cars.

The boys all cooking their dogs over the fire.

Love those dogs!

Achtung!

Back in September, Corey travelled to Hamburg, Germany to visit his brother's family. They did some sight-seeing in Amsterdam before hopping on a plane to go to the Benchmark facility in Brasov, Romania.

Jason's backyard complete with apple trees and beautiful gardens.

A common sight in Hamburg - park your car on the sidewalk.

The harbor in Hamburg.

Amsterdam

On the road to Brasov, Romania.

Stephanie School

Every Monday afternoon we go on an outdoor adventure with our friends from our early childhood class. Our friend, Stephanie, is the leader of the pack.

Pumpkin Patch

Saint Mary's University (in September)

Saint Mary's in October

Farmer's Park

This is where we lost one of our walkie talkies. I think it's downstream somewhere.

Camp Wenonah

We roasted dogs over a BIG fire.

Makin' Dirt

First Day of School(s)

Here are the boys on their first day of school(s):

Coop's first day as a Second Grader.

Coop with his buddies and his brothers. Not sure what Cameron is doing.

Kyle's first day of his Senior year in preschool. His second cousin Veronica is peeking around the sign.

And finally, drum roll please... it's Cameron on his first day of preschool! He started on October 28th. Potty-trained and in preschool, all before age 3. Way to go, Cam!

Right on Target...

Here is a recent Target trip:

1 Box 4ct Jennie-O Turkey Burgers

4 Boxes of Pop Tarts (to eat after the Turkey burgers)

1 Box of Oatmeal

4 Tubs of Smart Balance

1 2ct Command Hooks

5 Boxes of Special K Cereal

1 Box Special K Crackers

Total after coupons w/tax - $29.47

Received 2, 5 dollar Target Cards

Will send in a Kelloggs rebate for $10.

Total - $9.47

Did the razor/refill deal on another trip:

$7.94 Schick Quattro Titanium Razor

Had a $4 Target coupon and a $4 Manufacturer's coupon.

$8.94 Schick Quattro Titanium Refills

Had a $4 Target coupon and a $4 Manufacturer's coupon.

What's WAGS?

My friend asked me that today. It's Walgreens. I think I might shop there too much if I am calling it WAGS. But read on and see why I shop there:

Recent Purchases

$3.99 15oz Softsoap Body Wash (Sale price)

minus 1 dollar coupon

Total w/tax - $3.26

Got a 4 dollar register reward back.

Made 74 cents.

$1.56 4 packs of 5ct Bic Highlighters (Sale price)

minus 2 dollars in coupons

$3.99 15oz Softsoap Body Wash (Sale price)

Total w/tax - $3.93

Got a 4 dollar register reward back.

Made 7 cents.

$5.00 Rembrandt Toothpaste (Sale price-Yeah this stuff is expensive.)

minus $4 coupon

$1.99 16ct Carefree Panty Liners (Sale price)

minus $1 coupon

$2.00 4 boxes Jello (Sale price)

minus $1 coupon (thanks mom)

$2.99 Reach Toothbrush

minus 50 cent coupon

$2.99 Colgate 360 Toothbrush

minus 40 cent coupon

Total w/tax - $9.32 (It should have been $8.32 since she missed one of my buck coupons. In my defense, I was trying to keep Cameron from stealing lipstick.)

Got $12 back in Register Rewards.

Made $2.68.

$2.00 4 boxes Jello (Sale price)

$23.98 2 bottles of 45ct each Acidophilus (Probiotic)

WAGS BOGO so subtract $11.49 minus a $7 Nature Made coupon

Total for the drugs - $4.49 for 2 bottles

$2.50 2oz Glade Soy Candle

Free coupon from Sunday circular

$1.77 3 boxes of 80ct Mead Envelopes (Sale price)

Used $7 in Register Rewards

Total w/tax - $2.34

Pretty good week.

Smarter than the Average Bear

Fun in the sun at Jellystone in Warrens, WI. We had a great time camping with my parents and Robyn, Olivia and Connor. We played mini golf, walked a lot, rode on the Jellystone Express and played at the water park.

Roberds Lake, Faribault, MN

We tried out a new camping spot in Faribault, MN on Roberds Lake. The "older kids" liked the swings at the park. This is Corey just a swangin' with his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Jake.

We celebrated Grandpa Don's 60th birthday.

One of the camping cats was befriended by Cameron the cat-lover.

The boys used their creative skills to build a teeter totter out of firewood and a spare plank.

Just relaxing by the campfire... Gotta love Kyle's crossed-legs.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game ...

We took Coop and Kyle to their first ever Twins game. We parked at Fort Snelling and took the light rail to the Dome. We wanted to make sure they got to see a game inside before we get the new park next year.

Here we are at the Dome. It was pretty crowded outside and very hot that day.

Before we headed in to the game we had some ballpark fare. The boys love to eat so this was one of their favorite parts of the day. We sat with a former Minnesotan turned Californian who was in town to see the Angels with her twin brother who still resides in Minnesota.

And for the real fun - eating cotton candy.

The boys enjoyed their many treats from the left field foul pole. Unfortunately, we had lefties on the mound so we didn't get much action in our corner with all the right- handed batters. It was a blast and I think the boys would really like to go again - especially if they can have more cotton candy.