Almost just in time!

KK and I took a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch this afternoon. I'm so glad we went today because we'll probably have a foot of snow on the ground by tomorrow. Unfortunately, we were still too late for pumpkin picking. Thanks to the cold weather earlier this month they were all squishy and rotting. It didn't stop us from trying though...we grabbed a wagon and off we went! Sure enough, KK found herself the perfect pumpkin AND a ladybug. Success!!! There were also plenty of gourds to choose from, which are far more interesting and fun to play with anyway.
So, while we made it to the pumpkin patch and had a great time, we essentially headed for home pumpkinless. We were almost just in time! (With a side trip to the grocery store we brought home a jack-o-lantern-worthy pumpkin after all!)

The most important part of our visit was capturing the annual "farmer girl" picture for Grandpa K...our little KK just keeps getting more beautiful every year!
2009

2008

2007

2006

Time flies....especially 20 years!

The past few weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye...it certainly doesn't seem like 6 weeks since K started preschool again! Maybe because she has missed so much, between going to MN for 10 days in September and then being sick. She is in her 3rd week of on-again-off-again illness. She was tummy sick for two days, then fine for over a week, then tummy sick for two days again, then fine for 4 days, and now she has cold symptoms including a mild fever. I'm a little concerned that she would develop respiratory issues so quickly after having flu-like symptoms so we're watching her like a hawk. She is still in her typical happy mood though, we are grateful for that.

We HAVE had some special and exciting things happen recently, first of which being that we have a new cousin in the family! Baby A arrived on September 1 and he is absolutely beautiful! KK loved holding him and giving him lots of snuggles. Cousin C is a great and very happy big brother, too!
We also spent some time in MN to see family and friends. My to-do list never seems to get fully accomplished when I'm home, but we sure did enjoy this trip! Daddy even made it out for a couple of days; he was there for work, we just got lucky with the dates. He wasn't able to stay for long because he had to leave for Seattle to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday, but we managed to get a nice hike in with Grandma and Grandpa at The Falls.
Another reason we were in MN was for my 20 year high school class reunion (I'm still in denial over that statement). I do have to say that I have some of the best and most amazing friends anyone could hope for! We had a great time, and we won't be waiting another 5 or 10 years to get together again. Sharon, (Sha)Lisa, Shannon and Shanna....my friends since 7th grade! (We added a "Sha" in front of Lisa's name sometime during high school.)

Eric, Dave, Jason, and Tony. Four of the greatest men you'll ever meet.

The pre-party crowd.

Dave and his beautiful wife, Kathleen.

20 years later, we're still the best of friends! Love you guys!