The Leaves are Falling

Last year we let all the leaves pile up and 'raked' them all in one day. We decided that it would be to our advantage to gather them more frequently than that this year. Rustin bought a lawn mower with a bagger from the neighbor so he as been using that while I get them out of the flower beds. So far he as done it three times. There is a compost pile a few blocks away from our house so we have a convenient dumping place. One day I was watching Tiffany and she wanted a leaf pile to jump in so I told her we could rake up a pile. Grace loved it also, except she thought she would try the leaves for taste. This was also the day that Tiffany came into the house without Grace and all of a sudden I looked out the door and Grace was climbing our back, cement steps for the first time. Talk about heart stopping!

If you read Susan's blog you know I was in Tremont two weekends ago for a surprise visit. I had a nice time. A good amount of work and play! Mom seems to be healing well. Every day there is less pain and more mobility.

This past weekend I had the urge to go shopping so I convinced Rustin we should go to St. Cloud. The only reason he was able to go was the inches of rain we have been receiving. I decided we needed to buy a gun cabinet because one day Grace and I were in her room and I looked over and she was playing with one of her daddy's guns under the bed. I didn't think that was a good idea, so we found one this weekend. Grace did really well shopping. She's a woman after my own heart.

No, Grace still isn't walking, but I think her vocabulary is exceptional. (I might be a little bias.) Some new words are up, hello - with her hand (the phone) held up to her ear, Bob, baba - bottle, uh-oh, and of course mama and dada. She smacks her lips really loud if she wants to eat something. She's getting good at pointing at what she wants. It's hard to believe my baby is going to be one in a couple of weeks!

11 months

Grace turns 11 months today. My how time flies. She and I took a walk this morning and I just had to laugh. She was waving from her stroller like she was a queen in a parade. Then we arrived at the post office and she wouldn't wave at the postmaster for anything. She definitely brings much laughter to my day. (usually!)
Last Saturday we went to Keith and Lois' house in Alex. (They are the couple I worked for during my internship.) They had bought a large quantity of paint from Sherwin Williams and offered some to us for our new store. After loading that up we took them out to eat at Dolittles. It served great Italian food. Grace seemed to charm everyone around us. I sometimes think she is misbehaving but atleast they weren't upset. We played games at their house afterwards. It's always a good time with them.
Rustin does soil-sampling at work. I was at Meadowland on Sat. morning and he called not having a good soil-sampling day. The previous week a head-gasket was replaced. Then on Sat. the truck was making noise again. He felt like it was his fault. I had to reassure him of the fact that you can't expect an '88 truck that is driven through bumpy fields all day to be in perfect condition. He called back a little while later and said the truck was finished-he had blown it up. I don't totally understand engines but I think a rod went somewhere it wasn't supposed to. I personally was glad because nickeling and diming old vehicles can be a pain. This week he has been transforming one of their other trucks into the 'new' soil-sampling pick-up.
It has been a little rainy up here this week, but this is a good time to catch up on indoor work and organizing. Sometimes even a little book reading!
My mom is having her hip replaced this Thursday, so hopefully all goes well with the surgery.

Fall is here!

For one entire day our phone and internet was down. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Isn't that pathetic. It's crazy how that works. (I'm really just making poor excuses why the blog hasn't been updated.)

Two weekends ago Grace and I along with my in-laws went to IL for an extended weekend. I had a very nice time although away from Rustin. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the phone calls more often!

We visited Grandpa and Grandma. Grace loved fiddling around with Grandpa's wheelchair. Then Mom, Grace, and I went shopping in Peoria. We found lots of goodies (mainly for Grace.) Michelle met Grace and I for supper at Carlos O Kelley's. Good Mexican food. Afterwards we went to Carol's for brownies and ice cream. On Sat. I went to my first web-cam shower for Steph. It was neat to see everyone there and especially Steph. We just hung out as a family in the afternoon and then Matt had a Madrigal event at 5 that we listened to. He had to sing in the park. Thankfully it was under the shelter since it was pouring buckets. We went to the new Avanti's on Knoxville for supper. Some man who had been observing Grace from his table came up to us as he was leaving and said that she looked like trouble. Grace hasn't learned her restaurant ettiquite yet.

Sunday was the dedication of the new church. We went to Grandma and Grandpa's afterwards like usual.

Sam was riding his scooter and it looks like Grace was pushing him. (or trying to push him off) Every time Sam goes to my parent's house he says he's going to Grace's house. I find that cute because he has only seen her there a few times. Sunday evening Mom and I went to listen to Matt at ACYF in Tremont. We left Grace with Dad and Bob. They did great except they weren't too impressed when she messed her pants.

On Monday before Mom took me to ReKeeta's we went to Laura's for lunch. It took Bryce a little while to warm up to us but soon he was laughing at us. Too bad for him he couldn't crawl.

I thought this picture was cute. At ReKeeta's we relaxed all afternoon and then she and I went to get Monicals for supper. Delish! We gave Grace and Abbi a bath together. There was much water all over but I think they had a good time!

Grace always has her tongue hanging out!

It looks like Abbi is teaching Grace one of her tricks. Monkey see, Monkey do!

We traveled home on Tuesday. Grace was a trooper. 10 hours in the car is rough on a kid. She only fussed for about the last hour and a half. She was excited to see her Daddy when we got home. I was too!

This week we got a load on Tuesday. It is all banana boxes except for 3 bins of dog food and 1 bin of cat food. Back to the grind!

Here's Grace saying Bye-Bye!

Mid-September?

For those of you who have told me that it has been one month since I've updated, you are partially wrong. Today is Sept 13 and I updated on Aug 18. I kind of get stuck in ruts and this time it was that I was trying to create a photo gallery and couldn't figure it out. Until I did this I just couldn't get myself to update. My experienced cousin Steph helped me figure it out and I think I am learning a new more efficient way to post pictures. Hopefully this is enjoyable to you viewers. The first set is our trip to Duluth which we made on Labor Day weekend. Rustin, Grace, and I went camping for Grace's first time. It was quite an experience. We were in his parent's pop-up atleast. Grace did ok the first couple of nights and the last night she was a bear.

Rustin is at the beginning of his busy season. Fehrs are chopping silage for their dairies, so during the day he soil samples all of their fields and some evenings he drives truck for them. Grace and I rode with him one Sat. Grace soon got bored with trucking and wanted to play with all the buttons and gadgets on the truck so we didn't stay too long.

Right now Grace and I are at my parents house and Rustin is in Hancock. We came down with his parents who are visiting Eric and ReKeeta. I am enjoying myself but do miss Rustin. It's good to get away from the busy life sometimes. So far it has happened about once a month. I suspect that will come to a halt when winter arrives. I can hardly wait!!! (not)

Where has August gone?

I think August has went by faster than July. Hardly seems possible! The first weekend in August we spent in the Cities for Dale and Meg's wedding. It was so nice to see many friends and family. My family and us stayed down there until Wed. sightseeing. We saw Minnehaha Falls, went to Como Zoo, and of course we went to the Mall of America.

Matt, Susan, and I at Minnehaha Falls.

The Four Ladies

Grace and I at the zoo.

We took Grace to an Old Fashioned Studio in the mall. She cooperated quite well as long as money was in her hands!

On Wed. we all came back to our house. They decided since they were so close and hadn't seen the remodeling, they would like to see it. I think they had fun watching Grace while Rustin and I worked. Dad got in on a truck unload. It is quite an operation. They left Sat. morning to head home. The next weekend was the Stevens County Fair. It is similar to the Turkey Festival and the 4-H fair combined. Rustin really enjoys the fair because he sees all sorts of people he hasn't seen in a while. I, on the other hand, could spend one night at the fair and be happy. (We compromised for a night and a day.) Rustin took Grace on the Merry-Go-Round and she loved it. That ride spins faster than I remember it spinning. I could hardly watch without getting dizzy.

This past weekend we watched Luke and Tiffany so Trevor, Jody, and Tory could go to the state fair. Rustin keeps saying that someday we'll go. I've heard it's one of the top three in the nation.

Grace received this hat and sunglasses from one of our friends. The glasses wrap around her head so it's much harder for her to get them off.

This is our experimental garden. On the left is carrots and on the right is kolarabi. We had to tear out the radishes because they were too leggy and there wasn't enough room for all three. They are producing quite well.

The latest is that Grace has a tooth. This explains some of her unexpainable crabbiness the past week. Labor Day weekend we are going camping near Duluth. I am ready for another get-a-way!

Grace is CRAWLING!

Yes, it has finally happened. My life will never be the same. On Tuesday Grace took her first forward crawls. I think she somewhat surprised herself. As I watch her move around and explore I realize how baby proof our house isn't. I suppose there will be some changes made. The first one will be moving the refrigerator over a few inches. The cord sticks out somewhat and she is pretty interested in that one. I think from this moment forward I will be losing weight as well as Grace. She is already starting to lose some of her cute chubbiness. It is so amazing as to all that happens in 8.5 months. Last week I took Grace into the doctor because she had fevers and she wasn't eating anything. (Thankfully she would drink bottles.) She was diagnosed with tonsilitis and put on amoxicillin. I can tell by her facial expressions and her willingness to eat it that the stuff tastes so good! (not) I think the meds are working because she is back to her cheerful self. She sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time so they must be strong! Now I am looking for teeth so maybe she can eat more solids. During her sick time I did find one food she would eat and that was pudding. Too bad they don't make pudding flavor with veggies. This weekend we are going to Detroit Lakes with Rustin's parents. The following weekend and part of week we are going to the Cities for Dale and Meg's wedding. On Wed. my family is coming back to Hancock with us. I am so ready for a little R&R, so this should be just the ticket.

The 4th

Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I post. Still busy at Meadowland, Grace is eating better and still can't crawl, etc. We had a short but sweet visit to Tremont a few weeks ago. We visited the grandparents and just took it easy most of the weekend. Eric and ReKeeta came up for the 4th. Hancock has our big celebration which starts off with the firemen serving breakfast. The parade starts at 1:30. Afternoon activities include Bingo and a tractor pull. And then of course there's fireworks that start at 10. We went to the breakfast and then I went home to clean while Rustin stayed and help serve pancakes. This year we decided to have a float in the parade. Jody and some of her sisters made two 'can' costumes which then her nieces wore, and we also decorated a float. When we bought the store we acquired 3 boxes of princess crowns, so we crowned little girls on the sidelines and also threw out candy. Jody and I handed out our magnets and pens. Gotta use free advertisement when you can! After the parade we were open for a crazy two hours. We didn't know how it would go, but we decided it was worth it. Supper was held at Grandma Schmidgall's with most of the family there. Afterwards Rustin and I were tired so we went home with the intentions of going to bed early. He got a fire call around 8:00. Luckily it was only a grass fire, and they were able to contain it pretty easily. We still got to bed relatively early and had the fireworks put us to sleep. On Saturday we headed to South Dakota to buy fireworks half off. We stopped in Ortonville on the way home and played on the playground that Rustin and ReKeeta played on in fourth grade. They lived there until that age and then moved back to Morris. It is neat to see where Rustin grew up.

Grace's first slide ride

Grandma and her grandkids

What a cutie!!!

Grace and Abbi playing so well together.