Happy halloween!!

Apple and pumpkin picking!

Oh about a month ago we went out to Kuipers family farm orchard in Maple Park, IL. http://www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com/ It was a nice little afternoon trip with our friends. John & Katie and their two kids, Samantha and Everette, met us at the orchard and got some great apple picking accomplished. I think together we had about 5 lbs of apples to take home! On the way out to the apple orchard we got to take a hayride there. Alicia was all about watching the "big tractor" as the last one she rode was uncle Billy's little lawn mower tractor. I think she would have rather rode and drove the tractor than riding in the back of the wagon! We all got to pick our own apples which was pretty cool, I haven't done that in several years myself so it was a treat for all. Also at this orchard, they had a pumpkin farm. We didn't get to go out into the field and pick a pumpkin, but we did enough other activities there to keep the girls busy! Sam and Alicia enjoyed the hay maze, the corn bins, the farm themed playground and of course the petting zoo! The girls got to run around and play with the goats and pigs. It was pretty funny to watch them interact with the animals. At the end of our long afternoon, the girls finally got a chance to pick out a pumpkin to take home. The pumpkins even got a bath!


more pics here
http://picasaweb.google.com/heather.kluesner/ApplePumpkins?authkey=Gv1sRgCILaj9Ol-Yj6UQ#




oops!!! Alicia dropped her pumpkin! Luckily it was a tough one, and survived the short fall.





Alicia proudly showing off her apple that she picked!

happy golden 3rd birthday, Carl!

A few weeks ago Carl celebrated his golden birthday when he turned 3! Carl hosted a big bash at the Little Gym where all his friends got to tumble and explore all of the cool gymnastic apparatuses. I think we might have a little gymnast on our hands, as Alicia really enjoyed her time. She did great on the tall balance beam too! She walked the entire way with no help! Granted it might help that she's got just those little cute tiny feet still to be able to do that, but still it takes some coordination and balance. After the open gym, Carl invited all of his friends back to his mom and dad's house to enjoy some good food and cake! Thanks for a great party, Carl! We hope your 3rd birthday was a blast!

Proof

Alicia is SO not my kid.... She takes after her daddy on this along
with a bunch of other stuff. First, she wanted more cereal for like an
after lunch snack and then this, Slurping cereal milk, come on kid. I
did NOT teach her this.

enjoying our zoo memberships

We really have enjoyed our Brookfield Zoo membership this past year. We have had a membership for several years and I think this was the first year that we really got a nice visits in. In the past year visits, Alicia used to fall asleep alot or get bored easily. What makes it even more exciting, is when friends go along to the zoo with her! Last month we made it to the zoo with Carl's family. Alicia and Carl both enjoy each other's company, so it was fun to see them walking around the zoo and exploring everything. Of course, they both had their 3-year old moments, where they wanted to be carried, ride in a stroller, eat lots of ice cream, run off and chase the animals, etc.. But is all seriousness, the zoo visits are getting more and more rewarding for us to hear the kiddos "talk" about the animals and interact with everything and enjoy all of the zoo attractions more.

happy 3rd birthday, Lucas!

Before I get even further behind on birthday posts, Alicia wanted me to post pictures from Lucas' 3rd birthday last month! We had a beautiful September afternoon party at the Suttmann's house a few weeks ago where the kids got to enjoy their nice big backyard and play together. Here's some photos from Lucas' big 0-3 party!

Stokes Wedding.

Well.. I thought it was last weekend, but really it was a few weekends ago.. so i thought we'd blog a bit about our trip to the Arboretum in Dubuque for the Stokes's wedding. Nick is Drews 2nd cousin.

It went ok.. but mommy was kinda sick.. and unfortunately Alicia had a brief sickness on the dance floor as well.. but after we got her cleaned up she was a dancing machine (see movie)...

Anyways.. it was a good time... and it was great to see everyone again.. enjoy the pix.