Visit to Marshall

We had the wonderful opportunity to go to Minnesota to visit family the past two weeks and we had a great time! We did so many fun things and went on lots of little adventures!

The kids were excellent travelers! We have been very fortunate to have kids who don't mind traveling by car! And we only heard "how much further?" a few times!!!

We drove up to the cities one day to pick up Mary Rose and Katchie from the airport. We met up with Patty and Eric first and were able to enjoy some delicious pizza at the park. The girls had a great time and had I been more prepared for the cold weather (it is Minnesota after all!) I probably would have enjoyed it even more! After eating our carbone's pizza we headed off to the Mall of America to go to their Underwater Aquarium. Now, anyone who knows me, knows of me extreme fear of sharks, and so while I was not necessarily thrilled at the prospect of walking through a tunnel surrounded by sharks, I did it for my kids. And you know what? I enjoyed the whole thing! I just kept telling myself that the possibility of a shark ramming through the glass tunnel (think Jaws people!) was slim to none! They had some amazing fish, turtles and yes, even sharks! We thoroughly enjoyed our visit but as we were leaving Aleece fell and hit her cheek against a giant Galapogas turtle replica (though we convinced her to tell everyone she had been attacked by Jessie the shark--it sounded cooler!) She had a huge bruise, but luckily she is pretty resiliant and was back to her old self in no time! After that we picked up Mary Rose and Katchie and headed back to Marshall for some more fun!

We had so much fun with family while we were in Minnesota! We love visiting Granny and Grampy and Trey, and having everyone else there, Patty, Eric, Katchie and Mary Rose, was an added bonus! It was so nice to have all of us sisters together, that doesn't happen nearly enough! And Granny and Grampy made it possible for all of this to happen! They were so kind as to help me drive there and home again, with the kids, so that I wouldn't have to do it by myself! They have been such amazing examples to me, and have helped me be the parent that I am today! I love my family so much and am so grateful to be a part of the family that I am!

We visited Holmberg orchard again while we were in Marshall. It has become a tradition for us in the fall and I think we have been every year since Aleece was born. They have a huge apple orchard, an even bigger pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, pony rides (the animals were new this year), food and fun! The girls got to ride on the Shetland ponies (named after the little rascals--Aleece wanted a girl, so she got to ride Darla) and Aleece loved it! Both girls absolutely adore animals, both big and small, so we were a little surprised when Lainey didn't enjoy the ride. She calmed down by the end of the ride and we still aren't sure what it was that scared her. She really doesn't have many fears, much to my chagrin at times! They got to pet some goats, chickens, bunnies, and ponies. Lainey liked the goats best--she tried several times to climb in with them! My favorite thing about the orchard is their honeycrisp apples. These apples are not too sweet, not too tart and have just the right amount of crispness to them. They are heavenly, as far as apples go! They don't sell them everywhere and unfortunately are only sold typically between the months of September and October. So we stocked up and have definitely been enjoying them!

We had so much fun being able to see Trey play football at two different games. He has such an amazing talent! He is so fun to watch and we are so proud of what a great player he is! The Marshall Tigers have had an awesome season! Aleece was one of their biggest supporters and probably Trey's #1 fan! She takes after her Grampy and cheered extra loud at both games, "Go Trey! Go Tigers!" Even Trey said he could hear her from the field!

One of the activities that we did was make sugar cookies! We had a grand time rolling out the dough, cutting out fun shapes and frosting our yummy cookies! Aleece was able to get in on a little more of the action this time around! She loved cutting out shapes and her decorated cookies definitely won the prize for most creative! She loved using all of the different colors of frosting, and sprinkles and more! Madelaine just enjoyed eating them this time!

We experimented with pumpkin on some new recipes, which all proved to be divine! But you know me, I love all things pumpkin! :) We made biscuits and pancakes and it has given me some ideas on what else to add pumpkin to!

On our last day in Marshall Granny, Grampy, Trey, Leecy, Lainey, Lennon and I got to make a scarecrow and we all had so much fun! The girls loved helping rake the leaves and stuff them into the different bags. The weather was beautiful and we got some great pictures!









Lennon learned to really laugh while we were gone and I absolutely adore hearing him giggle and coo!! He has the sweetest voice and he is so happy! Val was really excited to hear him do this when we got back! We missed Val tons and are glad to be back at home with him! We just wish we could have all of us in the same place, all of the time!