Apple Orchard

We went to Aamodt's Apple Farm at the beginning of October, and it was a great day.  The weather was perfect and there were plenty of things for the kids to do and see.

 Leyton and Cal went on this "train ride" and thought it was pretty neat.

 We took a hayride that the kids really liked, Fiona just didn't want to show it!

 Cal and Fiona loved the goats.

 Cal especially... I could not get him away from them when it was time to go.

 The John Deere trikes were a hit with the boys, for obvious reasons :)

Hockey

About a month ago Leyton started hockey.  He did a 4 week trial to see if he was interested in signing up for the full winter season, and he really liked it.  So on the 16th we'll be starting hockey twice a week.  It should be interesting considering Cal cried all 4 weeks that he wanted to do it too:(.  He just misses the age cut-off for 4 year-olds by a couple weeks, but he'll be ready next year!

Nicaragua Trip

At the end of September I went to Nicaragua for work.  I was gone from Saturday to Saturday and I was very nervous about leaving the kids.  Of course they were fine, and Eric did a good job of getting everyone to and from daycare, and even got to deal with Fiona getting sick at daycare and staying home with her. :)

My days in Nicaragua were jam-packed with visiting factories, but we did take some time a couple days to see the country.  It was a great experience!

At the airport saying goodbye.  Leyton definitely had the hardest time with me leaving.  Eric informed me that after they drove away Cal started bawling and asking if I was ever coming back.  I guess the way Leyton was crying sacred him into thinking they were never going to see me again! 

 We got to go to an active volcano, which was very cool.  They had signs up saying  you could only stay by it for 5 minutes, because of the air being hard to breathe.  My eyes were watering and burning by the time we left!

 This was a lake we ate lunch at one day in-between factory visits.  It was beautiful, but we were told that you cant go in it becuase it is so polluted :(

 This "tree of life" was all over the city.  We would see so many lit up at night driving home from the factories.

 We climbed up into the bell tower of this cathedral that overlooked the city.  We were so high up, but it was worth it for the view!

 Trying my hand sewing a cami at one of the factories... It turned out pretty good, but took me about 100 times longer than the other workers!

 They were kind and still presented me with a certificate :)

After our factory visit on the last day we went to a cigar factory.  This is me with their resident
parrot:

My friend Melissa and I.  She was one of the first people I met at work, and we happen to have a mutual friend.  She worked with Marie in Colorado, and I worked with her at Lands End.  We thought it was perfect when our Coke came and said "Share with Maria" on it. :)

 And I was obviously very excited about this!

 Back at home the kids and Eric stayed busy.  Kelly took Leyton to the Washburn games with Grace and Lucy, where he got to participate in a lot of different sports.  He told me the football punt/pass/kick was his favorite thing.

September

September was fun and busy, like usual.  We tried to get outside as much as possible though and enjoy the last days of summer.  The kids love going to Willow River, and the drive isn't too far from our house, so we try to go there when there is time.

 The kids get really excited if I say we can go to the park when I pick them up from daycare.  Nights when I bring supper really make them happy!

 On September 7th we celebrated Grandma Krumm's 80th birthday at Sue and Don's place on Lake Wapo.  It was great to celebrate Grandma, and we even attempted Krumm family photos.  It is a very large family when you get every person together!

 The kids love going for a pontoon ride at Springer's, and might just love their hammock even more :)

 Leyton lost his first tooth!  It had been really loose for weeks, and the morning of the party he was finally ready to get rid of it.  He picked Aunt Kelly to rip it out for him. :)

 Fiona loves these cars!

 At the end of September I had to go to Nicaragua for work.  I took the Friday before I left off and got to have lunch with Leyton.  It was fun to see him at school and I think he was happy to have me there!

Fiona loves going for rides and trying to do everything the boys are doing now.  Luckily, Cal doesn't mind giving her rides, and even asks me to put her on his tractor a lot.  For how rough of a toddler he was, he is a good big brother to her!

 The Nature Trail is right by our house, and we have to drive past it every night to get home from daycare.  Cal literally asks every single night if we can go to the nature trail.  Usually its 6:00 and we have to get home and start supper before Fiona has an all out melt down, but when we do go there the kids like to run on the trails and look for sticks, caterpillars, etc.

Leyton's 6 year check-up

In July, Leyton had his 6 year check-up.  Everything looked good and the Doctor told him he was ready to go for kindergarten, which he was very excited about!

Leyton's 6 year stats:

Height: 46.75" (70%)

Weight: 47lbs (55%)

The Doctor had him do some stretches and tests, like jumping on one foot.

Afterwards, I treated Leyton to Orange Leaf, which is one of his favorite places.  It was nice to have one on one time with him for the afternoon.