Pumpkin Patch

We drove down to Gilbert this morning to Mother Nature's Farm so Brea could pick out a pumpkin. They have a pumpkin patch, a gift shop, hay maze, hayrides and an animal farm. Brea loved it and went about 100 mph the whole time we were there. Her favorite part was picking out her own little pumpkin although she enjoyed throwing them more. Mom, Dad and Grandpa had a pretty fun time too!

Pumpkin Patch

Leech Lake

We flew to Minneapolis on Saturday September 25th for our annual Diede get together at Leech Lake. In a repeat of last years flight we were delayed once on board so our 2 1/2 hour flight turned into 4 hours. Brea did well but Travis and I constantly kept her occupied with books, toys, DVD's and snacks. She slept the final hour of the flight and woke up right before we touched down. Her ears bothered her a little on takeoff and landing but not enough for her to cry which was a relief. Our doctor recommended taking benadryl just in case but thankfully we didn't need to use it.

Once we landed in Minneapolis we rented a car and drove another 2 1/2 hours north to Leech Lake. We were the last ones to arrive at the cabin and were relieved to be done traveling for the day. Grandma and Grandpa bought pizza from Village Square in Walker for dinner so we could all relax and not cook our first night!

The week went fast as usual and we had beautiful weather again. Fishing was so-so but I think everyone enjoyed just being out on the lake. Brea, who has been locked in the house all summer LOVED begin outside. Grandma took her out the most so whenever Brea saw her she always said bye bye and ran to the door. She had a blast playing in the sand, the leaves and at the playground with cousin Mason.

More Vacation Pics

Playing in the Leaves with Cousin Mason!

Itasca State Park

While on vacation we drove to Itasca State Park to see the headwaters of the Mississippi River. I think the last time I was there was when I was 14 or 15 and a lot has changed including the addition of a nice visitors center/restaurant/gift shop. We walked back to where the river begins and let the kids run around and put their hands in the water. It was too chilly for us to let them wade in the water like we used to do in the summer.

End of our Trip

On Friday Travis, Brea and I headed to Maplewood where we spent the rest of the day and part of Saturday with Travis' brother and family. We had seen Todd and Nate a couple months ago but it had been almost a year since we had seen Lisa and Tanner. Brea had lots of fun playing outside and with all of Nate and Tanner's old toys. On Saturday morning Travis attended Nate's football game. I wish Brea and I could have gone but I didn't want her to miss out on her morning nap since she wouldn't get an afternoon one due to our flight. Our flight took off on time and Brea fell asleep on me as soon as we took off. She slept for about an hour and a half which was nice because we only had to entertain her for an hour. Lucky for us our plane was 20 minutes early getting into Phoenix because we landed right ahead of a dust storm. If we were in on time I'm sure we would have been delayed flying around Phoenix until it cleared. Goodbye clean MN air - hello dirty smoggy Phoenix air.