Fun with friends! Halloween has always been a time for our kids to dress up and have fun with their buddies. This year was no different, except for the fact that they decided to ALL dress up as pirates. (sweet Savannah being the exception...nothing "pirate" about this little girl!) The Novaks had us over to decorate the pirate "ship" (Steve's new truck) and everyone pillaged through their closets to find mis-matched pirate outfits for the kids. A fun evening with good friends!
Mom is visiting and treated us to an afternoon at the reindeer farm this weekend. The weather wasn't the best, but it didn't keep us from having fun! The kids got to go on a hayride, run through a hay maze, feed the reindeer, pick out a pumpkin and ride a pony. The kids have never been to a true pumpkin patch before so it was super fun to watch them carefully choose their prized pumpkin. This wasn't one really because they came from farms all over Palmer, but WAY closer to the real deal than our usual dig through the giant box at Fred Meyers. What fun!
The guide told us that Denali (the moose) loved to give kisses....Ella wasted no time in putting her cheek through the fence and sure enough! Denali gave KISSES! Claire and mom each got kisses too, but nothing like Ella. Denali kept coming right over to her for more! Hilarious.
Fall! We got apples in the mail from mom & dad this week, the tomatoes are ripening on the windowsill, strawflowers are cut, & the last of the lettuce was harvested. I just love this time of year:)
We spent the weekend on our boat and what a finale it was! The seas were calm, the critters were out and the fish....ON!
Nothing makes my man more happy than a weekend on the boat with his family:) Naps on the beach are a favorite of his!
Aly does great on the boat. We've never brought any of our other dogs boating, but leaving her hasn't seemed to be an option. 
Seals
I stayed on the boat to cook supper while Tom brought the kids close to shore to watch this black bear feed on salmon. There is something strange about watching your family go TOWARDS a bear!
I love that our kids have never brought a toy to shore. They are always so excited to explore the beaches, throw rocks, gather shells & play in the tidepools. They worked hard on this creation!
We discovered an old cabin on Crafton Island. What character it had!
And to top off a great weekend, Tom broke the boat halibut record. He & Claire reeled in this 65 inch halibut. That =141 pounds!
Wish there would have been room to lay Claire down by this fish. Definitely bigger than she is!
So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. -Ecclesiastes 3:22
Thomas learned how to ride his bike without training wheels last week. I was busy preparing for a Young Life BBQ at our house, when Claire hollered up the stairs, "Mom! I think Thomas is ready to ride his bike without help!" Classic busy mom, I hollered back down the stairs, "Super! Maybe we can try taking his training wheels off this week..." Moments later, Ella took it upon herself to find the tools needed to get them off right then. She helped him balance for about 3 minutes and he was off! Completely on his own. Gotta love the encouragement of big sisters around here. And when a guy is ready to ride, maybe that's all he needs....to ride:) Go Thomas!
Fish, frogs & friends...three of the main ingredients of summer wouldn't you say?
Only true friends would spend time together vacuum packing salmon heads to use for shrimp bait!
Fun at the lake! Such happy, happy memories I have of playing in the lake growing up...It was so fun to spend so much time at the lake while we were in MN. Thomas, Ella & Claire all went tubing for the first time, & Ella even got up on waterskiis. Swimming & skiing at sunset have got to be the best...
Sam at sunset.
My brother Paul's classic flip out of his trick skiis.
Gordy, my mom's brother.
Owen thought it pretty funny to hose down all the adults!
It was so great to be in MN this year over the fourth of July. My family has always "lake hopped" every fourth. First, we go to my aunt & uncle's lake cabin on Pickeral Lake. It was great to see many from my dad's side here and eat a fabulous lunch complete with mom's traditional creamed peas & new potatoes.
Pete & Kay, dad's sister.
