Jacob's actual birthday

Did the Dittmer tradition of the string treasure hunt.

Jacob LOVES all the Garfield books he got.

Ammon is in school!

My boy is in Kindergarten!  It started a few weeks ago, and am just getting around to posting the pictures.  He loves it.  He did have one morning with a meltdown, but has been great ever since.  He comes home full of happiness and is sweet and snuggly.

Fall is here

The boys were able to do some apple picking to earn money for scouting this year again.  Actually, this is Isaac's first year.  I showed up to take the boys home a little early and was able to watch my boys in action.  They were on top of it!  I was proud to see them doing what they were supposed to be doing.

And this is how apples are supposed to taste.  They were picking Haralson.  

Oh so yummy.  Tart.  Crispy.  Perfection.

Positively Wicked!

Wicked!  Justin and I (and some friends) saw this the other night.  What an experience!It was so exciting to get out and do something more than the regular dinner/movie date.  I don't want this entry to be a review of the musical, but we had a super fantastic time.  We tried to win lottery tickets (long story/explanation) but didn't, but our tickets were only $50 each.  Woot!

Who's that pasty white guy in the sun haha!

Twins Game!

Allison won tickets to a Twins game.  She is one lucky little grill. The library had a drawing and only one winner, and it was Allison!  Not the best seats in the house, but they got a great view of the city.

She went down the stairs and bought cotton candy by herself.  This is how badly she wanted some.

First day of school!

That title needs more exclamation points.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still not sure that's enough.

 Allison's teacher is Ms. Byl and will be for 5th grade as well.

Middle school for this kiddo.

Jacob is now a Freshman at Spring Lake Park High School and attends early morning Seminary with the Blaine ward (at the YMCA).

Oh the drama!

Jacob found a bug that he was interested in.

(Ammon starts on Thursday.)

Out With the Old...

In with the newer.

We decided it was time to buy a new lawnmower.  Our previous one was given to us by the homeowners.  We figured it was about 15 years old and was struggling.  Still worked, but weren't sure for how much longer, so we sold it at our yard sale.  

Then the fun began.

  Justin and I visited many stores and spend many hours trying to figure out which mower to buy within our budget.  

Finally after exactly one week, we were sitting in the Lowe's parking lot (for the third time that week) and Justin says, "now that we know what we're looking for, maybe we can look on Craigslist for a used one."  Then modern technology came in to play as we used his Blackberry and looked up used mowers.  Glory be!  We found one that sounded perfect, but the problem was there was no contact number, so we had to email.  We sat in the car for about five minutes and yet another Glory be! a return call!  That was quick!  We drove up to East Bethal? about 10 minutes north and saw a great mower.  The guy had only used it about five times and decided he was going to hire out.  Win for us!  We got a much nicer mower than we would have if we bought brand new.  Justin has taken the bags off until leaves start to fall (he's excited about that part).

*And a special Thanks! to Uncle La Mon for driving it home for us.

Not for the squeamish

MN fair take, ?? 

How many times have I gone to the fair? Maybe five.  I have decided it is soooo much more pleasant to go with a girlfriend; haven't gone with only Justin yet, but I'm sure that would trump the girly time out.

My friend Lyea caved in and said she'd come with me and help me use up our free tickets from the library.  Woot!  

I woke up way too early for my liking: 7:45!  I must add that I'd been awake for a couple hours due to a monster thunder/lightening storm in the wee hours of the morning.

Lyea was a star and quickly sold my other two remaining tickets for a total of $20 to spend on food.  No guilt this year!  I didn't take random pictures of people this year, sorry to disappoint har har.

Our first stop was to the Miracle of Birth building.  We were fortunate/unfortunate to be there during the birth of some piglets.  It's way grosser to look at the pictures, but here ya go.  Pukers.

Browsed some shops, admired flower arrangements and huge pumpkins, strolled through crafty stuff, and oohed and ahhed at art works.  

Not to mention, deep fried cheese curds (almost like chewing salty gum lol), oh so yummy french fries, fresh squeezed lemonade, and mini donuts.  I left completely over satisfied in the tummy department.  

Also need to add that it was delightfully overcast with a slight breeze and a minimal amount of people.  Plus excellent company.  It's great to have girl time and chat about girly things.  

Who wouldn't want one of these gems?  A pink ribbon!  For shame!