Fall Fun!

The past few days have been absolutely beautiful! Since Caleb doesn't have school on Fridays, we went to the Spieker Pumpkin Farm with Michelle Brouilette and her two kids. They all had a blast running through the field and jumping off of the pumpkins (shh... don't tell the farmer!) I figured they were light enough that they wouldn't do any real damage. After we picked out our pumpkins and paid for them, we were off to the Waubeka Park to eat a picnic lunch. We had so much fun :-)

The kids playing near the corn field

The pumpkin field

Just hanging out

 Caleb and Sonya

Playing with the pumpkins

Sonya is more fascinated with the dirt... or her toes

Sticking out her tongue

My absolute favorite little pumpkin

Jumping off the pumpkins and laughing

Taking a rest

The "pumpkin" tree

Caleb and the pumpkin that he chose

Beautiful fall colors at Waubeka Park

Another pretty tree

Dream House....

Tim and I have talked about buying a house for a while now. With Sonya being born in mid-February and our lease needing to be decided by the end of March, we opted for another year lease so we could take our time in choosing the perfect house. Granted, we've only been looking at newspaper and online ads and haven't even begun to figure out loan stuff. Hopefully, once all the new tax programs are available, we'll be able to see where we're at and really start the process of talking with a loan officer and see what our options are. We've heard that a lot more houses will be foreclosed on in January, so maybe we'll get a good deal!

What do I want in my dream house? 

I want a beautiful library with a vaulted ceiling and skylights.... shelves of books all the way up to the ceiling! There would be a nice and cozy window seat overlooking a small lake where I could read and sip hot chocolate on a cold and dreary day. A baby grand piano would be sitting in the corner. Then I'd have a huge closet filled with all sorts of art supplies imaginable: paint, brushes, canvas, and an easel. (Maybe I'd even get a potter's wheel... ).

My kitchen would be mostly white with cranberry red accents. We already have a few appliances and a kitchen mat in the red color. I'd like lots of counter space and cupboards along with a display case filled with beautiful china and crystal (which I also don't have). There would be double ovens and a good sized refrigerator that has the freezer and fridge side by side. I can picture having a little island with some bar stools. The dining room would be off to the side a little.

The master bedroom would have a fireplace and a walk-in closet. Our color scheme would be chocolate brown, beige, and cadet blue (kind of a light blue with greenish tint to it). There would be a love seat and a rocking chair and maybe a desk in addition to our nightstands and dressers. We'd also have our own full bathroom with a whirlpool.

The main bathroom would be primarily white. I think the white, two shades of blue, and sea foam green color combination would still work. We already have a striped shower curtain, towels, and one rug.

Our living room would be all cozy with a fireplace. I'd love one of those flat screen TV's that look like a painting to hang right above the mantel. I have no idea what colors we'd go with because the furniture that we have now would pretty much be non-existent by that point. That makes it harder to have a vision.

We'd have a walk-out basement to the back yard. It'd be fun to have a game room with a pool table, maybe ping-pong, or even air hockey down there with all of our board games. I don't know yet if I'd want an office downstairs or upstairs... I guess it'd depend on how the house format was set up.

Well, I guess I'll keep on dreaming for now. It'll be fun to look back on this post some day especially when we finally get more serious about house shopping. I may not get everything that I want, but it never hurts to dream.

Fun on the Farm at Curtis Orchard

(Last Sunday) -- Our last stop before heading back home to WI, was Curtis Orchard (http://www.curtisorchard.com/). It was too bad we were all so worn out and we had long drives to get back home because I think we would've enjoyed it more. Caleb fed some goats and we visited the Cafe, Bakery, and Country Store. They had a lot of goodies there - homemade preserves, honey, and of course their famous apple donuts to name a few. Mmm... makes my mouth water just to think of them. There were also lots signs and murals depicting scenes from the Wizard of Oz! Of course we took a few pictures while we were there.....

How tall is our little apple?

Slide in the barn

Yes... I'm related to those people

Caleb loves anything with a steering wheel

My little honey bee

Feeding a goat....

.... and his friends

Uncle Rob was showing off

One little monkey swinging on a bar

One very BIG chair

Aunt Sam and Uncle Rob

Caleb and his Aunt Kelly

Watch out for the crazy bus driver!

The Nikolai Clan (minus Peter)

Weekend with the Nikolai's

Last Friday, we went down to Champaign, IL to spend some time with Tim's side of the family. Rob and his wife, Sam, welcomed us into their cute, little apartment where they fed us and let us sleep in their spare bedroom. (Side note: Sam is an AMAZING cook! Considering she has to avoid gluten and lactose, I was surprised that she came up with such delicious meals for all of us. Way to go, Sam!) 

Tim's parents and sister also came up from Troy, IL (pretty much by St. Louis) on Saturday. We enjoyed catching up and just having quality family time. The kids were hilarious. Caleb loved writing letters and spelling names on the white board and Sonya playing with various relatives.

Goofy Caleb

Sonya loves her Uncle Rob

Caleb in his cool pirate hat that he got from Sam and Rob

Love those BIG, beautiful,blue eyes

Silly faces with Aunt Sam

A tired Caleb (Aunt Sam didn't seem to mind too much)

Dancing with Uncle Rob

So blessed to have such a happy baby!

Playing with Aunt Kelly

Caleb LOVES Papa's car!

"Papa, what are you feeding me?"

Grandma and Grandpa Nikolai with the grandkids

On cloud nine

 Swinging

Escalators are pretty cool... "Hi, mom!"

Say "cheese!"

Uncle Rob and Aunt Sam absolutely loving their niece

*Watch for more pics to come from our trip to Curtis Orchard......

Visiting Kankakee River State Park

Looking for something fun and free to do? The Kankakee River State Park in Illinois was just the break we needed while on our way to visit the Nikolai's in Champaign, IL. We packed some fruit and bought subs when we got closer to the park. Then we had a nice little picnic. They actually had little pavilions for the picnic tables which kept us from roasting in the bright, hot sun. There were also some nice hiking trails so we decided to go for a bit of a walk and take some pictures along the way. 

Carrying Sonya in my Baby K'tan

 Caleb on the bridge

View from the bridge

Kankakee River (view from the lookout point)

Sonya is checking out the orange little butterfly fluttering in the flowers

Tim and the kids

Michelle and the kids

Family photo with the tripod

Tim was trying to go for a silly picture and I was trying to get Caleb to look at the camera again. A failed attempt as you can see.

Tim, Caleb, and Sonya (a sweet sight to see)

One of my favorite family pics