Pumpkin Patch

Now you know it's Autumn when you hit the pumpkin patches.

Saturday, since everyone else was deer hunting all weekend, Olivia and I spent the morning at Waldvogel's farm. It was our first time going there for all the activities and we both had a really good time.

They had goats to pet and feed, a miniature golf course, a big underground slide, bike race tracks for big "kids" and little kids, a duck race, pumpkin launch and all kinds of other little Halloween decorations and games.



They also had a haunted mine and granary but Olivia was afraid of those and said when she "gets bigger she will be bwaver" and will try those then. She said she was "weewe bwave" to go down the big underground slide.

She was a little intimidated by the huge corn maze they have and didn't want to do that because she told me "people get lost in there".

But they did have a train ride and she always loves the train rides. This one was really nice and pretty long. They went around the corn field, through a tunnel and all along the way had scary costumes and scenes set up. She was also very "bwave" going past all those scary things.




She had a great time racing the little plastic ducks once she got the hang of pumping the water. She was excited to be able to keep the ducks and put them in her bath at home.

We wrapped up our experience with a hayride out to the huge pumpkin field. She found a nice little pumpkin, I grabbed a medium one and we finally headed out early in the afternoon. We had lunch at McDonald's and I had all I could do to keep her awake on the way home before she got to her own bed to take a big nap.

We had a lot of fun and it was a good way to burn off her energy.

Where Did Summer Go?

These first two pictures were taken just three weeks ago, when it was beginning to feel like there was a little Autumn in the air (can you find Olivia on the bench?). My flowers all looked pretty good yet so I snapped a bunch of pictures so in a couple of months I can look back and remember how nice it was outside.
It sure was a fast summer and even though I was getting a little tired of watering plants everyday I am not looking forward to the snow flying.

This third picture was just taken a couple days ago and this is about all that is left of my flowers.

The hanging baskets are still alive and good enough to put out during the day also. We are hanging on to summer as long as possible.

The garden was a huge success this year but I now have it all cleaned out and ready to be tilled up for next year.

There is still a lot of clean-up work to do outside before winter really hits and I guess I can look forward to catching up on scrapbooking once all the work (besides snow blowing) outside is cleaned up and done. There has to be a bright side somewhere!

Farewell Toby!

Today was a gloomy, depressing day and not only because it was damp, windy and raining all day. Today we had to say goodbye to another friend and part of our family.


Grandma and Grandpa's cat Toby came to them many years ago as a stray, looked over the place and decided that was going to be his home and he never left.

He was such a cool cat, friendly to everyone and always looking for attention from anyone and everyone who stopped in to visit.
He was a real character and became a part of our family. Whenever any of us stopped in at Grandma and Grandpa's it was just part of the routine to ask "so where is Toby?". You could either find him him relaxing in the sun room or sleeping under the covers in "his bed" in "his room" (the spare bedroom). If he happened to be outside and you left your windows open, most likely he would end up searching through your vehicle. When we had big family get-togethers he always came out to greet everyone, strutting out as if to say, "here I am, now the party can begin". This picture was taken in August at G & G's 50th anniversary party. That day was the first sign he gave that something was not right . He didn't seem to be himself and from there he slowly got sicker and sicker. Not wanting to eat, losing weight, etc.. After vet visits, bills, pills and a lot of work he kept going even though most of us can't believe he lasted as long as he did. He was a tough old guy but eventually it got too bad and he is finally at peace with no pain or illness. We never got an answer as to what exactly was going on or what exactly was wrong but it finally took over and got the best of him.
We will all miss him but there was such a special, strong bond between him and Grandma that I think it will take some time to get over this one. He was a very special cat and although we are all glad he has no more pain there will be an empty void for a while at the Manning house.

GOODBYE TOBY! WE WILL MISS YOU!

Labor Day Weekend Party

We ended the summer with a Sunday Labor Day party with the Pitz clan. Almost everyone on Steve's side was able to make it to our home for an end-of summer-cookout. We grilled about 10 pounds of beef tenderloin that turned out really good. Everyone brought a dish to pass and we were all in the mood for wine and beer and an afternoon of socializing. We had great weather and a really nice, relaxing time.

After dinner a group of us went for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful evening. After cleaning up some we all ended up on the back deck enjoying a fire in the chiminea, gabbing and making smores. Steve's nephew Josh played his guitar and it was just a really nice get-together.

Olivia was able to get her afternoon nap in before anyone arrived so she was ready to go for the rest of the day. She chose TJ, one of her cousins, to latch on to this time and wanted to hang around him and his sister Anna all day. They are very nice kids and put up with her all afternoon.

She even spent some time at night cuddling with with Grandma Pitz. The last of the crew left at about 11:00 pm and although we were tired, we really had a fun time getting everyone together again.

Still More FIRSTS....

At three years old it is time to start getting used to seeing the dentist......

Today was Olivia's very first time going to the dentist for her own check-up. She has been there many times before when I'd take Kyle and Jenny but we always stayed in the waiting room. Just the last time they were there I took her back to watch what they did so she would get used to the idea of doing it too. I wasn't sure how she would be in there but I had been preparing her a day or two in advance. We talked about not being shy, answering their questions and doing what the dentist told like opening your mouth real big.

She also asked me if she would get a new toothbrush and that seemed to be the most important task at hand.

When the time finally came she did really well. She said hi to everyone there and when it was her turn she walked back with me and jumped right into the chair. She was real interested in the paper napkin clipped around her neck.



She asked me a lot of questions while we were waiting for the dentist but got quiet once he came over. He was very nice with her and she could not have behaved better. She laid back with the chair, opened her mouth while he made sure all of her teeth had come in and he was even able to clean and floss them.

Of course she didn't like the light shining in her eyes and told me later that her toothpaste at home tastes a lot better than his but all in all she was a very good girl.

The dentist said her teeth look very good and he commented that when they behave this well for the very first check up you probably don't have much to worry about when it comes to future appointments. I was very proud of her.

She was so excited about the new toothbrush. Even though she has two battery powered "Dora" toothbrushes at home now she only wants to use this new, small green brush he gave her. If only the excitement over a new toothbrush from the dentist would last into adulthood......

Happy 50th Anniversary Grandma & Grandpa!!

Saturday, August 22nd was Grandma and Grandpa's Golden Wedding Anniversary. We all were together to celebrate on Sunday. They treated us all to brunch in Iron Ridge and then went out to their farm afterward. The brunch at the Iron Ridge Inn was really good and everyone enjoyed it. Olivia even ate really well until it was finally time for her to run between tables and flirt with everyone again.
We had a picture frame personalized with all the grandchildren's (12) names around the outside and since we had everyone together at the same time, we went outside to take pictures and we will blow up one with all the grandchildren to be put in the frame.


As usual many of the grandchildren have other things to do and places to go so not everyone was able to come out to the farm but we still had a great afternoon visiting and eating again. Olivia missed her nap but kept going all day. She was really tired at night though and was ready for bed.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for brunch, getting us all together and having a great day! We hope you enjoyed your 50th as much as we did.

Congratulations!!

Milwaukee Zoo Experience

The last time I entered a post was in July, now it already the middle of August. Part of the reason was because my computer caught a virus and was out of commission for about 2 weeks. But, we are back up and running now and our latest new adventure for Olivia was the Milwaukee County Zoo. We went last Friday and she had a great time. The weather was stormy and we had to wait out a rain storm right after lunch but that made the crowds at the Zoo very thin which was nice.

Unfortunately they shut down the train ride before we had a chance to get on it which was disappointing but Olivia did get to ride on a camel and also got in another pony ride.
She liked that a lot and loved seeing all the animals we read about in her books. The monkeys were especially funny and with the glass enclosures you can really get an up-close look at them.

These pony rides were nice because they put a belt around her so I didn't have to walk along with her. This was her first time riding a horse "ALL BY MYYYYY-SELF!"

It takes so long for summer to get here but now I am counting down like everyone else.......three weeks from today is the first day of school!! Yea!!

Olivia will be home with me for another year before she starts any school. Right now the playgroups are enough and a year from now when she is 4 we will be getting her ready for preschool and soccer practices. Time sure flies with a little one around. Stay tuned.....