We are up north visiting my dad & mom this week =) It was a spur of the moment trip, as my hubby went on a hunting trip out west with his brother and father. So, we jumped at the chance to get a way for a while and the kids are so excited to be at Grampa Rowe's and Gramma Ruth's =) Emily & Meri checking out some of the toys
Jaker being silly with the punching bag =)

Back home before we left, Katie spent some time at our house while her dad & mom were in TN. They wanted a picture by Buddy, who is FAST becoming Meri's favorite pet! She loves cuddling with him, grabbing onto his collar and leading/pulling him around the house as fast as she can.

I didn't manage to get a picture of all the kids at the party. We combined Joe's and Jacob's party last Sat. eve. and had two special guests that were able to join us =) Here are the birthday boys with their cakes. I got a kick out of Jake, he didn't want any frosting on his cake, just like his daddy =) So we had frost your own cakes for pretty much everyone else there that likes frosting!

I will have more pictures that probably will not get added until we get back, sometime the end of this week....we've been having a lot of fun, yesterday was BEAUTIFUL here, we were outside walking, raking leaves, jumping in leaves, burning leaves, riding bikes, playing basketball....and just enjoying our time here!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy 28th Birthday today!!!

We love you so much

XOXO,

your family

Jaker!!

Today Jake turns 7!!!

Wow, has time flown!

Lately Jake has been so into drawing. He's very creative and I think he's a budding artist! He for sure doesn't get that from me=) He's been drawing pictures of dinosaurs, airplanes, trees, castles, dogs, sharks, on and on, pretty much anything he wants and they are good!

He is very excited about the new baby and is hoping (of course) it will be a boy! I think he will be the helpful, protective big brother.

He's really loving learning to read, and doing a great job, we're very proud of him!

He loves working with his Dad on the house, building, fixing things, figuring out how to make things work, it's so neat to watch him grow and learn.

We love you Jake,

Have a wonderful, happy 7th Birthday!

Daddy, Mommy,

Emily & Meri

Surprise! We have a dog!!!!! This is Buddy, Jake's long wished for pet. He's a sweetie, very friendly and listens quite well. He's about 4 years old and came to us courtesy of Charles & Tanya...needless to say, Jake is thrilled =)
I love watching the kids talk on the phone.

Talking to Gramma Ruth one morning.

Meri now realizes what Mom is doing when she's on the phone and was concentrating so hard on her conversation with Gramma Ruth =)

*Meri finally understands a slip goes UNDER your skirt...however, we need to work on the length issue now ;-)

a little bit of this...

A familiar sight here on the cold mornings we've had recently... (although, usually it's just the kids snuggled under a blanket...since Joe leaves for work quite early)

• We're in the process of moving our wood stove into the new "condition" that is almost done. So, for now that means chilly mornings...and days as wood is our main source of heat. I've been doing a bit more baking to warm up the house which I guess is ok =)
• I was going to post a picture of the kids in the snow from last week. But today has been completely the OPPOSITE and beautiful, (to which I am so glad) so we'll save that for another snowy day.
• We went for a nice walk in the woods today, and it was great to be out without coats and just enjoying a lovely, sunny fall day. A lot of the leaves are down already, there are still a few colorful trees around, though. There's nothing like the crunch of leaves and that refreshing fall smell!!
• Joe and I enjoyed a nice evening out last Friday for our anniversary! We were going to go to Eau Claire, but he ended up getting home a little late and we settled for a local restaurant...I was just glad to spend some time together with just him =)
• Saturday was spent working on the house and helping cut up some beef. We're having ribs tonight, it should be delicious.