Fall, where are you?

I can not believe how fast October has come and will be gone. Where oh where did fall go? The rain has just about gotten to all of us and has really put a stop to many of our fall activities. We did manage to make it to the pumpkin patch, but AJ frequently declined to smile and was more interested pushing and pulling a wagon. We picked out two nice pumpkins,which he enjoys climbing on and rolling. When it not raining we have been able to go outside and play, but try explaining to a 20 month old (whose favorite thing is to go outside)that it is raining and we can NOT go outside. One might as well forget it, b/c all he heard was "outside". Both kiddos have been pretty healthy knock on wood, but each of them has a runny nose. Halloween should be interesting. Hopefully it won't rain. AJ is going to be a spider and Ava is going to be a lady bug. I hope Mr. AJ will wear his costume. I guess you all will have to wait for the next blog update to find out....... Have a Spooktacular week!!!!

Apple Picking

On September 27th we headed to Eckert's Apple Orchard in Belleville, IL. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon to go apple picking! Grammy, Papa, Nana, and cousin John all joined us for our fun adventure! AJ loved eating the apples!

Raines-Johnson Family Reunion

On September 20th, Kevin's mom hosted the Raines-Johnson Family Reunion at her home. We were able to visit with family and enjoy good german food. Although it rained everyone had a good time!

Wild Wild West

AJ is the proud new owner of his very own horse. Grandpa Schuette made AJ a rocking horse. Bob is very good at word working. It is very beautiful and AJ loves it! In addition to getting his new horse AJ has learned a new word "step"! On Thursday I was feeding Ava a bottle and I heard AJ saying "ep, ep, ep" (his version of step)I knew I had the gates closed and when I walked around the corner to check on him...he was climbing the outside of the steps. Needless to say mommy was very impressed, but completely scared. AJ was about half way up and then needed help down. Hmmm...what else will my little dear be climbing.

Kevin took the day off on Friday and we went to Lone Elk Park. We drove through the park and saw elk and bison and had lunch in a picnic area. The kids had a great time. Both AJ and Ava love the outdoors, just like their daddy. The Elk were so close to us and AJ was so attentive toward them. He made his horse noise everytime he saw an elk. We all enjoyed being so close to wildlife.

First time for Everything!

Hello everyone! Well there is a first time for everything and if you are reading this post then you have found the Shooty Blog! I decided to try creating a blog and it is my hope that I will be able to keep up with posting our family stuff to this rather than joining Facebook. Time is a HUGE factor. Can you believe that AJ is 19 months and baby girl Ava is just about 5 months. I just tear up thinking how fast time has gone by. I will make no promises on how fast I will update our family Blog. It is my hope to update it weekly, but every two weeks is a safer bet. Things are going well around our house. I am off work for the next 3 weeks and the kids and I will be together. We are very lucky because Kevin has 5 days of vacation left and we will be able to spend some of our time with him. We will keep you updated as this is a work in progress!