bad blogger

I've been a bad blogger. I should post more so that my loyal fans can keep up with our very important lives...but I just haven't had the time! ;)
Anyway, I have been driving Abby back and forth to school 3 days a week. She loves it so much that this past Monday, she just went off to play without saying goodbye to me. I guess that is a good thing because she feels so comfortable there now. We had our first parent teacher conference on Thursday. Everything went well and Abby is progressing nicely. We were concerned at the beginning of the year because it seemed that she wasn't playing with anyone else. We would ask her who she played with and she would say no one. Now she is talking more and more about her new friends by name. She is also learning to write her letters and it was fun to see her progression of that.
Last weekend, we were so happy to see the "canoe crew" from South Lyon. the canoe crew was a group of families from our church in South Lyon that would get together to canoe and camp each summer. what wonderful memories I have from those times!One of the families invited us all to their campsite for the day to enjoy the great company and do a little trick or treating. It had been too long since we had seen everyone and I hope that we can get together again before years go by again. It was so great to see all of our old friends and their new spouses and children. here are some pictures from that day...
the next generation...
Abby whacking the pinata
Ken, Cindy and Cherie
Claire...I used to babysit her. My how times have changed!

On Sunday, we decided to go apple picking. So we packed up after Audrey's nap and headed to The Country Mill in Potterville. we went on a hay ride to get to the apples and then got to picking. Abby had a great time taste testing the apples and then throwing them on the ground. We picked a lot so if you come over in the next couple of weeks, chances are we will have some kind of apple treat to eat! Plus, I need to make my annual apple pies to freeze for the rest of the year.
Us on the hayride
Abby apple picking
sweet Abby
Audrey and an Audrey size apple!
Cute Audrey

In Audrey news...she has started to eat puffs and had her first experience with cheerios the other night. She is quite the eater. She pretty much will eat whatever we give her. that healthy appetite sure does show with her cute rolls! She hasn't started crawling yet, which is ok with me. Right now, she stays wherever I put her. (unless she lays down and rolls somewhere). She will start crawling in her own time. And until then, I have my work cut out for me in the baby proofing department. Abby never got into anything that was off limits but I don't think Audrey will be the same. She is already turning into a busy body so I'm sure she will give me a run for my money when she starts moving! here are a couple of pictures of the cutie!
Happy girl!
Audrey's first hair bow...so cute!!!

Halloween Camping and Disney on Ice

We have had a busy but very fun weekend. We were in Fenton at Seven Lakes State Park Halloween Camping. It was a very nice campground...small and quiet. We went with the Perrys and Wrights. Got there Friday and set up camp right before it got dark out. The rest of the evening was spent checking out the campground (we hadn't been there before) and sitting by the campfire. The next morning, I made breakfast and then Abby and I went to Disney on Ice at the palace with Alasen, Julie and Nana. The girls had a great time. I think their favorite part were the princesses and Abby loved seeing Buddy (Its actually Woody from Toy Story but Abby re-named him). It was lots of fun and I will post a couple of pics of the girls watching the show at the bottom. On the way back to the campground, I called Jon to see how the canoe race went that him, Mike and Paul entered. Apparently at some point during the race, the boat tipped and Jon fell in the water. So I had to make a detour to Target to get him some shoes as he only had the one pair that was soaking wet. We get back to the campground and Jon is in bed with a couple of sleeping bags on him and his hat on! Don't worry, he didn't get sick. I think he was taking advantage of the quiet time with Audrey at my parents and Abby and I away from the campsite. (I would have too! taking a nap...whats that?) Anyway, we got back just in time for the costume parade and trick-or-treating. Even though the campground was small, Abby ended up with a full bucket of candy. Just what we need! After trick or treating, we feasted on fried food. Becky and Paul brought a deep fryer so we did pot stickers, egg rolls, corn dogs, chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, onion rings and deep fried snickers bars. Do you hear our arteries clogging yet! Then, we had the best cake I've ever tasted. Stephanie made a pineapple upside down cake in a dutch oven. It was delicious! We also found out that all the decorating that Paul, Becky, Steph and Mike did finally paid off and they won first place for the decoration contest. I didn't include Jon and I because we don't have any Halloween decorations for that sort of thing. They did a great job making a haunted tunnel...complete with an electric chair that vibrates and lights up when you flip the switch.
Today, we packed up and drove to my parents to pick up Audrey and drop off the camper and Van. This was Audrey's first time sleeping away from us. All in all, she did pretty good. Friday night she didn't sleep as much as usual and cried more than usual so that wasn't good. but Saturday night she did great and smiled at everyone at my parents church this morning. We were so excited to see her today! We got to the church just in time to eat lunch and then go thru the corn maze that they do every year behind the church. Abby was our guide and we made it thru the maze without cheating. We also went for a hay ride. Abby had fun throwing straw on Papa. After that, we switched all of our stuff over to our van and headed for home for much needed showers/baths and some down time. Looking forward to cleaning out the garage this week so we can get both the cars in before winter comes! (not that we didnt love having the camper to use throughout the summer. Arent my parents great!?!)
Well, that's enough babbling. Here are some pictures!

Halloween Camping
Disney on Ice