Nanny and Pappy came to visit!

 Just before Halloween Nanny and Pappy came to visit.  We all had a great time! With their help Brett and I were able to replace our broken shower and finally finish painting the interior of the house.  There is no longer any builders white in the living areas.

 These home improvement projects were bookends to a wonderful weekend.  Conner took Nanny and Pappy each to the Lake Mary to show them the dock and the fishes.  Each trip took about 2 hours!  In addition to show off "his lake" we all got to go to the pumpkin patch.
When you ask Conner what is the best part about the pumpkin patch, he will tell you..."everything!"  This year we were old enough to try to hay maze with Nanny.  We did run out ahead but were good at coming back and not going too far so that Nanny got lost.  Everyone needed pumpkins this year.  So we had quite a few to load on the the hay wagon.

We always have such fun with Nanny and Pappy.  We can't wait for Christmas when we get to go to Minnesota and play at Nanny and Pappy's house.

Halloween has come and gone

Halloween has come and gone again.  This year Conner wanted to be Bob the Builder.  After hunting every Target in Lawrence and Topeka I finally found a part of overall that work!  Believe it or not, the hard hat was the easiest part of the costume to find!

can we fix it? YES WE CAN!

Once again we joined our playgroup friends for a fun night of trick-or-treating.  We all meet at the Japanese peace garden on Mass St. and attempted to get all the little ones to sit for a photograph...did you know that trying to get 10 excited kiddos to sit still for a photograph is like herding cats?

After we got home, Conner and mom went around the neighborhood for a little more trick-or-treating while dad got dinner finished and handed out the candy.  

Here is Conner with the pumpkins and the spider web that we used to decorate the front porch

look mom - i took off their hats!

Conner and dad's creation on the left and mom's attempt to make big bird on the right

The hardest part for a little one to understand about Halloween is that all the trick-or-treating only last one night.  For a few days after school Conner kept asking if we could got trick-or-treating and hand out candy again.

Oh, what a full summer we had

I finally loaded our summer photographs to the computer and was remember what fun we had this summer.  Conner and I spent a weekend afternoon at South Park listening to the fiddle competition.  The little man had a great time and even did a little dancing.  Everyone at the park loved his hat - a Easter gift from nana and pappy.

There as a great Lego exhibition in Topeka this summer - so Conner and I decided to hope in the car and have a "Conner and Mommy Day" in T-town.  Conner really liked the Lego art but had a hard time with not touching...He kept trying to figure out how many pieces were in each one. At the end of the art exhibition we went to the Art Lab and make our own Lego Art.

but how many legos are in it mom?

"the broken red bridge that will never unlock" by Conner

The highlight was not really the legos but the huge art installation by Patrick Dougherty.  Who would not love running in and out of a structure made from sticks!!!

you can't find me!

This year we decided to try the Renaissance Festival for the first time.  Mom was up for some medieval fun, dad was craving a turkey leg and Conner didn't know what to expect.  

We start the day with a joust.  Conner was mystified by the huge horses and the Knights.  

It took him a little while to get used to all the people dressed up in costumes and talking funny. (Mommy why that man wearing tights?  Why that lady sound funny...)  After a few explanation we think he got it, if not at least he started to relax and have fun. After the Joust we found the petting zoo and Conner and dad had a great time feeding all the animals.

Next up was meeting some knights and trying on a helmet.  Conner was really good at sharing the helmet with a little girl right behind him.

And what Ren Fest would not be complete without an elephant ride and a huge turkey leg...?

We had a long and fun filled day.  But before we could go home Conner had to visit the animals once more and attempt to hug each one and tell them he loved them.