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We started the month with a big birthday bash.  My baby is two already!  We planned a party with family coming and celebrating in the backyard.  The weather had other plans though.  As everything was being set up, the clouds rolled in.  So instead of plenty of space in our large backyard, everyone was squished in the garage.  It’s a good thing it was family and we like each other.  Thank you everyone for all of your help and for a wonderful afternoon.  Peter had a great time and that was the ultimate goal.

Of course we spent plenty of time at the cabin.  Paul and Donna were in Alaska for a couple of weekends.  Peter was so confused why Donna and Pop Pop weren’t there.  We told him they were in Alaska.  He heard Eliska, one of the girls that went to his daycare, and assumed they were playing at daycare instead of with him at the cabin.

We celebrated Marv and Joann’s 60th wedding anniversary!  That is awesome to have made it together for that long.  It was a nice afternoon with family.  The cool part was seeing pictures of their wedding and the family growing up.  Peter made friends right away, as usual.  Kari got a couple awesome shots of him in the grass.

One of Peter’s birthday gifts was a big boy Cars bed.  Peter was super helpful when putting it together.  He didn’t really get what it was but loved using the screw driver and looking at the pictures.  It wasn’t until it got moved into his room that he figured out what it’s for.  He had to have me reach his pillow and nuk and then pretended to sleep, snoring and all, on his new big boy bed.  Of course it still doesn’t have a mattress as Peter’s room needs to get cleaned out before he can actually use it but it’s a fun experience for now.

Peter and I went to the grocery store together.  He’s a really loud shopper.  He was having fun until we got to the produce section and I was trying to pick some peppers.  He saw the red food and was yelling for an apple.  The other ladies shopping thought it was quite funny but at the moment I didn’t seem to be laughing.  That’s when I found the section of free apples for kids.  It was at the end of the trip so I gave him one thinking he wouldn’t actually get anywhere.  When we got home I looked and he had big chunks out.  He ate almost the whole thing without me cutting it at all.  He was so very proud of his apple.

Towards the end of September Donna, Paul, Drew, Dustin, and I were up at the cabin.  It was the Gandy’s big celebration.  The day ended up being a mini-tour.  We finished out the day at the Gandy and then came home tired and done.

Peter is a really good eater.  He’ll eat everything but a few green items.  Well that is until he discovered frozen peas.  He couldn’t eat them fast enough.  I guess I know how to get some green in him.

We got snow!

Dustin celebrated his birthday so I made him a cake.  He got to pick whatever flavor he wanted.  He picked german chocolate.  I did have for him and put regular chocolate frosting on my half.

It was a sad, sad day when the boat came out of the lake.  Dustin, Donna, Scoop and I took the last ride to the landing and it was cold.  Paul met us with the truck and trailer and out it went.  Dustin and Zoey rode on the boat back to the cabin.  It’s now hibernating for the winter under the roof.

After the boat came out, we were able to start our annual tavern tour.  This year we started at Hillside.  We then went to a lovely bridge to have lunch on the side of the road.  Next we went to Rosenthals.  Tami was celebrating her 40th birthday.  We played with the trivia cards at Roamers (even though it’s not really called Roamers anymore.)  The Shop had tasty appetizers.  Just ask Donna about the mushrooms.  Finally, we rounded the day out at the Crow Bar.  Once we got back to the cabin, there was suppose to be a post party but the other people never made it.  Overall, it was a great day.

Peter got a bunch of fun Halloween gifts from a Halloween gift exchange.  He got a sweet hat and gloves, some really cute outfits, and a big green pumpkin bucket.  His favorite was to put the fruit snack packets he got in and out of the bucket.  He didn’t realize until later that there was goodness in the packets.  We also put the fun pumpkin and spider window clings on our front window.

Zoey got a haircut.  She looks and smells awesome now!  She even got pretty pink bows.

And to round out the post, here are some fun pictures of Peter hammering.

So I realised that it’s been much to long since we’ve added some fun updates and pictures so pull up a seat and here we go.

First off, there are of course fun cabin pictures.  Peter decided that he needed his hat and then sun glasses all on his own.  One of his favorite toys up there is sticks.  There is one stick in particular that he loves.  It’s actually lasted multiple weeks.  I don’t think Zoey is as much of a fan but they work it out.  Peter also figured out how to climb up on the riding lawn mower.  We’ll have to put him to work sooner than I thought.

Bethy, Peter and I went to the Como Zoo before school started.  We had fun seeing all the animals.  Peter was very serious the whole time.  He wasn’t a fan of the monkeys.  Flamingos are a winner, zebras were kind of cool, and he really likes pictures of giraffes so we admired the real thing.  I think he had more fun while we waited for the Sparky show and playing with the spoon from the ice cream.  We all thought the butterfly tent was super cool.  They were every where and huge!

Bethy went to visit her grandpa Ralph and we were fortunate enough to reap the benefits.  There’s nothing better than fresh sweet corn that was picked right before you eat it.  Peter couldn’t agree more.  Although, he was a little confused on which end to eat.  Once he got it straightened out, he ate two whole ears!  

The family went to the State Fair this year.  I love going every year so it was fun to be able to share the experience with Peter.  He thought it was awesome as there was so much to see, smell, taste, and hear.  Everyone loved his hat.  He even got a free button because of the sweet hat.  He’s a little man after my own heart and loved the chickens.  He even tried talking to them.  He wasn’t so sure on the pigs but they are really big and loud.  One of our party did end up crashing after all the sun, food, and fun.  That meant it was time to go but we’ll be back next year for sure.  

We went with my parents, Jim and Sherry, on a day trip to Lark Toys.  It’s an awesome toy store in Kellogg, MN.  There are so many rooms full of really good toys.  Peter got to pick a wooden pull toy.  He had a good time testing them each out but finally decided on a giraffe.  He also ended up with two cars and a new bib.  Even Dustin got something, a deck of cards with scientists on them.  After we shopped and played, it was time to ride the hand carved carousel.  Peter rode the chicken and it didn’t go so well.  He cried the whole time.  We did move to the cart being pulled by an ostrich and that wasn’t as bad.  We’ll wait to try another ride for awhile.  After the toy store, we at lunch at a cute cafe.  Peter was a fan of the Amish family’s cute kids.  We went to a creamery and had ice cream.  Peter really liked all the big bikes that where there.  Then we admired the beautiful drive home through Wisconsin.  

September 19th was the 5k walk.  I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t make it.  In my head that seems like forever.  We all gathered at Thomas Beach on Lake Calhoun.  Matt Logelin stood up and thanked everyone for coming.  He held up Maddy but she didn’t have as much to say, although she made the rounds later and had plenty to talk about then.  (I think Peter has found his future bride.)  We then all started off around the lake.  Peter thought he should walk like everyone else.  He wasn’t very speedy though and had fallen earlier so he had a scraped knee.  After we convinced him it was better to ride, we cruised on.  I was amazed when I asked if we were almost half way done and found out we only had blocks left.  I actually made it!  Thanks for everyone’s support.  

And finally after all of that, we’re worn out…

We may as well make kaelder a quick reference for some recipes while we’re at it.  Tonight’s special experimental recipe was chicken fingers.  I took a normal chicken breast, sliced thin, and then dredged through a mix of:

1 cup Alton’s pancake mix
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon black pepper

After the first dredging, the breast pieces were washed with milk and then dredged again.  After the final coat, they were dried at 375 until they were done.

The finished product was delicious.  The only thing that could possibly make it better would be some of Evil’s buffalo sauce – and maybe some High Life from the cabin. 

Next time, I’ll make sure to take pictures.