Fall has been loaded with parades and junkie candy..."mom, nother band"...marching bands are her favorite, then the John Deere tractors. She has yet to learn that she'll get to ride in the Oktoberfest parade with her Dad next year. She is going to freak. It's a two hour parade, but totally worth taking her to.

A fun evening in Blakesburg, IA took us to the Corn Carnival. The kids got to participate in a Kiddie Parade, with my sister and I shamelessly pulling Anna and Ava in a wagon. Ava rode her first carnie ride with my great friend's son (Logan had no problems using MY tickets to take a ride for himself and keep Ava company along the way-hehehe). Her son Max told me he would "never talk to me again if I didn't give him my last ticket", and Joanna and I had a good laugh later, about pushing the limit with our kids, and them all having a melt down by the time it got dark. My Dad seemed really happy to be at an 'old school' carnival. He smiled the entire time and my European mother endured with her cashmere wrap. I love my parent's!

Beautiful summer like temperature's have spoiled us. We spend a ton of time outdoors getting the last drops of sunshine and the leaves are filling up our yard...a pile lies at the bottom of the slide, fires in the pit, pink marshmallow goo all over, pumpkins are on the porch, Ava asks everyday if it's "Halloween yet?", and Sunday's are full of football on the TV. Ava says "me like football too".

Yesterday we made a trip to Autumn Acres in Oskaloosa, Ia. Breakfast at Smokey Row started us off right, then off to a morning full of fun. I love spending days like that with my family. We did the corn maze, took a hay rack ride, walked on top of bails of corn, Ava was adventurous and rode the train ride by herself (I was so proud of her), smelly goats, apple and corn sling shots, pumpkin painting, picking out pumpkins to carve, fresh apples and dip for a snack, this place has it all. We were exhausted but happy. Happy Autumn to all!