Halloween Parade

It's Halloween time again in Anoka, the Halloween Capitol of the World. We have had a busy week preparing for the big Parade that was today. Last weekend was the night light parade. Jeff, Birch, Cameron and Julie decided to enter the group costume contest this year as they ran the Grey Ghost 5K run at the beginning of the parade. Can you tell what they are?????? Yes! Bumper cars! Cameron came up with the idea, Julie and I went looking for supplies (thank you Ax-man surplus) and we spent the week constructing the little bumper cars. Needless to say....mom came to the rescue again....I'd rather construct than run the race!!!

They looked pretty cute bumping into each other. Birch did the license plates.

Julie was 2FAST4U, Cameron was W84ME, Birch was XLR8, and Jeff was

CUL8R.

Here we are walking down Park Street to Anoka. The cars bumping along...

Luckily they ran right past us. Sometimes it's hard to find the runners in the crowd, but we saw our bumper cars! A lot of people were shouting for them and taking pictures. It was fun for us that were watching! They were pretty disappointed that they didn't win a prize. Jeff really wanted a medal since Cameron got one last year. But there were some pretty amazing costumes.

This was my favorite. A Carousel of horses. It took 3rd place under a school of fish and Obama running with Sarah...(we thought bumper cars were much more original) It was fun anyway. We'll see what next year brings!

Halloween Con't...

We looked out the window earlier today and our little Payton the Penguin was over visiting the neighbors bunny! Here's Grandpa and Penguin Payton getting ready for the Halloween Parade.
Baylie dressed up as a Kimono Princess, Bryndie was Miss Dracula, teeth and all. She took her wig off because it itched! But she loved the makeup and had fun adding more every 10 minutes! Payton wasn't sure about his sisters!
We had fun trunk-or-treating at the ward Harvest Festival Friday night. There was a great turnout and lots of fun games, activities and food. My chili won for the "most unique and spicy". I took our favorite "White Chicken Chili"......
Jeff and Annette had a party at their house so Birch and I took Vincent with us. He wasn't sure about so many people, but loved playing in the nursery alone with Grandpa....He was more interested in looking at the scarecrow behind him than looking at the camera. He was a cute little Fireman.
We had a fun weekend. It's hard to believe that Halloween is still a week away! By the time it comes we are all worn out!

Elk River Ward Groundbreaking

Saturday was an exciting day for the Elk River ward. We attended the ground breaking for their new chapel. The people in this area have waited a long time to have a chapel close. Most of the ward members travel at least 30 minutes to church. IIt was a chilly day, but everyone was so excited to be there. The building should be done next summer.
This is Julie and Cameron's ward. It's only about 5 minutes from their new home. The girls were excited to bring their own shovels and had a great time digging in the dirt!
One day a farm....the next, a new LDS Church. It's great to see the church growing here in Minnesota. There is actually enough land here for a small Temple. Who knows?? Maybe someday.......

Retirement!

Friday was the last day of work for Birch. He retired from Target at age 55! He has worked for Dayton-Hudson, Daytons, Marshal Fields,Target Corporations for 29 years. He says it feels like graduating from High School, not knowing what lies ahead! He has done a great job supporting our family and has worked hard. I am looking forward to having him home and doing more things together. Friday night we had some friends over for a backyard bonfire and a little celebration. It was a beautiful night to be outside, roasting hot dogs and marshmellows! We love this time of the year!
Monday morning we watched Vincent and went for a 2 mile walk to the river....I guess that's what you do when you're retired! We'll see what tomorrow brings!

Opposition in All Things

Yesterday I looked out the back window and couldn't believe all the cute little birds I could see. There was a whole flock of these little grey birds with yellow tip tails....I watched them for a while and then decided to try and get a picture. (which was hard since they were flying everywhere). They were so cute! There was also a black and white woodpecker with the cutest red head! I thought how wonderful it is to have such cute little creatures in the world.....Just flying along, minding their own business, stopping for a drink at the bird bath.......THEN........

Today, I went out to sweep off the deck. I couldn't believe the mess! Those cute little birds, who were so much fun to watch yesterday, had left their little droppings...(my kids know I don't say the "P" word) all over my patio, deck, table, chairs etc. What a mess! I guess there really is opposition in all things! I spent today cleaning.....but I'm still glad I got to see those cute little birds! Hopefully they have flown south for the winter! (I'm really thankful they weren't geese!)

Segway Pro!

We Rode Segways!

Saturday, Birch and I went downtown Minneapolis and went on a 5 mile Segway tour. It was really fun, although I was a little apprehensive at first...The hardest thing for me was putting on the helmet! Yuck!
We went with our friends, the Paynters and the Bakers. (the Stake Presidency) It was a beautiful day and we learned a lot of Minnesota history along the way. We crossed the Stone Arch Bridge, had treats in the Old City Mill Museum, crossed over to Nicollett Island etc. Birch was a pro, I was a little unstable trying to lean forward to go, lean back to stop, but finally got the hang of it and it was fun!

Here is our whole group on the bridge. I would certainly recommend it and definitely would go again!
This is the new 35W bridge....the light one in the background. It's up and running after the collapse last year.