Quilt for Adrien

I made a quilt for my friend Adrien who will be having her second baby tomorrow (monday!)

Maple Leaf Festival

The Maple Leaf Festival is a really cool event in Baldwin, KS. This is a small town with a lot of history and lots of really big trees. The third full weekend in October is the annual maple leaf festival which is a great time of the year to see the trees as they are changing colors. We spent most of the morning there on Sunday (we played hooky from church so we could go).

Ryan and Daddy climbing up the ladder for the big slide. Ryan was in hysterics the whole way up. Ella was waiting as patiently as a 2 year old can while Ryan took his time getting to the top.

Oh Boy!!!!

Daddy and Ryan rolling around on the landing pad.

Oh boy. Another petting zoo.

This camel was not nearly as smelly or nasty as the one we saw at Grant's farm.

Just the right size for Ryan.

Hi Miss Jen!!!

Ryan sitting on the pony just moments before they started.

WEE!!!!!!!!!!

Ryan and Ella (if not Daddy and Bob) were fascinated with the science guys. They were demonstrating some tricks you can do with a quarter and dry ice.

As you can see the boats were a minor hit. :)

Big slide like the one at the DeSoto days festival.

The dinosaurs were a lot more fun before the ride actually started. We opted to leave out the pictures in action since both of the kids just wanted this ride to end.

Daddy and Bob managed to get a chance to relive their childhood by getting on the bumper cars for the first time in....

The kids had a blast on all the kiddie rides. They were both fascinated with the adult rides that flip you around like a rag doll. Daddy will be ready when Ryan is, and Mommy has agreed to stay on the ground and take pictures.

There are a few things in life that no matter when or where you take them in they remind you of a special person. The carousel is one such place for me. Whenever I see a carousel I always remember Grandad Folkerts. He just loved carousels and I like to think that he is happy seeing his grandson and great grandson riding on them just like he used to with me.

Pumpkin patch

We went to Kill Creek Farm to meet Bob, Jess, and Ella. Our intention was to go on a hay ride. Before we did that we needed to check out all the pumpkins. Jen realized that it makes a funny sentence when your child's nickname is "punkin". "Oh look at the pumpkins punkin".

Here we are getting ready for the hay ride. Yet another picture of the two them that will ultimately serve as blackmail material.

For those of you unfamiliar with this area this picture it quite funny. It looks like we are in the middle of nowhere. However, you can see the highway sign on top of the hill. That's K-10 ( a 4-lane highway that takes us to work everyday).

Ryan and Ella really enjoyed the hayride. Mommy and Jess were both very excited there was a mini-donuts stand. They were equally disappointed when they found out that they were out of dough for the day. There were however lots of good eats in the barn.

St. Louis weekend

We went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Riek in St. Louis. On Saturday we went to Grant's Farm.

Oh look at the Clydesdale!!!

Grandma can't you read? It says these horses may bite. HA!

Here is Grant's cabin. This was one of two weekends a year where the open the cabin to the public. We decided not to wait in line since 2 year olds (especially red heads) are not exactly known for their patience.

Ryan loved the ride on the "train" through the farm.

Here is a sampling of some of the live critters that are all over this very large farm.

There are lots of really cool decorations about for Halloween. Apparently, during October they decorate the whole place and open it up in the evenings for a really spook-tacular experience.

Ryan and daddy feeding the goats. These guys were really agressive. I would guess that if Ryan were alone they would have stolen the bottle.

Look Grandpa!!! Over there!!!

Bald eagle, need I say more?

It started sprinkling very lightly. Ryan was very concerned and made sure he held his head and said "Daddy wet" about 10 times, just in case I couldn't hear him.

I've always heard that camels are nasty and stinky. Having now been this close (he even at some food out of my hand), I can say with authority that they are the most foul smelling of creature you would ever want to be near.

Back at Grandma's house. Time to play!!!

We had breakfast with the "Pod's" on Sunday morning at Mimi's cafe. The food was good, the service good, but it was the company that was the main dish this morning.