The Accidental Boilermaker

Trick-or-treating success!  The rain held off, Evelyn enjoyed walking around the block and going up to peoples' houses for candy (although she was too shy to actually say trick-or-treat), and she really liked handing out candy.  Unless someone was dressed kinda scary and then she wasn't real keen on getting too close.   I bought too much candy.  We had a good turn out but not nearly the number I thought we might get. Evelyn in her Shaun the Sheep costume.  People overwhelmingly knew she was a sheep but we did get a couple cloud guesses.  People also thought she was adorable. Trick-or-treating with dad aka the farmer from Shaun the Sheep. Back at home, handing out candy.  It was nice that the rain stayed away so we could be outside. Evelyn's friend Bella stopped by for some candy and pictures.  Bella is Chica from the Chica Show.

Today was Evelyn's last swim lesson.  We decided to sign up for tumbling next session at the YMCA.  Swimming switched from Tuesdays to Thursdays and I didn't want to miss out on story time, plus who really wants to do swim lessons when the weather gets cold? I also had my 28 week appointment today.  Yay for third trimester!  I measured at 25 weeks so the doctor recommended an ultrasound at my next appointment in two weeks.  Neither Nate nor I are too worrried; I had two extra ultrasounds with Evelyn because I measured small but she was always right on track. Cookie!

We had another busy weekend.  Friday Evelyn and I were playing outside and raking some leaves when we found a praying mantis. Evelyn seemed pretty interested in it. Saturday we hosted our first Indiana psychology Halloween party.  We had a good turn out and there was plenty of food. Our new house isn't nearly as spooky as the farmhouse, but I think Nate and I did a good job with decorations. And people actually came in costume, including Meredith and Jeremy who were Gnomeo and Juliet. Evelyn wore her Shaun the sheep costume just long enough for some pictures with Nate. Sunday Meredith, Jeremy and I ran the River Rat Race. We all three did the 10K and Jeremy even took second in his age group.  Nate got in his exercise too; he biked 53 miles Sunday morning. And then he chased Evelyn around a nearby park before cheering on the runners.

We drove out to Illinois this weekend for a family get-together.  My dad has been going to Starved Rock State Park and staying at Grizzly Jacks Grand Bear Lodge for the past several years with the adult disability ministry at their church so my parents thought it'd make a great place for a family vacation.  We arrived to our cabin Friday afternoon. I've never been to Starved Rock, so I was very excited to go hiking Saturday.  Evelyn doesn't look as happy but she did a great job despite being a chilly morning. Starved Rock.  According to legend, a group of Illini Native Americans fled to the outcropping to escape another tribe, but were besieged by their enemies until they starved. The Illinois River and Plum Island. Overlooking the Illinois River. The park is also well known for its rock canyons that you can hike down into. Refueling after spending the morning hiking (it's hard work being carried). Grizzly Jacks h...

Mimi and Grandpa came over for a visit this weekend.  Evelyn and Mimi have already spent lots of time reading together. Today we went to the Kuehnert dairy farm.  It's a 5th generation farm, over 100 years in operation, and for their fall festival you can see all the cows and even watch them being milked by the robotic milking machine.  The technology behind the milking machine was pretty cool. The cow barn.  The cows are free to move around in the barn, eat some food, drink some water, and walk over to the milking machine if they're ready to be milked.  There were other cows out in pasture too. There were lots of other fall farm activities to check out, a corn maze, hay rides, and baby cows to pet. We rode the kiddie tractor pull with Evelyn. The corn pit was fun but very busy with other kids bigger than Evelyn.  We keep finding corn kernels at home. Not a true pumpkin patch, but Evelyn got to pick out one pumpkin ...

Evelyn turned 20 months old on Saturday.  She definitely has some terrible twos about her even now. No can be a favorite word at times and she isn't awesome at sharing.  She does however love to help. Laundry, putting away groceries, and even cleaning up toys before bedtime are chores she enjoys. The other activity Evelyn loves is reading, especially reading to herself.  She can spend an hour or more sometimes just flipping through books and "reading."  One book may hold her attention for a while, but often she goes through a stack of board books and when she gets to the last book, she starts all over.  I am hopeful that this love of reading will continue her whole life.

We took a weekend trip up to Michigan.  It was a little chilly, but we were able to enjoy being outside and being on the lake.  Friday night the sunset was beautiful. Isaac and Evelyn helped pick up acorns and throw them in the lake all weekend long Saturday Nate and I took Evelyn and Isaac on a paddle boat ride. Isaac did a really job steering the boat around the lake while Evelyn enjoyed the view. After nap time, we took a walk around the lake. Posing for a picture post walk outside the cottage. Before dinner we went for a pontoon boat ride, but it was cold and windy so we didn't stay out too long. Aunt Amanda really wanted to do some face coloring with Evelyn and Evelyn was super into it, so it turned into whole body coloring. I think Joshua enjoyed watching the silliness. We didn't get a good cousins picture; no one wanted to cooperate.  But we did manage a good picture with the parents.  I th...