Happy Birthday, Great Grandma

 We held a birthday party for my Grandma at the end of September. She's turning 93 in October! My grandma didn't want a birthday party, so we told her we were having a family reunion. She was okay with that. :) All of my aunt's and uncle's came and most of my cousins. It was good to see everyone and catch up. We had a lot of good food and of course, cake.

 Mia, Jude, and Riley. They're best buds--most of the time.

 Riley and Evan (Amber's little boy.) I love having so many little ones running around. They have so much fun together.

 Margaret (Jenna's little one.) She's got quite the personality. She's outgoing, curious, and very loud! She's so cute.

 My brother, Nate, smashed cake in my dad's face. We all gasped and held our breath. Nate was lucky that the room was full of people.

 Here's a picture of my grandma with all of the grandkids. She tripped and fell a couple of days before the party and ended up with two big black eyes.

 Here's my grandma and the great-grandkids. There were still quite a few missing.

My beloved family. From left to right, Amber, Jenna, me, Sarah, my mom, my dad, my grandma, Nate, Will, and Kelly. I love them so much!

Homework

Riley received her first homework assignment for kindergarten. Man, was she excited!

Concord Grapes

 It's that time of year again. The concord grapes are ready to be picked. It seems that we get a good amount every other year. Last year we didn't get much, and this year we got a ton. The kids love helping out.

 I love the different colors. All sorts of different shades of purples.

We give the grapes to Grandma Andrea. She makes jellies and grape juice from them.

First Day of School

 First day of school? How the heck did that happen? Summer flew by this year.

 Ethan and Mia are in 1st grade this year and Riley is in kindergarten. The girls were beyond excited for their first day. Ethan...not so much. In fact, he was giving me such a hard time about getting ready that they made it to school with a minute to spare.

 I didn't get in all the pictures I wanted because they were lining up when we got there. I did get teary-eyed but I didn't even have time to cry as Riley went off to kindergarten. Plus, my blood pressure was sky-high from Ethan.

 He later told me that he was super nervous about having a new teacher and being in a new class. Poor boy.

They're growing too fast for me!

Vacation is Over

We had such a good time in the Black Hills and our first family vacation went well. We crammed quite a bunch in the five days that we were there. We were able to relax in the mornings and evenings so it didn't seem like we were on the go all day. We were able to save money on the cabin and were able to do more touristy things. I can't wait to bring the kids back when they're older and when I'm not pregnant!

I can't wait to plan for next year's vacation!

Cave

 We weren't planning on visiting a cave while in the Black Hills, but since the horse ride fell through, we had an afternoon open. We happened to be driving by and thought, why not?

 The way down wasn't too bad although I was wearing flip-flops and my legs were burning by the time we got down. The stairs were so steep that it put extra strain on your legs. Everyone else brought coats with them as the temperature was around 50 degrees while in the cave. I thought it felt good!

 I don't think the kids were overly impressed with all the crystals and rocks. I'd say it's more of an older kid-adult thing to do.

 I really don't remember why this rock was so important.

Ugh. Going back up sucked really bad. I was literally the last one walking up. I had to take so many breaks because I was getting out of breath. Plus, I didn't want to put too much stress on my body and the baby.