4 Years Ago...

...I married my best friend

Fall Break

You know it's time to go on vacation when your coworkers' work habits are driving you insane!!!!

On that note, you will find me hanging with the family for the next five days.

Adios people!!

Birthday Wishes Today

Happy 11th Birthday to our oldest and happy 9 months to our youngest today!

Have a great day, Alexis!!

Birthday party-ers

Punkin Patch 2010

Another fabulous traditional visit to VPP in the books! My dad's employer has an annual family function here which features a discounted pass to the patch and free lunch. Thank you, Papa & Nana, we always have a blast! Our troop along with another half million pumpkin patchers made the visit during what was probably one of the top five days of the season. The weather was perfect; therefore, it was busy, busy, busy!! Many years we have wind to deal with, but the breeze was even kept at a minimum! Most of us ended up being quite warm in our jackets and were found peeling layers. Because it ended up being so nice, my sister even showed up with my 3-month old niece for her first pumpkin patch visit! The poor little thing had no choice but to endure lots of photographing trauma too. Overall, we got some (okay, lots of) great pictures of the gang. The Raasch Five ended up being there from about 11-7 since we were having such a great time! I couldn't believe how well behaved the girls were, especially referring to the middle one. E had no complaints all day. What a little angel. It was getting dark by the time we had finally departed (picking out pumpkins is not a simple process for us). We were all ready for a bath, food and a nap. I think I have finally stopped blowing dust out of my nose today.

Enjoy the pictures!

One of my favorites

The girls with their cousin M

The Scarecrow band by which A was fascinated.

She really wanted to know how that "man" singing in the loft was going to get down.

Stroller buddies: my niece and daughter (6 months apart)

The new corn pit was a big hit

E with Papa

All five of the Gates granddaughters

(bet you can't guess which 3 are mine?)

A great spot for a diaper change...

The quintet of girls

Ha-ha-ha

E loved being on her daddy's shoulders!

An evening hayrack ride

The Raasch Five

Our "family" of pumpkins

Bad Day?

If you think you are having a bad Monday, my husband might win...

At least the semi driver got the ticket, hunny.

34 Years!

Happy anniversary to my wonderful parents today! 34 years and lots to be proud of.

We love you Mom & Dad!

El's New Things

This week E started army crawling. It's pretty darn cute!! She sits herself up from a lying position as well. So much for staying on the square blanket - she'll be half way across the room before you know it. Also this week she has a new found love for the same rubber ducky that Little A loved as a baby. A's first official word was duck - pronounced "dut" which is what E is trying to say now. Too cute.

E with her two little teeth, "du" and spray bottle (aka "kitty off")

YMCA Harvest Festival

There was a kid's event at the Y that we heard about so we took the girls for an evening out of the house. They had some fun and burned off a little energy too! :) The two little ones got dressed in costumes. (A insists that she was going as a ghost, but I already had this Elmo costume. She currently has a fascination with ghosts.) We picked out a pumpkin and brought it along to decorate. Finally, the girls jumped in a bounce house before heading home.

(Miss) Elmo

Our super adorable bunny

(who had just awoken to festival chaos)

A tired bunny

Decorating pumpkin cookies

Party Invite

Football season and soup weather is here! Anyone who would like to wish a happy 11th birthday to Big A is invited to her Nana & Papa’s house on Saturday, October 23rd. There will be food to feast on as well as birthday dessert and smores by the bonfire (weather permitting). The Nebraska vs Oklahoma State football game is scheduled for either 2:30 pm or 7 pm on ABC. Watch the game in high def from my parent’s beautiful new sunroom. We’d love to see you there! It’s a really wonderful experience in the country during the fall, but you’d better be able to tolerate a variety of bugs and the occasional stench of livestock that blows though the place!

Uncle Matt will be competing at the regional Valet Olympics in Des Moines during this weekend, so we wish him the best of luck! You make us proud. Go Matt! =)

A Saturday Evening in the Country!

Our family took an overnight trip back home yesterday to pay a visit to our Aunt C who was here from Arkansas. It was great to see her and even more exciting for her to meet her two newest great nieces for the first time! Unfortunately, it isn't too often that all four of the Gates siblings are together in one place at the same time for longer than a few hours. It was really enjoyable and fun for the cousins to get together too. Of course, Mom and Dad love having us and have a perfect establishment and setting for family gatherings (despite the abundance of ladybugs who try to come home with us).

Bonfire time!! Gotta love October...

The smores were delicious, but the company was even better!

Love this shot with Little A in mid jump!! :)

Nearly 10 pm and still going strong!

(Must be why she willingly got into bed before her hair or teethed were brushed following her bath tonight...)

This picture pretty much says it all - you know we are having some gorgeous fall weather when it's 10 pm on a near-mid October day, and people are still wearing shorts outdoors. Big smile :)

Brother (on ground), Grandma, Mom, Aunt C (from Arkansas!)

Aunt C (from Arkansas), Aunt K, Cousin, Sister, Bro-in-law, Dad

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks to My Husband...

...for the lovely birthday treat! The grandparents came to babysit, and we took advantage of an afternoon to ourselves. Thanks Grammy & Grandpa!

Having been to several wineries in Missouri and even touring Napa Valley itself, taking a trip to any Nebraska wineries was a first for us. We found a couple different settings close to the city. We love trying new wines and had a very relaxing, enjoyable time doing so. My favorite red (dry) wine was a sampling of 2008 Norton; my favorite white (semi-sweet) was the 2009 Brianna. We have similar likes so the opinions were fairly mutual.

He's such a good sport for stopping on the driveway for this photo opportunity. We had PERFECT weather for this too! (I call it sweater weather - notice the hubs is donning short sleeves...)

Cool Weather

This morning we awoke to 34 degrees!!!!

So we broke out the fleece!!

More Baby Firsts

Yesterday, E and I were playing on the floor when she looked at me and said "MA-MA." It was SO cute! My heart melted. She has me wrapped around her little finger even more now.

Later in the evening I was playing "pat-a-cake" with her and clapping her hands together. She loved it, smiling the whole time! Today when I picked the girls up from daycare and we were exiting the van at home I mentioned the words "pat-a-cake!" I opened her door to find her clapping her hands and smiling, very proud of herself. Adorable! I was amazed to see my 8-month old remembered what pat-a-cake meant! Just goes to show that her little brain is already a sponge. She is such an observant baby - scary that she may already be picking up on her sister's sometimes-evil ways!!

On another note, my dear husband is taking me on a birthday outing tomorrow! Without children!!! We are going to visit a couple of Nebraska wineries. Super exciting!! More to follow...