Walking the Trans Canada Trail

After our "horse outing" on Sunday we called Gramma and Grampa up to go for a drive/hike near the valley. We were a little disappointed that the leaves didn't have more color, but definitely enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine! We went for a cruise just south of town, hiked up a hill (or two) and then met up with the Trans Canada Trail for a little jaunt.
- What would a hike be without "spits" ... notice Jon already has a mouthful! We all needed the extra energy boost just to get up the first big hill... whew!


- Enjoying some yummy apples on the trail...




- Alia was getting a little antzy pantzy... can ya tell?!? Good thing Daddy is an expert "shoulder carrier"... this happened on a very repeated basis!

- Here we are on the Trans Canada Trail... ya know, for going clear across Canada it sure wasn't anything to brag about - just a path between 2 fields!


- Alia loved picking "treasures"

- "Oh, oh.... !"

- Running back to give it to Gramma...

- And of course, the cycle just kept going and going... with Alia being super thrilled at each new find!

My Little Pony

On Sunday it was just a B-E-A-UTIFUL day!!!! My goodness... we couldn't stand to be inside! So after lunch (which Jon so graciously prepared because I was tired, hungry, and a tad bit cranky!!) we loaded Alia up in her wagon and set out across the yard to see the neighbor's horses! She never gets tired of them, and they actually seem to enjoy her visits as well!
- Ready to head off on the "big" journey!

- At this point Alia has spotted the horses, can hardly contain herself, and is milli-seconds from trying to climb out of the wagon!!

- I think they were excited to see us... but since we didn't bring apples, they lost interest rather quickly!



- This guy is Alia and I's favorite... he's always the first to run up and say hi!


- We tried getting the little pony to smile (it's the funniest thing... he rolls up his lip and shows all his woody looking teeth!) but he knew I had a camera and didn't want us documenting his special skills!

- Waving "buh bye" to the horses...

- Getting just a little dozy on our walk around town

- When we got back Alia saw the snowmobile in the back and just had to hop on... I think inwardly Jon was somewhat pleased! He would much prefer a sled over a horse any day!!

- Here Daddy is helping her with her "proper driving form"!

You're Never Too Young for a Good Snow Mobile Ride!

With a fresh blanket of snow, comes a husband who loves to make tracks in it... he just can't resist! So needless to say our yard shows the evidence of a snow mobile lover... and with 5 snow mobiles it probably will for the rest of the winter! Jon was just itching to give Alia her FIRST ride!!
All bundled up and ready to go...

Wondering what in the world she's gotten herself into!

A before picture - it was a wee *cough* *cough* bit *cough* smoky... old gas apparently!

One successful ride under her belt and lots more to come. If she takes a liking to the snow mobile as much as she has to the lawn mower, "Ya better get ready Daddy!"

"Helping"

Ya know how I mentioned Alia LOVES to help... well the "helping" never ceases! Especially when there's yummy cake involved!





As I was putting it in the oven Alia kept signing, and saying for extra emphasis, "Please, please, please!!!" Ohhh, this girl... she keeps the day interesting!!!

Break Out the Sleigh

It's the time of year again... the white stuff has fallen and we're livin' in a winter wonderland. Since Alia had her "new" snowsuit to debut I decided to take her for a sleigh ride. By the time she woke up from her nap the streets had become a wee bit muddy, but we bravely pressed on!
And we're off...

She's absolutely lovin' it... and I'm trying to avoid slipping in my really slippery winter boots (I'm on the hunt for new ones, don't worry!) and to avoid pot holes filled to the brink with muddy grossness! I'll admit, it wasn't quite the sleigh ride I envisioned in my head!

She was always trying to touch the snow over the side!

Mmmm, snow...

So... even though it wasn't quite what I had planned, we still had a great time! We stopped by to see the horses (which were gorgeous in the fresh snow!), got a good dose of cool crisp air, and laughed a lot together! Simply put... I would walk through lots more mud puddles just to see Alia's sweet smiles of delight!

Our little Mozart

As I was putting all of our videos and pictures on a seperate hard drive yesterday, I found this video that I forgot about! I had meant to post it but just got side tracked with other things... imagine that! Anyhow, it brings a smile to my day...

The First Annual Kreiser Harvest/Fall/We're Thankful party!!

That's right... we decided to start a new tradition at our place! We hosted the first annual harvest/fall/we're thankful party! We wanted to give God the glory for all He's done for us, celebrate with our closest friends, and have one last outdoor shin dig before winter comes.
Overall it went pretty good! I could have been more prepared when people showed up (I was convinced to go on a quick galavant to our town like 45 min. before the party started... next year I won't be so easily convinced!) but now I know, eh?!

Our menu consisted of chili, cornbread, buns, pickles, chips, carrot sticks, jalepeno bites, ham sandwiches (for the kiddos), brownies for dessert, and marshmallows for the bonfire. Next year I won't be making so much chili (we had over 2 gallons left!) but Jon has been as happy as can be with chili every meal, so if he's happy... I'm happy!



We just set up some tables in the garage and I kept decorations to a minimum... so it was nice and simple!





Jon was in charge of setting up the pumpkin obstacle course and he totally out did himself! It was SO fun! (Sorry the pictures are pretty bad... between a not so great camera and it getting really dark, really fast.. they are a little hard to see!)

The course had 4 obstacles with various points at each post. The goal was to accumulate the highest score per couple to be the champions of the evening!
Obstacle 1 - Try to toss mini pumpkins into various compartments in a ladder on the ground. 3 points for the middle 2 compartments, 2 points for the rear 3 compartments, and 1 point for the first 3 compartments.


Obstacle 2 - Try to roll a pumpkin up the plank and make it land on the crate. 3 points for landing it on the crate, 1 point if it went in the crate following the platform, 5 points if you took out the "Santa, please stop here!" sign.

Obstacle 3 - Pumpkin curling. 3 points for landing in the center, 2 points for landing on the next row of shingles, and 1 point for landing between the 2nd and 3rd row of shingles.

Obstacle 4 - Try to roll the pumpkin up the ramp, hit the tire, and make it stop on the "Road Closed" sign. 3 points for landing on the sign. 1 point if the pumpkin was touching the sign.


And then... to weed out the weak from the strong.... bobbing for apples, baby!!
I have to say, it was hilarious!! Here is one of the littlest competitors of the evening...
And here's Jon... giving it all he's got!


Alia was quite disturbed at the sight of apples being treated this way, but once we sat her down, and gave her her own apple... she was calmed enough to enjoy the evening!

The grand champions for the evening were Zach and Jen... so we'll see if they can defend their reign at next year's games!