Farm Livin'

We headed over to the Eveland Family Farm in Andover last weekend for some family fun and of course...Pumpkins!
The Eveland Family Farm is a private farm which invites you to enjoy a real working farm experience. We were able to see and touch all of the animals, learn about farm life, and spend some quality time outdoors. (even though it was freezing!)

You can pick out your Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins, go for a hay ride, check out the straw bales, corn stalks, candles, and fall decorations for sale, visit the animals and enjoy the picnic facilities.

They have two miniature donkeys at the Eveland Family Farm: Maria and Twinkle. Don't be surprised if they greet you when you step out of your car!


The four miniature horses walk around the farm, grazing on grass. Most of them are friendly, and will let you walk up and pet them.


You will find the llamas and alpacas either in the barn or out in the field. They are very interested in people, and will keep a close eye on you as you walk around the farm.


Fainting Goats...These goats have joints that freeze when they are startled - often causing them to "faint."  The fainting goats are very friendly so they don't scare easily.

Pot Bellied Pigs...The pot-bellied pig is a smaller version of the pig, with black skin and scarce hair, short ears and a short snout.  Porkchop loves to roll in the mud and eat.  (I actually thought he was dead.  He was just sleeping in a dark corner of the barn.) 

There are many birds walking around the farm: geese, ducks, turkeys, chickens...and even peacocks!

They also have the standard cows and horses. You will see them grazing in the fields around the farm.


Scottish Highland Cows...The Scottish Highland cows are kept in one of the barns. They are very gentle animals, and have long horns and hair.

If You're Not Dutch, You're Not Much

My Little Dutch Girl!  I received these wooden shoes from my grandma Alice.  My mom actually gave them to my grandma many years ago. 
About ten years ago, my grandma started going through her belongings and divided everything up amongst the family.  She made sure that I got these wooden shoes. 
I have these shoes displayed in our family room.  Emmy just loves walking around the house in them...and they are the perfect size for her.

Hoffman

We went to Hoffman for Muriel's (Brad's aunt) 70th surprise party.  She ended up finding out about the party 15 minutes before the party started.  She was driving down main street to pick something up at the grocery store and saw her grandsons playing catch in the street.  She was not too happy about the party.  She had no idea they were planning something for her.  She eventually came and had a good time.  She avoided church that morning because she didn't want the congregation to sing happy birthday to her.  :)

We stayed at Grandma Debbie & Papa Jerry's house for the afternoon and let the kids play.  They had a blast watching movies and eating grandma Debbie's homemade popcorn.  They found grandma's play stroller from when she was a little girl. Somehow Emmy got inside and the girls were all giggles as they wheeled her around the house.  :)  I think Em could have stayed in that stroller all night.  She was pretty content.

Apple Orchard

When the weather was so nice a few weeks ago, we decided it would be a perfect day to go to Emma Krumbee's apple orchard.  We went to this same place a couple of years ago when Emmy was just a few months old. 
It costs about $5/person to get in. They had pony and camel rides, a scarecrow festival, a place to pick your own pumpkins and strawberries, a huge pile of hay and other activities.
Emmy wouldn't even walk near the hay.  I'm not sure why? 
She loved feeding the little goats and miniature horses and enjoyed playing on the jungle gym and going down the nearby slide.
On our way back to the gate, Emmy and I went for a ride on the little choo choo train.  We took the back seat and giggled the whole time. 
It was really warm this day so we decided to head back home early.  We were all sweating.  Erin was a little warm and cranky. 

Before we left the apple orchard, Emmy had to go for a ride on the pony.  She had everyone laughing the whole time.  She was yelling, "YEAH!"  Giddy up horsey!"  I also taught her to lift one arm up in the air and slap her butt with the other hand.  She's so funny!!

Fun In The Leaves

A few weeks ago the girls and I had a little picnic in our front yard.  The weather was so nice.  I raked a bunch of leaves into a pile and tried to get Emmy to play in them.  She wasn't quite sure about it.  She really has a huge phobia of bugs & spiders...hum, I wonder where she gets that from??

AHHH CHOOO!!

I had a sneeze attack yesterday.  Emmy usually laughs and says..."AHH CHOO!" after I am done.  But this time she was saying something else.  I didn't quite understand her right away.  She kept saying something and then it finally dawned on me.  She was saying, "Bless You!"  How cute is that?

Red Bull

Picture this...I'm strolling through Cub Foods the other day with the girls in the cart.  I pass by the produce section and through the flower shop and then as I'm passing between the deli & check out lanes, I hear a tiny voice yell, "Daddy's Pop, Daddy's Pop!  Mom wookit...Daddy's Pop!"  I turn and look to find Emmy pointing excitedly at the cooler containing a huge stock of Red Bull.

Brad has been addicted to this energy drink for years.  I keep telling him how bad it is for him, etc, but he insists that he's not addicted...typical denial. 
Now that our two year old notices how much he drinks it, he's finally starting to realize and is beginning to wean himself off of it. 

Stranger Awareness

Erin has not been getting along with strangers lately...namely MEN.  She sobs whenever men come near her or if she hears a strange man's voice, she lets out a good cry.  Hopefully she still cries when boys come near her 15 years down the road.  he he he

MRI Follow Up

I went to my MRI follow up appointment this morning.  My scans show that I have a disc bulge between the L4 & L5 discs which is pressing onto my nerves.  I will be going back to the neurologist's office in two weeks for an EMG.  An EMG (Electromyography) involves testing the electrical activity of muscles. Often, EMG testing is performed with another test that measures the conducting function of nerves.

Several of the most common nonsurgical treatments for L4 & L5 disc bulge include:

• Physical therapy
• Osteopathic/chiropractic manipulations
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
• Oral steroids (e.g. prednisone or methyprednisolone)
• An epidural (cortisone) injection

My thoughts about the above treatments...

A.  I could opt to do physical therapy, however it would take several weeks of therapy to heal. 

B.  I probably won't be going to the chiropractor for regular visits.

C.  I could take Non-steroidal drugs for a while, but it would not focus on one area and I don't want to be on drugs for a long time.

D.  Same thing with Oral Steroids.  I was on an oral steroid last week, but this is just temporary relief.

E.  An epidural injection focuses on the main cause and gets right to the point.

 

I've been dealing with this pain for over two months and I'm ready to find an immediate cure.  I'm probably going to do the epidural injection in two weeks (after the EMG).  This tends to be the most effective treatment.

 

Once the results from the EMG come back, they will know if surgery is needed.  I'm crossing all of my fingers and toes and am hoping that I will not need surgery. 

 

All of my lab work came back normal.  There's no Lymes disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc.

And my tailbone problem is probably related to pregnancy/child birth.

 

I haven't been to the Orthopedic Surgeon regarding my knees yet.  I'm trying to jump over this hurdle first.

 

Like I said before...it's the pits getting older.

Renaissance Festival

We had a bit of a surprise last weekend.  Brad and I were watching a movie Friday night, when around 11:30 pm Brad noticed headlights in our driveway.  He said, "Gina, someone's here."  I said, "It's got to be my mom."  I had talked to her earlier in the week about her coming to our house for the weekend, but I wasn't quite sure if she was arriving on Friday night or Saturday morning.   Sure enough...Brad went to the front door and there she was.  :)  She came straight from work...still in her uniform.

On Saturday afternoon we all packed up and went to the Renaissance Festival.  It's been about ten years since I've been to the festival.  Brad and my mom had never been there.  It's something to see once every ten years.

We stopped by a face painting booth to get something painted on Emmy's face.  It didn't turn out as cute as all of the examples they had on their table.

Emmy enjoyed the petting zoo so much.  She loved feeding the goats.  It was so cute.  She used to hate petting zoos a few months ago.  She also got to go on her first pony ride which was so exciting for her.  She really LOVED the real thing. 

Erin stayed bundled up in the stroller much of the day.  We didn't hear a peep from her most of the afternoon. 

Brad enjoyed watching the jousting event.  My mom and I just enjoy people watching the most. 

One of Brad's coworkers actually works here on the weekends.  So we went to watch one of his events at the end of the day.  He was fighting Robin Hood.

 

Emmy & Erin

We took the girls to get their pictures taken last month.  Erin was just about 7 months and Emmy was just about 26 months.  I found these adorable cherry outfits for the girls this summer and thought they would look so cute together.  Erin only got to wear her outfit this one time.  It was getting a little snug on her and now the weather is getting cooler. 
We didn't get very many pictures of Erin's cute smile.  She has such a bright smile and it didn't show in these photos. 
I wanted to get Emmy's pictures taken too because of her new haircut.  There wasn't much that I could do with her hair this day - but it is growing on us.  It's starting to look a lot better.  
Plus...It's always fun to get new photos of the girls. 

This Little Piggy

Erin has discovered her toes in the last week or so.  She really likes to play with her feet and sometimes sucks on her toes.  This is the only time she is anywhere close to sitting still.  She's such a little wiggle worm.  She can't sit still for one second. 
Emmy loves to play "This Little Piggy" on Erin's toes.