Halle's Many Grins

Halle's newest thing, when you ask her to smile - she makes this face that looks something between cute and terrifying.

Here she is doing her patented grin...

Here are a couple cute ones - she was feeling pretty goofy wearing her hat inside the house, so she was hamming it up! Isn't she looking so much more like a little girl, rather then a baby, these days?! It's crazy how quickly they grow and change!

And finally, can you see what I mean between cute and terrifying? I'm not sure what she's trying to convey when we ask her to smile and she does this face - I guess it's just one more example of her goofy personality!

Brendan's Big Adventure!

Today, the local Park Rapids Municipal Airport, in conjunction with the FAA, hosted an open house complete with an inflatable "Learning Jet" (in which kids and parents got a brief overview of the instrumentation and varies flying terminology used) and a multitude of airplanes on display. Here Brendan poses in front of one of the float planes we saw...

Here are a couple pictures of Halle taken at the airport - she didn't really understand why we were there, but had fun nonetheless...By far, though, the highlight of the day was when Brendan and Daddy went on an actual airplane ride!! Yep, that's right - Brendan's first flight! He was absolutely beside himself with excitement! Here they are waiting to get into the plane that was to take them up....

He's in and buckled and it's almost time for takeoff!
Daddy's getting situated in the front seat next to the pilot. Check out Brendan's little head in the back window...
There they go! They taxied down the run way for quite a distance..until finally... Brendan was officially airborne for the first time!!

The flight and landing were successful & Brendan had a wonderful time. This picture was taken right after they landed - he was running over to share his excitement!

WHAT A DAY!

Down on the farm...

It's harvest time on the Finley Farm and Brendan was lucky enough to spend last week Tuesday-Sunday with Grandpa David and Grandma Connie on the farm - fully experiencing everything farm life has to offer! Thank you, Grandma Connie and Kahri, for meeting us in Fargo to get the eager little farmer (Brendan, of course!) - he had an awesome time!

Halle & I went down - over the past weekend - to pick Brendan up, as well as share in the harvest experience (once a farm-girl, always a farm-girl; I LOVE harvest time!), Cary wasn't able to come with us as he had to study hard for his CPA exam (he took the first part of the 4-part-test on 10-4 - we are still waiting on the results!).

First, a picture of the awesome new 30th Anniversary gift we gave our parents (their anniversary was August 28th, and Colin and Kahri ordered the "Finley" log, then worked very hard to create a unique and attractive "display area" for the log - thanks for all the hard work and designing guys, it looks awesome!), mom is planning on planting flowers and shrubs next year which will look great!

Next, a picture of the combine, with the ENORMOUS all-crop head on; currently they are harvesting soybeans, and Colin was driving into the yard to prepare to move to another field...

Part of the 'move' prep, in this case - because the field was quite far away, and access to it was reached by going down a highway - included putting the head on a 'header trailer' to be pulled behind a pickup (which I drove), while Colin drove the combine, Erica drove the fuel pickup, Doug drove the tractor and grain cart, and Dad & Brendan brought one of the semis (while Mom stayed home with the sleeping Halle).

Here Colin sets the head on the header trailer...
It's set - and the combine is ready to drive down the highway...
Look how big it is! The pickup is a full-sized 4-door, and it's dwarfed by the 35 foot head...

One of Brendan's favorite parts of harvest is riding in one of Grandpa David's semis...


Here we are at the elevator, waiting for our turn to dump our beans...

A few candids..

First, Brendan's first day of Sunday school - parents were invited to attend the first day to observe and allow the kids to get comfortable...Brendan was comfortable immediately and has loved going since that first day (he's in the white shirt watching the director of Sunday School sing a song)!


The goofy girl being silly...(check out those baby blues!)
Fall is in the air - these pics were taken on a rather chilly day, hats and mittens required...

The Northern Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion...

Every year, over Labor Day weekend, the Northern Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion takes place in Rollag, MN. Among the many things to do, there's an old steam locomotive that takes a one-mile plus tour around the grounds to ride. Here are Erica and Brendan waiting for our turn to take a ride...

Cary and Brendan on one of the open-front cars...
Erica and Halle enjoying the ride...
The train, from a distance...

The Trooper Hat's many looks...

staring....HALLE!


First up - the classic "I'm here to arrest you - but darn aren't I cute" look...

Next it's the "Not only is it a trooper hat, but also a sombrero" look...


And finally, it's the "Trooper Hat? I think not! This is a walking fashion statement!" look...

Yeah - she's a total girl!

Thank you again, Uncle Steve, for the authentic State Trooper Hat!!

Play Ball!

Last Sunday was a gorgeous day, perfect for teaching Brendan some baseball basics. First order of business, figure out which way Brendan feels more comfortable batting...

"No Daddy, I don't like that way"...


"This feels better"...


He's ready! Have a look at that form!! :)

The pitch is up...


Swing and a miss!
Brendan did a great job for his first attempt at batting - he didn't actually hit the ball mid-air, but got closer and closer the more Cary pitched to him. At one point, out of frustration, he took the bat and hit the ball golf-ball style while it was laying on the ground - then cheered and said, "Momma - did you see me hit it?!!"

After a rousing game of baseball, nothing tastes better then some hotdogs cooked over an open fire. Cary and Brendan headed out to the woods to gather some "cooking sticks"...
The fire - hot! The sticks - sharpened! It's time to cook!

Mmmmm.....

Weddings Galore!

Here are a few candids from the other wedding I was a bridesmaid in this summer (August 18th)...


Here are my friends, Sonja, Amie (the bride, obviously!) and I...
Amie with her dad, Del, and stepmom, Mary...
Me with two of my other great friends, Margie and Sharon...
The bride and groom (Amie & Tony) sharing their first dance...

And finally, Cary and I...
(That's my friend, Margie, in the background - isn't the look on her face hilarious!?!)