A Visit to the Ney Nature Center :)

On Saturday, the family headed to Ney Nature Center for their fall festival. Though a bit chilly, we survived without frostbite or complaints from the little ones :) I would have to say our favorite part of the day was the prairie grass maze and hayride which toured the Ney farm and one of the many nature trails that encompass this beautiful park. 

                        Me and the kiddos hiding in the prairie grass maze :)

           A nice view of the maze:) Don't you love how my husband got the baby in the pic:) So cute:)

               Our hayride tour guide :) What a knowledgeable and nice guy 

20 Fall Activities To Do With Your Family :)

Can't decide what to do on this beautiful fall day? Too many options...or too many opinions from your little ones? Make it easy...and draw an activity out of a hat. 

I've created a sheet of 20 different activities to partake in this season. All you have to do is print off the sheet, cut out the activity strips, fold them, and stick them in a hat, baggy, or basket. Have children take turns drawing an activity once a day! :) 

I like the surprise! Have fun!

Fall Pumpkin Fun :)

The crisp fall breeze is a sign of pumpkin picking time :) On Sunday, we packed up the car after church and headed to Barten's family-owned pumpkin patch in New Prague, MN. Barten's offers a wide assortment of pumpkins, gourds, fall decorations, straw bales, corn shocks, broom corn, and more.

                                       Look at all these cute wagons that the kids can  haul 
                               their pumpkins in :) Love it!

                               Hanging out in the mound of pumpkins :) One of my            
                                    favorite pics we took there!

Look at all the different variety of pumpkins :) God's endless creations :)

                                                And all the neat looking gourds :) 

Thousands of Pumpkins! Pumpkins Galore :)

Look at that cute teepee for the kids to hangout in :)

Fun beanbag pumpkin toss game :)

             Stuck in the stick house :) One of the many places to take a pic :)

                            Look at those Monster Pumpkins!!!....and neat snake gourds :)

                                                                 Beautiful fall decorations :)

                                               Festive photo shoot on the old-time wagon :)

                                 Tea party on the wooden mushroom table....so cute :)

                   Pushing around his cute miniature wagon.....his favorite part of the day! :)

We're Going on a Leaf Hunt

Oh what to do with the over abundance of leaves? Our family has thought of a couple of things to do on this beautiful fall day :)

This lesson that I created, not only promotes family togetherness, but educates your young child about the changing seasons. 

Today we started our lesson reading the book "We're going on a Leaf Hunt," by Steve Metzger

After we read our book, my kids were excited to go outside and find some leaves. I recommend the app from Leafsnap  to help you ID unknown species. Just take a picture with your phone and it recognizes the leaf like magic :)

As you look at the leaves, emphasize the beauty of the trees and leaves and talk to them about how God created all the beautiful species. 

After jumping in our leaf pile and snapping a few photos, we gathered our collection and brought them inside to make a leaf collage.

                                                 Hard at work on her collage :)

        The completed masterpiece :) Verse taken from Ecclesiastes 3

                           Another completed masterpiece :)

Planning Fall/Winter Activities :)

Have you seen the leaves changing color yet? Or the first few leaves fall? :)

This is usually a sign that I should be planning our upcoming activities for fall and winter. I find it easier to print off a blank monthly calendar for October through December to alleviate the chaos that the holidays can bring. I came across the site Free Printable 2012 Calendars, which is a useful site if you want to stay organized this coming holiday season.

I've already planned some fun family activities for next month. A lot of the activities we have engaged in previous years. Here are some pictures/ideas from years past :) Enjoy!

 Emma Krumbee's Scarecrow Festival

                               The kid's absolutely loved the giant haystack :)

                                   The notorious barrel train ride! CHOO! CHOO!

John Deere trikes for the kids to ride :) Who could ask for anything more? :)

                                   Peek-a-B00! Playhouses for the kids :)

Me and LU LU posing in front of the giant cornstalks :)

                              Daddy and Vincent pretending to drive the tractor :)

               

                   Annual Fall Photo Shoot                                                 

Sever's Corn Maze

   A giant pit of corn kernels :) How cool is this?...The kids loved it! :)

                        Family photo shoot by the John Deere tractor :)

                            Hanging out in the Super Cool Corn Maze! :)

                                          Definitely coming back this year! :)