trains and trees

We went for the first time to a tree farm to get our tree- until now, it had been the gas station, grocery store, garden center... but I think we have found "our spot". Wait and see why that is...

 A field to pick your own tree out of...

 Finding the perfect tree!

 Cutting it down...

 Then... Playing on trains! 

 Watch out Lainey! Pete and Emi are driving!

 Hot cider in the caboose

Herbster, WI

We took  a quick three day trip to Herbster where we camped ON the shore of Lake Superior, played on our little private beach, Garrick and I went canoeing on the Brule River, kayaked on the lake and went to the train museum in Duluth.

 There was a park around the corner from our campsite where the kids had a lot of fun. Herbster was a tiny town that had a gas station and a restaurant that served breakfast, pizza for dinner and then was also a bar... the land for the campground was right on the lake- so close that you could throw a rock from your tent to the lake- and so it was perfect for the kids to go down and play in the sand and waves.

 Sitting each night and "watching the sun go to the other side of the earth"

We went to Duluth and checked out the train depot- Emi and Peter both liked going in all of the trains and seeing them.  The coming weekend was "A Day Out with Thomas" where Thomas the Train was going to be there giving rides. We were outside watching trains come and go and who drove by? THOMAS! Peter couldn't believe his eyes at how lucky he was to see him there working that day! He kept saying, I didn't know Thomas was going to be here!

The REST of that weekend!

That weekend was already scheduled to be a busy one as there was a train show in LaCrosse that Peter and my dad had a date to attend. We were all going to go, but instead mom and I stayed home and she helped me a lot around the house, cleaned, grocery shopped and took care of the baby and I slept and fed the baby. It was so quiet around here!!

We had some visitors as well! Everyone was so excited to meet little Lainey!

Christmas Train

We spend a lot of time watching trains in Winona since the railroad crossings go straight through town. There have been many times that we have been out for a walk or a run and we have to sprint to get to the crossing- not so we can get over the tracks- but so we can see the train.

 So it is no surprise the the holiday train is a really big deal! I had it marked on numerous calendars, had a few people set to remind me... and some special visitors planned.

 Yup, Grandpa Dan and Gaga Vivi made the trip up to see the train with the kids. When I asked Peter which he was more excited for- he couldn't make up his mind. The train- no grappa- no BOTH.

 We got there just as the train was arriving this year and were able to walk around it for a while- Pete even talked to the guy that was standing on the train and asked him if he knew Sir Topham Hat.

We will be back next year!

What we've been up to...

 Each month goes by faster and faster... not enough time to do anything extra- like take pictures. These are literally all of the pictures I have taken this month... Better luck next month, I guess.

Lots of walks around the block with Emi on her bikes, and Lots and lots of trips around Winona with Pete on his pedal bike. We are to the point that he would rather pedal than ride his skut bike- unless he is pulling the trailer.

One last picture with the pumpkins- a cat for Emelia and Diesel 10 for Peter.

Hosted Thanksgiving at our house- Emi got hungry and tired of waiting- she was happy to sit in her seat and wait for our cousins though! She knew dinner was on its way!

Went to the cities and revisited Choo-Choo Bob's Train Store. It had been two years- I remember feeding Emi while Pete played trains last time- now she was playing right along with him!

Watching hard for the trains to come around the corner.

Our trip to Plainview

 We walk to the hardware store around the corner weekly to watch the trains. One night we were walking there and I warned Pete that it might be closed since it was after 6 on a Friday night. He didn't care since we'd go to the river afterwards to bike anyhow. The store was open and we ran in to only see that the train set was gone! The guys told us that they had brought it up to the train show about 40 minutes away and that we should go. So the next morning we went for a run, played at the park and got donuts at HyVee. Then we headed out of town up to Plainview.

 The phrase of the day was "mom, pick me up!!" most of the time Pete was too short to see what was going on up on the tables- except at this one- This guy didn't have buildings or grass or anything but a big train and track but that was all we needed. Until...

 He brought Pete back to the controls and let him blow the whistles, stop the trains and showed him how to make the engines go backwards. He also showed Pete another engine that he had which wasn't running at the moment and Peter told him that it looked like Hank the Tank which we saw last summer and have since read the book 1,022 (and counting) times.

 When we left the train show there was a tractor parade going down the road. Emi had lots of fun waving at them all! We then had lunch in the park and headed home for naps!

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