So last night, Dusty and I went to bed with the understanding that there may be some frost overnight and some of our crops may not make it. Imagine our surprise when we woke up and found that even the water in our hose was frozen! So much for that frost, Dusty heard that it dropped down to twenty two degrees last night.

We pretty much lost everything. No green beans from our garden this year. All those beautiful peppers that were just starting to turn red and yellow? Lost. Needless to say, I'm just a little sick about it.

Look at my hydrangeas! Would you believe they were still mostly white yesterday?!

And here's a look at one of the jalapeno plants. Obviously the leaves shouldn't be black and wilted.

So today I spent the day trying to use up as much of the veggies that we could save. I roasted a ton of peppers and tomatillos. I cut up onions and peppers and froze them. I even shredded zucchini. Hopefully we can score some of the missing veggies at the farmer's market this weekend. I'd really like to can some green beans if nothing else this year.

I lied, there will not be any pictures posted of Max at his swimming lesson. After taking my camera and snapping a picture a parent warned me that they don't allow you to take pictures or even use your cellphone while in the pool area. Apparently people were complaining about the pictures being posted online. Oops. So, while I did snap one picture (and I'm keeping it, dang it) I won't be posting it. I do believe we can take pictures during the swimmers' showcase at the end.

Swimming lessons did not start out as smoothly as preschool had. The first 15 minutes I sat in the bleachers and watched my son refuse to get in the water outside of sitting on the side of the pool. So I finally walked over there, did some Mama magic, and he got in the water and participated for the second half of the class. Seriously? The boy who leaps off the dock into the water didn't want to get into the pool? I know, I was a bit shocked too. We'll see how his second class goes later this week.

Thankfully I did snap a couple cute pictures yesterday afternoon. We have a few apple trees that are still pretty young but one of them had some apples so we set out to pick them with Daddy.

And afterwards I turned them into a delicious apple crisp!

Nothing like apple crisp for dessert to remind you that fall has started. Of course, this below 60 degree weather today doesn't really allow you to pretend summer is still here.

OK family and friends, I have a small request to ask and hopefully some of you will feel moved to do it. (I'm really not expecting everyone to.) Max has become our resident mailman. He walks to the mailbox every afternoon after his nap to get the mail. He gets so excited when he finds a card in the mail even though they are usually addressed to me. He has to open them to see what it looks like and who sent it and if we can we even point out the picture on our refrigerator. (Yes, I keep all my Christmas and Birth announcement pictures on the fridge and clean it off at the end of each year to make room for the new ones. It's a great way to feel surrounded by family. Now that you know that, be sure to send your picture this year!)

No, requesting your picture was not the actual request. Requesting mail for my son was. If you have an old card laying around, can you spare the 44 cents and send Max a little note? I promise you he will be required to send a return letter, so you can look at it as an investment since you're sure to get one of Max's masterpieces in return. (No, I don't think he's Picasso, just work with me here.)

And that's it. I should have pictures tomorrow of Max at his first swim lesson, so be excited! And thanks in advance to anyone that takes up my request!

While the funeral was depressing, we did manage to have some fun too. The kids had a great time spending the night at GG's. They got to feed the fish, eat pizza and snacks, watch Buzz Lightyear and Rory even got to spend the night in GG's bed with her. (OK, maybe I threw her in there after she refused to fall asleep and was threatening to wake Max up, but hey, it worked.) GG loves showing the kids her fish in her pond and point out that Daddy wired it so that the waterfall and crane worked.

Friday evening the kids spent the night at Dido and Grammy's while Dusty and I headed to the Walker Family Benefit. We had a nice evening with my parents and Andrea, and a bunch of friends from high school that we hadn't seen in a very long time.

Saturday was spent taking care of errands and watching Maya. Rory is obsessed with Maya and would not leave her alone. Poor Maya just had to put up with her!

Sunday we had Grammy, Dido and Auntie Rosie over to celebrate Grammy's birthday since we were at the lake for her actual birthday. Don't worry, the kids and I made cupcakes and sang, and Grammy did a great job going along with all of the fun!

This week I'm trying not to make many plans. Between Rory's tumbling class and Max's preschool and swim lessons we've got a full week on our hands. And the kids have a bit of sleep to catch up on after all the adventures from last week. Here's hoping for a calm week!

Yesterday was a hard day; the funeral for my Great Uncle Andy. His death was sudden and unexpected and left everyone a bit shocked. The kids and I headed to GG's Wednesday where we spent the night with her and the kids did a great job of distracting her. What with their refusal to go to bed and constant need for GG's affection.

Thursday we drove the 3 hours to the funeral. I didn't get to see much of the services as the kids were overtired and wound up from being in the car so we spent most of the service outside. The visit to the grave site was somber, until the kids showed up with Max and Rory running right in front of the pastor and Rory yelling "Hey Guys!" to the group when we got there. Thankfully it led to some much needed laughs. (Even if Mom was mortified at first.)

Afterward we all headed back to the house where we got to talk and visit with cousins and second cousins (and even thirds or seconds once removed, however that works.) It was a beautiful day and so nice to get to visit with so much family we never get to see enough of. It was a bit surreal, and soon enough we were on our way back to bring GG home and then head home ourselves.

I'm exhausted today, emotionally and physically. You will be missed Andy. And if you could send a couple big fish Max and Dusty's way, they'd really appreciate it.

Andy's obituary, if you'd like to know more about this great man:
http://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/2011/09/06/andy-tweten-71-of-vining-2/

This labor day weekend we headed up to the lake house. Unfortunately it was cold, cloudy and even sometimes rainy while we were there so it didn't make for a good end of the summer celebration. We made the most of it though.

Dusty and Max went and picked up pizza, via boat. Which always makes for some good stories and smiles.

We convinced Bano to go wakeboarding in the cold since he hadn't gone yet this year.

There were not many fish biting but Max made sure to at least snag something with his hook.

And of course, there were long luxurious bubble baths to be had.

So while we didn't get to lay around in the sun as we had hoped, we still had a pretty good time!

So today was Max's first day of preschool. Yesterday while we got his backpack ready for school and talked about all the fun things he would do I started to tear up. Now, I'm not opposed to crying, but I was completely blown away as I had only been excited since we signed him up. So then I got nervous, and that night, I started to tear up again thinking about it. I mean, what if I started crying in front of Max and got him upset?

Thankfully that morning started out great! Max and I snuggled in bed like every morning then we got up for some cereal and to get Rory from her crib. We got ready and then we waited. Yup, we were ready to go at least a half hour before we had to leave. So I sent my excited boy outside where we took picture after picture after picture to distract him. And he was so proud he actually cooperated. I mean, look at this happy child!

Oh and that arm you see? That would be Rory.

Who insisted on finding a bag she could bring to Max's preschool. Because little sister has to be like big brother, right? And how can you not love her for being so excited too?

Max continued to tell Dusty and I how he was going to take the bus to school, and we continued to tell him that Rory and I would be bringing him to school, there would be no bus. I made sure to point out that he got to open the doors. And don't worry, he took his duty very seriously and made sure we all stood back while he yanked and pulled at those doors!

And lets focus on this backpack for a minute. You see, Max and I made a special shopping trip together, just the two of us, to get all his school supplies which included his backpack. Max has been looking forward to having a backpack for at least 6 months as he knew he'd get to have one when he went to school. So when they didn't have the Buzz Lightyear backpack Max wanted at the store? I gave him the option to either pick one out that was already there and he could bring it home that day or we could quick order a Buzz Lightyear backpack that the delivery man would have to bring to our house later. Five days after I sat down in the middle of the backpack aisle and helped Max pick out his backpack he is tearing into the box that came just for him.

Max did great when we dropped him off at preschool, we said goodbye, I told him I'd pick him up at lunch time and we turned and left. No tears, no screaming, he ran to play with the big trucks and Mama walked out with Rory. I may have teared up a bit on the walk to the car but it was short lived. And when we got back and picked Max up? I got the biggest kiss ever from him, and Rory even got a hug. I think it's going to be a great school year!