Halloween

Jared's bounty hunter costume.

Lauren's own creation - Elf warrior. She was awarded "Best Costume in the 8th Grade" at school. She also has a bow, quiver, and arrows that go with the costume.

Jared's and Mommy's creation is on the left. Daddy and Justin did the one in the middle. Lauren's tri-force symbol from the Legend of Zelda is on the right.

Family "Cabining" Trip

Last week we drove about an hour and a half to Shakamak State Park and Lake Kickapoo in western Indiana near Jasonville. There, we rented a cabin for Wednesday and Thursday night and returned home around Noon on Friday. Kathy wasn't up to actual camping in tents, so this was a fun, inexpensive alternative. We were hoping to see more brilliant fall colors, but the leaves in Indiana had just barely started to change last week. The cabin had a main room with two sets of bunk beds, a table with chairs, and a wood burning stove. It also had a screened-in porch, a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and another room with a full size bed. The weather was clear, but windy and cold until early Friday morning when we got rained on. The first night was down around the freezing mark, but the wood burning stove kept us nice and warm. We had a great time. Indiana really has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor recreation.

We had a great breakfast the first morning consisting of eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa.

Justin had a blast dipping the plastic fish on his Fisher Price fishing rod into and out of the water.

Jared and Justin untangling their lines on the pier near our cabin.

Justin fishing.

Our first round of fishing in the early morning hours.

Justin fishing and displaying a bit of crack.

Justin with his fishing pole near our cabin.

This is a small play area down the road from our cabin.

The road leading to our cabin.

Daddy caught a stick!

Lauren on one of the piers that we fished off of later in the day on lake Kickapoo.

Daddy, Lauren, and Jared went on about a 2 mile hike along one of the roads that winds through the state park and then along one of the forest trails.

To meet the requirements of one of his Webelos badges, Jared helped build and maintain the fire that we cooked our foil dinners on. He also assisted in preparing the dinners. He did a great job and got some really good coals going for cooking.

This critter was in the dumpster near our cabin. I think it was too fat to get out on its own!

Justin's 4th Birthday

We celebrated Justin's birthday the weekend before his actual birthday. We had BBQ ribs and hotdogs. Grandma and Grandpa came over to help celebrate. On Justin's actual birthday, he got to pick where we went to dinner as a family. He of course chose McDonald's!

Kathy and Lauren did a great job on Justin's birthday cake. Justin loves anything to do with Disney's "Cars".

Lauren's Room

As the only daughter in our family, Lauren gets the largest kid's bedroom in the house. This is a very rare occasion when her room is actually clean! She has an incredible amount of stuff for a 13 year old! Her closet is completely full.