Halloween

Halloween this year was a ton of fun because it is the first year that Tori really understood what was going on. She loved wearing her "Trick or Treat" shirt as much as she could during October. And she was very excited to be a chicken this year.

Here she is holding the dancing and music playing chicken that Great Grandma gave her when she found out what she was going to be for Halloween.

This is Tori and friends at a Halloween party at the hospital for resident families. From left to right: Anna, Tori, Kennedy, Andrew, Anne, Megan, Ethan, Claire and Luke is the lobster lying in front.

Tori also had a lot of fun carving a pumpkin for the first time. It took a little convincing to get her to put her hand in the pumpkin and grab the seeds, but once she was brave enough to do it she didn't want to stop. She also insisted that we color with crayons on our pumpkins.

Everytime she sees the pumpkins now she tells me how "Tori made a scary pumpkin and daddy made a happy pumpkin."

Field of Dreams

These are some pictures I've been meaning to post for awhile now. Back in August, one of John's roommates from college, Erik came to visit for the weekend. We had not yet been to the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa (which is only a little over an 1hr drive away) so we decided to take him there. (It was very sunny and very hot, but we still had a fun time.)

Here are John and Tori running the bases on the field used in the movie.

Tori and mom at homeplate.

Erik knocking it out of the park. (There was a really nice man there that had brought a bat and some balls and he offered to pitch a few to Erik.)

Erik, Tori and John in the cornfield used in the movie (the corn is planted a lot further apart than corn normally is here so a person can actually walk through it).

Apple picking

One of the things that we have done several times during the end of summer/beginning of fall that Tori loves is to go apple picking. We have a U-Pick Apple Orchard about 20mins away that is really beautiful and we have loved any excuse to go there.

These first two pictures are from when we went while Grandma Katie was visiting in August(she took the pictures). We didn't stay too long that time, because it was one of the hottest days of the year.

Then we went with a ton of friends from church. Tori thought it was really cool to pick the apples right off the tree and she always had to have one in her hand to eat while she picked.

Then Grandma and Grandpa came with Danielle and baby Olivia to visit. Tori loved riding on Grandpa's shoulders and kept saying, "I want to touch the sky, I can't reach it."

The best part about apple picking was eating one of the fresh apple turnovers that were made each day at the orchard. Above Grandma Margie is generously sharing one with Tori.

Our last trip was the public library's bus trip to the orchard. Tori loves buses, especially school buses and thought it was a ton of fun to ride on a bus (she still asks me sometimes if she can ride on the bus again).

Here are Tori, Jack, Anne and Megan getting ready to go on the "hayride" through the orchard, which Tori also thought was a lot of fun.