If puppies bring in the girls....

Then little girls bring in the football players!

So the Mock's and the Olson's were at lunch after church today at the McAlisters Deli over by Notre Dame when I noticed someone I recognized walk past. Then I got a look from Jesse that said he recognized someone too. In the booth right behind us sat down Tommy Rees, Dayne Crist, and Mike Golic Jr.

We were all done with our meal when Eden (who had been sitting between Mommy and Daddy) stood up in the booth, turned around, and stuck her little head between the shoulders of Tommy and Mike and said "Go Irish!"

It was the cutest thing ever. Golic Jr. turned around and said "yeah, go Irish." She then high fived and gave knuckles to the guys (while continuing to say "Go Irish") when they offered to take a picture with all of us. Uncle Jesse couldn't bring himself to be in the photo, but Aunt Elyse did.

Great guys who were very nice to Eden and us as well.

 

 

Glad Eve chose McAlisters for lunch today!

Happy 2nd Birthday Eden!!!

It's hard for her mother and I to believe but today our little girl is officially 2 years old.  The time has flown by (just like all of you said it would) but it has been a series of blessings, day after day. 

We had  a celebration on Saturday and it was a joy to see Eden finally realize what saying "birthday party" 6319 times actually meant:

And of course to see her open all of the many wonderful gifts that she received:

This age has been described as "terrible" by many and we have already had our share of "battles."  We know that there will be many more ahead (since it is clear that we instilled in her Mommy's Type A drive and Daddy's classic bullheadedness and curiousity :)  But we also know that raising her is a gift from God and we will be rightly equipped by Him as necessary.  We may need reminded of that every now and again though so don't hesitate to do that. 

Seeing her grow up, learn, explore, and self discover has been so much fun.  Every day has been a gift and we can't tell her enough.....

WE LOVE YOU EDEN:

Happy Birthday Peeps.  Hope your day is wonderful and your brother gives you a break from stealing your food!

From pumpkins...to apples!

Since the weather cooperated and it was nice on Sunday as well, we took a trip over to Kerchers Orchard in Goshen for the Fall Fest. 

Mommy and Daddy were very excited for this trip considering how much fun we had at Knollbrook Farm but as you can tell by the look on my face, I was a little concerned for our safety:

Ever the daredevil, I decided to participate anyway and was soon on my way to finding my very own "big girl pumpkin":

While waiting to ride back to the orchard (another hay ride!!!) I had another one of my good (although sneaky) ideas:

Pretty soon I had Uncle Jesse working for me and I just said "keep them coming!":

And keep coming they did!  Dad kept saying I was "eating the profits" whatever that means:

I may not know all those fancy phrases Daddy uses, but I do know that I had another fun day!:

I've gotta have my fun while I'm young...pretty soon I'll be 2!

Family Fun at the "Pumpkin Patch"

We took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend and headed out to a local "pumpkin patch."  Eden was able to enjoy this trip much more than her last time at a "patch":

Our destination was Knollbrook Farm in New Paris:

What a fun place we discovered it to be.  We didn't even realize until we got there that Eden would be able to:

Take a hay ride:

See some livestock (real and manmade):

Go through a straw maze:

And of course...pick pumpkins:

What do you mean I only get one?!?:



Cause I'm getting good at this pumpkin picking thing:

But maybe the funnest thing at Knoolbrook Farm was the 50 Foot Slide!  I went down once with Mom and about 5 times all by myself!:

We had a wonderful time at the "pumpkin patch" and I know that the next time I go to one, I'll bring some friends!

It's That Time of Year...

Been real busy trying to get the crops in but I wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing alright!

I think we missed some over yonder...time to get back to work.

*Editor's note:  Eden wasn't driving the farm equipment, she was mostly navigating.  She left the hard stuff to her good pal Jamin :)