Thursday, October 29, 2015

Missing Bubba

Today I'll do the same thing I've done every day for the past 8 years...think about my Dad and miss him more than words can express.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Airing Out The Dirty Laundry


How brilliant is Pat's creation?  Using PVC pipes, he built this contraption for Braden to hang his hockey equipment on.  It will surely help alleviate some of the stench that existed from throwing sweaty hockey equipment in to a closed bag.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Apple Orchard


We took our annual trip to the apple orchard yesterday.  Nothing says Fall like a morning at the apple orchard.


How about THESE apples?!


Can't visit an apple orchard without taking a run through the corn maze.


Children and Grandma of the Corn.


Lost in the corn maze with my favorite dude.







Careline insisted I take a picture of the "Siamese" pumpkin with two heads.


Sunday, October 11, 2015

Last Day Of Fall Sports



We were blessed with a perfect day today weather-wise and that's a very good thing as Braden and Careline had us outside all morning and afternoon long as they wrapped up their Fall athletic seasons.  Braden and his baseball team finished the season undefeated.  Careline ended things on a happy note by scoring a hat trick with two assists in a 6 to 4 victory after being down 3 nothing very early in the game.

What will we do with all the extra time on our hands now that baseball and soccer are over?  Free time...what's that?  Hockey has already begun and both Adeline and Careline will be starting basketball soon.  At the McLaughlin's it's run, run, run...but it's fun, fun, fun!


Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The Newest Member Of The Band


My saxophone came out of storage this week as Buddy decided that he wants to learn how to play it and be part of the 5th grade band.  He has Grandma Ginger to Thank that we own this nice instrument that he'll soon be belting out the tunes on.  

Friday, October 2, 2015

Colorado

Since tomorrow will already be a week since we returned from our wonderful trip to Colorado, I thought I'd better post some pics from our journeys.  The first stop was the Coors Brewery in Golden.
 

Wonder how much of that beer being brewed will make its way to South St Paul?



If we ever move to Colorado I know what job Pat's going to apply for...Taste Tester in the Quality Control Laboratory (20 people actually hold that job title)!


Christmas picture?


As part of Pat's quest to hit every ballpark in the nation at some point in his lifetime, we took in a night game at Coors Field.






The chapel at the Air Force Academy is absolutely gorgeous both inside and out.







This statue stands outside the Olympic Training Facility in Colorado Springs.


I totally tried to get Pat to strike a pose but he was having none of it!


#1 in my book



Whenever the Olympic games are open the caldron is lit here at the Olympic Training Facility too.


One day we caught the first train up to Pike's Peak. There were so many spectacular views along the ride.




Once you get high enough up the mountain, trees can no longer grow because of how cold the ground is.



The only time during our stay that it snowed up on Pike's Peak was the night before we made out trip up there.  You can see the snow on the train tracks that look like they're leading us up, up, and away.
 






How cute is this goat who lives high up on the mountain with a family of goats?





We also took a tour of Cave of the Winds where we saw stalactites and stalagmites.  It was a cool (literally) tour. 




I think my favorite adventure of the trip was our day at the Royal Gorge.  It's a bridge suspended 1,000 above the Arkansas River.  We walked across it a couple of times, hiked around the park, took a gondola ride from one side to the other, and just took in the gorgeous scenery.



The Garden of the Gods is also a must see attraction in the Colorado Springs area.  How interesting and beautiful are these formations?!








I tell you what, Pat is one good vacation planner.  He had us running from morning to night every single day of our trip.  We took in a lot during our 6 days in Colorado and had an amazing time!