Hensler's Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend Ben and I headed up to Momo and Ralph's house for the weekend (aka, my mom, known by her grandkids as Momo).  My sister Allison also came with her family and we spent time just hanging out, letting the kids play, and catching up with each other.  Saturday afternoon was beautiful, and in the spirit of getting the kids out of the house for a little while we decided to find the nearest pumpkin patch.  

Thanks to Google, we found Hensler's, which was only about a 30 minute drive away up near Hamlet, Indiana.  They had a horse drawn wagon ride upon arrival to take you back to the pumpkin patch, a big wooden train for the kids to crawl around and play in, little shops with knick knacks, and of course hot apple cider.  It was such a fun afternoon... here is my proof:)

Ben LOVES tractors and was very excited to get to sit on this one all on his own!

The big wooden train for kids to run around and play in.  

Ben poking his head out of the window of the train- he was having so much fun playing peek-a-boo!

My niece Anna (who is turning SIX on Wednesday... when did that happen?) and the "World's Biggest  Pumpkin"

Aunt Allison hanging on to a squirmy Ben, next to sweet Alexa and Anna on the hayride.

Mommy and Ben- less squirmy now that he has fruit snacks:)

Ben exploring the pumpkins- or "punkins" as he called them!

My sweet little boy- getting so big!  

Easily my favorite picture of the day.  Momo holding Alexa with the horse looking like he was about to take a crunch out of her leg!!  Ben only liked the horsey's from a distance... up close they were a little too huge for his liking!

Thanks Momo for a fun weekend and a great afternoon at the pumpkin patch!  See you next year Hensler's!

It's time for BIG news!!

Shhhh.... Ben has a secret to tell....

Can you guess it???

Ben's going to be a BIG BROTHER!!

Maybe to a little sister, maybe a little brother, we'll know in about 8 weeks!  So far everyone is healthy and very excited about the new addition to our family!  Help us welcome Baby Vollmer in April 2012!

September

I was always one of those people that could never commit to a favorite season or time of year.  I would come up with the good in all of them (as I try to do with most things in my life), never wanting to feel like there was a time of year that I was happier with than others just because of something as silly as the weather.  Well I have finally made up my mind.  I'm taking a stance.  

September is officially my favorite month of the year.  A little relief from the unbearable heat of the summer, yet still beautiful sunny days worth spending every minute outside in the fresh air if you can.  If you can't be outside, open up the windows and air out your stuffy house.  There are no big holidays to fuss over.  The month starts out with Labor Day to give us all a nice long weekend.  Football gets into full swing.  Weekends free up a little from the craziness of summertime.  You can bust out all of the delicious pumpkin pie and spice smelling candles.  I am really truly loving it this year!  

I hope you all are enjoying these beautiful September days as much as I am!

A weekend in Francesville

This past weekend was time well spent for the Vollmer family. We travelled up to our hometown of Francesville, IN. Saturday we spent the day at my Uncle Steve and Aunt Linda's home where about 30ish members of the Gutwein side of my family were getting together. It was great to see my Grandma, aunts and uncles, cousins and their kids, as well as my mom, siblings and nieces. Ben had a great time too! He enjoyed eating monster cookies courtesy of Aunt Allison, playing with his cousins, and entertaining the crowd.

Here are my 4 beautiful nieces making a Ben sandwich- from left to right:

Anna, Grace, Violet, Ben, and Alexa

Grandma Gutwein trying to get a good squeeze on her great-grandbabies... Ben hardly sits still long enough anymore!

On Sunday we went to church with Nick's family and spend the afternoon playing, taking walks, and more importantly getting ice cream from the Patio Drive-In. Yum!

Grandpa got Ben a baby dish of frozen yogurt (yes, the sugar free kind) and he was LOVING it. Blue Moon and Vanilla twist, what's not to love?

He couldn't shovel it in fast enough, so Grandpa had to step in and help

A little later, eating yet another snack. Aunt Lindley (aka Auntie Lo-Lo) was nice enough to spread peanut butter on pieces of banana for him.

Seriously- he is too cute for words sometimes.

Such a little stinker!!

Thanks for a great weekend everyone!

Space Bags

So I've shared before my successful infomercial purchase (think Gyro-bowl). Well, my blog following friends, do I have a treat for you. My latest "as seen on TV" purchase was one of the best things to happen to my closet space in a LONG time. I purchased a set of Space Bags. These are the bags that you load up with all sorts of things, such as clothes, blankets, pillows... you name it, and then you suck all of the air out of them with your vacuum cleaner. This reduces the space that the items take up by about 50%, all while giving you a handy and clean way to store things. Brilliant!!

Nick and I have been on a kick lately trying to organize attics, clean closets, etc in the house, and we came to one conclusion... we need more space. Well, since buying a new home is a few years out, I thought the space bags were a pretty good alternative! I cleared up a TON of space in our upstairs bedroom closet and even the linen closet- and if you don't believe me, check out these before and after pictures!!

BEFORE: Two queen comforters, a queen blanket, a throw, and a throw pillow... pretty huge bag, notice the height and width.

AFTER: Look at that shrinkage!

BEFORE: 2 fluffy pillows and a queen blanket... brace yourself, the after picture is pretty amazing

AFTER: I know- it's amazing. I love my space bags!

3 Weeks Off

I officially took about a 3 week hiatus from blogging, not sure why, I guess summer has kept us busy! So here are a few of my favorite pics of our August adventures...

Loading all of the stuffed animals up in the laundry basket for a ride!

A trip to the zoo with Ben's best bud Owen

Lindley and I deciding to be brave and take Gunther for a walk... wearing roller blades. This did not end well:)

Ben again with Owen at the State Fair- this was a big day, seeing all of the animals and eating some delicious fair food. The biggest hit of the day was the baby piggies!

Okay, well maybe the biggest hit was the chocolate milkshake that Ben and I shared, followed by the baby piggies in a close second. Ben looks like he has a dirt-stache in this picture...

Ben on his bike just out for a ride in the neighborhood. We decided to stop at the pond so Dad could do some fishing and Ben could feed the fish little pieces of bread.

Woah- the HUGE fish that Nick caught in the pond- Ben was so excited!

Ben eating the bread that we brought to give to the fish, sigh.

GGW 2011

GGW- or Gutwein Girls Weekend- is now a 5 year old tradition for myself, my sister and sister-in-laws, and 5 of my girl cousins. We get together every year at my Mom's house up in Winamac and enjoy great food, even better company, and lots of girl time.

It's hard for me to accurately describe what this weekend does for me and the girls. First of all, it's a very rare chance for the 9 of us to really catch up on what is going on in each others lives. Work, spouses, kids, school, relationships- we cover it all. Second, we eat ourselves silly with all of the delicious goodies that we all pitch in to bring (and mooch off of Mom too!). Last, but not least, we get to use one another as a network of Christian women, which is truly priceless.

Thanks girls for such a great weekend- love you all!!

Here is a pic of me and the girls with our moms and Grandma G- the woman at the head of our family who inspires us all.

Back, L to R: Jennifer, Allison, Molly, Emily, Laura, Me, Carrie

Front, L to R: My Mom, Grandma Gutwein, Aunt Linda, and Sara

**We missed you this year Bets!!! It wasn't the same without you...