Gulczinski Trick or Treats

Grandma and Grandpa Gulczinski had us over for their 3rd annual Halloween party. They had tons of games for the kids to play, some spooky food and lots of goodies. It's hard to say who had more fun, my parents or the kids. Here are the crazy cousins: Margot, Stella, Elsie and Gabe. We'll have to get a bigger haystack next year, because another Blake cousin will be joining us! My sister and brother-in-law are expecting their 3rd baby in February! We are SOOOO excited for a new little one!
Grandma and Grandpa with their crazies! This isn't one of my best pictures...everyone is looking in a different direction. Uncle Matt most have been doing something weird.

Elsie and her Halloween date.

The girls loved my mom's witch hat. Every time we see a witch costume Elsie and Margot say "Hey she's a witch, just like grandma!" This always makes me laugh.

Halloween a Week Early

The Halloween festivities began a week early for the Erickson girls. We make good use of our costumes (as you'll notice in later blog posts)! Last Saturday we went to the "Halloween Park," a park in Lakeville that has a Halloween party each year. We just call it the Halloween Park all year. The girls trick or treated through the park, went on a tractor ride and got to see a puppet show. Butterfly Margot enjoying her treats.
Elsie is a cupcake and Margot a butterfly for Halloween this year.

It was a perfect night to spend outside!

Getting Crafty

I think the combination of being 4 and starting pre-school has really put the craft bug in Elsie. Her mother, not being the craftiest person in the world, is working hard to encourage this side of Elsie. If we hadn't ran out of orange paper, I think Elsie would have filled the wall with her pumpkin creations. Isn't she sooo cute?!

Apple and Pumpkin Picking

Since Elsie's field trip to an apple orchard she has become a pro at the "reach, twist, pull" technique of apple picking. She had to share this knowledge with Margot which meant another trip to the orchard. The orchard was almost bare. Luckily I was able to lift the girls up so they could each get 1 apple.

Margot enjoying her apple.

I can't believe it's pumpkin time again! Gotta love wearing shorts and a tank top in October to pick pumpkins!

Margot finds the perfect pumpkin and don't you dare try to help her carry it.

Elsie admires her pumpkin and makes sure it is just a little bit bigger than Margot's.

RUN!

The Erickson crew ran a 10K, 5K, and 1K race. The brain teaser for the day will be for you to match the Erickson with the race. It was a gorgeous day for a run and some family fun. Elsie loved that she was able to go through the snack tent after the kid race and Margot loved doing everything she wasn't supposed to do...such as, climbing on top of the haystack obstacle course while innocent children were crawling underneath it. Elsie and Margot looking very serious during their run. The shadow camera man is Soren, so I guess we can count this as a family picture.
The Lundberg family joined us in the fun. My good friend, Alyssa, and I go all the way back to 1st grade! Oh how the times have changed :)

So long September

September is cruising by and I just realized I've only given Erickson Blog Fans (also known as my brother and sister) one September blog post. Here are a few photos to get you up to date on our September happenings...

Elsie is now taking a dance class. It's her first "organized" activity. She wears this too cute dance leotard to class and Margot and I try to stay busy for 45 minutes while Elsie learns about jazz hands. Elsie loves her class.


We went on a picnic last week with Grandma Sue and Grandpa Doug. Margot had so much fun rolling around in sand filled with goose poop.

Books, jammies, and smiles...what could be better?

I was able to chaperone on Elsie's preschool field trip to an apple orchard. It was fun to see how the other half lives on a field trip. Much easier to keep track of 2 kids versus 22 students!

Preschool

Today was Elsie's first day of preschool! She bravely walked into her classroom after giving me a hug and kiss and said she only missed us a little bit of the time. I had no time to shed tears during this big occasion because I was wrestling with a wild 2-year-old, but that's a different story. So, here's what I know about Elsie's first day...all things she told me:
She was the napkin helper, they had circle crackers for snack, she didn't really want to play at the playground, and she used stamps for an art project. This is way for than I was expecting to hear about and I loved learning about every minute!