The Bear Turns 7!

I'm not sure how old bears can get to be but our Sarah-Bear turned 7! She was very excited to bring cookies to school for a treat. Her teacher said that she spent several days counting the number of students in both sections of 1st Grade to make sure she had enough treats for everyone. We celebrated her birthday with a family party at our house. Grandma T. was able to come up for a visit. Sarah received many nice gifts and enjoyed her day. Thanks to everyone for making her day special!

Halloween

October has brought a few changes to the Wieland Household. This biggest change is that we were finally able to switch houses with Todd's Uncle. Even though we only moved about 150, it was quite a project. It is one thing to move into an empty house, but quite another to switch houses with someone. Everything is unpacked and put in its new place. I just have to hang some pictures on the walls (maybe after we paint them this winter.)

The girls had a great Halloween weekend! Grandpa Printz came for a fun-filled, busy visit. We enjoyed carving pumpkins and trick-or-treating with him. It was fun to show him how we do it in the country. The kids usually get 5 -6 pieces of candy per household. 5 pieces of candy x dozen households x 3 little girls = A WHOLE LOT OF CANDY. I should really take a picture to show how much we have.

The weather has gotten cooler. It won't be long before the snow starts to fly. Todd still has a little bit of field work to complete. We are also gearing up for deer hunting in a couple of weeks.

Enjoy the pics! Rachel working on her pumpkin.
The Rascal "Digging in"

Sarah in her slightly "pre-mess" state.

Spooky!!

Grandpa Printz helping out with our annual tradition.

Ready for trick-or-treating.

I think the craziest looking jack-o-lanterns are the ones in the back!

Our finished product.

Little Cowgirl, Country Diva and Asian Princess (turned vampire) ready to hit the country side.

Twin Cities Trip

A fun visit with the Schulte Family

Jordan and Cousin Colton
Sarah and Cousin Colton

Landon with his Birthday Cake

We were able to make a quick trip to the Cities to visit some family. The girls had a blast playing with their cousin, Abby on Friday Night and Saturday. It is always a good time when we visit the Schulte Family! We were also able to attend my nephew, Landon's 5th Birthday. I can't believe how fast he is growing up! Colton, our other nephew, is also growing up fast! Although it was a short visit, we always enjoying spending time with the family.

End of Summer

The end of summer/beginning of fall brought many fun times to the Wieland Family. The wheat harvest was a success and we were thankful for a good year. Todd is waiting for the soybeans to ripen a little bit more before he can combine those fields. We also are waiting to harvest the corn and soybeans.

We were able to take in the NW MN Steam Threshers Renuion in Rollag, MN over Labor Day. The girls were able to see antique tractors, combines and plows. We even rode on an old train powered by steam. Grandpa, Grandma and Uncle Al came along too. The only thing the girls didn't care for were the bathrooms. They are basically glorified outhouses. Jordan thought they forgot the flushers!

Rachel has started 4th grade this year. It is a big change to be in the upper elementary but she is already doing well. She has begun her 4th year of piano lessons and has even played in church a few times. Girl Scouts is one of her favorite activities. She earned several badges throughout the summer and is currently working on two more. Basketball will be in the mix in the winter if there is a 4th grade coach.

Sarah enjoyed helping Dad out this summer. I think she will be our little farmer. Her motto is "the dirtier, the better!" She brought a petrified frog she found on the farm for her first show-and-tell to school. Don't worry - I gave the teacher fair warning. Sarah began 1st grade this year and also started piano lessons. I was a little worried that our tomboy would not like it. Boy was I wrong! She came home and practiced almost an hour after her first lesson. I hope that lasts! Sarah is also involved with Girl Scouts. I am her troop's leader so it is fun to watch their progress.

Jordan began her second year of pre-school this year. Only 1 more year of daycare to go!!!! She goes to school for a full day which is really good for her. She enjoyed her first day but was pretty wiped out by the end. Our little Rascal always keeps us entertained with some of the things she says. Just this afternoon she was carrying around a toy phone and said "this is my texting phone." I should mention that neither Todd or I text on our phones.

First Day of School

A visit with the Schulte Family
Jordan after a long day in Rollag.

Looking at a newer model in Rollag

Sarah would like to take this one home to help Dad in the field ;)

Turning the crank on an old tractor

This tractor is similar to Grandpa's first tractor on the farm.

Ready for a day of sunny weather!

Sarah is helping Dad with the chores.

Progress

Our basement remodeling project is coming along this summer. The sheet rock is up and the plumber and electrician have done some work. The windows have also been installed in the girls' rooms. We are waiting for the walls to be completed. The toilet, vanity and sink in the bathroom need to be installed. The ceiling still needs to be completed as well as the final touches on the electric. Todd and I will have to make a trip to Grand Forks to buy floor tiles for the bathroom, rug/carpet for the rooms and paint. I am sure there are other things I am forgetting about! Of course, Todd is getting ready for harvest and I will have to begin preparing for school. I am hoping we will be able to switch houses before the late fall. We are going to wait until the winter before we paint anything upstairs. New carpet upstairs will also have to wait until the budget allows. The girls are VERY excited to get into their very own space! Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what we are doing:

Here is a picture of the Bathroom. You can see the shower in the corner on the left. We are going to have a large sink-less vanity installed across from the shower. You need one of those with 3 girls (whor are going to be teenagers before we know it!)

Here is a veiw of the Family Room (with Rachel's room in the background)

This is another view of the Bathroom. The toilet and sink will go on the left of the shower on the little ledge. The ledge has to do with a new style of toilet we had installed so our brother-in-law didn't have to break-up the concrete floor. Don't ask me to give an indepth explanation!

This picture was taken from the stairs. The door on the left of the black pole is the Bathroom. The entrance behind the pole is a large Walk-in Closet. The other two doors are the Bedrooms for the girls.

Here is a shot of one of the Bedrooms. You can see the new window that was installed. The picture doesn't do justice to the size of the bedroom. It is actually pretty large. It will be nice for the girls to have more space to grow. Sarah and Jordan will share the bigger room and Rachel will have the other one.

Here is another view of the Family Room. This picture was taken from the bedroom. It will start off as a playroom for now. We will eventually move our current living room furniture down there when we save some money to purchase a new set for the upstairs. The door in the back of the picture leads to a much needed Storage Room!

We are looking forward to having this large project completed. Neither Todd or I have been involved in a project such as this so we are very thankful to have a brother-in-law in construction and does this type of thing for a living!

This 'n That

Here are few "this 'n that's" from the Wieland Farm this summer:

1) Sarah learned to ride her bike without training wheels!! Once she got the hang of it, there was no stopping her (until she ran into the shed - no injuries or tears - thank goodness)

2) Rachel was able to attend a Horse Day Camp through Girl Scouts. She loved it!! The girls learned how to ride and take care of horses. This is about as close as she will get to having a horse of her own because we have enough animals around here!

3) All three girls are taking swimming lessons again this year in Thief River Falls. It is really nice because all three can go with their individual levels at the same time in an indoor pool. No rescheduling!

4) We took the Youth Group and our girls to Valley Fair. My father predicted warm weather for the day. It was pretty cool when we arrived at 11:00 and I almost called to give him a hard time but it warmed up to a nice 78 degrees in the afternoon. The girls loved the rides and Waterpark. It is such a nice family outing!

5) We attended the 100th Celebration in Oklee, MN where I sang with my Heart of Worship Group. It was really HOT but the kids have fun going on some of the rides and walking around.

6) The 4th of July brought us to our neighbor's house for a mini "parade" with the kids on bikes and 4-wheelers and a great potluck lunch. We can't light fireworks at our farm for fear of frightning the cattle and there isn't a display in Red Lake Falls so we took the girls to Dairy Queen. They thought that was just fine!

7) The girls are working hard doing chores for Uncle Al, Mom and Dad to earn a Wii this summer. They have also saved their birthday money and pooled it all together. So far they have $143!! I told them if they meet their reading goals this summer, that Mom and Dad would pay for half of it. It is good to see them working so hard for something they really want! Dad thinks they should put some of their earnings in the bank. We may have to put a little away in the bank accounts :)

8) The biggest news is that we are probably going to switch houses with Uncle Al this summer! Our brother-in-law has started working on the basement. We are putting in two bedrooms, a BIG bathroom, a walk-in closet, living room area and storage room. We will be excited when it is finished so we have a little bigger space to live in.

Here are a few pics from the last month:

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day!

Ready for a "Girl's Only Movie Night" (Dad went fishing with our church's Men's Club)

Rachel riding her horse at Horse Camp

Twin Cities Trip

The Girls and I enjoyed a long weekend visiting family in the Twin Cities. We were able to spend time with aunts, uncles, grandparents and cousins. My aunt, uncle, cousin and her family came to visit from MO! I haven't seen them in 9 years so it was really good to catch up. The MN Zoo and the Mall of America were some of the places we visited as well as spending time at my step-sister's (Lisa) house. The girls had a great time with their cousins and getting to meet Colton, our brand-new nephew. Here are a few pics from our trip. All smiles at Grandpa Printz's house with the Nelsons. The kids sure had fun playing together!
We were able to eat out at McDonald's with Uncle Andy and Auntie Darla.

Great-Aunt Linda and Great-Uncle Rocky came for a visit from Missouri.

A picture with Nicholas (cousin Casey's son), cousin Landon, baby cousin Colton,

Auntie Heather and Uncle Jason.

Rachel holding Baby Colton.

Sarah taking a "wolf ride" at the MN Zoo.

Jordan had to catch a ride too!

Jordan holding cousin Colton.

The kid crew at the MN Zoo.

Two wild and crazy monkeys!