Bi-pedal Motion

Allisan has been taking her first walking steps for a number of days now.  However they've only been two or less before she stumbles to the floor.  So last night while watching Sunday night football, Allisan got fired up and took eight or nine steps across the floor before tumbling.  Although we don't know if she really intended to do it or not, she became much more assertive and began taking a number of three to four step journeys.  Granted, once we got the video camera on, she was starting to tire out and had to be tricked into doing it.  But here is one such adventure.

Birthday in the Park

Hey everyone, look who turned 1 year old this weekend!  And what a great weekend it was.  The weather was nice for late September so we had the birthday party at the park.  As you can see, Allisan had a good time even if she pulled a muscle in her neck from the weight of the party hat.

She loved the cake and ate the whole cupcake without any encouragement or assistance.  "Hey, I've seen you eat this plenty of times without sharing with me.  I know I'm gonna like it, so back off!"  Unlike her older siblings, Allisan was quite dainty using only her right hand, getting only the slightest on her face and almost none on her shirt.

Beep! Beep! Outta the way, here I come.

Grandma and granddad came down to enjoy the afternoon also.

Aunt Gela helped out a lot including rounding up some of the other youngsters.

You wouldn't believe what the older kids would do just to get some cake!

Fall Harvest at Miller Farms

After two days of rain, the Heydt's spent Saturday morning trouncing through the fields of Miller Farms to pick vegetables.  You go in as a group (we went with a number of families from our church/school), pay $10 per person, then ride around in a trailer (think hay ride) to pick vegetables from their fields. They make three stops for about 20-30 minutes a piece.  You hop off the back with a few plastic bags and pick what you want.  When it's all done, you try to figure out how to load it into your car.  We brought home about 20 full bags of veggie's including corn, onions, peppers, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, pumpkins, gourds and others.  Depending on the week you go, there are other things ready for the picking.  But a lot of fun and dirt for the kids!

Excitement in the Neighborhood

Earlier this week, Longmont and neighboring town Hygiene had a friendly visitor wander through. Do we call him Yogi? He was hanging out at our park but we don't have any picnic tables there, so I'm not sure. He was spotted in Hygiene first where he was shooed off by a cow named 'Apple' (I'm not kidding, that's what the newspaper said). By the next day, he had wandered into our area. The local elementary school had to skip at least one recess because the bear was enjoying the playground. At some point he moved into our housing area before being tranquilized and relocated about 70 miles into the mountains.

As shown by the picture and the map, the bear was about 400 feet from our house.

School's in Session

The obligatory "First day of School" pictures. Of course, here are Andrew and Anna ready to go.





Allisan was at the door eager to begin as well.



The children have grown a lot the last four years, but I think the tree still has them beat.



And here we have the obligatory "Meet my teacher(s)" pictures.




And finally, a picture of the children with Aunt Gela. I mean, Miss Sitz.

Anna takes on Two Wheels

Three attempts is all it took. One with me holding the seat for 15 yards. The second with me letting go for about 10 yards. The third with me trying to keep up with her 100 yards.

Day two was spent learning turns and how to start by herself. Turns took two tries, learning to start took two tries. Now she's up and down the street, on and off the curbs. We plan on putting up the jumping ramp next Tuesday. : )

Pepa's 90th Birthday

After a quick 12 hour trip to Oklahoma, the gang went on a whirlwind tour of relatives.  Less than 24 hours later, we began our return trip home to start school.  But in that short time, we had seen great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, brohters, sisters, moms, dads, friends, friends of friends, sons and daughters of friends, a bunch of other people, and even a small horse and donkey.  We ate cake, watched a great slideshow, and found out what the Mongolian flag looked like. Remember, the 100th celebration is in Mongolia, so get your passports ready! At least now, I know what the flag looks like.