Fall Fun

Here are some pictures from two recent events on our fall social schedule.

First was Quentin and Lisa's wedding on Sept. 19. Unfortunately, I guess I was having too much fun to take many pictures! (Also, dealing with a three-year-old and a 5-month-old at a wedding doesn't leave a lot of time for much else.) But I did get a few shots of the girls dancing.

That's Karina on the left. (No, this is not what she wore in her official duties as flower girl. She had already changed into her pajamas at this point.)

Elsa's adorable dress was a fantastic $32 clearance-rack purchase from Sydney B.'s, a high-end children's boutique in Mequon where you usually can't get a onesie for less than $40. The only problem was, it had a bunch of little pink bows and satin rosebuds all over it, which I didn't care for. So I "customized" the dress by very carefully clipping those off, and then I made the pink sash to bring a little pink back into the design. Project Runway, here I come (okay, maybe not). I wish I would have gotten a better picture of her all dressed up, but again, too much other stuff was going on. And we may have another chance, since she is slated to be in some pictures at Mike Pries's wedding in Grand Rapids this weekend.

Claire got a new dress too, even though there are probably a few Elsa hand-me-downs around here somewhere that would have worked. I also couldn't resist buying her the Cutest. Baby shoes. Ever. Hot pink quilted ballet slippers with brown trim, from Baby Gap.

Other than Katie's beach wedding in Costa Rica, this was the first wedding the girls attended, and Elsa had such a great time. Karina was so adorable when she walked down the aisle, and Lisa looked beautiful (despite being sick). All in all, it was a wonderful day and a great party. Congratulations to Quentin and Lisa!

Our second event was a trip down to Apple Holler last weekend to meet my friend Carrie and her son Evan, who live in Chicago. We always look forward to seeing them, and Evan is getting so big! Claire stayed home with Daddy this time, but I'm sure she'll be tagging along in no time.

Apple Holler is a restaurant, apple-picking orchard, petting zoo, and all-around harvest-time mecca, I guess. I'm not sure what I expected at this time of year, but what I did not expect was a state cop directing traffic as we pulled in. It was total insanity.

But there was plenty to do and see—a playground area, goats, pigs, a goofy train ride, a corn maze, a moonwalk type contraption, and more. We had a good time, and it was fun catching up, as always.

This week we are heading to Michigan—we can't wait to see everybody there. It feels like ages since we've seen Mia (of course, it feels like ages since we've seen all the Shaffers, but Mia's probably changed the most out of all of them!) So, even more fall fun will be coming up.