October in Indy

We happened to have a free weekend in October so we headed down to Indy to visit the Fienes.  While we were there Traderspoint Creamery was having an Oktoberfest.

Anders is such a ham and Finley doesn't know how she feels about all of these boys.  That's okay, Finley.  I know what that's like.

The creamery had several stations set up over the grounds.  Aside from face painting there was a petting zoo, various games, and a hay ride.

 Face-painting is always a big hit.

This little girl is a cutie.

We ended with a nice hay ride.

Since we were in Indy so close to Anders' birthday, and because Jake's birthday is a few days before Anders',we had a little gathering at Jake and Ashley's to celebrate.

 A beer and his phone.  This hunky hubby of mine is set for the next several hours.

 But a game of Cornhole with his brother is way more exciting.

 Jake and Ashley got Anders this longbow.  I'm not sure if you can tell, but this kid was excited about that.  I'm sure he was calculating all the ways he could torture his brothers.

 Solveig makes each grandchild, on their 5th birthday, a special book.  This is probably Anders' favorite book because it's all about him.

It was a great weekend.

Gunflint

Hans' parents have a cabin on the Canadian side of Gunflint Lake. Hans spent his summers up there as a kid.  This summer Hans took John and Gus up there to spend some time with his parents.

 This is the view from the cabin.  Beautiful!

The boys checking things out.

 The boys went on hikes, took baths in the lake and showers in the falls, and put one foot in Canada and one foot in the U.S.

 When they weren't outside they were hanging out in the lovely cabin.

 They played checkers...

 ...and chess.  I wonder how many fights this caused.  Gus doesn't look too happy.  Or maybe that is his thinking face.  I can't tell the difference some times.

In the evenings they roasted marshmallows in the stove.

Fun times were had by all.

The boys had a great time telling me about their adventures.  They weren't sure about the outhouse...but I can't really blame them on that one.

Conner Prairie

While we were visiting Indiana  we took all 7 grandkids to Conner Prairie.  I've been to places like this before, but this really took the best of all of the places I've been to and mixed them into one. There was a great interactive indoor section and acres upon acres of land dedicated to hands-on activities outside.

 I asked Eva if she knew what that was and she said, "Yes, I think people straighten clothes with it."  Notice I didn't ask my boys. They would have no clue.

 Shortly after we got there the kids were all hungry.  Surprising, right?

 Hans was trying very hard to get Finley to like him.  She wasn't going for it.  She did, however, run to me once.  It just melted my heart.

 The kids loved watching the blacksmith.  

 One of the houses had a bunch of stilts for us to try.

 Hans actually did pretty well.  This comes as no surprise to me.  He's such a clown.

 Michael just watched all of us make fools of ourselves with the stilts.

 There were all kinds of animals at Conner Prairie.  These boys had fun petting the sheep.

 Finley just enjoyed walking around everywhere.  She is so cute!

 While Finley wanted nothing to do Hans, she loved John.

These two really started taking a shining to each other.  They even shared an ice cream.

It was a wonderful day and we can't wait to go again.

Some Fun in Indy

On Memorial Day weekend we took a little drive down to Zionsville.  The boys had a ton of fun playing with "baby Finley".  I keep telling them that Finley is no longer a baby, but she is the youngest Fiene, and therefore is the baby.  Sorry Finley.  I tried.

 She was having a good time playing with the Legos.  I'm sure she will be a Master Builder by next week.

 John was introduced to the bags game.  He had a ton of fun and tried to be very strategic about his moves.

 Gus enjoyed playing the game as well.

 This kept these four boys occupied for quite awhile.

 Anders preferred going through all of the toys Grandma has stored to find a gun of sorts.

And you know it's time to go home when one of the kids starts puking.  John, John, and Hans were enjoying a little basketball game when poor Anders started throwing up.  I'm guessing it was just allergies, because this kiddo was just fine.  Either way, it was a fun couple of days.

Soccer

Gus has been playing soccer this spring.  He has wanted to play for about a year.  Grandma and Grandpa Fiene came down to watch one of his games.

 Gus' ball is the one with green on it.  He likes to set it there and back way up and run in to kick it.  

 Now if only the ball could be that unguarded during the game.

 At one point early on in the game Gus had the ball and had a good lead on everyone.  But look at those feet, can you tell what is coming next?

 Yep.  He wasn't happy, but it gets worse...

 Poor Gus.  This happens a lot in this game.

 After the little tumble, Gus wanted to take it easy.  As long as the action was on the other end of the field, this is what Gus was doing.  Just like his dad right there.

Anders was getting a little restless so Grandpa took him on an adventure around the park.

 But when the ball was in his area he played very well.  I was impressed.

Just a few minutes after this picture one of the kids kicked the ball really hard and the ball hit Gus right in the face.  It was loud.  It had to hurt.  So he was removed from the game to take a break.  After he spent some time on the bench the coach asked him to play again.

 Gus willingly went back in the game, but he sat there like this for a few minutes.

Gus and his lip.

 After the game the boys each got to take a ride in Grandpa's Grandma's new car.