October 2011 Recap

Kansas City with the Grabers (October 7-10)

We headed on down to Kansas City to spend a couple days with Heather and Jamie going to Worlds of Fun and a NASCAR race.



For a full recap, Click Here!

Checkup Appointment (October 11)

I had my 4th Dr. Appointment to check up on Baby Johnson and how my pregnancy was progressing. Everything looks pretty good, and the little guy still has a nice, strong heartbeat of 148bpm. I was in and out in all of about 10 minutes.

WI Dells with Amanda (October 14-16)

I enjoyed a fun weekend in the Wisconsin Dells with my friend Amanda, complete with a trip to the Oak Burr Winery, a couple different cheese shops, shopping, good food, and a haunted house!


For a full recap, Click Here!

Garage Project (October 21)

Mark continued to work on our garage project throughout the month, but got a large chunk of it done on the 21st.

Mankato Half Marathon (October 22)

Mark's Uncle Dan invited us up to Mankato to cheer him on while he ran his first half-marathon in Mankato. We drove up Friday evening after Mark worked on the garage a bit and stayed overnight at Dan and Kathi's. Dan did a great job at the race, and we enjoyed cheering him on! After the race, we enjoyed Buffalo Wild Wings before heading back home.

Harvest Party at Walerius's (October 22)

Joel and Erin Walerius invited us to a fun harvest party at their home on the 22nd. We started with a trip to the pumpkin patch to pick up a few pumpkins and apples. Afterward, we went to their house for a yummy chili dinner and lots of goodies and pumpkin carving.



For a full recap, Click Here!

Baby Shower in Humboldt (October 29)

My sister, Amanda, was so gracious to throw us a baby shower in Humboldt the last weekend in October. It was so special to be able to have ALL of our Ropte family there for the special event. Dan and Sarah and their kiddos even made it all the way out from Indiana!

For a full recap, Click Here!

My 30th Birthday (October 28)

My 30th birthday was low-key and crazy all at once :) I was able to celebrate with my entire immediate family in Humboldt that evening and enjoyed a half day off work and lunch at Godfather's with my hubby :)

For a full recap, Click Here!

In a nutshell

We were busy the entire month, but a very good busy :) Aside from weekend plans, Mark spent a few evenings in the field, a few evenings working on the garage, and every Tuesday evening we attended pre-natal classes at the Windom Hospital. It was a great month for us, even if we barely got a chance to breathe, and the weather was incredible! Harvest got done early, so I got to see a little more of Mark than usual, which was nice :)

Baby Shower in Humboldt (October 29)

I had my first baby shower down in Humboldt this past Saturday, October 29! It was a small gathering, just with immediate family and a few extended family members that my sister, Amanda, sister-in-law Tiffany and Mom put on for me. It was such a nice time to catch up with the women in my family without all the chaos and commotion that comes when we're all together, considering we're now an immediate family of 20!

I posted a full recap with pictures and such on my baby blog.

My 30th Birthday (October 28)

My 30th birthday was low-key and crazy all at once. It started as a typical day, up early and off to work. Mark and I had both had the afternoon off work, and enjoyed lunch together at Godfather's before getting our things packed up and heading down to Humboldt.

When we got home from lunch, Mark let me open my first gift: an awesome heated blanket! We waited around for gift #2 to arrive, but it was taking too long, so we had our neighbor pick it up and headed on the road for Humboldt.

We arrived to a bunch of crazy, with all the kiddos running around like crazy :)

My little sister, Amanda made a wonderful dinner to celebrate, comprised of some breaded pork chops, green beans, mashed potatoes and Sarah's homemade macaroni and cheese. It was absolutely delicious!

Unfortunately right as we were finishing up eating, Michael got a call that his Uncle was having a heart attack and had to rush out to assist :(

Amanda had made some pumpkin bars in lieu of birthday cake, which was equally as delicious, but with things being so crazy, she had to get the kids ready and head over to her in-laws before she could enjoy any.

It was a great day, even if it may not have been a typical "30th" celebration as the world might see it.

We arrived home Sunday evening, and Monday afternoon our neighbor brought over the second of my birthday gifts: a Homemedics Deluxe Shiatsu One Massaging Cushion!!

Excitement Building!

I'm getting super excited for a few things this week:

First, I turn 30 on Friday!!

Second, I get to see ALL my Ropte family this weekend!!!

Third, Saturday is my first baby shower in Humboldt!!

With such a busy schedule, I'm looking forward to seeing all my family for a fun, albeit crazy weekend in Humboldt visiting with everyone and cuddling up with some nieces and nephews and some hot chocolate.

A HUGE thanks to my family for putting everything together, and another HUGE thank you to my two older siblings and their families for making the long treks out for the weekend to celebrate!

I love you guys, and I can't wait for the weekend :)

Mankato Half Marathon (October 22)

After a busy day working until noon, then working all afternoon on the garage, Mark and I made it to Mankato on Friday evening around 9:30pm and grabbed some Papa Johns on our way over to Dan and Kathi's for the evening. We visited for a short while before heading up to bed, as it was the big race day on Saturday!

We were all up early, grabbed some cereal for breakfast, then headed out to cheer on Uncle Dan who was running his first half marathon.

And they're off!!


2/3 of Dan's fan club :)

Dan after about 7 1/2 miles!


He did a great job, and finished just over 2 hours and 8 minutes! Congratulations, Dan!


Kirsten was able to join us at the end to celebrate, and we ended up gathering at Buffalo Wild Wings after the race for some wings and buffalitos!

It was a fun way to spend the morning, but we weren't able to stick around too long after that, as we had plans later in the day down in Worthington.

Harvest Party at Walerius's (October 22)

After a busy morning cheering on Uncle Dan while he ran his first half marathon, we made our way down to Worthington to visit the Ocheda Orchard with Joel and Erin Walerius and the kids. We had fun picking out pumpkins from the field, and picked up a bag of apples as well. It was a perfect day for the pumpkin patch!

Ocheda Orchard

The pumpkin patch still had a lot of great picking available, even with so many squished and rotten ones.


Tate and Katie enjoyed the pumpkin patch and tried to pick out the biggest pumpkins possible!

Of course, we told them that if they wanted to get such big ones, they were going to have to be the ones to pull the cart back to the car.

Games, Apple Cider and Caramel Apples

After the orchard, we went back to the Walerius's for games, hot apple cider and caramel apples. Joel whooped all our butts at Yahtzee, even though Katie and Tate started out with Yahtzees on their first rolls! Erin had made these incredible homemade caramel apples with homemade caramel sauce. After a while, Nancy showed up, and then Josh and Aiwen, and we all had some chili and other goodies before deciding to tackle the pumpkin carving.

Pumpkin Carving

We had a blast carving pumpkins! Some were pretty free-handed originals, while the majority of the group followed patterns.

The Finished Products

Impromptu Jump Roping

Out of the blue, Erin and Mark decided it would be a good idea to turn an extension cord into a jump rope, and we all had fun participating. It reminded me of the good old days on the playground, but caused some nasty heartburn later on. Ooops!

Pumpkins A-Glow!

Joel and Josh had disappeared for a while to go pick up some tea light candles and a movie, but when they returned, the pumpkins came alive!

We had such a great time! Thanks for the great time, Joel and Erin!