Trip to Duluth

It has been a busy fall, with Dave working almost every weekend of the school year so far, so it was great to have the chance to have a quick getaway to Duluth over my MEA break.  We headed up after breakfast on Friday, and went straight to Canal Park where we were going to meet some camp friends for lunch.  We had almost an hour to walk around before meeting up with them, so we walked around by the lift bridge and enjoyed the nice sunshine.  At noon, we met up with our former camp program director, Gretchen, and camp friends Ben, Betsy, and Molly.  It was so much fun to catch up, walk around with them, and have a yummy lunch at Grandma's.

After saying goodbye to them, we went up to Gooseberry Falls.  By then, our sun was gone and it had started to rain a little bit, but we figured that Friday was going to be a warmer day than Saturday.  Luckily the rain stopped for our hike around Gooseberry--we stopped quickly in the visitor's center before it closed, then walked across the bridge to see the upper falls, and walked down to the main falls area for some pictures.  We then drove down to get closer to Lake Superior, where the girls had fun throwing rocks in the lake and searching for agates with Dave.  The last time Abby was there (age 2 1/2), this was her favorite thing to do.

After Gooseberry, we started the drive back toward Duluth and our hotel.  Since it was around suppertime and MEA Friday, Betty's Pies was extremely busy--so we grabbed a couple of slices of pie to take back to the hotel and opted for ordering pizza to our hotel room.  The girls and I were able to go for a quick swim in the hotel pool before our pizza came, and Dave took Abby back in the pool after supper.  Since this was the highlight of Abby's trip, we made some more time for swimming in the morning after breakfast.  We've stayed at the Americinn just outside of Duluth before, and love that their rooms are quiet and comfortable and that the pool feels like a warm bath.

Saturday morning, we headed back down to Canal Park.  We walked around the lakefront area and across the lift bridge some more, then checked out some of the shops.  We always love the fun toy stores and the Duluth Pack store.  Norah found a store that had a whole bin full of her robot lovies--she was in heaven!

After lunch, we decided to head out of Duluth and stop at Jay Cooke State Park on the way home.  So glad we did--it was so beautiful!  The swinging bridge was still under construction--opening next week!  Many of the trails were also still closed off to the public, too, due to last year's flooding damage.  We took a hike along the St. Louis River and enjoyed some sunshine and great views.  We'll definitely be checking this park out again next summer, and hopefully trying to do some camping there!

It was a quick trip, but lots of fun and full of much needed family time!

18 months

Tuesday was a big day--Abby started Kindergarten, it was my first day of school, and it also happened to be the day that Norah turned 18 months old!  Dave was able to take the day off on Wednesday to take her in for her 18 month check up.  She finally broke the 20 pound mark, weighing in at 20.2 pounds (15th percentile).  She was 31 inches long (25th percentile).  What she lacks in size, she makes up for in personality...she is adventurous, busy, loud, talkative, sweet, smart, funny...  She currently has yet another big bump on her forehead--this time from running, tripping, and falling into the corner of a friend's coffee table this weekend.  Pretty typical for this busy girl...  Climbing onto Abby's bed or desk chair are new favorites.  She is most definitely a talker!  She is finally saying "yes" or "yeah" instead of just nodding her head when she wants to say yes.  "Wa wa" is now "water" and she's trying to string words together to get her point across.  Her bossy side has definitely come out as she orders us to sit down wherever she is sitting (on the stairs at church, on a small blanket, etc.).  "Sit down Abby" or "sit down Mommy" are frequently heard in our house.  Sadie and Abby are still her favorites, as are her robot and "nigh night" (pacifier).  She has adjusted to life at Lori's without Abby each day just fine, and Lori says that she often wants to cuddle with Lori or sit in her lap.  She even fell asleep rocking with Lori this week--that hasn't happened since she was probably 2 months old here!  This picture pretty much sums up Miss Norah:

Kindergarten

Abby started Kindergarten on Tuesday, and she is loving it!  After debating for a long time about what to do/where to send her, we decided to stay at Lori's for daycare and send her to Jordan.  With their free all-day/every day Kindergarten, it is definitely a huge money-saver, and we are just not quite ready to part with Lori yet.

Abby had her open house the Thursday before Labor Day.  She was quiet and shy, but excited to meet her teacher, Ms. Olson.  She found her cubby and put away all of her school supplies, found her table spot, and had fun looking around the room.  She was especially excited about the dollhouse/kitchen area.  We had a hot wait for pictures, but it was nice to get that done at open house.

On Tuesday, it was a bright and early morning at Lori's.  Abby's buddies Avery and Jacob are also starting Kindergarten this year, so their moms and dads were there along with Dave and I to see them get on the bus.  I was doing fine until I looked back and saw Lori crying, but Abby was all confidence as she got right on the bus and waved goodbye from the window.

She has LOVED everything about school so far this week.  She's had school lunch a couple of times, is choosing her snack each day off of the healthy snack cart, loves seeing her daycare friends at recess and on the bus rides, was SO excited to check out a library book during Media, and she can't wait to go back tomorrow.  Let's hope the excitement continues!

Other August fun...

Somehow, the end of August is almost here...crazy how fast the summer went!  Besides visiting Flandrau State Park, swimming lessons, and Abby's jump start kindergarten class, we squeezed in some other fun activities this month:

*Zoo date with friends...we had perfect weather for an afternoon at the zoo at the beginning of August with the Guses and Clarks (minus husbands).  We had a great time, except for when Abby and Alex told us they were going to look at the sheep and forgot to tell us they were then going to visit the cows...very scary parenting moment!

*Teddy Bear Band picnic at the library--I didn't take any pictures, but Abby was right up front and center dancing along to the whole concert--she loved it!

*Community Days--car cruise and parade.  Norah LOVED the car cruise, especially when the drivers revved their engines (she'd say, "Vroom, vroom!" every time).  Dave's mom joined the girls and me for the parade--can't believe how much parade candy/loot the girls got from our small town parade.

*Norah's first movie--we went to the last of the free kids' movies for summer at the Lakeville theater last week.  I thought it was a good opportunity to take Norah to the movies for the first time, since it was free and Abby could stay with our friends if I needed to take Norah out of the theater.  She did pretty well for about an hour, then spent the rest of the movie running along the side aisle.

*Twin Cities Live--I had the opportunity to be in the audience of a Twin Cities Live show last Friday.  My college adviser contacted a bunch of us Gustavus education alumni and invited us to the show.  The producer that day was a Gustavus education grad himself, and he wanted a bunch of us in the audience.  I went with my friend Kristina, and it was fun to see some of my coworkers and a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a long time.  

*Quilt auction--we made it down to the Good Earth Village quilt auction on Saturday.  We were a little bummed that so many of the traditions have changed, but had a good time anyway.  Dave's parents joined us and requested a trip to A&W afterwards:

*Pool get-together at our friends Adam and Jodi's house--the weather warmed up enough to enjoy their beautiful backyard pool on Sunday.  Jodi made some amazing food, and we had fun with them and our friends, the Geers, as well.  Abby especially loved sweet baby Evelyn:

*And last but not least, I finished up the Couch to 5K program that I've been working on this summer...9 weeks of workouts.  I definitely won't win any races, but I'm happy to have met this goal over the summer.  I used an app called "Run Double" on my phone, and loved it!  I upgraded to 5K to 10K, but am not sure I'll have the time once school starts to do that.  We'll see...

I have a workshop tomorrow, and then our week officially starts on Monday...soaking up the last few days of freedom!

Parks with the Clarks edition #1

We had a great time on Tuesday with our friends, the Clarks, at Flandrau State Park.  It was a bummer that Pat wasn't able to join us this time, but Tiffany braved it by herself with her two kids.  We had such a fun time hiking, picnicking, geocaching, and swimming in the sand-bottom pool.  The weather was perfect, and we enjoyed sharing a state park experience with good friends.  Hopefully we can find a time this fall to check out another park when Pat can join us.