Halloween

We had a fun Halloween this year!  The weekend before was the ECFE Halloween party and the girls and I had fun at that.  They both played lots of games and enjoyed the story time and gift bag.  Dave took Halloween off, so was able to help out at Abby's Halloween party at school (making dirt cup snacks).  We bundled up and went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood after enjoying our jack-o-lantern pizza.  Abby lucked out and even got to hand out candy to a trick-or-treater when we got home (which was better than last year--we don't get too much traffic...).

My pictures of Halloween night are on my phone, so as soon as I get Dropbox and get them onto the computer, I'll add pictures of the girls together!

MEA Break--Parks with the Clarks part two

We had such a great time on our MEA trip to our friend Tiffany and Pat's family cabin.  The girls and I met up with their family for a picnic lunch at Lake Maria State Park first.  The fall colors were BEAUTIFUL here and we had a great time hiking around and taking in the sights.  Norah trailed everyone and wanted to pick up every...single...acorn along the path.  Her pockets were pretty full!

Dave met up with us at the cabin, and we enjoyed spending two nights there.  The kids played together so well, and Henry and Norah especially enjoyed hide and seek.

We visited another state park--Glendalaugh State Park.  We hiked around and looked at the historical building there.  The colors were pretty, but not quite as vibrant as Lake Maria.  We were hoping to check out the yurts there, but it was too long of a hike for a chilly day.

We had a blast, and are so thankful for such wonderful friends!

Pumpkin patch

Even though Dave was working, the girls and I still had fun stopping by the pumpkin patch one night after school.  We had the place to ourselves, and had fun picking out the perfect pumpkins!

State Fair

We hadn't been to the state fair in awhile, so decided to go this year--not sure that we'll ever go again on a weekend--so busy!  We headed straight to the Little Farm Hands first, and the girls enjoyed all of the farm activities and the prize at the end.

We visited some more of our favorites--the pet building, education building, DNR building, animals, etc. and enjoyed our favorite fair foods (except for Sweet Martha's cookies--the line was WAY too long!).  We ended up picking up some Sweet Martha's frozen cookie dough and fresh strawberries at the grocery store and making our own cookies and strawberry smoothies at home after the fair.  Hopefully we can make it back another year on a weekday!

First day of first grade

Abby started school on the Wednesday before Labor Day this year, because of construction next summer in her district.  I had a workshop day, but was able to see Abby get on the bus with her friend Avery.  We're so happy that she has such a sweet friend to ride the bus and go to daycare with (and her little sister Harper is also Norah's best bud).

On the Monday before Labor Day, we had a meet-the-teacher/conference and met Abby's teacher, Ms. Gleixner.  She is so sweet and Abby loves being in her class.  We've lucked out two years in a row to have the perfect teachers for Abby!

Little House in the Big Woods

We have been reading the Little House on the Prairie series since last summer, and I heard about the Little House wayside and museum just an hour and a half away in Pepin, Wisconsin, through someone that I follow in Instagram.  We planned a road trip with our friends Tiffany and Olivia, who are also reading the series.  Abby was so excited to see where Laura Ingalls Wilder was born.  The log cabin is literally in the middle of nowhere, but there were surprisingly a few other visitors while we were there.  You can go inside, but there is just a picnic table and some interesting articles/timelines on the wall to read.  The girls had fun pretending they were Mary and Laura (with their sidekick Carrie/Norah) and playing in the cabin and out at the water pump.  We had a picnic lunch before heading to Pepin to the museum.

At the museum, they had a few rooms that showed what things might have looked like in Laura's time (a schoolroom, a kitchen, and a bedroom).  They also had artifacts and tools from the time period, some even Laura's or made to look like hers.  We saw a replica of Laura's corncob doll, the straw they had to twist during The Long Winter to burn to keep warm, quilts that were Laura's, and much more.  The girls especially enjoyed playing pretend in the schoolroom and climbing up in a replica of a tugboat.

On the way home, we stopped in Red Wing for some ice cream and a walk down to the river to burn off some energy.  The day was so much fun--just one of those perfect carefree days of summer that we are going to miss in a few days!  Abby and I are now in the middle of Little Town on the Prairie and I've seen a little bit about the museum in South Dakota--sounds like there are more buildings and interactive things to do there.  Maybe a future summer road trip??

Feed My Starving Children/Pool party

Last Saturday, we had the BEST day with our group of friends that we met in ECFE when Abby was a baby.  We are so blessed to have known this group and made such great connections in the past 6 years.  We didn't organize a cabin weekend this year, but found a day that worked for all to have some fun.  We started the day with the older kids at Feed My Starving Children in Chanhassen.  It was such a great experience--very humbling, eye-opening, heartbreaking, and fun at the same time.  The kids did great with their jobs and as a whole, the room packed meals to feed 69 kids for a year.  We can't wait to go back and do this again sometime!

The other two dads and younger kids joined us for some fun and relaxation at Tiffany's family pool.  We enjoyed delicious brick-oven pizzas and pool time well into the evening.  It was such a wonderful night!