Halloween 2017

Happy Halloween from Abby and Norah!

Back to school!

Abby and Norah are excited to be starting a new adventure at a new school this year!  (Abby was a little nervous to switch schools, but has a sweet teacher and seems to be adjusting just fine)  Abby is in 4th grade in Ms. Sandgren's class and Norah is in kindergarten in Ms. Johnson's class at Falcon Ridge.  They go to Kids' Company most mornings, ride the bus some mornings when Dave is home, and catch the bus from the daycare around the corner some mornings.  They are able to ride the bus home each afternoon, so that is nice.  We're excited for a great year!

Cabin time

This week, we headed up to my college friend Kristina's cabin for a few days with just us and our kids.  We weren't able to visit her cabin last summer or have our usual college friend weekend up there earlier this summer, so it was really nice to have a chance to get up there this time.  On the way up, the girls and I stopped at Mille Lacs Kathio State Park for a quick picnic.  It was rainy, so we ate in the trail center.

On the way to the trail center, we had noticed a sign for an observation tower.  Looking at the map, I could tell it would be a quick and easy hike, so we headed there after lunch.  The girls were very hesitant about the climb, but we made it!

Sadie was in heaven as soon as we reached the cabin--she could finally swim!  We haven't been able to bring her up north in the past couple of years, so she was so excited to see the lake.  Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy Wednesday night and most of Thursday, so we spent a lot of time hanging out in the cabin.  We did get out to go bowling on Thursday to break up the inside time a little bit.

By Friday morning, the sun was coming out again, so we were able to get to the island to play for a little bit before we had to head home.  The kids also enjoyed the neighbor's water trampoline while Kristina made lunch.

It was nice to have a chance to connect again and catch up, and the kids had fun playing with each other.  Already looking forward to next year!

Seattle trip

My sister and I traveled for the second time together to visit my brother and his girlfriend in Seattle.  It's always weird traveling without kids, but nice to be able to watch a movie on the plane or read a book!  We saw some sights in the city, ate some yummy food, took the ferry to Bainbridge Island, watched a baseball game, saw a movie, hung out on the rooftop, and camped in Olympic National Park.

After a night of camping, we spent the day seeing different parts of the park.  The ocean was definitely my favorite--we stopped at Ruby Beach and saw some neat tide pools and enjoyed the scenery.  We also hiked a little bit in the Hoh Rainforest, which was beautiful.  We even came upon some elk grazing along the way.

It's always nice having the chance to see Greg, and a bonus to see the beautiful scenery.  Fun place to visit!