FALL 2012

I have a good reason for not writing in so long. First off, Facebook is way quicker. Second, I got my first job in six years (!) this past September. I'm working at a local elementary school as a Special Ed para and I love it! The school, the co-workers, the kids - they're all great. I never thought I'd be doing anything like this, but the work really suits me, not to mention the schedule. I've been much busier and less able to take pics and go anywhere with the kids. Those days are over. It's sad looking back at this blog and seeing how much we did every day, whenever we wanted, but at least we'll still have our summers together! Moving on to the photos...
This isn't in chronological order, but here we go.
Christmas card outtakes:

All she wants for Christmas...!

Thanksgiving! This year we had it at Kelly and Mark's house. Here are our lovely hosts and the turkey. And yum, look at the sweet potatoes! And the wiiine! I could do it all over again.

The dessert table. Look at that deep dish apple pie!

The babies: Lila, Mayson, Avery, and Elsa.

Fall and Halloween:

Tim gets the last of the house painting done. He painted the entire house by himself this summer, and it took all summer. I'm lucky to have such a hard-working, talented guy!

Elsa and Lila take a break from schoolwork to do some painting/Thanksgiving art.

XOXO

September recap

First day of school photos!

Elsa, first grade.

Lila, preschool.

What a beautiful fall day. Here are some pics from today at Pinehaven:

Shooting practice (corn cannon) with dad.

Hmm, what's new with Elsa? No more front teeth! She lost them both within the last couple weeks.

The house is shaping up. Here it is last year...

compared to what it looks like today. Now you just have to imagine shutters, window grilles, landscaping... there will be a lot more photos to come!

Here are a couple photos from Elsa's 6th birthday. She wanted a Scooby-Doo theme. I should have just had Cub do the lettering, but I insisted on doing it myself. Ha! :) It was a great day.

Hitting the pinata.

A trip to Duluth

Last Sunday we took a quick 1 night trip to Duluth. We tried a bunch of things we'd never done before, including taking the scenic route up (Hwy 23).

 Hey, who invited George Clinton on this road trip?

We stopped on the way up to check out some railroad tracks.

 Made it to Duluth at 11 a.m. First stop: Enger Tower. The girls pose outside the tower.

Here's the door to the tower. Oooh, looks like a castle right? Yeah, Lila was a bit disappointed once we got inside. It's just an observation tower with tons of stairs. Awesome views, though!

Had lunch at Blackwoods and checked into the hotel. The kids loved their fancy bed!

We noticed a bunch of people renting bikes on the boardwalk, so we tried one out. It was more like a pedal powered golf cart. The kids sat in the front bike basket.

We finally made it to Park Point beach, an actual beach with sand instead of rocks. We've been wanting to go here for years, but it's usually too cold to want to go to a swimming beach. Not this day. It was about 90. Lila got wild and couldn't resist wading up to her neck in the water, then rolling around in the sand.

Sandy Bottoms.


After this we got cleaned up, had dinner at Fitgers, went swimming in both hotel pools (their favorite was the heated rooftop one), and then it was 10 pm and they were wiped out.

The next morning we played around in Canal Park for a little bit...

then headed to Two Harbors to walk on the pier and get lunch. The kids at the pier.

We were going to do more on the North Shore, but poor Tim pinched a nerve in his neck so he was really hurtin'. We did so much the day before, nobody minded going home. It was a fun trip!

Elsa rides again!

Elsa riding her bike... she can even start out on her own - just learned tonight! She goes all the way up the road to the neighbors mailbox and back down to our silo.

Summertime fun continues! Here's what the kids have been up to... Easy Bake!

Rainy day puzzles!

Being goofy.

Making pulleys (cat elevator).

Motorcycle ride with Uncle John! Thumbs up, dude!

Lighting floating lanterns.

Slip n Slide!

Tubing with dad at the lake in Uncle John's boat.

Watching mom go tubing (and totally wipe out)

Swimming in Grandma and Grandpa's pool.

A few days ago, Elsa asked to get her ears pierced. She'd previously been against the idea, so when she decided she was brave enough, we knew it was time. She chose her August birthstone, and was very proud that she didn't have any tears.

Happy Lila at 4 years old.

Late June we went to the Forest Lake farmers market on Kids Night. They had a band and free balloon animals for the kids. Lila got a kitty with a leash, Elsa got a monkey in a tree.

Our kittens are getting so big.

Here's a note from Elsa, letting me know where she'll be. It's vague, but I can assume it's whichever room of the house they're off to destroy next. :)

And this is where you can find me nearly every single night. Ahhhhhh.