kids we did it! I've been trying for 3 years to visit all 20 parks in our city. Despite my best efforts this summer we were 5 short. Then we were given the most amazing fall day
family apple picking This is probably my favorite fall activity... plus all the baking that comes after it. Today's baking was 2 batches of apple cookies. 5 apples down... 45 to go. 😂
kids olivia's turn It's amazing how different Emma and Olivia are. For the first month (maybe 2) of preschool Emma cried every morning at drop off and sometimes had to be pried from my arms. Olivia's
kids last pool day of the summer Our neighborhood decided to keep the pool open a week later than usual. When school was dismissed early on the first day we headed to the pool because I thought that would be
kids first day of dance Last night was the first night of dance. This is Emma's third year. She's doing ballet, tap and jazz again. Olivia was super excited to start dance too! She is doing ballet and
kids overnight at the zoo Our zoo has sleepovers. Braden and Emma have always wanted to go to one, but I always remember too late and they're full. Not this time! They have 3 different sleepovers - with
kids first half day of school Well... that was an eventful 1st day of school. I got a call around noon asking me to come pick Emma up at school. There was a sewage leak on the first floor
family farewell to summer We spent the last week of summer vacation with family in town. We took them to some of our favorite places. First up was the state fair... We followed that up with a
family the great minnesota get together We have family in town this week, so of course the first stop on our busy week is the Minnesota State Fair. There are so many foods that we look forward to every
family lake elmo park reserve Another weekend of camping is over. I can't believe this was our final camping trip of the summer. It went by too fast! We spent the weekend fishing and playing in the sand.
family more kayaking the cannon river We had so much fun the first time we had to do it again. Last time Emma really wanted to do the rope swing, but it was so crowded. Today it was just
kids boating on prior lake We got invited last minute to go out on a boat with a friend this afternoon. I'm not the biggest fan of lakes, but these Minnesota girls absolutely love it. This was their
kids end of summer do I've been begging Emma all summer to cut her hair short again. She looked so cute with short hair, and it's perfect for summer. Next week they're going to take her school pictures,
family willow river state park I've been wanting to camp here for years. Last year we booked a campsite, but ended up cancelling. This year we seriously considered cancelling, but we made it happen... and I'm so glad
kids fun in the sun We're trying to soak up every last minute of summer. Monday morning we headed the aquarium for a couple hours. The girls love it because you can touch and feed so many different
family kayaking the cannon river Braden has wanted a kayak for a long time. After Emma had such a great time kayaking while we were camping last month we ended up buying our own inflatable kayak. It's a
family happy (early) birthday emma Today we celebrated Emma's birthday with her friends... and a lot of animals. I found a lady that will bring a bunch of her pets to your house. The kids can pet all
family leprechaun days This week was our city's community festival. We kicked off the celebration with a princess dance party followed by a JoJo Siwa dance party at the park. Next up was our favorite annual
kids butterflies Emma loved learning about and watching the chicks hatch in her kindergarten class so much that I looked into getting caterpillars. I found a place online where I could order a cup of
