Husky Hustle 2013

Fundraising for the girl's school is getting donations for a 5K walk/run.  All of us did it last year and this year Ely came too.  I walked and ran with Sofia and her friend Zella while Daddy was with Samantha and Allie. It rained at the end which is why you see Ely soaked afterwards.  He was worn out!

First Day of School (Sofia's off to Kindergarten!)

Sofia went on the bus today with Samantha to her first day of Kindergarten!  I'm filled with emotion and pride thinking about her waving from the bus.  Yes, everyone is right when they say our children grow up too fast.  I understand it's one of those "Circle of Life" things and it's not that I want her to stay young forever.  I consider it one of the greatest privileges to watch my children grow and I love the fact that I truly enjoy the people my kids are.  They are going out into the world equipped with as much wisdom as we can give them and are both incredible girls.

Daddy and I are so lucky!

Labor Day Weekend 2013

This weekend was awesome!  We ended the summer with friends and family time.  Samantha had a friend sleepover on Friday while Sofia went to a friend's house for a playdate.  Sofia swam at her friend's pool and I took Samantha and Allie swimming.  Then we all went out for ice cream.  When we got home, the older girls vegged in front of the TV for a bit before eventually falling asleep by 11pm.

Saturday began with a big breakfast and a bike ride to a local beach, then to the coffee shop.  Then I took Samantha and Allie portaging and swimming to Lebanon Hills.  The hiking went quickly as I managed to carry the canoe by myself.  I was very proud of myself.

We celebrated my birthday with a trip to the Bad Waitress.  It was a fun restaurant that we haven't been to and went to "that park".  It was a good day for us all.

More Summer Highlights

Here are some other highlights from the past season.  I have an awesome family!

Samantha baking with her cousins.

Block Party

The ice cream truck!

Trips to Farmer's Markets.

Happy Father's Day!

 An impromptu parade with friends.

Dinners with Grammy.

A spring anomaly... yes, that's an iceberg.  I know every year the weather seems crazy, but this spring really was nutty!

Time spent with one kid at a time...

Sleepovers

Ely doing his part in the battle with buckthorn.

And relaxing.

Time with friends.

Teamwork in our community... I should add that no one was paid for their work.

New adventures for our family at the Aquatennial this year.

And ending an era of gymnastics...

End of Summer traditions

The great Minnesota Get-Together began yesterday signaling the end of summer. August is usually a crunch time for us where we try to fit in the many things we didn't get to and back-to-school preparations.

One of our traditions is to sponsor a child's school supplies and get them an outfit.  The child we had this year was homeless.  That sparked a lot of discussions with Samantha and a few with Sofia too.  We talked about how lucky our family is and that it's important for us to help those that aren't as fortunate.  I take the focus from giving money to giving time and specific things (i.e. food, cards, etc) for charitable work.  As I write this, Samantha is planning a baking day where she will donate food to our synagogue.  I'm proud that both girls show humility because life is unpredictable and it's simply good karma (or practicing tikkun olam "repair of the world" depending on your perspective) to be positive.

Daddy took the week off to spend with the girls since they didn't have camp.  It's worked out that way the past few years and they seem to cherish the time together.  He made a point to take them clothes shopping individually.

I lost my list of foods we ate at the State Fair this year, but I'm sure we got cheese curds!

Camping at Whitewater, just the girls.

Last weekend I took the girls camping... just me and them.  It wasn't supposed to be that way.  First, friends were going to join us.  Then plans changed and it would be just our family (including Daddy and Ely).  Then Ely hurt his paw so Daddy stayed home with him.  I didn't want to cancel it since we had been looking forward to going back to Whitewater (no bugs!), so off we went.  The girls played in the river while I built a fire.  We went to the beach, hiked and played at the campsite.  The girls kept commenting how they didn't want to go back to Kathio because of the bugs.  (I don't want to either.)  We decided that Whitewater should be at least once a year, maybe even twice.  It was also nice to see Grammy with her friend in Rochester to break up the drive.  The girls have been concerned about her (as we all have) and have been cherishing every moment they get with her.

I made fires!

Samantha was awesome at helping set up the tent.  She handled it well when Sofia joined us too.

We didn't use the rain cover so this is the view we had from our "beds" in the tent the next morning.

We hiked up the bluff just like last year.  I made them promise next time we would do another hike.

A found flower is okay.  She didn't pick it herself.

I'm so glad we did this!  It's nice to know we can do it on our own.  We want more people next time though... it is more fun with more people, even though we made friends at the beach and with the campers next door!

State Fair 2013

The heat was punishing, but we managed our annual tradition of eating our way through the State Fair.  We drank a lot of water and took many breaks in the shade.  This year we didn't make it to the barns, but we did watch a log-rolling competition and Samantha participated in the Giant Sing Along (One Direction song).  The girls got to skate on a new type of skating rink that doesn't have ice.  Of course, we had to do the Giant Slide... that's a must for us every year!

Our annual list of foods we ate this year:
Pizza
Cheese curds
Potato skins
Nutella and marshmallow Crepe
Roasted corn
Lemonade
Mild beef stick
Double bacon corn dog
Bacon ice cream, bomb pop and chocolate ice cream cone
French fries
Cajun Jerky
Chocolate candy
Sno-cones