My sister Kelsey drove all the way from Washington with her three kids to spend a few weeks in Wisconsin with my parents. On her way there, she stopped and stayed with us for a day and then we caravaned together the rest of the way. Jared, Norah, Lincoln, Rosalie, and Lauren.
Lauren has a special spot in her heart for my dad. Whenever she sees him for the first time in a while, she and he have this quick, short step tradition right before they hug.
When you are three years old, at your grandparents, on their backyard swing, with a giant lollipop you picked out from the candy store....not much gets better!
Norah is THE cutest. She's Kelsey's third and youngest. She has the sweetest voice.
Something happened (we can't remember) and all three of these grandkids were crying, and getting hugged by my dad for comfort. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my mom from this trip.
One year in college I roomed with Rachel. We totally clicked and had a wonderful year as roommates!!! Since that time, she served a mission, we both got our masters degrees, married good men, and had five kids between the two of us. She has a little girl Kate, and named her daughter's middle name after her. This gave me the confidence to do the same with my Kate. Her daughter is Kate Rachel, and I've got a Kate Annalisa. Rachel, her husband, two kids, and mother flew to Minnesota this past summer to visit her brother and his family. We got to spend a day with them at the Como Zoo. It felt so great to connect with her again. I admire how positive she is about life, but is realistic as well. She makes me laugh and I love her sense of humor! Hopefully it isn't another 8/9 years before I see her again.
We also spent a few days in the Duluth area. We had gone the summer earlier and fell in love with it! We had to make an afternoon trip to Gooseberry Falls. My kids and I love putting our feet in the warm water, stepping from rock to rock. Vance took the kids a little too close for my comfort to the waterfalls!! We love Gooseberry Falls because of the beauty and how relaxing it is. There are so many fun things to do and schedule in a short time in a vacation, which can often become stressful. But we just loved enjoying the outdoors.
Kate loved sitting in a shallow area until she slipped slightly...
We stayed in a camper cabin at Jay Cooke State park. Since we stayed in a camper cabin, I think we are hooked. Vance and I looove the idea of camping, but every time we do it seems our kids stay up all night, then are exhausted the next day, it rains, and we are all wet. That can still be a great experience, but since we've discovered these cabins, we realized everyone sleeps better, and with young kids, it is SO nice to not have to worry about the hassle of a tent.
Hiking at Jay Cooke State Park. It was incredible. We loved walking for what seemed like forever along the river, walking on rocks. Lincoln and Lauren had so much fun they didn't complain, which was pretty great.
We spent an afternoon one day at Chutes and Ladders in Bloomington, and took our next door neighbor Matt. He's a year and a half older than Lincoln, but they are the best of friends. I had taken all four kids, and then after traffic which caused a 45 minute drive home. Five minutes before we got home, Matt told me he forgot his glasses. We love Matt so much so we drove back all the way back to get his glasses that were miraculously in the same spot he left them. It was a hot long day with major traffic both ways. Kate was so fussy by the end and hungry. But the kids sang lots of songs in the car and we (mostly me) were sooo happy to be home after it all.
Lincoln started Kindergarten! He chose his own outfit. Can you tell?! His teacher is Mrs. Senden this year who we LOVE. She has a great amount of patience and enthusiasm. I truly believe there has got to be a special place in heaven for kindergarten teachers. His teacher told us at our fall conferences that he started at the highest reading level of any kindergartner she's ever had (she's been teaching for 21 years). That makes us proud (probably too much since we are sharing this information), and we hope he can keep him humble and make sure to be a good friend, help others, deal with disappointment better, etc. He has a real hard time dealing with disappointment but we have seen a significant improvement. We are proud of him!
My three munchkins!
