Minnesota love

We are taking full advantage of our summer - and it's only the beginning of July!  I'm so thankful that my back has healed and I can ride in the car, hike, and actually enjoy things without being in pain.  Amen!  Jake started with a week of baseball camp (awesome), Scott is coaching his team again this year (they are having a blast), and we've spent a good amount of time up north already.

On our first road trip of the season we took the boys to the north shore.  It was so much fun.  We stayed at a hotel with a pool/waterslide so of course that was awesome but we also packed in all of the north shore favorites.  New Scenic Cafe, Betty's Pies, Gooseberry Falls (I was a little tense exploring these falls with the boys), Splitrock Lighthouse (both of my boys aren't big fans of heights...tall skinny staircases to be exact) and if you go there be sure to watch the 20 minute film... along with plenty of agate hunting and rock skipping.  We had one rainy day when we headed even further north to Naniboujou Lodge.  We had a terrific lunch, caught up with family,  found a cool agate (which I am having made into a necklace), and scored one of my Aunt Nancy's famous cinnamon rolls.

Jake then spent a week with Grandma and Grandpa Jake (and learned to ride the 4 wheeler) until Nathan and I joined him again for a long weekend.  Scott spent the weekend in Iowa helping Grandma and Grandpa Sinclair in the moving process while Nathan kept me on my toes in the north woods (he's got a lot of land to explore and this kid is fearless).  We stayed busy collecting and feeding monarch caterpillars (Jacob would make the milkweed runs thanks to his new 4 wheeling skills) and had a fun time exploring the Mississippi headwaters.  Scott joined us early week and got in a good workout bailing hay before we headed south to Sarah and Mike's cabin where we celebrated Lydia's 3rd birthday, enjoyed swimming, fishing, and paddle boating and took in a 4th of July parade before heading home.

The boys are having a blast this week at Vacation Bible School and we've got plenty of time in the next couple of weeks for trips to the outdoor pool and some local excursions before a week of swimming lessons and a week at Hidden Haven to round out July.  Man, summer rocks.

Thanks for checking and hope you are enjoying your summer!

This kid surprised me...normally very cautious he was determined and fearless moving across those rocks!  

Way too close to the edge of the falls in my opinion.  

He pretty much had this pool to himself.  I wonder how many times he went down this slide.  

Naniboujou Lodge

That's just Nathan sitting in the Mississippi.

One of the best things about hotels...watching cartoons in bed.  

Minnesota at it's finest.  

A trip to the MN zoo - we took the kids to watch Flight of the Butterflies at the IMAX theatre.  It was awesome.  

Jacob's got this one figured out.  

The field before.

On the way to bale hay.  

November

I'm sitting in my dining room with a steaming cup of coffee (rare), and the only thing I hear is the radio and the tumble of the dryer (also rare).  The two best sleepers as of late (Jacob and myself) had the house to ourselves last night.  Up at 6 and well rested, we had a peaceful breakfast and even time for 3 chapters of Encyclopedia Brown before catching the bus.  Not to say we don't miss Dad (away for business for a few days) or Nathan (hanging in the north woods and hopefully sleeping well for Grandma and Grandpa) but Jacob and I tend to have a more mellow, organized, routine in the morning.  Nathan and Scott, well, they bring a sense of chaos to the mix.  Nathan usually is running around wanting to "help", driving his "Minja" Turtles big wheel in circles, having to go potty, asking if we can play wif him, talking (a lot), and well, just being his busy awesome self.  Scott, in the midst of getting himself ready for work starts a pot of coffee, a load of laundry, gets distracted with his phone, and might even be found fixing something that he's been thinking about for awhile.  Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit and our family dynamic is quite spectacular but I'm not exaggerating at all. I'm thoroughly enjoying this temporary sense of calm.  I even get to do the dorky things that completely fill me with utter satisfaction like writing the new month and all of the activities on our dry erase board, cleaning out Jacob's "papers" drawer, cleaning out the fridge, and my desk drawer.  What can I say...I love being organized.  It makes me feel good.  There could be worse habits, right?  

We've had an amazing fall - I couldn't have ordered up a better one.  Mild temps, beautiful colors and no snow (as of yet).  We've enjoyed playing outside and soaking up the warm sun.  Jacob has been busy and continues to love school.  Nathan attends "school" on Tuesdays at Kids Kare at Pine Harbor and loves his friends and activities.  Wednesday nights are busy with Awanas.  I have also been seeing some good improvement with my back.  When I say my "back" it is really my leg.  Seeing a pilates instructor for some one on one work and that along with time seems to be helping.  I did have a second MRI and will follow up with a surgeon for a consult next week...just to make sure things are progressing as they should.  Although the pain ache in my leg isn't constant, and I am SO thankful for where I am today, I'm sure looking forward to the day when I'm not distracted by it on a regular basis.    

Scott and I will be taking our annual (post anniversary) fall getaway in a couple of weeks and heading to...wait for it...Milwaukee!  You thought we were going someplace warm, didn't you?  We're heading to the land of cheese for a couple of days of museums, fine dining, and spa treatments.  We'll wrap up the weekend in a quaint little town north of Milwaukee to spend some time with our friends Jake and Marie that moved away last summer.  Stay tuned for that update towards the end of the month.  I will leave you with some of my favorite fall pics.  Thanks for checking in! 

Lydia in the leaves

No caption needed!

Afton apple orchard

Nathan had BOTH sets of grandparents join him for Grandparents day in Preschool 1!  What a fun day and so great to share a meal together that evening.  

Star Wars reads day at the library.  Super cool.  

Scott and his dad enjoyed a few days fishing.

The day super heroes ran errands with me.    

One of my favorites near our neighborhood.  

Jacob after having his three baby teeth extracted.  It was a quick and easy procedure.

Post extraction vanilla malt for breakfast.

Jacob requested the tooth fairy leave these if it was okay with her.  

We dropped our kids off at the YMCA for parents night out.  Mike would have joined but was out of town.  We started the evening with a fantastic dinner at Hastings newest dining establishment Bella Vista.  You can read Scott's review here...and ended the evening strolling through Target.  Isn't that what everyone does when they have a babysitter?  

A game of 500 is a frequent after school activity.

Jacob's "treasure hunt Tuesday"

Harvest fest 2014

I wish you all could have seen this splendor in person.  My iPhone, while I love it, has encouraged me to get out my other camera more often.  We were on the road very early heading towards Sarah and Mike's cabin for the weekend.  

Sarah and Mike are in the final stages of renovating their A-frame.  It is absolutely gorgeous.  Good thing they have a room for me.  ;)  Denny, Mike, Scott and my dad had quite the system.  Needless to say, we couldn't pass up the opportunity for some real-live cement truck action.  

Sarah's kitchen / dining room view.