{ september fun }

With school being back in session and less weekend traveling, it seems I have less to report. But we still managed to sneak in some fun this month. The first week of school was beautiful weather and even though it was September, we went to Nokomis Beach. It had been on my list all summer and we finally managed to make it there!

We headed to the Lodge the second weekend of the month and had hoped for some warmer temps than we had - the sun was shining, the air temp was "cooler" and the lake temp was COLD. But we still managed to get in some tubing and lake fun.

Extracurricular activities have also started for O and S - Stella is currently in gymnastics and dance and Oliver is taking Tae Kwon Doe (he will also start hockey in November). Both are enjoying having their own activities and it helps fill our non-napping afternoons - win!

Fall also means the return of college football! Oliver and Stella got to join us for a game last weekend. They were super excited to go but definitely unimpressed by sitting in the seats watching the game. A treat of sno-cones bought us a lot of time and filled them with plenty of red dye syrup. Overall a fun experience and we feel blessed to be able to do things like this with them!

This was the aftermath of the sno-cones!

{ back to school }

I am super far behind on this blogging thing but kicking it off again with a back to school post - we have pre-k'ers in the house!

They were actually quite excited to be heading back to school and, of course, I was too.

I was a little worried how they would adjust to five morning vs. three mornings a week but it has actually been MUCH better. I think the consistency and routine of it being all the days helps them. Last year I heard a lot of "do we have school today" and groans if I said yes. This year it is just assumed there is and they go! About half the class was also in their preschool room last year so there is a lot of familiarity that carried over from last year. And their teachers are energetic and fun - they have a few live pets in the room, as well as a stuffed animal dog "Fluffy" who gets sent home with a different student each weekend.

I am soaking up the three hours each morning - nice to have a little "me" time. But I am already starting to get a little sad that next year it will be FULL days for them in kindergarten. Eck!

{ wedding #3 }

We celebrated our 3rd summer wedding in Plover when Chop's niece Hannah got married. It was fun because Oliver and Stella were invited so they got to experience their first wedding. They were excited to have a reason to dress up and dance - and I must say, they looked quite adorable!

We all cleaned up nice!

Oliver got lots of "ohhhs and ahhhs" - we joke that he is a Jonathan Lipnicki doppleganger!

It was an overcast day with rain on and off all day. It rained hard up until the 2:00 outdoor ceremony, was clear for about 10 minutes, and then rained again during the ceremony. But it didn't stop any of the festivities. Oliver and Stella had a lot of fun hanging out with their cousins and aunts/uncles.

 And thought that kiddie cocktails were the best thing ever.

I unfortunately didn't get many pictures as I forgot my camera in Minneapolis so all I had was my phone (which didn't cooperate for pictures on the dark dance floor). But take my word that there was a lot of dancing and fun - O and S opened the dance floor and we had to drag them off at 10:00. Cheers to Hannah and Mike!

{ lately }

We have been soaking up the last few weeks of summer. I'm 50/50 on it ending - I'm going to miss our lazy days and freedom but ready for some structure (and consistent time of them at school)!

Oliver and Stella have discovered the fun of jumping off a swinging swing. Too bad I learned it's one of the top three ways kids break bones in their arms or legs!

Popsicles, tie dye shirts, ballons, and no pants. Ahhhhh, summertime.

We spent a gloomy, rainy day using up some free ride tickets at MOA.

Fro-yo!

And last, but not least (for Chop anyways), Gopher football is back!

Next up, first day of school!

{ great mn get together }

We avoided it for as long as possible but finally gave in to peer pressure this year and headed to the State Fair. I guess it's just what you do when you live in Minnesota!

We went with the Molepske's and relied on them for their expertise in navigating the sights to see. With kids, it's less about the food and more about keeping them tantrum free and happy. We actually did very little indulging - the kids split a pretzel and cotton candy and Chop treated himself to a scotch egg. And that was it!

We hit up the farm animal stands and I'm fairly certain Stella would have taken a bunny home if we had said okay.

The giant slide was a big hit among the young and old

And there was no way we were going to escape without a few rides.

We did it right by getting there early in the morning and getting out of there around lunch time when the masses began to arrive. Oliver and Stella asked the next day when they would get to go back - we'll see if they forget about it by next year!

{ ski babies }

This past weekend we headed up to The Lodge for a weekend with the Molepskes. Grandma and Grandpa C were out of town so we invited them up to have some fun with us. And we did just that!

We had great weather on both Friday afternoon and Saturday for most of the day and we took full advantage of it. Mike is also a master skier and we decided to attempt to get all the kids up on skis. Eli, the oldest of the group at 8 years old, went first and was a rock star making it around the lake two times.

Then it was Stella's turn and she got cold feet as we were getting her set up on the ski trainer board. Oliver was still up for it so we got him ready to go instead. Mike was in the water to help guide them out.

It still requires them to stay standing and not let go. While this doesn't sound like a big deal, if you know four year olds you know that they don't always follow what you say. And of course you add a fast boat pulling you across water and you never know. Oliver let go the first two attempts but on the third (after me drilling the two requirements into his head) he did it!

While I was screaming with excitement from the dock, I watched as not only did he get up but he never let go and skied all the way around the lake!!

I was so dang proud of him and he was equally proud of himself. And just as I knew she would, Stella was right back in the water to make sure that he didn't show her up! And as I knew again, once she tried it she was up on the first try and around the lake she went.

Then it was the daddy's turn - the kids all decided to sit on the dock and cheer them on.

Oliver was also super sweet after Stella was out skiing - he was on the dock with our friend Marhya and she said he was yelling to her "I am SO proud of you Stella". So sweet!

They are already asking when the next time they get to go is!

{ lake geneva 2014 }

Road trippin'!

August brought about our annual trip to Lake Geneva to reunite with our friends from IU grad school and their growing families. It is an incredibly fun time and the kids were equally excited about it this year. We all cherished the 5 days/4 nights that we were able to spend with these dear friends.

We went back to the same community, Geneva National, but stayed at a different rental that had more space. There was plenty of room inside and out and of course the pool in the gated community was a huge hit. This is going to be a super heavy picture post since there were several of us with cameras and lots of cute kids to photograph. And the pictures do a pretty good job of showing what a fun time we had! Without further ado.......

Outside playtime.

Pool time (noteworthy: Kate and Harrison were jumping in by the end of the trip - peer pressure at its best!).

Bike time.

Inside snuggle time.

Beach time.

Grown-up time.

I am so thankful that we each make it a priority to make this gathering happen each summer. And thanks to Lora for once again capturing some great pictures of Oliver & Stella!