Halloween 2023

 It was Halloween this week! The kids LOVE Halloween, but what kid doesn't. Marlo went as Hermione turned into a cat with Polyjuice Potion. 

We carved pumpkins at the 11th hour.

     

We finished the pumpkins and put them ourside about 20 minutes before it snowed for the first time this year.

   

We woke up Halloween morning to more snow than we expected!

 

Marlo had her parade at school and thankfully the sun was nice and warm. 

 

We added a nose for trick or treating.

 

The kids spent the rest of the week eating candy.

   

Yesterday was Kasper's last Ultimate frisbee game of the fall season! It was a beautiful day!

   

And finally, I drove by our old house today as I was passing by and it is looking pretty different! It's getting a new roof and it looks like maybe a new entry way or patio? I can't wait to see what they do to it!

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Oops!

Guess I disappeared for a bit there. But it's only because between Rob and I, we've taken literally only these 4 pictures in the last 6 weeks. 

We've been busy with work, school, blah, blah, blah. I'm not entirely sure what happened! We vow to do better.

Our house and property were gorgeous this fall. I think we got slightly less time with the bright colors this year but they were stunning. Most of the leaves fell off the trees late last week. In other yard news, we had a fisher running up the back hill one morning! That was a highlight for sure. 

Marlo went to a birthday party at the Humane Society which is the best idea ever for a group of 9-10 year old girls.

   

 And finally, sadly, we lost Carol a few weeks ago. Her cancer returned 18 months ago and we were so lucky to have those months. We sure miss her and were able to honor her last weekend. The grandkids got along famously, of course, and I hope they can see each other soon.

 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and we'll try to get more photos this week!

Back to school

 It was back to school Tuesday! I think the kids were generally pretty excited to go back. 

 

They both had the same bus drivers which hasn't ever happened before. I was at the bus stop with Marlo and when the bus pulled up, all the kids jumped up and down yelling "PAT!!!!!"

   

 The week went pretty well. We got back into the homework groove and had some activities thrown in there. We treated ourselves to a trip to the apple house today for surviving the first week.

 

Back to the grind tomorrow! Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Gunflint

We headed up to the Gunflint Trail last Friday for our annual Labor Day trip. I think this was by far the hottest weekend we've ever had up there - I think it was in the 90's every day. 

We spent all day Friday driving and eating and got to our cabin around 9 pm. We were up and ready to canoe by 8:30 the next morning. 

It was a beautiful day and the water helped cool us off a bit. We did a longer route this year with 7 portages. It took us about 8 hours. But THE VIEW.

   

The first 2 portages were 140 rods each. That's a little under a half mile which seems weirdly long when carrying canoes and gear across rugged terrain.

 

The kids were so good. I don't think they complained once. Besides being hungry around lunch time. 

Amazing. 

 

We were beat that night! Sunday was a chill day where everyone kind of did their own thing in the morning. Some people ziplined, some fished, we went up the Trail to a pie festival.

   

 We all met up for lunch at Poplar Haus which is a can't miss place on the Gunflint Trail. Owned by one of my besties.

   

After lunch we rented boats and went across Gunflint Lake to a cliff jumping spot right on the US Canada border.

   

You go through this narrow little slot to get to the cliffs.

 

International border post.

   

Accurate.

The kids had so much fun playing Kan Jam. They all played for hours.

 

There was a chance for the Northern Lights last night so we went down to the lake but they never happened. I do love seeing the Milky Way though.

 

Today we were on the road by 8:30. We stopped in Grand Marais for the World's Best Doughnuts then made it home by about 4 pm.

   

We're all showered, nails trimmed, backpacks packed, ready for school tomorrow! I can't believe it's already that time again. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!