Fall clean up

The girls were invited to a birthday party this afternoon, so the guys went to Auntie Larissa’s house to help take leaves.

Halloween 2016

I took Shecklet #4 to the office to trick or treat and say hi to Papa. After that stop, we headed to the house to see Nana.

Three of the Shecklets wanted to go trick-or-treating this year. #2 decided to stay home, hand out candy, and count kids. It was a drizzly night, but everyone had fun. Shecklet #4 asked when she could go again 🎃

Time with Aunt Kari

Nana asked Shecklet #1 to join her and Aunt Kari at the stable today. They groomed Rio and Kid before saddling up and riding.

Hit it!

The boys did a skiing version of this in the backyard of our old house. Today, the youngest practiced her “hit it” for next summer at the lake. (Click the square to the right of the video’s blue audio control to get the full view.)

2016 Vacation – Day 5

All good things must come to an end, isn’t that how the saying goes? We packed a ton of fun-ness into a few short days and made a ton of fantastic memories. One final one was a visit to the Cathedral Basilica, complete with a tour given by our friend. We had been in the Cathedral before, but this time we had a chance to take in the beauty and detail of this amazing church.

2016 Vacation – Day 4

We had mass as a family in a very special chapel this morning, with our friend presiding. The boys read the readings and assisted as servers. As a mom, it was an awesome experience to watch. And I hope they realize just how special it was for them to be part of it.


After mass, we ate breakfast and went to what I can only describe as one of the craziest places I have ever been – the City Museum. We had been told wearing pants was smarter than wearing shorts and that you could spend an entire day at the place. Both statements are true. We spent all afternoon there (again  closing the place down) and still didn’t see it all. The photos we took don’t do the place justice, but they do give you an idea as to how unreal it is.


After one final side, we headed to the house of our friend’s friends, on The Hill. There was a bike race going on and they were hosting a pig roast. They kindly invited us to join them. Afterward, we went out for frown custard at Ted Drewes. Yummy stuff!  (The boys played “Statue of Liberty” with the dry ice that was keeping the custard cold.)

2016 Vacation- Day 3

Today, after a hardy breakfast of yogurt, eggs, sausage and bacon, we embarked on a trip to Six Flags.

Before we left, we made sure to get a group photo (smiling faces and silly faces, of course!)


We all had a great time, but Shecklet #2 probably had the best. He is a roller coaster maniac after experiencing his first rides earlier in the summer at Valleyfair. He and our friend rode all the coasters they could in the time we were there and even got drenched midway through the day. We closed the place down – riding rides until they no longer took passengers! Three of the four Shecklets fell asleep in the car on our way back to the convent 💤💤💤

Riding Kid

Three of the Shecklets met Nana at the stable for some horse back riding.

The afternoon ended in a deluge of water falling from the sky, so only Kid was rode. Next time we’ll give Rio a try.