Halloween 2021

Hooray for the return of another “normal” activity! The kids and their friends ran through the neighborhood collecting an incredible number of full size candy bars this year. (I must admit, I jumped on this train of thought this year and it was amazingly simple – and about the same price, if not cheaper, than buying all of those mini bars of candy.)

While kids did their thing, a friend of mine (and mom to 4 of the kids,) hung out, handed out candy and sipped cider. Yum!

Two dogs and to Darth Vaders. These four made quite the haul!

Friends since…

The later 2000’s. The adults met at SJB when there were only 4 kids between the 6 of us. Now we have 10!

It was a lovely day for a walk at Bunker Regional Park followed by dinner out for just the adults. Lots of laughs, which were welcomed by everyone.

2021-2022 Ski/snowboard season here we come! 🎿🏂

Trollhaugen had a ski swap and other activities today. One of the things we did was ride the chairlift up and walk down.

We also picked up our passes and Jake bought some new gear. It’s been over 20 years, so we figured he was due!

CC race and cheering section

Today’s CC race brought us close to Aunt Larissa’s house. We called her en route to see if she wanted to come watch. She was free, so she joined me and the girls to cheer on Shecklet #2. He improved his time almost 50 seconds over his race last weekend!

Airsoft afternoon

Friends from church invited the guys to play airsoft this afternoon. They came home sweaty and tired and excited to play again.

Visit from the Schmidtshow

My cousin and his family came to visit over the weekend. 8 kids, 4 adults, lots of laughs, and new memories made. The kids connected like they were old friends, which was awesome to see. The adults enjoyed sitting around the kitchen table and catching up over Crown Royal peach with sweet tea. We took in a Twins game (unfortunately, they did not win,) but it didn’t matter. It was just great to get to spend time with family.

This is what family looks like.

First CC race 🏃

Shecklet #2 is giving cross country a try as a way to get in shape for the ski season. I’m super proud of him for trying something new.

Guys trail ride 🚵

Jake took the boys on a new single track ride tonight. They all enjoyed it and can’t wait to go back.

Pine Cones 🌲

These enormous pine cones arrived from NV. Shecklet #3 and his Aunt Bri and Uncle Jason found them on a hike, Aunt Kari baked them when she was visiting Jason, and Jason sent them. They are amazing!

Family wedding 🥂

Weddings are often the only time we get a “fancy” family photo. Today we attended the vow renewal and reception for one of Jake’s cousins. It was a beautiful day and a fun reason to celebrate with family.

No, Jake isn’t shorter than Shecklet #1…yet. He’s leaning forward a bit in the above photo, so it looks like Shecklet #1 has passed him up.