Up North: Crafts

We did some craft projects when we were up north. We made coffee filter butterflies:

Bookmarks:

And wands and bubble solution which resulted in spectacular bubbles! The wands were a little tedious to make, but so worth it! (You can click to enlarge.)



I especially love the looks on everyone's faces in the picture below.

Onlookers gathered each time we did it and everyone got a turn. This project was a huge hit with both kids and adults. Good stuff!

Farewell Harry

There was never a more awesome cat to walk the planet than you, Harry. That is an absolute fact. You won our hearts the moment you snuggled up on Joe's chest the first night after you were adopted. You were the kindest and sweetest cat we will likely ever know.

You had a huge, warm personality. Everyone loved you. You were truly more dog than cat in your unbridled affection for people. For most of your days, you were large and furry, perfect for cuddling. The girls adored you and you let them do all sorts of things that cats would generally dislike. You loved them nonetheless.




Your favorite things were laying in sunny spots, sniffing the breeze, chasing bugs and nuzzling us and Winnie.

You declined fairly rapidly after Winnie died this April. You were together your whole life and we knew you missed her. We're so lucky we got so many years with our special guy. We love you and already miss you dearly.

Up North

We had a terrific week with my family up in Northwoods Wisconsin again this year. It was the best year yet. I have a lot of photos and will separate them into four posts (yep, four). I promise I won't say much...the pictures will tell the story.





















Culminating with our family photo:

Our Waterpark Staycation!

We had some hotel points to use, so we decided to stay at The Depot hotel in downtown Minneapolis for a night. It is in what used to be a large train depot, and has a waterpark!

Here the girls are posing with "The Conductor."

The waterpark was just their speed.




We walked to a kid-friendly spot for dinner - The Old Spaghetti Factory.


We also played a while in the hotel arcade.

And visited the Mississippi Lock and Dam, Stone Arch Bridge and the historic Mill district.


It felt like a true vacation even though we were ten minutes from home!

Willa's First Day of School!

Willa had her first day of her second year of preschool today. Wow, there are huge changes to her schooling this year. We had signed her up for a particular program at her school, but the director decided to change virtually everything about it so that it is almost exactly like the other program offered there. Some parents thought they had mistakenly signed up for the wrong program! Even though all the parents are unsettled, we are trying to keep an open mind and see how the kids like it.

Willa goes with the flow very easily. She was sad that there are no longer baby dolls or dress up items there, but she likes everything else about the program. She adores her teachers and nearly half of the kids are her friends from last year.


I'm glad she had a good day!

Apple Picking

Today is my fantastic hubby's birthday. He wanted to go apple picking, so we headed out to our favorite spot. The temp was a breezy low 70's and the orchard was quiet and calm. Perfect. We covered quite a bit of ground and the girls were big helpers.




We included a little playtime in a big pirate ship.


And a sweet reward for the hard work!


Later, we went on a bike ride after dinner. Both girls tried something new. Jia rode her bike in the street with us, and Willa rode on the tagalong behind Joe. They were both nervous, but excited. They did great! We biked on quiet roads to a nearby lake. When there, Willa arranged seats for Joe and I to sit holding them so we could all cuddle and look at the lake together. Willa then said, "I did it to celebrate the family." They make us smile.