Collin's 1st Day of Kindergarten

On Collin's first day of kindergarten mommy got to go with him for a half day. We got to meet Mrs. St. Martin, go for a short bus ride, listen to a story, find his locker and drawer and spot at his table, and do a project together. But most importantly we got to do a practice run at the lunch time routine. I insisted that Collin carry his tray all by himself, get his milk and silverware onto his tray and type in his four digit code to pay for it all by himself - but make no mistake, I was just inches away to sweep in in the event of disaster. Of course he did great, he didn't drop his tray or anything, and how cool it was to have waffles for lunch! Look at what a big boy my baby is~as much as I tried to prepare myself for this day it was still hard to let him go!

Oneka Elementary

Collin is very pumped to have a classroom upstairs ~ they have little yellow paw prints on the walls for the kindergarten kids to follow to their room if they get lost.

Collin is very excited about having all his own places to put his stuff - no surprise there!

On his actual first day - no mommies allowed....Earlier in the morning Collin had said he would walk up to his room by himself, then he thought about it for a couple minutes and said "maybe you could walk me up because I know you are going to be a little bit sad." That's my boy! It couldn't have been more true. Collin didn't need me to walk him up, I needed him to hold my hand. He was ready to go, and I was clearly having a hard time letting go. We drove up to school and just as we pulled in his best friend Connor pulled up along side us. Off they went. Their excitement was just what I needed. All of a sudden I realized I just might survive the next 5 minutes. So after posing for a few last pictures, the boys were ready to venture on their own. A last "I love you", a wave and without looking back he headed into that big school with one of his best friends by his side. As I was watching him start into this new phase of his life, I was sure glad to have one of my best friends by my side as I held back the tears. We are so proud of him.

North Shore - Labor Day!

We spent 5 days up by Lake Superior with the Gandy's this fall. We had fabulous weather, good company, and 15 plus miles of hiking at 5 different state parks! All in all we had a great time! The kids did awesome hiking this year - they even made a 7-8 mile hike.

Goosebury State Park

the kids spent hours and hours climbing around on rocks - it just never gets old.

Temperence River State Park - this is where we made the 7-8 mile hike up to Carlton Peak. The kids had already hiked 2 miles before we came to the sign that said "2 miles to Carlton Peak", unfortunately we had hyped up hiking to the top of a mountain SO much that there was no way we were going to be able to turn back at that point. So 4 miles and 1000 foot elevation change later, we hit the summit. Took a break for lunch and started the LONG trek back to the vans. But the kids made it! We were very proud of them.

Some of the terrain was pretty rugged.

Playing by the Cross River at Lamb's Campground

Both Collin and Ella actually swam in Lake Superior!

Bedtime with Mousey and Wall-E in the tent

Tettegouche State Park - Larson's joined us for a couple days also.

Lake Superior - Lamb's Campground

Cascade State Park - we did a great hike, just a couple miles up to a beautiful overlook at Lookout Mountain. I was very nervous about letting the kids out on the rock CLIFF at the top - it was literally straight down, just like it looks!

Geocaching at Split Rock State Park

Collin mastered the art of skipping rocks - I think his record was 3 or 4 skips. He literally spent hours trying.

End of the Summer

Well whether we like it or not, summer has come to an end. August flew by!! Here's a re-cap of how we spent the end of the month.....

You would never guess that 99% of the time these two girls are driving each other crazy....I can't wait for 13!

We got a chance to spend some time with cousins Jake and Elizabeth. Collin and Jake went to Dinosaur Camp together at Tamarac Nature Center

Gandy's joined us at the cabin for a weekend. The kids spent most of their time jumping off the end of the dock or going down the slide at the end of the dock!

Ella obviously has no fear in the water -- looks like she might have some cheerleading in her future....thanks a lot Scott for planting that seed :)

In August Collin and Ella did Vacation Bible School. They both loved it. Ella was adorable, she knew all the words and hand motions to the songs, and she was very serious about singing them! Looks like it might be time for mommy to look into some dance lessons - as much as I have resisted so far.

Ella trying to learn to do roller blades

We spent an evening at Centerville Beach. The kids (and Matt) dug a bunch of dams and then let the water go to see what would happen. They literally played until their lips were blue from the cold!

One of the last warm days of the summer we spent at Bunker Beach with our good friends the Gerrells

We got to spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma in August. They spoiled the kids (and mom and dad!!). The kids had a ton of fun swimming and playing on the sport court at their hotel, and seeing a "bear" in the woods by their cabin (actually just a deer)!