Fall has Fallen

After a gloriously hot summer, we finally have had some cool, fall weather.  Alas, still no rain.  Much of the country (including Minnesota) is experiencing drought.  It has been a tough year on our farmers and we must use the sprinklers, often twice a day, to keep our trees, bushes, grass and flowers alive.

Bill Visits a Food Truck

Bill often gets his lunch from the gourmet food trucks parked along the park outside of his work downtown St. Paul.  Imagine his joy when he saw a Bacon Truck!!!  Here he had a Piggy Pie!  He returned home that nights with all the ingredients and made it once again for dinner.  Oh, how he loves his bacon!

A Nice Fall Evening

Uncle Chip and Auntie Laura came over and took some photos of the kids.

At the Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids and Char's friend, Emma, to a local pumpkin patch to pick out our own pumpkins from a field.  They had great fun, although the weather was so warm, we wore shorts and ended up with many nasty, itchy scratches on our legs from all the brambles.

Our thrice nightly routine

The kids have swim team practice three times a week and, therefore, must get homework done at the poolside.  Here's Char working on some math while Brennan swims.

Mio Visits Again!

We had another visit with Mio Koyama, our Japanese exchange student in August/September.  We took her shopping to 3 different shopping malls, and up the north shore of Lake Superior.  There, we went on a gondola ride tot he top of Lutsen Mountain, took chairlifts to the top and took the Alpine Slide down, and Mio, Charlotte and Brennan went together on a sea plane ride.  Quite an adventure!!

 At the fried pickle stand at the Minnesota State Fair.

Mio by the "Parking for Japanese Only" sign.

Mio gets a (henna) tattoo.

Charlotte and Mio with their matching henna tattoos.

Having fun at the State Fair!

The Crazy Mouse was so much fun, they had to ride it twice!

Up in Duluth feeding the seagulls.

Grand Marais World Famous Donut place with a "Lena" cut out.  The "Sven, Ole and Lena" stories are widespread, but especially popular in Grand Marais.  We even ate dinner at Sven and Ole's!

Brenny going up, up, up in the gondola ride.

Getting on the sea plane in Grand Marais.  Janet was saying lots of prayers  Hard to let both kids go on the same plane with out either parent!

And it takes off!!!