Labor Day Weekend.

 This past weekend was Labor Day weekend, and we spent it in Minnesota. We have kind of formed a tradition of camping at Diamond Lake on Labor Day weekend. We have gone the last three years. I had to work late on Friday, so we left Saturday morning for the lake. We left town around 8:30 and got to the lake right around noon. 

We surprised my dad with a new griddle grill. He had a piece of crap grill at the lake that the guys were sick of, so we finally broke down and got him a nice grill. He was very appreciative of the new grill and we had fun making food on the grill all weekend. 

We ate a nice lunch of burgers and sweet corn and then we headed out on the lake. The weather was beautiful. It was 78 degrees with no wind. The kids did a little tubing on the lake, but I think the water felt a little cold in the cooler temps, so they didn't last very long tubing. After tubing, we took a ride on the boat around the lake, and Elliott fell asleep on the boat. 

After boating, we enjoyed some time hanging out at the campground and playing some card games. We played some Uno and Skipbo with the kids and then we played some 31 and Sheephead with the adults. We ended the day with a nice fire and good company. 

On Sunday, we did typical campground things for the day. We sat in lawn chairs, drank some beer, and just enjoyed hanging out. Eventually, Rachel and Elena make it in the afternoon. We decided to head to Mom and Dad's on Sunday with the camper since it was supposed to be cold and rainy on Monday, and we all were looking forward to sleeping in a regular bed. So, in the afternoon we spent our time packing and cleaning and hooking up equipment. We got to mom and dad's at around 6pm, and enjoyed some foil packs around the fire and enjoyed another really nice fire-and our own beds. 

Monday was pretty much a catch up day. We left my parent's house around 1pm and made the trek back home. Everyone had fun, but we were ready to be back home. It was a great weekend of togetherness, but it was nice to get settled at home and ready for another week. 

We are about done with camping for the year, which is fine with all of us. We are for sure going one more time this fall with Hinners, and after that we will just play it by ear. I think we are ready to have our weekend back a little bit. However, Sunday School starts this Sunday and I keep picking up shifts at the call center on Sundays, so I'm not sure how much we are really getting our weekends back. 

I am really loving the cooler weather and the feeling of fall. This is my season. Bring on the pumpkin and the sweaters and the football. Happy Fall!!

First Day of School 2020

 After 6 months off, the kids are finally back in school. They actually have been back for 3 weeks already, and I'm just a little behind on the times. Our weeks are so crazy now, we just blink and they fly by. It's crazy. 

The kids started school on Wednesday, August 27th. Elliott had his first day of Kindergarten. He was so super excited to be starting school, and he is killing it. He loves his teacher Mrs. Knuth, and he really enjoys his Smart Start in the mornings and practicing his letters with his Superkids books. When asked, he says his favorite thing about school is lunch time. His best friend at school right now is Jacob, and he really enjoys after school care. Overall, Elliott is liking school. I can't believe he is getting so big already. However, it was really nice to write out his last daycare check. 

Emma is now a 3rd grader. I'm not exactly sure how that happened. She won't admit it anymore, but Emma enjoys school as well. She was a little worried about sharing a classroom with her brother, but I think that is going better than expected. She has a little more homework so far this year, so that has been a little bit of a challenge, but overall she is doing really well. We do our homework right away when we go home from school, and we have been reading every night before bed, which Emma really enjoys. She also states lunch is her favorite, and she loves the jokes and fun facts that we put in her lunch box. 

On the first day of school, we all attended chapel together and then the kids were off to school. It was so sweet to see how excited and ready for school they were. No tears were shed by anybody. It was a great first day of school. 

I took the day off, and came back to school at about 2:00pm to teach the kids about hand washing. It was pretty fun. I talked to the kids about the importance of hand washing and how to properly wash their hands. We also did some science experiments that had to do with hand washing which the kids thought was pretty cool. After school we stopped at Juice Stop for some first day of school smoothies. It was a great first day of school. 

I'm so glad the kids are loving school. Luckily, we are a small enough school that masks are not required. We are hoping we can keep everyone healthy with temperature checks and kids staying home when they don't feel well. Here's hoping everyone can stay healthy this school year!