Minnesota Memories

We did it again!

Somehow in the midst of crazy fall schedules, all of our kids were able to join us for several days in the North woods of Minnesota.

Why does it seem almost miraculous to have everyone together?

It was a gift to be treasured.

We shared picnics with laughter.

Rainy days snuggled in the cabin playing games, eating like lumber jacks.

Long hikes that lead to incredible views.

Really incredible views!

Views so beautiful they took your breath away.

And made you praise the awesome God that created it.

Views made even more special because of the dear ones that shared it with us.

And the laughter we shared along the way.

Waterfalls.

Lake Superior.

Palisades.

Baptism River.

Tettegouche.

Mount Baldy.

The vibrant colors of fall becoming more pronounced with each new day.

Days so warm we could ride the waves on Lake Superior.

And mornings so cold we snuggled in our hoodies, sipping hot coffee.

Precious times.

And even more precious people.

We made some truly beautiful Minnesota memories.

Stolen Time

I still can’t believe we pulled this off!

Somehow – in a miracle of scheduling – we got four of our five children together at the same time.

And somehow – in a miracle of packing – squished all of our luggage and bodies into the mini-van…

…and traveled 10 hours packed like sardines all the way to Colorado to see our firstborn Matt.

We stole three precious days from our very busy fall schedules and spent them together.

By day we played tourist – taking in the highlights of Matt’s adopted city.
We saw where Matt worked, met his co-workers, admired the awesome mountain view from his desk.

We hiked.

We explored.

We climbed.

We shopped.

But by night – we were just us.

Playing games.

Watching movies.

Eating popcorn.

Sharing inside jokes.

Laughing.

Cherishing every moment.

Knowing that time was short and family was precious.

And that soon we would be heading home and leaving one behind.

it was stolen time.

And it was so, so sweet.

Our First Day of School & Other Surprises

We started school this week.

Okay – pick yourselves up now.

For those of you who know me well – you know that I don’t like to start school until at least after Labor Day. I want a really long – very s t r e t c h e d out summer.

Yet – here we are starting school in the middle of August – before even the public schools have started.

What’s up with that?

Well…usually I’m up to my eyebrows in veggies to can and freeze right now, but this year the garden is really behind.

And…for years we didn’t have air conditioning and it was just too hot to even think – let alone do math.

But…mostly we started early because we have something really exciting planned.

I mean really exciting!

Are you ready for this?

In September, we’re going on a massive 10 day trip out west – with all five kids – and we’ll be camping.

That’s right – all seven of us for 10 days – camping.

But not in this RV – no, that would be too easy. It has a kitchen and an indoor bathroom.

No, that’s not us. We’ll be the ones driving a 15 year old suburban pulling a 35 year old pop-up camper.

Think Brady Bunch.

We’ll see the Tetons, Yellowstone and the Black Hills while enjoying the comfort and lack of indoor plumbing of a 35 year old Starcraft pop-up. It sleeps eight, is very clean and most importantly – it’s free.

Did you notice that I called this a “trip” not a vacation? A vacation happens when you stay in hotels and eat in restaurants and don’t have children with you.

No – this is most definitely a trip – an epic adventure that will go down in the annuls of family history.

It will be a major memory making event and the excitement is building!

But for now, we have an entire week of school under our belts. Then in a few weeks – when everyone else is doing math problems and diagramming sentences – we’ll be hiking in the Tetons and watching Old Faithful.

Just one more reason to love home schooling!

RV picture courtesy of Michael Gil.