Go, Go, Goers!

The weekends are no longer a time of rest for us (for Scott, they never were, unfortunately.) But, now our weekends are mostly jam packed with gatherings, school events, parties, etc. It's fun and wonderful that we can celebrate and see people, but whew, I think we need to take a breath every once in a while! Last weekend, my parents and our little family visited our very good friends' new (to them) apple orchard. Fireside Orchard & Gardens  in Northfield, MN, is beautiful, and the apples are fantastic! Plus, we got a great behind-the-scenes tour of how the orchard operates. It was so nice of Darren to take some time away from a very busy Sunday to show us around. I can't wait to make this an annual tradition!  The flower gardens are beautiful! Look at the little froggy who was napping in this rose! And there's a lovely pond stocked with koi The rest of the week is a blur. School, work, birthday parties, swimming lessons, high school parent orientation, football gam

We started off the week with a Celebration of Life for Whitey. Deb did a wonderful job creating an event that showcased his life, and bringing the closest family and friends to share in the loss together. It was a hard day, but a necessary one, to give everyone a chance to say goodbye. Beyond that, the week just trekked along. We were all busy at work and school, and nothing major happened, which I'll take as a win! We were excited to have Ava home with us for the majority of the nights for dinner (hasn't been that way since JUNE!) However, she spent all day Saturday at the high school in marching band practice. And I helped distribute plants for the band's fall fundraiser. At least it's nice weather this weekend! G was helper in his 3rd grade class this week, and was thrilled that he got to choose a prize for being such a good leader for the classroom! He also enjoyed going to a bowling birthday party on Saturday afternoon. FUN! We've been thinking a lot about his

This week was finally G's turn to go back to school. He was excited to start the 3rd grade, and to see all of his friends who he hadn't seen over the summer. Everything seemed to go off without a hitch...no issues at school, and he even has his favorite bus driver (Roger) again! It's been a good week for our little guy! The other child; however...not such a good week. On Saturday, Ava tested positive for COVID, and spent the next five days, holed up in her room. We delivered meals to her, 3 times/day, and that was about the only time we saw her. She tried her best to keep up with her schoolwork, and had mostly a positive attitude while in isolation. On Thursday afternoon, I made her go a walk with me and Pria since she hadn't been outside in so many days. And by the end of that night, she admitted that she was ready to go back to school (her symptoms were much better at this point.) So, off she went, back to the first real week of high school, and ended the school day w

The last few weeks of August were crazy busy, to the point where I didn't even have time to post pics to any social media, or update this blog!  Let's see, where to start...how about the Minnesota State Fair?  Deb, Scott, G, and I went on opening day (8/25) to cheer on our favorite trumpet player in the high school marching band parade! It's pretty cool that they were the first band to play on the first day of the fair. They also had a chance to play a song with all of the other high school bands that were there, and then the kids had time both before and after their performance to enjoy the fair with their friends! I'm so glad that we made the effort to get out to the fair this year. It was nice to be back and eat all of our favorite foods. G had a blast riding on the Kidway rides, and then he and Grandma Deb went head-to-head in a water game. Deb won and very kindly gave G the prize...for which he was very thankful! They are such a loud and powerful band! Ava is in th