First Day of 4th and 7th grade

It's back to school time already! The summer flew by as usual and the kids headed back to school last week. Addy has been especially excited about middle school. It's still the same school since it's K-8 but she changes rooms for each class and they have their own "wing" of the school. She's been really fun to go back to school shopping with and we even got a make up makeover which was really fun. 

Cameron is excited about 4th grade, but wanted nothing to do with shopping. No matter what I offered to buy him he had no interest, so it's no surprise that he was in his usual sports attire for the first day of school. It's funny how for one kid shopping is the reward and for the other it's seen as punishment. The kids got right back into the swing of things with school and sports start too. Cameron is doing flag football and Addy is doing cross country. 

End of Summer Fun

We tried to make the most of the end of summer and were able to fit a lot in during the last two weeks. Brian took the kids to a local waterslide and amusement park. The kids loved the waterslides but weren't a huge fan of the rides (they still won't try roller coasters). Brian also discovered a Nintendo Switch event where the kids got to try out new games. They really enjoyed that and Cam brought a friend. 

On Labor Day we followed our tradition of going to the Evergreen State fair. This year in addition to seeing the Lumberjack show, we found a dog stunt show and took the kids to their first rodeo. I was especially excited for them to see it, mainly so they could say "this isn't my first rodeo." Not surprisingly they didn't think that was funny, but we did have a great time at the fair. 

Kornfest!

Kornfest days were going on while we were visiting so we got to hang out there. They had carnival rides, food, music and of course corn. The kids enjoyed some of the rides and games, they each won a football and we stayed cool in the beer tent. We enjoyed the local parade where the kids got lots of candy. It helps to be next to Ellis and Etta as they attract more candy from the parade! The funniest thing we got was a schedule of all of the wisconsin sports teams plus the hunting season schedule. 

Great G&G

Another highlight of the visit was seeing Great Grandma and Grandpa. They were happy to see the kids and to see how much they had grown since the last visit. Addy especially got a lot of attention since she is now 2 inches taller than me. She fits right in with the tall women on this side of the family. I often joke with her that she's lucky I'm so short or she'd probably be 3 or 4 inches taller than she already is! 

At Home in Holmen

After our lake time we headed to see the Everts and the kids got to switch from being the youngest cousins to being the oldest cousins which they loved. They had so much fun playing with Etta and Ellis and got to do some of their favorites including the local pool, the park and a jump house! I think it was one of the first times that we visited where it wasn't over 90 degrees and we got to watch some awesome storms roll in. The last pic is of Addy just laying on the driveway watching the storm roll in (and catching rain with her mouth!) 

Pickleball & MOA

No trip to see my family is complete without a pickle ball tournament and this one delivered. It also included water balloon fights, ATV rides, margaritaville and more. It was a good break between Lake time. We also hit up Mall of America for the first time ever with the kids! We stopped on our way to the airport and the kids were in awe at how much was there. I think we will definitely have to plan another trip to go back when we have more time. Addy would like to shop her way through it and Cam wanted to check out the park, rides and activities. Addy got some new clothes for school and Cameron got to experience black light mini golf. A very successful outing! 

Lake Time + River Kayaking

The weather wasn't "best week ever" material but that didn't stop us from making the most of all of our favorite water activities at the lake. Sunset cruises, tubing, fishing, paddle boarding, jet skiing and of course water skiing. No one improved more than Addy on this trip, she waterskied every chance she got and on her last day she water-skied for about 25 straight minutes without stopping or falling. It was incredible! She really looks good out there and is working her way toward trying to go on one ski. 

On our last day we went kayaking down the St. Croix. It was a similar trip from a few years ago but we cut it a bit shorter since 5 hours was a bit long. Cameron was far less scared this time and had a lot more fun! Addy was my kayak partner and we had a blast. Brian got to work on his German as he took turns with each of the kids.