Beautiful Floors...Sore Backs

We finally 'hiked up our socks' and tackled the bedroom floors. For the past 2 or so years we have lived with hardwood floors in both rooms--hardwood floors with old, cracked and cake on varnish. While it was nice to get the ugly shag carpeting out...the darkness and quality of the varnish didn't help the 1 inch maple flooring show it's best side. So since we working on Ben's room anyway we decided to add to the chaos and sand and refinish both bedrooms.  Yikes! It seemed like a good 'do it yourself' project and was about 1/3 of the cost of having someone else do it. All I have to say is thank goodness for incredible friends who offer to help. Without them sanding, painting, bringing dinner and wine and occupying Ben...we NEVER would have gotten it done and gotten it done with a smile!  Thank you!!!

Pirates of N 9th Ave E

Watch out if you come up our street. We've got a mostly competent lookout and a fierce Pirate whose on the watch for scallywags wandering the neighborhood. They'll take your candy and make you walk the plank!  Aaarrrgghhh!

Twister...

Lately the time between getting home from work and getting up for work seems to be shrinking. There's time to get home, make dinner, eat dinner, then play or do something for maybe 20 minutes and then it's bedtime. Well, at least it's ben's bedtime--but after putting him to bed I'm ready for bed too! The good thing in all of this is that Ben is usually very capable of coming up with something to fill that 20 minutes. A Pooku Piiki Story is #1 on the list but as of late we've had a new favorite....TWISTER! I don't think we completely follow the rules but we're learning our rights from our lefts...

We made it through...

..the CORN MAZE!


It was touch a go for a while (especially when Ben had the map and when we had to stop and work our way INTO the corn for a brief potty stop). But thankfully, we didn't have to sleep out in the corn. We made it out in time for a hot dog, pony ride, some good fun animal petting and the all important pumpkin picking out. A fantastic afternoon.

Best Buddy Bo

It is such a treat when your kid is SO excited to hang out with another kid...AND a double treat when you really like that other kid and that other kid's parents. Such is the case with Ben's buddy Bo. On his own, Ben would drag his feet hiking. With Bo..he races up the trail and can't wait to do more. With Bo, he figured out how to ride a bike with no training wheels. With Bo, he has someone who's not tired of playing 'dress up.' It's a great thing to have a great buddy.

Alison's 35th...

Alison happens to be born in one of the most gorgeous months of the year in Duluth and for her birthday she requested a bit of time outside to enjoy it. After a hearty (and traditional) breakfast in bed, we rounded up a few of our pals and hit the Superior Hiking Trail. We celebrated with carrot cake cupcakes, hot cocoa and a gorgeous view of Ely's Peak just south of Duluth. It was a terrific day to be out (thankfully the snow from yesterday melted!). Happy Birthday Alison!!!

Apples, apples, apples

Fall is here in Duluth. The trees are bursting with color and our great friends, Paula and Sara's apple tree was literally bowed over full of red apples. We made our annual sojurn to South Range to help relieve the tree and Paula and Sara of their apples. What ensued was apple sauce, apple crisp, apple butter, and the new "Apple Pie in Jar." It was great! And this year Ben was a super help in the tree. He had a bucket, an "S" hook to keep the bucket from falling, and a great ability to stay aloft on the tree branches in his crocks. And Mutti has been the "Canner Queen." From spaghetti sauce to apples..she's been steaming her face over the canner every night. I'm so lucky!