Happy Fall!

The best thing about fall is the fine weather. There is nothing better than a warm, dry, fall day. On one of the 3 perfect fall days we get here in Minnesota, we took the kids to the park.

Anna showing off her face first sliding skills.


Laura can't let Anna get all the attention! That just won't do!


Anna give a little have as she makes her way down the slide.


Anna is cheering Laura down the slide.


Laura loves to write & doodle. Here she is earning brownie points by writing that she loves her family. I'm sure whatever she was trying to get us to do, she got. (Note, she made a point to say that Laura loves Laura.)


Chalk art. Life is sunshine & rainbows in Laura-land.


In order to get to the slide above, the kids must navigate some tricky stairs. Anna is showing her mastery of the playground equipment.


One last important note: Emily completed her first 10 mile road race. She trained hard and did great!

Race Day!

After Emily's triathlon, Laura said SHE wanted to run in a race. Lucky for us, there was a kids 1K fun run in Savage. So Laura patiently waited for the race and was very excited to participate.

She picked out her own race outfit. She loves all the colors. She also was excited to get a race number.


Anna was wondering why she wasn't running. Next year Anna, there were some kids about her age doing it, so she should be good to go next year.


Laura at the start line. She did really well. 1K is a little more than a half mile, and she only stopped to walk a couple of times.


Laura crossing the finish line. She was a little winded, but very excited to run the race.


Mommy, can I run it again?

First day of school

This was a big day in the Gillespie household: Laura's first official day of preschool. Laura was very excited and has been asking us every morning if today is the day she gets to go to preschool. The big day arrived and she had her new outfit on.


Laura and Anna ready to go!


I'm ready mom & dad!


I walked her in and mom followed with the camera. Hurry up mom, don't embarrass me in front of the other kids! (Little does she know that it is our sworn duty to do so!)


As Laura would say: "What the?"
It was a zoo on the first day. Kids everywhere. Alpha female mommies pushing their kids to be the first ones to get checked in. Elbowing their way to get the best picture position. I mean, can't you see my little pint sized perfection is the best!


Come on dad, they aren't that bad! This looks kinda fun. I see an art area!


Ok mom & dad, I'm ready, you can go.

Congrats to Ms. Niemi & Scott

This past weekend we went up to the iron range to celebrate the wedding of Laura & Anna's day care provider, Ms. Niemi. (now Mrs. Congdon)

We had a very nice trip, and for the most part the girls behaved about as well as one could expect. With some help from goldfish crackers, Anna sat through the ceremony, and Laura even got to release a butterfly at the end to cap off the ceremony.

Once we got to the reception, the kids eagerly awaiting their chance to hit the dance floor.


At the hotel, we got the little gals all prepped up.


Who would have guessed that they would be cute as a button?


Anna showing off her white dress and headband.


Laura loved her pink dress (and headband).


They were so excited to get to the wedding the improvised their own transportation. Anna would shove her side one way, and Laure the other.


They all got to blow bubbles, which Laura loved.


Anna too.


Anna chased the bride all day long for some attention. She was always busy, but still made time to get Anna some attention.


Laura loved doing the chicken dance. Anna was just a little confused (as am I about the chicken dance)


Anna really enjoyed the cake.


Laura got her dance with the bride.


They had fun, but MAN were they tired.


Here is the chicken dance part 1:


Part 2:

Dancing Girls

Anna & Laura love to dance, especially to live music. We went to another concert in the park and they had a lot of fun.

Anna in her rock star look.


Laura on stage dancing with all the kids


Anna watches very closely.


Naturally, if Laura is doing it, Anna wants to do it.


Now Anna is happy, she cut a nice groove up on stage.

Oh Canada

I'm back in the states after a week in Canada fishing the elusive walleye. I enjoyed a week outdoors and even caught a lot of fish.


The eagles were everywhere, they'd keep an eye on the fishermen to make sure all of the fish were nice & healthy when they were thrown back. If not, they'd scoop them up & take them back to the aerie. I suppose they had some medicine up there for them.



Here is the big moose rack in the cabin we stayed at. As I expected the cabin was rustic, but it kept the bears and bugs out, so that is good. The mice appreciated the chips we left on the floor for them.


Here is a nice walleye I caught. I believe this was was about 17.5".


Here is my large fish for the week, a 22" walleye.

You got the music in you

I thought I'd put up one more post before Mike returns and takes back the blog!

The highlight of the week may have been our night at Lucy & Henry's, when Uncle Ben not only played the guitar for Laura but let her try it out. She couldn't believe she actually got to play the guitar!

That reminded me of an earlier encounter the girls had with music at Grandma & Grandpa B's.

Laura wanted to write a message for Mike on the chalkboard so that I could take a picture of it and send it to his phone, but it turned into a general expression of her love for the whole family. Or maybe it was just her love for the chalkboard.

One of Anna's favorite pasttimes is dressing up in the winter clothes. Love that smile! And yes, I'm admitting that I never got around to packing away the winter clothes this year.

Last but not least, the kids missed Mike a lot this week. They are looking forward to having him back so they can head out on their next adventure with him!