9 Years

Today marks 9 years since the loss of my dad. 

I have written a couple of versions of this post, but truthfully there is not much I can think of to say that I haven’t already said the past 8 years.

April is a hard month now. We do what we can to remember and honor and move forward all at the same time.

I had a restorative weekend in the woods and I honored him on a magical hike yesterday.

Hanna shared with me that in the Jewish culture, they leave stones when they visit loved ones because the stones last a long time. I had found a couple of pretty stones on one of our hikes, so I left them for Dad when I visited today with his favorite treats.

He will always be my dad and I will love him and miss him. 

Always.

Cabin Weekend!

Get ready for a post full of food and nature hike photos! 

Hanna and I left on Saturday morning for a girls cabin weekend in the north woods of Wisconsin. My boss, Nicole, gifted me a long weekend stay at her family’s resort near Cable, WI- The Lakewoods Resort. 

On the way, we stopped in Stillwater for lunch and a wander downtown. 

We spent a long time at this wild antique shop!


Then it was time to head to the cabin! 

It was a perfect little two bedroom place right on Lake Namakagon. We unpacked, relaxed and made dinner.

I FaceTimed with Maya and then we went for a walk around the resort.


On Sunday morning I got up to go for a walk. There were a couple loons hanging out by our dock when I got back.

Then it was time for some yoga before we headed to the lodge for breakfast. 

Our first stop of the day was about a 40 minute drive to Copper Falls State Park. We went on a nearly 3 mile hike and it was beautiful!




Hanna had to break the rules just a little bit because it was so pretty and she had to get a little closer!


We found a nice little spot for a healthy snack right by some falls.

Then we headed to Hurley, where Hanna’s grandma grew up! And since we were right at the state line boarder, we crossed over to Michigan for the heck of it! And we saw some elk hiding in the trees on our way back to the resort. 


We spent some time at the indoor pool and hot tub, reading and playing Bananagrams. 


We went to the Lodge for a delicious dinner and Moscow mules!

After dinner we drove to a nearby resort to check it out and it had some crazy architecture (and weird speed limits). We also saw some deer!



This morning I went for a 2.5 mile run and only got misted on a little bit. We made some breakfast in our cabin. 

And then headed out for another day of epic hiking! We drove about an hour up to Houghton Falls and it was truly the most magical hike I have ever done. It was like hiking in Fern Gully! 

The hike took us all the way down to Lake Superior! See the videos later for some awesome wildlife we saw (ahem, wild river otter!). 


Then we headed to Bayfield for lunch at Morty’s Bar.

Then we headed to our next hike about a half hour away…at Lost Creek Falls. 

Then we headed back to the cabin, did a little hot tub soak, and made dinner.

Click here for 10 minutes of our adventures, which is mostly ASMR nature sounds and us giggling! 

We had an awesome trip and are so grateful for the time away together in nature.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hanna and I are on a girls trip long weekend currently, so come back tomorrow night for that wrap-up. In the meantime, here are the few pics I got from home this weekend! 

The girls went with Boom to Andy and Beth’s house warming party.

More from me tomorrow. 

A Picture Update

First up, I completely missed a birthday shout out this week…it was Auntie Hanna’s birthday on Monday!!!! We love you and hope you had a great day, even if it was a Monday!

As for the rest of the week, check out my Wednesday post for my birthday festivities (if you missed it).

Otherwise, here are the rest of my pics from the week:

Maya had the day off of school today, so she hung out with Boom for the afternoon. 

Have a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Me!

Hooray! I’m 42 today!

It’s been awhile since I have been in school on my birthday. But one of my classes planned a party for me (I helped, along with my co-teacher…it was their project for the week!) and it was adorable. 

If you zoom in on the lower left pic you will see homemade 4 and 2 confetti- for turning 42 on 4/24/24!

Tonight Chris surprised me with a dinner with my longest and dear friend Adrea and her husband Steve at Pizzaria Lola! Her gift to me was the most perfect tshirt ever made. 

Thanks to everyone else for the birthday calls, visits, texts and messages! I’m feeling very loved! 

Timehop Tuesday

Ahhhh…the good old days. When they would not look like complete weirdos for the camera!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday!  We had a good weekend.  Yesterday Mitchell and Isla came over for lunch and some play time.  

And I made my favorite soup (soup season is ending!) and Chris made a fire and we enjoyed the chilly but sunny evening.

Today Chris and Maya worked on taking out these big ugly trees, which will eventually be replaced by new bushes.

Then we headed over to the Lindsay's house for some pizza and ice cream pie to celebrate my upcoming birthday.

Maya and I took Luna out before bed and enjoyed the pretty sun setting.

Have a good week!

A Picture Update

Hey all!  Happy Tortured Poets Department to all who celebrate (we do!) and to those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Taylor Swift released a new (DOUBLE) album today that I have been listening to on repeat as I am able since about 4am.

Anyway.  This has been a busy week!

On Monday night Chris and I got to go to a WNBA draft party at the Target Center because we decided to get Lynx season tickets this summer!!  We met Prowl and got to watch all the players we watched in the NCAA tournament get drafted on the big screen from the floor of Target Center.

On Tuesday I went with Hanna to see Celtic Woman, and we had an AWESOME TIME and now are going to add that group to our music listening repertoire.  They did a version of Amazing Grace with bagpipes that about did me in.  It was all amazing.

Wednesday and Thursday flew by and today I got some new kicks while Maya made herself her own car.

Have a good weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

First up, April weather/sky events!

And then family Easter pics.

Weekend Wrap-Up

What a BEAUTIFUL weekend we just had! We basically spent time enjoying the perfect weather.

Callie spent Friday night at Boom’s house, so they did a grocery run and some baking.

Yesterday I had some hammock time, there was a lot of outdoor playtime (even Luna in the wagon) and I met a friend for patio dinner.

This morning on my run I saw a bald eagle swoop down and pick up a squirrel, and then carry it away in its talons, with other birds on its tail. It was wild! And then Luna was needy for attention when Maya woke up.

We had our first deck meal today for lunch and some outside playtime!

And then a fun nature walk.

And then we stopped by to see Auntie Mari, Uncle Josh and Avery before they left town.

Click here to see some videos from the past few weeks.