A Picture Update

Hi all. TGIF! Every year the couple weeks leading up to back-to-school season are crazy. This one has been particularly crazy and busy and challenging. The school shooting in Minneapolis also added another awful layer to it. So I’m ready for some rest this long weekend. I am exhausted. The only pics I have are of Maya with her cousins and BFF!

I’ll be back on Monday for the wrap-up. Enjoy the long weekend!

Happy Birthday Avery!!!

Yay!!! Avery is 3 today!!!

We love you and hope you had an awesome day! ❤️

Timehop Wednesday

This week has been bananas already, so I missed Tuesday. I have some State Fair Timehops today.

This one got me: Bops and Callie and Callie and Mila

And Auntie Yoda and Callie and then Mila!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday! We had a really fun weekend. Yesterday morning Maya and I had some gerbil time. That girl is a gerbil whisperer!

Then we met our college crew at Nik’s for a bbq. Many of us met about exactly 25 years ago at Luther. And now we have a bunch of kids.

Today was State Fair day!! We met up with Boom, Auntie Yoda, Lucy and Mila (Chris opted to be our chauffeur and go fishing instead). We ate lots of food, some did scary rides (thanks Auntie Yoda!), saw G-ma’s quilt and lots of walking!

Tonight I was in charge of these three whole Maya cleaned their cage. Those faces. I can’t!

Have a great week!

A Picture Update

Sorry, not sorry, but this may turn into a gerbil blog soon. That’s what most of my phone photos are these days.

First off, happy birthday Uncle Craigles!! Hope it was a great day!

After three days of nonstop crazy busy work from 8-4 starting Wednesday, my brain is beyond fried. But here are the pics I have…

On Monday Maya went to a movie with friends and we fed the gerbils yogurt.

On Tuesday Maya and Lita had their gerbils meet and I got a few moments of calm before the work storm started back up.

The gerbs did great, which prompted Maya to earn money to buy another one for our house…so now we have MEATBALL!

It was a bit of a rocky start with all three of them together but Meatball has settled in.

Maya spent Wednesday with Boom while I went to work, then more gerbil time.

Callie was busy a few days with friends, the high school open house and otherwise relaxed, soaking up her last weeks of summer.

And I got a few moments of peace in the evenings after work.

Have a great weekend!

Timehop Tuesday

An old Timehop popped up and I was able to add 2 more babies to it!

Love all those sweet faces!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Happy Sunday! We had a relatively quiet weekend. The big outing on Saturday was a Lynx game for me and Maya. It was Prowl’s birthday so we got Prowl hats and lots of other Minnesota mascots were there! And…we beat our last year final‘s nemesis, so that felt great.

Today we hung out with Auntie Hanna, Uncle Dan, Mitchell, Isla and Olive this afternoon, and then the Dahlen’s stopped by later too! Not many pics but chaotic fun!

Have a lovely week.

Summer Week 10

Happy Friday! This is my last full week of summer…I go back to work on Wednesday! I can’t believe it!

Callie completed Driver’s Ed this week, Maya and I went to a couple of her friends’ musicals, the girls spent time at Boom’s, Pa stopped over, and there was lots of time with the gerbils!

Oh yeah…and I hung out with some llamas…?!

I made a 3.5 minute gerbil video for anyone who is interested…never did I think I’d have so many photos and videos of two tiny creatures! Click the link if you’re interested. Ha! https://vimeo.com/1110448943

Timehop Tuesday

Here are a couple August wedding Timehops!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Hey all! Happy Sunday! We had a nice weekend.

Boom, Callie, Chris and I went to the Lynx game on Friday night.

Maya spent the weekend at her friend Lita’s camper!

Meanwhile, I did a huge closet purge and organization and it felt so good!

Today there was some gerbil time with Boom, and I got to snuggle Adrea’s baby Noah again.

This afternoon, G-ma, Hanna, Boom, Maya, Lita and I all went to see Singing in the Rain. It was awesome!

Not sure if this looks different the past few posts, but the app I used to use is no longer working for me, so I had to figure out a different one. It’s less user friendly, so I have no idea how the pictures show up!

Have a good week!

Summer Week 9

Hello all! Happy Friday!

On Monday, Boom, Maya and I headed to IKEA!

Then later we celebrated Auntie Cat’s birthday. I missed her birthday when I was in Sweden.

On Tuesday, Maya and I went to the beach and then we went out to a fancy dinner to do an early anniversary celebration.

On Wednesday, Maya and I played with the gerbils and the girls and I went school shopping! And then it was the anniversary dinner.

Thursday night Mary took the Gosselin girls out to dinner!

Have a great weekend!

20th Anniversary- Take 2!!

These babies got married 20 years ago yesterday!

On our first anniversary, we went camping. Who were we?!?

The anniversaries over the years have all looked different, and we are grateful for all the love and support we have had!

This year we got out to a dinner date at a pizza place.

20th Anniversary!

I’m trying to post photos for my anniversary blog but am having technical difficulties and none will post! Hopefully it is just a glitch and all will be fine tomorrow. 

Timehop Tuesday

Another DuNord week for Timehops! I made this one 4 years ago and it’s worth reposting 

Summer Week 8: Sweden Part 2!!!!

Hello I’m back for part 2 of our Swedish adventure! 

On Wednesday afternoon we reached our final Airbnb that we stayed at for the rest of our trip. It was a beautiful house on the water in a town called Nättraby, near Karlskrona. The house and the view were stunning! 

My sisters and I went to pick up groceries and we ate dinner out on the deck. 

The rest of the evening was spent enjoying time at the sea, in the hot tub and chatting (and dancing) on the deck! 





On Thursday we woke up and the plan for the morning was relaxation!! There was reading and yoga and swimming and enjoying the beautiful surroundings. 

Later that afternoon we all headed to Karlskrona. We walked around the city (there was a big festival going on) and went on a boat ride. 





After the boat we walked to Curry and Pickles, an Indian restaurant. It was not very busy and we had a great meal there. 


We saw some wildlife on the drive home and enjoyed drinks and the sunset out on the deck. 



On Friday morning we were treated to an INCREDIBLE double rainbow. It wasn’t raining (at the time) so we were able to just stay on the deck and marvel at the beauty. 

Then it was time to head out to a day trip to Boda. It poured at various points of the hour plus drive, but we still enjoyed seeing the charm of the southern Swedish countryside. 


In Boda we went to the Glass Factory, which was a long and storied history of glass making in Sweden. It was a very cool museum, and we got to see glass makers in action! 



On the way back to Nättraby we stopped at a very charming little cafe, where I got a DELICIOUS halloumi panini. 


Once we got back we had some time for swimming in the Baltic Sea and relaxing in the pool!


We had dinner reservations that night back in Karlskrona at Restaurang Bette. It was another fun and delicious meal! I had a Buratta appetizer (sooooooo delicious) and a fried artichoke and mushroom entree. 


When we got back the sky was putting on a show! 


Saturday was our last full day, so Jenny and I decided to stay at the house to relax while the others went to see some beautiful gardens. Later we made taco salads for lunch. 

Our last activity of the trip was a wine tasting and dinner at a local vineyard to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday a little early. It was SO fun. We tasted delicious white wine and chatted with local Swedes who were also in the tour. 





Later we “Americans” stayed for dinner, made by the winery owner and tour guide. He was a one man shop! It was cod, which I had never had before, with potatoes, peas and the most delicious white wine “gravy”. I’m really not a fish person, but I was able to eat more than half the fish by mixing it up with all the other delicious things on the plate! 

I’m so grateful to my mom and John for doing the bulk of the planning, along with Laura and Mari. And all of us had such a special trip with memories we’ll treasure forever! 


Laura, my mom and I were the first to pack up and head out early Sunday morning. We left at 6:45am for a 2.5 hour drive to Copenhagen and then an 8 hour flight to Minneapolis! Thankfully all the travels went smoothly and I was home with my family by mid-afternoon on Sunday. Very tired, but home and happy. 

Click here if you’d like to see about 16 minutes of video clips taken randomly over the week in Sweden!