They are planners, and plotters.  Where can we hide so Mama can’t find us when it’s time to fill the next bag of leaves?  How can we snatch the bag of chocolate chips in the cupboard and hide it so we can have chocolate whenever we feel like it?  Where…

I am loving that even though almost all the leaves are off the trees here on the top of the hill, if I drive down the hill, autumn is still shining in all its glory. I have the Halloween costume frenzy virus.  Each of the three big kidlets has some…

I WISH I could tell you that this activity was one of those wonderful, warm family art experiences.  The truth of the matter is that there was bickering taking place the whole time that these kidlets were drawing, and that Mr. Trouble on Feet was VERY distressed that no one…

Yesterday the King and Queen of Norway visited Duluth.  The Arrowhead Chorale was invited to sing at an outdoor ceremony in a local park, where the King and Queen came to rededicate a tall stone tower that commands a magnificent view of Lake Superior in the central area of town.…

Mr. Trouble on Two Feet has been having so much fun exploring the crunchy leaves on the ground.  He loves shuffling through them with his feet, and he especially loves carrying them around.  One of the best parts about being around small people is that they take so very much…

The lake at Pattison State Park was in the process of being drained down for the winter.  (There is a dam at the top of the cascades  before of the really tall waterfall starts).  This meant that beyond the sandy beach next to the bathhouse, there was a large swath…

After all the hiking, we were all hungry, so we unpacked our picnic near the main entrance to the park by the bathhouse and big parking lot so that the kidlets would have a chance to swing on the really tall swings.  This state park has the most wonderful swingsets…

Last Saturday afternoon we took Grandma Kathy to Pattison State Park in Wisconsin to do a bit of hiking and sight seeing.  I love going to this state park, especially in the fall.  It’s gorgeous.  The first time we visited Pattison State Park I was pregnant with Mr. SP, we…

The Banana was so very, very sad to say goodbye to Grandma Kathy when she left last Monday.  There were lots of tears.  There was lots of misery.  Thank goodness we had a music class to go and teach, or we both probably would have wallowed all morning.  The Banana…

On Sunday we traveled to Bayfield for the Apple Festival.  We love the apple festival every year, and this year was one of our favorites yet.  To get there we actually had to take two cars, since our van was in the fix-it shop.  (The last several times we’ve had…