On my visit to Wisconsin last week I accidentally left behind my rain coat. I wasn't going to see my parents until Labor Day. With this rainy summer and a Boundary Waters trip coming up I was going to need it back. They happened to be in Duluth this weekend so we agreed to meet halfway. To make the drive a little easier I booked a campsite at Banning State Park. This is our first camping trip with our new car. No box needed. I was in Cincinnati, so couldn't tag along. Mac and cheese for dinner. I was worried with all the rain this summer the bugs would be terrible, but it wasn't bad at all. We played a few rounds of catch-em stick-em. Then popcorn before it got dark. Meadow helped me with breakfast.

  This year we came up the night before the 4th. By the next morning it was already parade time.  I was excited for the parade, but feel like we missed out by arriving at the last second. (I'm always making this face when it's sunny. I blame my glasses). No Chelsea this year as she prepares to have a baby. Also I guess everyone is over the matching tie dyed shirts.  Or me since I was taking the picture.

It is the season of apple picking. We prefer to go on Friday nights to avoid the crowds. This year we tried out Amodt's Apple Farm . We picked the kids up from school and headed right over.  I'd photographed the cidery and winery here a few years back. Apple picking is too easy. It takes literally 5 minutes.  Before you knew it, we were already more than done. We promised the kids caramel apples but they didn't have any. They picked out some other treats instead.  They also had Thor's Hard Cider on site but we were waiting on beer later. Theo got a turnover and I got a fritter (which was a bit stale tbh).

Originally Scott was supposed to be gone this week on a work trip. I had asked my parents if they could come to help with the kids while I was at work.  Unfortunately  I wasn't going down to shoot one of the big boat shows in Florida. On the plus side we'd get to spend time with G.G. on her 70th birthday weekend. With the trip cancelled I asked if they still wanted to come. Before they arrived Meadow made neopolitan cookies.  These were some of the best cookies we've ever made. Thanks, Meadow's cookie cookbook. The next morning Theo asked grandpa if they could snuggle together. I had plans to take my parents to a pizza farm. Since the drive was an hour away we tried to find things to do in the area. We picked up some food for a picnic and hiked at Rice Lake State Park.  I feel like this is the second time I've had a job and Brooke's taken the kids to this state park.   True story. Most of the leaves are gone near the Twin Cities, but not down here.    ...

  Meadow and Brooke have been making cookies every week from the book she got for Christmas.    This week we attempted to make French Macarons. Even though it was a total fail it's been something I've always wanted to try. I even bought a digital scale to make these. Now that I know the process I want to try again.     They were delicious. But what do I know. Our neighbors were giving us their playset as their kids outgrew it. We just had to figure out how to get over the fence. Original thought was wheeling it over on a dolly, but all of our gates were too narrow.   The kids were waiting oh so patiently.

 I've been wanting to check out this pizza farm in Northfield for a few years now. They are only open on Wednesday's and every 3rd Sunday. It just never worked with our schedules to go. When deciding what to do for dinner I remembered they had just opened for the season again.  Got a phone update and didn't want to make dinner. So, Red Barn Farm seemed like a good choice. Finally Brooke checked this off her list.    They have tables but you are free to sit anywhere you want on the lawn too.   It was the perfect day to enjoy the lawn.  

Meadow requested Black Sheep Pizza for dinner. Her favorite. We ordered for pickup and headed over there on our bikes. The location closest to us had been closed ever since coronavirus. We ate over nearby MCAD. We were stoked to be eating our favorite pizza again. We like to eat out but honestly I don't really miss going to a restaurant. I don't feel like I need to have someone serve me. We've been enjoying getting the food for takeout and having picnics instead. It's not bad at all. I do still miss bars and breweries. The kids chased butterflies. We decided to get a treat at the Michoacana store in uptown. The kids both choose bubblegum. We got fruity Mexican popsicles. Glad these are catching on in the states. We were obsessed with them in Mexico. Then we biked back around Bde Maka Ska and Lake Harriet. We hadn't had donuts from Bogarts in a long time, so, Saturday morning we took a walk over. They have a really great system. You choose your donut from the window ...