For the first time ever we got up early and were out of the house before 10am. We headed to Lake Nokomis for a Nature Club meetup. Nokomis Park had recently replaced their playground and added  a natural playground. Meadow was loving the balance beams.

I had joked to Blake a weekend back that we would come up again the following week. The more I thought about it the more it seemed like a good idea.  So, we did. We drove up on Friday again. Today was the annual lighting of the Split Rock Lighthouse. Sadly, Blake had to work late and couldn't join us. They only do this once a year in memory of the lives lost in the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking . I had no idea how busy it was going to be. We ended up parking at the corner of Highway 61 at the road that goes into the park.

We hadn't been up to Duluth nearly enough this year. So, it was time to head up again. We left around noon on Friday. We should have had lunch at home because we were hungry soon after we left. Instead we tried to find something to eat along the way. We ended up settling on the Whistle Stop in Hinckley.

The weekend before Halloween means its Meadow's friend Eleanor's birthday party. This year it was all My Little Pony themed. The kids got to decorate their own unicorn horn. I asked Meadow what she wanted to be for Halloween last August. She wanted to be a fairy again. I eventually convinced her to be a butterfly. Then two days before the party she decided on being Wonder Woman. We had a Rainbow Dash (color run) outside for the kiddos. Meadow opted out of the race. All the other kids had a blast. Running while holding hands with friends was more fun for Meadow I guess. With Scott having to work Meadow and I biked over to their house. I just love biking with her. Back at home Meadow wanted to make a party hat out of paper. Since we put away most of her toys to keep the house clean Meadow has become very creative. She's always wanting to create things or draw. I got home just in time to see ...

Since our home is the best it's going to be while living here I thought I would share photos from when we first moved in and compare them to what our house looks like now. The photos from 2010 are from when we first moved in so a lot of the rooms hadn't been put together yet.  Our closet 2010 2010  2017 2017 Not much has changed to this room except it became Scott's office instead of our giant walk-in closet. I always thought we would do something with the walls, but I guess that never happened. Upstairs bathroom 2010 2017 So long fish wallpaper and asbestos tile. Adding the white porcelain tile really brightened up the room. Stairway 2010 2012 This didn't change at all in the last 5 years. It's the only bright colored space in our house. Dining room 2010 2017 Living room 2010 2017 Not the best photo from when we first moved in, but you get the idea. Guest room 2...