Day 2586 | Birthday Celebration

We popped down to celebrate with the soon-to-be birthday boy tonight. These are the moments we continue to be thankful for—even after 7 years in Wisconsin.

Day 2585 | Brothers

Can you handle how cute they are?

Also old. Can you handle how old they look?

Day 2584 | Big Pumpkins

We dodged the raindrops today to visit the Gigantic Pumpkin Festival. Unfortunately, we were a bit late to see all the pumpkins on display but we caught this gem. Even though we might not have seen the biggest, those pumpkins didn’t disappoint.

Day 2583 | Apple Picking

One of my fall favorites: apple picking! We had a beautiful day for it and we’re thankful that the 4-H club gave us the extra motivation. I’ve got a fridge full of apples and I could be happier about it.

Day 2582 | Honey Bunny

I held the bun up for this photo. He wasn’t thrilled about it. But he sure is cute.

Day 2581 | Bussing

Can you believe BOTH boys are taking the school bus this year? Robbe is riding in the morning and Chase takes the bus to AND from school. It’s crazy! I’ve driven them back and forth (minus about three days when we tried bussing last time) and now I’m officially off the hook in the morning.

There’s been a clear shift in the boys craving more independence—especially that older one. It’s a very sweet transition. Luckily, they both very much prioritize mom and dad time so I don’t have any of the sad feelings to go along with this…yet.

Day 2580 | Book Festival Volunteers

You’ve got to start them young, you know? And I was beyond grateful for their help today!

Day 2579 | An Author Event

I did a thing today! A friend and I drove two hours to an author event…and it was really great. I have a greater appreciation for these types of events with all my book festival experience. It was really lovely to be just an attendee for once. And I’ve got a new book to add to my reading list now, too.

Day 2578 | A Dream Saturday

Man, today was a good day. We had a relaxing morning followed by a treasure hunting adventure at some neighborhood thrift sales. Robbe started soccer back up so we spent part of the afternoon cheering him on—with perfect sporting weather, too. Then we walked downtown and stopped by the library. Back in time for a yummy meal, an elaborate board game, and Badger football—all on our porch. It might not be everyone’s ideal day, but it felt pretty good to this family.

Day 2577 | A New Mural

Thankfully, everyone is feeling better at our house today. We even snuck out for a post-dinner walk to check out the new mural. Pretty cool, right?

Day 2576 | Urgent Care

This is what the second day of school looked like for us. Strep caught Robbe already. At least he’ll get his one school-time sickness out of the way early! That was good planning.

Day 2575 | First Day of School - Part 2

This handsome guy started 4th grade today. I don’t think you could find a more excited kid to be going back to school. He was beyond ready, that’s for sure. And, from everything we heard, the day totally lived up to his expectations. Robbe is looking forward to rocking E2 (the 4th and 5th combined classroom at our school) this year.

Day 2574 | Lake Time

We spent a lovely family-filled Labor Day weekend at the lake. The weather was perfect and everyone actually made it from my whole side of the family. That’s incredible! I’m sure there are better photos that summarize the fun we had, but I’ll just share this one for now.

Day 2573 | First Day of School-Part 1

We. Have. A. Middle. Schooler. I can’t believe it either. He had a great day, though. He managed to navigate a huge school. Found a friendly face in every classroom. Raved about his teachers. Maneuvered a chaotic lunchroom. And got his locker open on his first try. See? A great day!

Day 2572 | Book Festival

In case you’re wondering what I’ve been spending all of my time on…it’s this. The book festival is back in action! It’s simultaneously my favorite and least favorite time of the year.

Day 2571 | Haircut Day

You know what haircuts in August means…back to school must be close!

Day 2570 | Tennis

We decided that our family doesn’t play enough racket sports so this weekend we added another one to our repertoire: tennis! Now we’ll fit in even better with the Stevens Point cousins.

Day 2569 | Reunion

We were reunited with the tiniest of the boys’ cousins today. Somehow, he’s even cuter than the last time we saw him.

Day 2568 | Our Library

I really love this place, you know?

Day 2567 | Cousins

We had such a lovely weekend with these crazy cats. Tennis, Dungeons & Dragons, yummy food + drinks, cribbage, matching outfits, and so much laughing. It was pretty perfect.