apple orchard

We spent a morning at an orchard with Kari, Addy & Peter as well as her sister, Jess & Ollie.  It was a gorgeous day and we came home with a ton of apples. Thanks to Kari for all the pictures!

they love playing together

standing up in her stroller...this girl is TROUBLE

goofballs

he kept playing peek-a-boo in the train

serious calla

tried to get a sibling picture with everyone looking at the camera :)

it's so fun watching them giggle and play together

he can be so sweet & gentle with her one minute and pushing her down the next 

cheese

Sophie's birthday party

Sophie had her first "friends" birthday party for her 5th birthday.  We had a few girls from church (and Addy!) over and had a girly party, which is what Sophie wanted.  Aunt Becca did hair and they all got manicures and pedicures.  We had so much fun and Sophie could not stop smiling.  We still can't believe she is 5 already!

Sophie's bakery

Sophie LOVES baking and decorating cakes so for her birthday my mom, sister and I went in together and got her a bunch of baking and decorating supplies.  She was in heaven! It was so fun watching her open everything.  She can't wait to practice piping!

she's been wanting an offset spatula for so long now!

Calla's first Twins game

Matt got his work tickets for the Twins game on his birthday and our anniversary.  They were bringing Annika and we hadn't taken to Calla to a game yet, so she joined us as well.  It was a nice day and we had fun celebrating together.

another goodbye

On September 13th, my grandpa died.  Even though he was older (85), we still were caught off guard considering it had only been a couple of weeks since my dad died.  Calla and I flew down there for the weekend to be with more family and celebrate my grandpa's long life.  It was another good weekend of remembering, but also hard to be going through the whole thing all over again so soon.

when we were in KC for my dad's funeral, my grandpa told me to take this cribbage board he had hanging in his house that I have loved.  It is now proudly hanging in our house.

my grandpa was proud of his flag and country and served time in the Navy...it flew at half mast for a little while

Jenny (in the purple and my grandpa's wife for the last 20+ years) with my mom and all her siblings.  It has been awhile since they were all together.  3 are in the KC area, 2 in California + 1 in Hawaii

time for soccer!

Sophie wanted to play soccer again this fall so we signed up her with her friends, Ava & Lauren.  She enjoys the practice part but does NOT like the scrimmage part of the morning.  Something about all the kids trying to go after the ball at one time freaks her out.  So she went twice and that was it.  Maybe next year!

happy 5th birthday!

Every year we say it, and we'll probably continue to say it, but we can't believe it's been another year!  How is she 5?!  Sophie is growing up so quickly.  She is funny, sweet, smart, loving, mature...I could go on and on.  We're also entering a new phase of being grown up and get glimpses of what the teen years are probably going to bring us :)  She is also such a great helper with Calla!

Sophie's first day of preschool

With Sophie's September birthday, she started her 3rd year of preschool.  We had applied for several pre-K programs in the St. Paul schools but we are on all their waiting lists.  It was a blessing in disguise though with all the craziness of these 2 months, it was nice for Sophie to have something familiar to go to.  Plus, she was SO excited to go back!  I can't believe how grown up she looks in these pictures!

first gophers home game!

we were so excited for football season to start.  It was so fun to see how excited Sophie and Jackson were as well.  It was a hot day so Calla and I found a shady spot to sit and watch the game and the other two joined us every once in awhile.  We had a great time besides the heat & sun!

pre game lunch at punch pizza

watching the skydivers on their way down

calla somehow took 2 naps during the game

sweaty boy

future gophers? 

enjoying ourselves in the shade

one of many, many pictures she asked me to take during halftime :)

not sure why it's cropped so funny, but the obligatory family shot

saying goodbye...

Monday morning I got a call from my mom saying we should get down there as soon as we could as my dad had taken a turn for the worse.  We made it down there about 10pm.  Hospice nurses were there to help us through all the moments that were coming all too soon.  That night, about 2:30am, the nurse woke us up saying we should get in there and he died peacefully in his sleep with us and his trusted dog by his side.  We spent about a week in KC being with family and planning the memorial service and burial.  It was obviously a rough week, but there were bright spots as the kids kept us distracted just enough and always gave us reasons to smile.  It was an all too quick battle with cancer (7 weeks) but we are so grateful he had minimal pain and was able to go so peacefully. We are also so thankful to everyone for the comforting words, cards & messages as well as memorials and meals for all of us.

It was nice to visit with some family and friends that we hadn't seen in awhile and despite the circumstances we did have some fun.  We were also able to celebrate Sophie and the other Jackson's birthdays together, which of course, was fun to watch them together :)

just some pictures we had up at the memorial service...walking my sister and I down the aisle, my mom & dad's wedding picture, and a portrait of him from Becca's wedding

playing around

pictures with family...nana, aunt becca, great uncle david (mom's brother) & great uncle bob (dad's brother)