god jul med mormor och morfar

 It has been a splendid holiday season with Mormor & Morfar here for a visit...

 ...with fun in multiple locations...

 ....and our celebrations would not be complete without a flying drone.

lucia angels

Anna and Sophia earned their wings and a spot in the front row of the Sancta Lucia Pageant this year at Mindekirken. They loved it and plan on taking part in it again.

our first timberwolves game

 Tonight we attended our first NBA game with the T-wolves playing the Thunder.  We had sweet-suite seats, but sadly we lost the game. We also took our first family selfie at the game (that really didn't turn out as planned).    

eight is not enough

 We celebrated a couple of birthdays a few weeks back.

And while we have often told the girls that they must stop growing older we noticed that their behavior becomes slightly more naughty around birthday time. Well, this is why. Every year they get slightly older than the ideal age that we have set in our heads for what they should be. We have pledged to stop doing that. No longer will we say "Stop growing!" or "Stop getting older!" because they are eight! and everything right now is really great!

class pictures: second

moomin biscuits and tea

 It was noticed last evening that we had a tea set on display in the buffet that has never been used for as long as the girls have been alive! So without any further delay we had ourselves a little tea party. 

 Earlier in the day we found ourselves in Rochester at the Chateau Barnes & Noble where we sadly learned they are closing their doors. We were glad we could walk through one last time to see the medieval village decor.

 Oh, and the day before that we trick or treated.

autumnal~stumble~bumbles

it's all about the race

 We took a school bus to our capital city over the weekend to take part in the fun run and it was fun indeed. Originally we signed up to do the half mile but when we discovered that everyone was doing a full mile it was clear that we had to step up to the challenge. Once the race got underway we quickly lost traction and ran out of steam. It became clear that a mile was slightly more than we bargained for so we humbly accepted that we were half milers and leaped across the median to return home. It was all in good fun. 

like a double decker couch

 It has been a busy month this September and yet we have still had plenty of rest and relaxation.

 Chilling and grilling with our friends.

 Being literally the first people at the great state fair.

 Riding and sliding (solo!!!)

 Getting all nostalgic,

 Getting gussied up.

 ....and taking in one last ball game.

second grade!

Proud to say "Off to second grade!"

room full of mirrors

cruising the mighty mississippi