Busy Fall

Wow. Where has this fall gone? Again, I apologize for a lack of posts. Trust me, we've got plenty to blog about! We've been so busy - still in awe that Thanksgiving is next week. Despite our business, we took time out earlier this month during the Feast of All Saints to remember the saints (family & friends) who've gone before us in their journey. This year was especially touching for me to reflect on Grandpa Curt, Uncle Bill and Jon's great-aunt Phyllis, who passed away last winter.

Below is a glimpse of what we've been up to.

Family photos for the year - done! Thanks Ana! Credit for these goes to her.




We also took a trip to northern Minnesota in mid-October, hopefully this will be a family tradition. We have found it so nice to go up in the fall - when a bulk of the tourist season has died down. The towns / roads are less crowded and the hotel rates are much better. And the weather? We got lucky this year with temps in the mid-50s during the day. Our hotel is just past the town of Pequot Lakes - roughly a 25 minutes north of Brainerd. Jon took me up there for the first time five years on our honeymoon and I've loved northern MN ever since. We did some biking, looked at the lakes and enjoyed the time away.







Before too long, it was Halloween. Uncle Dan was Cap'n Crunch and Mason was Batman. Rumors are flying about a Trix Rabbit and a Leprechaun (Lucky Charms) for next year. Uncle Dan and Jolene threw a great and kid-friendly Halloween party as well - the little guy was more entertained by anything than Gaea, the Great Dane.



Fall means lots of festivals and treats. The little guy was too young last year for many of these foods - so this year, he's enjoyed Scandinavian rosettes and pumpkin pie:



Of course, it's always fun to visit and hang out with Taz: