she passed

Heaven gained a beautiful angel yesterday. Cousin Kimberly passed away yesterday afternoon from complications of cancer. It had started with breast cancer and later found to be pancreatic. She leaves a big whole in a lot of hearts so I'm praying for all those people who are deeply affected.

 from Olson family reunion in 2007--Erin, Ella, Wade, Diana, Kimberly, Ian, Nathan and Nate

Olson family reunion 2007

Bud and Betty's anniversary 2018 with children Natalie and Micha

whirlwind trip to the south

On Saturday morning, Katie and I left River Falls early, met friend Julie at the Ren Fest for a few hours and then drove even deeper southward into Watonwan County to the county seat of St. James, Minnesota to see Grandma B and hang out with her for the day.

Julie won tickets to the Ren Fest so we enjoyed without having to pay the entrance fee. It was really fun to people watch and she caught some fun photos of the occasion:

Then we drove to the World's Largest candy store where we got some yummy treats...also very busy.

Lastly we made it to grandma B's where we hung out, visited, had delicious lasagna, took a walk around St. James and then hit the haystack. 

Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast, went to church with Kurt and Grandma and went to lunch at the Hometown. Then we parted ways and we drove back up north for the week. 

It was a fun adventure and I thank everyone for making it special!

this boys loves his football!

Here is a dedicated player for team six of the River Falls Wildcats 3rd and 4th grade.

Osten's football game on Saturday was awesome! His team beat his buddy Jayden's team 44-6. Evidently Jayden looked like he was having fun, but his Dad, the coach didn't share in the enjoyment.

maybe the littlest pumpkin planted a seed?

Last fall, we harvested one of the cutest pumpkins from our compost pile. After many months of displaying in our breakfast nook, the pumpkin started to rot so we put it back into the compost pile.

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed a new growth from the compost pile and a sweet little pumpkin was forming! This morning, I sat down for my breakfast and discovered that little green pumpkin on the breakfast nook table. It may have been knocked off the vine during the thunderstorm of Tuesday night, but Brad found it and is now displaying it on our breakfast nook table....

the circle of life.

and he's 23

Our incredible nephew and cousin Thomas Matthew Blomgren turned 23 today.
Happy birthday to you!

they clinched it!

The Minnesota Twins clinched the American League Central division. I hope their post season play is fun and filled with Twins victory.

practice with the Falcons

On Tuesday night, Osten got an opportunity to practice with the River Falls Falcons football team. They beat the nasty weather and we were home before the skies opened up and it rained down on us. He had a lot of fun but I think the Falcons even had a better time!

senior pictures

Today my friend Lori let me know she was finished with Anders' senior pictures. She is dropping off the full cd tomorrow, but she sent these as a sneak peak.

marine art fair

Yesterday I got to spend the day with one of my favorite friends...JAT. We toured the grounds of the Marine art fair together, I got a new necklace and we enjoyed a beautiful fall day. Thank you dear Julie.

team six is 1 and 1

This morning, our eager Wildcat who plays on team 6 in the 3rd and 4th grade league scored a touchdown and his team was victorious with a score of 34-6. Another Mom captured video of our 3rd graders' touchdown.

Wildcats beat Rice Lake 25-8

The Wildcats came back from a heartbreaker last week to beat the Rice Lake Warriors this evening. Osten had a blast watching the game with a bunch of his buddies and now is fast asleep preparing for his game at 10am tomorrow.

happy birthday to two remarkable men

Happy 57th birthday to two people who have loved me unconditionally since the day I was born. One of them actually named me. You are amazing big brothers Kent and Kurt!

rose gold sky

This morning, many of the Olsons struggled to wake...there was just SOMETHING in the air. When I went out to empty my coffee grounds in the garden, this sky saluted me:

Katie captured this shot on her phone and described it as a rose gold sky. We can hear distant thunder so are waiting for the skies to change and the day to commence.

kind, smart, giving and timely teacher

Our dear Ms. Carol, reading guru, teachable moment maven came to our classroom yesterday with a load of cooked apples and made applesauce with our eager kids yesterday. Some of the most hesitant children really shined in this activity.

Thank you Ms. Carol for shining your light wherever you go. By the way, Ms. Carol's husband, Mr. Tom is a retired ELCA pastor...so she has also worn the hat of pastor's wife. She is God sent.

slip and slide

Today after school, I walked to the car with Jessie, our Chinese teacher and we discovered it was very hot and humid...no wonder the children were so red cheeked today when they got back from second recess. I got home and found that Osten had been invited to a friend's house to play on the slip and slide. Doesn't seem like a normal September activity, but I am sure he is loving it was the weather being so warm!

78.375 for first place Marching Wildcats

Right after we woke from our naps, Brad, Osten and I headed north to see the Marching Wildcats take the field in Cumberland, Wisconsin. Prior to our arrival, the field and stands had been inundated with rain so we arrived at an ideal time.

We sought out dining options--Brad and Osten opted for Brats and I chose a cavateli pasta from a local restaurant called Bona Casa. I think I chose the best option as Osten helped me with finishing my meal. Hot chocolate was also a welcome beverage as the temperatures were dipping down into the 50s.

We saw the AA and AAA bands perform. Merril, Chippewa Falls and River Falls. We also got to see the host school and an exhibition band, Hudson, perform.

Of course, I thought River Falls was far superior to all the other bands and it turned out the judges agreed. River Falls won best colorguard, best percussion, best visual and best music. They also won overall best band with a score of 78.375. Last weekend, they scored a 66 so they must have done a lot of work in the past week to bring it all together. Keep up the hard work and seeking your pot of gold, Wildcats!

 our tuba is the final marcher on the field, walking closely to the director, Mr. Jaeckel

our tuba player is the far right one...really close to the flag in the foreground

football game and Bacon Bash!

The weather couldn't have been much nicer for Osten's first football game of the season. He had a cheering section of aunt Ibby, uncle Mike, Mom and Dad. Unfortunately his team didn't see a victory, but he did get a couple of nice receptions.

Then it was on to the Bacon Bash in downtown River Falls. We got Katie a new lunchbox, some salsa and jelly and also dined on a funnel cake and a corn dog and then I had to leave the group to attend another call committee meeting.

I got home at 4:30. Brad and Osten soon followed and we all took a little snooze before the next part of the day. It was a beautiful and fun Saturday...those hours just fly when that is the case.

full moon and Friday the 13th

I didn't realize it was the case because our classroom did a wonderful job of regulating throughout the day, but several of us wore our River Falls wear so snapped a photo before the school day began. Friend Abby captioned with a note about being Friday the 13th and a full moon. I think that is what set the tone for a great day.

myself, Stacy, Lynn, Sara and Abby

the little family on an island in the Pacific

nephew Stuie and his family are enjoying some incredible adventures in their time in Okinawa, Japan. It's delightful to keep up with their adventures from far away.

big news on the Blomgren front

I got this message from Kaitie, my nephew Vance's partner and roommate:

my response was What??!!!!!????!!!!?????!!!

and it was confirmed by her and also by my beautiful Momma this evening on the telephone. It's official--nephew Vance is taking the plunge with a really down to earth, funny, smart and sassy woman.

senior photo shoot

Originally his senior photos were scheduled for yesterday. The incredible Lori Johnson did text and offered us to switch his date to today. I'm so thankful for her and for Anders' marching band director, Bryan Jaeckel, his swim coach Michael and his play director Kim Miller for getting him his uniform, letting him use the pool and releasing him early from practice. I think some really fun shots were captured and I'm eager to see the result in a few weeks.

rain rain rain

Fourth official day of school and the skies opened and just POURED upon us. We had indoor recess. Children did the very best they could under the circumstances, but it was pretty nice to sing adios at the very end of the day.

shopping day with my lady love

On Sunday, Katie and I went back to school shopping and the stores were open! On Wednesday, we will get a photo of her in one of her new outfits as she is getting her 8th grade school photos taken. She is so fun to go shopping with...I think my mother would have much preferred her as a shopping partner when I was growing up.

Here are two sweaters that we bought at American Eagle

little brown jug

The River Falls Wildcats football program has been building their program for many years. For the first time in 11 years, they defeated their arch enemy Hudson Raiders. The final score was 34-20. Osten's favorite player had a pick six and another touchdown. Osten was pretty thrilled when his favorite player's Mom took a photo of the two of them after the game:

I was at a call committee meeting so wasn't able to witness and feel the energy, but I sure enjoyed the after glow of the rest of our family as they all got a chance to see the game.

Anders and the Marching Wildcats debuted their field show during half time. I hope I finish up my call committee meeting this afternoon so I can see their show in Apple Valley this evening. Such an exciting time of year!

little Labor Day get away

Our family drove separately to spend the last weekend of summer at Grandma Betty and Grandpa Bud's house. Some of the time was spent on technology (see photos) but we also spent time outdoors enjoying the fleeting days of warm weather. On Sunday, we celebrated two birthdays and an anniversary. Summer was great, but now it's time for a fun fall!