happy anniversary Bud & Betty

Today Bud and Betty are celebrating 54 years of marriage! I received lovely flowers from Betty🥰

And Osten spent time at the 56 club tonight at church. I think he had fun! 

beauty all around

On my morning walk I noticed the Kinnickinnic river wandering through our community in such a beautiful and magical way…

Another bit of beauty was the way my hook name tags look hanging in the hallway

and the way the classroom is coming together for the year 

Lastly seeing my beautiful family when I got home from school. Beauty is all around us.

midnight oil

The school year is getting closer and closer--I should have gone to bed several hours ago, but I got a lot accomplished. I hope that this one late nighter will set me in a good spot to start a fantastic school year!

the Olsons bought a cabin!

Our new summer cabin is on Snowbank Lake near Ely, Minnesota. I visited this lake in 1988 with my high school biology class to start an 8 day loop in the BWCA. It was love at first sight. Fast forward 34 years and the Olsons bought a cabin on Snowbank. 

Snowbank is a lake that is 2/3 BWCA and 1/3 open for all. We can use our power boat, but we can also use canoe or kayak. It is pretty special as the family who built the cabin in the 1960s built a beautiful spot for their family to enjoy. The matriarch, Dot, aged 92 is no longer able to enjoy. Her son Karl lovingly spent summers in the cabin on break from his job teaching geology at the University of Nebraska. He passed away in 2018 or 2019 so obviously was not able to enjoy the cabin any longer. We purchased the cabin from another brother who currently resides in California. 

We are very excited for this adventure and spent Friday and Saturday night at the cabin. We hope to spend as much time as we’re able and still balance family and friend time. 

And now some photos:

another swim meet for Katie, Anders loves RA camp and Happy birthday Grandma Betty!

This was in Eau Claire today…

And how she did:

50 breast 33 high 

200 free 2:07

100 breast 1:13.8

Anders is having a great time at RA training. I hope he has a great year! 

Today Betty is 77 years old! We just heard Grandpa Bud is improving so that’s a pretty wonderful gift! 

paddling

 

One of my happiest places on earth is paddling! A little break from school on Friday and on to a beautiful paddle! 

surgery complete, Joe’s cross country meet & Katie’s first Junior year swim meet

and Joe did a wonderful job at his cross country meet today! 

Katie’s time in the 200 freestyle was 2:04.91 which is an excellent time! 

The 50 breast leg of her 200 Medley relay was 33.5, 50 free in the 200 free relay was 26.4. 

Her 100 breast was a personal best of 1:12.7! She’s a swimming 💫 

speedy recovery dear Bud!

I’m writing the they night before our dear Dad, Grandpa and Father in Law Bud goes in tomorrow for open heart surgery at Abbott at 9:30am. 

May you recover in a speedy and efficient way! We love you so much and are looking forward to giving you a hard time at Labor Day! 

what what Hayes is 1!

This super cutie boy is one today! We received the sweetest snap from him in response to his birthday song

 

Another sweet one as his sister responded to their joint birthday gift delivery (Squishable, dinosaur toy and board book about football) and this sweet photo from his party. 

Today Osten and I went on an adventure to the MOA. We went to Sea Life, Nickelodeon Universe and the arcade. We had a blast! It was our last free day before I start to school tomorrow. 

just the best summer

This summer has been one of the most incredible in my record. It’s shortly after 8pm. The sun is waning and the crickets are starting to chirp here in RF. I’m sitting in the hammock reading a good book called Belong to Me & will soon head inside to play Brad a game of cribbage. 

Anders is RA camp, Katie spent the day with friends at Willow River and Osten had football practice. Summer is amazing. 

farewell Annette

My dear friend Julie called this morning. Her Mom had a bad fall on Saturday and peacefully passed away this morning at 6:30am. Julie is currently on vacation with her husband in Hawaii, so is taking time to reflect on her loss. 

Annette will forever live in my memory as a kind and loving Christian. She loved her family very much and was a bit lost as a result of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. May she Rest In Peace. 

happy birthday Trenton Anders and Anders Cole off to UW Eau Claire for year 3

Our handsome and sensational cousin and nephew Trenton is 15 years old today! Birthday blessings to you! 

We said farewell to Anders Cole as he’s starting his Junior year at Eau Claire. He will be an RA in Towers. We love you! 

happy 30th anniversary to Meg & Dave!

This evening, we attended Meg & Dave Andrea’s 30th wedding anniversary. What a lovely celebration at Belle Vines. They fed their daughters, Lindsey & Maddie cake. Fun times and great food and beverage. 

shopping day and Happy Birthday Henry!

I’ve been looking forward to this day…Katie and I went school shopping. In the morning, I had my eyes checked and then went on to a lovely day in Hudson and Bloomington shopping. 

And Happy 14th birthday Henry, you are a powerhouse kid! Photos Henry as a newborn and Henry as a superstar baseball player this summer. 

a little coffee break

Today I met my dear friend Julie in Mankato at our

Favorite college coffee shop, the Coffee Hag in Mankato for a little chat and catch up session. I heard about her upcoming trip to Hawaii and I told stories of my time in the BWCA and visiting Mom this week. She also told me that she snuck into our old floor at MSU during move in day. That’s the photo of the hallway…D3 is looking good! 

Good for the soul! 

cuteness overload

The last few days, Mom and I have been looking at old photos that cousin Jodi Miller is trying to identify. My Mom is one of the cutest humans I’ve ever seen…

This morning I saw some beautiful flowers and my aunt Beverly’s house here in St. James.