Hot Air Balloon Ride!

It was a beautiful (hot!) October evening and Peter and I got to enjoy it from an aerial view! We received a gift certificate when we bought our house to go on a hot air balloon ride. Although we got the certificate in May, we saved it - knowing the view would be spectacular in the fall with the colors. We had such a great time floating above the countryside! It was such a wonderful experience that I would highly recommend!

Away with my homegirl

Abbey and I decided to meet halfway in between our houses in Clear Lake, IA. We found a cute Bed & Breakfast (Blessings on Main, I highly recommend!) to stay at for a night. There was a fall festival going on in that town that weekend - so that added to the fun! We spent hours upon hours talking and catching up on each others lives in depth. This fall has been a bit rough for me, so a dose of Abbey was just what I needed. We enjoyed the (crisp!) fall weather that weekend, drank coffee, and of course enjoyed the breakfast the B & B provided. It was such a wonderful time and I am so thankful for her friendship and a GREAT weekend away!!

Working From Home

Last week I was working from home on Friday. I love working from home. I don't know if I would want to do it every day, but the days I do get to I just love! I love waking up 5 minutes before I log into my work computer. No changing clothes, no showering, no drive to work, no anything. Just me, my computer, and a cup of coffee.

This particular morning as I was working from home, my cat Jojo insisted on sleeping on my paperwork while I was trying to work. It was one of those days when I needed to spread my papers across the table so that I would have easy access to them. It was a little bit tricky with a furball kitty cat on top of them! So, I would promptly move her over to grab the paper I wanted..in which she would promptly move BACK on top of another one of my papers and proceed to fall asleep. Even though this was a vicious cycle throughout the day...I just thought she was so adorable, I had to take a picture!

My Dad's 60th

When we asked my dad what he wanted to do to celebrate his 60th birthday, he replied "be with my family." So, that's just what we did! My sister & her husband came in town from Chicago and we did all the activities my dad wanted to do as a family. First on the agenda: breakfast and shopping at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market:

Next, we went to downtown Minneapolis to Brit's for dinner and lawn bowling. We had to wait for a while to get a spot for bowling, so we just had drinks & appetizers while we waited:

Bring on the lawn bowling (girls against boys, duh!):

After bowling we ate dinner. It was such a lovely warm August night to be sitting outside and enjoying the food and company:

On sunday, everyone came over to our house for lunch & birthday cake:

After lunch, the boys went and played a round of golf while the girls went out for coffee and chatted the afternoon away:

Happy birthday, Dad!

Tubing on the St. Croix

This is the 4th year in a row that we have celebrated my friend Juliette's birthday on a boat on the St. Croix river. This year was extra fun since Juliette was 8 months pregnant! Lots of food, sunscreen, swimming, and cruising around the river filled the wonderful summer day!