Fall Festival Part 1

The Duluth Fall Festival was last Saturday and it was soooo much fun!  It began at the high school (that I have worked at for 16 years), continued down Main Street, and ended at the festival itself. 

Some of my favorite former students!

The girls waiting to collect all the candy coming their way....

Amy Nicholos!

Santa...in September?  Quincy asked later that day if that was the real Santa or a pretend Santa.

This was my favorite thing in the parade.  Those crazy Shriners!

 

And a stage coach with a dog on top of it!!!

Random September Photos Part 2

Random September Photos Part 1

It's finally cooling off outside (at least in the mornings) so we are hitting the playground again.  Last year Ellie surprised us when she just did the monkey bars one day (and we didn't teach her).  This year she surprised us by doing the swinging monkey bars---she has a super upper body strength and the
 coordination to go with it.

Quincy, on the other hand, likes to just hang from the first one and then fall.

This is the third year we are getting major use out of The Big Bouncy Thing.  When the temperature allows it, we haul it outside and let the girls go at it.  They love to lay on it as it's blowing up so it flings them off when it gets "full".

....and it's cool enough to go the the Greenway and ride bikes.  One of Ellie's training wheels fell off twice on our ride last weekend.  I am taking this as a sign from God it's time for the training wheels to go.  We have been practicing at no-training-wheels for the past week and today she made a jump.  Maybe one more week until she's good-to-go?  Who knows...

Tim illustrating what it's supposed to look like....

OMG What a FUN weekend!!! Part 7

The weekend ended with a great time tubing!

Uncle Joe is soooo silly!

This was the girl's first time so they watched and took everything in.  I even tried to get them to turn around so I could get a picture of their faces but they wouldn't take their eyes off Joe and Jack!

Next up:  Tim and the girls!

 And then Jack with the girls.... 
The above scenario didn't end up too well...

...which explains why Quincy is IN the water holding on to the tow rope rather than ON the tube....

OMG---What a FUN weekend!!!Part 6

I think the funniest part of the weekend is when Patrick and his friend, Sasha, decided to go fishing with the little John Boat (spell?) and one oar.  They didn't get very far when we pulled out in the big boat and they asked for a tow to the other side of the lake.  I was just positive this wasn't going to end well...but  I was wrong. 

Looks kind-of dicey, huh?

 

But oddly enough it worked!

OMG---What a FUN weekend!!! Part 5

After boating and jumping, we just hung out in the water relaxing.

That's me jumping off the 1.5 foot dock (NOT 20 feet above the water!).

Relaxing before dinner.

...and trying to get back in the water....in clothes.  Huh.