lab.

we got a sneak peek into daddy's new lab today! it's a brand new lab space for the environmental engineering work of umd... one side for teaching & the other for research. can you tell which space is in use already? he & his research group sure made quick work of moving in there! we know it's been a long wait & a lot of work getting here... we're so excited for you, daddy. a great addition to your department & to umd!

ah-coon.

can you spot the three visitors we entertained this morning? after noticing that gus was literally barking up a tree, we discovered these wee babes way up in the maple by our deck, staying safe & secure until freed to find their mama in the woods again. lj & i watched them for a loooong time & perfected a new word in his vocabulary: 'ah-coon!' here's to hoping they enjoy their woods-home better than ours! :)

pumpkins.

we got to take over a few of the farm chores this fall while nanna & poppa were off biking thru germany. luckily, we landed with the most fun work to be had -- harvesting pumpkins & mowing the lawn! :) of course, the first thing to do was find the 'biggest pumpkin ever' of this year... wasn't too hard. it was much harder to root out all of those baby pumpkins! but we conquered the pumpkin patch in the end, and even found the lawn vacuum for that lush & beautiful yard. :)

 

entertaining.

not sure which is a more appropriate title for this photo/moment -- 'tea party' or 'tea potty'? either way, this was a very creative way to entertain a fellow who is practicing his patience on the potty. :)

welcoming.

what a delight it was to welcome our dear friend, lr, to our homestate this weekend. she & i got to explore the twin cities together (i still hadn't played tourist there yet, even after 4yrs of living in MN!), then i brought her home to show off our beloved duluth and spend lots of unhurried time playing & catching up. thanks so much for making the trip out, friend! it was a real treat to have you here. :) (also, a sidenote -- kj was finally big enough to ride the timber twister down the mountain! she has been waiting for that for a long time & totally loved it. that's my roller coaster girl! :))

catchingup.

at daddy's choosing, we took a nice, relaxing walk along the western waterfront trail, with a bonus of berry-picking and the obligatory rock-throwing, for his birthday. happy birthday, daddy! you are catching up to me in age... :)

potty.

can you believe this 'big boy' is already asking to go potty?? we'll see how long this lasts... :)