Pumpkins @ Lucy's

Little Lucy hosted a pumpkin carving and painting / housewarming party at her new digs in Minnetonka, MN.  Uncle Joe's ghost design won carving competition, and the painting competition was a three way tie between E, S & L.

Burying the lede a bit here, actually...  Joe [my brother], Tisha, Lucy and #4 just moved to MN after 10 years in Chicago!  We're all SO excited.  :-)

Ballin'

E signed-up for (and enjoyed!) fall hoops at a her elementary school.  It was pretty adorable watching her and the other Junior Jammers patiently stumble their way through basketball 101... "triple threat", pivoting, "goosenecks", crossovers and "snapping" chest passes.   

Up next: YMCA Saturday morning co-ed hoops, coached by dear old Dad.

SRB's 4th

Our little Rose turned four on 10/13/14!

So cliche, by my does time fly!  It's been so fun watching S morph into a "big kid" over the past year.  She THRIVES when creating (give that girl access to a junk drawer, tape and glue, and watch her go!), loves the "stage" (singing, storytelling, dancing), is wiry strong and wicked fast... and still has her trademark silly-spunk and "spiciness".

S celebrated her big milestone with our breakfast in bed treatment tradition (you can see that even when showered with presents, she's still quite the 'grumpy bird' in the morning!), and with an afternoon at the Minnetonka Apple Orchard with her BFFs.

Vertical Endeavors

Nevermind the girl climbing higher and faster to my right.

Miss Fisher's Field Trip

E's kindergarten class had a field trip to Apple Jack Orchards to learn about the Apples & the Bees, and taste test a variety of and ciders (and Dad got to chaperone - we'll see how long this is something that E appreciates!). 

EuroTrip

A recent work "opportunity" (more on this later) had me in Europe for a week at the end of September.  While the trip was far more business than pleasure, I was able to bookend the trip with a with a couple days of fun with one of my GMI/CSOM faves Anna, who is currently on an ex-pat assignment in Switzerland, and her husband Adam.

On the front end, I spent a day blindly touring Lausanne (where A & A live), running alongside Lake Geneva and the unfortunately foggy Swiss Alps and exploring the waterfront marketplace... eventually meeting up and catching up with my "hosts" over a dinner of local mussels and wine.  [Pics 1-3 above are of my Switzerland leg.]

Then, long story short, I knocked out my work stuff (again, more on this later), and closed the trip out with 36 hours of vacation in Berlin.

In Berlin, the Estlunds rejoined me and we packed in as much sightseeing and adventure as humanly possible in 24 hours.  Sightseeing-wise, we hit up the Berlin Wall's East Side Gallery, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and the Reichstag.  Adventure-wise, we hoofed the Mitte region, popping in and out of funky bars (like a Cuban-themed joint with sand floors), speakeasies and various outdoor Oktoberfest celebrations.  Oh, and somewhere in there we booked an hour to play Europe's hottest new "escape game", the EXIT Room (and "won", by literally tearing apart an office [pic 9 above] for clues and ultimately saving the world from a crippling cyberhack in 51:58!).  [Pics 4-11 above are of my Germany leg.]

A HUGE thanks to Anna and Adam for their hospitality, helping me navigate (French) Switzerland and meeting up in Berlin for sightseeing and German beer-drinking.  So fun!

(And, thanks to LMB for holding down the fort when I was gone!  I think we're officially "even" for that Africa trip of yours that I haven't let you live down for the past three years!)