Halloween

E, as Hermione (from Harry Potter) and S, as Captain America... and the half of the 'hood willing to pause for a picture before the great candy rush.

First snowfall

Snow first fell this winter October 27... and it was gone within 36 hours.  But, before it melted away, the neighborhood kids lined the street with snowmen (which Griff "decorated"), and Buster got his first romp in the white stuff. 

Chipper!

One of my BBF's from the Indy chapter, Jamie Chipelewski, road tripped to MN from Marquette, MI to take his son Caleb (10) to a Wolves/Thunder game... and I crashed the party (as did Jason and Brett).  

So great to reconnect, even if only for a few hours.  Let's do it again soon, James!

JJ's 40th

Turning 40 is going around like a bad cold these days, infecting Mr. Jung most recently.  The Men of Misty run helped him ring it in with a rendition of Friends in Low Places at the Stanchion, a towny bar in Cochran, MN.

Ellen

Work on the family blog rarely cross paths, but there aren't may personalities more well known than Ellen Degeneres.  So, when she visited the office in celebration of the her and Cheerios' 1 Million Acts of Kindness campaign and shot a selfie with Linds and I, well, I had to post it.

(I'm the biggest, baldest head in the back two rows on the left side, and Linds is halfway back on the mid-right side.)

La Crosse

One of my favorite (newer) family traditions is our MEA road trip... a short few days away from the "to do" list and other distractions at home to pause from the school year's hustle and bustle, and get in some quality family time with just our fearsome foursome.  This year's destination was La Crosse, WI.,, and we brought the furry ones with us as well.

The weather was 70+ and sunny (in late October, mind you), so we spent most of the daytime outside exploring the restaurants and bars of the historic downtown, and hiking the trails (Grandad and Oak) in and around the gorgeous trails of La Crosse's famous, and currently fall-colored, bluffs.  As the sun set, we moved the fun inside to the pool, mostly, and, one night, to Shenanigan's (a super arcade with laser tag, a ropes course, and giant hamster balls).

The highlight, however, may be have been our pit stop on the way home to see Buster's mom & dad (Kallie & Darius), aunt (Kallie), brother (Bohdi), and old roomate (Dru) at the farm we adopted him from.  It was the first "family reunion" they'd had, and the each seemed overjoyed to reconnect.  They all played SO HARD for an hour and a half or so until they could hardly get up when knocked down while wrestling.  Griff, the smallest and oldest by quite a bit, played for a while but then left to hang with the goats and poultry.

SRB's 7th

 

Sawyer celebrated her 7th with her friends at an America Ninja Warrior-inspired gym in Blaine, a basketball-shaped ice cream cake, a Chick-fil-A dinner, breakfast in bed... and several 1:1 shopping, movie, restaurant dates with her grandparents in the days before and after. 

Apple Jack's

S has been begging for a playdate with her bestie from last year (Thomas) for months, and we finally were able to make it happen, with the full families in tow, at Apple Jack's Orchard in Delano (on the busiest day of the year!).  As usual, the bounce pillow and the corn box (think sandbox, but a thousand times bigger, and full of corn kernels).

World Champions

Over the last two seasons, E & S have gotten into the Minnesota Lynx's playoff runs.  So, when it all came down to a game five winner-take-all HERE at William's Arena... we couldn't not get tickets (school night, schmool night).  The girls has an absolute blast, and both were hoarse and adrenaline-filled by the time the buzzer sounded.  Hometown hero Lindsay Whalen (you can her jersey hanging in the rafters) had crowd-lifting moments early (a three to put the Lynx up 7-0 early) and late (a behind the back assist as the shot clock expired to extend the lead).  Maya Moore sealed the game with a press-breaking runner in the final seconds.  And, Syliva Fowles won the MVP due to her amazing defense and rebounding.

Lynx 85, Sparks 76.  World Champions.  What a night.

Cardinal Crush

E & S at the annual Meadow Ridge fundraiser run.  

Ninja Warriors

The girls raced through Golden Valley's newest American Ninja Warrior-inspired obstacle course park in preparation for Sawyer's upcoming ANW-themed birthday party.

Fish Lake

Griff & Maya used to love the Minnehaha dog park, a weekend staple when we lived in SW Minneapolis.  Since moving west, we've struggled to find a replacement.  But, this weekend we found the Fish Lake dog park which has a nearby beach.  It's not quite the same, but the dogs loved getting a final swim in this season... and the girls had fun working the Chuckit while trying not to get drenched when the dogs shook dry after each retrieval.