erica danielle

One of the biggest joys of living in Hudson is being 20 minutes from my family. I love that Jessica is a teacher and has summers off. She just went back to work, and I have been in denial about not seeing her (or Amos and Olive) nearly everyday. On our last day before J had to go back to school, we took a trip to Como Zoo. I think the gorillas were everyone's favorite. They were super playful and fun. Another thing on my summer bucket list was a banana malt from the Dari-ette by Jessica's house in St. Paul. This place is a local gem-- and the malts are TO DIE FOR! Also-- trying to take a self timer picture with 4 kids... funny. It is the best thing in my heart to watch these kids together. They love being together so much and I love to watch their personalities shine when they're together. Striking a pose...  The minute Olive comes over its: "Do you want to play princesses or Barbies?"  Here are the girls making their "Princess faces...

The summer is flying by and we couldn't wait to get back up to Bay Lake last weekend! I can't describe the feeling of that place. Watching my kids experience it with giddy laughter and constant excitement makes it all the better (as if that is even possible). We spent so much time playing, fishing, eating and boating that I had to have my camera out at all times. I wanted to soak up all these memories, so when the snow falls, "I can close my eyes, and be back up north at the cabin". I think one of my FAVORITE memories from the weekend was when Lucy and I went into Garrison to pick up some "smarshmellows" and then had a girl adventure at the walleye. Lucy couldn't wait to get back and tell daddy that we had girl time, and she was just so sweet and adorable. It was this moment of time that was so "on-a-whim" and yet, so special, like I was on borrowed time with my almost 4 year old.  While we were out adventuring, the boys were fishing...

Last week Sten was out west fishing, so I kept myself and the kids busy running from one activity to the next. I totally wore them out each day and by bed time, we were all exhausted. It was so fun to hear about Sten's week away with his buddies, fishing and camping. I've learned that we both have hobbies that totally refresh us. Mine: running marathons, Sten: fishing with buddies- and at this stage of life I want to hold on to those things to keep us healthy and loving life. We did have a pretty good time while Sten was away...  Lucy was in a dance class with her cousin Olive, so we dropped the girls off at church everyday from 9:30-11:30, and took the boys to do fun things. Olle thought it was such a delight to have lots of one on one time with his big cousin Amos, and it was such a joy to watch those 2 girls dance at the end of the week.  There is Lucy totally doing her own thing. She was "on beat" for about 13% of the performance overall! BUT she loved it...

For the most part I stay super positive on my blog, I want to look back and remember our best times, and as this tends to be my only form of documentation with the kids, I don't want them to have to read crabby mom posts :) however, the truth of the matter is that life in the Carlson house isn't always super happy. Church Planting has been the most difficult adventure we have embarked on yet (and we're only a couple months in!). I think that's what made this date night feel extra special. We can't always have detailed conversations at home because the kids cannot handle when we're talking, but by the time they're down for bed, I'm too tired to carry on an important conversation. It is no doubt that during this stage of life we have to be SO intentional about making time for US. We did a babysitting swap with Jessica/ Mike last weekend and it was the greatest thing ever. Sten and I had a 2 hour wait at San Pedro, so we walked around downtown, and found ...

We've been in our new house for almost a month and have about 70% of the interior walls painted. Sten and I are totally the type of people where, if we don't paint it at the beginning, we probably won't ever do it. Example 1 being our bedroom in Menomonie: never got painted the whole 4 years we lived there, and it was something on our list from the beginning :) So, when we aren't painting the walls in our house, we've been out and about enjoying summer time. We LOVE the park by our house. I can run with the kids there because its a 3 miler round trip, and that seems like just about my limit pushing 80 lbs... It's been so hot and we love it! Here are the kids with red-hot sweaty faces, taking a snack break on the bench: They've become little buddies this summer... I mean, they still fight ALL THE TIME, but I see little glimpses of love oozing out of each of them for the other. The kids love our house. It's fun to watch them learn new ways to pl...