erica danielle

2 days and 2 hrs until RACE START!  I despise GU’s, but they sit well in my stomach, are easy to consume and give me the energy boost I need to race. This flavor is my favorite. I’ll be downing a few of these babies on Sunday.  On Mondays at staff meetings we start with ping pong. Me and Jonathan against Lexi and Sten. We’re all tied up right now and the competition is pretty fierce. I pulled out our ping pong set this week so I could practice at home with Olle man.  Apple picking happened.  Lucy made a scavenger hunt for the boys one day and this was one of her clues. She is just the BEST. I love her creativity and the way she engages with her brothers.  Sigge and I made applesauce. He loves to help me cut. Being in the kitchen with my kids is a favorite of mine.  Artisan bread in 5 mins a day— this loaf turned out so perfect I had to take a picture. Carbs on carbs this week.  Wow. Just wow.  We had the greatest family night around the bonfire th...

Lucy is 10!!! How did that even happen? I remember her so much just like this picture. All smiles with the biggest bows and all the new words.  Her new vocabulary was one of my favorite stages. She’d string sentences together while we’d be home alone together and I’d look around in disbelief— thinking, did anyone else just witness my genius child?!   She was brave in new situations and paved the way by going to preschool and then Kindergarten, riding the bus like the big kid she was. Now I see her at school and think to myself: 4th graders are HUGE, how does she navigate these large children and rigorous curriculum? She’s the kindest human I know with an endless amount of patience for her brothers and always seeks out the one who needs a friendly smile. She’d give me her most prized possession (I know she would) because that’s just who she is.  She’s always had an imagination that takes her places and it continues to come out when she spins stories to tell with her cousin...

You know what you do with the people you love?  You sit at an outdoor patio in a sprinkle so that you can hangout. And you know how that makes you feel? Really good. Like everything is going to be ok. Like life is short and these are the days and live it up. All the cliche sayings. You feel them all when sitting around the table. Kids in oversized clothes dug out of the trunk of the car. Sharing a pretzel the size of a baking sheet. You don’t care about wearing an old hat with a tee. You’re just living for the moment you feel your shoulders relax and your ears hear the familiar laugh. These are the people you love.   🥨❤️edc.   

I read a blog post once that talked about a daughter who gave her dad a coffee date each month for a year. The gift of time. I decided this would be a great gift for my dad (and selfishly for me too). Time without kids is non-existent when it comes to my parents and the kids (obviously) get all the attention. So we started our monthly coffee date this week and it was really great. Great coffee, sun beating in and uninterrupted time together. Thankful for my dad.  Andrea was done with this cookbook and passed it on to me. It’s so lovely. And I made the most delicious meatballs from it this week. Yum yum. I LOVE cookbooks.  I was in St. Paul this week getting my niece and nephew on the bus and since Jessica just so happens to have a hot tub now I took it upon myself to bring my suit and soak while listening to “The Four Winds” (which was a great read). It was a chilly morning in the 40’s and this sit was EXACTLY what I needed.  Sten had a gig at Belle Ame and it was a great...

Oh these 5. I pray for them often. They are just such a funny bunch and they all couldn’t be more different. I loved my bond with cousins growing up. It was a special little friendship I had that felt like a secret. No one in my day to day life knew my cousins and therefore I could tell them anything. Like, who I had a crush on, who was mean at school, and I didn’t fear asking dumb questions because they were stuck with me as family.  I hope that bond is true for my kids with their cousins too. I hope they are always each others safe place. And that summer is a time when they always play, letting expectations and inhibitions go.  Gosh they’re cool. Don’t think I could love them more.  Also thankful for these 2. Who have provided a place where my kids can run freely. Where there is fun made out of a game with an anchor and mom always has an incredible dinner planned. 💛 xo. edc.   

Moody running mornings are my favorite. I’ve had very few solo runs this summer- and I like it that way. Meeting friends has ticked my social, emotional, mental and physical boxes. But also means I’m not running my usual routes. So on this day, running a familiar road, foggy sky and alone with my thoughts was: 🙌🏻 This bench in Stillwater made me so happy. “What are you grateful for today?” Let me tell you: ripe bananas that made excellent banana muffins, my kids lunch boxes that make me smile every time I see them, a clean kitchen and waking up before the sun.  Polaroid photos. Enough said. These little treasures are adorable and kids/families posing at church will never get old for me.  A bonfire after the kids went to bed. Just me, sten, and the fire! I love how a fire makes you instantly calmer. Life feels easy and worries smaller.  I’ve got a lot on the schedule this week. But I’m determined to look for the “Fun Things” and be grateful.  xo. edc    

Morning runs. Love long shadows.   Homemade pico with tomatoes from our little garden. Is there really anything better? Hudson Football games. Bringing back alllllllllll the memories from my childhood. Lucy brought a friend and didn’t watch a single minute of the game, Olle couldn’t take his eyes off the game, and Sigge asked about 50x when he could have a snack.  Baking bread with my sidekick. Back to having lots of one on one time together.  Lucy getting a special ice cream date with Sophia. I love them both so much. I hope Lucy’s hear is as big as Sophia’s when she’s 19.  Hannah’s 40th birthday - and how fun it is to watch your friends reaching big milestones. Also, a dreamy night by the pool playing bags sounds like the best way to ring in a new decade! A random Thursday evening hiking with my girl. She wanted to go to Willow and hike— she never complained, she jogged part of the way, and when it was all over we both agreed it was the best night. How did I g...

Well. 4K, 2nd and 4th grade for these lovies. Lots of smiles and excitement on day 1!  Sigges first school experience! He’s excited to “meet new friends” River Crest Back to School night  Lucy 4th grade! As old as ever and super sweet. It’s going to be a good year for her Olle man has a new teacher this year and she seems so great— he’s ready to say art doing some math :)  I can’t believe they’re off! Week 1 in the books. ❤️ xo. edc.