erica danielle

We had a good day with these lifetime friends of mine. PHS class of ‘04.  Linds is so good at getting everyone together. She planned this whole day and then everyone took the day off work/ got kids out of activities and sports and made the effort to see one another.  Friendship of 35 years is a true gift. I feel like these girls watched me grow up. From playing boxcar children in the basement to jr high shenanigans/ all the trips to Treasure Island to studying abroad together in Italy to visiting each others first homes/ attending weddings /welcoming in motherhood and most recently keeping up on Marco Polo I am thankful for these gals.     Recreating a picture from 7 yrs ago 😂  As we were saying our goodbyes we looked down and BURST into laughter. Must be a 40 yr old thing.  Memories upon memories with this crew.  xo. edc.   

 One of our favorite weeks of summer came and went: When Dan and Pam visit. This means lots of family time at Big C. Everything is a game and there are lots of laughs-- never ending fun. It always goes by so fast and it’s sad to see them go.  This year we did something super different and took a 24 hour trip to show off Duluth to Pam. J is the best trip planner and when she sent me the itinerary I knew it was going to be a good time.  Here we are in our little hostel room. I slept like a rock thanks to half a sleeping pill. Seriously. I slept over 9 hours and didn’t even wake up to go to the bathroom!  Found just a couple rocks to skip 😂  Here we are at split rock lighthouse. We were too cheap to go into the actual park and get the tour so we listened to a podcast on the way home instead haha  The fog hadn't burned off yet and it made for the most beautiful backdrop.  Perhaps the highlight for me: burrata and wine on the rocks of gooseberry falls. We ...

 Olle is at Covenant Pines this week and I don't know if this is true of all families, but it feels like when one of our family members is gone life just moves at a different pace and everything is a little 'off'.  We also had a very full week with something each evening and recovering from vacation :)  But in the midst of the "weird" feeling, my take away from this week was the small pockets of extra time I got to spend with Lucy and Sigge.  Let's talk about the Forrest Frank concert. This was a core memory maker for me as a parent. I actually can't even fully describe it because it was so special and magical to experience this with Lucy by my side. The entire night was a powerful reminder of God's presence and the hope we can have in this next generation of Jesus followers.  Why is corn so beautiful? There is nothing more midwest than a field of corn. Simple beauty in the dog days of summer. Haley and I drove out to Sally's to run around her coun...

Family Camp was wonderful. The week flew by, we filled our days with all things camp, and literally never stopped moving until our heads hit the pillow each night. I love making memories here. I love how much fun the kids have, how easy it is to parent and how surrounded we are by such amazing people all week long. "camp cookers" our Pictionary team took 2nd place! We were lucky enough to spend a day extra at Lauren's condo after camp and we soaked up our time at the big lake. playing, jumping off the pier and getting buried in sand :) Frank and Janice offered us use of their boat for a cruise! Sten and I motored along the Michigan coast and loved being out on top of the water! We stopped at Chateau Grand Traverse on our way out of town. I love this spot so much. Sparklers, swimming and a bonfire  Because of the wildfire smoke I didn't make it to the point and back this year :( But I got in lots of beautiful runs and I did run TO the point, just not back :) Sten parti...