Flurry of activity

It has been a while since we posted any substantial information from our lives, and rather than skip it here is a quick synopsis.

End of July

• We moved in with the help of family!
  
  
  

August

• We explore the Winona Area....finding free Kayak rentals...

• ... a vineyard ...

• ... and Garvin Heights lookout over Winona.

• Danielle turned 3!

• Danielle attempts to take over for Christine as my barber, and ...

• 
  
  ... a new semester starts for me at Saint Mary's University. I'm immensely enjoying the students, campus, and classes while experiencing a learning curve associated with being new.

September

• We visit Ferguson's Apple Orchard in Wisconsin.

• Slowly get settled in at the house and get used to our front yard view.

• Visit Mystery Cave State Park

• 
  
  Christine repaints some walls, including a complete new color for the girls bedroom with a retouched bunkbed...

• 
  
  ...and we visit Whitewater State Park attending a bird banding session at which both girls released an American Goldfinch and were successful with our first ever Geocaching.

In between all of these happenings we have been enjoying frequent walks and bike rides around the area, exploring new parks, meeting new people, and trying out different places. We are getting comfortable with some things and have addressed some of the challenges faced with a new location and house...but other things have been put on the back burner as a result.

If you have tried calling us on cell phones, we get no reception at the house. That is on the list of things to do, unfortunately it is behind class prep for tomorrow. Maybe someday in the future we will have cell coverage, Netflix hooked-up, and the yard ready for winter.

Fireworks

Christine and the girls made it safely back to Marshfield this afternoon and we attended the fireworks tonight. The girls were used to staying up late after visiting grandparents the past week, and enjoyed running around at night as well as watching the fireworks. We hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July celebration.

New home

We just got news of an accepted offer at 8880 Rollin Sunset Drive. Hopefully all of the remaining paperwork and inspection go smoothly for a July 29th closing.

Camping at Green Bay

On Saturday we took the Jeep and pop-up trailer and headed for Green Bay for a weekend of camping and parks. Weather forecasts were good and we delayed the leave by one day as Danielle had a mild temperature on Friday.

After setting up the camper at Bay Shore Campground we visited Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and Amusement Park. A variety of animals and rides made for a wonderful evening. The girls enjoyed trying the different rides immensely, staying up until 10pm, seeing the nice sunset pictured above, and sleeping in the camper! Below are a few pictures from Saturday.

Everyone did wonderful sleeping in the camper, as Christine and I shared a sleeping bag each with one of the girls. After playing at the campground park Sunday morning we visited the New Zoo. We think the girls liked the playgrounds more than the animals, but we all enjoy hearing Kevin from Up in person (Yes he is pictured below). The girls enjoyed Bay Beach so much we returned again in the afternoon for more birds (Goldeneye, Pintail, and Pelican) as well as more rides.

Last 3 Weeks

The spring semester had just finished and we packed up the car and headed back to central MN for a visit that coincided with Aubrey & Abi's MN visit.

Michaela and Danielle loved playing with Abi. The time with extended family and grandparents was awesome, as both girls love the attention and activity. The three girls were busy and on the go, but did well together and Grandma Cindy is absolutely amazing juggling/watching all of them at once. Christine and I were able to take in movie even, and watched Thor in Brainerd one weeknight.

We spent the week lounging around and visiting with many people, going to the park, finishing grades, and relaxing. Michaela and Danielle have picked up our interest in birds and our quite often curious about any animal outside. This chickadee was patient enough to let Michaela get approach and have a close-up look.

Christine and the girls spent one morning with the extended Kallevig family at a bounce house in St Cloud. Grandma Linda, Lisa, Renee, Christine and the seven kids had a great time playing inside while avoiding the spring showers.

Friday of that week Christine and I hoped in the car with my parents and headed to Canada for a Memorial Day fishing with John and Judy Bentler. Christine had not been there for five years, so it was especially nice that she joined us in the boat. We caught plenty of fish, enjoying fresh fish each night before playing up & down the river. A great big thank you to Dan and Linda for watching the girls over the weekend!

We came home Tuesday after Memorial Day in time for Michaela to enjoy the last two days of school. She has enjoyed the time with her class, making new friends and learning along the way. We'll miss the opportunity for Danielle to join a similar class next year if we were still in Marshfield, but will be looking for other options in Winona.

We met with a Realtor on Wednesday and drew up the paperwork for listing the house. This week on Monday a photographer came to take pictures for a virtual tour, and on Tuesday was the new listing caravan day...with the first showing right before it. We spent much of the weekend rearranging three rooms in the house and cleaning. If you've been to our house before you can see the old toy room, our bedroom, with Danielle's old room being the new toy room in the rearrangement.

The past weekend Marshfield had Dairyfest, so we enjoyed the festivities during the day and worked on the house at night. Christine took the neighbor girls on the carnival rides Friday night....she loves the rides! Saturday we went to a parade, the fairgrounds and a pony ride, and the zoo. Five hours in the warm sun tired us all out. Sunday we took the girls on some of the carnival rides as well, with Michaela and Danielle trying out four different rides. The traveling roller coaster was the least preferred, but Ferris Wheel, carousel, and tee-pot rides were a hit.

We finally ordered and received a point & shoot digital camera. We've been looking at them for quite a while, as we love the Nikon DSLRs but miss the freedom of not carrying the large cameras with when pictures are only a convenience. The camera came in handy when Christine took the girls shopping on Tuesday. Michaela's first time to the hair salon, she did great...but when they came home Danielle found a scissors and started cutting her hair! She wanted her hair cut too! So, needless to say both girls have their hair cut :)

I've been trying to wrap everything up before we move, and get caught up with other projects. One of lowest on the list is editting pictures. I am slowly getting caught up, with over 500 pictures uploaded last night with a 2011 album and 2010 album. The worse part is there are still snapshots from Dave & Liza's wedding that I have not got to...I'm sorry! Here are some 2010-2011 comparisons.

Graduation Sunday

We had an eventful yet relaxing graduation Sunday. I apologize in advance for the long winded post, it has been a while since I last updated the blog.

With the return of warmer weather we've been including more frequent walks, trips to the zoo, and bike rides into our daily life. Michaela is now riding a tag-a-long, which stresses Christine out when she watches. Last weekend we rode up to buy flowers for Mother's Day and rode to the zoo.

We cut the yard for the first time this year, needing to pick up all the sticks and disposing of them at the composting site from winter. A new spark plug and sharpening of the blades and the landmower worked wondefully.

My last exam is offered on Wednesday of this week, and another semester is nearly completed. Today we had graduation, and I was awarded the teaching excellence award by the student body. With a ton of nice wonderful teachers as colleagues I was very surprised.

What would a Malcolm Post be without birds? The past two weeks I offered a bird walk through the campus arboretum. I found 40+ species this last week and less than 30 two weeks ago in snow flurries. Unfortunately no one attended.

Today I woke up early and went for a walk, finding over 50 species of birds across the road next to the city's drainage ditch. It was the most warblers (both in variety and numbers) I've seen since moving to Marshfield. I came back home and sent Christine over with a camera to take some more pictures. Below are some from this morning.