Lefse is Beautiful!

We had a great weekend of making Lefse, Krumkake and beer! Erica and John came up to give us a hand. Lots of good food! John treated us to home made eggs benedict with hash browns on Saturday morning - YUM!

We also experienced Duluth's newest Sushi restaurant - Hanabi - FIVE STARS! It was awesome. Bentleyville was a bit chilly - but the new Christmas tree was pretty cool - the lights flash on and off with the music, definitely a must see if you are in Duluth during the holiday season.

Here are a few pictures of our Lefse and Krumkake making.....

Mashing the potatoes

Ricing the potatoes

Rolling out the dough - pretty tricky, especially when it wants to stick!

The finished product!

Nick and John - brewing beer, it will be ready in about 2 weeks. Just in time for Christmas!

On Sunday we tackled the Krumkake

I don't have any pictures of the finished Krumkake, but it turned out well too!

Uftdah!!!!

Brown Bear

Mr. Repeat....

Back to ND

How can it be Fall? The trees are at their peak color right now, I'm hoping to get some pictures of the beautiful colors this weekend to post.

Sam is growing up so fast! He is so good natured, and we enjoy every second with him. He is starting to talk and picks up new words every day. Here are a few of his favorite phrases (typed phonetically for a more accurate description) "Opper, Hee-0h!" (Copper Heal!) That happens to be my favorite! "OPPER! BAH DOH!!! (COPPER, BAD DOG!) "Brush teess" (Brush teeth) "Owsigh" (out side) "Yite" (light). "Poh-co-en" (popcorn). And many more! I just can't get enough, I could listen to him talk for hours - such a sweet voice!

Blink Optometry has been up and running for about 6 weeks. Things are going well, Nick is happy, and I am so proud of him. He will no longer be employed by TP and Associates in Lens Crafters as of October 1st - so it is going to be quite an adjustment for us, but one that we will gladly take on. He had the local news center at the office on Monday to tape the first TV commercial. And He is planning an Grand Opening with a "trunk" show for October 12th. Exciting times!

Life is Good - we have so many things to be thankful for!

A few quick pictures I took of Sam and Lake Superior in the background.

Throwing rocks in the water.

Sam and I took a quick trip back to ND to visit family. We picked up Grandma z along the way so she could spend time with her sister and family on the farm in McCluskey.

We had a great time. The weather wasn't the best though, I think it should be against the rules of nature to have snow in September!

Sam with his corn dog at the Bismarck street fair - it was cold!

We also made it all the way to Dickinson to visit Nate, Angie and the boys.
Cousin Jacob

Cousin Lucas

We stopped on our way back to Bismarck to see New Salem Sue! I think Sam was a little scared!

What is that?!

"Not so sure I like this, Mom!"

We also visited Great Papa Shilman and Great Grandma Shilman

Kiss time! Sam loves to give kisses.

We didn't get any pictures with Great Grandma this time - hopefully on the next visit!

He saw his first live lobster, and even mustered up the courage to touch it.

Snuggle time with Grandma Shilman

We had a great time. Thanks to all the Shilmans for taking care of us on our trip!

Open for Business!

Blink Optometry is now open for business! I can't believe we are actually doing this - it has been quite a ride, and it's not over yet! Kind of funny that today's date is 8-9-10, maybe its going to bring us luck!

Here are a few photos of the journey

They way it was.....

All of the old stuff is torn down

Walls going up

Dust in the air

And Now..... The finished product!

My very talented brother, Erich, came up with the logo.

I have to show the window sign from the inside out - because when the sun isn't shining you can't see the Big lettering from the outside - this will be fixed in a few weeks.

Dr. Nick Shilman - manning the front desk

Looking towards the back of the store

Mr. Tom Lund, certified Optician in the background. We are very lucky to have him working for us, he has already brought in business. Grand total for the 1st day = 2 pairs of glasses and one eye exam! Hey - it's a start!

We still have a few things to do, and a couple of items on order! The website (www.blinkduluth.com) should be up and running within the week. A special thank you to everyone who helped us get this project up and running, from watching Sam to helping pick out colors - we love you!

I am so proud of my wonderful husband, he has worked very hard the past few months! I am one lucky lady!!!!

The Tree House!

First of all - HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!

And now, the Tree house.... My Dad, a most talented Architect, has put a small dream of his into reality by creating a quite spectacular tree house in their backyard for all of the Grandchilren to enjoy.

The first support beam goes up -

The platform takes shape

Sam "helping" Grandpa

Sam "helping" Joe on one of the walls

These are all the pictures I have for now. The tree house, I have heard, is pretty much completed. However, I have not been back to Baxter since the first weekend they started working on it. I will post more pictures of the completed project soon!

Finally, a Posting!

I'm Sorry for not posting in a while! I have been consumed by studying for the past few months. I took my Medical Dosimetry Board Exam a week ago today. Our house needed some TLC so I have been trying to get some cleaning done this weekend. My mom has been "hinting" to me in the form of questions as to when I would post something new on our blog - so here you go Mom!

Sammy got a new "bike" helmet - he thinks it's pretty cool (so do we!).

And a new bike trailer to go with it. Last week I strapped him in and biked down to the Lester park area grocery store to pick up some things for dinner. I think I'll be doing that more often, it was about an hour round-trip. We used the new extension of the Lake walk bike path that we a so lucky to have access to only about a block from our house.


This picture was at Goosberry falls on Mothers Day - a perfect day!

Several weekends ago, We took a short weekend trip to the cities so I could get together with one of my friends to study for the board exam. We managed to pack in a few other fun things on the side. We went to the Como Zoo - Sam enjoyed seeing all the animals, especially the Lions and monkeys.

And to appease Nick, we fit in a Twins game. It was HOT and Muggy that day, my friend Erica came with us. Too bad they lost, but it was nice to finally experience the new stadium! Sam got a special treat - a little wooden bat with Joe Mauer's signature (stamped on). They were handing them out to the first 10,000? kids at the game. We had great seats in section 112 right behind and slightly to the right of home plate.

I don't think we got circled - but we tried!

Erica and Sam

Easter in Arizona!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Chandler, AZ for Easter.

We had lots of fun....

Finding Easter Eggs!

Putting the eggs in baskets,

Playing with Cousins,

Playing with pinwheels,

Wearing Grandmas Hat,

Eating frozen Yogurt, YUM!

Swimming with Mommy,

and with Daddy!

Spending time with Goofy Cousins!