Pike Schemes

Moving Days 2 & 3: Wall, SD to Riverton, WY to Salt Lake City, UT

2019-07-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Days 2 and 3 of our cross-country drive brought us through South Dakota, Wyoming, and into Utah. Riverton, WY has family connections for Shawn, being the birthplace and childhood home of his Grandma C, so it was a perfect stopping place along our route. We were quite happy to also enjoy time with our Salt Lake friends, the V family, who we met through Sara's doctoral program (they have a new doctor in their house as well!). Sadly we grabbed no pictures of our gathering—but enjoyed the time together immensely. Our new home state draws ever closer.

July 21: Before getting back on the road again, we took some time to explore Wall Drug, enjoying their homemade donuts to start our day

Beautiful Wyoming skies from the road

We enjoyed a very pleasant stop in Buffalo, WY

More views from the road

Thermopolis has a name that deeply connects to one of its main attractions: Hot Springs State Park

July 22: We visited Shawn's great grandparent's grave site before getting on the road to Salt lake

We stopped for a moment to take in these incredible view of the Red Canyon Wildlife Management Area

Such a contrast against those deep blue skies

Archie is doing well on the trip, staying snuggled in to his open crate

Such glorious clouds

We drove by the JC Penney Mother Store in Kemmerer, WY. It still has a functioning brick and mortar storefront!

Hello Utah!

Moving Day 1: Minneapolis, MN to Wall, SD

2019-07-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

From Minneapolis we planned a slight detour through Blue Earth to enjoy one last oversized tchotchke in Minnesota before we left the state. Minus the sadness of leaving Minneapolis this morning, the day was quite excellent, until our dinner stop in Mitchell, SD, where we were rear-ended by a pick-up truck. Thankfully it was at a low speed and neither the humans or feline in the our relatively new car (by a few months) were hurt (only a little shaken up), the extent of the damage is unclear—but is not impacting driveability, though it did add more time and some added stress on to today's drive.

Well hello Jolly Green Giant! Thanks for being a perfect lunch stop

We saw the church steeple for Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church and stopped in there as well

Sights from the road: navigating the path, last Minnesota postcard sent to PCC from Minnesota, sunsets sky, and signs, and Archie the road warrior kitty,

We took a break from the road outside of Chamberlain, SD to stop at the Dignity statue and walk the sunset kissed bluffs overlooking the Missouri

Leaving Minnesota

2019-07-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

After five years in Minneapolis, we have come to the end of our time in the North Star State. It has been a wonderful adventure that brought us the purchase of our first house, doctoral studies, a PhD added to our family, continued career advancement, and many incredible friendships and memories.

July 19: The movers have arrived to pack up the truck, that will eventually meet up with us at our temporary digs in McKinleyville

Sara is working on a few things while hanging out with Archie in his upstairs bathroom safe haven

Sara held on to her Peik Hall keys as long as she could! It was bittersweet to drop them off today.

July 20: Saying Goodbye to the Grey House: We loved our first home and will be sad to leave this 1905 treasure behind. We spent a few moments taking it all in before we got on the road today.

Here we go—crossing the Mississippi and taking one last look over Stone Arch Bridge on our rainy exit from the city. California here we come!

North Shore Trip—Independence Day Getaway

2019-07-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Every time that we move, we love making a last wish list of things to do before we leave the area. We visited part of the North Shore during our Duluth trip in May of 2015 and have always wanted to explore more. So, when the impromptu idea to drive to the North Shore for the holiday weekend presented itself, we jumped on the opportunity to tick another thing off of our last list!

July 3: North Shore—Here we come!

Why look it's Pierre the Pantsless Voyageur- one of the first oversized wonders we encountered along the way. The red light eyes, if you can see them, are a bit odd.

The sunset over Two Harbors, MN

We are staying in the Skiff House at the Lighthouse B and B

We took our Assistant Lighthouse Keeper duties seriously

July 4: Lighthouse by morning light

There were red velvet pancakes with blueberries and whipped cream for some good Independence Day starters

Exploring the Frontenac Pilot House at the Lighthouse Museum

View from the lighthouse tower

The two harbors at Two Harbors keep busy filling ships with Taconite ore

Our first stop today: Gooseberry Falls State Park

It was a beautiful way to spend the morning

Sara takes advantage of the selfie station with the iconic Split Rock Lighthouse in the view

Which is our next stop! We started with an excellent guided tour of the grounds

We opted to walk down to the rocky beach after the tour—and it was fun to see the fog shift as we were there

We enjoyed touring the lighthouse and grounds

Saying hello to Rocky Taconite on our way to tonight's destination, International Falls, MN
Oversized wonders/roadside tchotckes are a minor theme of this trip!

On our way we also dined at Ely Steak House and enjoyed Dorothy Molter Root Beer (headquarters in the collage below), walked by Crapola World Headquarters (a MN original), stopped to greet Billy the Blue Gill, and had a twilight check-in with Smokey the Bear.

Lovely sunset over the Rainy River

July 5: Starting the day living large! How could we miss Big Vic? Who is in Rainer, MN, just a quick drive from International Falls.

We stopped at Ranier Beach to get a view of Canada across Rainy Lake

We had to get one more stop with Smokey!

And continued to check off the box of Must See Minnesota Oversized Wonders and historic fun on our way home
Black Duck, MN has 2!

Watch out for this one at Big Fish Supper Club!

One last stop, Grand Rapids, MN - where Judy Garland was born

Judy Garland Home and Museum has a fun head-in-a-hole collection in their adjacent garden

July Spotlight 2019: Part 1

2019-07-01T10:58:00.000-07:00

Our July brings both the bittersweet and the thrill that comes from the major life changes that are starting for us this month. Such big transitions always come with the push-pull of leaving the known and comfortable and seeking out the unknown adventures to come. We are brimming with excitement about the next steps, but are sad to leave the friends and community we have made in Minneapolis these last five years.

Sara kicked off the month enjoying friend time with Abby, Lee, and Laura

July 1: Our beloved Grey House is ready to go on the market, with additional staging changes since our June Spotlight post!

July 7: Time for an Open House!

July 9: Sara packs up and says goodbye to her favorite spaces in Peik Hall

On our way back from Campus we checked in on the 5th Street Bridge, now non-existent and getting redone (see June Spotlight for more details)

July 11: Out for a walk through campus and in our neighborhood

July 14: Nothing says going away party like a gorgeous cake from Angel Food

July 16: Let the packing begin!

We are so thankful to have packers to get us ready to go to California

July 18: Dinner with Sara's cousin Daniel at Betty Dangers County Club

June Spotlight 2019

2019-06-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

And just like that...June slipped away from us. We stayed pretty close to home this month (with the addition of a few local outings) as we begin to make our preparations to move and recover from the dissertation-defense-writing-final push of the last few months.

June 4: Winter Away! Good-bye winter togs. This was a satisfying pack up and we enjoyed imagining that these will linger in boxes for some time
Yes, we know it can get a little chilly in Arcata and that we may see these friends again before we expect to—but with its 40° to 60° usual temperature range that is less likely.

June 8: Arbor Lakes Chalk Festival was not rained out this year!

June 10: Sara's 5th Street bridge over the freeway is about to be redone—she understands that it was time, this was her weekday pathway for almost 4 years and it felt right to both feel a little sad at the change and to commemorate it!

June 11: Dappled sun on our street—lovely walking view of the Grey House

June 12: Dinner at Alma Cafe for the Wednesday night hot chicken sandwich (✔)

We enjoyed a lovely walk down to St. Anthony Main and the falls

June 13: Sara took in a Twins game with the L-W family!
She can't help herself but to show her Nats pride at any game!

June 16: Our last visit to this festival in our "backyard"—boy we will miss this neighborhood!

June 17: We are getting the house ready to go on the market. The Grey House has been an incredible first home and we hope someone else will make it their Home Sweet Home in the same way we did

June 20: Sweet 16 Anniversary dinner at Restaurant Alma
Another ✔ off the wish list

June 21: Some Archie snuggles for you

June 22: We enjoyed an outing to the Goldstein Museum of Design's Dior to Disco exhibition

June 25: Dr. Sara has been busy—connecting with PhD friends and working with Keen Eye, LLC (Patricia) to copy edit the surface typos in her dissertation and formally submit it to the university
The dissertation will not be available online for some time due to potential publications that may come from it, so if you'd like to read it, send an email our way.

Another fun Pentatonix concert in the books

June 26: A little peek at the show ready Grey House

June 27: Dinner at Hai Hai—so much deliciousness! Another ✔ off the wish list

We stopped to take in the summer sunset at Longfellow Gardens on our way home

May Spotlight 2019

2019-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

May has been quite the eventful month! Here are a few additional highlights of the month.

May 2: Signs of ACTUAL spring

May 3: Sara's Academic Regalia arrived and she took her tam for a spin!

May 5: Defense Prep: Committee gift ready, a visit to campus to get her dissertation and handouts printed, snacks delivered and ready

May 6: Family and friends are beginning to gather and we enjoyed dining al fresco at Sandcastle

May 11: Archie approves!

May 14: AAhhhh, it finally feels like spring and it is perfect weather for bridge walking

May 25: Choral Evensong and Benediction at St. Bede's culminates this phase of the journey

A quiet celebratory dinner

May 29: Another lovely walk in our neighborhood

May 31: We have a few wish list restaurants to visit before we move. Hola Arepa is one more ✔off the list. And it was worth the wait, yum!

Memorial Day Getaway

2019-05-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

We are working on checking off our Midwest/Midnorth wish list and took the long weekend to tick off a few of those last chance items before we move! We enjoyed a fun overnight getaway to Winona, MN, taking the scenic route (some might call it the pie path) through Stockholm, WI.

May 26: Off and away—along the Mississippi

First stop: Stockholm Pie Company for some banana cream and rhubarb cream pie ✔

It was fun to revisit this small little village

Winona views: the Mississippi at flood stage

Historic architecture of Winona, MN

Gazebo stop at Winona State University

The day culminated with another ✔ off the list: dinner at a supper club!

We all scream for ice cream!

May 27: Porch sitting

We enjoyed visiting the Basilica of St. Stanislaus Kostka

And we can never resist stopping at a train station

Thanks to a tip at the B&B we enjoyed a wine tasting at Elmaro Vineyards

And a tip at the winery sent us to Liberty Peik Deli for lunch

What with a Midwest/Midnorth trip be without an oversized roadside attraction? Meet the Viking with no feet (it is hard to tell from the pictures, but it was raining too much for us to jump out and greet him)!

When in Rome—errr—Wisconsin, be sure to stop at two different cheese shops
Nelson Creamery for ice cream

And Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery for cheese curds.
Just look at those flavor varieties!

Stay tuned for more wish list ✔ to come!

Sara's Scoop: Conference Travel

2019-05-19T18:00:00.000-07:00

I ventured off to Campaign-Urbana to present at and enjoy a qualitative inquiry conference with my fellow Golden Gopher scholars. It was a quick trip—but very enjoyable!

May 16: Road trip with 4 Scholars in a Van!
We had to say hi to Pinkie again!

May 17: Presentations, conference fun, and friends

May 18: Another presentation (this time solo—and at a podium), friends, and a custard find thanks to a texted tip from SPD!

Sara's Defense, Celebrations, & Graduation

2019-05-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

After three years of coursework and two years of research and writing, Sara has completed her PhD studies and this phase of her academic journey. We felt blessed to have family, friends, and mentors come in to Minneapolis to celebration this culmination of her studies and realization of a dream long held. Sara successfully defended her dissertation and can now be officially called doctor! Thank you to all who supported this educational adventure—both near and far!

May 7: Doctoral Dissertation Defense
This (roughly) two hour process includes a public defense and a private one with just her committee
The public defense (with a message from Hogwarts)

After the private defense—the committee vote slips, a sassy new mug, completed paperwork dropped off and officially making her a doctor, family and friends (including 3 of her professors from Marymount) greet Dr. S at Northrop

A campus walk with family

Time for a Swanky Celebration at the Aster Cafe River Room!
Shawn planned the most lovely gathering that fit Sara's request for swanky!

It was a wonderful celebration!

May 8: CEHD Graduate Commencement

The official pictures of the day
Plus a couple additional jumbo-tron shots from Patricia!

Such a wonderful outpouring of love and support
Which was only partially outmatched by the ridiculous downpour outside all day long—which did put a bit of a wet damper on the day (thus no pictures outside or in front of Peik Hall—alas!).

Additional photographs sprinkled throughout from Patricia, Nancy, Steve, and Jennifer. Thank you!

April Spotlight 2019

2019-04-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

April was a rather lovely and generous month! It gave us a hint of spring and a lingering of winter, new wheels, some professional travel, the culmination of one major phase of dissertation writing, and a few other highlights.

April 4: A new kind of hybrid came to our house
We call her Nova because of her celestial grey/blue color

April 3: Some signs of spring OR as we say in Minnesota, the melting of snow. Any sort of early floral growth will still be a month away or so!

April 5: Sara headed to Toronto for a conference, while a large number people came in for the Final Four

Hello Canada!

April 6: Conference fun!

April 7: Two presentations done, friends seen, and Sara is homeward bound again

April 10: Should it FINALLY be spring? The North Star State does not think so, apparently
Sara has some feelings about snow in April...

To avoid the snow, Sara traveled through the Gopher Way for the first time (which was a rather fun navigational adventure) as she met with a student and then ventured to the Chase Lecture with Adam Gidwitz

April 16: The weather has brightened and we enjoyed some Mississippi River sights on a walk over Stone Arch Bridge (Gale—that one is for you!)

April 21: Happy Easter! Jesus Christ is Risen Today!

April 23: Sara's April has been quite a wonder!
Not only did she turn in the final draft of her dissertation to her committee, she also accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position at Humboldt State, had her defense announced, and turned down the opportunity to present at a conference in Sweden (her semester begins while the conference is on)—to name a few of this months PhD studies activities

We celebrated the dissertation submission with a dinner at Sea Salt, which just opened for the season and a walk in Minnehaha Falls park

April 27: Riverside walk and a movie

April 29: Aha! Hello spring lovelies! Please stay for awhile

March Spotlight 2019

2019-03-30T22:10:00.000-07:00

March was a very quiet month for us. We both kept very busy with work and school—as you will soon see in the scroll down!

March 2: We did find time to take lots of Archie pictures this month!

March 3: The Snow lingers and has been carved into slightly cavernous paths!

March 9: We had a lovely date night to Theatre Latte Da's production of A Little Night Music

Longtime readers may remember that we were in a production of this show in Boise when we were engaged

Followed by dinner at Young Joni

And then dusted with this lovely white stuff

March 17-20: During Sara's spring break she returned to her little "writing loft" air-bnb in St. Paul for another personal writing retreat—her completed dissertation is due in about a month

The rest of the month was filled with work, studies, writing, and church. We are also making decisions about future paths, as Sara is starting to receive job offers, and our next adventures are unfolding.

February Spotlight 2019

2019-02-28T17:07:00.000-08:00

February seems to be full of job hunts and snow! In addition to our trip to Northern California, here are the other highlights of the month.

February 11: From Northern California's balmy 50° to Minnesota Snow

February 12 and 13: Sara had another campus visit, this time on the East Coast. Her trip was hampered/shortened by storms both here and there, which was disappointing but unavoidable.
That dome is a basketball hall of fame—and could be seen outside of Sara's hotel window

February 15: The Grey House in its wintery glory!

February 20: This is what dissertating and searching for an academic job looks like at our house

February 21: More snow—but also sunshine, too

February 22: More winter views of the Grey House

February 25: Archie found February to be a month or curling up with a blanket or being very helpful with the dissertation/job search process!

February 27: Sara attended a children's literature event on campus and got her Goodnight Moon on!

Trip to Northern California

2019-02-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

Sara is in full job search mode. For the academic job search process that usually follows the following phases: apply (an in-depth process in itself, as you have seen a glimpse of here on the blog) the field is narrowed to the top 7-10 applicants who participate in screening interviews (which usually take place by phone or video), the top 3 applicants are flown out for campus visits and full interviews with the search committee, and eventually the top candidate is offered the job. Sara has had quite a few screeners and this trip is the first of two campus visits that are scheduled for this month.

February 6: Today's apt title is—Flights and Missed Flights or Planes and Automobiles
There were a lot of delays coming out of MSP today—ours was due to some crew issues in Chicago

Which meant that we missed our connecting flight in San Francisco, rented a car at midnight, and Shawn drove 5 hours north for Sara's 8:30 am interview start on February 7. It was certainly an adventure!

February 7: A successful interview day, which went from 8:30 am until after dinner

We stopped to take in the sunset at Luffenholtz Beach on the way to dinner with members of the committee. We both agree that we could get quite used to these views!

February 8: We had such a lovely time exploring the area
The views from Trinidad Head Trail were lovely

And so was walking on the beach
Made even more delightful by the knowledge of snow on the ground in MN!

This beach beckoned along our way to the Redwood stand. We just had to stop.

Next Stop: Lady Bird Johnson Trail and these incredible stands of Redwoods

Back to campus—Sara wanted to show Shawn where she spent her interview day

February 9: We did not miss our commuter flight to SFO on the return!

SFO had a fun exhibition of 1950's consumer goods!

January Spotlight 2019

2019-01-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

Hello January!

January 1: Mass and New Year's Brunch at Alma Cafe

January 5: Movie night celebrating the Notorious RBG!

Archie is already enjoying the new year!

January 6: Happy Feast of the Epiphany!

January 7-11: Sara's dissertation writing retreat in downtown St. Paul
Sara kicked off her formal writing with a personal writing retreat—based on Shawn's very clever suggestion

January 13: Lovely stained glass at Holy Family on the first Sunday After the Epiphany

January 27: Time for snow

January 29: Polar Vortex charms. Brrrrrrr—good thing we have two space heaters!

January 30: Needing to be inside allows for just the right timing to get our New Year's cards ready to send out! In January, which is a bit early for us. Yay!

January 31: Trying a new cookbook for some tasty one pot dinners

A little bit of Sara's dissertation life right now

2018 Year in Review

2018-12-31T21:30:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year from our home to yours!

We send our deepest wishes for a happy and healthy 2019 to each of you. 2018 kept us busy in our many endeavors, with great progress in Sara’s PhD studies, a promotion at work for Shawn, an abundance of travel, and deepening our relationships loved ones new and old, both local and at a distance.

Looking ahead to 2019, we expect this coming year to be another filled with many changes. Sara is applying to university positions around the country, meaning a long-distance move will likely take place this summer. We appreciate all the love, prayers and support you all give to us as we move forward. We hope to see and hear from you soon, whether at home, on the road, in our mailbox, or on the phone.

~Shawn and Sara

December Spotlight 2018

2018-12-31T10:04:00.000-08:00

December was a lovely month! We managed to find a balance between busyness and fun. Here are a few highlights from the December.

December 2: Advent 1 - We love Advent around here!

December 7: Sun (which we haven't seen in days) and adorable snowflakes

December 8: Holiday gifting outing to Casket Arts

We also stopped at the European Christmas Market

Christmas shots at Union Depot

December 15: A Holidazzle stroll

December 16: Advent 4

December 17: Sara life in the academic job search and end of semester grind

December 21: Deck the Halls at the Grey House

Christmas Lessons and Carols

December 22: Weekend movie nights at The Heights open with a delightful organ concert

December 24- December 30: Wonderful trip to Newport, Oregon for the holidays
Read about it in Part 1 and Part 2

December 30: Christmas Mass at St. Bede's

December 31: New Year's Eve lunch at Murray's Steak House

Christmas Trip to Newport: Part 2

2018-12-30T08:35:00.000-08:00

Our trip to Newport continued to delight!

December 27: A visit to Depoe Bay during Whale Week!

We looked...but the whales might not have gotten the memo that Whale Week had started

Some Sara silliness for you! She was pretty excited that her anchor socks matched the decor

Such a beautiful day – even without catching sight of a whale in migration

December 28: A cheesy day at the newly redesigned Tillamook Creamer Visitor Center

You know we have Loaf Love and always make sure to visit whenever we are in the area!

Our conclusion: We love the new look!

And enjoyed a delicious lunch!

Hello Tilly! We loved the little peek-a-boo opportunities throughout the visitor center

We love all of the interactive elements!

We are shaped by our Mr. Rogers viewing experiences and always love a factory tour!

And the tour ends with the best part: a cheese tasting!

Keeping on our cheese theme – we also stopped from some brie at Blue Heron Cheese Company

With a stop at Pacific City on our way back to Newport

A happy grandson!

December 29: A lovely brunch at a family favorite, Georgie's before we drive back to Portland for an early flight tomorrow

And a tasty dinner with Patty and Matt
Sentinel joined in for the photo opp!

December 30: Early birds on our way back to MSP

Christmas Trip to Newport: Part 1

2018-12-26T08:01:00.000-08:00

It is a Newport Christmas year. We were excited to escape to the coastal weather and spend time with Shawn's family. We had such a lovely visit and soaked up our time together!

December 12: A packing helper

December 24: And we are off! First stop, PDX
Not pictured: A lovely lunch with Patty and Matt

A beautiful drive to Newport, OR

Almost Midnight Mass (11:00pm) at Sacred Heart Catholic Church

December 25: We sang carols at the Community Christmas Dinner

And took the scenic route home!

December 26: Boxing day Chowder

And a lovely walk to Agate Beach which is near Shawn's parent's home

Such a lovely beach walk

Oh Oregon...such beauty

The weather shifted and we experienced the rainy beauty of the coast!

A rainy selfie on our way back to Shawn's parent's house

We ended Boxing Day on a fitting note with British crackers!

November Spotlight 2018

2018-11-30T11:14:00.000-08:00

November seems to have come and gone like a flash! We both stayed pretty busy this month, but there were a few fun spotlight activities to share here.

November 3: Scapin at Ten Thousand Things Theater

November 5: Arch has enjoyed snuggling up during the month! Oh to be a cat.

November 6: Mid-term Elections - again Shawn served as an election judge for our precinct

November 11: Date night: organ and choral concert Celebrating the 350th Anniversary of the Birth of François Couperine at St. Thomas Chapel

November 16-17: Sara does a quick overnight visit to the AAA Conference in San Jose

November 17: Movie Night - The Crimes of Grindelwald

November 22: Shawn made an amazing Thanksgiving treat: Pumpkin Pie Cobbler
We had a lovely family gathering at Sara's cousin Greg's house - though there is no photographic evidence of such

November 25: Highlights from November at St. Bede's

November 28: A bit of snow - winter keeps trying to settle in MN

November 30: PhD Life - award announcement, published chapter in a book, grading, and academic job search in full effect

October Spotlight 2018

2018-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

October was a good month for us. We were able to balance the busyness of work and school with fun outings and time with family and friends.

October 1: Shawn was promoted into a manager position earlier this year but was still wrapping up his responsibilities for his previous role. As of this month, he is full time on the new job and enjoying the expanded scope and responsibilities

October 2: Sara's academic job hunt begins in earnest

October 10: A Fall outing with Dr. TNW

October 14: Winter attempts a visit, but does not stick around

October 17: Fall colors in our nighborhood

October 18: Cutie cat

October 21: St. Bede's in Trinitytide

October 25: UMN Book Week with Nnedi Orkorafor

October 26: A glimpse at Sara's PhD work - participant interviews, aspirational doctoral vestments, and article submissions

October 31: Halloween at the Grey House

A Fall Outing to Fairy Falls and Stillwater

2018-10-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

The lovely fall colors called to us today and we ventured out to catch them before they disappear for another year. Shawn read up on a few favorite places to take in the loveliness of autumn near us and settled on Fairy Falls near Stillwater. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and evening.

Fall colors, here we come!

The trails were easy to navigate

Just above the falls

Ah here they are!

Autumnal goodness

We loved getting this view from the other side of the falls

On our way in to Stillwater for dinner, we stopped at St. Croix Boom Site on the St. Croix River

It was so peaceful

What a view

Sara's Family visits for Ben & Andy's Wedding

2018-10-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Sara's parents and sister came to town for a long weekend visit and to attend the wedding of dear family friend. We started their visit with low key catching up over shared meals and coffee shop outings to Alma, where Sara's parents are staying. The long weekend was filled with wedding related events and gatherings. It was a lovely reason to gather and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together!

October 6: We started with a tour of the State Capitol Building

We joined an official tour and got to see the Quadriga from the best vantage point!

It really shines after the restoration!

Wedding time! We are so thrilled for Ben and Andy! Congratulations!

We had such a good time and enjoyed spending the evening with family as we celebrated
Sara's cousin Daniel, who transferred to UMN this fall, joined us for the celebration!

October 7: We celebrated Howard's September 25th birthday before Sara's parents ventured off for a cruise with Andy's parents

September Spotlight 2018

2018-09-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

September, with the beginning of the semester and Shawn's new job keeping him busy, can be captured in this one post. Here are the highlights of our September busyness.

September 2: Trinitytide with Fr. Brenna at St. Bede's

September 8: Edina Fall into the Arts Festival

September 12: Kitty Time

September 15: Art time at the Northrup King Building open Saturdays

September 16: St. Bede's Sunday

September 22: Road trip to Aitkin for lunch with friends from St. Bede's
We captured the Giant Walleye at the edge of Mille Lacs on our way north

September 27: PhD Life - Sara started her last year as a PhD student on September 4 and has been busy ever since!

Side Note: Sara's doctoral defense has been tentatively set for May 7, 2019, the day before her graduation ceremony. If you are interested in attending either event, we would love to have you join us for the festivities. Please leave us a comment below to let us know and we will include you in the email notifications about Sara's final stages of becoming a doctor.

Baker Orchards Outing

2018-09-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Sara gathered a few Literacy Education doc students and their families for a fall apple-picking outing to Baker Orchard. The orchard is owned by a fellow doc student in our program and her husband. Unfortunately Jodi was in the final phases of writing her dissertation and could not join us for the fun.

Hello Wisconsin

We made it to Baker Orchard

Apple-picking time

Such a gorgeous old barn

So many apple choices

Warming up after our walk through the orchard

More views of the lovely barn

We enjoyed our moose wonderful adventure at the farm

The old cider press

Cider apples ready for pressing

We stopped in Osceola for dinner and enjoyed views of Cascade Falls