First Snow

Last year was somewhat disappointing for snow. We never really had enough to do much of anything. Especially not sledding. Well - the winter of 2012 - 2013 is off to a nice change. Saturday night - it started snowing, and this morning it was still snowing and this afternoon - it is still snowing. Probably a foot has come down already. For me, it means snowblower time, for the kids - it means sledding. Two years ago, when we did sledding with Katie, Emie and Annie - they needed constant supervision and help getting on the sled, up the slope and everything in the middle. What huge progress we have seen in the past two years. All of them are doing everything on their own, they love the outdoors, they love to sled and play in the snow. Katie especially loves to be outside, throwing snow, sliding on the hill and playing in the snow. Today we were about for about 1 hour - it was very fun. Here are a few pictures - Anne snuck inside before I had a chance to get a photo - but we'll get one sometime soon.

Overdue

Several things in our life seem overdue. We have had 2 overdue library books in the past few months and with getting back to school and all the other fall activities - posting is also overdue. This is especially for Vikas parents in Ukraine. We email with them and this is the main way they can see photos of their daughter. She is happy and healthy and growing. Her speaking of English has really improved; she is using bigger words and also more words in sentences. Here are some photos from the last few months:

This is Katie and her sisters and mom and dad at a summer picnic.

with all her brothers and sisters

riding on a trailer to go get pumpkins for Halloween.

In the US we have Halloween - the children dress up in costumes and go out and get candy - it is very fun and Katie likes it very much!

Pepper off to Kindy

Our last one is off to school! Hard to believe - we have sophomores in high school and a kindergartener! The WBL schools are full of Shervheims' right now. We were wondering how the school transition would go with him - because he is somewhat a homebody - and just tolerated pre-school last year. However, we are happy to report the transition went well and the year is off to a great start. This guy is liking school - looking forward to it and he has a bus ride home with his big brother Sam - which is pretty cool that he has someone to look out for him and help him get from school to home everyday.

Overdue Post from August

To celebrate the last week of summer and before school and fall activities start - we took a trip up to the cabin last week. It was a shortened week; only being there between Friday and Wednesday morning, but as always - we had lots of great family times. Our helper Kelsey was there with us too. A few of the highlights captured in pictures.

A trip to the Taconite plant in Two Harbors for a factory tour; we got to see how they make taconite pellets from the iron ore mined in Babbitt. Very interesting. Also, Anne seemed to have put away all her fears of vehicles, she rode on the 3 wheeler, 4 wheeler and was a huge sport to ride in the canoe as well. Sam took his first kayak solo trip on Delay Lake and did great. A morning spent at the beach in Beaver Bay, lots of campfires and s'mores and a great time was had by all.

Little Girls

We had the privilege of being with family and attending the 2012 Albert City Threshermens show this past weekend. One of the highlights was seeing family and visiting Karens' mom - who is a resident of the Pleasant View Nursing Home. We brought a musical extravaganza. The little kids sang songs and danced; Daniel played piano, Andrew juggled to fiddle music and the multi-talented Brown boys dazzled with their guitar, mandolin and fiddle playing. A few fun photos to remember the day.

Katie's 9th Birthday

Katie turned nine on July 19th. Here are a few photos from the day. We waited to celebrate until Andrew, Daniel and Sam came home from Sioux Falls. She had a great day; lots of presents and lots of fun.

Summer Vacation 2012 - the cabin

Some fun shots from our week at the cabin - lots of great times -