"'Autumn' is Another Word for 'Fall'"

Recently Charly learned that 'Autumn' is another word for 'Fall.' We love this time of year because it's full of fun traditions: Prairie du Chien with Papa Denny and Grandma Carol, football, raking leaves, and carving pumpkins.

Our Own Sandlot

With no swingset of our own, Charly and Hayes practiced their baseball skills this summer in the backyard. We used to go to the park all the time, to make up for not having a swingset. Now they beg to go to "the diamonds" to show off their talent!

There are a few baseball diamonds behind the UNI-Dome that are not used much anymore but that UNI still upkeeps. It is peaceful and this summer it became Charly and Hayes's favorite place.

Maybe someday, we'll be watching one of these little ballplayers play for the Panthers!

We Heart Decorah

A few years ago, Charly wanted to see a waterfall. Grandma Carol told us there was one in Decorah. She would know, she was a Luther grad. We took Charly (and a 6-month old Hayes) to Decorah, found Dunning Springs, and a tradition began. 

The waterfall at Dunning Springs remains one of our favorites, but as our visits grow, our lists of must-sees does too! Toppling Goliath is my favorite brewery on the planet so a stop there never disappoints, The Whippy Dip is a fun ice cream stop as is Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Company, Kelli made friends at the Red-Roxy Quilt Shop back when she was looking to start a new hobby, and Mabe's Pizza is some of our favorite pizza around.  

This year, we added the fish hatchery to our list. The kids loved it!