Holiday Fun

Halloween and Thanksgiving have cruised by as 2022 enters its last month.  We've been doing homework, playing games, and walking around our lake on the daily.  The temps dropped, but the girls were excited to get to sled again and drink hot chocolate.  The outdoor Gopher game was less enjoyable in those temps.

Thanksgiving was warmer and we had fun in Waconia.  We got to play outside a bit and had good cousin time.  We have plenty to be thankful for and we certainly had plenty to eat.  I think we're all still full.  We've got a short stretch until we celebrate the next holiday and now maybe Nina will be less annoyed with her friends and teachers playing Christmas music.

Gratefall

Fall is moving quickly and we're trying to appreciate all we have.  Nina finished up tennis and enjoyed her season.  It was a bit chaotic at times, but she made it through and learned some new skills.  She's also been working hard in band and the clarinet is coming along.  Vivian continues at gymnastics and has many skills she is working on.  

We've been taking advantage of the pleasant weekend weather we had this fall.  We've been hiking, canoeing, playing games, relaxing, and spending time with family.  

September

It's the start of another school year and, for Nina, another school.  The girls are separated for the first time since Pip has been in preschool and they miss each other a lot.  They are happy to share weekends together and it's cute to see them play together more when the opportunities arise.

Nina is doing pretty well adjusting to middle school life.  She likes most of her classes and has started band.  She's playing on the tennis team with her friends and it makes for some long days, but she's having fun.

Vivian is rocking 4th grade and navigating making new friends as a lot of hers from last year switched schools to a new one that opened in their neighborhood.  She's still doing gymnastics and playing a lot with the neighbors when she gets home earlier than Nina.

Ben is busy in another year at North and likes his classes so far.  He was nominated to partake in some of the Homecoming festivities where he won the title of "Grand Guardian of Knowledge" - haha.  He's enjoyed the Gopher football season so far and had fun tailgating and watching a game.

Kara has also started working in the district, so we now have a Nakagaki at every level - pre-school, elementary, middle, and high school.  She participated in a unique "triathlon" the other day, which was made up of running, yoga, and a "pound" class.

Overall, we're trying to enjoy the nice weather while we have it.  We still go on our walks and the girls have liked playing "throw volleyball."  They continue to love playing with their hamsters as well.  They have enrolled in a 2 hour Saturday class to work on their Mandarin and it's been an adjustment to have homework again and flex those muscles more than they did the last two years.  They're getting adjusted and we're proud of their work.