It’s that time of year again! PTO meetings, bake sales, back to school nights and --Halloween is right around the corner! We LOVE getting ready for Halloween just as much as the actual day! One tradition that our family has started is a Halloween drop- in before trick-or-treating.

By the time the middle of August has arrived, my calendar is a jam-packed! I’ve tried to squeeze in all the trips and family visits that haven’t happened yet into a few short weeks before school starts at the end of the month.

As you may or may not know, I started at Land O’Lakes as a summer intern in the Test Kitchens. I held this position for two summers and made some great memories, but I couldn’t be an intern forever.

My church owns a summer camp on a beautiful lake just about 2 hours north of the Twin Cities. This camp, Camp Ojibway, holds many very special memories for my family. I attended as a child, went on to be a counselor as a college student, met my husband there, sent my boys as campers and now they have both served as counselors too.

Big changes are in store for my family: this spring my younger sister will marry her high school sweetheart. Then in the summer, our brother and his girlfriend will tie the knot. Two weddings in four months! Crazy, right? These weeks of preparation have been hectic with planning and jam-packed with parties. We have so much to celebrate!

Although I only have a “drop” of Irish blood in my ancestry, I still enjoy celebrating St. Patrick’s Day which, by the way, falls on March 17. Living in St. Paul, MN means St. Patrick’s Day gets lots of attention. The city of St. Paul was settled, in part, by Irish immigrants and still boasts a population of approximately 13% Irish according to the 2005-2007 American Community Survey. There are numerous celebrations including a large parade each St. Paddy’s Day and I, for one, never miss a chance to have fun!

I’ve always had a “thing” for croissants, and it all stems from Mrs. Delaney’s French class back in my high school days. Every so often, she would bring in French treats for us; bon bons, crepes, and of course, croissants.