First day of school 2018

Eeek! I'm a little behind.

Regan started school a day earlier than Sidney this year. She was all smiles heading back to middle school, ready to face 7th grade with all of her friends. she seemingly enjoys school...mostly for the social aspect of it! She eagerly signed up for school sponsored cross country, adding it to her already busy schedule of dance and fall Fastpitch. 

Ready for her first day! 

Sidney got to spend that first day frolicking around the Mall of America with her bestie, enjoying rides, sweets and mirror mazes. And when it was her turn, she gave me the eye roll I had expected from Regan. 

And then this was her smile:  

It’s not that she was bothered with going to school. Nope, she was annoyed that I couldn’t tell her if she had gym class that day which impacted her clothing choice. Oh the troubles of a 4th grader!

Happy school year 2018-2019!

Fall activities

This fall has honestly been a bit of a blur. Our calendar has been chalk full of practices and meets and lessons and games. We had one week of rain that cancelled our outdoor events for the most part and we all stared at each other wondering what we were supposed to do. HA! 

It really is so much fun to watch all 3 kiddos participate in extra-curricular activities. 

I'm not going to say it isn't a lot of work. Because it is. There is so much stress on ensuring everyone is where they need to be, with food in their bellies and everything they need. 

And then there is the coordination of it all. Making sure the right gear is in the right vehicle for the right activity. 

Sometimes we get a small moment, to really *be* with our kids and take a little of their love for an activity. Like when we get to learn how to sew elastic and ribbon onto super expensive pointe shoes. only to bring it all home and have grandma Jan do all of the grunt work! 

In all of the hustle and bustle this fall, we are ever thankful at how adaptable Lincoln is with all of the chaos. He finds fun no matter where we are, usually making a few friends along the way. The girls' friends all adore him and take him under their wing, begging to be his chosen friend who gets a hug. 

He knows many of the fields they play on, and knows what to expect when we arrive, which ones have playgrounds or which ones he needs to bring along his remote control car. 

Love him to pieces :) 

And lately he's been getting his own chance at an activity, breezing through all of the swim lessons at Foss. He's part-fish this little boy of ours. Currently in classes designed for 5-7 year olds where he's learning side breaths. Incredible skills and I love to spend 30 minutes each week watching it be *his turn* at something! 

We would not have life any other way. I know it's exhausting, and the piles of laundry and papers are endless. Yet we all adore the busy-ness of this lifestyle and thrive on the strict schedule it creates. 

Warm summer days and fun festivals

It got really steamy and hot recently, and when that happens in September in MN, we stay up late, and swim in the dark. Lucky for us, the sun sets early and it's only actually 9pm!

And we were all in a bit of a celebrating mood with the local festival on the horizon. 

The temps rose to around 90 the next day and we had a fiasco of getting Regan to the starting point of the parade she was dancing in. And then get ourselves back to the end so we could swap out pom poms for softball gear and head over to the fields for some scrimmages. 

(Ryan was living it up at the Gopher football game!). 

Sidney quickly got herself suited up to help "showcase" her softball association as the festival site. It was hot and we all would've rather been swimming, but she still had a good time. 

And with all of that hoopla happening with the girls, Lincoln was right there beside us, having the time of his life riding ponies and picking up chickens like a professional farmer. 

Despite the fun day, we all promptly jumped immediately into the pool to cool off and once again, swim in the dark in September in Minnesota! 

Happy 10th Birthday Sidney!

Sidney's 10th birthday was on a jam-packed Monday yet we still did all we could to pull out all the fun and make the day extra special for her. 

I woke up extra early and dashed up to a nearby bakery for donuts and Caribou (yes, the girl loves herself some Caribou!) so she had a fun breakfast morning. 

And had stayed up extra late to craft this Pinterest Copy cat sign plastered up on her bedroom door. She woke up feeling extra special. 

She had given us a reminder that she expected TEN gifts for her golden birthday....so we had our work cut out for us. Thankfully I was on the ball this year and did some early Amazon shopping :) 

I have a tradition of taking the kids lunch at school on their birthdays. I have tried never to miss a big day, and when it falls on a weekend, we go on the nearest week-day. Ryan usually joins us, but couldn't get away from work on that particular day so went another day. It's not easy to make the trek from my office to the school in the middle of the day and amounted to several missed meetings and a 2 hour lunch break. But a wise co-worker (whose kiddos are now in college), reminded me that these extra special days are limited and encouraged me to keep up this tradition. 

From school it was on to a slew of after-school activities. I had to join Regan at her pointe class (more on that later), and Ryan headed to Sidney's practice, where we met up, swapped kids and he dashed off to Regan's softball practice. I got to linger around and open up a cooler filled with Dilly Bars for her team! (Thank you Ryan!). 

We kept the celebrations going all week, finally making it to her birthday dinner: Cheesecake Factory, where she got the most adorable birthday treats! 

I'm pretty confident that she felt the love all week long as we doted on her turning 10 years old. She is our most special middle child who lives life to the fullest and wears her emotions on her sleeves. We love you to pieces sweet Sidney! 

10 years old-Birthday eve

It's funny that when you are pregnant and expecting a little one, people tell you over and over "it goes by fast". But we don't really comprehend the meaning of those words until years down the road when "it's gone by fast". 

On this night 10 years ago, I was big and pregnant and barely fitting into even maternity clothes. 

Although nothing fit, and I could barely reach my feet to put on shoes, I still adored every second of pregnancy. 

And that next day, when I drove to work with some back pain, I thought nothing of it. Even as I sat through a meeting, trying to get comfortable because of that back pain, it never crossed my mind that I was having contractions. 

Until at 11am, as a patient was leaving my office, my water broke. Right then and there, I hovered over a garbage can frantically calling Ryan, then my mom (who happened to be babysitting Rehab), and then some coworkers. And it was a mad scramble after that...tho all I had to do was go up 2 floors to the labor and delivery floor! Ryan on the other hand had to drive my parents stick shift truck, killing it on a not-so-safe neighborhood near the hospital. And then was directed into the wrong room where another mom was giving birth. Good stories! 

Next thing we know, this little one has entered the world. All crabby looking and fussy. I spent the next 5 months holding her or she wouldn't sleep (and I have permanent shoulder issues to prove it!). 

These last 10 years have gone remarkably fast. But I can still feel her nestle into my arms as she finally was quiet. 

She was loved from the start and we adore her still today....although Regan certainly doesn't cuddle and coo over her anymore :) 

She goes to bed our 9 year old, and tomorrow enters double digits....and a GOLDEN birthday at that! 

I put this sign on her door after she fell asleep tonight :) 

Happy birthday eve Sidney! 

Lake Life 2018

warning! heavy photo post follows

As we have nearly every Labor Day weekend for the past 15 years, we headed to a resort with my dad's brother and his family for the long weekend. 

We ventured to a new resort this year, one that had more water activities for the kids than even they could've dreamed! It was certainly the most entertained they have ever been at the lake (in the water)....and we all loved every second of it! 

One of Lincoln's (and Regan's) favorite parts of this annual event, is to go fishing. From the boat or from the dock, they just like to fish. 

Regan found a nice spot to perch on the pontoon and her/Hope laid there for over an hour one day just chatting the day away. 

One of the many fun water activities: a water bike! 

They looked mildly ridiculous pedaling around on this thing, but we could hear their giggles on shore and I loved hearing the memories being made. 

These kayaks were awesome. See that island out there in the distance? There's another one a bit further over on the left. Hope and Regan decided to go for a l-o-n-g excursion one day and ventured out around BOTH islands. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell us just how far they planned to go.....We watched as they went further and further away from the resort. We watched as we assumed they were lost (it's a very long way and can be hard to remember exactly where you started from when you get so far away). Ben had to eventually drive the boat out to see if they needed to be rescued. Nope. They were just taking their time on the lake and enjoying the beautiful warm sunny day. 

Shhhh, don't tell anyone that Uncle Ben lets his nieces and nephews take the wheel and drive us around. By the end of the weekend, Lincoln was driving it solo (Ben was sitting beside him). We laughed as Lincoln would repeat over and over that we were "full rottle" (aka: Full Throttle).....keeping in mind it goes maybe 4 mph :) 

He liked to shift it from idle into gear. He channeled his inner Titanic movie self and hollered "Full Speed Ahead!" as he shifted into gear!
Love that boy. 

Huge Thanks to my brother for giving these kiddos this awesome memory. I remember being a little tyke sitting on my own dad's lap "driving" the boat.

I have no idea what type of lesson she was getting, but she adored driving the boat just as much as Lincoln. 

Regan was content at the front of the boat anytime we were anchored. I have to admit, it's a nice spot to catch some rays. 

More fishing. 

Bless my mom's heart (and Ben and my cousin's husband) for worming, re-worming and de-fishing all weekend long.
Ick, not my favorite part of lake life. 

Getting ready to go "Full Rottle!"

At one point, I looked over at Lincoln and honestly flashed back to my 4 year old self. I can actually remember leaning over the back of our boat growing up, watching the wake as we slowly made our way.
There's just something peaceful about seeing the water rush through the propeller as we sped away. 

Some of these most beautiful sunsets happened out over the lake that weekend. The colors were stunning and I probably have a total of 500 sunset pictures between my phone and my camera.

She enjoyed her lake life, and I suspect she would live on the water if it were possible. 

A trip to the lake isn't complete without several rounds of tubing. Lincoln joined in the fun this year, taking a turn sitting at the bottom of the tube. He was pretty apprehensive, not sure he wanted to go. Smart boy went his first round with Sidney and Olivia (neither who want a rough ride), but eventually jumped over to ride with the wild ones! 

We had to take him out at one point because these two were itching to be flipped...boy did they get close! 

I was spotter one afternoon and could not believe these two silly girls. I went tubing for probably 20 years of my life, and never once did I think to actually turn around!? They disliked the water spraying in their faces so they rode their entire ride backwards.
Goof balls. 

This crew makes my heart full. 

I have no fewer than 10 pictures on my camera of Lincoln making a tiger face. He cooperates for any picture, but then says "let me do a tiger" and proceeds to tell me to take his picture. 

The sandy beach area was well used by our group. The kids spent a good chunk of everyday jumping around from lillypads to water trampolines to slides to floating docks. None of them terribly bothered by the fact that it was a lake...with fish, and weeds underfoot. 

Regan was trying to do a handstand on the lilly pad and I snapped a picture at just the right right. She looks like she's levitating!

The fun moments and memories made were plentiful. 

We've moved through several lakes, experienced a lot of Labor Day fun, and I'm so glad to have these 4 by my side each year. 

More tiger Lincoln....

An extra special place for my mom who keeps this tradition going for us (and her) even though we're missing a key person in our lives. Miss having dad around at the lake, giving his brother grief, watching him venture out for early morning fishing and always knowing how to fix something like a boat or a circuit board or a heater. 

More tiger Lincoln. 

He had no clue his sisters were behind him making tiger faces too :) 

We all are counting down the days until next year, knowing it is always a favorite for all of us. 

It's always bittersweet, and Sidney picked up on that this year "I love going to the lake, but I don't like that it means summer is over". 

Got that right kiddo. 

Now, onto school....