Fall fun

Before we get to the biggest post I will probably ever type (coming soon!), I wanted to do a post on life lately. We had a lot of fun at the beginning of fall, taking in the last of the Minnesota warm weather and enjoying some crisp evenings and beautiful sunrises.

 

Both girls had wonderful fall seasons. Sidney's team roster was a bit full (too full but there wasn't much anyone could do), so we made the most of it and knew she would still have fun. It was fairly relaxing, it's fall afterall, and she made some awesome relationships being coached by quite some talent. They finished consolation championships and Sidney had a great tournament which was quite fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regan started out her fall season with her new club team: Minnesota Vortex. She is have a BLAST! Her fall season was more about skill development and just a few games, but they took 3rd in the State Tournament so there's something to be said about that.

 

 

 

 

 

Regan was named captain of the middle school cross country team, though ended up with a knee injury mid season which essentially sidelined her for  most of the meets. She continued showing up to practice, working hard with her team and being a strong leader. Because we knew she was on the mend, I encouraged her to run the last meet of the season. It sure wasn't her best time but it was nice to see her running again.

 

 

 

Lincoln enjoyed wrapping up the fall hockey clinics and gearing up for his next hockey season. He learned stick handling during dryland and is working hard on learning how to stop. The kid is hooked though, he loves going to hockey. I'm still figuring out how to get him dressed and thank my lucky stars for dads who help me tie his skates up tight (why I can get one and not the other is beyond me). We got sucked into putting in a lot of volunteer time for this organization, Ryan as assistance coach and me as team manager. I'm going to need some warmer clothes to survive being in the rink all winter.

 

 

 

Lincoln had so much fun tagging along to Friday night high school football games, where we met up with some of his buddies in the stands. If we did the math correctly, Ryan and I could be watching these Friday Night Lights for the next 12 years...…. But man do we all love it!

 

 

 

To say we were busy this fall is an understatement. I sometimes chuckle at just how much we are on the move. These kiddos love their activities and certainly wouldn't want it any other way. But how we can both hold full time jobs and get them to all of their practices, performances, meets and games is sometimes a miracle. So if we don't reply to a text message, or seem a little absent minded, forgive us, we are just trying to keep up with these three amazing kiddos!

A week in review

In an effort to soak up as much sun and time off from school, I took off work for a full week of kid-centered fun. It was 10 days of finding fun, sometimes at home, sometimes not. Don't get me wrong, we did plenty of cleaning, cooking and projects around the house too :)

 

Regan started off with a quick trip north with a gaggle of girlfriends where she skied, surfed, played and had a complete blast. This girl would live on water if she could! She had an absolutely lovely time taking in as much water fun as she possibly could.  

 

 

Sidney decided to host her birthday party in August rather than wait until her real birthday in September so she could enjoy a pool party this year. She gathered up a group of friends who helped her celebrate on what turned into a sunny beautiful day. I'm so thankful we opted for this type of party this year, she was beyond excited and it was everything she wanted it to be (she planned it entirely herself, including doing most of the decorations!).

 

 

We started back up with fall ball season after a quick week off. Living with a pitcher and a catcher in the house, we tend to spend more time than many on the fields putting in extra hours. Sidney in particular has been working hard on achieving some of her own goals for this season. I'm so proud of how far she has come in a short time-span. She will start this next fall ball season as the starting pitcher and is so proud to have that title :) I'm happy to spend my day behind that plate acting as her catcher and encouraging her as she gets in some extra reps.

 

 

Not to be forgotten, our little man Lincoln had a great week hanging out at home. He loves to do tricks with Ryan in the pool (who can clearly toss him way higher than I can!). Lord help this boy who has no desire to sleep past 6:07am on most mornings, including my week off! Thanks buddy. I often chuckle at my friends when we talk about "sleeping in"....to me, that would mean anything past 6:40am. I don't ask for a lot, but I'd love to get an extra 30 minutes when I don't have to be up for work!

 

 

We headed out with the family for an early anniversary celebration (softball prevented celebrating on the actual date). If we couldn't actually re-live our Honeymoon in Hawaii this August, we could certainly pretend! The kids got a kick out of this place :)

 

 

And the atmosphere at Psycho Suzie's does not disappoint!....nor does this awesome face I get to look at daily.

 

 

Cheers to many more years!

 

 

I swear we didn't only play ball on my week off!, but by the pictures, it sort of looks like it. Lincoln loves when the girls have a private lesson because it means he gets to feed the pitching machine. Safety first, that blue helmet looks good on him.

 

 

We spent some time around Lake Harriet and the fun shops nearby. I had offered to take them on a day trip but no one was overly excited for an hour car ride, and so Lake Harriet sufficed. By mid week, Regan's allergies were raging and she was feeling pretty miserable (and too cranky to join this picture).

 

 

A trip near the lakes is never complete without a stop at Wild Rumpus, the coolest bookstore I have ever entered. Cats roaming around, rats (in cages!), birds and fish, sometimes even chickens. We love it!

 

 

And of course, I may have spent endless hours with the kiddos sitting poolside enjoying the sun, soaking up as much Vitamin D as humanly possible. Because like I continue to tell the girls, we can watch TV in January!

 

By the end of 10 days, I was sad it was over and thankful I have a job that I love so I didn't have to be too tearful leaving them.