Luke's Shoe Story and Our Week in Review

We enjoyed a super fun snow tubing birthday party with our favorite twin friends, Jack and Charlie!

Maple Grove High School Locker room

Trying on the Maple Grove High School Hockey Jerseys (left to right:  Luke, Max, Jack, Liam, and AJ).  Jack's dad is the coach of the high school hockey team so he let us change in the locker room prior to our game.

Finn got the screwdriver and batteries out of the drawer (after climbing up on the chair) and carried them upstairs to put new batteries in his toy.  Smart kid!

Just to put things in perspective when I say its cold here....

Luke's shoe (see story below)

We don't have a lot of newsworthy stories this week.  Thankfully, it was a pretty average week after our long bout with a GI virus that went through the entire house.  We are feeling much better and back to school and our normal routine.

Luke and Liam got the priviledge of changing in the high school hockey team locker room over the weekend prior to their game.  One of the kids on our hockey team is the son of the high school coach and he offered up the locker room prior to our game.  The boys had a lot of fun putting their sticks and other stuff in the lockers, trying on the gigantic jerseys, and watching the hockey game on t.v. in the locker room.  The night before our locker room tour, we went to see the high school team play in a district final game.  Although they played one of their best games ever (according to their coach), they came up a little short and lost 2-1.  Getting to the high school boys in action and then using their locker room was a highlight for the boys.

The story on Luke's shoe is a funny one that I thought was worth including this week.  Right before the President's Day long weekend, Luke left his shoes at school.  This is actually not too hard to do in Minnesota because the boys wear snow boots to school and then change into their tennis shoes once they are inside (this was a new concept for me since I grew up in the south).  The boys don't wear tennis very much right now due to the cold and snow so I thought they were probably in his locker or on the bus and we would look for them the next time we were at school.  In addition, this is around the time that everyone was getting sick here so finding a lost shoe wasn't on my list of top things to do.

After the long weekend, Luke was sick and didn't go to school but Liam found ONE of his shoes at school and brought it home.  The following day, I sent Luke to school and asked him to look for the other shoe.  We honestly have one pair of tennis shoes and no extras laying around here and Luke's foot is the biggest so he can't wear one of our old pairs.  He claims that he searched the lost and found, checked the bus, checked the hallway, etc...and there was no shoe.

Ironically, on this same day he returned to school after being sick, he had PE class.  At PE, he was given a note to take home for us to sign and return stating that we would "do a better job of making sure our son was prepared for PE by helping him remember to bring his tennis shoes."  What?!  It took John and I several days to calm down and return the note with a signature.  This was a first time offense for us, we don't forget our shoes on a regular basis.  Thankfully, after I made a trip to the lost and found at school, sent a note and picture of our shoe to Luke's teacher, and made a call to the bus company requesting they search for our long lost shoe, it was FOUND!  Luke said his bus driver had the shoe for him (nearly a week after we initially lost it).  Thank goodness since I was hoping to let our feet grow a little more and then buy new shoes in the spring or summer.

Its been a week...

Finn is checking out the big boys skating over the weekend 

Lego Valentine boxes!

Our big event for the week...skating at the intermission of a local high school game

Skating at intermission.  Note the huge amount of high school kids in the stands!  

Waiting to go out on the ice

Finn, do you need a tissue?

Finn needs to blow his nose, of course.

Finn is all dressed up for hockey!

It has been quite a week for us and not one that I care to repeat anytime soon.  It all began on Sunday night/early Monday morning of last week when Aiden woke up in the middle of the night quite sick.  From there, Luke was sick early in the week, then we had a short break before Finn and Liam got sick at the end of the week followed by myself over the weekend.  Thankfully, my case was very mild and only lasted 24 hours.  After washing carpets, sheets, bedspreads, countertops, bathrooms, tables, couches, etc...I am hopeful we are turning the corner.  John is still holding strong at this point and let's hope he continues to do so.

Minnesota definitely knows how to promote the sport of hockey.  I think they are trying to keep the boys "hooked" on it.  In between our sickness this week, we were able to do one fun thing.  Luke and Liam's hockey team was asked to skate at the intermission of the local high school hockey game. This was a big game since it was senior night and the high school team was playing one their biggest rivals.  Needless to say, I have never seen so many people at the community center where they played.  The stands were packed and the boys were so excited to skate in front of so many people.  We were even able to secure a babysitter for Aiden and Finn since the game was after bedtime so it was a fun outing with Luke and Liam!

Our Happenings this Week

Finn is watching his brothers skate at "Friday Night Lights."  Friday Night Lights is the term John frequently uses for our post dinner skating on Friday nights after a week of work and school.

After Finn gets tired of watching his brothers skate, there is plenty to do in the basement.  This is "Rex" from Toy Story, Aiden's Halloween costume a few years ago.

Sunday afternoon skate with the neighbors

Mom and Finn are in the net.  

WILD hockey game!!  Luke and Liam attended their first NHL hockey game over the weekend with John and their hockey team.  

Aiden had his final soccer game over the weekend.  He did a little introductory soccer league for two months and really enjoyed it.

Luke and Liam did not have hockey over the weekend so we all attended Aiden's final "game" and he was so so excited to have all of us there!

Dinner prior to the hockey game with our neighbor, Jack, who ended up going to his first game on the same night so the boys met for dinner beforehand.

The boys continue to keep us busy with school and sports.  The weather turned frigid last week so the ice rink came back to life.  Due to the fluctuations in temperature this winter, the rink hasn't done very well.  We were happy to get in several days of skating while the ice was in great shape.  Although the boys were exhausted at night, they had a great time skating during the day.  Our skating window extends into the evenings after dinner on some nights since John and our neighbor have lights for the rink.  The boys are really comfortable on the ice now.  As I watched the other night, Liam skated right off the rink (jumped right over the side boards) into the snow to retrieve a puck.  Pretty sure I wouldn't be walking tomorrow if I tried that.

Luke and Liam got the opportunity to attend their first NHL hockey game over the weekend.  Their hockey team purchased a group of tickets to see the WILD play and John took both boys.  Aiden was a bit disappointed that there were not enough tickets for him to attend as well, but his turn will be coming soon.  Ironically, our neighbor and good friend Jack went to the game on the same night so the boys and dads were able to ride and eat dinner together.

Aiden finished his recreational soccer league that he has been doing over the winter.  He really enjoyed playing and making it his own thing while his brothers were busy with hockey.  Aiden is, by far, the most aggressive kid on his team.  I am not sure if the other kids are younger or maybe just not really that competitive, but Aiden was all over the place and scored goals left and right.  I am attributing his success to all the beatings he takes when he plays soccer in the backyard with his older brothers and neighbors.  

18 Months for Finnegan

Memorial Run for Greg sponsored by the Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA).  Many of the runners dressed in hockey jerseys in honor of Greg and his love for hockey.

Silly Finn

Showing us his "touchdown"

Singing and babbling

His brothers were waiting in the wings to get their pictures taken too

Finn loves his brothers

And he's no different than they were at this age...climbing the shelves in the closet.

Working on legos

Finn is fairly obsessed with hockey for his age


Thank you to so many who contacted us offering condolences after Greg's death and concern for   his family and those he left behind.  Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement.  Last week was a rough week.  Losing a close friend at an untimely point in his life is something that John and I have not encountered before.  Greg's young family misses him deeply and the situation hits very close to home.  We attended his funeral on Saturday.  It was a beautiful tribute to Greg and a testimony of his love for others.  There wasn't a dry eye in the church when his four year old son stood before the entire congregation to thank God for his daddy and to tell everyone how much he loved his dad.  Please continue to keep Greg and his family in your prayers as they adapt to a new "normal" that is so different from what they have have known for the last few years.

Switching gears quite a bit here...Finn turned 18 months old last week.  He continues to keep us on our toes and make us laugh.  He is one smart kid!  I know I have said this before with Aiden who was quite smart, but it seems Finn is every bit as smart if not more so.  For example, as we were picking up Aiden at preschool last week, I told Finn that we needed to get Aiden's lunchbox.  There is a shelf with three rows of probably 20 or more lunch boxes all lined up and Finn walked over and pulled out Aiden's before I even noticed it.  

He is showing quite a bit of personality as well.  If you tell him no, he gives you a very sly look as if to say, "what are you going to do about it if I try this?"  When he doesn't get his way, he has quite a bit to say about it.  Based on his reaction to things we say or do, I would say he also understands a lot of words we say.  He loves hockey and say "goalie" anytime he sees something that is hockey related like a puck, stick, or even a hockey game on t.v.  A few of his favorite foods include pizza, cheese, quesadillas, pasta, oatmeal, pancakes, raspberries, grapes, apples, bananas, yogurt, and especially ice cream.  Thankfully, he has always been a very good sleeper and continues to be.  He loves his pacifier and his blue blanket.  He has a well visit coming up, but my guess is that he is still the largest of the four boys.  He is quickly moving into 2T (and sometimes 3T) clothing.  He follows his brothers everywhere and really enjoys their company.  We love you Finn!  It is a joy and privilege to watch you grow and change.