The 5K and Our Vacation

Liam and his Buddy Adam with a 2nd and 3rd place finish in the 5K

Luke finished 7th in his age group

Aiden and his buddy Mark finished in 1st and 2nd place

Aiden and his buddies with their 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals

John and I stopped in Duluth for lunch on our way to Lake Superior.  My maiden name and Finn's middle name is "Morse"

The rocky coastline along Lake Superior

Gorgeous views

We found a few deer along the trail, but thankfully nothing bigger or more dangerous

Doing a little hiking and enjoying the scenery

Waterfall 

Along the shores of Grand Marias

Lighthouse in Duluth

Gearing up for several miles of hiking on the Superior trail

Fall colors


The boys completed a 5K race over the weekend and they improved their times a bit.  Liam is still by far the fastest in our house!  He and his buddy, Adam, ran the entire race together and finished in approximately 23:00.  Aiden ran with Adam's younger brother and one of his buddies and finished in 29:00.  John and I paced the boys a bit as we tried to keep up with them!  

John and I were so very fortunate to take a quick weekend trip for our 15th anniversary.  We decided to keep things simple and drive the short distance up north to Lake Superior.  We stayed in a townhouse at a resort called BlueFin Bay and the lake was only a few feet away from our back door.  The shoreline along Lake Superior is rough and rocky, but very pretty.  The town we stayed in was Lutsen, MN and we traveled to Grand Marais for a few meals and some shopping.  We enjoyed some unseasonably warm weather and warm sunny days.

The boys had a wonderful time with Aunt Jenny while we were gone and I am honestly not sure they missed us too much.  They kept busy with hockey practice, a hockey game, and other fun activities and they loved having Aunt Jenny here.  John and I really enjoyed the peace and quiet and the chance to talk.    Many thanks to Jennifer for giving us the chance to get away for a few days, it was such a nice break.

Finn's field trip

Finn is so excited about his new bright blue shoes from Mimi and because he was going on a field trip to the Apple Orchard with his preschool class.

Playing in the yard on a very warm September day with our neighbor, Kathleen.

Finn, Luke, and Liam handing out programs at church over the summer

Aiden handing out programs at church.
These two pictures were recently taken by the photographer at our church.  The pictures were posted on the church website and Facebook page with the caption, "One hour per month can instill a desire for service that lasts a lifetime. There are many opportunities to volunteer at church, no matter what your age."


We are beginning to settle into our school routine a bit.  Finn had his first field trip at preschool and he was able to ride on a school bus to the apple orchard so he was very excited.  He had an awesome time sampling different types of apples, drinking apple juice, and having an apple donut.  He hasn't quit talking about it. 

We have had a few days here and there of cooler temps in the 50's, but it has been mostly warm and we have enjoyed more time outside to burn off energy after school.  

Enjoy the week!

Finn's first day of school

Finn has on some Elvis glasses at his godparents house over the weekend

First Day of School for Finn!  September 6, 2017

Ready for School!

So excited!

Silliness break in between pictures

Heading to preschool at Step by Step Montessori

Finn really wants to ride the bus with his brothers

Finn has been waiting and waiting for his turn to start school.  He is always very excited for his brothers to begin school, but this changes when he realizes how much they will be gone during the day.  He loves to see them when they get home and frequently walks with them to the bus stop.

Last Wednesday, September 6th was a big day for Finn as he started his own school.  He has been asking all summer long when his first day would be.  He was ready to go bright and early with his clothes on before we even ate breakfast.  He has been telling people all summer about his teacher at school named "Ms Kristi."  Ms Kristi is a very special part of our lives as she is the same teacher who taught Luke, Liam, and Aiden in preschool and kindergarten at Step by Step Montessori.

Fast forward to week #2 of school and Finn is still loving it.  He has been learning to write his name and his other letters along with his first day of Spanish today.  He loves music and art and playing outside.  His next request is to have lunch at school sometime since I normally pick him up right before they eat lunch.  We will figure out a way to make that happen this year as it seems very important to Finn.  We are so happy for you, Finn!  

Hockey tournament, Twins game, and the start of School

Luke's team heading out on the ice for the championship game

Luke (left) giving high fives to players as they come out on ice

Very proud of a second place win overall

2017 EuroAmerican '08 Red Team

Getting ready for the Twins game

Dad and the boys

Joe Mauer signing Luke's shirt!

View from their seats at the Twins game

Golf with Daddy on his birthday

First day of 2nd and 4th grades

Aiden's first day of 2nd grade

Luke and Liam first day of 4th grade

The bus stop gang!

Loading the bus for school

Just a warning....I didn't get a chance to post last week so this week has a lot of pictures!

Luke had his final EuroAmerican hockey tournament two weeks ago.  His Red team ended up winning second place and did a great job playing some very talented teams.  Luke grew a lot in his skating over the summer and gained a lot of confidence in each game he played.  He scored twice in the final tournament which was quite exciting for all of us to see.

John celebrated his birthday on September 4th and we enjoyed a day at home with the boys.  We ended up playing a game of golf for the first time with all four boys.  Finn didn't actually play, but he spent some time washing his golf balls and putting sand in the divots.  Thanks to some very kind friends, John and I enjoyed dinner out without any of the boys!  It has been a long time since we have had such a peaceful dinner and it was very fun to have uninterrupted conversation for a couple hours.

John recently won a silent auction prize for a Twins experience day.  John and the three older boys were able to attend the Twins vs. Royals evening game on Saturday, September 2.  The Twins played the Kansas City Royals and ended up winning by 17-0 which was the most lopsided win in Twins history.  The boys were able to do a behind the scenes tour of the stadium, walk out on the field, and they got autographs from several Twins players including Joe Mauer.  They had dinner in a pretty cool restaurant overlooking the field.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

School began today, September 5th, 2017.  The boys are excited for a new and fun year.  Aiden is in 2nd grade and his teacher is Ms. McWilliams, who is the same second grade teacher that Luke and Liam had and probably one of the best teachers in their school.  Aiden is so excited for the upcoming school year.

Luke and Liam are in 4th grade and their teacher is Ms. Monson.  I don't know her well, but our initial impressions are good and the boys were very complimentary of her.  They have several good friends in their class which definitely increases their excitement level for the upcoming year.