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.

Liam's hockey tournament

Roller Skating on a rainy day

More roller skating races

Soccer pictures for this year.  I have no idea why the pictures were taken AFTER practice when we were all hot and sweaty.

Hockey party after our game

Liam and his buddy playing pool

Game with the hockey boys

Hockey Boys

Liam on the ice.  He is in the middle of picture in white jersey.  

Liam had his end of the season hockey tournament over the weekend and it kept us quite busy.  It was very fun to see how much his team has improved over the season.  Liam had the opportunity to be more of a leader on this team than he has on his previous teams.  He got to play several different positions on the ice and really developed his skills a lot over the summer.

The competition in this final tournament was quite good and we were definitely at the bottom of the pack, but the boys played hard and skated well and after we left the rink for pizza or whatever party we had planned, I am pretty sure the boys didn't really care whether they won or lost!  They had fun with their friends and got to play hockey so everything was good.  Here's to the end of a successful AAA EuroAmerican hockey season for Liam!  We are off to Luke's final tournament this weekend.  It would honestly be easier to sit in the rink all weekend if it would just rain outside like it has been doing a lot during the weekdays.

Fun in the Sun

Fun with Friends at the pool

Luke

Golfing with Dad while mom enjoys some time alone.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Twins

Jack and Liam playing at the beach

Fishing with Liam, Aiden, and Jack Bakken

Aiden's first of three fish!

Liam also caught a few fish

Liam took Andy's fish off the hook

We had a fun week filled with lots of sun, water, and a little sand.  I celebrated another birthday this week and enjoyed some extra time at the pool.  Warm weather and going to the pool are two of my favorite things so I can't think of a better way to celebrate.  We invited several friends and enjoyed a beautiful Minnesota summer day at the pool.  It was one of those days that I will remember when the weather turns cold and snowy.  Thank you all for the birthday texts, phone calls, cards, Facebook posts, and gifts I received from friends and family.  It was a fun birthday!

We also had our first fishing excursion with friends this week.  Luke and Liam, especially, have been asking to go fishing all summer.  We do not have fishing poles or any other type of fishing supplies, but we went with friends who had enough supplies to share and we had a blast.  The boys loved it.  They were putting the worms on their hooks and learning to take the fish off the hooks by the end of the day (especially Liam and Luke).  I think the purchase of fishing poles is definitely in our future!

Another Busy Summer Week....

Lemonade Anyone?

The neighbors and the boys put together a lemonade stand

Finn bought some ninja turtle gear at a garage sale

Aiden and his buddy Anders (and Finn) played Pie in the Face

Down time in the toy basket

Working on his dog house from Grandma and Grandpa Carrithers

Fun day with friends at a new park

Lots of Friends!!

Beautiful day at the lake

Andy and Liam at the Lake

Finn

Liam's creation

Luke was hot and said the water felt really good

Luke on the climbing wall at a birthday party (bottom one with red shorts)

Liam climbing

We had another fun week.  This summer has been quite busy, but fun.  We don't have anymore camps or activities this summer so we are enjoying a bit more free time in between sports activities.  Early last week, there were some garage sales in our neighborhood so the boys decided to capitalize on the activity and sell lemonade.  This was also possible due to the fact that I had several gallons of lemonade remaining from Finn's birthday party so as the boys pointed out, "it won't cost us anything to do a lemonade stand."  A few neighbor kids joined the group and they set up a table on the corner in the middle of all the garage sales.  They did pretty well at $0.50 per cup and made around $25.00 that was then divided among all the workers.

We also enjoyed a fun trip to a new park at Lake Rebecca.  After everyone got too hot on the park, we walked down to the lake to cool off.  It was a picture perfect Minnesota summer day with warm temperatures, but low humidity and a slight breeze.

Lastly, in other news, Finn had his 4 year well visit.  He continues to be the largest of the 4 boys when compared at their yearly well visits.  For his four year well visit, Finn measured 43.35 inches tall and weighed in at 47.4 pounds.  The only one comparable to Finn at his four year old visit was Luke who was 42 inches tall and 45.9 pounds.  Big boys!!

Finn's 4th Birthday

Finn received his very own set of golf clubs from Grandma Mimi and he is so excited about them.  He began practicing out in the yard after they arrived.

Luke at VBS last week

Liam at VBS

Finn's buddy, Erik, came to his birthday party and even tried on a few costumes.  He's super fun and Finn loves Erik.                                                                                                                                                                       

Finn's 4th birthday cake

Getting ready to sing to Finn

This was Finn's favorite part!!

Note:  Aiden giving the candles a little blow to the right of Finn.  

Sneaking in a few bites of cake after it was all eaten!

Finn and his buddy, Kathleen

Thumbs up for the water slide

Adults enjoying a beautiful summer night

We celebrated Finn's 4th birthday over the weekend.  His birthday fell on a Saturday this year so we had his party on Saturday as well.  He has been talking about his "birthday party" since January when we celebrated all of his brother's birthdays.  He was very specific in requesting a ninja turtle birthday party with green and blue.  He doesn't actually watch the ninja turtle cartoon or even know the names of the ninja turtles, but apparently he likes them!

We rented a bouncy house with a water slide (at Finn's request) and invited several of his friends, neighbors, etc...We had a beautiful summer evening that was perfect for swimming and playing in the backyard.  John smoked some chicken and pork on his smoker and we had several side dishes.  I think Finn's favorite part was when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.  The expression on his face was priceless.

He received several fun presents from his buddies and family members.  Mimi got him his own set of golf clubs which he was super excited about since his brothers have picked up golf over the summer and we have been to the driving range several times.  Grandma and Grandpa Carrithers got him some cute books and a dog house to color and use for all his "dogs."  Finn loves it and when he finishes coloring the outside, I will post a good picture.  Grandpa Morse brought Finn some clothes and a fun baseball game when he visited over the 4th of July.

Overall, it was a fun birthday and fun to celebrate Finn.  His enthusiasm for life is contagious.  He is inquisitive, smart, funny, and loves his brothers (especially Lukie, whom he often says is "his best friend").  He loves tools, trucks, painting, puppies, hockey, and can't wait to start preschool in the fall.

Happy 4th Finn Morse Carrithers!