Fall in MN

Fall in MN goes by quick, usually due to the impending winter doom. This year's fall was longer than most, but still seemed to fly by.



Then we had a great time showing off the cutest little superheros on the block for Halloween.


A night on the town for mom and dad to celebrate 7yrs of marriage and a new addition to the extended family certainly gave us a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

Mutton Bustin'

While mom and dad were having fun with some old friends, the kiddos were having an experience of their own. Mutton Busting is the practice of strapping a small child onto a sheep and hoping for the best. Good times.

It's Going to be a Super Halloween

And they shall never reveal their secret identities...

Guess Who's Walking

The summer has gone by quick and a lot has happened, so let me catch you up. Little girl now has the ability to walk, although this power is rarely used. She would much prefer to climb up and down the stairs all day long. We had some good times up at the cabin. The dude got a valuable lesson in rock skipping from his grandpa, who claims to be the world's best. We had family in town from New Mexico and Spain. It is amazing how every time we get the kids together, they run around and giggle the entire time, while barely speaking the same language. A summer full of triathlons was capped off with the dude's very first race as well. He finished in 49.2 seconds in a race dedicated to helping the monarch butterfly.

One Year Old

Baby girl is officially not a baby anymore! I think she was a little weirded out by all the attention and she had a very suspicious look on her face when everybody started singing "happy birthday" to her. She got over it of course when she tasted cake for the first time in her life.

Race Day

Race day came and went, and it was an incredible experience. The Minnesota chapter of the Team in Training (part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) raised approx. $280,000 for blood cancer research. Being part of this group and sharing stories of triumph and tragedy has been more humbling then I expected. The challenges that everyone involved have gone through, or are currently going through, makes one appreciate life and loved ones in a whole new way. Visit here to find information on your local chapter.


Everyone competed hard and had a good time. Jeanine and her dad placed 1st and 2nd in their respective age groups and her brother endured an incredible amount pain, due to a degenerative disc he inherited from his mom, and still finished the race with a triumphant "GO TEAM!". Cheering for all remaining TEAM-mates as they finished their races was awesome. The determination to fight for something bigger than the fleeting pain of race day could be seen on the face of every TNT member I came across.


In addition to great-grandma and couple of family visitors from Australia, we had Julie the baby-wisperer on hand so baby girl could concentrate on taking naps. Of course Cheerios and inspecting mom's bike can be very distracting.

4th of July

We had a wonderful time up at the cabin over the 4th of July. Most of Barb's family was in town, which was bitter-sweet as she is greatly missed. But of course, in her honor the party went on. The kids swam all day, every day and everybody had a good time breaking in Bob's new cabin.



And of course, who could forget the fireworks?