Meet Buster

Our family is about to get a whole lot bigger!  

Meet Buster, our newest addition, an eight week old, 14 lb Saint Bernard from a farm in Galesville, WI.  Buster was the son of Darius and Kallie, and had 9 brothers and sisters (as well as dozens and dozens of chickens, goats and other farm animal cousins).  The girls fell in love during a "let's just go look" visit a few weeks ago, and today we went back and made it official.  

Big G seemed to welcome the little guy, and the neighborhood kids smothered him with love all afternoon.  Should be a wild ride!

Lakota Reunion

Lindsay's 20 year high school reunion was this summer, and as she hadn't been back in ages, we back the family up and made a weekend of it, spending most of our time with her high school bestie, Jaime, and family (Robbie, Alex and Anna).

We hit up a few of L's old favorites with the kiddos (Splash Cincinnati, King's Island, LaRosa's, her childhood home, and the Rice's), and then capped the weekend off at Dave & Buster's for Lakota High's Class of 1997 main event.

(Photo #2 above is the "next generation" posing for the famous Lindsay, Kelly, Jaime, Natalie photo that the foursome takes every 5-10 years in the Rice's kitchen) 

Sawyer & the Racers

S played summer softball with the Wayzata Racers... well, for two games, that is.  That broken arm of hers happened the day before the season began, and she didn't get doctor's clearance to play until the final week.  But, she made the most of it... sprinting to every ball in the infield, regardless of her position, and swinging for the fences each at bat.  She's such a serious competitor.  I wonder where she got that from?

Evie & Bandits

E played summer softball with the Wayzata Bandits, coached by Nick Dwyer (an FHS alum) and I.  By the end of the season, Evie was one of the headier players, and consistently made good contact at the plate.  Defensively, second base seemed to be her sweet spot.

Father's Day

I must've done something right this year, as the girls treated me to a wonderful Father's Day of hoops with Grandpa and the cousins, and a hike at Minnehaha, pizza on the patio at Psycho Suzi's, and ice cream at Sebastian Joe's with Griff. 

Life is good.

Fairmont Tri

The crew convened in Fairmont, per usual, for the annual triathlon... but Team Backer took the year off with mild injuries and other trivial excuses.  But, it was an excuse to spend a weekend at Nana's with the cousins on and around the lakes.

Ball night

S took interest in the NBA finals this year, and who could blame her... six likely Hall of Famers on the court at one time, including once-in-a-generation talent in LBJ, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant.  We watched the first quarter together of each game, staying up past bedtime to do so.  So fun to see her get on the refs for missed calls (especially travels), and be amazed by the Warriors deep 3s and the Kyrie's dribbling.

Last day(s) of school

To celebrate the last day of school, the girls and the rest of the culdesac released helium balloons at the bus stop in hopes of finding pen pals wherever the jet stream might take them.

S also formalized the year-end with an all-kindergarten musical, a book reading (Dr. Seuss's Oh, the Places you'll Go) and a class awards ceremony (she brought home the "Born Leader" trophy).

No fanfare for E as she finished 2nd grade.  NBD for these seasoned students, I guess.

Here's the year-end interview...

What was your favorite thing about kindergarten/2nd grade?

E: Free Choice. I usually choose Go Fish or the Bean Bag Game. And, Miss Pilla.

S: Math. And, gym.

What will you miss most about kindergarten/2nd grade?

E: My friends Isabella, Brynn, Annalise, Kate, Tanvi.

S: Thomas.

What won't you miss about kindergarten/2nd grade?

E. The first day of school when I had no friends, except Isabella.

S: Putting my lunch stick in the wrong place.