Happy 77th, Big G

The old man turned 77 this week, and aside from being a little slower to hop out of bed in the morning and quitting a couple tosses earlier when playing fetch, you wouldn't guess he's a day over 42.  In fact, our vet always says "are you sure he was born in 2006?".

Happy birthday, Griff.  We love you!

2017 Viking Opener

The Vikes opened the season on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints, a team hated almost as much as the Pack in these parts (see NFC Championship, 2009), in a game that featured the return of AP (in enemy colors) and the enshrinement of #84, my all-time favorite MN athlete, into the Ring of Honor.  The game and crowd did not disappoint.  Sam Bradford was nearly perfect, as was most of the rest of the roster.  The home team won 29-19 in a game that wasn't actually that close.

8U Trojan Softball

The girls got to play fall ball together this year as the roster birth year parameters were 2009-2010.  Much like the summer season, both girls and the coach (this guy) had a blast and enjoyed the game far more than anticipated.  The team got to experience machine pitch and hard balls for the first time too (35 mph), when meant swings had to be much faster and stronger, and hands had to build a tolerance for those stinging metal vibrations when the bat makes contact.

Evie became a vocal leader on the squad, helping the coaches get the girls calling out where the play was and getting in position... and a pretty reliable hitter, getting on base more often than not.

Sawyer was more inconsistent (this said, she was the team's youngest... and missed the summer season with a broken arm), but her intensity and competitiveness had her getting hot when it mattered.  There was nothing more adorable all season than her "I'm not losing/getting out" face.

1st day of school

1st and 3rd!  Here we go again...

(14 of our street's 20 kids are now in elementary school, four in middle, one in HS and one in college)

D: What was your favorite thing from this summer?
E: Getting Buster.
S: Kavanaugh's.

D: What about 3rd/1st grade are you most excited for?
E: Isabella and Alayna and Annika in my class.
S: Gym.

D: Are you nervous about anything?
E: No. Nothing.
S: No.

D: Who's your best friend?
E: Alayna.
S: Thomas.

D:What's your favorite book?
E: Harry Potter.  The 7th one.  (J.K. Rowling)
S: Harry Potter.  I only read the 1st and 2nd.  The 2nd though. (J.K. Rowling)

D: What's your favorite food? 
E:  Pizza.
S: Pizza.

D:What's your favorite thing to play?
E: Playing with my neighbors. 
S: Basketball.

D: What's your favorite thing about yourself?
E: That I'm nice and I love to read.
S: I'm really good at basketball.

D: What's one thing that you really want to do this year?
E: I want to get back in gymnastics.
S: I don't know.  Not break my arm?

D: What do you want to be when you grow up?
E: A teacher. 2nd grade.
S: Police.

Summer Send-off '17

Cousin Elliot got married Labor Day weekend in Stillwater, so we made a weekend of it, making Minnesota's most famous river town this year's end-of-summer family getaway spot. 

The wedding was at Trellis with a reception at The Loft, both beautiful venues.  The best man Cole, ET's 16 y/0 brother, may have stole the show with his R-rated best man speech (ask me offline).  Fun night, fun people.

The rest of the weekend we trolled on and around Main Street, hitting up staples like Teddy Bear Park, Freight House, Leo's, and Chilkoot... and then bounced to the city's outskirts to hike Fairy Falls and snack on caramel apples and sample wine at Aamodt's Orchard/St. Croix Vineyards. 

And with that, summer 2017 is a wrap! 

A new era

L & I took the girls to the Gopher football opener vs. Buffalo, the first game of the much-hyped PJ Fleck era.  I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, though the game was pretty lackluster (Gophs 17, Bulls 10).  But, a win is a win!

The girls lost some steam as the game went on, but loved the parachuting troopers during the Anthem, the band, the Rouser... and the hoopla around the introductions.

Miss Hanna

For summer care this year, we tried the nanny thing for the first time, and somehow convinced Miss Hanna, our neighbor who was home on break from the U, to cart our rugrats around for 12 weeks.  The girls had a blast being in the neighborhood and playing with all the other kids with nannies and SAHMs, and being able to bounce around from day camp to day camp... not to mention all the excursions to beaches, museums, ice cream shops, movies, pools, Twins games, and the like.  

Thanks so much, Hanna!  You busy next summer?

Camp Lynx

Former Viking, and father of four budding athlete daughters (mom was a D1 track star), Chad Greenway co-hosted a basketball clinic at Xcel Energy Center with the Minnesota Lynx.

E & S got to hear life lessons from Chad, and learn techniques and drills from the Lynx coaching staff on the Lynx floor, and then cheer on the home team against Diana Taurasi (perhaps the greatest female baller of all time) and Brittney Griner's (one of the WNBA's few dunkers) Phoenix Mercury that evening.

Girls weekend #457

Linds and the neighborhood gals escaped up north to the Jungs cabin for a little R&R.  Here's the only photo evidence of the weekend (that Linds will share with me, that is).

Soul Asylum

Sure, Prince and Bob Dylan are more talented and more celebrated, but for us children of the 80s and 90s, Soul Asylum has a special place in the Minnesota music scene.  Dave Pirner and the boys played a show at Hilde Park in Plymouth, and our neighborhood crew made a night of it... singing along to Black Gold, Runaway Train, Just Like Anyone, Without a Trace, and several others, then grabbing the karaoke mics at the Stanchion until nearly last call.

Tornados

E & S got paired up with the Jung girls on the Tornados squad in this summer's 8U Corcoran soccer league.  It was fun to see the girls progress to playing more as a team this year, spacing and passing... and putting points on the board every once in a while.  

It seemed like every night was 100 degrees and humid, so seeing these little athletes chugging Gatorade and soaked in set was both adorable, and a scary reminder of how fast they grow up!