Pumpkin Pie Anyone?

Ok... so we've had the pumpkins for a couple of weeks now. We we were lucky to have actually gotten them carved before Halloween arrived. After a nice family dinner Dad, not wanting anything to do with the festivities, disappeared in the basement to watch tv while mom, Julia and Steph carefully picked out our patterns and began the disgustingly fun task of gutting, tracing and carving our pumpkins.

Stephi picked the easiest pattern (hers is pictured in the middle) and was done in no time... Mom (right pumpkin) and Julia (left pumpkin), on the other hand, decided to be a little more daring and go for the patterns labeled "challenging". Mom was next to be done and Julia, who nearly quit because she was so frustrated, finished last. Regardless of the time and effort it took to complete, it was fun to see the finished product. Those carving kits make for some pretty cool end results.

Ahhhhh The North Shore

With a weekend finally open from soccer, we were able to squeeze in a trip to Minnesota's North Shore. What was forecast to be a cold and overcast weekend, turned out to a beautifully warm and sunny one. The girls asked Dawg (Rachel Tanner) to join us.





We started the weekend out at the Split Rock Lighthouse by taking a tour of the lighthouse and grounds. We then spent the next several hours hiking the area.

Our next stop was Gooseberry Falls where we spent a LONG TIME hiking according to Steph. The girls spent sometime checking out partial caves and attempting to find areas to cross the river around the falls(Rachel found a crossing, just not a dry one).

We then took a hike down to Lake Superior, where we found a nice little beach and the girls laid out for an afternoon nap in the sun.

On our way back to our hotel we decided to stop in Duluth at Canal Park and eat dinner at the World Famous Grandma's. I am surprised that everyone was able to make it through dinner with their eyes open.

The girls decided that while they were in the beautiful North Shore Area with all of its wonderful natural attractions, that the best way to spend their last day would be to go shopping at the mall for Homecoming Dresses.

The ride home may have been the quietest ever. It was an exhausting weekend.

Soccer In The News

It was a tough week for soccer, playing very good teams. But the team fought hard.




You can click on the picture to zoom in and read.

Steph in the zone

The Girls Head Back to State

After a somewhat frustrating regular season and getting the fourth seed in the District Tournament, the girls pulled it together when it mattered. They went into game one of Districts and took Valley United into two overtimes with a score of 2-2 with Stephanie scoring the first goal and Julia scoring the second. The game then went into the teams first shootout of the season. We are not sure who was more nervous in the shootout, the coaches or the girls. It came down to Shakopee's final shot with Lauren making it and winning the first game. The next day, the girls went on to upset a very strong number one seeded Lakeville team 2-1 to win the District Title. Stephanie scored both goals for Shakopee. The weekend was the best the girls have looked all season.

The girls then moved onto the Regional Tournament where they took on Minneapolis' top team. Again, the girls played into two overtimes with a score of 0-0 and a shootout followed. Our goalie, Dani Drier, was able to stop 2 of the 4 shots that Minneapolis took. Our girls went a perfect 4 of 4 in the shootout and with the assistance of an extremely vocal and excited hometown crowd they won the Regional Championship sending the team to the State Tournament for the fourth year in a row.

Fun at the Zoo!

We have done so many things since the last update.... Maya went golfing with Stephanie and Matt last Saturday. Sunday we all went tubing down the Cannon River. Wednesday John, Maya, Julia and Stephi went to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts and today they went to the Como Zoo and Conservatory.

So much to do, so little time! This weekend will be spent on the fields as the girls fight for a place in the state soccer tournament. Their game on Saturday will be against their arch rivals, Valley United. Each of the past 3 years the team seems to be up against Valley to the very last game. Last year, that very last game happened to be the state championship....

In the next coming weeks look for updates on soccer, a trip to Valley Fair and a weekend in Duluth. Never a dull moment in our household! Until then... au revoir!

A Taste of Minnesota

Taste of Minnesota with no Minnesota vendors??? We ate bbq and cheese curds from Wisconsin... I guess St. Paul is close to Wisconsin, but we were expecting something a little more. Poor Jarrod left some of his food in the bottom of the porta-potty after the other boys kept him spinning on the Tornado. This was after they all rode the Gravitron, which spins so fast that you are literally lifted off of the ground. Frankly we're surprised that he was the only one that was sick!

Maya got to experience her first 80's band when we stopped to watch Hairball, dubbed the world's ultimate 80's Rock impersonation act. Obviously not the kids' choice of music. So, John and Michelle stayed to enjoy the music and sent the kids off to explore the rest of the festival.

Later, we all watched Bret Michael's (former lead singer of Poison) Rock of Love Bus Tour sing and then enjoy some fireworks over the Mississippi river. On the way home Maya was so tired she fell asleep in the car... still suffering from some jet lag.