Joseph

We have been very busy and having so much fun with my sister and her 4 kids in town. These past 3 weeks have gone really fast and we only have a few days left with them.

I still have some North Shore pictures to post, along with a lot of other things we've been doing, but I was wanting to do a quick blog update that required little time, so I'm jumping out of order a bit.

My parents took all but 4 of the entire bunch to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at a local high school, put on by community theater. It was a fabulous show! The costumes were amazing. The music was fun, it was fast-paced, and even Adam at 4 years old enjoyed it! It was the perfect activity for yet another incredibly hot and humid day.

Thanks Nana and Papa for the fun outing!

Our best attempt at a group photo before the show started.

A fun show!

Even Elvis makes an appearance in the production!

The boys were a bit star-struck with Joseph.

Jump Everybody, Jump Jump!

Grand Marais

Grand Marais has a lot of sentimental value for my family. This was the summer destination for many years while growing up. We have lots of great memories of camping with a couple of other families, and it's fun to go back to visit and share our love of the North Shore with our own kids.

Our favorite thing to do is to walk out to the lighthouse in the harbor. It's a walk that requires a bit of rock climbing and a few heart-stopping moments, but the end result is always worth it.

A great picture of Papa & Nana

The ENTIRE crew made it out to the lighthouse!

A calm, beautiful harbor

They could skip rocks for hours.

The fog lifted and the evening in Grand Marais was perfect!

The Moorlach boys

The Dawson kids

Cousin Jake can really get Luke laughing!

Temperance River

Temperance River State Park is located just a short drive from where we were staying. Everyone was eager to get a good view of Lake Superior, so we headed here one evening. The rocks were great for skipping and climbing, and the water temperature was tolerable for Lake Superior standards. The kids found a little rock island 100 yards or so out from the shore and before you know it, they were all swimming out. Brian was the lucky adult who got to monitor the swimmers, and sometimes be the ferry back and forth to dry land.

So happy!

Luke loved the rocks and putting his toes in the water.

Papa with all the little monkeys in the background.

The rocks aren't as threatening as they look.

Shuttling Adam to the island.

My view from the shore.

Hiking & Canoeing

The weather in the cities while we were up north was scorching! The heat index was in the triple digits. Up north, the temps and humidity were unseasonable high, but nothing compared to what was happening at home. Fortunately, we were able to enjoy a lot of time outside.

Our first day, many of us went for a hike along the Poplar River. We found a great place to sit in the river and cool off. The sound of the river and the view of the Lutsen Mountains was relaxing. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but with 8 kids in tow, I was more concerned with making sure no one fell in or got lost!

The resort offers free guided canoe trips which several of us took advantage of! Ben, Matt and I had a canoe, Heather, Leah and Dad were in one, Torrey and Jake did great on their own, and Zach joined the canoe guide. (Who also happens to be the head maintenance man on site and a master cosmetologist. Random!) We had an unexpectedly great time! We were nervous about heat and bugs, but neither was an issue. A little splashing with the canoe paddles cooled all of us down, and we loved our time on the river!

The algae caught Ben's eye.

Getting ready to load up!

My helpful paddlers.

It was so peaceful and quiet.

Looking over the falls where the river becomes more exciting.

Champs!

Ben's 4th-5th grade baseball team won their end of season tournament! It was exciting and wasn't too drama filled. As a coach's wife and a player's mom, my stomach tends to be in knots the entire game. I was able to make it to a couple of the games, including the championship game this weekend. During games I missed, I was getting play-by-play texts from people who were there. Ben was lucky to have all of his CO cousins and aunt, Grandma, Nana and Papa at his game, along with his 3 brothers.

Shortly after we got home from the game, Brian got a call that Ben had been voted by his teammates as an alternate for the All-Star game. Since one of the players can't make it, Ben will be able to play in this game. Brian is one of the coaches, so our season isn't quite over yet.

We are so proud of Ben! He had some great hitting, turned an awesome double play, and made a great catch in the game today!

Thanks for a fun baseball season, Ben & Brian.

Brian didn't mind the dousing.

Being a good sport!

The players on Ben's team got to sign the Bracket Board.

The coaches and their sons
Congrats Navy!!

The North Shore

When I was a kid, my family spent several summers up north in Grand Marais and along Lake Superior. My sister has always wanted to take her kids there, and we were finally able to make it happen during their extended MN visit.

We rented a home at Caribou Highlands Resort and stayed for 4 days and 3 nights. Brian's brother, Robert, was also in town and was able to join us, and my parents for our North Shore vacation.

We caravanned up in 4 cars, dividing siblings up which made for a very peaceful road-trip. I was lucky to have Torrey, Leah and Matt in my car. We enjoyed playing car games, telling stories and eating snacks. On our 5-hour drive up north, we had a long stop in Duluth. We went to Canal Park, walked on the pier to the lighthouse, and spent time throwing rocks and standing in the lake.

No matter how many times I'm there, I always love it!

Really, the lake exists. It was a very foggy day.

The kids liked watching for big boats going under the lift bridge.

Finally getting their feet wet!

CO Cousins

My sister, Heather, and her 4 kids have come to MN for 3 weeks! They are here to spend time with my Dad who was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease almost 5 years ago. They are staying at my parents' house, helping my mom, taking my Dad on fun day trips, but mostly, enjoying spending time with the MN family that they don't get to see often. We are having a great time with them and have lots to blog about over the next few days.

We're just missing my brother's 3 boys and baby Luke to complete the cousin picture.

Heather's family arrived just in time for youth baseball tournament time! Zach joined Matt for a practice one evening.

9 months

**Up until 3 days ago, Luke has been the healthiest baby of the 4. One mild little cold, no fevers, no vomitting, no ear infections, nothing. 3 days ago he spiked a fever of 102 out of nowhere. The second day it was 103 and into the night it went to 104. I was beginning to be suspicious he had an ear infection, and I was glad his 9 month check was already scheduled. Wouldn't you know it, when we went to the dr., he was totally fever free and his ears looked perfect. He was even acting the happiest he had been in a couple of days. The dr. told me to keep an eye on him and come back if the fever came back and hit 105! Within a few hours, the fever returned to about 103 and he's not eating much. We're praying he gets over this soon! Sick babies make me sad.**

When he's happy and healthy, here are his 9 month stats:

Weight: 22 pounds

Crawling: Nada

Teeth: Zipp-o

360s on tummy: plenty

Giggles: all the time

Breastmilk: 3/4 of the time

Baby Food: Ah, can you tell?

Nighttime sleep: ~9:00 pm-7:00 am

Naps: ~9:30-11:00 and 1:00-3:00

Have you ever seen sexier legs?

First time swimming

Playing like a big boy

13 & 67

Today was our 13th anniversary. My how time has flown by! It also happens to be my Dad's 67th birthday. My how time has flown by!

What we did today:

*I woke up early to be at the pool swimming laps by 6:00. I then ran 4 miles.

*Brian took Matt & Adam to Home Depot to buy fertilizer. Then they went over to pick my dad up and bring him to our house. We had a low-key lunch while Brian fertilized.

*Met up with Holly & her kids and took the crew to a trail along a lake to walk. It was hot.

*We needed to cool down and passed by a small cove, so we let the kids get their feet wet. That quickly became letting the kids swim in their clothes. They LOVED it!!

*Got home in time to take Adam to a birthday party. Sat on the deck in the shade and had a bowl of ice cream.

*Put Luke in the car to sleep while I brought Dad home, picked up Taco Bell for supper, and then picked Adam up from his party.

*Brian & Ben hustled out the door to baseball. Soon after I got a call that Ben forgot his cleats. I needed to bring them over to the field about 2 miles away.

*I left Matt and Adam home alone (don't judge me), put Luke in the car, and headed to the field with the cleats. The intersection was all closed off with traffic and squad cars all over the place. Apparently there was a gas leak. I had to park what felt like 2 blocks away and walk with Luke to deliver the cleats. My 5 minute errand became about 15. Fortunately Matt and Adam did just fine.

*Played on the driveway with the 3 boys, ate popsicles, did baths, watched the end of the Home Run Derby with Ben, Brian, and two twin 10-year old baseball buddies who showed up with Ben after his game. I was looking forward to watching TiVo. Maybe another day...

A typical anniversary, I'd say. : )

Happy Birthday, Dad.

I love you, Brian.

37th Birthday

I've always liked having a summer birthday. I never have to work on my birthday. It's often a sunny, blue-sky kind of day, I like to be in or near the water, and I can eat as much ice cream as I want!

This year our family, along with Holly and her kids, went to a great park that is set up perfectly for kids of all ages to enjoy running and playing in shallow water. All 4 of the boys had fun...that is hard to accommodate when you've got a ten-year age gap.

Luke's first time in water other than a bath. He loved it!

I love these boys!

Gettin' crazy with the cousins!

My Aunt Kim and Uncle Scott from San Diego have been vacationing in MN for the last week. My cousin Adam, who met and married his new wife in Bangladesh, are in the States for a while and came with Scott and Kim. Everyone, including my parents and Holly's family, came over later in the evening on my birthday and we ate, peppered Adam and Eite with questions about Bangladesh, played Just Dance on the Wii, and had a good time.

Adam and Eite brought traditional Bengali clothes to show us.

Mr. Cool himself
The happy newlyweds
Aunt Kim is always happy to help with a baby

Half-Marathon!

On the 4th of July, Holly, Kate and I ran our first half-marathon! 13.1 miles! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to do this. The longest I had ever run was 10 miles. Who did I think I was?

I began logging some miles, slowly but surely, and as time went on, I began to realize that with decent training, perhaps I would be able to go the full-distance. The three of us kept each other accountable by logging our workouts on dailymile.com. This website is like Facebook, but it's centered around exercise. I find it very motivating and I like seeing my different numbers and stats each week.

Race day came, and I felt a little nervous, but mostly excited. I was as ready as I was going to be, the weather was perfect, and I was happy to be running the course with Holly and Kate.

I couldn't believe how good I felt! I never hit a wall, I didn't have any nagging aches or pains, and the first nine miles seemed to fly by! The last four required more mental effort, but with my I-pod, cheering spectators, and the knowledge that I was in fact going to complete this race feeling pretty good, I got it done! It's seems crazy to say, but it was a lot of fun!

Finishing time: 2 hours, 10 min, 40 sec

Pace: 9:59 min/mile

Overall place: 1043 out of 1804

Gender place: 445 out of 944

Age group/gender place: 72 out of 154

Running with my SIL, Kate


Getting close to the end

Crossing the finish line

We did it!