Canning

Last weekend I went to St. Cloud to learn how to can salsa.  My sister has been doing it for a year or two now & I have been dying to learn so I could have my own jars all year round.  We had such a good time!  We spent the whole night chatting and laughing.  We stayed up Friday night until after 1:00 AM & then started back at it Saturday morning by 8:00.  All together we canned 61 jars!  We had such a good time, we decided to make it a tradition every fall.  I can't wait until next year!  Until then, the kids & I have been busy enjoying chips & salsa.   

Blanching the tomatoes is the worst part (& most time consuming)!

Even Little Nora wanted to help us out

Pat was so awesome...  He did the worst part of cutting up the jalapeno peppers...  Definitely need to wear gloves for that one!

61 jars of yummy-ness

Notre Dame 2010

Notre Dame is full of traditions, so it is only fair that we have our Notre Dame traditions too.  Two years ago, Zach got to go to South Bend with Jim and so this year it was Lauryn's turn.  Jim & Lauryn, along with friends, Todd & Ceci, enjoyed a long weekend in South Bend & Chicago.  Friday they enjoyed walking campus and attending the pep rally.  Saturday they went to the painting of the helmets (another ND tradition).  Usually the painting of the helmets is not done publically, so they were lucky to attend during a weekend where they were doing it in front of the crowd.  They also went to see the football team do their traditional walk from mass to the game.  Then the game...  Unfortunately Notre Dame lost to Michigan in the last few minutes of the game.  Regardless, it was an amazing experience and father/daughter time!  On Sunday, they headed back to Chicago & before their flight left in the evening, they stopped at the bean & made it to a White Sox baseball game.  Although me & the boys were happy when they got home, Lauryn said she wished she could have stayed longer.  She truly loves Notre Dame & has high hopes of attending school there one day! 

Are You Ready For Some Football????

Football season has begun for the boys! Zach is playing heavy weight tackle football. In the past years, Zach has been red-striped, meaning he could not carry or advance the ball. Well this is the first year where they separate the "heavy weights" from the "light weights". So now he can carry the ball & he is LOVING it! His first game he scored his first 2 points ever from a conversion. Then his second game he got to play in the Metrodome (or Mall of America Dome... sorry, it will always be the "Metrodome" to me!). And Zach scored his first touchdown! Then he also got another 2 point conversion as well. He's sure having a blast!

At the Metrodome

Right after his 1st touchdown

And this is how Sean (& friends) prefer to watch the game...

Sean is also playing flag football this season. What a difference from last year! Last year it seemed that he would just run around & try to look busy. This year he gets it & is understanding the plays. I am sure it helps that now his & Zach's favorite thing to do is watch football games on TV together. But Sean had his first game of the season yesterday & scored his first touchdown too! He ran it 40yards! He was very pleased with himself (& loved following in Zach's footsteps).

Little Seaners...

There he goes...

After the touchdown, Sean's famous words, "Y.E.S!"

First Day of School 2010

I have to say, this is the first school year where I have been sad to see my kids off to school! I don't know if the years are going by faster & faster... but that was the shortest summer we have ever had! I felt like I was not ready for school to start and would have truly enjoyed a couple more weeks with the kids at home. They are just at such great ages and they are so self-efficient. But, they were excited to see their friends again and so I guess it was time.

Lauryn is a big 7th grader this year... Junior High! She just looked so grown up yesterday morning with her khaki pants & belt (7th & 8th grade get to wear khaki's instead of the navy blue they are all so sick of). I still remember when I started junior high... Boy, did I think I was grown up! Zach is in 5th grade this year & Sean is in 2nd grade. I say it every year, but time just flies by so fast.

So after I was finished taking all the kids pictures, Jim wanted to know why I never take one of him on the "first day of school"? So, had to post his first day too!

Another Seanism...

See a couple blogs below...

Sean had another good comment the other day. Him & his friend were talking & his friend asks him, "Sean, what do you want to be when you grow up?" To which Sean replies, "Well, I want to be a Marine... I think... I haven't quite decided that yet. But I do know I want to be a professional football player!" So his friend replies, "Oh, I want to be a professional baseball player." Sean says, "I like football better. But... I do know that I want to be a billionaire! It would be a W.O.N.D.E.R.F.U.L life!" (don't we all?)

Minneapolis Duathlon

Jim & I participated in another hard race... The Minneapolis Duathlon. Okay, since I am in training for two marathons coming up, I did NO biking what-so-ever to prepare myself for this. And let me tell you, it was HARD! So we started off by running 3 miles, then biking 18 miles, then back to running another 3 miles. I could not believe how hard it is when you get off a bike after 18 miles & have to move your legs to run. I used to tease Jim during his triathlons that I didn't understand why he would be walking at the start of his run. Well, now I get it! It takes awhile to get your legs back in to the swing of running. Needless to say, it was a good time and we enjoyed spending time with our friends again!

Here's our group... We had to be there by 7:30 to have our bikes set up in transition area, but then some of our waves were not set to go off until 9:30. Even though we jumped in to an earlier wave time, we had a lot of down time before the race started!

At the finish... Cindy, Jim, Me, Jen, James, Carol, & Todd

Muddy Buddy

Jim & I, along with some friends, had a great time racing in the Muddy Buddy. Although it was SUPER fun, it was one of the hardest races I have ever done. Lets just say the WHOLE thing is up hill at Afton Alps Ski Area. So the race works like this... You have a partner (Jim & I were team Mud Wiser). One partner (Jim) starts by biking, while the other partner (I) start by running. You both race until you come to the first obstacle. Jim obviously beat me there, he did the obstacle, & then left the bike & started running. Once I run up to the obstacle, I do it as well, then jump on the bike & off to the next obstacle. So we keep leap frogging each other the whole race. Well, even when it was your turn to bike, the hills were so steep, you couldn't bike. I ended up pushing my bike up the hill. Then for the short while that I had a steep down hill, I wiped out on my bike and it freaked me out. So I ended up pretty much walking down the hills as well. I guess I have no sense of adventure in my bones because others were just flying by me! Then for the last obstacle, you wait for your partner and together, crawl through the mud pit. It was FUN!!!The group before hand (Vettels, Us, Postons)
The mud pit


Jim & I at the finish

The messy group afterward

Seanisms...

Sean! This kid comes up with some of the funniest things! We have titled his comments as "Seanisms" in our house. We sure appreciate the good laughs. So, wanted to share a few...

*"Man, I L.O.V.E. the smell of waffles in the morning!" (when it is after noon)

*On a road trip, the boys are fighting & fighting. I finally tell them I have heard enough. At this point Sean starts crying & saying how he wishes he had never been born and how Zach has ruined his life. So I respond by telling him how sad that makes me feel because we have worked so hard to give him an amazing life and that we love him & Zach so much. And how important family is... So he replies with, "Well..., I'm just so sick & tired of people treating me like I am a Little Man!" What do you even say to that??? :)

*So I have been trying so hard to not have Sean eat PB&J for lunch during the summer since he eats it EVERY single day of the school year. So finally one day we needed to pack up lunches & I made PB&J. While Sean is devouring this sandwich he says, "I love peanut butter & jelly sandwiches... This is just heavenly!"

*We have some family friends that also enjoy "seanisms" and one day the Dad says to Sean that he needs to talk with him so that he can share it with his family and they can talk about it while sitting around the table that night. To which Sean replies, "That is just precious!"

We just love this "Little Man"!

Lauryn's photos

I tell you... I don't know when this girl grew up? I think I woke up one day & she was a little adult! We finally got her 12 year pictures taken, and I can't believe how grown up she looks. I have had so many people ask me what happened to her baby years? There must be something magical about 12 for girls! Anyway, wanted to share our top pick of pictures...