Moose Hunts

Nick and I were looking all over the Gunflint Trail for any sign of moose. No luck but beautiful scenery. 

Mn Wild Ice Time

The Hastings u10 A/B teams earned a free hour of ice at the Xcel Centre. The girls were thrilled! Although a bit sad they couldn't use the Wild's locker room to get dressed. Instead they used the visitors which was still better than any locker room I've been in. There was even carpet to cut out all the high pitched voices and echoing that is experienced by the locker moms.

They took turns posing outside the Wild's locker room. 

Another picture under Herb Brooks quote on the way to the ice. 

Followed by tons of pictures on the ice. Sam played center and was at face-off of the first puck drop for the night.

It was such a large place that the parents had a hard time hearing their voices echo. I hollared "Go Sam Brown" before the puck drop. Later I was given a talkin to about how she hates when I pressure her with saying score a goal or skate hard. I guess my words on encouragement is taken more of pressure. Good to know.

They divided up the A and B team to make two new teams. It was so fun watching them play.

Sam's wearing her grumpy face wearing the white jersey in front left row.

At least she smiled when hugging Zack Parise. 

Earlier in the day, Sam joined me at work where she was given her own private office. 

Do you wanna build a snowman?

Adelynn and Noah stayed with their Great Aunt Julie for a weekend. They love spending time with her. There is always fun things they do together. This weekend they went to a birthday party and built a snowman. 

Excuse me, can you little girl sleep over?

Sam had a hockey tournament in Stillwater this weekend. On Saturday there was a nine hour gap between games so we decided to go visit my Aunt Laura and Uncle Keith in Somerset. My cousin's wife, Quinn, and kids, Leyton and Isla were there, as well as my cousin Katie's daughter Riley. They stated in playing together right away. We went camping with them July 2015 so it had been months since they saw each other last.

Sam needed to get back to the rink so we were packing up to leave when Leyton came up to me ever so quietly and whispered "excuse me, can your little girl sleep over?"

She stayed and came to watch Sam's hockey game. After the game we all went to Culver's to eat. Adelynn ride with them and once inside she saw me walk in.

"Umm, what are you doing here?!" She exclaimed. Worried that I was taking her home. Or, maybe that I was impeding on her fun night away.

The next morning Keith, Laura, Leyton, Riley and Adelynn came to watch Sam's consolation championship game.

More get togethers like this will be happening. They all had a great time. 

Left, Right, or Straight

On out ride home from dinner I told Adelynn that she could guide us home. Which way? Left, Right, or Straight.

She quickly learned that three lefts bring you right back to where you just were. She's doing pretty good mixing up her lefts.

We wiggled our way out of Northfield onto the country roads. 

The headlights on the plow point too close in front of us which makes driving at a decent speed a little unsafe.

She brought us along side the cliff just south of Stanton. Once she saw Syngenta glowing in the dark she had to turn right on Hwy 19, and left on Hwy 56. From here she needed to guide us home by recognizing landmarks. 

Ya, we're almost home! As we drive right by Woody's. "Straight!" She says. As we pass the church she said "Daddy, you passed the house!" Chuckling away. She turned around and told her siblings "I'm getting us lost!"

I don't eat cat food

I asked Adelynn if she wanted to help me make tuna fish sandwiches. She turned and looked at me, but said nothing.

"What?!" I asked

"I don't eat cat food!" She says

Apparently Grandma Loken tainted Adelynn's perspective of what tuna fish is.

"Grandma feeds her cat this."

She hopped off the couch and joined me in the kitchen. Not to help, but to grab the empty can to give to Squirt. 

That lucky cat!

Adelynn ate four bites and excused herself from the table. 

Science Can Be Fun

Seth and I were waiting for Sam's hockey practice to end. We couldn't go inside to watch because Adelynn fell asleep on the drive to the rink and would have been cranky had she been woken up. Noah sat in his car seat patiently for the 30 minutes she had left. The temperature outside was -9°. I told Seth to go inside the rink and ask the kids running the concession stand for some water from the coffee maker for a little science experiment. Once outside Seth spun around throwing the hot water into the air. I wasn't fast enough to catch him in action. The aftermath still lingered. Seth ran back inside for more but they wouldn't give him more water. They said it would make the sidewalk all icy. He came outside, grabbed my phone and showed them this picture. 

"Tossing some hot water into the frigid air at sunrise this morning in Buffalo, Minn. (-15°F with a windchill of -31°F) More #stupidcold photos: fox9.com/news/76266242-gallery"

Soon he came running back out with more hot water.

T(een) minus 365

Today starts the count down to my very first teenager. Yikes! This last year has been full of challenges and growth. Not only for Seth, but the family as a whole. Seth struggled with getting bullied at school, getting left out in fair play during school sports and taking on washing dishes. The last probably being the hardest for him. "If you wash it right the first time you won't have to wash it a second time."

Seth was a top seller in Boy Scouts. He attended his first week of Boy Scout Camp without having Nick or Dave with him. Nick joined for the last two nights. 

He also started working at the Hallcock Farm doing chores around the yard and helping to repair tractors. He was even taught how to drive a truck on the farm without an adult riding along.

He started driving a tractor in parades and is eager to help Nick restore Great Grandpa Adelmann's Farmall.

Seth began shooting league archery and did great. Even better than some boys who have been shooting longer.

Seth finally earned his own shotgun after a two year delay. He saved up his money from working at the Hallcock farm to pay for half of the gun. We paid the rest. He'll just need to learn all there is about the gun and pass Grandpa Schiller's quiz before he can begin using it.

Seth began volunteering at This Old Horse. He loves being around the horses but he's really there for hauling hay and doing manual labor. With every 12 hours of volunteer work, we earn one free hour long riding lesson.

Seth continues being great friends with Josh and Jojo. He's developed friendships with Alex Ott and Colin Wittenberg.

Seth measured 4'10" last January and is now 4'11.5". I'm happy with him being shorter than me still. Five more inches and he'll pass Nick and I. He is now 99.6 lbs which is up from 99.8 lbs.

Grandpa Williams handed down his Browning Bow to Seth which was such an amazing present in Seth's eyes. 

All Snug in Their Beds

How does this happen? I laid in bed with Adelynn and Noah until they fell asleep. They weren't in a familiar place so it was just easier for everyone this way. Their pillows stayed put, for the most part, but they did not.

Adelynn's pillow is in the top right of the picture. She shifted onto Noah's pillow  then turned 90°. All that is visible is her waist down.

Noah also shifted quite a bit to the left and turned 180°, then off the bed onto the floor. All you can see is his head poking out from under the hanging shirts. Adelynn's foot is also resting on his head. 

Can you see why it's difficult for Nick and I to sleep when they sneak into our bed day night? Even with a king bed, they rule the roost. 

An Untouchable Four Year Old

Me: Be careful. You're going to fall and hurt your head.

AJ: I'm four now. I only get hurt when I was three and two. When I was one I was just a baby.

While telling me this she had such a "matter of fact" face.

A Wild Night

Send Sam has been accelerating so much and hockey we thought it would be a nice treat to take her to a Minnesota Wild NHL game. Just last week I told her that if she made it to the championship game we take her to a game. 

Coincidentally enough two days later my coworker was selling two tickets so I quickly laid claim to them just in case. Friday after their loss and seeing how the girls really weren't there we had to come up with a backup plan. While at Buffalo Wild Wings we ordered ultimate nachos which has jalapeños on it. Sam could either hope her teammate if the championship game or she could secure going to the wild regardless if she to the jalapeño five times before swallowing it. It took about 20 minutes and lots of contemplating on her part before she did it. Her reaction was great. She took two sticks of celery and put them on her lip to try to neutralize the spice.

I've been to a few NHL games so I let Nick take Samantha allowing them to share that first experience together. Nick bought her almost every souvenir you could get. She got a big popcorn tub that's pretty cool, a hockey helmet filled with ice cream, and a souvenir cup as well. They also were able to get an authentic hockey puck which came with a certificate.

Fourth Place

This morning the girls played Mounds View-Irondale Black again for third place. Both teams played hard the entire game. We lost 0-1 and took home a big trophy for fourth place.

Sam had two breakaways with great shots on net. I'm so proud of her and how much her skills have grown this year. In the last two minutes the coach put out a new line of girls. The ones who were skating the hardest and would give us the best chance of tying the game. Sam was moved up to forward firing that time. No luck. Still, it was an exciting game that kept us on our feet.

A Stupendous Saturday!

I'm It's 5° today with a wind chill of -10°. What does Seth want to do while in Fridley? Sledding. It's freezing out and he wants to sled. Alone, I might add. 

Sam played against Elk River this morning and they had a shut out. Sam assisted with a goal and gave us a win 4-0. 

Tonight we played against Mounds View-Irondale Black and had a great competitive game. We were down 2-3 and Sam made her first goal of the season; unassisted at that, tying the game 3-3. The people running the clock were far from attentive and didn't start the clock at least two times in the third period, letting it sit for a fair amount of time each mishap. With that the other team got in two more and we lost 3-5. The game could have been completely different had the clock run as it should. With each goal, Sam goes back to Emma and reassures her that she's doing good and it's not her fault. That is the hardest thing for a goalie to accept. Had I stopped it, we could have won. Emma did great.

A Fridley Friday

Sam has a hockey tournament at the Blaine Super Rink this weekend so we decided to crash my Aunt Julie's house for the weekend in Fridley. Parents recieved a pin, and players recieved a badge to wear around their neck. Sam Brunner became Sam Brown. The team was announced in whole and when Sam's new name was called she began to skate towards the team line and as soon as the last name was said, her arms flew in the air and the Hastings parents laughed. Ironically, Sam was playing her horse camp friend, Fiona, and they didn't even know it until the next day. Our girls tied Mounds View White 1-1.

Nick and the littles are sleeping in one bed, Sam and I get another and Seth took the couch. 

At nearly midnight I realized I didn't blog yet so Sam and I decided to capture the moment. She takes after me with the inability to keep her eyes open when bright lights are intruding in on the darkness.

Where's my fishin powa?

Noah: "Look, I gots my fishin haya"

Me: "you look pretty cute"

Noah: "I go fishin. Where's my fishin powa?"

Me: "You go hop in bed with your fishing hat. I'll look for your fishing pole tomorrow."

Noah: "ok. Tomorrow I go fishin and I catch a big big big big BIG shark."

Noah headed back into his bed just to hop back out a few moments later.

Noah: "Mommy, I go on your bed. My bedroom was dark. It was dark and scawy." (sniffle)

Dad: "Noah, if you close your eyes you won't even know it's dark."

Noah: (whispering to me) "I can't get up on your bed."

It takes forever for him to fall asleep when he's been at daycare. It must be the 2.5hr nap he takes.

"I wake dem up"

Every morning Noah and I drive by four different homes with horses. As we drive by he tells them "Good Morning hoasies".  There is also a flock of turkeys who at times like to make me slam on my breaks. They're always in the same area, either roadside or eating breakfast in the field just beyond the patch of woods. 

This morning we didn't see the turkeys, or most of the horses. "The turkeys must be snuggling up with each other and sleeping still." I had said to him. "Ya, in the trees. Der code" Replied Noah.

Only the horses at ReAnna Stables off Blaine and Cty 80 were out this morning. The last house we pass on our way to Farmington has two horses who tend to hang close to their small barn on cold mornings. We have plenty of time to look for them as we sit on Blaine waiting for traffic to pass by on 50. "Where are dey? Da hoasies are not der." He said to me. "They must be in the barn sleeping still." I replied. "I wake dem up. Ets wake dem and say gooooood moooanin hoooasies!" I can't get enough of that kid. He's just too stinkin cute.

"You take my picture? Et me see! Ohhh you got me! Do it again!" As he starts to giggle. 

Texas Longhorn

Seth has had his orange Texas Longhorn hat since 2009. Shortly after buying it, Indy took a bite out of the bill, which actually made it look even better. Seth wore it in his fishing picture where he caught a fish through its eye. He wore it any chance he'd get. Then he lost it. He was pretty sad. I contemplated buying him a new one. I would have had I found another one in the store. That next summer while getting the boat out, his hat was discovered. Unfortunately the moisture and darkness of the live-well wasn't very kind to his hat. It was spotted with mold all over. "In the garbage." I told him. 

Later that fall we got a package in the mail from Grandma Loken. Seth pulled out his hat and it was as clean as ever. Boy did it stink from cleaners though. Grandma couldn't let Mr. Seth's favorite hat get thrown so she secretly kept it to try and clean it.

As you can see, she made him smile. 

All Wrapped Up

Sitting on the couch isn't much fun. Instead we wrapped up and fit all snug in clothes baskets.

Noah in his Micky Mouse fleece tie blanket and Adelynn in her new Frozen blanket. 

$15 or Mom

Maintaining short hair is quite a task. Visits to the salon need to be regular or else you'll start looking shaggy. I've been slowly working on my hair cutting skills and they're getting better, slowly. Lately Seth has been letting his hair grow out a inch on the sides. I'm not too keen on the look but was willing to let him run his course. Today the bigs came home from their winter break at Dave's. After not seeing them for a week I noticed Seth's sloppy shaggy do. I told him I was going to cut his hair tonight. He immediate moved seats closer to his dad for protection. Good luck buddy... You're still coming home with mom.

I sat him down in the bathroom and began cutting.

"Hold still!", "Crap", "Dangit" came out of my mouth numerous times. "I'll just pay the $15 myself at Great Clips." He'd say. We both laughed most of the hour it took me to cut his hair. Our electric hair clippers aren't sharp any longer and pull hair more than cutting which means it was scissors all the way.

I've since cleaned up a few spots that were slicked down from his greasy hair. Overall I think I did pretty good blending. The slope in the front evened out a bit more too.

I'd bring him to a salon but then him and I could lose out on all the fun we had and memories we were making.

Elsa Everyday

Adelynn's hair is finally long enough to braid. Although the sides still slip out. I showed her this picture and she said "yeah, I've wanted to be Elsa everyday!"

Her hair is still pretty fine.