Mom/Son Trip to Oregon

I am sure Mom was probably more excited for the Mom/Son trip but I think both Mom and son actually had fun on the trip to Oregon to celebrate Canyon's 16th birthday. Our 4-day adventure was filled with awesome activities, great weather, and fun memories. Here are the highlights...

Day 1 - Driving to the Columbia Gorge


Day 1 - Kite Surfing Lessons. Inspiring a new sport for both of us followed by dinner and swimming in the "Hood"




Day 1 - Dangerous walk home from dinner along a railroad track



Day 1 - Sunset swimming at the hotel in Hood River



Day 2 - White Water Rafting down Hussum Falls and a hike to Tamanawas Falls



Day 3 - Mountain Biking and Trillium Lake and Tiny House




Day 4 - Portland - Vintage White Stag Sign, International Rose Test Garden, World's Largest Book Store, Nike Store & Timberline Lodge

2018 Summer Fun

The summer of 2018 has been busy and we have had some great highlights. Below includes a snapshot of some of our family experience this summer...

Mofro concert at the Zoo with fellow Mofro fans and friends, the Tutterows...



Canyon and his summer crew at Kai's place one night...


Domino settling in...


College best buddy Ann Marie in for a quick overnight visit....


Chicks with Wicks night out to see Zac Brown Band...


Presley registering for first day of high school...



Tier 1 Hockey with good pal Bridget...

Mother/Daughter Adventure in Boston

After Presley's tournament in the suburbs of Boston, Mom and Presley were able to extend our trip for a couple of days of exploration and one on one time that include history deep dives, running training through the city, segway fun, yummy food, college visits and an awesome finale concert with Macklemore.

Our first day was filled with rain so we made an adventure to Salem and a visit to the Salem Witch Museum to learn about the frenzy and mob mentality -- an ugly part of of US history that I hope we never repeat. We also stopped by the House of Seven Gables and enjoyed a nice tea and treat stop at Jolie Tea Company.



We explored much of Boston on foot -- with walks through the Boston Common, Public Garden, parts of the Freedom Trail and the Black Heritage trail, and North Boston.



We also did some college visits at Harvard and Boston College. Presley don't grow up too fast!



Nice training runs through the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway...



A fun Segway touring that took us all over Boston...



And a finale fun night with amazing seats (Thanks Presley) watching Macklemore and Kesha! A great mother/daughter trip!



And while the girls were away, Dad/Son had a nice bonding weekend at home with the pets! Fun pics they sent us on our trip...

Beantown Classic 2018

Presley was invited to play with an 2002/2003 team in the Beantown Classic in Boston (actually Marlborough, MA). This is one of the country's most premier girls hockey tournaments. Mom and Presley flew out for the tournament. The tournament is filled with extremely competitive teams. Our MN team was very young relative to the competition. They ended the tournament with a 1-2-1 record. While they didn't make it to the finals, the team showed real grit and had a blast getting to know each other over the weekend. Here are a couple of pics from the tournament and the girls' off ice excursions.

New England Sports Center (in the middle of a "thickly settled" area)




Northeastern University Campus Tour



Exploring Marlborough - Wayside Country Store for candy and Trombetta's Farm for homemade ice cream



Breakout Room

Grammie, Roxxy, Domino

Grammie blessed us with a 24 hour visit on her way to her class reunion. We had a short but sweet visit.

Roxxy and Domino are settling into a nice routine this summer - playing, tormenting each other (and us), and weaving their way into our hearts. Here are pics from Roxxy's first ride on a boat and Domino being playful in the office.

July 17 - Honoring & Remembering Kate Fronek - #KateStrong

July 17th marked the one year anniversary of the passing of Presley's friend and teammate, Kate Fronek. Her 12U teammates got together to honor her memory and be together. They released 15 teal balloons (her hockey jersey # and favorite color) at Lake Riley. It was nice to see the girls getting together to honor Kate in their own special way.

Grandma Harriet Visit

After we returned home from our family trip to Michigan, we had 5 lovely days with Grandma Harriet, including the 4th of July. We took Grandma Harriet over to the Eden Prairie holiday celebration at Round Lake, where we dipped our toes in the water, played bingo and watched the BMX bike jumping. After that we headed over to Lake Riley to enjoy some evening celebration with friends. Great visits with a great lady!