Firehouse Drive-In

Another event that kept us busy this August was the Firehouse Drive-in the weekend of the 16th & 17th.  Each night two movies were shown, the first being geared for the kids and the second is more for the adults.  The fireworks between the two movies are better than the displays put on for the 4th of July.  With Sarah selling concessions for most of both nights, the kids and I were left alone to cause trouble.

We watched the movies outside sitting in our chairs and after the first movie, the kids went to sleep in the car.  Friday night had 'Rise of the Guardians' for the kids and 'Field of Dreams' for the adults.  Saturday was 'The Lorax' and 'Stand by Me.'

Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams

Before dusk and the start of the movies, there are all kinds of things for the kids to enjoy.  There are bounce houses....

Pony rides.....

There are firetruck rides....

Look close...that's Luke riding up front

And of course, these types of signs to play with....

Luke's Birthday

So Luke turned 5 yesterday, he's still going to go to preschool this year (he missed the cutoff date for Kindergarten by being born after September 1st), he'll be one of the older ones in his class.  He was pretty excited to get birthday spankings this year.....strange, but that's Luke.

The birthday gifts actually started early, his godmother Pam brought a huge cake to the house (come on over if you want a piece) and two presents.  One was a 6-8 inch dinosaur that roars fairly quietly, the other was a 12-15 inch dragon that does not roar quietly....thanks Pam, appreciate it.

We asked him, "Lukie, what do you want to do for your birthday?"  He wanted to go to McDonalds and play in the play place.  (The kid would eat McDonalds or Macaroni & Cheese for every meal if he had the chance).  Sorry I don't have any pictures from the play place....let's just say, they played, ate and sweated.

I also missed pictures from cake and presents at Grandma's & Grandpa's.  Luke received a Predacon and a BeyBlade set from them - if you're not sure what either of those are, go ahead and ask Luke/Kieran, unfortunately, I know way too much information about both of them.

After cake and presents, we finally made it home and Luke opened the last of his presents.  I do have pictures of them.  Lex provided as little help as possible....

Luke has always been a fan of Ironman....

Though Dinosaurs are probably his real love (and he will bite, the dimples just get you close enough)....

He can never refuse another car....

Or a hug from Lex....

After a late bedtime because of the birthday, he was still up at 5:00 am the next morning....trust me, I know what time he woke up....

Bear Head Lake State Park

Summer is over, at least Meteorological summer, Astronomical summer carries on for a few more weeks.  August has been busy and posts have been piling up.  In early August, the boys and I went to Bear Head Lake State Park for two nights, it was our first time at the park.  We will be going back in the future, largely because we didn't spend a lot of time in the park, the area has a lot to offer.

But before we got to the park, we made a few stops along the way for me.  First was the 2,700-million year old Pillowed Greenstone.  Greenstone is metamorphosed basalt, basalt originally being lava that erupted on Earth's surface.  Pillows (fairly round or oval shaped structures) form when lava erupts under water.

Then there was folded banded iron formation, maybe the most photographed rock outcrop in the state.

Eventually we made it to the camp and got this set up.  First task after setting up camp was to take a hike to check out the swimming beach (one of the many reasons we'll be back to this park).

Our only full day at the park we spent a large amount of time down the road at Soudan Underground Mine State Park.

We thought we'd have some time to explore before going underground, but we ended up hurrying to make the first available tour, 15 minutes after arrival.  Had to get our long sleeves and fitted with hard hats, the boys weren't sure what was about to happen or what dad had gotten them into....

After a short ride (with about 12 new friends) we made it underground.

And the first thing we did --- we took a train ride --- though at this point, the boys were still be cautious.

When the train stopped, we were finally in the old mine and the boys got acclimated fairly quickly.

Kieran even got to explain to the tour guide how the miners could distinguish the hematite ore from the waste rock ---- hint....it is heavy!

Once on the top again, the boys got to explore the old equipment that the park has available, like the drills...

Or the cars that were used underground....

The hoist itself.

And even the rail cars that would take the ore to Duluth.

Back at the campsite, what would you want to do in 65 degree (and windy) weather?  The boys first wanted to fish (they caught lots of panfish) and then swim.

Sleep came easy that evening after dinner that probably consisted of hot dogs and popcorn.

We will be back!

Triathlons

If you've never been to a triathlon, here is your primer from the Graniteman Big Lake event today....remember....swim, bike, run....don't forget.

The triathlon starts with the swim, in this case, it was a .33 mile swim.  After leaving the water, one must run until he/she finds her bike.

Sarah after the swim, about to 'High-five' on of the kids

After a short transition, a participate must hop on the bike and begin their pedaling on a 14.45 mile course.

Sarah getting on the bike

Kieran was concerned that Sarah almost fell getting on her bike...but, look.....

She made it okay....

After the bike, the participates must prepare on how he/she is going to slow down and get off their bike....

Once into the transition area again, they must switch from their bike to the running aspect of the event and get going (time doesn't stop, just because you do).  In this case the run was a 3.1 mile run....

Nearing the end of the run is time for the 'finishing kick'.....get yourself in as fast as you can....

No way Kieran was going to get a 'high-five' when the finishing kick was on.....

Once you've crossed the finish line, you can always check the time for the race (http://www.mtecresults.com/race/show/1663/2013_Graniteman_Triathlon_-_Big_Lake-Individual_Results) using the following information - First Name: Sarah  Last Name: Foley  City: Cologne  Zip:  55322.

***Edit:  Apparently last evening there was a mistake circulating on Facebook that I was going to participate in Ironman Coeur d'Alene June 2014.  (Rumors must be spreading that I've been lifting and even running for the last month ---- all false).  This was a Facebook mistake --- Sarah will be finishing her 4th Ironman next summer!

Lex's Birthday

Who could forget Lex?  Our baby girl who just turned three.  Full of spunk and attitude.  All she wanted for her birthday was a Dora bicycle and a 'real horse' that could eat in our kitchen.....well then....

She didn't exactly get the presents she wanted....

Birthday morning

She did receive some Dora videos.....

Lex had some cake (and she is serious about blowing out the candles!).....

And just last weekend she got to go on a horse ride (two of them actually)....

Lex is wearing the pink on the front horse

We met them at a location I take my 8th grade kids each fall, had a very nice talk with them (about 10 people on horseback) and when two ladies found out Lex wanted a horse ride --- well they had to give her one!  Very nice.

I think Lex had a nice Birthday!

Kieran's ComboBall

ComboBall wrapped up last night, starting in mid-May and lasting until the end of July, it was time.  ComboBall is for boys and girls going into second or third grade.  Kids get three pitches or strikes from a pitching machine and if they do not hit the ball, they use the batting tee.  Most of the major rules of baseball are used, except everyone on the team bats every inning, though if three outs are recorded the bases are cleared.  I helped coach the team again this year, we'll see about next year (though the free activity pass to Central High School Athletics is enticing).

Unfortunately, because I was busy coaching, I don't have a lot of pictures.  Here's the individual picture of Kieran and team photo that we took in mid-May.

Knowing I didn't have any pictures, last night we went to the field early so I could get some video of Kieran batting off the machine.

That hum you're hearing is the machine going at a mean 34-35 miles per hour.

Well.....you can't hit them all....

The best hit that I captured on video is below (I hope all the videos are visible, I know the quality goes down quite a bit when compared to my computer)....

Luke's Summer School

Luke has been going to summer school two times a week for the month of July.  This is his last week of school until September, when he begins his second year of preschool (he was born 4 days after Minnesota's cutoff date for Kindergarten).

All smiles waiting for the bus

 Compare the picture above from this morning to the picture from his first day of preschool last fall below.....

Little bit of a difference.....he's also been attending school with his cousin Henry, they get on/off the bus together at our house.  

Luke and Henry looking for the bus

Video from this morning of them getting on the bus, may you can see Luke waving from the window on the bus....

Kieran's Bike Riding

Alright, I've got pictures and posts that are piling up.  It's been a busy summer and I haven't gotten around to posting them like I should have, but here we go.....

Kieran finally dropped the training wheels and is riding his bike on two wheels.  A few weeks back (when it was 90+ degrees), Lex and I were walking and Luke/Kieran were riding down to the lake.  I told Kieran that 'today is the day we ride without training wheels', we work on it as soon as we got back home.  Kieran was worried about what would happen if he fell, I told him he would just fall and have to get up.  It didn't take long for him to figure it out....

There he goes....

 We started in the backyard, on the grass.  We moved to the road fairly quickly because I said it would be easier to pedal on the road.  He worried more about falling on the road....

Here's the video of him coming back:

He only fell once that morning.  He had done a nice job riding and decided to stop.  He stopped like he always had on training wheels, turned to the side and pick his feet up while sitting on the seat.  Well....gravity dropped the whole thing on it's side and the crash shattered one of his pedals.  Kieran rode the bike to the ground and never made contact with the street.

He is pretty proud of himself

He gets a little tippy every now and then.....

He's had one major (in his mind) crash since.  He fell on the path by the lake in Cologne.  There was screaming and writhing in pain, all from what amounts to blood smaller than the diameter of a period on this page.  I didn't give him much time to think about it when we got up to him, I put him on the bike crying and said get going.  Hey, he stopped crying and started riding....

Kieran riding off into the sunset (actually, sunrise - but whatever)

There should be more posts coming from May/June/July soon.  They won't come in order, but hopefully you'll see them showing up soon.