Sarah's new friends

Sarah has been wanting some fish of her own, so today she and Daddy went to pick out a couple of goldfish.


Meet Rainbow and Rocky ... don't ask me which is which!

Sarah goes skating

We bought Sarah some used hockey skates for five dollars last fall, and lately she's been bugging us to take her skating. We finally went last weekend, and spent about 45 minutes on the ice trying to learn to skate.


Her feet are moving so fast, they're just a blur!


Check out those pink laces!


Sometimes it's fun just to lay down on the ice!

There was quite a crew snuggled up in bed one night last week ...


Little ballerina practices for her dance class.


Grandma G paid us a short visit last week.


Sarah loves reading books!


Grandma treated us to a Mexican lunch at a nearby restaurant, La Fogata. Thanks, Grandma!

Caleb's hockey tournament in Fairmont

First of all, we FOUND our camera. Finally. Second, last weekend we drove to Fairmont, Minnesota and spent Saturday night there because Caleb's hockey team played in the Fairmont Squirt Invitational. Here are Lucas, Erin and Sarah gearing up for the first game.


The world's best (and LOUDEST) hockey mom!


Sarah hooked up with her friend Emma, who is 13, and shared some popcorn. They also played hide-and-seek in the arena. Emma's little brother skates for Caleb's hockey team.


"Go, PIRATES!"


Caleb (No. 2) gets back on defense. The Pirates beat LeSueur-St. Peter 2-1 in this game, earning their first victory of the season. Yay!

Caleb's hockey tournament, Part 2

Back at the hotel after the game, all of the kids swam for a few hours while the parents had a pot-luck of different snacks. Here are Sarah and Emma with a new friend they made at the pool.


Erin chats with Anne, the team manager, and Brendan, an assistant coach.


Rich took a little time on Sunday to drive around Fairmont, where he lived and worked from 1988 through 1991. The Fairmont Sentinel was the starting point for this cub sports reporter right after college.


Rich rented the entire first floor of this old building near downtown Fairmont, which at one point served as the town's hospital.


Caleb's team lost two games on Sunday and finished the tournament 1-2. Here they are flashing their team medals. Caleb is on the lower left, and you can see a certain team mascot who sneaked into the upper left corner of the photo frame.

Sarah visits ... er, walks by ... Santa.

Sarah told us she would sit on Santa's lap this year and tell him what she wants for Christmas, so today we got her all dolled up with Taylor Swift hair and a pretty dress and drove down to Southdale Mall in Edina to visit Old Saint Nick. Sarah's resolve evaporated, however, when her turn came to sit on Santa's lap. So after a little cajoling, we gave up. You'll all have to settle for Sarah and her parents sticking their heads into a nearby holiday scene.


Ho ho ho!

Trimming the tree

We set up our Christmas tree on Tuesday night, and Grandma Gordon just happened to be in town and helped us. Sarah's trying to figure out where to put the Santa ornament.


Caleb, Sarah and Lucas, trying to be on their best behavior since Santa is coming soon.


Erin sets up the Christmas village.


Moby invades the Christmas village.


Putting the star on top of the tree.

Dancing Queen

Sarah started dance classes a couple of weeks ago and she absolutely loves it. Here she strikes a pose.


Each session includes lessons in both ballet and tap dancing. Sarah's wearing her tap shoes here. They're slippery and the little girls slide all around the room!

Holidazzle Parade, Part 1

After eating our turkey dinner, Sarah, daddy and grandma drove to downtown Minneapolis to see the Holidazzle Parade, which runs many nights until around Christmas. Mommy and Grandpa stayed home and missed out!


It was still pretty warm for late November. It was only about 40 degrees. But we dressed Sarah up in all of her winter gear anyway, and grandma needed a hot chocolate as we waited for the parade to start.


Running back and forth in front of the camera to try and foil the photographer was a fun idea.


"When's the parade gonna START?!"


Finally! There were about 20 floats in the parade, all of which were lit up in lights (and so were the participants!). This one is a circus train.

Holidazzle Parade, Part 2

The Jack and Jill float. I think this one might have been the one that was sponsored by the Star Tribune, but not sure.


Waiting for the next float, while holding the glow stick daddy bought her.


This Metro Transit bus had more lights than we could count!


"Is it? Could it really be?"


"IT'S SANTA!!!"

Thanksgiving 2009

Grandma and Grandpa Gordon joined Sarah, Rich and Erin for Thanksgiving this year. Here's grandma helping Sarah with an art project they bought at a store.


The whole crew posed just before we ate a big turkey dinner. Daddy's behind the camera.


"Mmm, mmmm GOOD!"


Grandpa piles on the whipped cream to make Sarah giggle.


"Hey, this pie is GOOD!"

Halloween 2009

Sarah and Daddy carved her 38-pound pumpkin down to, oh, maybe 25 pounds on Halloween Day. Here she is, up to her armpits in pumpkin guts.


Sarah picked out a kitty-cat design and Daddy got to do the cutting.

Sarah visits a pumpkin patch

On Monday, Sarah's preschool class visited Dehn's Pumpkin Patch in Dayton, a few miles away from her school. Sarah and daddy had a good time checking out the huge pumpkin patch, and sitting on the big ones!


Child of the Corn. Eeek!


"Dad, you're embarrassing me in front of my friends!"


"Hurry up and take the picture, please!"


Pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins.