Pretty Princess

Our pretty princess Emmy is extra super sweet with her new super short hairstyle!

Thankfully she's not old enough to be bothered by such a drastic change in her appearance.  She doesn't understand that we can no longer style her hair into ponytails - she was so upset the other day when I couldn't fulfill her request for a "band aid in hair" (hairband) - she'll have to rock the headband for a while :)

October snapshots

 C-c-c-cold!

Cross Country

big puppy

Fall Fest downtown

Grandpa's visit

Dukes baptism

fishing expedition

bowling team

dance class

music class

Fargo 

haircuts

sick kids
scarlet fever :(

Cross Country conference champs

HS Football games

hiking at Maplewood State Park

pumpkin patch

Mike's work trip

mornings at the PACC

bleached hair (Tesfaye)

walking around town
wiggly teeth

free fro-yo (!)

Halloween

trick-or-treat

The Latest News

1.  First of all, we have SNOW!!!!

2.  Second, Emmy has a fresh new SHORT haircut . . . thanks to Addy :(

Addison chopped off Emory's hair during "naptime" - front, back, and all over (nearly shaved in some areas), gone are the gorgeous silky locks - requiring an emergency run to the salon for a new do.
(My friend at the salon was awesome!).  
Emory is rocking this new look!
(and we all can't believe how much she looks like Kolpin!).

3.  And Third, Tesfaye injured himself during post-season cross country practice requiring immediate surgery.  The surgery went well and he's recovering.  He's disappointed to have to miss running in the Nike Regional Race, and having to take it easy for the next few weeks will be hard for him.  We're thankful for his great medical care and thankful he's ok! 

XC - State

Running in the State Cross Country competition and winning was an incredible experience for our 8th grader!

The Yellowjackets trained hard, ran fast, and had an amazing season.  The boys were the favored team going into the competition - they used that as motivation to work even harder.

Our entire family bundled up and traveled to the Twin Cities to watch the team run and cheer on Tesfaye in the State Championship at St. Olaf College the first weekend in November. 

Tesfaye finished the season running a personal best in the State Championships, running a 5K in 17:32!!!  He was the 7th finisher on the Yellowjackets' squad, finishing 56th overall (running a 5:39 minute/mile pace) and succeeding in his role, finishing before the fifth runner of the second place team.

The team finished with 64 points (a HUGE win over the second place team which earned 140 points).  The Yellowjackets' top three runners finished 4th, 5th, and 6th place! 

After the boys' HUGE win, the pressure was on for the ladies team.  Last year, both the Yellowjackets boys and girls teams won at State and were hoping to be the first  Minnesota Class A school win back-to-back state titles for both squads.

The girls ran well, but it was too close to call at the finish.  It was a long 15 minutes while results were compiled before the winner was announced.  When it finally came up on the scoreboard, the Yellowjacket girls WON!!!!

The boys had waited by the scoreboard for the results, and then raced down to share the good news with their teammates - this was the best moment of the day!

(The girls team won by 5 points!)

We are so proud of our Yellowjackets!  Lead by an incredible coaching staff, this has been an amazing season.
We're so proud of our boy!  (and we really enjoyed traveling to all of these races :)

Our community has really celebrated and supported these kids:  a welcome home firetruck escort and late night party at the High School, radio interviews, newspaper features, and congratulations signs around town.  It's been amazing!

(pictures 1,7,8,9,14,18,19,20,21,27,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37 by Kristen McMartin)