One of our favorite fall traditions is hiking the trails out by Richmond Lake. It always make it such a peaceful way to spend a Sunday morning. This time, it took a little convincing to get Leo to come along—he wasn’t quite sold on the idea of a “long walk.” But once we hit the…

We made our annual trip to the corn maze today with Bodhi, Nicholas, Leo, and Theo. Leo’s been counting down to this day all fall, and it didn’t disappoint. His favorite part this year was the huge slides—but honestly, all the boys were determined to get lost in the corn maze. There was even a…

Cold, windy, and downright miserable—Mitchell delivered classic South Dakota fall weather for ESD Cross Country this weekend. The wind picked up just in time for Bodhi’s middle school race, making a PR nearly impossible, but he pushed through like a champ. Noah and the JV team, on the other hand, took advantage of their earlier…

Dance season is tough. The girls practice a lot and those mornings get really early. The exhaustion and burnout is real. One thing our little team of dancers has is grit. Many of the other teams that we compete against are year-round teams of dancers that compete even after the high school season is over.…

It’s been another whirlwind week in the Heinz house! Homecoming meant dress-up days and nightly activities on top of everything else, and we put plenty of miles on the road, too. Leo and I went to Brookings to watch Bodhi run (another PR!), then split the weekend—Hudson, Leo, and I headed to Harrisburg to cheer…

I’m a little overdue, but Willow turned 16 last weekend and we hustled home from a soccer tournament in Mitchell to help her celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa woke her up with maple donuts and once we got back to town, we celebrated with chips and queso at Santo Tequila. I spent my entire drive home…

Noah has been asking for weeks—maybe even longer—if we could go trail running at Richmond Lake. This weekend, we finally made it happen, and it turned into one of those mornings I’ll tuck away in memory for a long time. Running those trails with him, weaving through the trees and breathing in that fresh fall…

On Friday, Bodhi lined up for his very first middle school cross country race in Pierre. He ran his heart out and placed 11th overall! His final time in the 3000m was 12:52.46—so much faster than he ever thought he could run. We were so proud to see his hard work pay off. Noah also…

Our last Top Gun Ski Academy show is in the books, and I couldn’t be prouder of my kids. At the start of summer, we didn’t even know if Willow would be able to ski. Not only did she get back on the water, but she competed at Regionals and joined the ballet line. Noah…

Well… we made it through the first week of school (barely). And let me tell you, if the rest of the year is anything like this week, I’m going to need a calendar taped to every wall in the house just to keep track of where everyone is supposed to be. The middle schoolers officially…