Heinz Family Part 2!

All Hallow’s Eve was full of costume changes, candy, and chaos—just the way we like it! Leo started the day dressed as Pope Leo for school, feeling pretty holy and proud of himself. By evening, though, he’d swapped his robes for a badge and cowboy hat, ready to patrol the neighborhood as a Wild West sheriff.

Halloween itself was chilly and a little drizzly, but that didn’t slow anyone down. After handing out candy to what felt like thousands of trick-or-treaters downtown, I made it home to a house full of kids and commotion. Willow and her boyfriend, Will, were carving pumpkins at the kitchen table. Noah had a pack of friends over celebrating his birthday with a sleepover, and Bodhi and Sully were hanging out before heading to the Wings hockey game.

Leo helped me answer the door for a while before we all gathered for pizza and headed out with the Oliver family for a few blocks of trick-or-treating. Once our buckets were full (and fingers frozen), we loaded up the car and made our usual rounds to visit all the grandparents, including Grandma Ket who wouldn’t let Leo leave without teasing him and even biting his finger!

It was just another perfectly chaotic Halloween in our home!

Today marked the end of Willow’s competitive dance season, and what a season it’s been! After months of early morning practices, long bus rides, and countless hours of rehearsing choreography until it was second nature, the girls took the floor one last time at the State competition in Watertown.

Just last week, the team danced their hearts out at ESD in Brookings and had their best showing yet—placing 5th overall, with an incredible 3rd place in Hip Hop and 4th place in Poms! The first few meets this year were strong, but there was a stretch in the middle where they had to dig deep. Exhaustion, school demands, and late nights on the road can take their toll on both athletes and coaches.

Then came State this weekend—one final chance to give it everything they had. The girls were fierce and focused, leaving it all out on the floor. Competing against some of the best teams in South Dakota, many of whom train together year-round, our young team held their own—earning 9th in Poms and 8th in Hip Hop out of 16 teams. That’s something to be proud of.

For Willow, this season was full of growth. She worked hard, gained confidence, and already has her sights set on new skills and tricks she wants to master for next year. Saying goodbye to the seniors is always tough, especially knowing that some of her closest friends will be moving on next season.

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 trail, he was all in. Noah usually likes to run ahead (and is pretty speedy when he does), but I managed to convince him to slow down and walk with Leo and me instead.

The three of us took our time along the two-mile loop, pointing out interesting trees, spotting weird mushrooms, and making up stories about a mysterious Sasquatch who might live somewhere deep in the woods. By the time we finished, Leo surprised us all by saying he wanted to do it again!

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 saddle setup, which gave Leo the perfect chance to practice his “around the worlds” on a hay bale. He and Theo also spent plenty of time in the corn pit, happily burying the older boys until it was time to dig them back out. It was the perfect way to spend a fall day!

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 start and all came away with PRs. Noah missed his season goal by just two seconds—which, for an 8th grader running JV, is pretty dang impressive.

Holly came to cheer, and between her, Blake, and me, we covered the course and made sure the boys heard us loud and clear every lap.

Here are some amazing photos from another race dad who just happens to be a sports photography.

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. Our girls put in the work and show up, day after day, even though many times they know the luck isn’t in their favor. They work hard and dance hard and keep showing up. I’m so proud of our little sophomore, the lone sophomore on the team, who continues to be a leader for the younger girls. Willow has been so responsible, packing her bag each night, getting herself ready each day, and then sitting through classes and getting straight A’s and a B here or there in her class schedule. She’s rocking both her academics and doing so well on the dance team.

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 on Willow’s dance team while Blake went north to Grand Forks for Noah’s cross country meet (yep, another PR!).

Busy? Definitely. But we’re so lucky to get to watch the kids do what they love.

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 from Mitchell sending her pictures of every birthday she celebrated, and the memories we made at birthday parties from when she was little.

The fall is always a little touch and go with early morning dance and lack of sleep, but I’m so proud of how hard she has been working between dance, her job, riding lessons, and homework. She’s crushed the year and overcome so much in 2025. I’m so proud of my 16 year old and so thankful for my little best friend!

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 air, felt like the best kind of reset. He was so excited, and I couldn’t help but feel grateful to be alongside him, even though he made fun of my pace most the time!

From there, we made our way to Villhauer’s pumpkin patch, where Bodhi took the lead—finding the biggest pumpkins to throw into our wagon. Leo felt like a tiny farmer, choosing his favorites and cutting them right off the vine. It’s become a sweet little tradition.

We ended the day in true “lake family” fashion—pulling the boat lifts out of the water, officially closing out the season. It’s always bittersweet, but we’re so lucky being able to have the land and opportunity to be at Mina.

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 had a milestone moment, running in his very first JV race. He finished 26th, completing the 4000m in 16:47. Watching both boys push themselves and step into new challenges was such a proud parent moment.

Then on Saturday, it was Willow’s turn to shine at her only home dance competition of the season, held at Central High School. The competition was tough this year with bigger schools and teams attending, but her team held their own. They danced beautifully and earned 2nd place in Poms, 3rd place in Hip Hop, and 3rd place overall!

Adding to the excitement, Auntie Holly made the trip all the way from Missoula to cheer Willow on, and we were surrounded by family and friends in the stands. It was such a special weekend of cheering, competing, and celebrating each of our kids’ accomplishments.

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