Heinz Family Part 2!

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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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 stepped up too—basing acts and even jumping into a show with so much courage.

Bodhi squeezed in a few practices between his busy soccer schedule, and Leo bravely skied in the pre-show after practicing on the skimmer.

The last show was beautiful but definitely had its fair share of wipeouts and falls, which adds to the fun!

It will be fun to ski next summer to a new skit, in new costumes, and challenging the team to push ourselves to qualify for nationals!

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 started Monday, and I’m so thankful Bodhi gets to go with Noah.m to Holgate. That has helped the transition for him Willow only had a half day on Monday, then Leo had his half day on Wednesday. On top of that, we had Back-to-School Night for Leo on Monday, Cross Country Ice Cream Social for Bodhi and Noah on Tuesday, plus Bodhi’s competitive soccer practices Tuesday and Thursday. Meanwhile, Noah has been running two-a-day cross country practices like a machine, and Willow has been dragging herself to early morning dance practices. Add in our last ski show of the season on Thursday and Dance Team parent showcase and yikes! What a week!

And Willow’s “back to school” photos with her dance team: