Dane turns three

We celebrated Dane's 3rd birthday at the Minneapolis Fireman's Museum.
If you ever have the chance, you must make the trip:   http://www.firehallmuseum.org/

The museum itself was awesome.  Tons of old trucks, dress-up clothes, a firepole, old relics, pictures and toys.  The party host was an older man who Drew titles a "fire dork".  Just a regular civilian who writes a Minneapolis fire blog and holds the fire department in high regard.  He started off the party giving a fire safety intro to the young children (ages 3 - 6 years old).  He went in depth talking about children with sever burns "scalding flesh, burning"....  I think some of the young kids might have gone home suffering from nightmares, but on the other hand they may have been too young to understand how inappropriate the fire safety talk was!  The kids all had a blast.  Happy birthday Dane Joseph.  We can't believe you are three!!!!

The tale of Anna and the ninja

Halloween 2014 was a huge success.  Candy stashes were plentiful, pumpkins were carved and the costumes were great.  I attended Cathedral Elementary School's annual Halloween party.  Cullen and his buddies enjoyed arts and crafts, zombie tag, musical chairs, the great pumpkin race and spooky stories.  Then, we headed home for a quick dinner and trick-or-treating with the gang.  Our neighborhood is full of kids and as we venture down the street, everyone meets up.  Grown-ups enjoy cold beverages and the kids run like crazy from house to house.  Simone was dresses as Princess Anna from the movie Frozen (along with the other millions of little girls).  Cullen went for the ninja look.  Our sweet princess and strong protector had a great night.
 

the new white belt in town.

Simone has joined the karate dojo with her brother.  It's neat that Cullen and Simone can participate in an activity together.  Cullen is an advanced belts and stands in the front of the room, while Simone is in the back with the other white belts.  Simone was all smiles as we walked up to the front door, but when class started her nerves began getting the best of her.  As Dirk and I watched, we noticed that she was continuously twirling her her and had a glazed look in her eye.  Then, the teachers started working through some of the combinations.  She received a bit of extra attention from Mr. Curt Hickock and I am not sure if she was shy, intimated or just plain nervous.  The waterworks started and Cullen ran to her rescue.  Cullen just sat there hugging her in the front of the room.  In fact, Simone was crying so hard that she didn't receive her belt until the second day of class!  She now proudly sports her white belt and is earning her stripes.