happy halloween!

snuggles with two month old flower, elise!

hey! where's tinsley?!

oh well! mia gets to snuggle this time!

natalie was a very polite trick-or-treater!

she loved it!

i gave a piece of her candy away to another trick-or-treater and she was so sad.
she said, "but i need some for every day."

it was an absolutely gorgeous night!

TOO.MUCH.CANDY!

we had rudolph's bbq for dinner and yummy apple crisp for dessert!

costume parties!

natalie had five different fall parties to wear her costume to. and she started wearing it in september when we got it so it's gotten lots of use!

super heroes "totally awesome mom" and "the dash man"

afton apple orchard and pumpkin patch

i'm so glad i captured this expression because she does it all the time!

she thought we were crazy when we told her to pull out the seeds.

we are proud of our first jack-o-lantern!

trick or treating...at the office!

natalie got to go trick or treating at daddy's work!

everyone was very generous! (boss's daughter!)

someone gave her the bucket below to get a piece from and she took the whole thing!

someone gave her coffee! other "different" treats were a capri sun and a container of easy mac.

church

we started going to a new church. we love it! it's downtown and basically across the street from the metrodome. JR said we have tickets to the bears vs. vikings game so i will actually get to see the inside!
the church is great. i feel like we are in the college group since everyone is so young. but there are older people too. and lots of babies and a full children's program.
the worship is really good and this week i loved this song:
Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
i tried to find it on youtube but i didn't think anyone's version was as impressive as how it sounded for me on sunday.
 some things i liked about this week's sermon were:

• we're GOING to get knocked down. but because we have Christ, we get up again. we CAN get up again. it doesn't mean you DON'T get knocked down because you're a believer. it means you get up.
• preach the Gospel to YOURSELF. focus on ourselves instead of judging others.
• encourage one another. commit to coming alongside one another.

"most men die at 27, we just bury them at 72." - mark twain

to me this means it's never too late to think about how you want to live the rest of your life. or think about what you're living for. that goes for all areas of your life. your finances. your fitness. your faith. your whatever. get passionate about this season of your life. don't dawdle. did you make up your mind about who you were going to be a decade ago? did you settle because it wasn't easy? or because it was easy? think about what you want to be. who you want to be. who God made you to be. and then "be the change you wish to see!"

32 things before i'm 33

yep, a close up of yours truly:

here's to another year of goals!

1. travel to a state i haven't been to before

2. get out of credit card debt

3. get pregnant

4. get a will

5. get an external hard drive and back this thing up

6. see a game at target field

7. see a show at the guthrie

8. sew something

9. paint something

10. participate in 10 on 10 every month (photo challenge)

11. eat at 20-21

12. bake a rainbow cake

13. be vegan for a week

14. learn photo editing

15. send 25 *just because* cards

16. volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter

17. do a photo session for someone

18. do a bible study

19. go on lots of date nights

20. donate blood

21. create an art journal for natalie

22. dye easter eggs

23. get a real christmas tree - our building didn't allow live trees. next year!

24. have dinner by candlelight

25. plant something

26. keep a food journal

27. bake an apple pie

28. carve a pumpkin

29. learn how to put a video on youtube

30. bake something for a friend

31. see five classic movies i've never seen

32. leave an inspirational note for someone to find

btw, i still intend on doing the things i didn't complete from last year's list.

autumn in repair

autumn in repair hit minneapolis on their tour. 
we were super glad to get to see our boys!
it was fun to hear their music live again
and also get to catch up. 
it was a reminder of who we miss back home.

 then on monday night we went to nye's polonaise room in northeast.
we are definitely going back again.

 the only thing better than the food was the polka!

 esquire magazine called it "the best bar in america."

for apps we got pickled herring and onion rings.
then i had the walleye sandwich. 
yum diddy yum yum yum!

more independent dressing

these pictures are from back in july but i never posted them. they go along with the "independent dressing" theme though.

she cracked me up wearing a tank top with cropped leggings and high tops with no socks.

she was also being a real rascal about having her picture taken!

i love her style!

new kicks

i wanted these. i wanted them last year but didn't want to pay that price. 
i should have just done it then because i still want them this year and have not found anything else that will work. so i missed out on a perfectly good season last year to wear them. with welly socks to boot! (pun intended!)
but i still felt guilty and thought i should shop around.
and i discovered that my feet high arches don't fit into boots like that. 
by the time they are big enough to get my feet in, they are super duper floppy.
maybe hunter would have fit. but no others did.
i'm going to tell myself they wouldn't have fit and would have looked terrible on me.
and i got these. which i love!
and they zip so they solve the high arch problem!
they're waterproof and fleece lined!

i will wear them everyday with leggings and skinny jeans. oh yes i will!
they're earth brand from the walking company.
p.s. i took this picture myself just by bending over! ha ha
and we got a gym membership.
so i'm going to work out....see ya!

fun bath

JR is such a fun dad!

natalie said something to him about getting in and he did!

she had so much fun with him in there!

(yes, he's wearing swim trunks...)