Enjoying Lately

Organic berries from the summer, frozen for fall and winter and great for making baked oatmeal.

Reminiscing and eating the last can of apple sauce from this day 4 years ago.

Quick stops at the newly opened TJs.

Comfort foods - Homemade soups with bread from the Farmer's Market and Whole Foods Bacon.

These Hillsong Lyrics. (Nothing can quite replace traditional hymns, but still enjoying these nonetheless.)

From Desert Song 

All of my life, in every season, 

You are still God, 

I have a reason to sing, 

I have a reason to Worship.

And from Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - 

And I will call upon Your name

And keep my eyes above the waves

When oceans rise

My soul will rest in Your embrace

For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters

Your sovereign hand

Will be my guide

Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me

You've never failed and You won't start now

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior.

Crafting night with these wonderful friends.

Watching a squirrel take a mid-morning nap outside the dining room. The wind kept blowing his tail.

Fall bike rides around the neighborhood.

Eating pumpkin bars morning, noon, and night. Okay, not really, but I would if I could.

Coming home to the Minnesota version of Duck Dynasty. 

Dreaming of another relaxing cabin weekend with dear friends.

Being challenged and reminded of the Gospel every Sunday, and sermon applications from church - "Pursue holiness with blood-bought power in light of blood-bought pardon in light of blood-bought promises." And that was only one point of four at the very end of the sermon. All we know is grace, mercy, and joy!

A Weekend in the Windy City

Last weekend, we spent three days in the Windy City. Some of our favorite travel bloggers were hosting the Chicago Seminars, so Matt & Nick spent the weekend learning and networking, while I enjoyed catching up with some dear friends in the area.

We flew in early Friday morning on our favorite domestic airline - Southwest.  The boys usually spend the flight updating their ongoing Southwest spreadsheet information (i.e. point redemptions to various destinations), while I read or take advantage of the free T.V. It was a quick flight, but I did make it through two episodes of House Hunters International while the guys drank several cups of coffee before landing.

Reasons To Love Southwest:

1. Low Fares - If the fare goes down in points or dollars, you can get it for the lower price.

2. Refundable Tickets - The flexibility to change or cancel your flight at anytime without being charge a fee.

3. The Companion Pass - Right now, I fly for free with Matt until the end of 2014. We fly on points these days, so $2.50 or $5 per person for taxes is a great deal per flight (fees depend on final destination). 

Thanks to Priceline's "Name Your Price", we paid $9/day for the rental car and received a free upgrade. 

They had to send a picture to the quarterly meeting attendees, marketing Budget Software 3.0. 

Beautiful fall day spent eating and exploring in the city.  First stop - Giordano's for their famous stuffed pizza. 

Followed by a walk down the Magnificent Mile. Yes, we were those tourists who stopped on the Michigan Avenue Bridge for pictures.

And onto Millenium Park where Matt and Nick continued their six-shooter tour that started back in August while in Colorado.

Found the Bean. 

The various banks call their name and attention wherever we go.

While Trader Joe's calls mine. Frugal Travel Tip - Load up on snacks when you get to your destination. :)

Always an eye out for CVS and Vanilla Reloads. Fellow frugal travelers will understand.

And more eating. When the line is outside the door, that is always a good sign in addition to a #3 ranking on Trip Advisor. The only downside to Hot Doug's - Cash Only = no 2x dining points. 

Matt and Nick had a great time attending the different sessions and meeting other frugal travelers throughout the weekend. 

Meanwhile, I enjoyed catching up with a dear friend, Anna, over coffee and catching up and hanging out with our good friends, Kirsten and Jason (and enjoying our theological conversations/debates as well :)). Love you friends! It was so good to see you all. 

I also attended the spouse seminar on Saturday evening hosted by Mommy Points and The Frugal Travel Guy. Enjoyed meeting favorite travel bloggers, talking travel tips, and making new friends.

My husband celebrated his birthday by researching ITA fares. Many adventures to come in year 26. Happy birthday dear!

The weekend went way too quick and before we knew it, we were on a flight bound for home.  

Ohio

September brought us to Ohio to visit a dear friend and family, run the Air Force Marathon, and cheer on the Green and Gold. Beautiful long weekend in the Buckeye state.

We flew in late Thursday night and spent Friday relaxing, picking up race packets, and eating to prep for the big race. I may or may not have had Chik-fil-A two times in less than 24 hours.

Saturday was race day! The rain came down for 12 hours leading up to the race, but it turned into a pleasant race day. Adam, my Dad, and I ran the full 26.2, and Matt, my Aunt, and cousin ran the half 13.1.

My only goal was to finish, although Dad's goal for us was to run it a minute faster than last year. Considering my lack of training and only running one 13 miler and one 19.5 miler prior to race day, the run felt pretty great and both goals were accomplished. We came in at 4:21 - three minutes faster than last year. Next year though, I probably should train a little harder. :) Adam ran his first full and Matt ran his first half! They both met their personal goals, and now Adam and I need to convince Matt to run his first full next year. 

Marathon running is funny in that you aren't out of breath at all and can talk throughout the race, but your body can feel it as you pass every mile marker. Much of it is mental as well as physical, and for me all I keep repeating in my head is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."And having my dad alongside me, running slower than he normally would is extra special.  He is in awesome shape. The last miles of this marathon are hills, and he was running up them backwards to get me to smile, especially on the dreaded hill between miles 21 and 22. He is an inspiration, and I can only hope to be just like him when I'm his age. Speaking of which, he just celebrated his 51st birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!

We were blessed with sunshine for the Packers/Bengals game on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. It was an exciting game to watch despite the turnovers and the last two minutes of the game for us Packer fans.

And of course a lot of eating. Chik-fil-A, Skyline Chili, Graeter's Ice Cream (Snickerdoodle & Pumpkin!), Apple Dumplings, and Ethan's smoked ribs and chicken. Yum!

As always, looking forward to the next trip to Cincy and running another 26.2!

Catching Up

What we've been up to the last two months:

Colorado - A long August weekend spent in Colorado with our dear friends. We loved meeting Baby Mason! Jen put together this video to capture some of our memories and photos - http://vimeo.com/72845585. Thank you Jeff and Jen for having us!

Labor Day Weekend - In Wisconsin celebrating a hometown wedding, sewing with my mother-in-law, and spending time with family. Checked out a new pizza farm in Central Wisconsin too. [sorry the pictures aren't the best]

Oregonian Visitor! - Matt's cousin Matt came to visit in September. His first time to Minnesota, and we hope he will be back! Picnic in Stillwater. Ice Cream at Nelson's. Grape Stomp at the Vineyard and Orchards. Pizzeria Lola. The Stone Arch Bridge.

Landscaping - The backyard experienced a bit of a makeover. Shrubs, old retaining wall, and dock removed. Boulders and plants added. It is more open now and looking a little bare, but when the plants grow and spread, that should help. Personally, I look forward to the Black-Eyed Susan blooming next year. [we haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the final project yet]

Projects - Hard to believe we have been in our home nearly three years now! Someday I'll give a tour around the house to those of you who haven't visited or video-called in. :) A glimpse of a few of the decor projects lately...

 

Small Group - Has started back up again! We are going through Tim Keller's Gospel in Life: Grace Changes Everything this fall. Last year we went through Tim Keller's The Meaning of Marriage and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together. We love this group of people so much, and they are a huge blessing in our life.

Planning Future Adventures - Matt's area of expertise. We've been busy researching and planning some travel adventures for the coming year and loving the Southwest Companion pass. I've been asking Matt to start contributing to the blog, so he may write an upcoming post/series. Stay tuned!

Fall! - Our favorite season has arrived! We'll be enjoying every moment and look with anticipation toward the first snow fall - perhaps in a month or so... Until then, just enjoying the change in colors, cool weather, crisp smells, delicious food, managing our fantasy football teams, and resting on Sundays.