fall

This post is a LOOOONG one. So settle in, get some coffee or tea. I decided to combine all my fall posts into one since we're pushing February here and I haven't even touched on the holidays yet.

I LOVE fall, I think most do. I love it more than any other time of year, I love sweaters, hoodies & jeans. I love love love scarves. I love football. The past few years I haven't enjoyed it as much as I would like to. I take on too much, I hate to say no and the fall goes by in a blink. I'm making sure this year I slow down and get out and enjoy it more. I still have 3 weddings in October but I vow to cut out sessions and get out and play this year (hold me to it). In this post- and every post please keep in mind, I make most of these for family members to see what we are up to (no one lives by us) and I am trying hard not to make family time/vacations and trips a full-on photo shoot so my photos are lacking in creativity, technique and quantity but that's OK w/ me, that means I am doing my kids right by keeping myself out from behind the camera.

This year was probably our very busiest, 4 October weddings, a trip to South Carolina, Halloween and Teag's Birthday. We did it and we're still alive. I am positive someday years from now I will look back as I am sitting around, kids gone, and wish I was back to the old days when life was chaotic.

We traveled to South Carolina for my cousins wedding, with Jason changing jobs we didn't have a lot of vacation time so we made it a quick trip, 18 hours drive one-way, only an afternoon of sight-seeing and the wedding fit into our 4 days weekend. So the best way to describe it was simply short and sweet.

Maybe I am delayed but I didn't realize the smokey mountains actually smoked! like billowing smoke...crazy, it looked the a hundred million people in the trees smoking pipes, lol.

there's me on the right w/ my double stroller aka bus..but we love it!

The downtown area was really neat, it looked like a really old and much larger state street (Madison). We found this neat little toy store and found Teag's Christmas gift inspiration.

We get home on Sunday evening and that week we have Halloween to get ready for...

Cooper's 1st Halloween

We don't go far for Halloween yet, we stop at Little grandmas (Teag's Grandma) and Big grandma( Teag's Great-grandma, she's about 4'9 and 100lbs- we aren't sure why he calls her that) and our neighbors with the kids.

Spending their last days outside before it gets too cold. They think they are pretty cool in their truck

November 1st my baby turned 3, Teag wanted to have a packer party. So we put together a tailgate party for him, it was so cute and fun. Something I really like to do is make a big deal out of celebrating moments in life like birthdays and holidays. There is too few great moments in life, we should really celebrate the "good" ones. I love to put together a party for the kids, different themes. It doesn't cost much I find ideas online and use creative ways to make it cheaper. I usually buy "printables" from Etsy for like $10 and print and cut myself, its at least half the cost, we have family bring a dish to pass and by the most wonderful local cake from Wilton, WI. The invites I make and print also. Its very cheap and very fun and I know they will remember because I remember my birthday parties.

The decorations are simple. Buy a couple yards of fabric, cut into triangles and hang on twine. The letters I cut out of stiff felt and used stencils and fabric glue, total cost about $10

Jason made the goal posts out of PVC pipe in the garage and a $3 can of spray paint.

Ordered banner locally $15 and used same twine to make a photo clothes line

Cake- local baker $40 (a little splurge compared to store bought cake but if you tried it, you'd know its worth it)
Teag and Ali are like peas and carrots

Cooper and uncle Parker

Great group of kids all representing the pack!

Finally getting ready for Thanksgiving... Teag and I made "our" first pumpkin pie together. Our family lives scattered away, because of that Thanksgiving is very small for us, so Jason and I decided to implement our own new traditions so the boys have something to look forward to and remember. We have some for Christmas which will come in the next post...stay tuned.
Teag is really interested in cooking, which in turn makes ME more interested in cooking so it's really a fun new adventure for us both.

5

2004- I got back on Sunday afternoon from a weeks vacation in Las Vegas with my friends. I slept like 10 hours I was so tired when my friend Heather called she INSISTED I get up and get ready to go out with her, later I found out she was secretly hoping for a set up. Well, she got it. We met at a bar in Oakdale,WI on a Sunday night in March. Cheesy story. But the moment I walked into that bar Jason and I never stopped talking. Then we played shuffleboard and I of course lost so the bet was we go on a date and loser pays (me), the rest is history as they say.

 After a long term relationship in my early twenties I stopped dating for a while, I just dove into this world of freedom and living with my friends, we went to Germany, Sweden and Paris, Las Vegas, among a million road trips, I wasn't looking for a boyfriend at all. During a deep discussion, I'll never forget something my dear friend Joe said to me "I don't know what your looking for but I hope you find it someday" I think everyone thought I had given up on relationships or something but I didn't I was just finding myself....and then he showed up.

 9 years together,5 years married. Seems like 3-ish. I don't have to repeat the old cliche that time flies but it's too true. We are still in the process of building a wonderful life together. We disagree very little and compromise a lot. We are both the oldest of 5 and both Type A personality so it's unusual we get along so well. But it works for us. He's my home.


This year we decided to go away for a weekend. My first weekend away from my baby and probably only the second weekend away from my 2 3/4 year old. I wanted to do something special for our 5 year anniversary (memorable) and that's how we got to one of my now favorite places Stillwater, MN.

I love this place, small, artsy. I think there's a festival like every weekend, we were lucky enough to come the weekend of the art and music festival which was awesome. We shopped these art vendors and listened to local music (very us). We came home with a christmas gift for Jason's mom and some cool pottery for our kitchen.

This was my favorite shop

We drank too much wine at all these fun wine bars, ate in a cave some delicious pasta. Laughed entirely too loud at this restaurant/bar that we renamed "Sprockets" because we were certain everyone should have on black turtlenecks and greased hair.

I did bring my camera along because thats what I do but the best part was I had so much fun I didn't even really care to take it out or take the time to get good photos. I think sometimes vacations turn into a full photoshoot and you missed the whole purpose of being together, so glad I didn't miss this weekend.

Our first ever Bed and Breakfast stay, it was really cool.

Now for what brought us to Stillwater, Miss Emily Steffen She is amazing, inspiring and totally silly photographer (just love her and her work) who posted mini-sessions just in time for me to puzzle together this little weekend. It was meant to be and these photos are a treasure to me. They are us, 5 years in this crazy married/parental life we're living. I am so glad we did this, I am so glad to have these on the walls in our home and we can look back and think that was us. I hope to do this again at 10, 15 and 20 years, god willing. The following photos are all credited to the very talented Emily.

On the way home to our babies we both agreed, we needed more weekend away to ourselves to remember who we were before we became Teag and Cooper's mom and dad. We were two kids in love. It's hard to remember that during the day to day hustle and bustle. One of our New Years goals was to have more date nights and go away for a weekend every 6 months. If you have any getaway spots-let me know!

New Year

Skipping ahead for a post, I have more to catch up on but I just wanted to post about the new year and show some updated pics of the boys.

 Our years blessings come in the form of two beautiful healthy children. These kids have brought our family so much life, learning and love. Not a moment goes by where we aren't amazed at their wit, charm and random comments that make our life so entertaining. They are our greatest life choice. We are so excited for the new year and all their new firsts and adventures.

 We aren't big on going out for New Years or resolutions. But we are big on lists and that's how things get done at our house. I write them, Jason completes them, ha ha just kidding. But I do make lots of lists and for 2013 I made one of 13 things to do in 2013, not a resolution or empty promise, not specific things but list to keep me responsible to achieve these.

1. When in doubt choose the kids
2. Make better meals-fresher foods
3. Take better care of our home that gets neglected so much
4. Back off online shopping- we do not need more stuff
5. Simplify. Keep cleaning/organizing and removing stuff that isn't necessity.
6. Waste less- money, time, energy
7. More travel- the boys got luggage for Christmas ;)
8. More outdoors- camping, parks, bike rides, mini-golfing, baseball games, etc
9. More date-nights for me and the hubby
10.Actually do Pinterest crafts/recipes
11.Don't sweat the small stuff- I learned from the CT shooting to stop complaining.
12.Go to a photography workshop and expand my learning
13.Start actually saving in our  savings account.

We're starting this list tonight, we turned down a few new years offers and chose to stay home and make a fancy dinner together shrimp scampi- a pinterest recipe. Cheers to a Happy Fresh New Year for you as well, may it be your best year yet.



My baby will soon be 1- happy/sad about it. Makes me want maybe 1 more.

I don't think a parent could be more proud of a child than I am of Teag. He's an excellent big brother, he is fully potty trained and mom's little helper, plus he sings! ha ha

Peek A Boo...his favorite

This little boy melts my heart, he is absolutely beautiful