days gone by...

sorry I have been MIA lately. life has been spinning out of control and I am lucky if I remember to pee most days. don't get me wrong- life has been really good! it has been filled with all sorts of bliss and be warned, this is kind of a long one!

Shed Painting 

Background on how the shed came to be in an upcoming post.

This is what the shed looked like before getting a much-needed makeover.

Becca and Anna doing their first large scale painting job. 

The happy couple working together. How cute are we? Sporting our matching red shirts! So festive!

Rich and Becca starting the white trim.

Renaissance Festival 

As a reward for helping with the shed, we took the girls to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. They had never been to it so it was a treat for us all. We went with Rich's brother, his wife and two kids along with Rich's mom, Chris. The weather was perfect to spend the day in a dry, dusty field going back in time to the 16th century where King Henry and Lady Elizabeth reigned. 

One good thing about this Festival is the number and variety of free shows. We caught- haha! - The Danger Committee, a knife throwing show shortly after we arrived. These guys have been seen on America's Got Talent! Seriously, this guy caught a knife that had a super sharp blade and a flaming handle. I hope he has a reasonable co-pay for all of his ER visits!

Of course there were castles... a couple of them actually. 

Elephants? Really? In medieval England? Not quite, but it is certainly a draw . Grandma Chris took the three youngest kids on a ride- well, she paid for them to go on but had to ride because Frank (2 years old) couldn't ride without an adult. She said she didn't know her legs could stretch like that! 

Jousting in a full suit of armor is common place in these parts- and I am guessing, dang toasty in the sun!

Frank gets a closer look at a tortoise from the Minnesota Herp Society.

Becca and Anna helped make merry music in a street band... with pretty good rhythm skills on the drums, if I do say so myself!

The Robin Hood show explained other points of view on how the Merry Men got their start.  

Puke and Snot (I am not making this up!) is the most famous and longest running show at the Fest.  They've been performing since 1974. If you ever get to Minnesota in September, you have to hit the Fest just to see them! Hilariously funny, crude and raunchy at times, they are legendary!

What would a day in medieval England be without royalty? At the end of our day we came upon the King's court. Commoners (like us) could come and present a joke to the King. Anna told one to the lady-in-waiting who repeated for the court and Becca told her own (with a rousing round of laughter from them all).

NCMPR District 5 Conference- Wichita, KS

They let me out of the office at long last! Well, I asked to go. Why Wichita? I met some of the most incredibly talented, outrageously funny and downright the nicest folks ever while I was there! This is a conference of marketing and PR professionals from two-year colleges from the Midwest. It was a nice break from the office day-to-day, to learn best practices, engage in conversation to problem solve and network with some of the most creative, resourceful people this side of the Mississippi in community college marketing. Throw in a rooftop bar, kareoke and beautiful weather and it made for a rather nice getaway. (Sorry- no photos.)

Homecoming Game 2012

We took the girls to the high school homecoming game. Jess is a freshman actually ASKED if we could go together as a FAMILY! (For those of you who don't know, Jess is Rich's daughter from his first marriage. She's had a hard time accepting me as a part of their lives but it is definitely getting better!) So, we donned our black and orange apparel and got our Tiger pride on! I hadn't been to a high school football game since 1991- when I was in high school. It was crazy but so fun too, especially since the Tigers kicked some tail. Go Tigers!

Bike riding on the Cannon Valley Trail

Rich came up with this family activity to utilize what just might be the last nice weekend of the year before winter comes calling. We loaded up the bikes, packed ourselves a picnic lunch and made our way to Cannon Falls. The weather was delightful: low 70's, sunny, breezy.

Our first rest stop... 3 miles into the ride.

Group shot at the rest stop.

We took a walk down by the stream to explore before getting back on the bikes. Anna found a shell and a pretty rock in the water and decided that her "treasures" had to come home with us.

Fall painted all around the Cannon River. 

that was my September in a nutshell (or a photo essay). time is passing at break-neck speed and shows no signs of slowing down. appropriately, the sermon series at church for the last month was entitled, "The Time of Your Life." This past Sunday's message was called, "Is There More to Life Than This?" and it really hit home. We as humans are wired for eternity, for something everlasting and this is what Christ offers to each one who opens their heart to Him. Forever starts today and God wants me, wants me to have a full and abundant life. A life that is filled with those things that are truly important, to not be weighed down by worry but rather to give my burdens to Him, that through faith He will give me all that I need in this earthly life. In looking at these photos, I see moments that He meant life to be about- time spent enjoying His creation with the people I love the most. Who wouldn't want a life filled with that kind of bliss?