~Happy Halloween!~

This year, our Halloween was a pretty lazy day! I was home sick the day before with the flu/cold, so I was pretty lazy....well, we both were. If you can't tell, we spent the day watching some Oregon Football. Go ducks! Dustin did a fantastic job carving the pumpkin...and the baked seeds were delicious too.

~Greg Mortenson~

Last week, Greg Mortenson visited the Concordia University campus, where I work, as a guest speaker for a public lecture and several other events. If you aren't familiar with his story, you should definitely check it out - www.gregmortenson.com. He has done some amazing work building schools over in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is the co-author of the book, Three Cups of Tea, and was also recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. If you have a chance, you should read the book!


I was one of the lucky four Foundation team members who got my picture taken with him before he headed out of Portland.

~Mom and Dad make a visit~

My mom and dad came out from Colorado for a visit this weekend and we had a great time, even amongst the rainy weather! We had to alter our plans a little bit, but the four of us have a great time spending time together. Here are some photos from the long weekend:

Friday - we had planned to take them crabbing on a boat out at the coast, but the swells were predicted to be so high that they may not rent boats out. Instead, we hit up the Roloff Farms (folks from the TLC tv show, Little People Big World) to get our pumpkins this year. We were lucky enough to catch a quick glimpse of Matt and Amy Roloff, too!

After the pumpkin patch, we went to the apple orchard to get lots of fresh apples! We were hoping it was a u-pick, but even though it wasn't, we got some delicious apples. The best part - this place is literally several miles from our house, so we can go whenever we want (during the season, of course!). Don't you just love the fall colors in Oregon? We couldn't pass up the great picture opportunity!

After the apple orchard, we hit up some stores to get some more things for the house! Mom got overloaded after successful trips to Joanne's and Costco!

Saturday - It was raining pretty hard on Saturday morning, but we didn't let that stop us from hitting up one of my favorite spots - the Farmer's Market on the PSU campus. I usually go in the summer, so it was fun to see the gorgeous fall colors and smell the amazing foods! It was a great Portland experience for mom and dad.

We had hoped to hit up Forest Park for a hike after this, but we decided to pass, despite the rain! Instead, we went to another favorite spot - Stumptown Coffee in downtown. Can't beat amazing coffee on a rainy Saturday Fall day!

We headed back home for some rest and relaxation...and the boys took full advantage! Both of them are conked out on the couch, while the women slaved away in the kitchen!

Ok ok...we didn't slave away! But we did bake a home-made apple pie using the apples we bought from the orchard the day before! It was delicious...and I'm embarrassed to say that the 4 of us polished it off in 2 days. Got to get that excersize in! :)

~House Updates~

I know...I know! I am finally getting around to posting some updated pictures of the house, now that we have moved in (for the most part!). We absolutely love our new home and are slowly getting things put away and settled in the way we want them. However, our walls are still white, so keep that in mind as you look through these photos! It's my disclaimer. :) They will get painted at some point, hopefully in the not to distant future.

The fall decorations outside our front door.

The dining area...it's a little dark in the photo, but not in person.

The kitchen...I love our kitchen!

The living area/family room! NOTE - the boys are taking a nap (dad and Dustin). Another disclaimer here...nothing is on the walls yet!

The loft/reading area. Just got these new chairs and we've used them nearly every morning for our morning reading time and drinking coffee!

Our bedroom - view 1

Our bedroom - view 2 (that door is the master bath)

Guest bathroom

Guest bedroom

Office (but right now, it's our catch all room!)...it will eventually be set up nicely!

~Colorado: Part Two (WAY OVERDUE!)~

My apologies - this post is way overdue! These are the last few from the second half of our trip to Colorado in September to visit family and meet our new neice, Avery! We got some great family shots...but she has grown so much since these were taken.

The bottom pictures are of the boys on their hike up Mt. Princeton, one of the many "14-ers" in Colorado...that means the elevation is at least 14,000 feet. They got up bright and early to make it over there by 8 AM...hiked all morning and into the afternoon and made it home for a great dinner at the Robinson's. They had a great time, but were all 3 pretty pooped by the end of the night.

~She's getting Big!~

Just a few pictures of the MOST adorable baby girl in the world...ok, ok, we may be slightly biased since she is our niece! Miss Avery weighed in at 10 lbs, 1.5 oz at her 1 month check up....and she's 21.5 inches long! Here are just a few pictures that Kari and Sara have sent to me over the past few weeks....oh HOW I WISH I was there to watch her grow up. She's going to be so big when we get there in December.