Monday, October 17, 2016

Birthdays, soup, family time and the changing of seasons!

My favorite season is here.  There’s something about fall that has always made me happy.  Maybe it’s hoodie weather? Football season? Crockpot recipes? Or the beauty that surrounds me in nature?  It is the season of change. A reminder that sometimes things have to die to be given new life.  And that is beautiful in my mind.  The last few weeks have definitely seen some changes and that’s part of life.  I’ve been reminded of this quite a bit recently.  And no matter how hard we wish for the gold, red and oranges to stay gracing the trees, they must fall. Seasons change.  People change. And the world keeps spinning. 
I’ve been able to enjoy some great family time the last few weeks.  Lakehouse with my parents and Becky and Greg.  Staying with my cousin Erin and her adorable sons.  Lunch with Miranda and Seth in White Bear Lake. Aunt Melody’s birthday dinner with Caitlyn and Sissy.  Can’t ask for more blessings than that. 
 
I am finally closing the final chapter of a life that seems so far away.  I couldn’t be more ready for this rollercoaster to be over. The steps to finish tying up these loose ends took me on a road trip last week when I had to go to Winterset.  I decided to spend some time exploring the area as I had never seen the Bridges of Madison County that the movie and book boast.  I have to say it was pretty cool! And seemed silly that I had never taken the 45 minute drive to explore this great place and an Iowa point of pride.  It was a nice break from the stress of the situation. 
The last two weeks have been wonderful overall.  Dinner parties and Cubs games.  Volleyball victories.  We celebrated Lukas’s birthday with a night of go-karting.  Safe to say Principal will never have to worry about me quitting my day job to become a professional racer.  I was like a grandma out there on the track! Which is weird because I’m never reserved on the interstates in my own car.  But something about those little karts just freaked me out.  It was a blast though.  After getting my butt kicked racing we all went to Jethro’s and enjoyed some wings and beverages.  It was the perfect way to celebrate one of my favorite guys!
 
Friday night was the soup cook off.  Holy cow did we have some great food.  Brian made a zuppa toscana.  Summer whipped up a delicious chicken tortilla soup and I went with a pepperjack potato chowder.  My house was a little crammed with 15 of us in here but it was a wonderful night. A total of 12 hours of sleep since I woke up Wednesday morning led to a nice quite Saturday evening at home doing some writing. 

Tomorrow night is game 3 of the series between the Cubs and the Dodgers.  I love the Cubs but it’s always weird to cheer against the team I spent so much time watching at the stadium when I lived in LA.  Go, Cubs, go!!!! Wednesday night is our volleyball playoffs.  We’re seeded #1 with an 18-3 record.  I will be sad when it’s over but hoping we can maybe find an indoor winter league until Spring comes rolling around.  Thursday night is the chili and weiner roast at the Beaver Den, celebrating Josh coming home from Colorado for a few days.  Then I think I’m going to head to Cresco and spend some time with my parents and grandparents for the weekend.  

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