Happy Birthday Steve!!!

Today is my older brothers birthday...not only is it his birthday, it is his 3oth birthday!!! Holy cow, he is getting old! :)

PS: Congrats to sister-in-law Jen for finishing her first marathon today! Jen I am sure you did Opera proud!

Girls' Night with MARIA!!!
Our friend Maria was in town visiting last weekend. And since we rarely get to spend time with her, we had a full on girls' night complete with a slumber party on Saturday night.

And Amber got to experience her first girls' night ever...she was a little tired and fussy, so she slept through most of it but she was there for a little while!

And, before Maria flew home to Wisconsin on Monday, we ate at the Pantry in Green Mountain Falls...my favorite! Check out that snow through the winter...fortunately it has all melted as of today (well at least in town).

Mom and Dad are Safe

For those of you who are wondering, I just talked to my dad this morning. There was a fire about 5 miles from the house yesterday and one is still burning 20 miles north but they have not been evacuated at this point. Dad said ashes are falling from the sky right now.

WOO-HOO...My Dream Has Come True!
The Red Sox...

AND the Rockies are headed to the World Series...what could be better than that? I want both teams to win!

(Although, I am currently wearing my Red Sox t-shirt...I don't own any Rockies gear quite yet.)

Sunday Morning NASTINESS!
Sunday morning I woke up to this...SNOW...YUCK!!! For those of you who aren't aware, I really don't like cold weather and REALLY hate snow...you should try riding your bike in the winter if you don't understand why I dislike it so much.

Since it was so cold and nasty out, I decided to head to the trail for a hike/run...I was naive enough to think it wouldn't stick to the trail since it wasn't sticking in town five minutes away...

And as I drove to the trailhead in this winter wonderland, I continued to think it wouldn't stick to the trail...boy was I wrong! The first part of the trail was well worn through but the further up I got, the deeper the snow got and the more the trail disappeared. After hiking up 40 minutes and getting to my usual "run" spot, it became appearent that I was running nowhere (it would have been through at least 8 inches of snow) and had to head back down the same way.

(By the way, this is the same trail that I posted a picture of on Thursday...when I was wearing shorts and a tank top!)

A Little Slice of Heaven Here on Earth

After getting rained on 5 or 6 times in 40F on Sunday and riding through hail in the Black Forest on Wednesday, I was not about to get blown over yesterday during another ride in non-ideal riding conditions...with that in mind, I headed off to Section 16 for my first hike/trail run of the season. I definitely am blessed to live in an amazing area...a five minute drive, 30 minute hike and this is what I am surrounded by...life is good!

Hillbilly Fest
Last night was a pumpkin-carving hillbilly fest at youth group...but I seemed to be the only hillbilly...nobody else really dressed up which is okay because I forgot how much I like wearing my overalls...maybe someday they will be "in style" again!

The night started with pumpkin carving and a few sliced fingers (including mine!)

Then there was a jalepeno eating contest...which I definitely did not participate in!

The best part of the night was the relay race which started with bobbing for apples in freezing cold ice water...

Then hunting for Skittles in powdered sugar...

(This is what the kids were putting their faces into...yes, SICK!)

And the final leg was bobbing for jalepenos...with a bonus points for finding a hotdog at the very bottom of the freezing cold water.

This is the face of almost every kid after that final bobbing experience...beet red and frozen!

As a reward for participating in the relay race, the kids got to throw all of the pumpkin innerds at Rob who designed the race. They really like that part of the night!

Go Rockies!

Rockies are on their way to the World Series after taking the last series 4-0 against Arizona...I sure hope the Red Sox win their series. That would be awesome to have the Red Sox and Rockies in the World Series!

Wedding Take Two
For those of you who haven't heard yet, I know 16 couples that got engaged this year...Alan and Julie were one of those couples and they got married yesterday (Sunday) here in town. While the past two weeks have been a blast, I definitely think I can say I am "weddinged" out at this point!

The ceremony was great as Alan's brother presided over the wedding, but the best part was that the reception was held in the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame. With Alan being the high school youth pastor at church and Julie growing up here in town, the PRHF was the only place big enough to house all of their guests!

And I was lucky enough to have the Dorseys and Wilners as my dates...so instead of being the third wheel, I was the fifth wheel. And notice Levi's cowboy hat...something about that hat released his inner cowboy...And strange behaviors. Eric is wearing a clown barrel and Levi was pretending to be a bull...while acting like a bull was a little strange, Levi was hysterical on the dance floor. Sadly enough, I did not capture his stunning dance moves.

One of the greatest parts was getting to see all of my high schoolers all dressed up for the wedding. These are some of the girls that I have gotten to know over the past year, they are all incredible!

Kicking it in the Cherry Capital
I have been in Traverse City for almost a week now and it has been so much fun! The first few days were packed full of awesome stuff like: sunsets on Lake Michigan...

Dexter Bakery Cookies (thanks to Rita hunting them down after a month long search on Beth's part!)...

Hot tubbing with Lake Michigan in the background...

Playing on the dock with Beth and Jen...

Girls' Night beachside in Traverse City...and read on for all of the other amazing things that have gone on in the past few days...like I said, it has been so much fun!

Too Good to be True!
The weather has been amazing up here in Traverse City...so amazing that we went boating on Lake Michigan Sunday after the bridal brunch...it was 90F out! The Prentices were kind enough to invite me along with the family to spend time on the water and it was so much fun! I have never seen fall color while boating on Lake Michigan!

Beth and Phil took time out of their first day of honeymooning to hang out on the lake with us...I am not sure you could pass up such an incredible opportunity with such amazing weather!

And I even went swimming! Yes, I swam in Lake Michigan on October 7...insane! Okay, so the water was REALLY STINKING COLD (62F)...but I do get to say I went swimming...and really I was not smiling because it was so nice in the water; more, I was smiling for the picture and dying to get out as soon as possible.

And I indulged in the six person cannonball fest...I went to early on the "practice" count, then went on the real count, and then was pushed back in by John (Phil's older brother)...after that I was pretty much done with the water and just layed in the sun.

Hiking the Dunes
Before we get to the dunes, you have to check out the amazing fall color of northern Michigan, it's incredible!

While Colorado beats Michigan hands down in many aspects, there are two things that it just doesn't compete in: fall color and water. I hate to admit it but Michigan owns them.

Onto the sand dunes. When you grow up in Michigan, it is tradition to go "up north" on vacation every summer with your family. And when you are up north, it is neccessary to hike the sand dunes. With time and amazing weather at my disposal, I set out on Monday to hike the legendary Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes...they are just as incredible as I remember...well actually better because I was basically the only person on them!

This is overlooking Big Glen and Little Glen on the east side of the dunes...the lakes that Beth's family vacationed on when she was a kid.

At the other end of the "trail" is Lake Michigan...water on both sides! It's about a 45 minute barefoot hike out to the lake and then I wandered up the shoreline for awhile, too beautiful of a day to head home early!

And while I was out walking along the shore I saw some tracks that looked like dog tracks...only there where no human tracks anywhere to be found besides my own. I was thinking it might have been a cougar (aka: mountain lion) but decided not to think any further since I was out there all alone. When I got back down off the dunes, my suspicion was confirmed by the posting on this sign warning visitors of recent cougar sightings in the area...I am glad I did not read that until after my hike as it would have been a long run back over the dunes!

In case you are wondering about the name "Sleeping Bear", here's the legend:

"Sleeping Bear took its name from an Ojibway legend about its formation. According to the story, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven by forest fires from what is now Wisconsin and forced to swim across Lake Michigan. When the mother bear reached the Michigan shore, she turned to discover that her cubs had vanished. The Great Spirit was so touched by her plight that he had her fall off to sleep there, creating Sleeping Bear Dune, and marked the place where her cubs disappeared by creating the Manitou Islands."

Beth and Phil got Married!!!
So, I am not really sure what happened to this photo during the upload and I can't figure out how to delete it despite being a blogging queen, so we have to deal with it mini sized. Anyhow, what would a wedding be without manicures and pedicures?

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner...Beth's dad figured out early which side was the better side to stand on...the side with all of the ladies!

Saturday morning Linda Prentice (Phil's mom) hosted breakfast at her house while we all got our hair done...don't you love the curling action?!Isn't my best friend beautiful?! This is just before she put on the veil and left to meet up with Phil for private photos.

Husband and wife!!!

This is my five year old boyfriend Casey...we had a short lived relationship, about 12 hours, he broke up with me Sunday morning after the wedding unfortunately.

My partner in crime!

My parents flew out from California to be there as well...don't you love dad's new "do"?

Feeding the bride a smore...yes, they had a smore bar at the wedding, it was awesome!!!

Hanging out with the groomsmen. Jeff, on the left, was the best man. And notice that my dress is crooked? It's tough to dance in a strapless dress!

My friends Emily and Drew were there as well...in fact, I am staying at their house in TC right now!

Dancing queens...some of the bridesmaids (we're missing two) dancing with the beautiful bride!