the cabin retreat.

Happy Saturday, friends!

It's a pretty cold and blustery day here this morning... {confession: sometimes I truly look forward to these kind of late fall days}. It's the perfect time of season to pull out all my early winter essentials. Last weekend the flannels, vests, wool socks and boots debuted! We had our 2nd annual cabin retreat with Matt + Amanda, and it proved just as restful and rejuvenating as the year before. We are so thankful for these friends and the joy they bring us!

Not only did we travel to the great state of Wisconsin, but we even took the quick 30 minute drive into the upper peninsula of Michigan {new territory for Jared and I - check that one off the bucket list!} for some time at the beautiful Bond Falls. It was a weekend filled with community, fires, so much food, time in the kitchen, time outdoors, marriage talk, and so much needed rest. I couldn't decide on just a few pictures to share... so a video it is. We love you Matt + Amanda! Thank you for a beautiful weekend.

hello, september.

I'm so glad it's here. It's one of those transition months, right? Where we can enjoy the remnants of summer, but welcome in the beginnings of fall. Sometimes you're a little warm sleeping with the windows open (Jared), but then there are those days that the crispness makes you not want to get out of bed (Skyler)... that's September, people. Holding out on the Pumpkin Spice Latte for that first day of 60* weather? That's me in September. Throwing on some flip flops and moving the sprinkler one last time to catch that brown spot? That's summer-September. So much to love about this month. We are currently enjoying...

{the foggy mornings that say cooler weather is rolling in. We are still training for that Twin Cities 10 mile - and seeing some beautiful mornings/evenings in the process.}

{thinking about our summer weddings & seeing some awesome college friends. It was so fun re-connecting!}

{peaches on the grill. that's the end of the summer for 'ya.}

{ice cream. and lots of it.}

{weekend breakfasts with friends. day trips. light jacket weather.}

It's the end of summer and the beginning of fall - not without the sporadic 80* day here and there, but that's just what September is great for. Hope you are enjoying too!

carter's dedication

How blessed this little guy is to be born into such a loving, God-fearing family, with such rich heritage...

Jared and I hope to be a part of that for him. We love you, Carter and as you grow, alongside with your mom & dad, grandmas & grandpas, pray for your heart to be bound to the Lord's! We were so blessed to be a apart of this dedication service for you, reminding us that it is a gift & a challenge to be a part of your life, modeling Christ's love for you.  

I see you there, baby. Always keep looking at auntie Skyler's camera.

What a blessing you are. And only will continue to be in our family. May the Lord bless you, and keep you tight in His hands, Carter! We love you!

lori + baby showers

2 baby showers 2 weeks in a row. And 2{ish} weeks away from being an auntie. This weekend I had the pleasure to host a baby shower for my dear sister in law, Lori. It was an intimate group, and we had a lot of fun talking all things baby. 

We had a nice brunch, and a relaxing morning. I really enjoyed having a smaller group as we could really connect. Jared was glad we had leftovers from a smaller group, too. :)

We had some newer moms in this group, and it was fun hearing and talking about their experiences, sharing advice with Lori, and things to prepare for. I love baby talk. We played a few games - measured her tummy - she just loved that - and opened her goodies. So fun to fill a car with gifts! Love you Lor! So excited for the coming weeks....

And a few pics from her first shower last weekend - hosted by a wonderful family friend, and filled with just as much conversation, laughing, and food.

My beautiful sister in law...

The soon to be aunt, great-grandma, mommy, grandma, and cousin!

It's coming so soon! Every day I'm getting more excited... it was a joy to celebrate your coming arrival, little one! Come soon! {just wait until mommy has her bag packed, please.. she'll thank you.}

the falls.

Well, I have to start somewhere. So three weeks ago it is! Goodness, I'm behind. We initially headed down to Storden and then Sioux Falls for a wedding of a dear friend of the Johnson family, but it also served to visit one of Jared's uncles who is hospitalized in Sioux Falls after a severe farm accident. It was really good to see family, and spend that time together. We continue to pray for you Kent, and the rest of the family as you continue to heal in the Lord's time!

While in SF, we naturally had to stop at the "actual" falls of Siox falls. I hear that there is normally more water running, the drought has definitely taken its toll here, but I still thought it was quite beautiful! I would like to go back when it's higher!

On a day that started out quite dreary and rainy, by the mid afternoon, it was a sun-shining, warm on your face, pleasant kind of day!

Road tripping with Greg & Lori is always fun. This was a new stop on the map for both Lori and I, suprisingly! From the short time we were there, I think we enjoyed it? :)

One of the things I am loving right now is experiencing new places with my hubby. We have an extended vacation in the works for next summer, and the more we get to talk about it, the more excited I get. Even with small places like Sioux Falls, I really like being able to experience new places with him!

Check out the color on this duck! I bet all the other ducks are jealous.

Afte we visited Falls Park, we met up with Dave & Chris and headed to the wedding of Christa and Gary! It was a great time celebrating with a very special family. Loved having all my family there too. :)

Any time spent together is always good, and even when it's short like this one was, we treasure it! Love you family!

quest for the perfect apple.

It's a relatively rare occasion that we actually pick apples when we go to an orchard - but this year I had high hopes of dehydrating some, eating some, and making sauce. I'll keep you posted on how all that goes in our busy schedule. :) We spent a Sunday afternoon out in the country with some friends this past week, and it was simply gorgeous.

Suprisingly the boys were a bit pickier than we thought about finding good apples - I had myself pinned to that - so we did some climbing, but filled our bag with only the best.

I have been coming to this orchard since I was young, so it definitely holds a lot of good memories for me. It's calm, has a cute tractor ride into the orchard, beautiful tree walks, yummy treats... what more do you need? The Graff's were super fun company - always are.

Ryland is getting so big. With a 1 year birthday coming up soon he just keeps getting sweeter and sweeter. Love this little boy.

I think his favorite part of the day was gnawing on an apple while we picked - all he was getting was juice, but that was the best part!

It was relatively warm for a "fall date" but I couldn't go to an orchard without a scarf... and once it clouded over, it felt very fallish. Especially with leaves falling on us.

And if this color doesn't just make your heart leap.... God is such an artist. I am so thankful he created me with the heart to be moved by seasons, color, etc. Fall makes me so in awe.

We capped off our day stopping by the state's largest candy store - drooling over the treats, and splurging on some amazing root beer and fresh ginger ale. Love me some real ginger. It was everything an orchard day should be. Apples, scarfs, colorful leaves, my best friend and our best friends. Happy Fall!