- What's up, WITCHES? -

How's that saying go? 

Oh yeah...

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

So what's up, witches?! Seems to me that we just celebrated Thanksgiving and are moving full speed ahead into Christmas; so why not use today to rewind it back to Halloween?!! #letnothinggoundocumented

The beautiful fall weekends slipped right through the cracks of our fingers this year, so [on October 29] we settled for a cute little family-farm pumpkin patch on the side of the road on our commute home from Mass. ...And it was sprinkling/misting that day, so it was a rushed "hurry-up-and-find-a-pumpkin-that-isn't-rotting-and-get-back-in-the-car" type of experience...

...but we landed the most perfectly lopsided punkin; and Harper and Daddy went to town carving!

Later on, we took a stab at some pumpkin sugar cookies...

...which turned out looking like saggy male reproductive organs [IMHO]; but Harper didn't seem to mind...

We crafted some cards to mail out to friends and family...

...and then it was time to dress up and hit the road for trick-or-treating! 

^^ We visited aunts and uncles and then Grammy and Papa before calling it a night.  Our cute little witch had an absolute blast ringing doorbells and collecting candy! :))) 

On Halloween Eve, we stayed home to hand out candy at our house...

...and finally it was the REAL Halloween Day. We learned all about pumpkins at library class!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!!!

...Now onward to Christmas! 

- WOOD you believe it?! -

...We made it FIVE YEARS! 

Yep, this weekend marks 1,825 days...43,800 hours...and an un-countable amount of seconds from the day way back yesteryear when we said, "I do!"  I don't even think we knew what, "I do," really meant back then; but with each day that has passed, we've embraced the joys and tackled the challenges. ...And we've done it together and come out even stronger, so I think that's actually what, "I do!" is all about! 

Our special day fell on a Friday this year, so we celebrated that evening with a nice [adult-only] dinner at Popeyes Chophouse! Yummmmmm.  The next morning was the annual unity candle lighting...

...and that night was dinner with Fr. Meconi -- the one that helped us tie the knot and officially wrapped us up in this beautiful mess!  We love you, Fr. M!!! ...SO much that we resurrected the selfie stick for your visit! :)

Wood, wood everywhere!

Harper [sort of grudgingly] agreed to take these pics in my wedding dress so we could make Brian's gift:

...and they're just plastered allll over 'dis blog, because howwwww could I choose just one?????

[Thanks, Grammy Resa for all your behind-the-scenes work!!! Lol!]

I/we love this sweet little lady so much and will cherish these photos forever!!! 

And finally...

To Brian: I love the life we've made together, especially the beautiful little soul[s] God is trusting us with!!! I never could've imagined this life we live today when you first put a ring on it... And the best is yet to come! You are the best husband and baby daddy; we are so very lucky to call you ours!!!  

Five years down and forever to go...  And every day, I still "do!" :-* 

- M-I-Z-... -

...Z-O-U!!! 

Brian and Harp are knocked out together for a little Sunday snooze sesh, so I'mma sit here in peace and go reminiscing right down memory lane! 

Eight years ago this weekend [if my old lady memory serves me correctly!], my best friend Sara invited me to a Mizzou football weekend to tailgate with her family ...and go to the game ...and then party hardy around the campus all night afterwards with her new friends.  I was a crazy college girl interested in nothing but crazy college shenanigans, so of course I immediately closed my nursing books and eagerly packed a bag for the weekend! To save time and beat the traffic and decrease detours on the roadtrip to Columbia, Sara's parents asked this nice skater boy named Brian to swing by SLU and pick me up after he got off work in downtown St. Louis. He agreed ...and got my numba ...and found me later that afternoon standing on the street corner with my suitcase.

...Annnnnnnnd y'all know how the story goes from there; the rest be history! 

Eight years passed in the blink of an eye; and this first weekend of November found us where?!

...At another Mizzou football game, of course!  Except the skater boy ^^ is now my husband, and the "college shenanigans" got put on the backburner because.......pumping out the energy to chase a 2-year-old and gestate a 31-week fetus is just about all this momma can do these days!  My cousin Sydney is a Mizzou cheerleader, so we were all there to see her rock it ...and rock it she did! :)))

Go, Tigers!!!

Harper wasn't too sure of Truman up close, but I'm thinking by the constant cheering and pom-pom waving that we may have a future Mizzou tiger on our hands! #mizzourah

 So much family fun!

Loved watching the cheerleaders, especially Sydney!!!

After the game, there was dinner and drinking...and [sooo very luckily!] daylight savings time!!! Extra hour of sleep, yes please! Harper's, "I wan' go hotel!" wish came true!

Thanks, Sydney, for inviting us down for a great weekend! Mizzou will always be a special part of our love story, and it was so fun to be back! And Harper has been running around all day today yelling, "Z-O-UUU!" and waving her black and gold pom-poms!  She can't wait to see you again [and the tiger sticker on your face!] at Thanksgiving! :-* 

- Happy Fall, Y'all! -

HOLY BALLZZZZ...

...it's finally fall!!!

Maybe it's because I'm 20-something weeks pregnant going on FULL TERM [AKA already sooo ginormous and kinda disgruntled about my current Amazon appearance], but this 90-degree weather in October has been despicable and I've been waiting ohhhhh so not-so-patiently for the first gust of cool air.  Sweaters and leggings and boots [and something big/bulky to cover the bump], OH MY!  Last year, we were already 90% through with our Fall Bucket List by mid-October; and this year, I've been folding the laundry [indoors in the A/C] week after week wondering if we will even be able to pack away our shorts and tank tops before Christmas.  #summerbluesensues

...I've been known to exaggerate in certain situations, but this ^^ is for real. Ohhhh the irony of painting Halloween scenes at Library Lab and having [what should be] warm cozy October slumber parties with our cousins all while donned in our summery-est of summer clothing:

But today! Todayyyyyy!  The crisp breath of fall is in the air and we have some pumpkin cookies baking in the oven and the Young Living diffuser going and ahhhh!  That's what I'm talkin' bout!  Feeling full of the fall spirit and loving our house decor!

PLUS, Harper has her Halloween costume all picked out and ready to wear [thanks to some Pinterest inspirache!] and we can't wait for some cool fall nights to hit up the trick-or-treating scene.  And still to come: apple picking [is it too late to pick apples???], pumpkin patch fun, and hopefully some bonfires complete with a weenie roast!

I LOVE FALL!

- I wan' go hotel... '

I was cleaning up dinner the other night while Brian was washing Harper's curl mop in the kitchen sink. I glanced over and her head was all suds'ed up and she was smiling from ear to ear at the sight of her dad [the favorite parent, of course], and I said, "Harper, do you like living in this house with Mommy and Daddy?!" She immediately lost her smile and furrowed her eyebrows and said, "No. I wan' go hotel." 

...Word. 

Silverthorne in June!

Destin in September! 

...And Chicago last weekend! 

We aren't world travelers by any means; it's just the way the cookie crumbled. But it feels like we've been here, there, and everywhere over the past few months; and Harper's been LOVING each trip! Brian's cousin got married in Chicago last weekend, so a group of about thirty [?] family members rode the train up to the Windy City to celebrate the new nuptials! 

Harp's first choo-choo ride -- bright and early boarding time!

My parents were headed to a different wedding in Chicago [crazy coincidence!] so they joined the train-goers.  Harper flitted from seat to seat and had an absolute blast visiting all her grammys and papas and cousins and aunts and uncles! Occasionally she threw a bone of attention to her boring mom and dad... :)  Great Aunt Stephanie packed a whole SUITCASE full of snacks, so she was Harper's BFF for sure...

 Exploring the city:

 Then off to the wedding!

 The whole weekend went by so fast!

Not sure when the next roadtrip/vacation will be [...nothing on the books currently], but I'm thinking with the holidays and baby coming, Harper will have to be satisfied with just living in our house for a long while!!! ;)