Haul Out the...

...clorox!

We all spent last week being sick.  And then passed it on to our families.  It was so gross...a nasty stomach bug.  It's been years since I've been sick like that.

...laptop!

I'm still up to my eyeballs in editing.  I love it!  I never, ever thought I'd be taking pictures for people and that they'd be paying me money to do it.  It's just so fun!

...checkbook!

Just a few more tiny gifts, and Christmas shopping is all done.  Such a great feeling!  Most of it is wrapped and ready to go.

...boxes!

Well, kinda.  We've had two buyers for our house, and both have backed out at the last minute.  It's really frustrating and very emotional.  Both times, we've found houses we loved.  I'm sure we'll find the perfect house when we actually have a buyer, I just want it to be right now.

...holly!

We got down the Christmas decorations over the weekend.  They make me so happy.  Although, this year when I got out the bright jewel-tone stuff that I've loved in the past, I decided to spray paint it silver.  And I'm making new stockings that are linen and herringbone.  Yikes...I'm getting old!

So Thankful

Remember That One Time?

When I blogged?

I'm just lost in the crazy-busy of being a photographer and having a house for sale.

I'm thankful for both.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from all of us:

 abby caddabby

{no one had a clue who she was, which surprised me.  aren't all kids sesame street junkies?}

elmo

{with the dorothy treat bag.  there are elmo hands, but they aren't very popular with my busy boy.}

macgruber and rosie the riveter

{obviously no one gets us.  people didn't get the macgruber thing.  didn't even guess macgyver.  what you can't see in the pic is the wires and paperclips hanging out of this pockets, and dirt all over the place.  i still say it was a great costume.}

Hallway Age

For a few months now, Little Dude has been what I consider 'hallway age'.  That means that while at church for our three-hour block of classes/meetings, we spent most of the time in the hallway.

He's too old to be satisfied with sitting and playing with toys, and too young to go into the nursery {consider this my request for nursery to begin at 12 months}.  We can't sit in a meeting for more than 5 minutes without becoming a very large distraction.

So into the hallway we go.  We walk around and get drinks from the drinking fountain every 3 seconds.  For a few weeks in a row, the Primary was practicing in the chapel, which mesmerized the dude.  He just wants to be big.

As a side note, the Sunbean was awesome in the Primary Program.  She knew all of the words and sang most of the time.  And even spoke into the mic for her part!  That's a big deal for my shy girl.

Of course, I didn't get to see much of the program.  I was in the hallway.

Rainy Days and Mondays

We had both today.

After the crazy weekend we had, I feel like we need another weekend to recover.  On Saturday, we cleaned the church, had 4 photo shoots, baked and decorated 4 dozen cake pops and 2 dozen donut holes, MacGyver worked for a few hours, and we went to a Halloween party/hayride.  Sunday was church and another family gathering + home teaching.

My photography has exploded.  This is not a complaint.  Let me know if you'd like to schedule a photo shoot!

Our house is for sale.  We've had a fair amount of interest, especially considering the time of year.  Two couples are awaiting financing.  We're doing for sale by owner for now, and then we'll list it with MacGyver's mom in the spring if needed.  We're staying in the area, just wanting something a little bigger.  With a basement.  And high ceilings.  And odd angles.  And lots of bedrooms.  And a big kitchen.  And a big garage.

I'm sick of politics taking over the television.  

Suggestions for Netflix shows?  Or hulu+.  We have both.  I'm not sure why.

For your viewing pleasure, here are my cuties:

Like always, a labor of love but totally worth it.

Give 'Em the Ol' Razzle Dazzle

Great musical, better city.

Last weekend, I took a very big step as a parent.  We dropped the kids off with my parents on Friday night, and then headed up to Chicago with our good friends.  Six adults, no kids.  It.  Was.  Awesome.

We were so high on being alone without our kids for the first time in um, ever, that we barely noticed the torrential downpour that graced Chicago the entire time we were there.

It rained pretty much all day Saturday, though we did get to enjoy dinner outside, sans rain.  If you're a Chicagoland-er, please eat at Brick House Tavern.  Seriously delicious.  We got to talk to the owner, and he was pretty jazzed about the menu.  He over-explained everything, and we ordered just about everything and shared it.  It did not disappoint.  In fact, it was so good that we found the three large rats running past hilarious.  It was right on the river, though, so I guess that's just part of the experience?

This cute girl celebrated her 30th yesterday!

We've been friends with these 4 people for years.  It was so great to just hang out.

We had some Chicago-style pizza for lunch.  Everyone else wasn't super impressed, but mine was delish.  Yummy stuff.

We also hit up Nordstrom Rack, where our big purchases were an umbrella and socks.  Next was Target {ya, I'm totally the girl who drives to Chicago and then shops at Target}, where I got a cute new jacket.

We of course snacked on Garrett's popcorn and walked up and down Michigan Avenue.  I kept trying to convince MacGyver to take me shopping at Tiffany's for these, but he didn't.  ;)

We also made the requisite stop at American Girl Place.  The Sunbean had a gift card from her birthday, and sent us with a detailed shopping list.  I was just happy to have a valid reason to visit.

See my new jacket?

The best part of the trip was just spending time with this guy.  We've never done anything like this without our kids, and it was seriously great.  Can't wait until next time!