Fall is here

Last Saturday I loaded up the family car and headed to the IHSAA semi-state cross country meet at Northview Christian Church to cheer on Fishers H.S. It turned out that the weather is no longer the 75-degree weather we experienced a few weeks ago... the weather was in the mid to upper 40's. Anyway, it was cold. Coooooooooooooooooold.

The pictures below show some of the pictures taken at the meet (and our house after we got back). The day was great until we were driving back from dinner at Molly's parents and our transmission stopped working. It is now sitting at the Saturn dealership in Fishers... anyway, I digress. It was a great day.















I love this picture of Molly and Ansley... especially the reds in the tree to the left.





















I got a workout at the cross country meet with both girls on my back.





















Two cuties... Kennedy and mom















A good view of the finish line

Goodbye dance class

Maybe this sounds bad to admit, but I'm happy that our 6-week dance class experience is over. Through this experience, I got a small taste of the busyness for parents of teenagers, who spend each night carting their kids to and from sporting events, dance classes, gymnastics, youth group, or whatever else their kids are involved with.

Time to get on my soap box for a minute... we are so busy and rushed as a society. In our effort to overplan our lives and keep up with the pace of our society, we don't always stop to "smell the roses" (sorry, that was VERY clique). As a high school counselor, I see this busyness unfold on a daily basis with high school students. In addition to being constantly "wired" by their cell phones, text messaging, the internet, facebook, I-pod, etc... kids are very busy with jobs, hours of homework, and intensive involvement with sports and extracurricular activities. Gone are the days when most kids could play a variety of sports throughout the year. Unless you are a stud athlete, most kids have to pick one sport and dedicate their entire year to improving in this one area. Many kids have personal trainers, club teams, year-long workout regimen's and so on...

Before I got too off topic, I admit that life will be busy no matter how much I resist. However, I try (and mostly fail) to live in the moment and day to be at peace with all of the good and bad that happens. Over time, even the things that seem bad can have a silver lining. We learn from our mistakes, learn humility, and we build character. It's my goal to emphasize God, family, and friends in all that we do. How does that look? I'm not sure. If you have read this entire blog, congratulations getting through my ramblings. I know that God is in control and that he will give us peace if we put our trust in Him. This is important in this crazy world we live in.

Enjoy the pictures below. We took them on the last night of Kennedy's dance class. The bad news is that I need some new blog material in the near future. Any ideas?

A weekend in Ft. Lauderdale

Let me break this down to you... it's 9:30 on a Sunday night and Molly has been in bed for an hour. The kids were in a bed at least an hour before bedtime, and I am fighting to keep my eyes open as I type this blog entry to finish my day. Do I have pictures? Unfortunately, no.

However, Molly and I just spent the weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. Her company graciously invited me down to accompany her on her work trip (thanks AmDoc). In addition to spending 3 nights without the kids, we also had a chance to hang out with Molly's brother Joe and his wife Liz. It was great to spend time with them and we found out that Liz is now pregnant (just kidding). We had a blast hanging out on Joe's boat, except for the fact that I got seasick and we didn't catch any fish (it was still a blast). Another highlight included the Seafood Extravaganza buffet at the Ft. Lauderdale Yacht Club (again, thanks AmDoc). It was incredible.

I could talk about more stories from the weekend, which include a harrowing sprint through Charlotte's airport to make our connecting flight, losing our luggage today, Molly leaving her driver window fully down in the long-term parking lot, our complete inability to follow the most basic directions, Molly almost getting a ticket for a U-turn on the interstate, my lack of proper etiquette (according to Molly) on airplanes and in basic society, and the interesting / disturbing passengers we always seem to meet.... however, I won't. I'm tired and it is now 9:45. I also don't have any pictures for which I apologize. Thanks to our parents for watching the girls and giving us this weekend together... it was much needed. It's good to be home and back with the girls. Adios for today.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend, we made our 2nd annual visit to the local Hancock Country apple orchard and pumpkin patch with the Hitchcocks, Landwerlen's, and Murrays. It might have been the last day of 85-degree weather of the year.

It was a great day to catch up with old friends and find the perfect pumpkin.














Molly and Kennedy find the perfect pumpkin.





















Kennedy and her buddy Elias get cheesy for a minute.















Group photo of the kids and a few parents. Brookie was a little tired...





















Ansley's first wagon ride.

Sharing an "Icee" with Kennedy

The warm days of summer seem to have passed us by for the year. Two weekends ago, I had the priviledge (insert sarcasm) to paint the treated wood part of our composite deck (Molly wants it all gray). Anyway, the best part of the process was taking a 10-minute break to devour several small Icee's with Kennedy.

This might seem like a random or insignificant moment, but it represents the types of activities I enjoy the most: the sublime, simple, personal, eating food, and spending time with my family. Besides the "brain freeze" I gave myself, it was a great moment spent with Kennedy.














Kennedy eats my purple Icee.















Is she eating my Icee or kissing me? I vote for the 2nd option.















Kennedy catches mom taking pictures.

Surprise Visit from Aunt Cassie (and Lauren)

This past weekend, Cassie and her buddy Lauren journey several hundred miles for a surprise visit. The main reason is that my dad is attending a spiritual retreat weekend, and she wanted to surprise him during part of the weekend. Cool huh?

On Saturday we went to my parents for dinner. The pictures below were taken as we enjoy the "outdoor fireplace" and made Smores. Have you ever wondered what happens when you give a 2 and 1/2 year old lots of dark chocolate after her normal bed time? Craziness... and non-stop talking from the moment we left until we pulled into our driveway. So much for her falling asleep and letting us simply drop her in her bed once we got home.... oh well.





















Here is my shout out to Lauren. Thanks for coming home with Cassie this weekend. It was awesome meeting you.





















Kennedy enjoys eating her smores and also holds a stick with marshmallows in the hopes for future smores. (And don't worry... she was at least 2 feet from the fire.)




















Cassie and Ansley














A rare Applegate family picture. It's rare... and not the best photogenic picture ever, but we'll take it!