Our Journey...

Emmett lost his 1st tooth!

Emmett's new grown-up tooth was growing in behind one of his lower baby teeth. I was concerned and told him that he needed to start wiggling his tooth. He really wasn't motivated, and seemed to not even care. I warned him that he had a dentist appointment coming up, and that they might need to pull his tooth. He still didn't seem phased. So I bribed him to remove it by the following Sunday, and if he did I would buy him a Ripstik. This is a unique skateboard that he wanted so badly. This challenge finally put a spark in him. He went to his bedroom, got a string, and went crazy! Literally! Within minutes his tooth was hanging by a thread! He was so excited, and I was a little shocked. (Just a little though. I mean this is Emmett I'm talking about). I told him to give it a rest until the next day. The next day (October 15) he came home from school with his tooth out. I asked him what happened, and he said Harrison (his best friend) dared him to pull it out, and well the rest is history!

Just looking at him makes me emotional. My baby is growing up!

Something sweet...

Every morning when I wake up Emmett I see something like this or similar. He makes the cutest beds for his stuffed animals. Such sweetness! His caring heart makes me feel so proud.

Paul's Work Party...

Paul's work celebrated 25 years recently! They had quite the treat in store for everyone. All employees and their spouses headed to Treasure Island for a free hotel night, a boat and dinner cruise, a fun night of bowling in the hotel, and $50.00 spending money. The food and drinks provided were plentiful, and the fun was unlimited. We had a great time! The company even flew out the California employees so we were able to see Matt and Michelle (Matt was Paul's best man in our wedding, and long time friend of his.)

I wish we had taken more pictures! Here is Steve and Andra...

Apple Orchard

We went to the apple orchard on September 28th this year, and the weather was crazy hot! It was in the 80's! The very next day was very chilly though. I guess it was just one of those weather flukes. It felt weird to go to the apple orchard in shorts and t-shirts, but I'm not complaining by any means!

Look at how big these boys are getting...

Emmett has been styling his hair a lot lately...can you tell? :)

Honey sticks!

Paul's Birthday

When we returned from Chicago we headed over to Stillwater to take a tour of the Lift-Bridge Brewery. Paul had been wanting to do this for quite some time, but the timing never worked in our favor. Later that Saturday night we went out to Danny's restaurant with friends and listened to live music.

Being that we just got back from Chicago, we didn't do anything over the top for Paul's actual 41st birthday (which was on a Monday). He wanted to celebrate his birthday at the Tavern. It was a special night relaxing and breaking away from routine. I love this man!

Chicago!

September 17-20 Paul and I were able to escape for a bit, and take a mini vacation to Chicago. Paul had a business trip and his parents watched the boys for us for 5 whole days. We returned home on Saturday, but didn't pick up the kids until Sunday. We were so grateful for the break and the time to enjoy each other. The boys had a great time with Grandma Darlyn and Grandpa Bob!

Paul didn't have to work all that much. The first day I took my time in the hotel, walked around a bit and then had lunch with him. After lunch, I headed out to shop Michigan Avenue, and I got a haircut. The time flew by. The next day Paul only had to work until 9:30 am. I was just done getting ready when he made it back to the hotel room. We had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted.

Here we are at Gino's enjoying some famous Chicago pizza...

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!!!!
We took a boat tour on the river. It was very educational, and beautiful!

Here's looking up at the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower).

The architecture was astounding, and so interesting to learn about while on the tour.

We said these buildings looked like corn cobs...

Of course, we had to walk to the Willis Tower and take a trip up to the top...

Paul was a little hesitant, but I convinced him to step out onto the ledge.

I'll admit my knees were a bit week, but it was so exciting!

You really don't want to know how much we paid for this picture (ahem...$34.00)!
Worth it though! Check out that view!

Here are some selfies...

It was our last night there, and we still needed dinner. We stopped at the House of Blues for a drink and asked our bartender where she recommended we make a reservation. She mentioned her favorite restaurant was Untitled (literally). It was a former speakeasy. We made our reservation and headed over. The place was so cool, but unfortunately, the menu was not my cup of tea. We didn't want to pay over a $100.00 for food that wouldn't quite satisfy. We felt a bit discouraged, but decided to just go walking. We came across The Weber Grill restaurant picture below. This made Paul's eyes light up. We ate on the patio and had the most INCREDIBLE food. The experience was top-notch, and highly recommended. All in all we had such a great time! Every place we ate at was so amazing. The weather was amazing. The people were amazing. I could go on and on. It was such a fun trip!!!