ball.

yep, she plays ball. with style. air kj.

neighborhood.

we feel so blessed to have landed on our block of friendly neighbors.  and occasionally enjoy the pleasant evening air with a glass of wine, a game of fetch, and an acorn or two.

brushing.

nothing like teaching by example.  each morning & evening, kj & daddy spend some time brushing their teeth together... which should make the dentists in the family very happy. ;)  on the silly side, it makes me want to sing raffi's 'brush your teeth' song.  on the heart side, i just love that they make every moment of these days together count.

fall.

never before have i lived in a place where the fall weather actually begins on the autumnal equinox!  but today, on this first day of fall, we walked with some friends, enjoyed the brisk air, feasted our eyes on the bold fall colors, wore hooded sweatshirts, fought off runny noses, planted bulbs, and made our 'fall cleaning' to-do list.  what a wonderful day!

take a look at the view from kj's window right now, and of course we had to include the ultimate fall photo - a baby in a pumpkin patch, eating honeycrisp apple slices... ;)

infant.

i am just now starting a new bible study & we will be traipsing our way through acts this year.  the book of acts chronicles the early christian church - the "infant church," if you will.  and suddenly, having an infant in my life & knowing intimately what that means, there is new understanding of those early years when believers were gathering together.  the analogy isn't perfect, of course, but a few likenesses are apparent.

.infants are constantly learning
.infants are constantly growing & changing
.everything seems new & exciting to an infant
.infants explore & experiment to discover the world around them
.sometimes infants fall, make mistakes, see negative consequences for their explorative efforts
.infants go through developmental stages, such that certain learned things are only appropriate at given times
.infants need help (parents & adults for babies, Holy Spirit & apostles for the early church)

we all have stories of growing up, from infants through childhood & early adulthood -- these are the years that formed us into who we are today.  and we know each other better by knowing one's history.  i am looking forward to knowing the Church better as i learn the story of its early years in the book of acts.  and it might just help to think of it as a kid, ever learning & growing & being graced from Above.

nine.

nine states in nine months.  that's our kj!  she is a travelin' woman.
north dakota was a new state for rj, as well.  thanks, brudvik family, for getting us out there this weekend!  we had a great time celebrating a great occasion: marriage!  with some of our favorite people: nanna & poppa.

k-nip.

kj goes crazy for peaches.  and i mean wave-frantically-kick-legs-simultaneously-make-loud-demanding-noises-and-lean-waaaayy-forward-towards-the-edible-yellow-orb-in-front-of-her crazy.  we call said fruit k-nip.  we have to agree, it is quite delicious.

adored.

big.

this kj girl is getting SO BIG!

year2.

another first day of school for nj.
kj celebrated with daddy as he started year two at UMD by teaching his new hydrology & hydraulics class.

birthday.

we had a birthday weekend to celebrate nj's big 30th.  it was a grand occasion, marked with some superfun activities & fantastic people.  i think it's safe to say that the birthday boy enjoyed himself.

of course we had to claim the birthday morning with his favored breakfast: belgian waffles.  

friday night was n+r all the way (hallelujah for first friday date nights!).  plus a completely unexpected gift of a hitch. for the saturn. the 4-cylinder saturn. but now he can tow a boat, wow!

saturday night we rode the timber twister (recommend it!) and chowed down on chicken enchiladas & carrot cake (yes, it's a weird combo, and yes, it was delicious).

on sunday nj got surprised by his brother & sister-in-law showing up -- of course we had to eat more cake & let him win ticket-to-ride.

monday brought the biggest surprise of all: nj's parents, a boat, and a trailer.  so now our 4-cylinder saturn actually tows a boat.  a small one, granted, but it floats.  and my man does love fishing.  so, of course we had to try it out!  he was giddy, and it was priceless.  

happy 30th, love!

saturday.

a typical saturday (at home!) in johnsonland.  includes lots of playtime, a little choretime, some naptime, and now, college football time.  bliss.

turning.

a few things are turning around in these parts...
.the maple trees are turning to beautiful shades of yellow, orange & red
.the start of school and football surely means summertime is turning into fall
.our very own nj is turning the magnificent age of thirty
.kj's favorite new tricks include clapping, high-fives, and what else but turning pages (of sturdy board books)
.we're turning over a new leaf & staying in town for more than two consecutive weeks!
.and each morning, we do our best to turn our eyes upon Jesus, and fix them there.

eastward.

to close out our summer travel, we took a trip eastward.  and it was wonderful.  a whirlwind wonderful
kj & rj toured the NJ/NYC/Philly area, visiting friends galore & some family, too.  it was so fun to introduce kj to so many people that i adore!  to take her to the places that i once knew.  to meet quite a few little mini-me's of those friends we like so much.  and to hang out with gramma & grampa for a good, long time.

first stop: patrick & rose's abode! in sweet ol' NJ, with wonderful Texas gals & the little dude Atticus
second stop: new york city & ben, claire & adele's pad - complete with college friends of the upper west side!
third stop: the sights & sounds of the city, including central park, statue of liberty, wall street, chinatown, little italy, a subway, a taxi, a drive through lincoln tunnel
fourth stop: jaquan & mikaela(i'm 39wks preggo & awesome)'s place & church, plus touching base with several dear friends from our college ministries
fifth stop: great aunt aggee & great uncle dave's cozy home, also meeting up with gramma & great-grandma

sixth stop: gramma & grampa's house! with so many new (old) toys, new (old) corning friends Shandon, Colleen & Lincoln, and visits from daddy, uncle danIel & nicole

seventh stop: uncle danIel & nicole's digs in philly, and a tour of campus

eighth stop: take us home, daddy!!

told you it was a whirlwind wonderful.  here are photos to prove it:

 ps, thank you thank you thank you to all of you who shared your photos with me during this trip!  i have not yet mastered the babe-in-one-arm-camera-in-the-other trick yet...