Fall Fun

Though not leaving for Kenya on our anticipated date of September 8 was disappointing, we have also been thankful for the extra time here before we leave.  God knew we needed the break in our crazy pace of life even if we didn't want to admit it.  This time has allowed us to slow down with our planning, prepare mentally and emotionally for the move we are about to make and spend sometime enjoying the gifts God gives us with the seasons. 

Here in the Midwest there is nothing quite like fall.  The vibrant colors of the leaves turning when the air turns cool and crisp is something that this California girl never gets tired of.  God is such an incredible artist, isn't he?  Each bright orange and yellow leaf is a wonderful painting He has created for none other than our pleasure.  Isn't it crazy how God likes all of the colors? Pinks and purples in the spring with the waking up of new flowers, greens in the summer and almost florescent yellows and oranges coupled with deep reds in the fall.  So breath taking.

Since we will be missing out on these colors for the next couple of years Dan and I have been out and about having fun taking pictures and creating memories.  We also have learned to explore the self timer function on our camera so that the two of us can be in pictures together.  This has been the source of much laughter and entertainment.  One of us figures out how to prop the camera up just right using sticks, scraps of paper or whatever we can find to get the picture framed the way we want with the other one standing in the distance.  Then the self timer button is pushed which inevitably leads to full-on sprints to get to the other person, turn around, try hard not to look breathless and windswept and place a smile on your face all before the 10 seconds is up and the photo is snapped.  Needless to say - this process has lead to some pretty interesting pictures along the way and we have created some good memories doing it. 

Can you tell which one was the runner?

 

Picture of the cutest man on earth!

Love the color in this one.

This last weekend we decided to go out and take some last final fall pictures before all the leaves are gone with the changing seasons.  I had thought about wearing tennis shoes given all of the running involved with this process....but vanity in me decided that black, healed boots went better with my outfit.  Running was a challenge, but I was getting better at mastering sprints in heals with each picture.  What a great work out! Well, that is until the camera caught this little mishap.



The look of pain. I had to blow this one up big so you could see my trying to smile and not cry face.

The swings picture was going to be so cute!  Then my left ankle decided not to make the turn in the woodchips as I sprinted over and tried to take a seat on the swings.  Rolled ankles are never fun. 




For those of you that know me from my lacrosse playing days know that I have a long history of a bad left ankle.  This scene is all too familiar.

 

 

Welp, that was the end of my sprints for the evening.  Thankfully only a minor sprain and I can still put some weight on it.  Going to have to scale back on the running for a while.