Cici's life is going to Change!

Fall is underway! And we are enjoying a MN warm front :) It got up to 50 today! Mark and I used the nice day to enjoy another wonderful aspect of being a home owner.... raking. We have SO many leaves, we are slightly overwhelmed, and not sure what we will do with all the bags, and are afraid to know how many bags it will take, but it is definitely worth it to have this wonderful home!

The good news about the raking is I FINALLY feel like a human again... so for those who are confused, I have to explain what I felt like before. I'll let Cici say it

Come May, Cici will not be the cutest thing in our lives. Mark and I are expecting a baby! We are VERY excited (and of course a little nervous). I am just happy to be in my second trimester! First trimester was tough. If you didn't see me, or hear from me or I seemed to do nothing, I kind of did! I dropped all my fitness classes, haven't worked out, couldn't cook and went to bed every night around 8. Mark said I was my alter-ego. As opposed to my normal busy self I did a lot of sitting, laying and watching TV.

But NOW, I have more energy again! And I'm not nauseus! And the thought of eating my own food sounds GOOD! :) I still don't really want meat.... but I'm enjoying making other things that remind me of people I love like:

Omelettes, remind me of Wake

Salmon, cornbread and kale

My moms grilled vegetables subs

Cammie's sweet potato deliciousness

Now of course all these things have been a huge step up from the things like baked lays, doritos and icecream cake I was craving in the 1st trimester.... (yes 5/6 of the cake are still in our freezer! Anyone interested?)

So now that my energy is back, Mark and I are becoming more social beings again. I was able to go apple picking with my sister-in-law Susan (also pregnant :) We went to a wedding and hung out with Mark's parents, spent time with them at the cabin and have been spending time with my other sister-in-law Anne's newborn baby :)

Good Practice!

Pregnant Ladies

Wedding Fun

So second trimester here I come! I am excited for renewed energy and little baby Aronson to keep growing and start making his/her presence  :)

Fall Begins

A couple of months into the school year and I'm finally ready to update :) (Funny to think my first year of teaching this month -October- was considered "dark" and almost impossible to get through). Now in my 5th year of teaching, there are definitely challenges, especially with my crazy group this year, but at the same time I appreciate the fun aspects of fall to help me enjoy each and every day!

There's no need to say things have been busy, they always are. Mark and I ended the summer by attending our annual camping trip (yes it's only been 2 years, but it will be annual!) on Lake Pepin with our friends Charley and Shelby Bruce. This year was a bit hotter than last, but we spent a couple of nights and were able to enjoy swimming and shade to help us cool off!

Shortly after that the school year began! My group this year is... NUTS. The first month of school I literally had 1 of two kids crying every moment of my day (my teaching in KC really prepared me for this!) Needless to say, things have gotten better, but I have to be much tougher on this group than I was last year. I am still enjoying my school, though being in our new house and my commute changing from 9 minutes each way to 40.... has been kind of rough. I am nervous for our first big snow to say the least!

My kids learning to walk in line

As the school year began we had a couple of events take place! First baby Ella was born! (Our 8th niece/nephew!)

 AND my brother and his fiance (pregnant with our 9th) moved to Minnesota! Susan (fiance) has a job here and they felt like it was a place that had a lot of things they enjoyed doing, and Mark and I couldn't be more thrilled! They stayed with us for a few weeks, and then they found a cute little apartment in South Minneapolis! We are enjoying spending time with them. Yesterday we explored a park in St. Paul/Minneapolis we had yet to visit, Minnehaha Falls and today we are going to the apple orchard to get some fresh apples!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes (Sans frosting)

We've also really been enjoying our new home! We've gotten a little more furniture to fill it up, and of course because it's October, I've got Halloween decorations out! I've also managed to bake a few times using Halloween decorations of course :) Last weekend we had our House Warming Party, about time I suppose, and it was fun to host lots of our friends in our larger home. We are excited as fall continues to rake the leaves and have some bonfires in our back yard, and enjoy the last few days of warmth before winter :)

Halloween Treats

New Dining Cabinet with Fall Decorations

Den Reorganized

Den Part 2 (Still not finished)

Living room with new Coffee table and rug (of course Cici is posing)

Next weekend is our Fall Break. I was hoping to make it home to NC to see family and friends, and go to WFU homecoming game, but I never found plane tickets for less than 700! On the bright side, Mark's sister Sarah is coming into town to celebrate our growing families and spend time with baby Ella, so we are excited to get to see her! I guess I'll just have to wait a few more months to see NC (and I'm sure by then I'm going to be excited for a break from the COLD!)

Last part of summer... Busy too :)

Well, as usual we are BUSY :) I think that's probably how I like it!
This summer has FLOWN by but it's been such a great summer of friends family and fun!

So visits with my parents went well! They loved Eagan, we went on lots of walks and just got to show them around our first home! They also got to attend one of my fitness classes at the YMCA! That was neat :)

 Shortly after they left we headed to Omaha, for the last wedding of the summer! It was so beautiful! Leah and Brian were friends from TFA and so we got to have a mini "TFA reunion"-we played yard games, watched the 2nd 2009 KC Corps wedding, and DANCE DANCE DANCED!

  

We got one day at home and then we headed back to the cabin! But this time with ALL of Mark's siblings (4 in total) and all of their children (7.5!). Needless to say by the end everyone looked like this:

 But we still had a great time! It was still pretty cool in Wisconsin (theme of this summer in the Midwest! I'll take it!) But we still found the courage to go swimming in Superior, hiking through Siskiwit falls, climbing on the slackline, ride 4-wheelers and just enjoy each other's company!

 After getting back from the cabin Mark and I were pooped, but got to enjoy a couple of days together before my brother and fiance came! I got to paint our closet BLUE :) And picked a zuchini from our garden! (Before the hail storm, see below!) We also got to take a trip to the zoo and see lots of cute animals!

Zucchini

Otters

Now we are just getting to enjoy our last week of summer with my brother and Susan here! It's nice having them here because they love to be active like us, so we've been playing tennis, hiking, playing volleyball and exploring State Parks!

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In addition, they got to witness the craziest storm I've ever seen! We went downtown for dinner one night, and drove back in a crazy hail storm! The rain was so bad Highway 77 was flooded , about 2 feet, and we drove through it! Scary business! It was neat to see, but it destroyed all my tomatoes and caused a lot of damage on the house, roof, siding, garage door, deck etc! Thank goodness for insurance!

Hail COVERING the grass!

Needless to say, this summer has been a summer to remember! We both feel so thankful for all the family we've got to seen, all the places that we've gotten to visit, and the place we can now call home :) Now to end a busy summer, and I'm sure begin a busy school year! 1st grade PSI (FYI same school, same subject, 1st time in my 4 years of teaching!) HERE I COME!