Labor Day

Fall is definitely in the air here in MN - it's been in the 60's instead of upper 90's like it was, oh...5 days ago.  Not that I'm complaining - fall is my favorite!  Can't wait for the leaves to change and enjoy the upcoming holidays.  That's one great thing about MN - even though we have 6 months of winter, at least we have 4 distinct seasons.  I just picked up some of those Bath & Body Works candles that smell AMAZING (sweet cinnamon pumpkin, spiced cider and marshmallow fireside). 

We had quite the busy weekend - we went to the State Fair with Matt's sister Lea and her husband and son.  Typical me, I planned out what booths I wanted to see and what foods I wanted to try ahead of time.  We must have walked around for at least 7 hours and paid for it the next day by hobbling along like old people.  Hands down, best food at the fair was the sweet corn ice cream with the bacon & maple butter sauce.  I think my favorite part was the Miracle of Birth center with all the cute baby animals - especially the lambs and piglets:

That was just the first day.  Saturday we went to a funeral for Matt's late uncle, Victor, and had lunch with Matt's brothers (Marcus and Harry) and sister-in-law Jen who was due any day to deliver their second son.  Sunday morning we awoke with the thrilling news that Jen had gone into labor early that morning and they named their son Jude Timothy.  We were SO excited to meet him.  We were supposed to be going to big brother Nathanael's birthday party that day, but little brother Jude decided to preempt it.  :)  Isn't he the cutest thing?!? 

I can't wait until we have our own kids.  It's so heartwarming to watch Matt with his nieces and nephews and hear him talk about our future kids and what they might be like.  Hopefully God will give us guidance on Matt's job search so that we feel more settled in the coming year and feel like we're able to afford kids.  I definitely understand how women get caught up in the whole biological clock thing - I'd rather have a family sooner than later, especially given how the risks go up in your mid-30's and it's harder on your body.  I know it will be a big life change but I'm looking forward to it, even the tough parts.

And of course, we spent a couple days with Francesca, our Italian exchange student from 2002-2003 who was visiting the U.S.  It was great catching up with her, going out for a boat ride, grabbing some sushi - we were really lucky to have built long-lasting relationships with both of our foreign exchange students.  If I wasn't itching to go to Italy before, I am now!  It's top of our list, along with France, Ireland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Finland.