Fall Fumbles & Fun

As our fall is showing nothing but busy weekends full of our usual festivals and events nothing compares to the season changing. Mostly our thoughts go straight to winter and the upcoming with those months, but for once our Fall is and will be unforgettable. For as many years this time of year tended to be more of a sadder time in our lives only because we're reminded of our lost family members and or a struggle at the time. 2008 was our year to gain back any inckling of a sign were overcoming our obstacles and on to greater things in our lives.

As we near the end months of September the fall colors have shown some light for us. For Mark has been on the books and maintaining his A in his classes for Trade School. Myself, I am back working full time (crazy schedule) and received a raise at the gym I work at. Nothing like hard work paying back.

We get to celebrate in every way this month from Oktoberfest coming on Friday, which always reminds me of my real adventure in Germany w/ my Grandfather "Buck" and my family (See pic). Our friends never miss an Oktoberfest and our parents never fail to enjoy the festival either and as always we enjoy our "Ziggy, Zaggy" and "Prost" at the end of our toasts! It really is a treat to have this festival in our hometown!!

Fall always brings Football. Now for those of you who watch the Vikings to watch the game and pretend to root but then talk them down when we loose. Now I will always root for them but I have faith that our team will have another chance to proove those critics wrong come this Sundays game. T. Jackson is outa the spot and lets pray our new q.b will bring our team on to some damn touchdowns instead of field goals!

Until next time and the falls colors have really hit....

Das BOOT!!!

Mark & Sara

Fall Begins

Its always hard to believe that summer ends so quickly but the way our year has gone, I say who are we kidding! We kicked off our Labor Day weekend with our out of town guests Nate & Natallie arriving on Friday we enjoyed bbq and bar crawl through downtown Stillwater. It never fails to be a fun time as we have our local crew joining us on this outing as well.

Saturday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and we enjoyed this special spot down on the St. Croix River near Afton, MN (see pic). We've had a new goal of having to find a new spot on the river this summer where we can enjoy the peace and quiet and the occasional beverage. Our few hours at the river was a resting period prior to our excursion to the MN State Fair. It was awesome to enjoy lots of sun and sand for the last time possibly this year. :(

Our usual tradition upon entering the fair always is the Pronto Pup Stand or the specialists call the big ones (see pic) Pappa Pups their enormous and yet Mark eat its within 20 seconds!! Once thats accomplished we make our way towards the action in the Midway while visiting the vendors on our way. The day was hotter than expected, but the sunshine can never be a bad thing! Mark always enjoys the DNR Building and the Creative Arts but we really hit about every parameter imaginable! Our day ended with one last Pappa Pup for Mark, a visit to the haunted house, our feet were sore, and had the best new item Annie & I had to try. Try Smoked Salmon on a Stick w/ the famous jelly on a cream cheesed cracker from Giggles Campfire...amazing!!

On Sunday I traveled with our roomate Annie to Siren to visit her father's side of the family where they live year round. After visiting Siren for quit a few years now each friends residence or cabin always surprises me how beautiful their lakes are. I wish our family cabin was as close as Siren, but I enjoy the MN drive up north much more :) The family's cabin is on canal that runs from Clam Lake and really has quit the few secrets on this huge lake. While I was in Siren Mark went to the river and enjoyed the Hudson side of the river. This beach on the Hudson Pier in WI which is a rather popular beach. The best part of the beach is you can walk from one portion of the beach to an island so thats always fun playing on the river.

Labor Day Mark was able to go see the band "Atmosphere" and "Mos Def" down on Harriet Island for a $15 dollar concert just thrown together to start off the RNC in St. Paul. I hate to say I'm not looking forward to seeing what will come w/ the RNC but glad to be in St. Paul to represent our State!!