The Ozarks

The climax of Fall for me has been the tradition of going down to the Ozarks to visit the DeWits each Fall. The foliage and autumn color palette are enough to twist our arms to drive 7 (ahem 9.5 Detour) hours, but getting to visit friends is the icing on the cake.

With all the stress I've been feeling this first quarter with school and other things, it was so nice to forget all my stresses and enjoy a relaxing long weekend with friends and family. As per usual, the weather didn't disappoint. In fact, we averaged 85 degree days both days we were there which called for lots of outside time enjoying wineries and Jeff and Amanda's favorite places on the strip, as well as a boat day Sunday (my favorite part). We even got in the water just to say we did it in October. I wouldn't say it was ideal water temperature, but once your legs go numb, it's all relative.

Here's a look at our mini vaca in pictures:

We're HERE!!!

Amanda's concocted Caramel Apple Sangria. YUM!

Really Jeff?

I mean seriously......

Amanda's the best breakfast maker in town!

Our view from the Shawnee Bluff Winery

What Dan woke up to on his birthday. :)

Happy Birthday to you!

Waffle Bar for Breakfast

His Birthday "cake"

85 degrees is the perfect boat day!

All the colors....In love

She's a beaut!

The Boys

Seestahs

Sayonara Ozarks! Until we meet again. Thanks again Jeff and Amanda for making our stay incredible. We love you!

Enjoying

We're starting to get into the groove FINALLY! Since we spent so much time focusing on the negative, it's time for an "Enjoying" post I think. So without further adieu.......



Beautiful Fall Weather
I've loved every minute of being outside these last few weeks. My allergies aren't acting up. The colors are GORGEOUS, and I can't even tell you how nice it's been to get out for some walks. I even took to reading outside the last few weekends. The sunshine has felt so nice. I'm not ready for this to go away. :(

Pumpkin everything....and squash

I'm really the only one who will eat it. I can sometimes get my boys to have a few of these muffins that I make, but really I'm on my own. So anytime it's available, I'm all over it: pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie blizzards....really the options are endless. I think I'll be trying the pumpkin brownies sometime this week.

Jae's First Basketball Game

Okay. Do you remember what it was like to learn something for the first time? How absolutely ridiculous you looked that all you could do was laugh? No? Maybe that was just me. I was the furthest thing there was from a true athlete, but I loved being part of the team. Don't pass me the ball. Don't put me in first, but I'll sit on the bench in a uniform and cheer the crap outta the rest of you. I thrived on the camaraderie. I love the idea of being part of something bigger than myself. I just wanted to be part of the team.

Well Jae had her first game this weekend. We didn't put her in IBL league last year because we were kind of boycotting how early everything starts these days. I'm not sure if it was the right call, considering it was very obvious she'd never stepped foot onto a court. She very much reminded me of myself at that age. If anything, I'm excited to see how much she grows by the end of the year. She had fun, and she's learning a ton. Her coach is amazing at encouraging her and focusing on the positives, which is probably more than we did. :( All in all, it made me excited for the rest of the season!

Supper dates with a good friend

I've said it a billion times, and I'm sure I'll say it a billion more. I thrive on my relationships. They are so important to me. It's rare to find people who fit the definition of true friendship anymore. It's easier to hide behind the superficial and mask who we really are in order to gain respect or validation, and I've been so blessed to have so many authentic friendships in my life.

Melissa and I took an evening while some of our other friends were dating their hubbies (rude) and headed to Sfumato pizza for some pizza, a couple drinks and of course chocolate cake. :)

A Visit from my Brosef

The nice thing about him going to college only a few hours away is that he comes home on the weekends once in awhile. It's definitely not the amount of times I used to see him in a week, but it's always awesome to be able to see his face and catch up!

Oh, and I'm getting out of my workout rut. I even ran this morning. Be proud of me. We head to the Ozarks this weekend! Lots more Fall excitement to be had! Happy Monday!

Stuck on a Hamster Wheel

I'd love to be able to tell you that my one month blogging hiatus is a result of loads of living coming from the Wolfswinkel home. A good friend asked me last night what our plans were for the weekend since we are the "fun" family, and I had to giggle a little bit because I certainly haven't felt fun in a very long time. I feel like I'm on a never ending hamster wheel, trying to get somewhere but going nowhere. School came and started in such a rush, and with so many changes happening, I feel like the year hasn't really started even though we are only a few weeks shy of the first quarter ending.

I've spent a lot of the last month and a half feeling really irritated and annoyed. I'm whiny and know I spend far too much time bitching about things that I can't change. That's really very unlike me (insert sarcasm here). Seriously though, I don't like to be that person. I like to see the positives. To grab hold of the little things and enjoy the bejesus out of them. But there's also something to be said about being able to vent and complain about the things that bother you and have other people understand you completely. I'm so thankful for my team. In my opinion, we mesh so well, and I'd have to say if I'm digging for things to enjoy right now, it would be that I'm back in the "pod" with my friends. I can run across the hall or next door and find a friend that understands my struggles, but can also laugh with me and completely get it if I start to cry when I'm overwhelmed. And while there are days when the "this isn't what I signed up for" feelings pop in my head, I know I am very overwhelmingly blessed to be able to do something I love with people I love, and that makes coming to work far more enjoyable than you could possibly imagine. So thank you friends. :)

We can pretend Tyler and Steph are in the picture too. Sorry friends. I'm talking about you too. ;)

So, I'm stuck. I'm in a little rut. Unfortunately, ruts happen way too often. I think the common denominator in these equations is always me. :/ Working on it. My attitude it taking a toll on my house, my laundry, my fun factor as a mom and wife, my workouts, my everything really. I'm hoping that since Fall is my favorite time of year, I'll shape up soon! So instead of focusing on the hard and the negative, I am making myself come up with things that make me happy today.

My list of happies:
1. My family and the fact that I will get new family pictures back soon which makes me uber happy. Thanks Ashley. :) They make my world go round. Anything I do in this life wouldn't be as rewarding or enjoyable with out them.
2. My relationships. I thrive on them. They are one of the most important things in my life, and I treasure them. From the ones I've taken from grade school, to the ones I've met as a married woman, and the ones I get to call friends AND family, I'm constantly reminded how lucky I am. When my thoughts are clouded by all the hard in life, all I need to do is remind myself that I have amazing friends, and all the hard doesn't seem so bad.

These ladies show up. Every day. In good and in bad. My life would be a lot less bright without them.

3. Annual Fall trip to Missouri to see some of my favorite people. I can. NOT. wait to see Jeff and Amanda. If you've never experienced Fall in the Ozarks, put it on your bucket list pronto. Besides the beautiful factor, these lovely people make the trip totally worth 9 hours. Last year's trip can be found here.

Did I mention they are famous now? Yep, got a multi-page magazine article about their house and everything. #lifestylesoftherichandfamous

4. New hairdos- Need I say more? I loved the blonde, and I will do it again, but it's fall now. And Fall is where it's at. Plus, I'm poor and can't keep up with blonde or roots.

5. Letting go
This falls under the category of relationships and people I love, but after a really hard year, we showed up to help a friend "let it go". Besides being freaking cool, it reminded me that friends show up, and that I'm so very thankful I never have to do life alone. PS. sky lanterns are amazeballs (and cheap).

You are loved.

6. Mama's loot- I love having an in with my mama's garden and apple trees. Right now I think half of my body weight is apples and tomatoes, but it will be gone soon, so I'm soaking it up!

7. Final Boating Hurrah
One last hurrah on a beautiful 70 degree day. Sad to see it go, but ready for Fall!

Hoping to Fallify my house a bit more today and capitalize on the good while releasing the bad. Let it go Mandi. Let it go.

Happy Weekend!