Sunsets

sun-set
noun

1.     the setting or descent of the sun below the horizon in the evening.
2.     the time when the sun sets.
3.     the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon in the west as a result of Earth's rotation.

Sunsets are one of my favorite things of summer and fall. The way the Lord creatively paints the sky in breathtakingly beautiful colors is always different and new every time. It seriously stirs my affections for Christ and makes me stand in awe of what His mighty hand can do and create. Every time I am lucky enough to see one of His gorgeous sunset displays, I try to capture as much of the beauty as I can. I like to look at the photos, especially in winter when beautiful sunsets are few and far between. Every time I look at the photos, I'm in awe all over again and the pictures don't even do the sunsets justice! Here are some sunsets I was lucky enough to capture this past summer and fall. May they stir your affections for Christ the same way they stir mine. 

In Vadnais Heights, MN at one of Andrew's softball games earlier in summer. No filter 

Up north in Deerwood, MN. Instagram filter

Up north in Deerwood, MN. No filter

Up North in Nashwauk, MN for a friend's funeral. No filter

Up north in Deerwood, MN. No filter

In Hawaii at Ko'Olina Beach when I took a trip there in May.

In Hills, MN at a friend's wedding. Filter

Up north in Deerwood, MN. No filter

In Hills, MN at a friend's wedding. Purple filter

In Edwards, IL at Kickapoo Creek Winery at a friend's wedding. No filter

In Minneapolis, MN at Lake Harriet. No filter

In Minneapolis, MN out a random apartment window while we were cleaning in our building. No filter

In St. Paul, MN at the MN State Fair round 3. Filter

In St. Paul, MN at the MN State Fair round 2. No Filter

This ladies and gents is my all time favorite sunset EVER! I had to save the best for last. Taken in Little Canada, MN at one of Andrew's softball games in early summer. The sky seriously looked like a rainbow. It was beautiful! No filter

A Fairytale Wedding

I had the privilege of being in one of my best friend's wedding this past weekend and it was one of the most beautiful weddings I have been to. Not only was Mark and Amanda's love radiating for all to witness, but the location of the reception was in Hills, MN, in Amanda's parent's pole barn they just built. It was breathtakingly beautiful! When I was first told that the reception would be held on the Tilstra farm I expected more of a barn, hay bale, cowboy type theme. This wedding had a completely different feel.  Amanda had us wearing black dresses, red shoes, red accessories, we carried red roses, and the decor made me feel like I was in a fairy tale the way the many lights draped the pole barn along the walls and ceiling. The night even ended with fireworks. It was a beautiful day to celebrate Mark and Amanda.

Since the wedding was in Hills, MN (4 hours away from Minneapolis) I ventured down on Friday and stayed at the Tilstra farm until Sunday. I was able to help decorate the church, see the tri-state marker, climb some hay bales, spend some much needed time with dear friends, celebrate a beautiful love and new marriage, hug windmills, four wheel, and enjoy the open country. On the way home on Sunday, Mike, Becky, and I stopped at Minnesota's largest candy store. It was so overwhelming! There was every kind of candy you can think of plus a huge selection of soda in a glass bottle. It was a fantastic weekend! Here are some photos of my adventures:

Beautiful sunset down a country road.

Here is the tri-state marker. It marks where the state lines for Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota all meet. So, technically I was in three states at once! This is my friend Nina in the picture with me. She was another one of Amanda's bridesmaids.

This photo is tradition. Every time I visit the tri-state marker, I hug it and take a picture.

Kelsey, Becky, and me being a trio around the tri-state marker.

Beautiful sunset on the way to the farm that night.

Loved the flowers with the red shoes and how they popped on the black dresses.

The beautiful bride hanging out before the walk down the aisle. 

Amanda with all of her bridesmaids.

At the reception Becky and I climbed the hay bales.

As if we weren't high enough already, Becky made me get on her shoulders… nothing like conquering my fear of heights.

On top of the hay bale stack.

The view was so beautiful!

The sunset on top of the hay bale stack.

Another lovely country sunset the night of the wedding. I love that you can see all the barn silhouettes.

The fireworks at the end of night that were lit off to send off Mark and Amanda. I could not get a good picture - they were so much more beautiful and bigger in person.

The beautiful country view on my four wheeler ride.

I seriously love windmills. This is my favorite shot I got.

Just a small taste of the huge candy selection.

The store had a licorice section.

Just one of many soda walls

The building was bright yellow and very hard to miss.

It was a ginormous building!

I wish I would have gotten more shots of the wedding/reception because it was so beautiful, but I was having too much fun shaking it on the dance floor. Mark and Amanda, the love you guys have for each other is beautiful. I pray that you two will never loose that and that you will carry it with you many years into marriage. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your lovely day! 

I Scream, You Scream

One of my biggest weaknesses is ice cream. I struggle with this weakness year round, but it is especially bad in the summer/warmer fall months. It didn't help this last month that I came across a top nine list of ice cream places in the Twin Cities. Of course my new goal now is to try every place before the snow comes. I've already had a couple of the places on the list, but it doesn't count because it wasn't documented. Andrew and I were hanging out with friends recently and we got the itch to have some ice cream. Naturally, I looked up the closest ice cream place on my top ten in the Twin Cities list, and it turns out they live just a mile from number five on the list: HomeTown Creamery. Of course we walked there and tried it out!

The HomeTown Creamery is located in North St. Paul, but they also travel to a number of festivals and events around the Twin Cities - over 40 events alone throughout the summer. Howie Walters is the owner and he said the shop is named "HomeTown" because of his family's connection to the community. All of their ice cream is homemade by Howie and they have won national awards for the basics: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. But it's their uniquely-named ice cream that you've got to try, like Blind Love (caramel ice cream with Oreos, chocolate chunks and praline pecans), Peanut Butter Plunge and Blue Money, which Howie says is its own flavor. Howie isn't afraid to experiment, saying if a customer thinks of something, they'll make it. Their best sellers are Peanut Butter Plunge and Blind Love.

Here is a family of geese we passed on our walk there… this isn't even half of them, they were everywhere!

We made it!

After sampling the award winning Strawberry ice cream, Blind Love, and a few other flavors, I finally decided to get Pomegranate Passionfruit. It was delicious!

Andrew and I with our cones.

Becca and Billy with their cones.

The HomeTown Creamery.

The beautiful sunset on our way home.

The Hometown Creamery had very good ice cream.  I'm interested to see what place I think is the best once I've visited them all! Here's the list of the top nine ice cream places in the Twin Cities:

1. Adele's Frozen Custard in Excelsior

2. Conny's Creamy Cone in St. Paul

3. Edina Creamery in Edina

4. Grand Ole Creamery in St. Paul

5. HomeTown Creamery in North St. Paul

6. Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul

7. Pumphouse Creamery in Minneapolis

8. Sebastian Joe's in Minneapolis

9. Crema Cafe in Minneapolis

Let me know if you visit any and what your thoughts are!

Weekend Re-cap

I feel like life has been crazy busy ever since I returned from Hawaii.  I still have yet to post about my Hawaiian adventures.  Amongst all the busyness, Andrew and I have had some fun and memorable times with some great people.  Here's a re-cap of our weekend and what we did:

We attended my friend Kari's wedding. It was a gorgeous wedding and every detail was perfect! We enjoyed yummy food, cake, and some great company. This is the beautiful cake!

I attended the Edina art fair with my friend Sarah. We saw some cool things, ate some great food, and bought some awesome headbands.

I got to see my favorite little man over the weekend. I babysat him one night and we had fun dressing him up in the outfit I brought him back from Hawaii. What a stud!

I attended Andrew's softball games and saw the most amazing sunset I've seen in a long time! I am truly amazed at how wonderful our Creator truly is! Pictures do not even do it justice!

We had a picnic lunch at Minnehaha Falls with our good friends Luke and Laura and their little girl Audrey. It was a perfect day for a picnic and DQ dessert after with great company.

I experience Cherry Berry (a frozen yogurt place) for the first time with my mom and my friend Kristine. There were so many frozen yogurt flavors, and so many topping choices! I was overwhelmed with decisions. I ended up choosing a pink lemonade frozen yogurt topped with gummy bears, strawberry and passion fruit jelly balls, strawberry pop rocks, and sour gummy worms. It was so yummy! I will definitely frequent that place more often!

Overall, in all of life's busyness, it's important to remember to enjoy life. What did you do over the weekend?