It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Happy Halloween!

Allie's Birthday Party

I'm pretty sure Allie had no idea that it was her birthday, but I think she had a blast!

Happy 1^st Birthday Allie Jean!

Time for a change

I cut my hair. And I didn't even cry. The last time I cut my hair, I donated it to Locks of Love. And I cried like a baby. This time around I only cut 8 inches (yeah, only), so I wasn't able to donate it. I absolutely love it! I'm not quite sure if I'll end up growing it out again (which is what I usually do when I get an urge to cut it off), but for now I'm loving it like this and it just might stick. The gal that cuts my hair was none too pleased with me. She has always loved my hair and wished that she had it. She made it a point to sweep all the hair in a pile on the floor so I could see what I had done, but she also knew that it would look great which is why she agreed to do it. She flat out told me she will never cut my hair if she doesn't like the way I want to cut it. That's probably why I love going to her so much. I never have to worry about her getting "scissor happy"!

Congratulations Rachel & Brian Fritz!

Courtesy of Rachel and Brian's photographer

Rachel and Brian were united in marriage on October 13, 2007. It was a beautiful ceremony and the reception and dance was a blast. Rachel asked me to play piano for the ceremony and everything went quite well (after a minor hitch with the piano at the Old Sanctuary ... I ended up having to bring my own!).

26.2

They did it! My parents (along with some of their friends) finished the Twin Cities Marathon!! They all did such an amazing job too. We had a great time cheering them on, along with all the other marathoners. They truly are an inspiration! You can check out my parents times here (just type in Bjerke and select SD; you'll have to select Medtronics Twin Cities Marathon to see the full results!).

The marathoners before the start

10,000 runners!

Mile 7.5

Mile 13

Mile 17

Mile 19

Mile 23

The final .2 miles!!

THE FINISHERS!!

Our Crew

I think what truly amazed me was how great they looked the whole time. It almost seemed like running 26.2 miles didn't even phase them. I'm so proud of my parents and this incredible accomplishment. They still aren't sure if this will be their one and only marathon, but if they ever decide to run one again you can bet that we'll all be there cheering them on again.

Ugh

That's the only way to describe the last two days. Dustin and I were both home sick Monday and Tuesday with the flu. Not fun. Today we both felt better and made it through a whole day of work. However, I am now ready for bed. I'm still very tired and weak. It's shocking how laying around for two days can be so exhausting.

Being sick has not helped with the practicing for the wedding that I have to play for next weekend. So, tonight I sat down for an hour and practiced all my songs that I will play (prelude, ceremony and postlude). I've done the prelude, processional, recessional and postlude before. This does not worry me. For the first time, I will be playing during the lighting of the unity candle. I've accompanied singers before ... twice. Never has it just been me. I'm a little nervous and am having flashbacks to my recital days. Yikes!

Riddle me this ... I struggled through a few songs (I know it's only because I'm tired; I've played these songs millions of times before) however, when I broke out some Chopin Nocturnes, I played them flawlessly. I haven't played Chopin in ages. Interesting.