Had a super fun engagement photo session with Chad and Sammie yesterday.  Low key and super fun?  YES!

There are a couple of weeks left to capture the fall leaves.  Let me know if you'd like your pics taken before we're smothered in white!

Here's one of our first shots.  Can't wait for Chad and Sammie's wedding next summer!  

Our long-awaited 2nd music video.  LOVE this jam by Mary Lambert.  

Sometimes in the middle of the night I wish my little people were sleeping...then I hear..."So-o-o-o WHAT?"

Really Mary?  No more catchy tunes alright?  I can't handle the 2am requests!

We did such a fun thing last weekend!  Spur of the moment we decided to rent a house boat and catch a glimpse of the fall colors.  Easily the most beautiful leaves I've seen in my life, September is just the month for cruising in the Superior National Forest and lighting a fire under the stars.

We rented our boat from Kinsey Houseboats and they were extremely accommodating and priced for any budget.  With an impressive website I did expect the boat to be of this millennium, but a vintage cruiser was just as fun as we hunted for the perfect campsite to spend each night.  (No, you don't sleep in the middle of the lake...you need to shore up.)

Chilly weather meant nothing to the kiddos as they splashed in the lake, jeans and all.

Looking to take your kids on a hiking/boundary waters trip but aren't interested in portaging?  Birch Lake is the perfect balance of wilderness and creature comfort.  NO PORTAGING!

You can check out Kinsey Houseboats HERE.  There might be a few nice Minnesota weekends left, otherwise I recommend you reserve you spot for next year.  We cruised in their 42 ft boat and slept 6.  Night 2 we picked up a couple more...they slept in a tent.  It's comfortable to ride with 8, if you're sleeping 8 you should probably upgrade to their 50 foot boat (it looked newer too).

 - Jen

+++ This post is sponsored by GiveForward.  I have joined forces with them for one super important task.  To prove that Love is BIGGER than Hate.  Let's stop bullying for good. +++

Anybody here participate in the Ice Bucket challenge?  All of you dumped ice water over your heads right?  While I was tempted to take a video of myself writing a check to the ALS foundation and dropping that over my head I refrained.

One Ohio teen (14 years old, autistic) was nominated by "friends" to compete in the challenge.  On video millions watched him anticipate a shower of cold water while he was instead covered with URINE & FECES.  I am NOT kidding you.

Often times we see this happen with trending topics.  Something meant for a good cause, primarily for adults is translated by bullies to publicly humiliate a peer.  We can't stand for this type of social "bad media."  Bay Village, Ohio decided to take matters into their own hands so that this 14-year-old boy can see that #Love>Hate.  

You can read the whole story HERE.

Are you accustomed to the "bystander effect?"  

We can ALL think of examples where ignorance is easier than activism.  GiveForward is a way to unite individuals, communities and the world.  So far over $2700 has been raised for the Bay Village Teen and over $124mil has been raised world-wide for medical and other fundraisers.  

See how you can fundraise through GiveForward HERE.

Don't wait until the next "Ice Bucket Challenge" fad to donate to a cause.  Show this teen that LOVE is greater than HATE.  Find your favorite local cause and send a "HUG" today.

 - Jen

Let me be clear.  THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST.  But Marc Jacobs - if you're out there - I would gladly accept compensation for the boost in business you are about to experience.

It goes like this.

Me:  I want grey nail polish.

[Walks into Sephora...again...if you feel the need to send money Sephora...]

Sales Lady:  We only have that color in THIS brand.  It's a kind of expensive though.  Sorry.

[Lady expects me to walk out.]

[Look at $18 price tag.]

Me (thought): This must come with a matching outfit?

Nana (thought): Is that the color kids are wearing these days?

Mom (thought): Really? Rip off.

Me: I'll take it.

One WEEK AFTER application.

Marc Jacobs $18 nail polish.  Seriously the last nail polish brand you'll ever buy.

Axel and I sat on the porch weaving late into the evening last night.  Just a couple of old souls with looms made from cardboard.  Axel is a boy, he is 6 and he loved weaving.  Your kids will too!  It's simple and almost anything can be included.  We used yarn, but you could weave with grass, ribbon, shoelaces, strips of paper, cuttings of old t-shirts or denim...anything really.

When we woke up this morning Axel rushed to finish his project.  The results are beautiful.

1 tip – buy a pom-pom maker.  A couple of dollars...well worth it.

This is my second sponsored post for Kids Academy and I have to say that not only are my kids loving these apps, I love the way they do business.

It's not often that you find a toddler app that has decent graphics and you actually WANT to make the in-app purchases.

In the last week alone, these apps have saved my patience on a car ride, in a restaurant and in the minutes before dinner.

Looking for new apps to get you through WINTER??  Go to the app store and type "Kids Academy."  They have plenty to choose from.

Here are the apps we specifically have tried:
"Preschool and Kindergarten Learning Games FREE" - 2 versions of this one
"Kids Puzzles Preschool Math Games"

With a HUGE Beta test group and thousands of reviews, it's nice to download an app you don't have to preview before you let your kids go at it.

Here's what Axel has to say:

What a beautiful day for a harvest.  And there's still so much left...

Always a sceptic and wary of Pinterest "fails" I took the risk this morning and invested a little time to create "portraits" of my kids.

HOLY COW!  These babies turned out incredible.  The portrait of Oscar was completely done by Axel – he's 6.  You NEED to try this project TODAY!

Click HERE to find the awesome blog/tutorial.

Total time invested from computer to dry – 35 minutes.  Total cost – 10¢ (maybe).

Please tell me I'm not the first to gush about this amazing series by Carlos Ruiz Zafon @ZafonOficial.  Recommended by a friend who traveled to Barcelona over the summer – wanted to read local fiction – and passed along the good word.

The Shadow of the Wind (first book in the series), begins and ends in the "cemetery of forgotten books."  A tale of parallel lives between a mysterious author and the young boy struggling to discover the scandal behind a book he finds among the shelves before a dark character burns the last copy.

Suspense, humor, dark and twisty turns and a tale that kept me wanting more until the last of it's 483 pages.  LUCKY FOR ME – there are 2 more books surrounding the mysteries of the cemetery of forgotten books and I'm already ankle deep in the second.

As fall approaches and you want a mystery to fill your dark evenings – this is the perfect series to keep you happy through Halloween!