GOOD MORNING! I dragged myself outta bed after this most recent wake-up so I could have some time alone with me, my journal, and a cup of coffee.

Let’s see how long this lasts.

I am a day late with the weekend recap, but here we go. The weather this weekend was INSANELY BEAUTIFUL and, as I mentioned on Friday, was filled with all the fun Fall things.

On Friday, Riyu and I joined the Streeterville Coffee Club crew.

(Okay, just for comedic purposes, I’m going to pause and say that the stillness and quiet lasted all of two sentences because Ishu just woke up to use the bathroom and will now be up for the day. So the rest of this will be quick).

On Saturday, we went to Bengtsons. Face painting and the petting zoo was the favorite this week. Though, the corn pit is always a winner.

I made the mistake of taking the non-napped Ishu with me to get my eyebrows done after we got back home. And, 8 people in line in front of me + 3 lollipops later, I paid for it. Ha. Anyway, GOD BLESS an early bedtime. It allowed me to hop on the That’s What She Read Zoom call for this month’s read-a-thon.

Ankur and I also got some movie time in. This weekend, we watched the Deadpool movies (gross) and The Prestige (REALLY COOL, but for this type of movie, I’d rather read the book first).

On Sunday, our neighborhood came together to paint pumpkins at the park!

The weather was perfect for it and it made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside to see everyone come together and all our kids hang out with one another.

I think, when we first moved here, I was always conflicted. I wanted to feel a sense of community. But I also knew we’d end up back in California eventually, so it felt like a moot point to build friendships and connections if we were going to up and leave.

But that’s just crazy.

Imagine just holing yourself up and not putting yourself out there because you don’t know that you’ll be in the same place in 4-5 years?

I’m glad that I’ve had people talk some sense into me. Because the feeling we get when we hang out with our neighborhood crew lights a spark inside my belly that I haven’t felt in a long time.

Now I’m off to go make some coffee and read for a bit because, for some reason, Ishu is very into making his Wild Kratts book and I’m going to take advantage of that.

Hope you’re having a beautiful week!