Fall....it's finally here!

Fall is my favorite season hands down. Nothing beats cool weather, sweatshirts, tights and boots, s'mores, campfires, pumpkin everything, and the list could go on and on. Another reason I love fall, is well, because it means my birthday is coming up. I'm sure there will come a day when I dread being another year old, but for now I enjoy the anticipation of a birthday coming up:) I always try to rush fall by dressing in cooler clothing. For example: We had a teller meeting last night. I wore boots and tights. My co-worker? She was still in sandals. It's actually the awkward season right now in my opinion. Like you don't know what to wear! Dad started harvesting and I love it. The smell of bean dust. The whir of the combine unloading. It's so wonderful. My dad is always happiest when he is in the combine. I love that my dad loves farming. It's so nice seeing him enjoying his work while providing for the family. I would not necessarily call myself a farm girl, but I do love the farm. This afternoon, Sophie and I had a fall kind of fun afternoon. One of our apple trees had apples ready, so we picked them. It was fun. The total yield was.....11 apples:) They keep producing more and more each year. So I had to take some pictures of course. Mostly because I'm trying to learn my camera better and my editing software. After picking apples, we went inside and packed sack lunches and then ate lunch with dad in the combine. It was such a great afternoon. So here's the pictures I took. Hope you enjoy them and this Fall season!

 Our woppin' 11 apples.

 They looked and tasted delicious

 Look at those little hands. Perfect size for holding an apple:)

 The pumpkins are finally ready to be set out too!

 I found this quote and added it to this picture of my grandpa cutting beans. I thought it did a good job of showing the heart of a farmer.

 Reaching high to get an apple

 With the prized first apple. The tree looks really loaded doesn't it;)

And then of course her labors were rewarded by some swinging...

...and cookies too.


And now I am really in the mood for Fall, so bring it on!

Stranded {Book Review}

*I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program*

This is the third book in a series called Alaskan Courage by Dani Pettrey. I would compare Pettrey’s writing style similar to that of Dee Henderson (for those of you who have read her books). I have read the first one, but not the second. In this particular book, the main character, Darcy St. James, is on a cruise in the Bering Sea, helping her friend Abby on a case she is trying to solve. They are both journalists. Abby comes up missing, and Darcy will do anything to try and find her. The McKenna family (who the series is about) end up on the same cruise as Darcy. She has worked with this family, especially with Gage, who she cannot seem to forget about. Gage is struggling with his feelings for Darcy, because of being betrayed before. He struggles with believing in God and not blaming God for the loss of his young son. In the end, they find Abby, and Gage surrenders his life to God. Pettrey adds some interesting twists to this story. It was a little hard to get into at first, but when you do, then you can’t put it down. It was a good book, and the story line was very original. I liked that it was not only a romance fiction book, but also had a lot of mystery involved in it. I would recommend this book to others, but suggest reading the first two books before this one.

The Miner's Lady {book review}

I received this book, The Miner’s Lady, from Bethany House publishers for free as part of their blogger review program. I really enjoyed reading this, because it had a different twist than most Tracie Peterson books. The setting is in a mining town, and Peterson does a really good job of not leaving details out of how a mining town would really be. Although you know who will end up with each other, and that there will be a happy ending, how they get together is what keeps you captivated. I thought it was interesting how two families became one, and how they had to learn to work together. It was also a book of redemption and forgiveness. The intense moments of the book add so much a non-fiction romance book. I would definitely recommend this book to others. This is a book you won’t want to put down even after you finish it.

Labor Day Weekend-Silverton, Oregon

So it's here and gone. An absolutely amazing Labor Day. I'm still a little depressed from leaving, but I'm sure I will get over it sometime. It seriously was one of the most amazing weekends ever. I met new people, but the best part was getting to know my Princeville girls better. I had a mission to talk to the Princeville girls spiritually whenever we had a chance, and I must say, it went well, but all glory goes to God! It was such a spiritually uplifting weekend. So here are some pictures of some great moments, but the best moments couldn't have been put in a picture. These pictures are all from different people. Hope you enjoy!

On the ride from the Portland airport to Dallas Kraft's(where they had a supper and singing, which we missed) We were slightly excited to be in Oregon. So, funny story. The girls all rode in a 15 passenger van. The two brothers that picked us up told us that we couldn't eat when we got there, because they were done. They asked us if we wanted to stop, but we being a little shy(what!?!) said we would be fine. Then I started getting reallly hungry(well the others did too), so we started whispering about it, until they asked if we wanted to stop, so of course we said yes. So we go to Five Guys Burgers & Fries. And we order these big burgers and sit down and eat. And the 2 brothers just sat there and didn't eat. Later, we found out that they had wanted us to take it to go, but we just sat down and enjoyed ourselves:) The brother driving the others did not stop, and now teases us by calling us "The Ravenous Princeville Girls". So that is what we are now known as I guess. Really impressive right?

 Saturday, we went to Drift Creek Falls to hike. I was a little nervous, since I'm not really in shape. Ok, so I'm really out of shape, but I managed, and I wasn't even out of breath at the end. It really was a lovely hike. We ate on a very large rock, right in front of this waterfall.

 There was a very large suspension bridge, which slightly swayed as we walked on it. But was I afraid? How could I be with such a majestic view?

 I absolutely loooved the moss hanging from the trees. It was so beautiful and magical.

 Then we headed to Pacific City. It was super foggy, but I thought it was gorgeous nonetheless. It was a mysterious sort of beautiful. There was a huuuge sand dune that we climbed. That's what killed me. I literally thought I was going to die when we got to the top. So, we took some pictures up there, and then ran down. It was so much fun! Except for those who wiped out, which I was not included in that group. Shocker. I know.

 Hannah, Holly, and I at Cape Lookout(where we had the supper and singing). We really were the only ones who waded in the water. It wasn't too cold, you obviously couldn't swim in it, but not too cold to wade in. My skirt got very wet, but it dried off at the bonfire.

 Getting hit by some waves:)

 Some of us girls. As you can see, I am really short, but one thing about Silverton, is that a lot of the people in their church are short, so I felt halfway normal. It was great:)

 Toesies in the Pacific Ocean

 The "librarians"

 A long thing we found. I think it's some kind of plant that got washed up on the shore. We attempted jump roping with it, but it didn't work to well.

 "Exploring" We were really the only ones who wanted to climb on rocks, and explore the beach.

 They didn't think I could climb down that way, but they must have forgot that I am David Berchtold's daughter:)

 Our singing around the bonfire. It was a lovely singing.

 The Princeville sisters on top of the dune.

 And then posing by a lovely tree

 The senior Princeville girls on the trip.

 This is a majority of the all the sisters at the invite.

 The suspension bridge again

 On Sunday, after some wonderful sermons, we went hiking at Silver falls, which was sooo gorgeous. Again I loved the moss growing on the rocks:)

 The waterfall we hiked around

 This is the group that stayed at Karla Dettweyler's house on both Friday and Saturday night. From L-R : Michelle Heinold(Morton) Julie Rufner(Rittmann) Me Hannah Schick and Karla

 Again, we went exploring. Literally, Hannah climbed up into this hole.

 And Holly climbed this small stream. I climbed a large log, but I didn't post a picture.

 Us hiding away in a small cove.

By some awesome moss covered trees. Aren't they just amazing?

 The waterfall from a different angle

 We had a supper and singing at the fellowship hall on Sunday night. It really was a lovely time.

 On Monday, we were the last group to leave, so we had plenty of time to kill. So....why not take some pictures by the church sign?

 The grass there was seriously like carpet. It was so cool!

 We ended up going over to Jordan Sinn's house, where we played some intense games of Dutch Blitz and the Noun game.

 And then it was all too soon to go home. We were really sad to leave, but I guess you have to some time!

Kourtney and Holly

Boarding our last flight, which we barely made. I was literally sprinting through the airport to get to the gate to tell them we had 14 others on our flight that were still getting off another flight. God provided though, and we successfully made it on without many problems. It really was such an amazing weekend. I know I keep saying that, but it's because I really mean it. So there you have it. A few of my favorite moments wrapped up into a blog post.