The One with Where We're Going to Family Camp

Tonight we leave for family camp and we'll be gone until Thursday.

It should be a great time!

Now, if only we can fit everything into our Civic.

Not even kidding.

Kevin and I are taking our bikes and will use them to take us the 5.5 miles down to Freddie's Freeze.

It's ok to overload on ice cream if you exercise on the way, right?

Last night we watched Chocolat which I had borrowed from the library.

It was superb.

I really really enjoyed it and Kevin liked it too.

I didn't even fall asleep once!

It helped to be eating rocky road ice cream I'm sure.

I can see why Dr. Brewer used it as a movie review choice in Survey of Worldviews.

Our group chose Life is Beautiful.

Also an excellent movie.

Don't let the French keep you from watching.

It's worth reading subtitles.

Now I shall finish packing. Let's hope I don't forget anything too important.

Like my long underwear (since I hate being cold at night).

Or my bathing suit (since I hate being hot anytime).

Or the cooler full of food (since I hate not having food around.)

Ok.

So you get the picture.

The One with the Question of the Day

I've been a lazy bones this week.

Ok, maybe I shouldn't go quite that far.

Maybe I've just been taking it easy.

For once.

Kevin's getting up at 5am now so he can come home earlier. Which is awesome.

Except there is NO reason for me to be up at 5am. 6am was early enough.

But I haven't even set my alarm for 6. or 7. or even 8.

Yesterday I did get out of bed at 7:30.

Today it was 8:25.

Even though I look at the clock at 6:20 and could probably get up there's just not enough motivation.

So here I am. Taking it easy. Just this once.

Today I have to get my butt into gear and pack for a week of Family Camp out at SBC.

Kevin took the week off and we're both pumped to be out there together.

On Tuesday Kevin and I took our BOGO Blizzard coupon to the closet DQ.

Toledo.

We met Ben Lane there.

It was sweet.

Except my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Blizzard did not impress me.

I just keep trying other blizzards but none can make my tastebuds as happy at the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

Except maybe the Mint Oreo.

But the Oreo cookie part of that would kind of not be the right choice for my tummy.

I will not turn my back on you again, Mr. Reese's Cup Blizzard.

What is YOUR favorite Blizzard??

You DO love Blizzards, don't you?

Check out this website for your BOGO coupon.

The One with the Letter to My Readers

Dear Readers,
I haven't posted in a week.
That's a long time.
I apologize.
But I'm sure you didn't mind looking at beautiful pictures for a week.
I know I didn't.

Want to know why I haven't updated in so long?
Yes, you say?
I will have to blame that on my emotional instability at watching the final episodes of Gilmore Girls.
Not even kidding.
If you've watched seasons 1-5 two times through and waited and waited for 6 and 7, you'd be attached too.
Even a certain gentleman in my life is a bit attached.
Not even kidding.
"It can't be over!" I screamed. "It can't be done! There's so much left to tell!"
I was sobbing.
Then I was laughing. hysterically. at the fact that I was sobbing. over a tv series.
But you would be too.
I dare you to watch Gilmore Girls and not get attached.
I double dog dare you.

Also, I was not blogging because I was baking.
And planning.
And going a bit crazy.
Ok, not really crazy, but I was preparing for our BIG 4th of July Party.
I baked and baked.
I planned and planned.
So many were invited.
My parents came up late Thursday night.
It was great to have a day with them.
And with Ben.
Ben Lane.
He couldn't come on Saturday so he came on Friday.
We all hung out. During the power outage. It was great.
He's a good friend.
My parents are good parents. and friends. and people.
Even if they are a bit obsessed with my replacement--Cooper, the Bichon Frise.
I don't mind.

It was a perfect weekend.
Perfect weather.
Perfect gatherings.
His parents. brother. cousin. grandparents on both sides. uncle.
My parents.
Britt & Nick.
Britt's parents. brother.
Ross & Clare.
Teens--Chris and Megan.
Monroe friends--Amanda & Josh.
There was grilling on our new charcoal grill we've been wanting. Yay, Weber.
There was waaaaaaaay too much aaaaaaaamazing food.
baked beans. potato salad. fruit salad. tossed salad. rolls. hotdogs. sausages. burgers. buns. tons of potato chips. meatballs. cookies. brownies. 3 cakes. fudge. fudge. iced tea. water. all good!
There were 2 great games of Ultimate Frisbee.
The official sport of our guy friends.
And my official sport since I can actually play.
My dad rocked the "professionals'" socks off. I wished I could have played then.
but I had just swallowed my last bite of sausage and...not so much.
I played later.
It was a great game.
Despite the 4 on 6 (or really 2 on 6 since Ross & Nick rock.)
The bugs were ridiculous though.
They dive bombed my mouth. and nose. and eyeballs. and ears.
There were late night fireworks.
And The Secret Society of Married People sleepover.
Yeah. I stayed up until 1am. That was crazy for me.
Ross, Clare, Britt & Nick and Kevin & I had great times together.

Kevin and I got up at 7:30 on Sunday though.
That was kind of lame.
But we had to open the church since the pastor is out of town for the first time in forever.
I've never "opened" the church. It was cool.
Kevin & I did most of the running of the service.
It went surprisingly well.

9 of us (parents, married friends, Britt's dad who made a bazillion trips back and forth retrieving lost purses!) ate at Pete's Garage. We were all ridiculously impressed with our food.

My head pounded all day.
Despite the 4 ibuprofen and 2 Excedrin Migraines (not all at once.)
This is why I don't stay up past 10 or 11.
But I must say it was worth it.
Such good friends we have.

Kevin told me to sleep in this morning.
I did.
It was glorious.
Even 8:30 was glorious.

We played tennis ball golf when Kevin got home.
It was the best.
Seriously fun.
We might actually get into the real golf thing.
We think we could really enjoy it.
We watched Casablanca. It was as great as Lorelai Gilmore said it was.
You should watch it.

The One with a Best Friend's Wedding

Brittney & Nick just got their professional wedding pictures and they are gorgeous. Britt and I enjoyed some online conversation this morning while oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over all of them. Some great moments were captured and she said I should post some of my favorites. So here they are for all to enjoy!

:::bridesmaids::

jennie, mg, mel, britt, clair, carrie

:::britt & hailey:::

adorable

:::groomsmen in converse:::

:::my matron of honor duty:::

:::bridesmaids:::

clair, dana, britt, carrie, mg, mel

:::during the ceremony:::

mel singing "how beautiful" by twila paris

:::the newlyweds:::

:::celebrating their marriage. and ours:::

:::the newly joined families:::

:::the bridal party:::

kevin, gavin, chris, joe, randy, eric, ross

nick & britt

mel, mg, carrie, mandy, dana, hailey, jennie, clair

:::the guys with the bride:::

proud of my man for the extra support here

:::the girls and the groom:::

:::the girls:::

:::mel & britt:::

:::sharing the love:::

:::excellent air:::

:::two handsome men:::

:::studs:::

::us::

:::gorgeous:::

:::amazing expression:::

:::running away together:::

:::first dance:::

The One with the Softball Game

Much of our back yard is coated in mulberries. They are delicious. And messy. Very messy. My flips flops are stained. So are my ankles. And no wonder all the bird poop is purple. Now if only the tree branches were lower to the ground. Apparently my husband knows the trick to collecting this elusive berries. We shall attempt this tonight.

It's super windy outside. My clothes were blowing off the line. And into the mulberry carnage. Not cool.

I'm pretty sure our washing machine was attempting to free himself from the bonds of our laundry room. From outside I heard *bang bang rumble rumble BANG* twice before I ran in to check. Sure enough the machine--filled with only our bed's blanket--was bouncing and rocking like it was possessed. Hopefully I settled it down.

I've got myself a buy one DQ blizzard get one free coupon that expires in just two weeks. Redeeming this coupon will require a 20+ minute drive to Toledo. But I believe it is worth it. Oh, and you should get yourself a coupon too. Sign up for the Blizzard Fan Club--because who isn't a fan of blizzards?!

Yesterday, the church service was led in its entirety by Paul Pitts --world renown opera singer who just so happens to have a passion for the Cross of Christ. It was a really powerful service--musically and spiritually. Afterwards, I got a chance to chat with him and after finding the common ground of the Buckeye State we discovered that he knows my childhood piano and voice instructor quite well. Brenda has played for him at multiple concerts put in right at the Ashtabula Nazarene Church. All of these shared experiences were so exciting to find out about. We called Brenda together and left her a message :) right before Kevin and I and the Kaufman's went out to La Fiesta with Paul for lunch. It was a wonderful time of fellowship.

Despite my desire to collapse after lunch, Kevin and I headed outside to warm up our throwing arms for the All Church Softball Game and Hotdog Night that the youth group was sponsoring. This idea came to us back in May and while I was hoping for a weekly church softball game to get the teens and adults together, we ended up with one date set in stone. We weren't sure if we'd get a good turnout or not--it's impossible to predict these things. We were hoping for enough people to make two teams and we knew we'd be lucky to get 40 people out there. Well, from 6-7pm people were just streaming out to the softball field behind the church. The teens were great helping us set up and get the food prepared--one of the guys did all the grilling! The game had full participation--with people from age 5 to 75 playing against each other. We stopped after 7 innings to grab some food and before you knew it two more teams were being picked. The weather was absolutely perfect, the bugs could have cooperated a bit more, and the game went on until after 8pm. There were two whole rows of spectators and everyone kept saying "We have to do this again!" Three cheers for successful events!

I have yet to eat lunch. That's weird for me. I think I'll go do that now. And leave you with these pictures captured during the church softball game.

:::two rows of spectators:::

:::John grilling up a storm & others enjoying the food:::

:::spectators:::

:::pastor dale up to bat. shelby umps:::

:::my team up at bat. we lost. twice.:::
but I don't think we cared :)

The One in the Jean Skirt

Kevin wanted to go see Transformers.

So did I.

But we don't like spending obscene amounts of money in theaters.

I did some research.

Found a fairly inexpensive theater 45 min. away.

Remembered I had a gift card for that branch of theaters.

A two year old gift card was finally coming in handy.

You see, the movies we wanted to see were never showing in this particular theater.

Which is why I had a $10 gift card for 2 years.

So Kevin calls at 12:30.

Says he's coming home.

"Yippee," I say.

We head to the $5 matinee and hope this place accepts the gift card.

They do.

We enjoy the movie.

I didn't fall asleep.

For the first time in f o r e v e r. My eyelids refuse to stay open through an entire movie.

But I was awake. and enjoying myself.

Then I made him lemon bars. Because he had a craving.

And because I've been wanting to make them. But haven't

They turned out well. Though a bit more crust than I like.

I will share the recipe sometime.

And try a different one another time.

The temperature dropped.

A little.

The humidity dropped.

A lot.

80 is manageable when you're not swimming in it.

We're getting pumped about our 4th of July Party.

Are you coming?

Cause you totally should!

Fishy is loving his (or her) new home.

The basement.

It allows for better climate control.

He (or she) likes that.

Jillian Michaels should totally be giving me some of her royalties.

I have had at least 6 people ask about it.

And about 5 of them have bought it.

Seriously, JM, pay up.

The One with an Overheated Fish

Biking to the library that is just 3 miles from our home, signing up for library cards, chatting with the librarian, and getting familiar with the quaint book and resource emporium was the best date ever. Ok, maybe not ever, but it was free and it was really super fun. We looked through the movies and then made our way to the 200s where we were informed the Bible commentaries were stored. The 200s are located in a large back room that you might miss if you weren't looking for it. It probably contains more books than the main library itself but is visited only about 1% of the time. This section of non-fiction was by far the coolest section in the library. Kevin and I were reading through the stacks of philosophers and theologians and getting way too excited. We both have a knowledge and a passion for that form of reading and learnination, and he commented that we are probably THE only couple to get this geeked out over that section in the library. Or over the library itself. And we were totally ok with that. We figure, checking out books from the deserted annex of the library will mean we could renew them for years and probably never have someone waiting. :)

Now you may giggle at our unique form of time together. But we both know you're just jealous.

I'm so glad I moved the desktop downstairs. The office is about 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the main level which drops down to 75 at night and jumps up to 85 during the day. Thank you, God, for a finished basement. Kevin has been wanting to spend more time down here for quite a while, but I was just not convinced--mostly because I had worked so hard to make the upstairs comfortable and beautiful and homey that I didn't want to be religated to the basement where random furniture items and stereo equipment abounds. However, after spending a couple hours last Friday moving furniture, vacuuming cobwebs and utilizing this vintage leather covered bench that we cleaned up from the garage, I'm rather enjoying myself. It's reminescent of my youth when our family spent many a hot summer day down in the partially finished hodgepodge of a basement. It's fun. And a great way to save money on air conditioning.

Poor Fishy. His water won't cool down. I think he might have to move downstairs with us as well.