Relaxing, fun weekend

Joshua had a wonderfully relaxing weekend. Friday night was spent at home. Joshua got home late because he had gone out the Rust Restorations in Mansfield, where he gets the Ducati worked on. We ordered a pizza from I Fratelli, probably the best pizza place in town and watched random tv, and then put in a John Wayne western. Now, putting in a western puts me right to sleep so I didn't really watch any of the western. Saturday morning we woke up early (meaning 8:30ish...which is early for us on a Saturday), did some cleaning around the house, ran to Einstein's bagle for a good bagel and coffee out on ther patio, came home and watched New in Town, which stars Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. Now, it was a major chick flick...and IMDb gave it a pretty poor ranking, but Joshua even liked it and I found the plot line to be pretty entertaining. Just about the time we were about to start movie number 2 (as we had dedicated Saturday to movie day), Josh got a call from Matt, my co-worker Stacie's husband. The invited us out to their place to go out on their boat, as we had planned this adventure for the weekend before, but were unable to go due to some illness on their end. So Joshua and I accepted the offer and went out on the boat with them Saturday evening. Man, it was the PERFECT day to be out on the lake and the water was absolutely beautiful! Nothing like good weather and good company!

Today, Sunday, we tried out a new church. We went to the 11 am service at Lovers Lane United Methodist. The service was great and the people were so friendly and welcoming. We definitely felt more at home there than at the church we had previously attended. I'm hoping to get involved in a Bible Study there. Next week we're going to try out heir contemporary service, which I am really looking forward to.

So, all in all, its been a good weekend! I'm definitely not ready for the week to begin again. I love my weekends with Joshua and hate having to go back to the real world...aka work.

Back to Running

Thanks to mom and dad (in law), I have new running shoes! As in every good sized city, Dallas has a great running store called Luke's Locker. The great thing about this shop, other than it's HUGE selection of running gear, is their personal service for fitting you into the right running shoe. Now, I have been a Nike girl for pretty much my entire running life. I love Nikes and they have always fit my foot really well. However, this time I actually walked out with something different. The nice gentleman watched me walk and came to the conclusion that I run on the outside of my feet...who knew?!?! So he brought me three different shoes to try on and then I got to pick the one that fit my foot the best and...it was not the Nike. I ended up with a really cool pair of Saucony's They are purple and super comfy.

My new shoes!

There is also this great site the help map runs. You can become a user for free, or you can just use the application as needed. If you become a member, you can keep track of routes, and log all of your runs, which is really handy if you are training for a race. Right now, I am just trying to get back in shape...and get used to running in the Texas heat again. Maybe I'll think about training for the Nashville 1/2 though. And maybe THIS TIME..I won't injure myself a week before the race.

Here's to setting goals and pushing myself to achieve them injury free.

New Digs!

Joshua and I have been busy since mid July moving into our new place, and it is really starting to come together. We absolutely love our new place and we are finally (almost) done doing upgrades/additions. Our new home is a 2 bed, one bath duplex just 5ish minutes from work and 1.5 miles from SMU. It's on the Preston Hollow neighborhood of Dallas, which is also home to Ross Perot, and George W. Bush. They, however, live in the mansions of Preston Hollow and though our new place is an upgrade from our first apartment, we are definitely not living in a mansion. Our place is a 1950's design with a really cute yellow tiled kitchen and yellow and blue tiled bathroom. I've taken a few pictures but don't have them uploaded quite yet. They BEST feature of our new pad is the yard and garage! These were two things that were a "must have" for the new place. We've already spent a lot of time out on our patio and Joshua has a nice "man cave," as he calls it, in the garage.

I've already been out running in our new neighborhood and love it. We're no longer on a busy road, so I feel a lot safer running on my own. Joshua and I walked to Blockbuster the other night...but that was a little more of a trek..as it is just beyond school. But, it was good exercise and good talking time.

Joshua's parents came down to visit last weekend and we made a trip out to Ikea, the land of everything one could ever desire for a home, and had fun looking at all they have to offer. Since we only have one bathroom now, I really needed a space to get ready in the morning. So, we bought a little desk/vanity for the office. I now have my very own space to sit in the morning to do my makeup and hair...and then a desk to work at in the evenings while Joshua is doing his school work.

In the next couple of days I'll take some pictures to show the new place.

Big Cedar Lodge with the family

Before I get started on posting about our vacation..I went back and added pictures to the last 2 posts. Make sure to check them out! There are a few from events we've gone to this summer.

Josh and I just got back from a wonderfully relaxing week at Big Cedar Lodge, which is just outside Branson, MO. This trip is somewhat of a tradition for my family, as we've always stayed at Big Cedar after picking up from Kamp Kanakuk. I used to go to kamp there, and Olivia just spent her 4th summer there. We had such a great time with my family and really enjoyed the time relaxing by the pool, on the lazy river, and the day we spent out on the boat. It was also a lot of fun going back to K-West to pick Olivia up! Here are some of the highlights from the trip:

Olivia and I are finally reunited at kamp!
This is just before her all around event.

At Kanakuk you specialize in a sport, because it is a Christian sports kamp (get used to kamp being spelled with a k...that's just the way it goes with Kanakuk!). You can specialize in soccer, basketball, volleyball, dance, cheer, tennis...and I'm sure some others...OR you can do all around which gives you the opportunity to do more electives. That is always what I opted for, and what Olivia has done as well. When your family comes to kamp the first night your specialty puts on a show to demonstrate what they've done for the past 2 weeks. This year, all around did blobbing!

Here is Olivia about to jump onto the blob.

Olivia and her cabin.

Every year the kampers are given a bible verse and 2 words that describe them. The counselors talk about the qualities they saw in each kamper and how they have seen each of them grow in their relationship with Christ over their 2 week stay.

Morning of the tribal ceremony with the chiefs and princesses.

Kampers are split up into 2 different tribes. On the guys side there are the Cherokees and Choctaws, and on the girls side, Kickapoos and Kiowas. At the beginning of each term new kampers are put into their tribes. If you have family members that have already attended kamp, you'll be the same tribe as them. I am a kickapoo, so Olivia is as well! Each term the tribes compete in different activities to determine the winner of the term. This year Kiowas won.

The horse on our carriage ride.

Mom and Grandma on our carriage ride.

Most of the afternoons were spent by the pool relaxing and working on our tans. But, one afternoon mom scheduled a carriage ride for us girls. It was a nice ride around the property.

This is a picture of "Devil's Pool". Just to the left of the pond there is a pool and restaurant.

Big Cedar is a Bass Pro Shop lodge and this big fish is part of their little putt putt course. It is the final hole.
We saw a ton of turtles on logs while on our carriage ride...

Wednesday was spent out on the lake. We went tubing, skiing, and bluff jumping. Table Rock lake has some amazing bluffs! It was so nice to be out on the water! I'll have to put pictures of the bluff jumping up later. I was doing the jumping, so there aren't any pictures of that on my camera.

Me and Olivia on the boat.

Mom and Olivia tubing!

On our way to dinner the last night.

Dad's birthday was Friday, the day after we left the lodge, so we surprised him with a cake at dinner the last night! The weather was gorgeous, so we sat out on the patio for dinner, it was SO nice in comparison to the heat of Dallas!

Me and Josh at dinner.

Mom and dad at dinner..it was obviously a little sunny!

One last picture of the lodge...the flower gardens around the main building are absolutely gorgeous, so here is a picture of the main entrance to the registration lodge.

We're now back in Dallas and getting ready to move!! We are moving out of our first apartment together and into a really cute little duplex. We'll have a yard, a garage, and a cute little vintage kitchen and bathroom. Once we move in and get settled I'll post pictures!

Summer is Here!

Summer has officially started and boy can you tell here in Dallas! Most days are in the high 90's...if not 100 degrees. The good thing is, I'm not really out in the heat much...since I have an indoor job, BUT it doesn't really cool off at night either. It just stays HOT. Last night the sun set around 9 and it was still around 93 degrees. This is pure craziness for June! Summer activities are also in full swing. The YMCA is busier than ever, with summer camp on site, 2 camps off site, swim lessons all day long, families coming to the pool, and our normal crowd is here too. I'm working my usual hours at the YMCA, but I'm teaching Art Think Jr. for the little ones at 2 day camps. Art Think Jr. is basically the same thing as the Art Think I taught during the school year..except it is geared towards elementary students instead of high schoolers. I must admit, I love those little kids!! They have such fun, interesting answers to the images and they don't complain like the high schoolers do. In addition to showing slides, we also do a little art project at the end...which I find super fun. Hands down, love the little kids!

Josh on the other hand...is not loving the little kids. He is working with summer camp at the Y this summer. And though he is getting VERY tan, he isn't enjoying the fact that they aren't allowed to really discipline the kids.

We've had a few fun weekends, with Beth's Wedding, a Motorcycle Race Watch Party, a Frisco Rough Riders game (they are a minor league team that feeds into the Dallas Rangers MLB team), and in a couple of weeks we will be joining my family at Table Rock Lake in Missouri for a much needed week vacation! We'll be picking Olivia up from Kamp Kanakuk and then spending time at Big Cedar Lodge, one of the most relaxing places on earth. I can't wait to relax with the family..and SEE them! I haven't seen my dad or sister since OCTOBER!!

Here are some pictures from Beth's wedding and the Rough Riders game. Unfortunately, my camera died at Beth's wedding, so my pictures are limited.

Beth's Wedding

Though a little blurry, this is a picture of all my dear college friends! Left to right: Jackie, Sarah, Beth (the beautiful bride), me, Shay, Emily

Two of my college roomates, and bridesmaids in my wedding
Me, Jackie, and Sarah

Sarah, Emily and me

The wedding party, post wedding pics.

Rough Riders Game
Self photo before the game began.

Picture of the field from our awesome seats!

Deuce, the team mascot...not quite sure what animal he is.
The other mascot is Daisy, the female..she was cute too!

Joshua and his helmet of Dip 'N Dots, a baseball tradition.

One thing we both definitely enjoy about baseball games is the food! Nothing can beat a hot dog, coke and some Dip 'N Dots...or funnel cake in my case!