wedding bells

One of my closest guy friends from high school got married in San Diego yesterday. Erin and I spent eight hours driving to San Diego, attending the wedding, and driving back. I can't believe David is married!! It's one thing to hear about people from school getting married, but it's a lot different when it's such a close friend. I definitely got teary-eyed at the wedding. David and Candace, I love you both and I wish you the happiest marriage. Of course, Erin and I documented our adventure via pictures. Enjoy. (Oh, and the video is pretty great, too. Erin is hoping to be discovered through this youtube video).

hey sister

Kristen stayed over last night so we could spend some time together today. We woke up at 900am, but ended up sleeping until almost 1100am. The sleep was nice, but what a waste of a morning. We bummed around for a little bit, having no idea what we wanted to do today. We ended up going to the mall. Though not the most adventurous day, we still still had fun hanging out together. I ended my night by watching a couple episodes of Friends with Stephanie. It was a good Saturday off.

Taking pictures of us doing normal things


Getting ready to go out and hit the town....aka being two of the hundreds of others mall shopping on a Saturday afternoon


Beautiful clouds!


Some really awesome sunglasses that Kristen seriously considered buying. I told her not to purchase them because she wouldn't want to make others feel intimidated by her coolness.

random goodness

Random thoughts throughout today:

1.
I love how the kids will get enthusiastic about the things that I get enthusiastic about. For example: football games. They gripe and complain at first, but it doesn't take long for them to accept that I am going to watch football. I guess they eventually decide that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

2.
This job takes EXTREME amounts of self-control. Amounts of self-control I didn't know that I had. I have had to bite my tongue so many times and I have to always keep my attitude in check. I've learned through experience that my approach affects their response and in the same way, my response to them affects their attitude. I can't give my girls a reason to freak out. I think sometimes that they push my buttons so I'll get mad and then they can blame me for making THEM mad. Being the bigger person is so hard, but such a big part of growth. I have to hold on to the thought that I'm learning and growing through these tough and painfully frustrating situations.

3.
God desires me a lot.

4.
I don't have much of a liking for hockey. But I went to a Ducks game tonight with a few of my girls and found that I can get into any sports game. I love how everyone is united for their team and it is easy to get swept up in all the cheers and excitement of the game.

5
When I'm driving with the girls, I listen to a lot of what I call "Jesus music." I usually put it on when we're driving back from an outing, so they will calm down and relax. Recently I've noticed a couple of my girls singing along to these songs. It makes my heart so happy. I often ask them if they know what the song means, giving me the opportunity to explain. I love how the girls start to enjoy things that I love.

6.
I can't seem to shake the feeling of loneliness tonight.



And now...
Some pictures that make me smile:

aaaah

This post is a few days late, but Stephanie and I went to the Glen Ivy Spa on Thursday. It was so relaxing. There were pools and hot tubs everywhere. There was a mud bath and mineral tubs (that smelled like sulfur). It was a good day.

work it out

So I worked out today for the first time in MOOOOONTHS. I used to be so good about going, but I've gotten so lazy and tired! But enough is enough! I reactivated my account at 24 Hour Fitness and hopefully tomorrow will make two days in a row of working out. Blech. Why can't we all just look like Heidi Klum?

happy birthday Steph ♥

Stephanie turned 23 yesterday and for some reason, that age just seems so much older than 22. We wanted to go on an adventure and thought about going shopping (I know, we're wild!), but then decided that we could go shopping anytime. Stephanie and I specifically got the day off together to celebrate her birthday, so we were determined to do something fun. We ended up going to the mountains in search of snow! We left around 10:30, accidentally wearing very similar shirts. Pretty much every step of our adventure was documented, from the walk across campus to Stephanie's car to the end of the day when we went to see Stephanie's family. It was one of my best days off.

I wasn't joking - this is Steph and I walking across campus to her car


Up in the mountains, stopped at a turnout to take some pictures


We stopped at the visitors center and they had all this historical information about people who used to live in the mountains


We drove as far as we could up the mountain until we came to the base of Mount Baldy. From there, you couldn't get to the top unless you took a 15-minute ski lift ride. Steph and I weren't planning on buying ski lift tickets, BUT Steph got a free ticket because it was her birthday! So I calmed my nerves enough to get on the wobbly chair that took us to the top. It was AWESOME.

With our tickets!



Watch this video and listen to the quiet :)


At the top of Mount Baldy - soooo pretty and peaceful!


After we got back down from an elevation of 7,800 feet


On our way to the Rainforest Cafe and Downtown Disney

In Stephanie's front yard


♥♥♥

welcome back

Yesterday was a bit crazy with the girls, though nothing too out of the ordinary. On approaching an angry 12 year old, I was whacked in the side with her belt. Some punches were thrown. She was violently kicking and tried biting. Um, no. I will not let you bite me. When Stephanie got bitten last time and it broke the skin, she had to get a tetanus shot and three hepatitis shots.

Thank you dear children for making my life so unpredictable.

surprise!!

Wow. I just got back from an awesome weekend of friends, fun and lots of relaxation. The result of a crazy burst of spontaneity was a trip to Indiana to celebrate New Year's with my midwest friends. I only bought the tickets a couple days before flying out and only told one person I was coming, in the hopes that I could surprise my college roommate, Allie, and one of my other closest friend from Taylor, Julianne. OMG, it was awesome. Chris picked me up from the airport about two hours before the girls were getting to his house. We had time to do some grocery shopping, eat dinner and prepare for the big surprise. We decided that I should hide out in the office and then I could surprise the girls when Chris took them for a tour around the house.







My heart was racing and I was shaking in anticipation as Chris and I waited for Allie and Julianne to arrive. Once the truck drove up, I ran to the office and shut the door. It seemed to take FOREVER for the girls to unload their suitcases and finally start a tour of the house. Allie was making sure to ask as many questions as she could, driving me crazy with anxiousness! It was so hard to be quiet when I could hear their voices in the next room! Chris had the brilliant idea of setting up my camera to record the surprise. The first four minutes are of me just waaaaaaaaaaaaiting. Watch the video below! Their reactions are priceless!



We spent the rest of the night talking, relaxing and watching one of the best movies ever, Anchorman.





On New Years Eve, we slept in really late and then hung out for a few hours. The girls started getting ready around 500pm (and we weren't ready until almost three hours later!). We all went to downtown Indianapolis for dinner, at a place called Scotty's Brewhouse. It was FREEEEEZING walking to the restaurant and all the girls excluding me, had bare legs!









Dinner was good, but we decided to go to Champps for dessert because the place seemed lively and a more exciting place to ring in the new year. There was live music, dancing and huge television screens so we could watch the ball drop in New York!





It was an awesome weekend and well worth the four hour plane ride there and back. It was too short...I'll be back soon!!