The boys visit

Tuesday, we enjoyed a visit from the Yoder family from Elkhart. Kelly and Scott have 5 boys! The oldest is in 5th grade and the youngest is 2. The boys particularly enjoyed their time with Matt in the backyard where he taught them how to play lacrosse! There is no lacrosse in Elkhart so the boys were excited to learn the new sport. After dinner, we took them to Chesapeake City, MD, a little town off the C&D Canal where huge boats ride through a lot. We didn't see any huge boats this time but the boys enjoyed playing in the water and watching some of the smaller boats. I knew they had a good time when Reis, the oldest boy said to Scott, "Dad, can we stay here longer?" We were glad to have you, Scott, Kelly, Reis, Hudson, Chapman, Owen and Davis! Come back anytime!






After our visit to Chesapeake City, we went back to the house where I introduced the boys to Photobooth (mac program). Enjoy!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Monday, my sister, Amy, and I went to Chilis for a little Cinco De Mayo Celebration! We originally went to Border Cafe, an awesome authentic restaurant, for some good cookin, but when we got there, the line of cars and packed white tent outside the restaurant steered us right into the Chilis parking lot right next door. Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea. Here's a shot of the (big) margarita I enjoyed with dinner.

all in a week...

So I thought I'd do one big post summing up the events of this past week. It was jammed with big events so this post will be picture heavy with short and sweet descriptions. I actually didn't even catch everything on camera so you'll just have to use our imagination. Here goes.

Saturday (technically last week, but play along) Matt and I built a new shed for our yard - a step closer to organization and actually getting things out of our basement. I didn't get a picture but I'm sure you'll see it at some point. Then, Matt left to go practice with the Philadelphia Barrage, a professional lacrosse team he was invited to practice with. If he impresses the coach, he could be drafted next year!

Sunday I drove up to Philly with Matt for his first professional lacrosse debut! Well, ok, it was only a scrimmage, but he was so excited. It was super cold and I had to sit on wet bleachers, but it was totally worth it!


Monday-Wednesday: Most of the beginning of the week was spent planning Matt's surprise birthday party (we'll discuss later on in the post) and our church's Celebration Service for our new building. I've been working with another friend of ours on the new church logo and other collateral for the service and this weeks project was to construct an oversized styro-foam logo to be hung on the stage. Needless to say my living room was covered in styro-foam and scraps.

Wednesday night, I met my friend from college, Kelsey, in Philadelphia for the Phillies baseball game. We took the train into the city which was quite an experience. We had great seats, thanks to Kelsey's boss - 9th row on the 3rd base line. We talked and talked and talked throughout the whole game, and the whole train ride home (which we almost missed). It was good to connect with an old friend.


Thursday was a big day - May 1st, Matt's birthday. All week I had been conspiring with Matt's friends for a surprise birthday party. Matt came home from lacrosse practice to find his friends trickling in, one by one to see him. All in all, we had about 25 people (and 3 kids) here. We settled in by 9:00 with everyone to catch this week's episode of The Office.

Matt's friend Meech who insisted on ruining our picture.

Alexis eating her cake

And of course, no party is complete without some horse lips

Friday, I spent some time in the afternoon at our church preparing for the service. We worked on our styro-foam sign a bit more. I went with my friend Emily to IKEA to find some things for the church and while I was there I found the deal of a lifetime. We strolled through the As-Is section and I spotted a beautiful white headboard - FOR $10! I snatched it up, along with it's matching foodboard for our guest bedroom. (sorry, no pic yet)

Friday night I went with Amy to our friend Jen's house (seen in the horselips pic above) for a little girls night out. We sat around and talked and laughed until well after midnight!

Saturday, today, I spent the first half of the day at the church again finishing and hanging the sign. We were proud of the finished product! It will look fantastic at the service tomorrow!


Phew, I'm exhausted.

if these shoes could talk...

mode. stopwatch. start.
so close to home but so far away.
the beginning is the hardest.
cross the road.
i hope the roadkill is cleaned up today.
gross. look left. LOOK LEFT.
phew.
duck under the evergreen that overlaps the sidewalk.
traffic light #1.
no one is playing tennis today.
they finally got the windows put in that new construction.
one mile down.
that's a lot of dandilions.
traffic light #2.
my, it's awfully early to be laying out in the sun.
this grooved sidewalk feels good.
half of the students in that dorm are still asleep.
here comes a hill.
traffic light #3
should i turn now or go for another mile?
straight.
mile 2
traffic light #4
ah, downhill
construction blocking the sidewalk. better cross.
big hill now.
brutal.
almost to rite-aid.
that house is still for sale.
traffic light #5
that is a nice yard.
little hill.
three miles down.
the long downhill.
i love this road.
i think i know that lady.
traffic light #6
weave through the trash cans.
almost to the elementary school.
little annoying hill.
4 miles.
ah, the 7th traffic light (same as the first) is in sight.
oh, i hope that dog is on a leash.
all bark, no bite.
movin faster than the cars.
traffic light #7
final turn.
homestretch.
cross the road after the red car.
now. cross.
brown shoe - in bad shape.
other brown shoe - in worse shape than the first.
oh, they fixed their fence.
made it to the church.
it's almost over.
sprint to the neighborhood
GO.
hurting.
made it.
stopwatch stopped.

4.9 miles.

again tomorrow?

buds and giggles

Today I spent a little time in the morning working in the garden before really diving into work and before baby Brooke came for a few hours. I transplanted a few of my Moonflowers, vine-like plant with 6in diameter blooms that open in the evening and throughout the night (similar to Morning Glories) last week and now that the ground is warm enough, I wanted to get some bulbs (Freesia and DayLillies) in the ground. I also transplanted some Cosmos and Morning Glories. This weekend hope to transplant some Petunias and some of my perrienial Poppies. I'm realizing now that I have too many plants and not enough garden. I'll have to get some planters to just put on the deck for some of the leftover buds. Here are some updated photos of all the growth in the last week and a half. This is for Jenn who called last week to "see how the flowers are growing!

(click to enlarge)

In the afternoon I had my regularly visiting Brooke come over for a few hours while her mom, Nikki, was coaching softball. She is very responsive – smiling a lot and "talking" just to hear the sound of her voice. Here are some cute pics and a video I got of her doing a little "talking."

What a week!

My sister Carrie and her husband, Chris visited this past week with my nephew Wyatt who is growing up so fast! I also got to watch a friend's little girl, Brooke, who is three months old a few days too. Then, on Thursday, our friend Beccah and her husband came for a few days with their three kids. It was a houseful of kids! Here are a few pics and videos of my time with the family.

Wyatt and Auntie Katie

Sleepy Wyatt and Uncle Dave

I promise he loves drums more than dolls

Wyatt chillin in grandma's chair like a stud

Natalie and her only breakdown of her life - in the car to the mall

Naked Wyatt drumming with Kaylie

Brooke and her blow-out. How can such a tiny baby
such a big nasty mess?

Wyatt kept hugging Brooke saying "ooooh baby" in a very gentle voice

Helping wash the car

"My Parents Are Exhausted"

ALL the kiddos in the backyard with Dad and our neighbor (and their two huge dogs)

They're growing up!

I was SUPER excited when I went to put all my planters out in th sun this morning and found out that a bunch of seedlings have sprouted! Early in day for, I saw 2-3 sprouts in about half of the planters. And, this afternoon when I went for a little photo-op (can you tell I'm a proud first-time gardener?) even MORE had sprouted up above the soil. I knew I'd be giving updates, but I didn't realize they would be this early. Thanks for humoring me.