An Indoor Picnic

Hooray for the hubby's days off work, and a surprise picnic just for him! Bonus points for beating the 100 degree heat, mosquitos, and enjoying fancy cheese and olives from Gourmet Gallery. If you haven't shopped there, I highly recommend it! (Definitely try the chocolate truffles....so good, they're sinful!) We only had enough time for a little stay-cation (i hear that's the new term for it...) before school started, but I'm so glad to be married to a man who makes staying at home so much fun! This was probably one of my favorite dates ever! Have a great Friday, everyone!

Goodbye Summer...

Goodbye unstructured, lazy days of summer. Hello new first graders, music programs, and getting up early. Looking back on my Summer List (click here), I would say it's been one of my favorite summers ever.

Here are the top 5 things I checked off my list:

1) Book worm: check!

I took a chance on this book which was recommended by a Barnes and Noble employee. While I wasn't a big fan, I loved becoming a recluse and burying my nose in a book.

2) Thrifting: you-betcha!

It was something like the "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore" moment. Eryn and I went to Mary's Swap meet on 23rd St. and an OKC thrift store. Let's just say we'd never had an experience quite like that before. Amidst live roosters, garage sale junk, and scorching heat, we found some cute vintage brooches, and an old chandelier!

3) Hooray for healthy (and tasty) cooking!

All of these recipes are low fat and low cal. Above is Roasted Pork Chop and Peaches.

Veggies for the Mediterranean Tuna Pasta Toss

We pretty much have this every Monday night: Sausage and Bean Rigatoni

4) We got crafty: check check

A trip to Hobby Lobby with my neighbor-turned-awesome-friend Eryn, resulted in us starting an Etsy store called Hello Blossom. After weeks of work, we launched our store in July!

5) Local adventures: finally!

We celebrated Cindy's (my incredible mother-in-law) birthday at Red Pin Bowling...except once we got down there, we were informed we could dine but not bowl, because the alley had been rented out. So....we opted for a Bricktown canal ride instead. It still ended up being a fun night!

Woo hoo for a super fun summer! So thankful for time with my friends, family, and the best husband ever. While I have to admit I'm getting excited to see the kiddos soon, I'm already brainstorming a new list for next summer. Can't wait!

Beach Week! Holla!

I'm not gonna lie...I went in to beach week unsure about how it was going to go. Thankfully, I was knocked off my feet by the things God did, and the awesome high schoolers I got to meet. This is our team: Magneto! The theme for the week was heroes vs. villains, and we were definitely representing the evil side. Mwa ha ha ha...

One of the late night parties - rave night! Loved the black light dance fest, complete with glow sticks and neon paint! I even sported some neon false eyelashes :)

Nothing beats spending time with the Lord on the beach. I even spotted 4 or 5 dolphins in the water one morning!!! I heart Laguna Beach, Florida.

Our team about to spray paint our Magneto shirts. Gotta represent the villains!

Love this girl! Kelly and her team, Syndrome, pumping each other up during rec. We don't take competition lightly here!

Some of our fearless leaders enjoying some free time on the beach. I happen to think the guy in the middle is super hot. Maybe we should get married... :)

Precious time with my group. Each of our lives were forever changed by this week, and I could not have felt more humbled and honored to be a part of their lives.

Jacie, and her team the Incredibles. Had so much fun getting to know her and her husband better this week. They made the 16 hour ride home seem like nothing!

Bumper tube soccer. Running around in inner tubes, in 90-something degree weather isn't for sissies. I loved hearing the hilarious chants each team came up with through out the week!

Baptisms in the ocean on the last day. What an awesome picture of the new creation God has made in our lives.

The holy grail of rec. Heroes and villains competed the entire week for this baby. Near heat strokes, bruises, exhaustion and other various injuries were all worth it for the VILLAINS! We get to have our names on this trophy for an entire year. Chillin' like a villain...

Trying to keep our eyes open, both from the sun and very few hours of sleep. We loved our last morning on the beach, and couldn't have spent our time doing anything more valuable that week. Soooo thankful for the opportunity to have gone to Beach Week 2010!!!

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" - and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

1 Tim 1:15-16

(Shout out to Pam Yates for letting me swipe some of her pics from the week!)