Camp!

BJ & I got back this weekend from a week of high school camp. We had a ton of fun because the students are a ton of fun. :) Here are a few of the girls in our 'family group'.
Here are our 'family group' kids performing the modern version of Peter's life story.
Here's BJ with one of the cutiest girls on the planet.
Part of our rockin dodgeball team.
Veronica and Kayla playing one of our favorite silly games.

Erin's Baby Shower

This is a little late.. but we've been gone. :) These are from Erin's baby shower. We love Tim and Erin so much and can't wait to meet their little man (any day now...)!

Welcome to the world...

Isla! :) My new cousin Isla and my aunt Yvonne...! :)

I'm a Cousin!

Congratulations to Bill and Yvonne on their new baby girl, Isla!!! We're so happy for you and we can't wait to meet her! :) Bill and Yvonne are my aunt and uncle who live in the UK - this is them a few years back with Julie and my Grandma Marie.

A Week of Peace

...and now I have a peaceful week to recuperate and catch up! Everything was awesome last week (more to come) but it was a LOT.

Our cats are unposable... They just like to be symmetric sometimes.

Why My Life is Crazy...

I have a few people wondering why I've been so bad answering emails and calls... so sorry if you need me and I haven't gotten back. Here's why...

Work craziness: John McCain is coming in an hour or so. The press was here early (some were all set up by 8am... but the national press just showed up) and we've set up a press room for them. This is on top of (or I should say putting a halt to) my regular work (that is piling up because of this)!

Personal craziness: This week we had a graduation party and cookout Sunday night, a softball game Monday night, Kutlas concert Tuesday night, concert at Bright with college kids last night and then a few of the college students stayed with us... tomorrow night we have a SEABIRD concert, and Saturday we have a baby shower, a party, a golf tournament (BJ) and a high school girls sleepover. Plus I've got 7 freelance projects going on.

Anyway I just thought I'd explain myself! Back to the craziness!

Visit from McCain

John McCain is coming to Xavier tomorrow (we found out yesterday) and this place is CRAZY! That's all - got to get back to the madness!

Fresh Strawberries

I'm not sure if it's because we helped them grow or that they are smaller and more packed with flavor... but they're GOOD! We're picking about this much a few times a week now. :) Check out Layla's perked-up ears! She's cute. :)

Softball Game

Here's a few from BJ's softball game last night... Layla loves the attention and the dirt!

The Beach

BJ and I went to "The Beach" waterpark last yesterday with our friend Jon and his daugher Jasmine. It was a nice hot day - perfect to get cooled off. The cicadas were AWFUL! They were everywhere! It really made us thankful that they are only on the east side of town and we haven't seen a single one by us.

We went to the wave pool and I about had a heart attack. My sister Julie and I had a frightening experience in a wave pool once so I was a little on edge and kept watching out for kids. We were in for a little while when we decided to get out. I turned around and at my feet (at the bottom of the pool) was a little girl floating still face down. My heart about stopped. I grabbed her and pulled her up and she looked at me shocked like, "what the heck, lady!". Um... maybe you shouldn't be floating still at the bottom of the wave pool!

Lightning Storm

Here's a couple of pictures BJ and I took last night from our back porch... We sure have been getting some crazy storms lately!

Family Photos

A while back I posted about the IKEA photo wall I've been working on in our dining room. I finally finished it last night!
This one has BJ and I's paternal side photos. I'm halfway done with the family photo scanning project - hopefully I'll get some photos from our mom's sides next!

Ellen's Party

FREEEEDOM!!!
Mom and Peggy!
Peggy and Grandma!
Three chicas!
I'm not really sure what Jen's doing but I love her expression.
I am just going to NOT explain this one because it's funnier that way. :)

Wedding Picts

This weekend I went home for my cousin Ellen's graduation party and to help Kate shoot a wedding.

It was a long fun day! :)

Our Roses

Swim Party

Here's a few from our swim part last night. We had SO much fun!

Bon Fire

Last Saturday was so nice and full - we saw a movie, went hiking, went swimming, gave Pudge a haircut and had a fire. Here's a few from the bonfire... Did I mention we love our 'kids'? We do.
Here's the bon fire from across our pond. It was such a nice night.

Juevyllee

Just thought we'd share this photo of our sponsored child from the Philippines Juevyllee -- We don't get to many photos so we cherish them! She just finished 'grade 2' and was first in her class! :)

Three Years Ago Today...

Dumb Hummingbird

We have never seen a hummingbird around our house until yesterday... when one got himself stuck in our garage. Despite the two garage doors open to the ourside world, this little guy kept banging his head on the window to get out. He finally made it. :)

Sleepy Meerkat

Sorry you have to turn your head to see it... but we just loved the Meerkats at the Louisville Zoo! I think we could have watched them for hours.

daZoo

Jeff Rubies

BJ and I took a few days off last week to extend our Memorial Day weekend into a mini vacation for our anniversary. This Wednesday it will be three years! :)

We headed down to Louisville to see the Louisville Slugger Museum, eat at Jeff Rubies, and go to the zoo.
Here's BJ and I at dinner. Before we ordered the waiter said the steak is so good that it would made us want to slap someone.

The Year of Living Biblically

I just read this great article in Relevant about AJ Jacobs - who spent a year living Biblically - in its strictest sense, making for some very humorous writing. :)

Here are some quotes:

You shall not trim the corners of your beard. (Leviticus 19:27)
I let my beard grow until I looked like Moses. Or maybe Ted Kaczynski. I got called both. I got searched at airport security. I itched like a madman. Plus I was subjected to every beard joke in the history of facial hair, including about 412 ZZ Top references.

Stone men and women who commit adultery.
Thanks to those pesky U.S. laws—and my conscience—it was particularly difficult to abide by this Old Testament law. I did, however, manage to stone one adulterer. Here’s what happened: I was in Central Park. I was wearing my most biblical garb—sandals, a walking stick, white clothes—and an elderly man came up to me and asked me why I was dressed so “queer.” I explained I was following all the rules of the Bible, right on down to stoning adulterers. He said, “I’m an adulterer, you going to stone me?” I said, “Well, yes, that would be great.” And I took out of my pocket some pebbles that I was saving for just this occasion. (The Bible doesn’t specify the size of the stones.) The old man actually grabbed the pebbles out of my hand and threw them at me. So I figured I should toss one at him in self-defense. And in that way I stoned.

Do not wink.
The Bible has no fewer than four anti-winking passages, including this one: “He who winks with his eye is plotting perversity” (Proverbs 16:30). Possible explanation: Many believe that the Bible’s “wink” referred to a tacit approval of evil. As in “I saw what you did, but I won’t tell.” But let’s face it. The wink is a creepy gesture no matter how you cut it. So the Bible is correct to condemn it. If only the Bible condemned people who call strangers “captain.”

[check out the full article from Relevant]

Birthday Weekend

Well, I'm 28!
Here's BJ and I at the Red's game.
My sweet brother Eric and I at the Red's game. Yea for a 6-game winning streak!!
BJ took me to the Krohn Conservatory to see the butterfly show. It was a bit crowded but still amazing. :)
This one was hyperactive. :)
They put Gatorade on our hands to trick the butterflies into landing on us. So sneaky.

[View the whole gallery]

Mother's Day Visit to Granger

BJ and I headed up to South Bend this weekend to celebrate Mother's Day with my family. We had a really nice time with them.

Here's us gals.
We got to see Kate, Lilly, and Matt a bit and meet baby Judah for the first time.
BJ and Lilly. :)

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Heartbreak

While in South Bend we found out some tragic news. One of our high school students, Tara (she's in a photo below with BJ) was in an accident friday night and two of her close friends were killed [Enquirer Article | Fox Article]. We didn't know Stephanie or Rachel, but our hearts are broken for Tara and everyone else coming to grips with this loss. Please pray for her and the families & friends of the two girls.

Seabird! (shouted like you might shout Freebird!)

Here's BJ and Tara at Lee's Chicken. :)

So Needtobreathe was the headliner, but of course my favorite is Seabird. :)