The Lunch Bunch

The Linds is having her birthday this week, so over the weekend we all met in the middle, or Cadillac, for a birthday lunch at Ruby Tuesdays!  It was yum and fun!  Here are a few photos -

Taking the ferry to Mackinaw?

The question of the day is: Where does grandma V get her never ending supply of Victoria's Secret bags?! 

Tomorrow night Mystery Sizzler at church!  Should be a gooooood time!

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Beach Day

On Saturday I went with our Youth Ministry on an outing to the beach.  We couldnt have asked for better weather!  The water is a little cooler now, but still very swimable and wonderful!  Just one more proof that Michigan is the absolute best in the summer, no doubt about it! :)

We had a great time, boys went too...mia for pictures though! 

Today Mom, Dad, gma, gpa and I went to Cadillac to meet Marv and Linds for lunch to celebrate Linds' birthday!  More to come on that!

Happy Sunday!

I am Betsy Ross

Just call me the Yankee Doodle Dandy - or something very Americana!  

Tonight I rode my red bike, played tennis with my bogo, wore pearl earring studs, heard and saw the sounds and sites of high school football, and got ice cream at a little local stand!

Have a great weekend friends!

When the Lights Go Out

BLOCKPARTY!

Sometime between Sunday night and Tuesday morning our neighborhood lost power.  No biggie right?  Well it was still out Tuesday evening when I got home.  So after a bike ride to dinner, we had a driveway block party!  Everyone on the Cul-de-sac came out! 

It was so throw back and great!

Happy Wednesday!

Out West; Up North

I told you I was going fishing and to visit Melissa over the weekend - it was a great time for sure!

Friday night Kari and I headed out to Grand Haven to fish off her Uncle Don's boat.  We were out for over 3 hours and only managed to reel in 2 fish!   It was a little bit slow, but fun!

K and Me - heading out to sea

Reeling this baby in!

Kiss a lot of fish?

My Delish Fish!

Saturday I drove up to Traverse City and visited my college roommate Melissa!  We had a lot of fun poking through downtown, shopping and chatting.  It was so good to catch up with her and see her family too!

Lunch at Amical!

More to come soon, but we had a power outage and therefore a neighborhood block party! 

And here's something to think about - I think gangs are getting soft; the other day I saw Fred Flintstone graffitied on a rail car - really?  Fred Flintstone to prove yourself?!  weak.

Have a great week friends!

It's the little things

How many times do you finish a week or day, and think 'that was good.' and for what reason?  I often find that for myself it's all in the little things.  Things like: having a meaningful conversation, the lady at work who is looking and feeling awesome cause she lost 20 pounds, getting a funny text or email from a friend, a note in the mail, plans to see an old friend, hearing excited people talk, the bing picture of the day (go there, it's cool!), having a ball team with a dog in the fight (sorta, better than the 90's!), encouraging others, remembering that the God I serve doesnt take vacations or need a nap, and feeling like I'm right where he wants me - which as we know, is the best place you can hope for!

I have a good weekend lined up - fishing with Kari and Traverse City with Melissa!

 I hope you have a great weekend too!

Middle School Called

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to go on our Junior High retreat again.  I started going on these retreats as a college student and havent looked back!  This year we had a great group of students, and a very hot weekend in the Chicagoland area.  We stayed in tents (little did I know), helped at Awana, ate at Geno's East (classic), shopped on the Magnificent Mile, and drove - a lot.  Here's some photos:

The three Amigos at Awana

Welcome! Now get to work! :)

The whole 9 yards, and 1700 car kits!

Eating Red Pepper flakes to get: Hair on their chests!

Geno's East - Yum!

It's not all work - Magnificent Mile!

The girlies!

Shopping!

Making sack lunches

Molly doing her part

The boys washing apples

It was a great trip, with great kids.  We played hard, slept little, sweat a lot, and laughed much!

Sidenote: I totally won a free 60 minute massage from the Y! BONUS!

Hope everyone's having a great week!

Dont be Scared

If you're at the downtown Y and you think there's a ghost whizzing by you, fear not!  It's just me in my new shoes!  Love them, and I saw this witty ad for them, and therefore love them even more!  I'm a sucker for witty! So without further ado - a shameless free plug for my shoes! And yes, I do experience the spine - tingling.

*Note: My shoes are actually blue and green, as seen here.

 

I'm currently packing for my trip to Chicago - Jr High Retreat!  When will I ever make it through 8th grade?! :)

Have a great weekend Friends!

8-9-10

It's hard to complain about a Monday when:
1. it's 8-9-10 and the sun is shinin'!
2. Your haul home from work includes: A bran-spankin' new IKEA catalog, Airhead Xtremes, Ferrero Dark Chocolates, Nutella, Sour Belts, Very Berry Lemon Heads and multi fruity Tic Tacs!! plus Ghirardelli chocolates were put in my candy bucket today!

3.  The freeway is open again! WHEW!
4.  Your bogo (bff X 10) and you sent funny emails all day!
6.  You stopped by your friend's house on lunch and received many mouse hugs and kisses!
7.  It's your grandparent's 64th wedding anniversary!

I have been blessed! :)  Happy Monday All!

Hapday

I still stand by my statement that I work for the greatest company and yesterday was just another evidence of that.  When I came to work there were streamers decorating half my cube - it took about 2 seconds, then 'oh yes, it's my half birthday tomorrow!'  Some of my girlfriends from my department thought it would be hilarious to go all out for my half birthday, so they did!  

Even the Happy Birthday confetti on my desk was cut in half!  And as a 'gift' I received a paperback torn in half! :)  Clever!

For some of you who might be confused, a half birthday is the six month point before and after your birthday.  My bday is February 7, so August 7 is my half birthday!  check out this blog to see how she celebrates, and get some yummy treat ideas!

Today my friends Tim and Jenni are tying the knot! Congratulations!

Happy Weekend All!

Blog Here Blog There

Today is my one year blogaversary! :)  

One year ago a rear ending gave me the lead off story I was looking for to get me started!  A literal kick in the pants you could say! :)

It's been a good week on the home front here are some highlights:

Monday Night: Girls Night at Marybeth's - good food, good friends!

Tuesday Night: Wedding Shower for Amy Crego - we have an awesome set of ladies at church!

Wednesday Night: Work dinner, surprise concert (I work for the greatest company), Sr. high girls night at Hoogendyks!

Thursday Night: We shall see!!!!

I share my blogaversary with my friend Allison's birthday - Happy Birthday Ally! and it was my nephew Sam's bday yesterday!  Happy Birthday Slam! :)