Posts Tagged ‘friends’

Spring Break Visitation

Saturday, April 17th, 2010

I love being a teacher for many reasons, but one of my favorites is all the fun breaks we get, like spring break.  Our spring break was a week ago, but I am just now finding the time to blog about it.  We spent our week visiting some friends and places we rarely get to see. 

First Visit:  My mom, sister and nephews came to town to visit.  We had planned on visiting Hopscotch’s Playplace but it was closed.  They have the most random hours and this is the second time they have come to town intending to play here and it been closed.  We ended up at Imagination Station, which I think Tyson enjoyed more.  There wasn’t much for MLK to do, but I think she still had a good time watching her cousins play.

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Second Visit:  We visited our dear friends Mark and Nicole and their new little boy, Jack.  These are friends from college who moved from BG several years ago.  We spent time playing games, introducing kiddos, taking a nice stroll around a park and eating ice cream!  Here are some shots from the visit.

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Third Visit:  Throughout the week I visited with some neighborhood kids.  When the weather is warm the kids in our neighborhood flock to our cul-de-sac to play.  Spring Break was no different.  One afternoon Mikayla and I went out front and sat on a blanket to play.  Within ten minutes our blanket was filled with neighborhood kids wanting to play with Mikayla and her toys.  I passed out leftover hard boiled eggs and we sat around eating and playing.  It was a lot of fun.  I didn’t manage to snap pictures of the kids, but here are a few of Mikayla during our impromptu play date hanging with the big kids.  As you can tell, she thought she was pretty cool!

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Fourth Visit:  MLK and I headed to Smiths Grove to visit with my team teacher.  Not only are we team teachers, but we are friends.  We want desperately for our daughters to be friends too.  We got together, played, chatted and had a little photo shoot in a neighbors yard.  It was a relaxing way to spend one of the last days of my spring break.  She has some great pictures from the day on her blog.  You can read about it here. 

Fifth Visit:  On Sunday we packed up our gear and headed to Mammoth Cave.  You can read about our trip on Ben’s blog here.  It was a great day to be outside and the perfect end to my Spring Break.  I think MLK enjoyed being on the trail and I know Shiloh enjoyed herself!  Here are some fun memories from the day.

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I had a great Spring Break visiting all these fun people and places, but most of all I enjoyed spending time with my family.  I can’t wait for Summer break and all the fun we are going to have!

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Easter 2010

Monday, April 5th, 2010

The day began with a beautiful sunny morning and the birds chirping.  We woke up, got ready for church, ran a little late (as usual these days), loaded up the car and were on our way for a fun filled day.  After church we returned home to prepare for our Easter dinner with some close friends (and finish cleaning).  I cooked a spiral ham (well really just heated it up) and while we waited for our friends to get here we snapped some pictures in our front yard:

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All smiles on the beautiful day.  Check out my diva sandals and fantastic dress made by Dacia!

2010-04-04 Easter 053Just hanging around with daddy! 

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Family photo

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My baby girl and me

After a quick photo shoot we gave Mikayla her Easter basket. I think she was more impressed with the noises the objects made than she was the actual objects.  Her basket was filled with Puffs, a book, bubbles, rabbit ears (for pictures later this week) and large plastic eggs stuffed with smaller plastic eggs.  Side note – she had actually been playing with the eggs all week.  We are not ashamed to regift!

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 Are you surprised she ended up with a giraffe Easter basket??

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Next on our list of things to do was Easter dinner with some close friends.  After we ate we let the kiddos dye eggs (even MLK "dyed" one) and had an Easter egg hunt in our backyard.

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She wasn’t sure what to think about the eggs, actually she was a little upset I wouldn’t let her eat it!

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Ready, Set, Hunt!

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Our Egg Hunt Boot Camp really paid off, she knew exactly what to do and found a whopping four eggs!

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The kiddos showing off their "loot"! 

After the hunt the men went and played disc golf while the women and kids went and hung out outside and chatted.  We topped the evening off with grilled brats and a fire in our backyard…PERFECT!  I wish everyday could be this relaxing and fun filled!

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Sewing Envy

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

In high school I took a sewing class to fill an easy senior year credit.  At the time I didn’t truly appreciate the skill and craft of sewing, but now my lack of knowledge has created some sewing envy. 

For all you out there that love the look of BabyLegs legwarmers like me, but are not a fan of the high ticket price check this out.  How simple!  If only I knew how to sew…

Then there are these adorable outfits my friend Dacia made for Mikayla.  She made a dress and shirt out of some very fun fabrics.  I am currently working on matching clips, but I am sure they will not even compare to these fun outfits.  Again, if I only knew how to sew…

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Hijacked and "The Girls"

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Ben beat me to it.  This post, was one I was going to write as soon as I had time to sit down and write it.  However, he beat me too it.  That’s okay though, because what he said was so important I feel like I can repeat it in my own words.

I think it is awesome when we can get together with those we love, who might I add we don’t get to see that often, and the moment we get together we are able to pick up right where we left off as if months hadn’t gone by since our last visit.  It is amazing.  Dave and Catherine are dear friends to us and their friendship is one like I described above.  Again, amazing!  They are the type of friends that no matter what the scenario, whatever the combination of the four of us are around (or six if you count Mikayla and Molly) we can have fun and there be no awkward pauses in conversation.  It might be me, Ben and Cat or Dave, Cat and me or maybe just Ben and Cat and there is no awkwardness.  Does this make sense?   Ben may have said it more eloquently than I, but I treasure the friendship we have with the Altmaiers.   In Ben’s word, a "Pretty mundane and typical" weekend, spent with great friends was just what this girl needed!

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Dave goofing off at Cat’s birthday lunch.

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Ben hanging with Molly.

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Ben has this thing with picking people’s noses, just ask our friends from high school.

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Cat and Mikayla

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Birthday girl with her kiddo at a yummy French restaurant.

 

One of the greatest parts of this weekend was introducing Mikayla to Molly.  Catherine and I were driving around Tallahassee and she made a comment about "the girls".  How cool is it that we can refer to our kiddos as "the girls"?  Catherine has been a friend of mine since elementary school.  We were in girls scouts together, attended the same youth group in middle and high school, were college roommates, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding…the list could go on and on.  To say the least we have been friends for a really long time.  She is one of the few people in life that I can be 100% real with.  I would argue that she knows me as well as Ben.  I can call her for a laugh, cry, rant and more.  Good friends are hard to come by and so that is why I think it is so cool we can refer to our daughters as "the girls".  I just hope that "the girls" have a friendship like their moms and that Mikayla finds her Catherine one day!

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Cake Pops to the Rescue

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Have you ever been extremely excited about a cake and then this happens:

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Well I have a solution for you – CAKE POPS!  This is a clever creation that I stole borrowed from Bakerella and adapted to meet my needs.  MckMama also made some the other day and inspired me to do the same.  She called hers Snow Pops, but whatever you call them, they are delicious!

Here is what you will need to begin:

· Standard cake mix (choose your flavor, I chose Funfetti).  I guess if you wanted to be adventurous you could make a cake from scratch, but I was on a time crunch!

· Icing (I used a cream cheese icing I made – see recipe below)

· Wax paper

· Sucker sticks

· Candy melts (I used both white and milk chocolate melts)

· Sprinkles

Step 1:  Prepare cake according to package (so I guess technically you will need oil, eggs and water).  While cake is cooking/cooling move on to Step 2.

Step 2:  Prepare icing (if making from scratch).  To make the cream cheese icing combine an 8 oz. package of softened cream cheese, 6 Tbsp of softened butter, 1 Tbsp of milk, and 3 cups of powdered sugar.  Mix until lumps are gone and it resembles icing for a cake.

Step 3:  Crumble cake (once cooled).  I used my food processor to do this and worked marvelous.

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Step 4:  Add in icing one cup at a time until the cake/icing combo can be formed into balls.

Step 5:  Roll cake/icing mixture into small balls and place on cookie sheet covered in wax paper. 

Step 6:  Melt a small portion of the candy melts in the microwave according to package (I melted in a coffee mug and this worked well).  Once melted dip the tip of your sucker sticks in and place halfway in cake/icing balls.  Place in freezer until firm.

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Step 7:  Melt a few candy melts at a time (I melted 1/4-1/3 of the bag at one time) in microwave.  Add food coloring or coloring gel until desired color is formed.  Obviously if you are using milk chocolate melts you won’t be able to change the color, but using white chocolate you will be able to.

Step 8:  Dip cake balls in chocolate until well coated.  Immediately sprinkle on sprinkles if desired. 

Step 9:  Dry upright until hardened (a minute or two should do the trick).  Styrofoam blocks would work best for this, but I didn’t have any on hand and didn’t feel like running to the store.  My sweet husband helped me improvise by taking a 2 by 4 and drilling holes into it.  It worked just as well I think!

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Step 10:  Figure out a way to present them in a fun way and enjoy!  I took them to a New Year’s Eve party and they were a hit!  This recipe makes about 50 and they were all gone before the evening was over.

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A Year In Review

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

I am stealing this idea from my friend Dave.  I loved his post so much and thought it gave a good account for the year 2009.  What better way to ring in the new year than with a list of fun memories and pictures from the past.  Without further ado:

January – 100th day of school…Call me crazy, but I think this is one of my favorite days of school, right behind KY Derby week and Dr. Seuss week!  The kids all dress up like they are 100 and we do activities all day that revolve around the number 100.  It is crazy fun.

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February – My birthday, what else!!  I also did a fun art project for the nursery with an old student, T-, who is kind of like an adopted son for us.

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March – 10 years of bliss (combined dating and married) with my wonderful husband!  He surprised me with 10 gerbera daisies (my favorite), throughout the day and even a surprise lunch.  He also put together a photo album, with a picture for each year we have been together.  There was also a sweet visit from Catherine mixed in there.  We had fun just hanging out, driving around forever trying to find a place to get a pedicure, and then painting pottery.  It was a great last hurrah before Mikayla was born!

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April – The birth of my dear sweet Mikayla…enough said!

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May – Ben graduated from seminary…Hallelujah!  Three years of no social life, lonely nights on the couch (me) and endless hours of studying (him) were officially over.  I don’t know who was more excited, me or him?

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June – Lots of mini road trips and first meetings for Mikayla.  We traveled to Somerset where she met her great grandparents and adopted grandma (Cindy Kerr).  Then on to Mayfield, Kentucky to meet Mignon, another great grandmother.  Finally, a trip to Kentucky Lake to meet the extended Kickert clan (great Aunts and Uncles and second cousins).  It was an exhausting month, but a lot of fun!  She also met T- and his brother, M- (see February for more information on these two)!

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July – I finished up my “internship” at the Kelly Autism Program which meant I finished my Rank I (no more school for me)…Can I get another Hallelujah? Sorry no pictures of this for the month, but here is one of Mikayla!  This is her classic pouty face!

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August – Adventures in Baking and back to school.  I spent a lot of time in August cooking. Homemade pizza, salsa, okra stew, stuffed jalapenos, and a first attempt at sushi just to name a few.  It was hard to leave Mikayla at the beginning of August and head back to school but we managed.  Ben did such a good job of taking care of her, even if he did try to cook her!

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September – September was a slow month for me.  I worked and when I wasn’t working I was spending time with my family.  I guess you could say the most exciting thing about the month was developing my love for BabyLegs.  Hey, I told you it was a slow month!

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October – Smokey Mountain fun with the Altmaiers and celebrating my five year wedding anniversary with Ben.  I have said it before, and I will say it again, these are some of the best friends a girl could ask for.  We have known them for so long and it never fails, with each visit, we just pick right up where we left off.  There is no awkwardness at all.  We could go weeks without communicating and then jump right back in when we do.  They are our go to couple when having a marital dispute and more like family than friends!  Seriously, it doesn’t get much better!  This is perhaps one of my favorite months of the past year.  Fall + Great Friends + Five years of wedded bliss = A great month!

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November – Another slow month, not much to report besides Thanksgiving.  We had a great time visiting with both sides of the family and ate until we could eat no more.

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December – My favorite thing about December was starting new traditions with my little family.  We decorated the tree, opened stockings, drank hot cocoa, took pictures, ate some Chinese, and enjoyed some wine.  It was a great way to end the year.  Oh and those yummy cinnamon rolls!

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I hope that 2010 brings as much fun, excitement and joy as 2009 did!  Happy New Years everyone.

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Random Thoughts

Monday, October 5th, 2009

My fall break started Friday.  So far, I have done nothing productive, but had some much needed lazy time with my husband, daughter and dog.  Tomorrow my sis, nephews and mom are coming in town to hang out for the day.  Because my car died on the way home to Tanner’s birthday party I did not make it.  So, my loving sister has agreed to throw a mock birthday party on Wednesday so I can be there to celebrate.  Thursday we meet up with some dear friends for a relaxing time in the Smokies.  Next Tuesday I have set aside to plan with my team teacher and make baby food.  My fall break is turning out to be pretty busy, but I am excited about each and every aspect of it.

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Tonight I cooked…for the first time in forever it seems like.   I made Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Rice from Kraft Foods.  (Side note – I love this magazine, if you don’t subscribe you should!)  Go here for the recipe.  It was simple and delicious.  The only change I made was to season the chicken (black pepper and salt) and add some pepper and seasoned salt to the final product.  I served with some Sister Schubert Yeast Rolls.

In preparation for our big trip, I made some Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The trick to make them extra delicious is to use dark chocolate chips and to chop them up so that they are mini and some are shaved.  I just stick them in the food processor and chop away.  This evenly distributes the chocolate into every bite of the cookie.  The one thing I haven’t mastered yet is to make my cookies fluffy.  Mine always end up flat.  In high school, Mrs. Tuttle always made the best chocolate chip cookies.  They were the perfect blend of crunchy, cakey and gooey.  I hope to one day cook cookies as good as hers.  Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong or what I can do to achieve this perfect blend?

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In case you didn’t read Ben’s post, the Camry is dead.  This was my first car.  In highschool my sister and I shared an Acura Legend.  Technically, this was my first car, but because we shared it and she started driving first it never felt like my car.  I only felt like I borrowed it from her when driving.  The Camry was my car.  I helped by it, I was the sole driver, I loved that car.  Now I must say goodbye to a dear friend.  Ben doesn’t understand why this is so hard for me, and really I don’t either.  It is like parting with a good friend I suppose.  But the difference is, I won’t be seeing it later, it is a for real goodbye.  Has anyone else felt this or am I really crazy?

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This post is very scattered, but that is my life in a nutshell at the current moment!

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10 Ideas

Sunday, July 26th, 2009

Today marks the tenth and final day of the Top Ten Lists.  Are you a little sad?  I honestly am.  I didn’t think i would enjoy doing these lists as much as I have.  With that being said, let’s move on to the list for today.  Today’s list is going to be Top Ten Ideas That Define Me As a Person.  Ready or not, here we go:

  1. Every child can succeed – This one should be an obvious one since I am an educator, but you would be surprised at the philosophy of some teachers.  This statement is what drives me everyday in the classroom.  Every child can succeed, it is my job to find a pathway for them to follow to reach this success.
  2. It takes a village – This is the philosophy behind Ben and I’s parenting style.  We don’t want to be the only ones to “raise” Mikayla, we want the input and help of those around us.  We don’t know everything so we are relying on seasoned parents to help us out, as well as friends and family to offer a different perspective to Mikayla.  I firmly believe that the more ideas and people we expose her to, the better the person she will become.
  3. Embrace you inner five year old – There, I said it, I am a five year old at heart.  I like to have fun, act silly and say what is on my mind.  If we are too serious in life then we won’t have much fun and be stressed out all the time.  However, if we embrace our inner five year old we will be much happier.  After all, have you ever really seen a stressed out, depressed, bored five year old?  I teach five year olds everyday and have never seen this.  Instead I have seen happy, carefree, loving, hopeful kids!
  4. Love your neighbor, even when you hate them – This is sometimes tough to do, really tough sometimes.  I try to love on everyone around me and put others before myself.  I am not perfect, but this is the way I strive to be.
  5. Don’t wish away today – I have really embraced this with the birth of my daughter.  She is growing so fast, but I don’t want to wish away any stage of her life.  I want to live in the present, not worry about the future or dwell on the past.  We are taking it one day at a time, and I think all better off because of it.
  6. Live simply – In the past two years Ben and I have really made a conscious effort to down size our belongings.  We don’t want “stuff” to get in the way of us doing the things that are most important.  When we move to Africa we won’t have access to as much “stuff” and so we are preparing ourselves early.  Plus, who needs a houseful of stuff that never gets used?  I can’t imagine having storage units full of stuff that never gets used.  If we don’t use it on a regular basis, do we really need it?  If we don’t need it, we are getting rid of it!  This goes beyond just “stuff” too.  I try not to make things too complicated or intense.  Now granted I am not always the best at this, but I try.  Try being the key word!
  7. Take time to smell the roses – This is an old saying that dates way back, but a saying with a powerful message.  Don’t go through life being so busy that you don’t take time out to relax and take a look at what is going on around you.  My life moves at a fast pace, but I try and make time to relax and spend time with those that I hold dear to my heart.
  8. Happiness isn’t found in stuff – Please see Number 6.  These are similar, but still a very important way to live my life.
  9. Dr. Seuss quote:  “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.” – Be who you are, not someone else.  This took me awhile to figure out, but it is so true.  You can’t be anyone but you!  And if you try to be someone else you will be stressed and unhappy.
  10. Food fosters friendship – I love food, and have found that the best of friendships are formed and developed over a nice meal.  Often when we have company we end up in the kitchen around the food because, food fosters friendships!

That concludes my Ten Ideas That Define Me As a Person, and the end of my Ten Top Ten Lists.  I would love to hear yours, if you decide to share.

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10 Websites

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

Today is day nine in our Top Ten Lists.  Today we venture into CyberWorld for our Top Ten Websites.  I am taking mine a little different route than Ben, I am going to do my Top Ten Blogs.  So here are they are in no particular order:

  1. Happy in the in Between – This is my dear friend Catherine’s blog.  We have been friends since elementary school.  She is one of the few people in my life where I can be completely real with.  We have been through so much together, and she knows me almost as well as Ben!  She is going to have a baby in December and I couldn’t be more thrilled!  Mikayla and her little one are going to be great friends I just know it!  Her husband is pretty great too.  He has a blog, but hardly ever updates it!  They are one of Ben and I’s favorite couples in the whole world.  Ben and Dave actually grew up together as well.
  2. My Charming Kids – This dear family has endured so much, but throughout it all keeps a positive attitude.  I started reading MckMamma’s blog about a year ago.  She is a mom to four adorable children, the youngest of which has SVT (a rare heart condition).  They have battled her son’s SVT since birth, but even throughout the heartaches she remains positive.  She is also a wonderful photographer, I love looking at the pictures.  Even though I don’t know this family personally, I feel like I do because I read the blog so often!
  3. The Diaper Diaries – In case you didn’t read this post on Ben’s blog, Mikayla is being cloth diapered.  At first people thought we were crazy, but after awhile people just wished us luck!  So far I haven’t had a problem with cloth, I honestly can’t imagine spending fifty bucks a month for disposable diapers.  Anyway, I digress.  This blog is a great resource for those using cloth diapers.  These are also some of my other favorite cloth diapering blogs:  this and this.
  4. Cake Wrecks – I think this blog is hilarious!  The author finds cakes that have huge errors, or are just ridiculously funny and post pictures and comments about them.  The author is very witty.  If you need a good laugh, check this one out.
  5. Joy the Baker – Another funny/witty blogger.  Joy loves to bake and take photos, and combines both in her blog.  Her passion for life really comes through in her presentation.  She has some amazing recipes, and whether or not they are tasty, they look delicious!
  6. Meal Planning Mommies – This is a group of three mommies and their adventures with meal planning.  Recently they have take a blogging sabbatical, but when they were more active they would plan out weekly meals.  They would post the frugal meals on their blog including grocery list, recipes and pictures.  Their recipes were always easy and crowd pleasers.  I hope once they all have their babies (they all had kids and were pregnant at the same time), they get back into the blogging routine.
  7. Jenny Bakes – Another random baking blog (cooking blogs is somewhat of an obsession of mine).  She is not afraid to experiment and admit her mistakes.  I love the honesty.
  8. Friends Blogs – I also stalk read  a lot of blogs written by friends.  Here are some of the more visited ones: Katie, Jenny, Jason, Michelle, Stephanie, Sarah, Cheyenne, and Bella/Jennfier.
  9. The Africa Mercy – This is Ben’s cousin Jana’s blog.  She is not afraid of adventure and will often take off for six month adventures.  Her most recent adventure is working on a Mercy Ship in Benin, Africa.  She is a physical therapy and has been using her expertise to help the people living there that can’t afford expensive medical assistance.
  10. Other favorite websites – Even though I mentioned at the beginning of this post that this would be my Top Ten Blogs, I decided to make Number Ten, some of my favorite websites.  They are as follows:  Craig’s list, Amazon, Autism Society of America, Facebook, The Weather Channel, All Recipes and Google.  I know I am kind of boring, but that is just who I am.

If you are a blog reader and have not discovered Google Reader, you should check it out.  It makes it easy to organize and keep up with all the blogs you read.  Check back soon for Day Ten of the Top Ten Lists.

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10 Places

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

These are my Top Ten Favorite Places to be:

  1. My bed snuggled with Ben, Shiloh and Mikayla – This one should explain itself.  Two of my favorite people, my dog and my comfy cozy bed.  Does it get any better than this?
  2. Waterfalls – I love them all, big or small.  I could sit and watch a waterfall for hours.  I think they are some of the prettiest things God created.
    Frank Lloyd Wright House built on a waterfall

    Frank Lloyd Wright House built on a waterfall

    Ohiopyle Waterfall

    Ohiopyle Waterfall

  3. Guatemala – Spent a summer here with Amy and fell in love with it, the people and the culture.  The food is awesome, the people are so loving and accepting and the countryside is gorgeous.  My brother just led a group down there for 10 days.  I couldn’t go because of commitments here (mainly Mikayla), but I relived my summer there when I saw pictures.
  4. Coffee shops – While in Guatemala I developed a love for coffee and cute coffee shops.   In college coffee shops were a popular hangout spot with friends and mentors.  Today I enjoy heading to a coffee shop with a good book or some good friends and enjoying a nice, steamy cup of joe!  In Bowling Green, my favorite coffee shop is Spencer’s on the square.
  5. Outdoors – I love being outside on a sunny, slightly breezy day.  You can do so much outdoors (and a lot of my favorite places are outdoors).  In the summer time we love to start a fire and sit around the pit watching movies on the side of the house.  In college we would spend an entire day rock climbing.  Walking through the woods on  a crisp fall afternoon with the leaves crunching underfoot is another favorite.  There is so much to do outside, why would anyone want to be glued to a tv screen?
  6. Anywhere with family and friends – I love spending time with family, even if it is just a quick trip to Target!  My love language is quality time and just being together is enough for me.
  7. On a disc golf courseSteve and Luella introduced me to this fabulous game about three summers ago.  I have been playing it ever since.  BG has some of the best courses in the state.  We actually have 8 courses.  If you unfamiliar with disc golf check out this informational video.  I have some fond memories of times on the disc golf course – like the time I played disc golf in the rain in Florida with Cat, Dave, Ben and Potter…good times!.  Check out these photos:
    Disc golf in Ohiopyle with some great friends

    Disc golf in Ohiopyle with some great friends

    Disc golf woth some of my favorite kiddos!  The love it asmuch as me!

    Disc golf woth some of my favorite kiddos! The love it as much as me!

    Disc golf in Hartford with the Pavey's

    Disc golf in Hartford with the Pavey's

  8. In the garden (vegetable garden that is) or a pick your own orchard – As mentioned earlier I love being outside.  What better way to spend the day than harvesting fruits and veggies?  This is mine and Ben‘s third year gardening.  This year we have our garden at our house.  Check out this post. I also enjoy a good pick your own orchard.  As a kid we would go with my grandma to Haney’s and pick apples.  Last summer I went with Dana to The Orchard to pick blackberries (which were made inti blackberry jam) and snagged some blueberries across the street.
  9. The Farm – My grandparents farm holds some great memories for me.  We always argued over which route to take (1, 2, 3, or 4), even to this day I will say let’s go Number 3!  Then we would take turns driving up the driveway (this was before we had licenses of course).  Even as a little child, dad would put us behind the wheel and let us “drive”.  Fishing, family dinners, gardens, blackberries, horses, golden retrievers, cinnamon rolls (but only at Christmas)…so many memories!
  10. KAP (Kelly Autism Program) – I just discovered my love for  KAP this summer (read here).  I hate leaving Ben and Mikayla everyday, but I have really enjoyed my time there.  Contrary to popular belief I get energized (most days) when working with these kiddos!
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