Family Picnic

Today was quite an eventful day. I got up this morning & met Kourtni to go running. It started out with pretty nice weather with a slight breeze but by the time we were headed back it seemed to have gone up 15 degrees! It was crazy! Afterwards, I came home, got ready, & then went out to lunch with Corey at Panda Express. YUMMY sweet and sour chicken. :) After that, Corey & rode our bikes around the neighborhood to enjoy some of the warm weather between her studying sessions for finals. The weather really has been beautiful today! Shortly after that, my mom offered to treat us to a pedicure (which I have never had before). It was amazing!!!! Except that the lady put the tub on too high & water got ALL OVER the floor & back behind the chairs by the outlets & cords... eek! :/ But my toes still look beautiful! :) Around 5:30, we all packed up & headed out to Rock Cut for a family picnic with my grandparents & Ben. We had hot dogs, chips, DELICIOUS strawberries & blueberries, & s'mores. We had some great family time & the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. God's power & glory truly is shown through nature. Here are some photos from the night (for more, see facebook):

 The sun was shining through the trees. It was gorgeous!

Kayt, Corey, & I in front of the lake. I love this picture!

Ben & I at the picnic.

There were a TON of geese! This was just ONE family! Haha

We saw a lot of people boating & canoeing. It was a beautiful night to enjoy nature.

The sunset was absolutely beautiful!

Life is amazing with you on the ride...

Wow... sorry I haven't written in awhile! I guess this blog will be a "catch-up" one. I basically spent Tuesday & Wednesday with Kourtni just hanging out & going for long walks along Perryville Path. We even saw some CUTE baby bunnies! I was only to capture a picture of one though. It's difficult to see because I had to take it from far away with my phone but it's still a cute baby bunny nonetheless. :)

Thursday I was able to hang out at home and just relax until praise team practice later that night. It was super nice! :) On Friday morning, Kourtni & I headed off to Chicago to drop Shannon off at her mom's for the weekend. Once we arrived, we ate lunch at Maggiano's. It was delicious as ALWAYS! :) After lunch, we headed to a mall for some quick shopping & then we went our separate ways. Kourtni's Mom took Shannon grocery shopping with her while Kourtni & I headed to DWS Shoes & Old Navy. It was POURING RAIN!!!! We definitely splashed through some big puddles running from store to store! :) On the way home, we hit some major traffic but it wasn't as bad because we were singing & dancing to my Hip-Hop/Rap music on my iTouch. :) We got home around 7 & I spent the rest of the night relaxing & hanging out with my family. All in all, it's been a busy but amazing week. :)

Busy, busy, busy!

     With summer comes being busy. But it's the kind of busy that I like. :) On Monday, I was able to get some scrap-booking done, which made me happy. I am working on scrap-booking my high school memories which, from the looks of it, might take up two albums! Ha I am really enjoying this hobby of mine though. It's great to look back in time & express all of those moments in a creative way. :) Later that night, my church's softball league had a late-night game at 8:40 p.m. We played the Reformers. It looked like we would end up having to mercy rule them because we got 8 runs within the first 2 innings. However, they seemed to get much better by the 4th inning and ended up beating us 12-10. Oh well. Our guys had some GREAT plays though! Here are some pictures from the night.

The word beautiful seems inadequate to describe the sunset that we saw on our way to the game but then again, what word CAN accurately describe the beauty of God's creation?

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun." Psalms 19:1-4

Here we see Ben playing the position of catcher. Behind him is the umpire, who seemed to have some "issues", to say the least. He was loud, boisterous, sarcastic, & when my sister yelled "Are you blind?" he responded loudly, "NO! I have 20/20 vision. I have been to the doctor 3 times in the past month!" He later apologized and said that he wasn't trying to be a smart aleck... riiiiight.

Here we see Ben up to bat in the final stages of his swing. He did really well on his first night back! :)

    Yesterday, I made blueberry muffins for breakfast for Kayt & I. Afterwards, I ran 3 miles and walked a half of a mile. It felt FANTASTIC for my first time running 3 miles in awhile. My best friend Kourtni then texted me, asking if I wanted to go for a walk on the Perryville path. I am always up for burning more calories & sending time with my friends so I headed over to her house at 1. We then walked from her house to Harlem Rd and back. It ended up being about 3 1/2 miles as well. So I got a 7 mile workout in yesterday! CRAZY! :) I then had to leave and go pick my sister Corey up from school. Later that night, Evan, Kourtni, & Shannon picked me up to go to Subway & then to go to the RCHS vs. Lutheran Regionals game. It was evenly matched for awhile before Lutheran scored 1 goal on us. We then scored a goal. In the second half, however, Lutheran got 2 more goals on us. It was still a great game to watch though! 

It was filled with more contact than usual! I guess that's what you should expect when two rivals play a game.

Abbi Erickson's cute little puppy that fell asleep in Molly's lap during the game. Adorable! ♥

Where is Summer?

The past few days have been so cold and dreary. I wish that my summer break would actually start FEELING like a summer break! But enough complaining about the weather... so yesterday morning I got up and did the 30 Day Shred workout with my sister Katelyn. Jillian Michaels always kicks your butt! :) Afterwards I ran to Disc Replay & CD Source, which are used cd stores. Unfortunately, they did not have the CDs that I wanted to purchase so I went to the next cheapest place which was Walmart. I had to go to two different Walmarts because neither one had both of the CDs. I ended up finding both of the CDs that I wanted so that made me happy. :) Shortly after returning home, I had to leave to pick up my sister Corey from school. I then dropped her off and headed straight to my friend Kourtni's house. It was great to see her & catch up. It has been forever since I have seen her... well, it feels like it. I am looking forward to seeing her more this summer! :) Yay for no school!

I left Kourtni's at five o'clock and went to Ben's house for a quick dinner of taco's before Bailey's soccer game. At 6 o'clock we headed to Sportscore. IT WAS SOOOOOOOOO COLD! I thought that I would be fine but I was SO glad that Ben's mom brought a blanket!

Here we see Bailey & Kaleigh with their "Purple" Team getting a pep talk from coach before the game.

Kaleigh & Bailey waiting to go in.

Bailey throwing the ball in to her team.

Ben & I trying to stay warm... we were FREEZING!

Bailey kicking the ball.

Although the Purple team lost, a fun time was had by all. :)

Today, I got up early & Ben picked me up around 9:30 a.m. He then took me to his house & made me bacon & scrambled eggs for breakfast which was DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! :) We then spent the next three hours unpacking his stuff. He helped me unpack yesterday so I figured I should return the favor. :) 

At 4 o'clock today, I watched Oprah to see my cousin & her friend Taylor in the studio audience. Taylor won tickets & was allowed to bring 1 friend so she chose my cousin. Pretty neat! They were shown a lot during the episode which was pretty awesome! Justin Bieber & Cherice were featured on the show that day as well as IYAZ. Not fair! Glad they had a great time though!

Graduation/Mother's Day/Summer Break

Wow. So my junior year is officially over & I am officially a senior in college!!!! How did time fly by so quickly?!? I finished up my finals a day early on Wednesday (5/5) and decided to stay until Saturday so I could spend more time with my roommates (two of whom were graduating) and not make three 2 1/2 hour drives. Spending my final days with Renee, Rachel, & Caitlin were bittersweet but also filled with fun memories. They have absolutely changed my life for the better & I am so thankful for their friendship! :)

Here we see Renee about to walk across the stage to receive her diploma.

So excited!!!!

She was so happy & I was so incredibly proud of her!

Caitlin getting her diploma!!! :)

Renee & I after the graduation ceremony. She has made me a better person & I cannot accurately describe how badly my heart hurt after saying goodbye to her. It's crazy how meeting someone in a math class freshman year can turn out to be your best friend two years later. I love her so much! Needless to say, I am not good at goodbyes. The 2 1/2 hour drive home was spent crying my eyes out. :( After arriving home late in the evening, I spent some time at Ben's house. We ate some pizza & just talked. It was nice to not worry about homework or tests.

On Sunday, I celebrated Mother's Day at Ben's grandparent's house & then later ventured over to my grandparent's house.

Here we see Amanda riding her horse Secret.

Hannah rode Secret as well while her horse Lakota was eating grass.

On the left we see Bailey flying a kite as Uncle Ben looks on. On the right we see the neighbor's horses who were VERY interested in what was going on in the yard.

Beautiful horses. I love summer. ♥