speed of sound

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday and I love being able to celebrate it every year. It is so fun to get together with friend and family to celebrate and watch the fireworks. This year, we were lucky enough to be able to celebrate twice! On Thursday evening, Zach and I went to Fuji with Alex and Barb for sushi. It was delicious as always and the company was fantastic. Afterwards, we went to the Iowa State sports complex to play soccer and throw around a frisbee. Then when it became dark enough outside, we walked back over to watch the fireworks from the field. It was great. We only had to move once to the bleaches to be able to see the fireworks better. On the 4th, we went to Boone to spend time with my best friend Missy, her son Brayden, and her boyfriend, Nate. We went to Nate's parents house to celebrate his Dad's birthday then headed into town to watch the fireworks. As crazy as it may sound, the Boone fireworks were much better than the Ames ones. Shortly after the fireworks were over, we went back to Missy's apartment to shoot off some sparklers/fireworks and have a bonfire. Much needed friend time. This morning, I had an interview in Des Moines that went really well and I am excited to hear back from the family. This afternoon, we are headed back down to Des Moines for baby Abram's baptism! I can't wait. Hope everyone enjoyed their Fourth!! xoxo.

don't panic

as some of you may know, in september I purchased a 2006 equinox. walking onto the car lot, I had no idea what to expect seeing as I have never purchased a car from a dealership before. I knew what kind of car I wanted but I knew I probably couldn't afford it. so I settled with a used SUV. at first, i absolutely loved it. it had so much space, it was the nicest car I had ever owned, it had air conditioning, and Penny could fit in it. I was on the equinox high for a few months then I got a flat tire and I had to replace all four tires at the same time. hello $550 dollars I didn't think I would have to come up with so quickly! after that, my car basically started falling apart. I would get stuck on the side of the road because it was overheating, my air conditioner/heat would go out on the worst days, the alignment was off, my antenna was falling out (crazy, I know) and it was slowly becoming what I like to refer to it as. The death trap. I didn't want to have to find another vehicle, but I knew I had no choice. I went back to the dealership where I bought the equinox and tried a few different kinds. Through all of the ups and downs, I finally found my new car! Meet Shiva. Now, I am totally one of those people who judges other people when they name their cars, it's just weird. But Zach thought Shiva would be a perfect name for my 2010 Toyota Corolla! It is just perfect. I am glad I had to go through the crappy time with the death trap to finally get this nice car that I love. And how can you go wrong with 34 mpg on the highway?! 

hurts like heaven

Last night, Zach and I went on a 5 hour road trip and I fell in love with a little guy named Marty. My uncle Chris just got out of the hospital yesterday and he had been planning on getting a new puppy. But since he just got out, he couldn't drive 6 hours to get him so that's where Zach and I came into the picture. We drove from Ames to Winterset to pick up Marty and from there we went to Marshalltown to drop him off with my uncle Chris, aunt Morgan, and cousins Claire and Charlie. I told them on the way there that I was going to just take Marty back home with me because I had fallen in love with him. They didn't think it was such a great idea but I wasn't kidding. I tried talking Zach into letting me get a puppy but he said I should probably wait a little bit, darn! After we dropped him off, we enjoyed a nice meal at Hardee's. I know, how lame right? Wrong. We always talk about how good Hardee's is and we have tried to stop at a few but it never really worked out. Last night was a success in my book. I can't wait to get a puppy. (Not anytime in the near future, don't worry Mom.)

every teardrop is a waterfall

On this day 4 years ago, I lost my Grandpa Dick. I know that losing grandparents is becoming more and more common with people my age, seeing as we are growing up and they are growing older. I never thought I would lose him at such a young age. We had time to come to terms that he wasn't doing so well when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. It is really sad to have to watch someone so close to you struggle with this but I know God had bigger plans for him and didn't want to see him in pain anymore. My grandpa was always there for me when I needed him. I would go on family vacations with him, stay at his house on the weekends, watch Cardinals games with him, go to the Adobe to get pizza and just sit and chat with him. I always thought growing up he would walk me down the aisle on my wedding day and someday I will find a way to have him do that. I miss him so much and in the 4 years that he's been gone, I still drive past his house & just envision him sitting in his big blue rocking chair. I wish he was still here with us. But I have the best guardian angel there is! I can't wait to see him on the other side and give him a big running hug. Love you, Bampa. xoxo

a rush of blood to the head

Today was kind of an odd one. Long story short, I was looking at getting a new car as mine overheats and just isn't what I thought it was going to be when I bought it. (I got screwed over a little bit when I purchased my car in September.) The girls were such good sports about driving all over in the new car to test drive it/have a mechanic look at it. While the mechanic looked at the new car, the girls and I got to squeeze in some reading time at the Story City Library. We read a few good books then Briel read to us. She's getting so good! In the end, I didn't get the car. It needed more repairs than I thought and they weren't looking to budge on the price. Oh well, life goes on. I know I will find something.

After my semi-stressful day, Zach invited me over to have dinner with him. He was very compassionate and thoughtful because he knew I had a pretty tough day. We watched World War Z (which is becoming one of my favorite movies, so good!), made Panang Chicken, and played Scrabble with his brother, Jon. After all of that, Jon suggested we go to the tennis courts and play. If you know me at all, you will know that I am not the most athletic person in the world, but I was still willing to give it a try. I watched the boys for a while then I jumped in. For my first time I wasn't awful, but I still have a lot to work on. I even had the courage to bet Zach that I would serve it over the net and it would be a good one. Up goes the ball, across comes the racquet, they meet and soar over the net. Jon yells, "Good serve!" Looks like someone owes me dinner! :)

All in all, it was a good day. It had it's highs and lows, but maybe this was an unanswered prayer.

us against the world

Last week, Zach and I went on a long walk to discuss some big things coming up in our lives. Planning a trip to Colorado, moving to Des Moines, finding jobs down there, and moving forward with our lives. I have been really stressed out lately and just needed to get a lot of things off of my chest. Zach decided that rather than sitting inside and over-analyzing the situation, we should get out & get some fresh air. We were just going to go on a short walk around the block but ended up walking all through campus and down by Jack Trice. It was so relaxing to be able to walk around, talk to Zach, have him show me where all of his classes used to be, and build our relationship. From now on, we are going to try to do a walk weekly because it made both of us much happier. :)