Weekend In Review!

Wow. there is so much to write about last weekend i don't even know where to start. it was wonderful! so wonderful in fact that josh and i find ourselves in somewhat a slump now that it is all over.

i put about a billion pictures on facebook....between 3 cameras, 550 pictures were taken. i know you're wondering if we did anything else. but it was actually quite busy! saturday was spent in lee's summit, sunday in omaha at mom's, then the evening at martin's oohing and ahhing over eva (she's sooo beautiful!), and monday was grill out at the schweitz's day...also we celebrated dad's 54 bday.

only levi was missing from the action. he's on summer project in cameroon. that was the first time since martha's wedding that everyone including husbands had all been together...well, minus levi. we got close to it at grandma's funeral, but josh was in iraq and ryan had to work. any hoo, i think it will always be quite a chore to get all 14 people in the same place at the same time.

martha posted some pictures you can check out, as well. highlights include:
1. watching garrett eat his toes
2. all the 'kids' cooking together
3. watching garrett sit up on his own- gotta love firsts!
4. watching ethan laugh really hard at grandma deb
5. being with everyone all together....loved every minute of it

josh and i decided our blog will be much more exciting when we actually have our own family news to share. which, stay tuned for monday, cause we will!! until then, we will live vicariously through marth and ryan and fun family events! we do, however, have only 33 more days till we travel to michigan for independence day! we'll start that official countdown soon...

On the Trails!

Josh here. So Erin and I had a blast this past weekend. Her boss invited us to partake in some mountain biking...a first for both of us. Now before you think biking in the Rockies, I would like to explain. Basically, we did some dirt/mud trail biking, as well as some biking on paved trails. It was described to us as this great rush where you're biking through these narrow trails, jumping logs and fitting between narrow trees. Sometimes you bike through fairly large rocks, through streams, and down some pretty steep grades, and of course add in hairpin turns which avoid trees, big rocks, lakes and other bikers. Smithville Lake is near Platte City; it has some great trails and LOTS of scenary, so we decided to give it a shot. There were some nerves throughout the week because we didn't know what to expect. Nevertheless, on Saturday we loaded up the Tacoma and drove to Smithville...Awesome. To our relief, both of her co-workers also had some butterflies; it turns out Erin's boss, Kristina, and her boyfriend, Phillip, are what some might call "pros" at mountain biking. They were so great, though...both patient and understanding. We couldn't have had better teachers. So things started off great and we were well on our way when all of a sudden Erin's bike started making a constant squeaking noise. It was kind of nice b/c we always knew where she was. =)

I should also note that before the squeaking noise both Erin and her friend, Tara, bit the dust. Erin tried to navigate between two trees, but she misjudged something...and lost the battle w/ the tree. Not too long after that, Tara decided it was her turn to biff. They were great sports about it, though...LOTS of laughing.

About an hour or so into the ride, Tara ended up getting a flat. Not to worry, as Phillip and Kristina came prepared. A portable pump solved the problem temporarily, but we didn't have a spare w/ us...so it was time to head in.

We had decided on having a picnic of sorts after biking, but couldn't decide where to go. No worries...there's a Sonic in Smithville! YES! So we drove to Sonic and set up shop on one of their picnic tables. Two words...Awesome Food! Chips and dip, fruit, tortilla rolls, dump cake, broccoli slaw, preztels, and some delicious Sonic slushies. What a great way to end an amazing Saturday!!

Anniversary pics!!

Our wonderful meal!
Yup. LOVE HIM!

He got me an iPod and Flowers!!!!!!!

What a wonderful man! :)

2 Years!

Today is our 2 year wedding anniversary! I honestly can't believe it....it definitely doesn't feel like it! It feels longer than two years because of the 15 months we weren't together, that actually felt more like twice that long. But, it also seems like the time has gone quickly, probably due to the fact that we have only been together while married 9 months. WOAH.

But- what a wonderful day! We are very excited. Josh sent me flowers at work - they are so pretty!!!! Maybe I can put up pictures tomorrow. And tonight we are going to have a special supper and I have a surprise for him (if I didn't think he might randomly read this before he gets home I would tell you what it is....) and we might be TOTALLY crazy and go to a KC Royals game tonight. Then I can be a complete zombie at work the rest of the week- but hey could be fun- plus this only happens once a year!! :)

Yup. What a great day.

Did I mention that I have the best husband in the world and that I love him to SMITHEREENS!!! (ha ha ha bet you haven't heard that word in awhile). But honestly- what a great guy. He's the best. :) And he's pretty dang hot.

Goodbye Parties

Last night we went to the first of several goodbye parties we have in the next 6 weeks or so. Before July 1st, 4 people are leaving my (Erin's) work (including me hopefully), with the first being next Wednesday, followed by on the 23rd, followed by me sometime after that.... Josh and I have an Army 'going away' party for a CSM (Command Sergeant Major) that is retiring.

Oh another note, gas went down two cents. WHOO HOO $3.55!! Seriously. And...stamps are going up another cent starting Monday I think or something like that. AND, we're going swimming today.

So, last night's goodbye party. It was really fun. There were margaritas, coronas, butt poking (by a 5 year old who thought it was really funny....and then wanted to be chased and tickled.), music, and great Cinco de Mayo inspired snacks. And a fabulous chocolate cake with chocolate mousse. So good. All but one of the girls I work with were there with their families and we had a good time.

I love Saturdays. :)

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!

Josh here. Erin and I have much to report...

We had a blast in Omaha / Lincoln this past weekend. We were able to spend some time w/ Arlan and Beth (and Dannan) on Friday night and Saturday morning before heading to Lincoln for the big race. Once we arrived in Lincoln, Erin and I picked up my race packet and proceeded to Juice Stop where the Fam was waiting. The Bran Blend was a family fav (good call Ev!). Erin and I then drove the half marathon route for recon purposes. It was then that I realized I might have gotten in over my head. Oops. For dinner, we bought some Chipotle and headed to Lucas and Meredith's home. They accommodated me greatly by supplying the necessary utensils / cookware for my pre-race dish...gotta love those carbs! So, in all my sophistication and culture, I opted for Mac & Cheese...with tuna. Yum. It was great to see them, mainly b/c I haven't seen them since Nov '06...wow.

We finally made our way to Dallas' place; she put us up Saturday night so I could get some shut eye in preparation for pounding out 13.1 miles. We enjoyed her ginormous bedroom suite...holy buckets!

Race Day. It started at 3:45am when I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Erin dropped me off near the starting line around 6:45; 15 minutes later, I was on the run. I was feeling great through the first 10 miles...and then I felt not so great. My legs felt like bricks and I thought I had slowed to a turtle's pace, but I sucked it up like a good Soldier and pushed through. Looking back at my one mile splits, I realized that my times stayed consistent through the entire 13.1 miles...so basically it was all in my head. Figures. Why is the mind so much weaker than the body? Thank the Lord for my racing stripe; without it, I would have faltered. Final time...1:33:32. Whoa. That works itself out to a 7:08 minute pace. I'll take it. Plus, my cheering section rocked!

After the race, we said some goodbyes and headed to IHOP...bad choice. After we noticed some ants on our table, the waitress quickly informed us that she was sorry and asked us if we wanted more water. Wait, what? It appears there was a bit of an "ant problem" in our area of the restaurant. Not to bother...I wanted some flapjacks. Only after Erin poured some maple syrup on her delicious French Toast did we have a severe problem on our hands. That's right folks...ants IN the syrup. Awesome...our own ant cemetery. As luck would have it, I failed to notice the ants I had poured on my plate b/c some genius (me) decided he wanted CHOCOLATE CHIP pancakes...so it all looked the same to me. AND, the only way to eat flapjacks is to put syrup in between each one. Estimated ant intake for Jish = 24. Yowsers! On a good note, the ants saved us 20% off our bill. I can live w/ that.

We headed to Dallas' again for some Boggle and a shower. The rest of the afternoon was spent laughing, listening to a plethora of music genres, and one last run to Juice Stop. It was there that we were asked to support an architect from Texas w/ his cab fare to south Lincoln...except that he wasn't really an architect. Think bum looking for money. Then it was time to go back home. We said our goodbyes and loaded Kristy in the Civ for a ride to Omaha. We dropped her off and headed to PC. GREAT trip...wish you all could have been there.

Now, on to today. Erin had her heart catheterization in KC. It basically is some prep work that is needed prior to her surgery later this year. It went well. Thank you Jesus!! We enjoyed some Matrix Reloaded in the recovery room, while Erin was enjoying some applesauce. Her nurses were great; Erin and I decided that all hospitals should be like a children's hospital b/c everything is colorful and the environment spits happiness right in your face. Cool!

So this post is a honker...wow. Erin will put some pictures up tomorrow. Until then...I Love You All!! =)

You know what Day it is!

Yup. Thursday. The Office.

We are going to supper at the Haden's tonight (yippee!). I made a wonderful homemade pizza. Josh and I love Thursdays because it means only one more morning of getting up at the crack of dawn. And tomorrow is an extra special Friday:

1. I get to leave work early.
B. Josh gets a new 1SG tomorrow.
III. I have a heart doctor appointment to prepare me for my 'procedure' on Monday. I'm getting a heart cath done. If you want to, learn more!
d. AND- we are going to Nebraska!! Cause Josh is running his first 1/2 Marathon on Sunday morning. :) He's going to rock it. And we'll have lots of pictures.

Oh- Josh got a message from God today and it came in the form of a MILPER message. We had been praying for direction on what we should do career wise for Yishy and today we got an answer! :) Gotta love the MILPER.

Josh just burned himself on the pizza. Gotta go. :)