Back from Camping

I am not sure I still have any viewers...

But just in case someone out there is still reading, I will go ahead and attempt to get back into the groove of posting.

I was gone camping this weekend and although I wanted to get back to my blog right when I got back, I was occupied doing the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, vacuuming the floors, emptying the dishwasher and loading the dishwasher, going through piles of emails...

Now that my home is in order I can sit down and relax a bit. That is how I function. If my surrounding is a mess, my brain is also a mess.

Anyways, this past weekend was filled with sunshine, hikes, campfires, mosquito bites, long conversations, laughter and fun. I feel blessed to have friends that make the time to stay connected.

First we went on a walk

to pick blackberries

and we found this pretty flower on our way.

We headed over to the beach

to skip rocks

climb rocks

and pick up some rocks.

We played kubb

and built a fire.

We went on a hike

and watched the tides come in.

We enjoyed our time together and will forever cherish these memories!

Life

The weather is starting to change and I wake up with a sore throat every single morning. Autumn is one of my favorite seasons, but I am not ready to be cold. I don't want to start wearing scarves and wool socks. I don't want to start looking for my umbrella (it has gone missing since the beginning of summer).

However, this new season is bringing with it some exciting things! I am still not ready to share some of those things with the World Wide Web, but I promise you that there are some exciting announcements just around the corner. So, stay tuned!

On a different note, I am once again getting ready for a weekend of fun and camping. This camping weekend will be one of the last activities we have planned for the summer. As August comes to an end, my life is starting to calm down and I am excited to settle into a routine again.

Well, I need to head out and get going with grocery shopping, but I wanted to leave you with an encouraging massage that has changed my attitude this week.

Isaiah 43:1-2

But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.

So, if you feel like you are going through deep waters or maybe you are surrounded by fire, know that the Lord Almighty is with you in the rivers and in the flames. What more could you ask for?

Long Distance

I am a people person, which means that I like being with people. Maybe not every single day, but for the most part, I like being with people. Taking that into consideration, I never saw myself having a romantic long distance relationship. Praise God John and I always lived close to each other while we were dating.

However, for reasons I cannot control, many of my close friends live far away from me. So, in essence I have long distance relationships whether I like it or not.

I bring this up because at this exact moment, three of those friends are spending time together...doing whatever they decided to do with their day - and I wish I could be with them.

I wish I did not have to use a phone or skype in order to chat with them. I wish I could be a daily part of their lives. I wish I could meet all their friends. I wish I could sit right next to them - the way it used to be.

I guess the only way to fix that is to buy 50 houses in the same neighborhood and have all my friends move in with their friends and their families. There. Problem solved!

Working Faucet

For the past year or so, I have had a dysfunctional faucet in the kitchen. The water still came out fine but the faucet decided it was no longer going to move from side to side - and it got stuck right in the middle of the two sinks...which means that I had to take out the hose to be able to wash the dishes. However, after using the hose for so long, I got used to it and hardly ever made a comment about how annoying that was. Until I broke part of a crystal vase that we got as a wedding gift. The vase was long and skinny and I could not make it fit in the space between the two sinks.

But faucets are expensive (for reasons I cannot understand) and we were not financially ready to invest in another one. To our surprise, we got one as a gift and I REALLY like it!!! Needless to say, I have the best in-laws ever :)

The faucet has been there for a couple of days, but I still forget about it and get surprised all over again every time I walk in the kitchen.

Snow Lake Hike

Autumn is just around the corner and hiking season is almost over. So, we took the opportunity and invited a couple of friends to come enjoy a Saturday in the wild! Well, it was not too wild out there, but our view was peaceful and inviting.

The beginning (plus John who is taking the picture)

We saw many pikas

The lake was surrounded by these beauties

Snow Lake

Our group grew throughout the day

Never a Bridesmaid, but Definitely a Bride

My sister and I recently attended a wedding and while I was wearing my one and only little black dress, she pointed out that I would make a beautiful bridesmaid. Since I am married and therefore am a bride, the saying Always a bridesmaid, never a bride does not apply to me - so I am making up my own: Never a bridesmaid, but definitely a bride.

So, why have I never been a bridesmaid before? I don't know. Maybe because I don't have many girlfriends. Maybe because my girlfriends are not ready to get married. Maybe because my girlfriends don't think I am a close friend? I suppose all these possibilities could be true...but I hope it is not because my friends don't see me as a good friend.

Anyways, below is a picture my sister took of me - and she calls this my bridesmaid pose...which one day I will get to perfect when she is the bride!

P.S. This post was not written to become an advertisement - because I am really not advertising myself as a bridesmaid. I mostly just wanted to post this picture that my sister took of me :)

Discovering Marriage

I went to the doctor for my annual physical yesterday - and believe it or not, I would rather go have a physical than go to the dentist...

Anyways, my doctor informed me that since I have been married for more than two years, I am no longer a newlywed. I broke the news to John as soon as I saw him.

Since we got married, John has expressed the desire to remain newlyweds for as long as we both shall live. I told him that we cannot be NEWlyweds when we are no longer new to each other. With a difference in opinion about how long is too long for a couple to be newlyweds, we are constantly asking people their opinion on the subject. We even asked John Gottman to define newlyweds when we attended his marriage seminar back in May.

The funny thing is that everyone has a different definition for the term newlyweds. Some say 5 years and others say 6 months. Some say the newlywed stage is over after kids come and some say it is over way before that. I find this topic fascinating! How is it that we are all so used to hearing/reading/using this term and yet we all define it differently?

I know that John's desire is to remain in love. The kind of love that makes your heart skip a beat when in the presence of your sweetheart. He wants to always grow, never stop learning and always look forward to the next day together.

I may not always call us 'newlyweds' - but I too want to continue discovering marriage with my best friend and husband. I want to strive to be the best wife I can be for him. I want to cherish every moment together. I want to fall in love all over again every time I remember the day we both said I Do.

Always and Forever

As I have mentioned, this weekend was in a nutshell a party. Matthew and Andra are married and we are so excited for them both!

Meteor Shower

Last night was a late night - or maybe I should say an early morning. What is typically a relaxing date night for John and I turned into a night where I drank red wine and listed to music by myself, while John got together with some of the groomsmen and the groom himself (I am referring to tomorrow's wedding).

Since John came home really late, I had lost all hope of any kind of date happening...until I mentioned that there was a meteor shower going on.

Remember how I mentioned that John and I didn't kiss until our 10th month together? Well, it happened after we came back from watching a meteor shower.

So, yesterday at about 12:20am - we headed out to some soccer fields with waterproof blankets. The air was cold, the grass was wet, the sky was clear and the meteors were on the move.

Almost picture perfect! But I have no actual pictures to show you.

A Full August

This August is the month of exciting events. Not a day goes by for me to not feel excited about something that is coming up.

First was a trip to Colorado. Just so you all know, John and I had not flown for more than 4 years. As a matter of fact, the last time we were both in an airplane was in 2006 when we were heading up to Alaska to be camp counselors. Needless to say, this trip to Colorado was very exciting for us.

Second was a cousin's wedding - which was the reason we flew to Colorado. The week was full of busyness and we often felt tired due to the lack of oxygen in high altitudes. However, the wedding was beyond beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Third is my Soul Birthday - which is today. I decided to be baptized and commit my life to God nine years ago today. This was perhaps the best decision I could ever make without a doubt.

Fourth is the first kiss anniversary - happening tomorrow. Maybe it is weird that John and I celebrate the day we first kissed, but that was a very special day for both of us. We had been dating for almost 10 months when we both felt ready to take our relationship to the next level. We had talked about taking our physical relationship slow - mainly because we had learned from observation that many people got ahead of themselves and the physical part of their relationship took over. Wanting to get to know each other beyond just the physical, John and I were very intentional about going slow.

"Promise me, O women of Jerusalem, not to awaken love until the time is right." Song of Solomon 8:4

Fifth is Andra and Matthew's wedding - happening on Saturday. This will be the third wedding John and I are attending this summer. Still, we could not be more excited. Marriage is a gift from God and being present as two people commit their lives to each other in the presence of God, family and friends is just breath taking. To this day, John and I fall more in love every time we attend a wedding together - mainly because weddings serve as a reminder of the promise we made to each other and to God. However, I have to say that I will be missing John...since he is in the wedding party and I will not get to sit right next to him.

Sixth, I will get to see a great friend who I have not seeing for more than a year.

Seventh, we are going on a camping trip with friends and I am SO excited I can hardly wait! I will definitely be posting pictures as these events come and go. So, stay tuned.

Highlights from the Last Week

John and I got back from Colorado late last night and although it was wonderful to be with family, we are also happy to be home.

I had never been to Colorado before and so we took some time to explore our surroundings. We visited Garden of the Gods - and I in love with the red rocks that are randomly scattered everywhere.

Although the mountains were gorgeous, what made this trip super exciting was the wedding of Angela Nobile and Curtis Schweitzer. Most of our time in Colorado was spent with family - and everyone had one task or ten to accomplish before the big day. The final result was stunning and this wedding was a tremendous success! We are SO excited for the bride and groom :)

Finally, I have to share with you all some photographs of the Colorado weather. We usually started the day with clear, sunny sky. Eventually it would get cloudy with some rain or hail and the night did not end without a show of lightning. John captured these pictures while we were out in a field enjoying the scenery.

Well, we are back home and it is time to get back to our regular routine.

In Colorado

I am currently in Colorado. I have been here for nearly 24 hours and I have taken zero pictures. What is wrong with me?

The day was filled with paper cutting, paper gluing, jar washing and ribbon tying. Yes, we are getting ready for a wedding and we could not be more excited!

I promise I will take some pictures - hopefully soon and I will definitely share them with you! Until then, I hope you all get to enjoy your weeks.

Sneak Peek!

I present to you the most adorable couple in the world!

Mt. Rainier for a Day

I have been quite busy lately and have not had much time to blog - but I have some pictures I must share with you!

Seriously, if you have never been to Mt. Rainier, you must make a trip to go visit some time. I had the opportunity to go with my sister and a friend who had never been and I am pretty sure this was not a disappointing experience.

P.S. If you do decide to visit this gorgeous mountain, make sure you lather on some sunscreen. Snow + Sunny Day = Very Burned Skin.