Shower in the Forecast

Melissa is getting married in October out in Phoenix, so it's not easy for us Michigan girls to help her plan out her wedding, but she was able to make it back to Michigan for a visit and we were able to participate in a shower that her mom threw for her.  We started with dinner out at a local restaurant then back to the house for games and dessert.  Then I made sure to recruit all of the various groups for some pictures.

The Garrett girls

Melissa and a few of her bridesmaids

Consider these Walls Wrecked

Year 10!  They just keep getting bigger and better.  This year I had a group of eleven kids.  So there was a lot of energy and a lot of chatter.  Made my job easier at times, and sometimes a little stressful.

As always, Travis helped create a great lesson plan for the week, revolving around the theme of "Wrecking the Walls" that separate us from our God.

My squeaky clean group, behaving themselves for a short while so I could get a nice group picture.  They were great kids who didn't need much help from me to have a great time.

The counselor group evolves every year, but Ike and I have managed to stick with it for ten years together.  I hope I can continue to return for this week every year because it's always fun and inspiring.

Please Don't Go

We had to say goodbye to the Ann Arbor Oxenders...they were wrapping up and celebrating their move to Vermont with a good old backyard BBQ to say goodbye to everyone.  Monique got a job out there and the family was moving out later in June.  It was nice to have some quality family time before they headed out East.  I've been told it's only a 14 hour drive to their house.  I've also been told they have a guest room and a hot tub.  Hopefully we can make that trip happen some time soon.

A chance for a few photo ops after the non-relatives left...

Earth and Sky is Open!

It's that time of year again, when Mom gets the spring gardening season goingwith her garden store.  I love seeing all of the colors of the traditional and unique flowers that she picks out to sell.  Mother's Day weekend is the unofficial kick-off for her spring season, and I got to take a peek at the merchandise (and get a few plants for my own garden at home).

Run Like the Wind

So you wanna run the Riverbank Run?  Ok, we'll pay for it.  You just have to wear a shirt with our name on it.  Um, okay.  And so Eric went and ran for his employer, the Public Museum.  He ran his first ever Riverbank Run, the 25K race (15.5 miles for you American measurers).  I wasn't quite read to tag along with him, but I did get to the race in time to see him cross the finish line running (and sweating...a lot).  No pics of him actually crossing the finish line, because I had just gotten a new camera and hadn't figured out how it worked yet.  I ended up losing him in the crowd and we spent quite a bit of time trying to find each other after the race.    

Immediately following the race, he said that he'd never do it again.  But given time to recouperate, he said he might try to beat his time next year.  Maybe I'll join him...

It's a Girl!

I'm sure this is exactly what new moms feel like when they bring their baby home from the hospital.  A careful drive home, tuck her in to her bed, and keep checking on her multiple times the first night.  It was long overdue, but I finally got myself a new car!  Now what to name her...

We will miss Little Miss Civic, though.  She took us everywhere and did so without too much complaint.  I will miss her MPGs, that's for sure.

What Have You Been Doing?

Seems like we've had a lull in activity since the new year, but we're just getting psyched up for the summer and fall.  It's going to be a big year, I can just feel it.

But that doesn't mean we haven't done anything since Jan 1...we celebrated a few monumental birthdays (Grandpa O turned 85 in February, Mom turned 60 in March, and Mandy brought the girls for a fabulous birthday trip to the great city of Grand Rapids), and we're getting ready to say goodbye to the Ann Arbor Oxenders who are moving to Vermont in May.  It's not really goodbye, but it will require a little more planning to drop by their house from now on.  

Oh, and there certainly hasn't been a lull in our kitchen.  I found Pinterest and now I can't stop trying out new recipes.  Sounds like it would add major poundage, but luckily, there are recipes out there under all calorie counts, so we aren't ballooning up too bad.  But how could we?

We're workout royalty!  Eric is training to run in the Riverbank Run 25K and I'm just running because I need to get in shape.  In addition to that, we work out with the weights 3x a week together.  And I take my lunchtime yoga.  So watch out Biggest Loser!  Well, I am not at the caliber of the contestants at the beginning of the seasons, but I would like to be able to shout out a hefty weight loss at some point.  Keep on keeping on!