Today is Nik's dad's birthday -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RUSSELL!
Hope this next year treats you well -
We will celebrate over a DQ Blizzard soon!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Nik's Grandmother
Nik's grandmother went to be with Jesus today. Please pray for his family during this time.
Although we are sad to see her leave this earth, we will celebrate the life she lived.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Weekends are for...
Lunch with a friend at Chick-fil-A.
Working wtih Nik re-organizing and re-arranging his office for 3 hours Friday afternoon!
Friday night Football (Nik) / Sewing (Carla).
Early Saturday morning bikeride then Migas for breakfast.
Errands in beautiful 90 degree weather.
Saturday afternoon nap.
Homemade Lasagna (not by me) and Game night with friends!
Early bedtimes for both Nik and I.
An opportunity to learn and worship with the body of Christ.
Getting to know new people over a Mexican Buffet.
...and that pretty much sums up my weekend!
Oh - except for the part where Nik talked me into playing Tennis with him Sunday afternoon. All I can say is "What. Was. I. Thinking?" It was 102 degrees outside, no shade, and mexican food in our tummys. No thank you. Weekends are not made for that!
Oh - except for the part where Nik talked me into playing Tennis with him Sunday afternoon. All I can say is "What. Was. I. Thinking?" It was 102 degrees outside, no shade, and mexican food in our tummys. No thank you. Weekends are not made for that!
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Last Few Days
The last few days we have been at a Minister & Spouses' Retreat with a few other staff from our church.
Me, Nik, Heather, Pastor JJ, Ellen, Chet
We played games after service each night
While the boys golfed, we rode horses
Do you see all the candy we pulled out for our late night games?
We also had a chance to visit with other pastors and spouses on the district. Our speaker was Mike Adams, and our worship time was led by Terry Toler.
We had a great time hanging out with our staff. Making memories!
Monday, September 19, 2011
4th and Final Stop
As we headed out of the mountains Saturday and back to Texas we watched the temperature rise. Not fun. We arrived in the Dallas area around 6pm to stay with our friends Chris and Kylee. We headed out for dinner at a new greek restaurant, and it was great!
Sunday we attended their church and enjoyed the service so much. They had a 9/11 Remembrance Service. We heard a testimony from a member who lost her husband that day in the Twin Towers, and we heard a message from a gentlemen who was in the Pentagon. It was pretty powerful.
After church we went to lunch with Chris and Kylee and met their friends, Jason and Alina. We had a good visit and enjoyed getting to know them! (Alina is a fellow blogger - Hello if you are reading!)
That afternoon we were up for some fun - and decided to try out this new place called Top Golf. And it was sooo fun! I'll try to explain it... It is basically a 3 story driving range (you pick the level you want to play from). On the range, there are different colored targets. Every golf ball has a microchip that tracks the location of where it is hit. So you hit your golf ball, aiming for different targets, and you get a score based on which target (and closeness to the center) your ball goes to. You take turns. See pic below and if you don't understand....google it!
The scores from Game 1:
After the game we walked around town and ended up eating at Twisted Root. A great burger joint. They are known for their unique burgers. For example: Nik had a chipotle, guacamole, cheddar cheese, onion-string burger with watermelon sweet tea, fries and a peanut butter shake! My meal was not near that exciting...but that is the difference between me and Nik! Ha! After eating, we decided we had to much fun at Top Golf we wanted to go back and play again! So that is what we did.
Scores from Game 2:
Sunday we attended their church and enjoyed the service so much. They had a 9/11 Remembrance Service. We heard a testimony from a member who lost her husband that day in the Twin Towers, and we heard a message from a gentlemen who was in the Pentagon. It was pretty powerful.
After church we went to lunch with Chris and Kylee and met their friends, Jason and Alina. We had a good visit and enjoyed getting to know them! (Alina is a fellow blogger - Hello if you are reading!)
That afternoon we were up for some fun - and decided to try out this new place called Top Golf. And it was sooo fun! I'll try to explain it... It is basically a 3 story driving range (you pick the level you want to play from). On the range, there are different colored targets. Every golf ball has a microchip that tracks the location of where it is hit. So you hit your golf ball, aiming for different targets, and you get a score based on which target (and closeness to the center) your ball goes to. You take turns. See pic below and if you don't understand....google it!
The scores from Game 1:
After the game we walked around town and ended up eating at Twisted Root. A great burger joint. They are known for their unique burgers. For example: Nik had a chipotle, guacamole, cheddar cheese, onion-string burger with watermelon sweet tea, fries and a peanut butter shake! My meal was not near that exciting...but that is the difference between me and Nik! Ha! After eating, we decided we had to much fun at Top Golf we wanted to go back and play again! So that is what we did.
Scores from Game 2:
Chris and Kylee - as always, we had such a fun time! We are thankful for our friendship. Can't wait until next time...!
Monday we headed home. We had such a great trip. But as I said before, it was good to be back! Hope you enjoyed our Fall Get-a-way recap. This is the last post!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
My Mother
Today is my mother's birthday -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!
I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I love you very much.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
3rd Stop
For our 3rd stop, we drove to Eureka Springs late Friday afternoon and decided to go ahead and do the few things that were on our list to do. While driving around town to each destination we kept seeing antique cars. To Nik's excitment, there was an Antique Car Show going on this weekend! He was so excited!
But on to our destinations....first stop - Thorncrown Chapel. This is a beautiful chapel in the middle of the Ozarks. Definately a must-see!
Next stop - The Crescent Hotel, a beautiful, historic hotel that sits above town. We walked around for a bit and then started noticing the cars that were pulling into the parking lot...they were Ferrari's, Maserati's, Lotus' and Lamborghini. Guess what....? This was the weekend of the Ferrari of Denver Cresent Classic! Needless to say, we spent the rest of our time walking the parking lot checking out all the cool cars!
Our next destination was to Christ of the Ozarks. We did not attend the Passion Play, but did spend some time checking out this statue and the view.
As the sun started setting we made it to downtown and walked through a few shops that were still open and ended up eating dinner at a Pizza Place. Not very good. We could not end the night on that note, so we found a bakery and had yummy dessert! Then off to bed - it was a long day!
Saturday morning we woke up and headed to breakfast at a local diner (pictured in the back).
Then guess what we did? Watched the Antique Car Show Parade! Nik had a great time seeing all the cool cars and I had a great time picking up (stealing from little kids) candy that was thrown! At one point, Nik had to remind me that the focus was not the candy, but the cars (this was after I asked him about 14 times to "Hurry - go get that candy before that little boy can get it, he already has sooo much. I only have a couple pocket-fulls.") Ha!
By the way - it was cool enought that morning that I wore a light jaket! After the car show ended, we headed out of town and drove on to our 4th and final stop!
But on to our destinations....first stop - Thorncrown Chapel. This is a beautiful chapel in the middle of the Ozarks. Definately a must-see!
Next stop - The Crescent Hotel, a beautiful, historic hotel that sits above town. We walked around for a bit and then started noticing the cars that were pulling into the parking lot...they were Ferrari's, Maserati's, Lotus' and Lamborghini. Guess what....? This was the weekend of the Ferrari of Denver Cresent Classic! Needless to say, we spent the rest of our time walking the parking lot checking out all the cool cars!
Our next destination was to Christ of the Ozarks. We did not attend the Passion Play, but did spend some time checking out this statue and the view.
As the sun started setting we made it to downtown and walked through a few shops that were still open and ended up eating dinner at a Pizza Place. Not very good. We could not end the night on that note, so we found a bakery and had yummy dessert! Then off to bed - it was a long day!
Saturday morning we woke up and headed to breakfast at a local diner (pictured in the back).
Then guess what we did? Watched the Antique Car Show Parade! Nik had a great time seeing all the cool cars and I had a great time picking up (stealing from little kids) candy that was thrown! At one point, Nik had to remind me that the focus was not the candy, but the cars (this was after I asked him about 14 times to "Hurry - go get that candy before that little boy can get it, he already has sooo much. I only have a couple pocket-fulls.") Ha!
By the way - it was cool enought that morning that I wore a light jaket! After the car show ended, we headed out of town and drove on to our 4th and final stop!
Friday, September 16, 2011
My Sister
Today is my sister's birthday -
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSICA!
I hope that you have a great day today. Wish I could be there to celebrate this special day with you!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
2nd Stop
Friday morning we left Kansas City and drove to Ozark, Missouri, home of Lamberts Cafe.
Home of the throwed rolls! Although all the food we ate on our trip was fantastic...I didn't take pictures. However, this place was the exception! I cannot even begin to tell you how fun this place is. So just trust me and try it out if you ever get a chance. On to the food pic...
Nik had a chicken-fried steak, topped with mashed potatoes, potato salad and corn. I had a cheeseburger and apples. One of the (many) cool things about this place is they have 'pass-arounds'. They literally walk by your table and serve you okra, fried potatoes and macaronni and tomatoes. As much as you want, all meal long. Oh - and they throw you hot, yummy rolls whenever you want!
After we put ourselves in 'Food Coma' we drove away and headed towards Branson to Branson Zipline. This place was awesome! We signed up for an Eco-Adventure Tour that included 7 suspension bridges and 4 ziplines.
We had 2 great guides and had a blast zipping through the Ozarks! They don't allow you to carry your cameras (for obvious reasons) but we did ask them to take a few pics of us on Nik's IPhone.
We had such a great time. We love ziplines, and the mountains and nice weather...so all in all, it was a perfect adventure!
After ziplining, we kept driving south and ended up at Table Rock Lake. Beautiful.
Can I just say that I love, love, love the mountains!?! This part of the country is so beautiful and we enjoyed the drive so much! Next up...our 3rd stop!
Home of the throwed rolls! Although all the food we ate on our trip was fantastic...I didn't take pictures. However, this place was the exception! I cannot even begin to tell you how fun this place is. So just trust me and try it out if you ever get a chance. On to the food pic...
Nik had a chicken-fried steak, topped with mashed potatoes, potato salad and corn. I had a cheeseburger and apples. One of the (many) cool things about this place is they have 'pass-arounds'. They literally walk by your table and serve you okra, fried potatoes and macaronni and tomatoes. As much as you want, all meal long. Oh - and they throw you hot, yummy rolls whenever you want!
After we put ourselves in 'Food Coma' we drove away and headed towards Branson to Branson Zipline. This place was awesome! We signed up for an Eco-Adventure Tour that included 7 suspension bridges and 4 ziplines.
We had 2 great guides and had a blast zipping through the Ozarks! They don't allow you to carry your cameras (for obvious reasons) but we did ask them to take a few pics of us on Nik's IPhone.
We had such a great time. We love ziplines, and the mountains and nice weather...so all in all, it was a perfect adventure!
After ziplining, we kept driving south and ended up at Table Rock Lake. Beautiful.
Can I just say that I love, love, love the mountains!?! This part of the country is so beautiful and we enjoyed the drive so much! Next up...our 3rd stop!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
1st Stop
Before I get into the details of the first stop...I just want to say...I am glad to be home! There is something about coming home that feels good (or should feel good). I like structure, I do well with structure, and am excited about the week ahead. Not that we have anything really exciting going on...but just excited to live our life. My house is clean. All the laundry is done. Groceries are bought. Meals are planned. It sounds like I have it all together. I really don't! But I do better when these things fall into place, and right now...things are in place (we will see for how long)!
Now...onto the great vacation post!
The first stop on our Fall Get-away was in Kansas City. We left town on Sunday (immediately after AM Church service) and drove straight through to KC. We arrived between 10-10:30pm. Upon our arrival our friends, Rusty and Diane, were sitting on their front porch in lawn chairs waiting on us! It was a wonderful welcome!
We stayed up pretty late that first night catching up (it had been almost 2 years since we have seen each other). The next morning, Monday, Nik and I both work up early excited for our day to begin! The girls ran a quick errand at JCPenney Outlet while the boys went to the driving range to hit some golf balls. Upon our arrival at JCPenney, this is what we saw:
I had to take a picture. This was a seriously long line of people waiting to get in the store...and it wasn't even the day after Thanksgiving!
After a few errands and the driving range we ate lunch and headed to the Kansas City Zoo!
It was a beautiful, perfect day for the Zoo. And about a million other people thought so as well...it was packed! But it was a pretty good zoo, and we got to see many animals. Including a Polar Bear!
We also rode the tram which took us over certain areas of the zoo. The tram was fun, but we didn't get to see as much as I was hoping for.
Now...onto the great vacation post!
The first stop on our Fall Get-away was in Kansas City. We left town on Sunday (immediately after AM Church service) and drove straight through to KC. We arrived between 10-10:30pm. Upon our arrival our friends, Rusty and Diane, were sitting on their front porch in lawn chairs waiting on us! It was a wonderful welcome!
We stayed up pretty late that first night catching up (it had been almost 2 years since we have seen each other). The next morning, Monday, Nik and I both work up early excited for our day to begin! The girls ran a quick errand at JCPenney Outlet while the boys went to the driving range to hit some golf balls. Upon our arrival at JCPenney, this is what we saw:
I had to take a picture. This was a seriously long line of people waiting to get in the store...and it wasn't even the day after Thanksgiving!
After a few errands and the driving range we ate lunch and headed to the Kansas City Zoo!
It was a beautiful, perfect day for the Zoo. And about a million other people thought so as well...it was packed! But it was a pretty good zoo, and we got to see many animals. Including a Polar Bear!
We also rode the tram which took us over certain areas of the zoo. The tram was fun, but we didn't get to see as much as I was hoping for.
After the Zoo we headed to a much-needed cooler place where we could sit down and drink water! AKA - Jack Stacks BBQ. Love, love, love their food - especially the beans!
The rest of our time in Kansas City our friends had to work. So we took advantage of our mornings and we slept in until 9am everyday and then met up with them for lunch. We had dinner together each evening and one night Nik and Rusty played golf while Diane and I went for a walk. The rest of the evenings were spent relaxing, watching some TV and playing cards (which is one of our favorite things to do).
We ate at some really great restaurants while we were there...Rusty and Diane sure do know how to find the good food (and cupcake places)!
One of the days we were there Nik and I went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum. This is a really great, FREE museum in Kansas City. We both loved the Photography and Heavens section. Again, the weather was fantastic and we had some fun out on the lawn looking at all the sculptures.
We had a super fun time - Thank you Rusty and Diane for your wonderful hospitality! We enjoyed seeing you guys and miss being around you...wish we could see you more often!
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