Sunday, April 29, 2012

Weekend Wrap Party & the $0 Present

Did you have a fab weekend? Or even a half-way decent one? Hope so! 

The weekend wrap party is something I started awhile ago to help me share a little more of my life with you, in hopes that you'd share yours with me. So please let me know what you did this weekend too...whether it's linking to your blog or just leaving a comment. I want to get to know you! :-) 

Our weekend was busy as usual. I had to work Saturday until 2:30pm doing a live remote broadcast then we had a wedding. The wedding was for my friend Jessica. You may remember I went to her bachelorette party & talked about it here

The wedding was awesome & I helped her with a little project that I'll share with you for this Wednesday's post. 

My handsome date ;-) 

And yes...this was the only picture from the wedding. I forgot my camera on the island in the kitchen. Ugh...party foul! :p 

Sunday afternoon, Mike & I made good on part of my dad's Christmas present. My dad is a PE Teacher & he also directs his camp, Camp Icthus, every summer. His recent love has been kayaking. Before Christmas, my dad had mentioned a couple times wanting us all to go kayaking together. Mike & I are pretty busy with work & it just seems like our weekends fill up so fast. We realized that one of the best presents we could give my dad is a gift of time. So for Christmas, we set a date in advance to head out on the open seas lake. So...it's really true what they say, "some of the best gifts in life are free!"

Getting ready to put em in! 

It was a gorgeous day, weather-wise! We were out for about an hour & a half & man is it a good workout. The peacefulness of the lake made me long to do this more often. I love getting in a good workout at the gym but it just doesn't compare to the beauty of outside. 

I was a little fearful, okay a lot fearful of encountering snakes but we didn't stumble across any. We did see two enormous osprey nests & ospreys. One of the nests had little babies in it. We also saw a heron that was at least 4 feet tall. That's one of the things I adore about my dad...he loves nature & knows so much. He's really a brilliant man. I always loved taking nature walks with him because he knows what each tree, leave & animal is & usually has a cool story to go with them. I unfortunately can't remember all of that but I look forward to my children being able to explore with their grandfather (my dad) all that nature has to offer. 

That's me in action. I looked a hott mess! ;p We rode down to my parents in Mike's jeep, with the windows off & I should've taken a picture of my naturally curly hair for comedic purposes. Although...it may have scared you from ever stopping by Parties for Pennies again. ;p 

My dad, Me & my hubby Mike

It was such a wonderful afternoon. It was peaceful & almost like a little getaway from the hustle & bustle. Not to mention...I got to spend quality time with my dad (& mom & brothers). 

Here are a few more pics from Sunday - 

I got my mom a yellow rose bush a couple of years ago for Mothers day with notes on all the branches. She used to always tell my sister & me that she was growing "roses" not "weeds." Weeds are beautiful on the outside but not genuine on the inside. Roses are beautiful on the outside & genuine on the inside.  She cared about growing up girls that loved others, God and were genuine. On each of the branches I wrote specific ways in which she taught me (gave me an example of) how to be beautiful on the inside. It was so neat to see that small bush grow into something so beautiful & full! 

This is my parents new kitchen. I wish I had the before shot. It is truly amazing the transformation. I'm so thankful they were able to do it. They have sacrificed a lot over the years. There were four kids, my youngest brother with special needs & a lot of doctor visits...and my dad was supporting us all on one teachers salary. The first house we lived in most of my life had one bathroom for 6 of us.

It was fun to be able to eat the great meal Mom fixed for us in their new kitchen! 

I fell in love with their new pantry! Soo much space! 

Okay...now your turn! What did you do this weekend? Any kayak trips or weddings? Tis the season. ;p 

Thanks for stopping by! Come back this Wednesday for a great Wedding project! 

9 comments:

  1. No weddings for us, I think we are *almost* out of the crazy wedding age, only 2 this summer that we are going to, 1 we can't make.

    We had friends for brunch on Saturday and other friends for a bbq today, then I was supposed to go out with girlfriends for drinks tonight, but it is so hot (which means 74 in northern california!) and out kids are so crazy, that we all decided to stay in and we are rescheduling for later in the week. Gosh, that makes me feel old:)

    Jessica
    stayathomeista.com

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    1. What a fun weekend...brunch (love me some brunch), a BBQ! That sounds so fun. It seems like for us it's feast or faminine as far as weddings go. We have like 3 this month! ;p

      Hope you get your girl time in soon! And 74 is hot? ;p I need to come visit Northern California! ;p Thanks for sharing about your weekend, Jessica! Have an awesome week!

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  2. Luke and I went kayaking once and I'm pretty sure we spent more time tipping each other than actually kayaking. :) LOVE the new kitchen!!!

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    1. lol...I bet you guys had a great time! I'll tell my mom. They are so excited! :-)

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  3. I had a great weekend. Got to spend some time with Edward and then I had to work Sunday :)

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    1. I'm glad you had a good weekend Kristee! Thanks so much for leaving a comment. Hope you have a great week!

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  4. Saturday was a pretty low key day. Did a few things to get ready to move. Still have a lot to do and only 35 days to do it all! Sunday we had Preschool Sunday. It's the day where the weekday preschool kids get to bring their families to church on Sunday, show them some of their art work, and sing a few songs during the service. Loved hearing 43 2-5 year olds singing "This Little Light of Mine" and "If I Were a Butterfly." I am so proud that we didn't have any criers! After church we had a big picnic with all the kids and their families! Sunday night I helped with childcare for a special "Night of Worship" our church had.

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    1. Oh man...I loathe moving. ;p It is so much work. Hope you get everything done! I bet the kids were precious & the picnic sounds like fun!

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