Camping.

This past weekend Coy and I headed a few hours south to Santa Claus, IN. Although typically I steer clear of manual labor and anything where I could get dirty, we went camping and it was such a great time! We spent the weekend with hubby's bestie (he would never use this word) and his fantastic girlfriend. We had a great time sitting around the fire, roasting marshmallows, hashbrowns, apple pies, hotdogs, eggs, and sausage. We tried swimming but it was entirely too cold so we opted instead for a row boat ride. I never grow tired of seeing hubs and Derek act like little school boys...they are the definition of bromance. Not to mention they are two of the funniest people I know, so it was a weekend full of laughs! We topped the trip off by a day at Holiday World, which was SO much fun!

It is always nice to get away and spend some time doing something we normally don't do! However, after this trip I think we may try to add short camping trips to our agenda more often!

Enjoy some of the weekend in Instragrams!

 This gorgeous winery, Monkey Hollow, we stopped at on our way there!

 "Girls, go take care of girly things." - I'm fine with avoiding manual labor!

 The final product!

 First fire of the day!

 I dropped four eggs on the ground while trying to make breakfast! Oops. 

So delicious! Our only causalities of the weekend were one of the sandwich makers (that oddly got warped in the fire) and Coy's contact, which he lost on a water ride at Holiday World.

The Color Run

This past weekend I participated in the The Color Run. Although I am anything but a runner this was my second 5k. The Color Run was SO much fun! It is perfect for anyone who wants to just go out and have a good time. Out of the thousands of people who participated it would be my guess that only a very small percentage of them took the race seriously. If you are a serious runner who only runs to make a better time this is not the race for you...they don't even track your time! And it would make it a little difficult to get a good time due to that fact that around the color stations (which happens ever kilometer) traffic majorly slows down, people roll around the ground (uh - not me of course), and pictures galore are taken. The colors are some sort of corn starch concoction and most of the debris came off pretty easily. Although I did show up at church yesterday unknowingly with some green and purple still on my shoulder!   

I can't wait to do this run again next year! It was a great time and a lot of fun! 

 At the Finish Line!

 I adore this picture - especially Christy's face! 

 The 'after party'. You might think that there was someone performing on that stage, 

but people were just this excited over a dj and dance contest!

 My favorite part! 

Hubs was the best. He got up early on his day off to drive me and my friends to/from the race and followed

us around all morning, with only a few minor complaints here and there : )

See you next year at The Color Run!

The Pickledog

While in Denver hubs and I came across possibly the best food invention of ALL time. It might sound gross when I describe it but it was literally one of the best things I have ever eaten. The 'pickledog' was sold out a food truck started by a boyfriend/girlfriend duo only a few weeks prior. The pickledog is a hotdog inside of a  pickle (you know, the large whole pickles), covered in a delicious corn dog batter. 

We put mustard on ours but it would have been just as delicious plain.

Since eating it I can't stop thinking about! 

It was well worth the $6 and looking back my only regret is not getting more! 

So, if you ever come across a pickledog stand:

1. Make sure to let me know when/where so I can hunt it down. 

2. Make sure you try for yourself...I promise, you won't be disappointed!

The Birthday Boy!

My sweet hubby turned 30 last week!! Because I knew we were going to be out of town on his actual birthday I threw him a surprise party a few weeks before. (In case you missed it you can read about it here). Once his birthday came though it was hard to figure out what to do to make it special. Since we were in Denver with a million kids - okay, not quite a million but 14, we had to keep the day fairly simple. And since I couldn't pack a large gift, we had to keep that simple too. We celebrated with cards and a small gift in the morning, followed by a mediocre lunch at a Mexican place of Coy's choosing, Pinkberry frozen yogurt, Happy Birthday sung loud and annoyingly in front of hundreds of people, dinner at a barbecue place of Coy's choosing, cupcakes, and late night pizza. Although it wasn't a typical birthday, as I told him that day, I celebrate him every day of the year! He is an amazing husband and best friend and I couldn't have dreamed of a better man to spend my life with!
Here are a few pictures of birthdays past and present:

And don't worry...he got a real present from me after we got home!

10 days, 14 kids, 3 adults.

On Saturday night hubs and I returned home from a 10 day trip with our youth group! It was an amazing, challenging, humbling, and growing experience! We took 14 kids to Denver, CO for a mission trip which ended at the four day International Youth Convention. Not only were there good laughs and good times but also life change. We had eight days of amazing worship, always followed by amazing speakers. Often times I would just sit back and watch the kids worship - they move me, motivate me, and challenge me to be more passionate, more full of life, and more expectant of God to show up. And show up He did. Big decisions were made by these kids. Lives were changed and God's presence was felt.
It was a great trip and I feel so blessed to have gotten to lead these 14 amazing teenagers.

 Getting ready to leave for Denver (two kids short!)

Our first day at IYC started with great worship followed by a silent prayer walk through the city of Denver. 

 Dinner!

 On day two of being there I clipped a parked car with the mirror of my rental van! It fell off and was cracked. Luckily we could pop it back on and luckily we had added insurance! 

 The day we helped put on a large community carnival!

 Change Your World - packaging thousands of meal for families in another country.

 Continental Divide, outside of Breckenridge. 

 Loved this place. So gorgeous!

Last day of our workcamp - ready for a hot shower and real bed!

 Worship on the last day of the convention. 

Lately.

Life has been crazy for the past few weeks, which not only means I've been busy but that I have neglected posting!
Here is a little recap of life...
* Hubs and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! Our anniversary was a week night and although we had planned to go out of town for the weekend before life ended up getting in the way of this. We settled for an AMAZING dinner at The Eagle's Nest. The Eagle's Nest is on the top floor of the Hyatt in downtown Indianapolis and it revolves during your dinner so you get breathtaking views of the entire city throughout your meal.



* We went to an Indianapolis Indians Baseball game. Although it ended up raining we were under some covering so were some of the few who ended up staying for the entire game. I am not particurally fond of baseball but there is not much better than going to a game to kick of summer.

* I suprised Coy with a 30th Birthday party/graduation party! His actual birthday isn't actually until the beginning of July but since we are going to be out of town I wanted to special to celebrate with our friends and family here. He had no clue and was so suprised even that when we arrived and the suprise was yelled he stood for a minute trying to figure out what was going on! It was a great night and I was so thankful for our many friends and family who made the night special for Coy!

Hopefully it's not another couple of weeks until I post again! However that might be the case...Coy and I have several upcoming trips planned! 
Until the next time...!

Creamy Basil Pesto

I found this recipe on Pinterest a few weeks and was finally able to try it out recently. I am obsessed with anything pesto. However, I have found that it is often difficult to get a good pesto recipe that tastes good (one with just the right amount of pesto taste as well as the right consistency). This recipe worked out great! I had to improvise a little bit because I made about 2.5 the amount the original recipe called for. Despite thinking it was too thick at first it actually mixed in well and had great flavor. We added yellow peppers and chicken, and of course some extra parmesan on top (because I'm also obsessed with this).

Ingredients:
4 medium garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (I used my garlic press)
3 cups fresh basil (we actually got this out of my mom's garden and it was fantastic!)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 part-skim ricotta cheese
1-3 green onions, chopped
2 TB olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
- Place the basil in a resealable bag. Pound the bag with the flat side of a meat mallet or rolling pin until the leaves are broken apart and slightly bruised. (Bruising the leaves helps to release the basil's oils and intensify the flavor.)
- In a blender or food processor blend all of the ingredients until smooth. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Transfer to a large bowl and mix with cooked pasta.

Enjoy!!