hello Summer!

I heart summer.  I had the privilege this week of kicking off my Summer 2009!  YAY!  And boy, if this week is telling of what the rest of the Summer will be like, I'm in for sleep deprivation but a whole lot of FUN!

Bear with me, it took me 45 min. just to get these pictures loaded on here.  They are all completely out of the chronological order I wanted them to be in, so I'm going with the flow...

Are you ready? 

(1) This is a picture of me, my friends Stephanie and Therese at a place called Brugge Brassiere in Broad Ripple.  We went to celebrate Stephanie getting accepted to law school @ Valpo!  (Congrats, Stephanie!).  We had a scrumptious meal topped off with Nutella crepes with strawberry and vanilla sauce drizzled on top.  (Side note: Nutella is my most favorite food.  Seriously).  When you visit, I'll take you to Brugge and you too, will discover the power of Nutella.

(2) The next series of pictures are from my recent trip to Denver, CO.  

This is a picture of me and my friend / co-worker, Kate, in Denver, CO when we were hiking up the Rockies!  The Rockies were B-E-A-utiful!   (Picture is not so flattering of me, but it's proof that I was there!).  Kate and I were so giddy after the hike.  Who knew, there is a little soft spot in my heart for nature...God's creation...

This is the waterfall we hiked up to!  (oops, just ended a sentence with a preposition - sorry for all your grammar nazis!)  Our group is so cool, we hiked to the TOP of the waterfall just to get a group photo.  It. was. awesome.

This is the amazing rainbow I saw on the way to the Rockies' campground.  "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all the living creatures of every kind on the earth." ~Genesis 9:16.  I love rainbows. 

(3)  Last time I posted an entry, I was going into "race mode" for the triathlon, in which I was participating!  (better grammar then!)  Here are a few photos from that adventure.

We had to park our cars on a field.  This was the row of of cars...all with bike racks...bikes...looking "rugged."  It was too cool.  When I pulled my car up, I immediately felt like I was in WAY over my head.  But I made it!  It took me 4 hours 13 minutes, and a whole lot of mental strength.  Hebrews 12: 1-2 was my theme verse for the whole thing and boy did it carry me through!

Here is the picture of all four of us at the finish line!  (Again, not a very flattering picture of moi, but proof that I did it!)  The person to my right, Rene, was my partner!  (She is Meghan's mom)...and our team name was called "Nutella Triple Threat" - not even kidding!  That's Meghan in the gray and her partner (and neighbor) Jill to her right.  

We were high on endorphins at this point and not to mention dehydrated, stiff, sore, and elated all at the same time.  I can't believe we did it.  All that planning, preparation, packing, anticipation.  It happened!  I am crazy about races for the sole reason of how they make me feel after I am done.

(4) Hey look, it's a picture of my entire blog fan base!  Haha!  These are the inaugural, VIP members of the fan base it's slowly growing though.  This is a picture of me, Christina, and Jillian at Jillian's new house in Louisville!  The house was absolutely beautiful.  At the risk of sounding cheesy, mother-ish, and weird, I will go out on a limb and say that I'm so proud of Jilly and Travis!  I admire and respect them as a couple.  God must have some incredible things in store!

(5) My parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago and took me to do something I've been wanting to do for a long time now: go on a gondola ride!  We went down the White River Canal in Indy.  Not quite Venice, but still very lovely.  

This is a picture looking out from our boat.  Indy is not too shabby, eh?  Apparently the day we went was "opening day" for the gondoliers!  And did you know, this is Indy's #1 spot for marriage proposals?  In fact, the gondolier (the man rowing the boat) told me he had 2 proposals scheduled that very night!  

This is our "gondolier" and the whole crew.  He was great...sang in Italian, told us stories, kept us entertained throughout the whole thing.  Apparently he's been doing this for over 20 years.  He did his "apprenticeship" as a gondolier in Venice; then went to Vegas to serve as the gondolier for the Venetian hotel, then came to Indy!  He is also a skilled stilt-walker.  It's what he does in the "off-season"...walk on stilts for a living.  Some people lead such different lives!

This is my dad!  We had a little extra time before the gondola rides opened, so we decided to chill at the "Creation Cafe" overlooking the Canal.  We ate the best Butter Pecan gelato there!  I love this man.  Period. 

(6) Two Fridays ago, I went to a baby shower for one of my close co-workers, Neill.  We have been buddies for the past three years now and met somewhat randomly during orientation before our first day on the job.  She is a delight to be around and truly a gem of a person.  I don't think she will ever know how much I've learned from her these past three years (and continue to learn from her)!  One of my favorite things about our friendship is our "virtual tea parties".  When I lived in KY, we used to get together over a cup of hot green tea every now and then to talk about different things, work, life, family, etc.  Now, since we both work in different offices, we didn't want to let geographical challenges get in the way of our little tea parties.  So now, we do them over the phone...each with a cup of green tea in our hand, in our respective locations, chatting over the phone, sharing life & experiences.  Super, isn't it?  The picture below if from her baby shower last week.  I just found out a couple of hours ago, that she delivered a baby girl this morning!  Neill - if you're reading this, CONGRATULATIONS!  I am so happy for you and Gray!

Whew!  I'm out of breath just from typing all this!  This week has been busier than I thought, but soooooo incredibly life-enriching.  I wouldn't trade any of it!