Favorite Pics Video

Baby is Growing Up!

Baby Winnie got a haircut today! She doesn't even look like the same little one she did this morning. It is crazy how a simple thing like a haircut can make someone look so different!

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After:

An Interesting Book

I don't know if you're a reader or not, but I challenge you to check out The Shack by William P. Young. One of my favorite people (and her English teacher mom) gave me the gift of this book at Christmas. I hadn't heard much about it apart from the fact that it was written as a personal story intended for family but after friends read it, they pushed to see it published and distributed on a wider scale because of the message behind this book. This book is now on the New York Times Best Sellers' List, having sold millions of copies.

It is a challenging tale of a man with a painful past and his journey with God. I wouldn't say that it is the best-written book that I've ever read, but the focus on the relationship with God, as opposed to religion made me keep turning the pages. There were times when I didn't know what to think, but I have to say it was well worth the read! I loved the way it made me think about God and my own relationship with Him in a very different way than the constraints of society and church often teach.

Vegas, Baby!

So, with track season in full swing, we were unable to get away and go skiing (like we often do) during Spring Break. Instead, we decided to go to Vegas with the couple of days we had. We had a blast! Matter of fact, we enjoyed it so much we decided to buy property there! Check it out!

We are now owners of a time-share condo right on the strip. This property is being developed by Planet Hollywood as we speak. The Grand Opening is slated for September with occupancy as early as January. There are tons of great features about this property, including the fact that we can trade our time here for properties this company holds around the world (they are in the process of building at the base of Peak 7 in Breckenridge). I love the private pool, complete with cabanas and "at your beckon call" service! The one-bedroom condo is right around 900 square feet. It has a huge living room with black-out curtains that cover your insane view. These curtains also double as the "big screen" tv. The kitchen is beautiful with everything you could ever need. And the bedroom - well, it is my idea of vacationing in style!!

Anyways, we had quite an adventure (check out the other post for the part where I feared for my life). We flew in separately (I had a voucher for a free flight from a friend, so my flight was booked after Brian had found a great deal on flight/hotel for himself). This turned out to be interesting because it meant I arrived in Vegas a few hours before Brian on Tuesday and he would be staying a few hours longer on Friday. Right...like anything works out the way you plan. Let's just say that the airline overbooked the flights (it was St. Patrick's Day, Spring Break, March Madness and several HUGE conventions that week) and ten minutes before Brian should be boarding, he gives me a call saying he won't be home for another day. The airline put him up for the night, gave him a $300 voucher and fed him from then until the time his new flight left. So, what does the boy do? He heads back to watch some of the March Madness games and runs into all kinds of celebrities. Up to this point, we had seen Evander Holyfield. Brian sat down with Sam Bradford and saw Genevieve Gorder (a designer on TLC). On his own, he runs into some football players from Virginia Tech, including Pat White (who expects to be drafted soon). He ended up going to their suite and hanging for a better part of the evening. Oh and then flies back with Mike Ditka. Just craziness!

Fearing For My Life!

So, Brian has the great idea of having a bit of an adventure while we're in the desert. I'm thinking, "Ok, I can handle this. I did the ziplines in Costa Rica last summer. No big deal." Ummmm...right. I believe a few of the details (like the fact that we were 650 ft. above the canyon floor flying at 40-65 mph) were left out. Needless to say, I am glad to have survived. At one point, I truly wasn't sure I would be coming home. I make it all but 4 feet from the safety of the platform and then start to go backwards. Before I know it, I have flown a good 100 feet back and am now stuck in the middle of the line, just hanging there 400 feet in the air with a rescue quite a ways off. Ok people, I am TERRIFIED of heights and the only thing worse than being up that high to begin with is being STUCK at that height just praying for rescue. It took probably 10 minutes or so before the guide could crawl hand over hand back to me. At this point, he can do nothing but wrap his legs around me and pull me back hand over hand. This was no quick rescue and with each movement, the cable is bouncing up and down a good 10 feet. It is all I can do not to pass out from hyperventilating. My sweet husband is laughing it up, making sure the woman next to him (safely at the platform, I might add), zooms in and takes a picture of me freaking out. He requested that she email it to him - so we'll see...And this was only at the second line. We did four of these total (taking about 2 hours or so).

Anyways, check out the video to see what I'm talking about.

Keeping You in the Loop!

So, I checked out a friend's blog and became inspired to create one for us to help keep friends and family that we don't see regularly in the loop as to what is happening in our lives!! We shall see how it goes!!

New Hobby

So, while I was in Paris, Brian was taking up a new hobby - playing the guitar. He's talked about wanting to learn for a long time, but I think that weekend brought "Carpe Diem" to life. He started out with a beginner guitar, but a few weeks later, we went to a music shop, and he found an amazing guitar that he loves. He already has one song, Mighty to Save by Hillsong, mastered and is working on the next, You're Beautiful by James Blunt (he uses YouTube as his coach).

Check out the video of him playing! He's really good (especially when you consider he picked up a guitar for the first time two weeks ago, taught himself using an online video and can only practice when his 12 and 15-hour workdays allow)!!

I'm so proud of him. He's even inspired me to learn to play the piano. I've always wanted to be able to just sit down at one and play the most beautiful music. I had an organ when I was little and taught myself how to play Amazing Grace by memorizing the numbers associated with the keys on the organ. To this day, I can play that and chopsticks! So, I have a 76-key keyboard that has amazing built-in features. Right now, it is tutoring me to learn Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. I have the base of the song learned with my right hand; I just have to learn to play the harmonizing tones with my left at the same time - that part is a bit harder to do!!