Guest Bathroom

Matt and I embarked on our first home improvement project last weekend. Now, Matt has done a few things since we moved in including repainting some baseboards, installing a storm door and installing fireplace logs and we did have the carpet replaced before we moved in. But, this was the first project that we completed together. Honestly, I might have been a little worried before we started. We are both pretty picky when it comes to decorating, so a lot of times it takes awhile for us to agree on something we both like (We spent a full day at the mall looking for a comforter for our guest bedroom and it took us 4 months to find a picture to hang above the fireplace), so maybe you can understand that agreeing on a paint color and a shower curtain and accessories could be time consuming. And all that doesn't even include the whole part of actually working on a project (that has somewhat permanent ramifications) together in a small space for hours. Oh and by the way, I had never painted a room in a house in my entire life, so I had no idea what I was doing and was dependant on Matt's guidance. I'm happy to say that we survived, we both like how the bathroom turned out, and we are still speaking to each other :). Overall, I actually thought the project went smoothly and we actually had fun doing it.

I had been growing tired of every wall in our house being the same color for awhile, so Matt promised we would at least paint the guest bathroom before the end of the summer. We had a free weekend, so we decided to tackle the project. Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

Our guest bathtub and shower had glass doors, which I hated to clean and didn't really like. I thought they got in the way, and did I mention I hated to clean them?? My mom would actually clean them every time after they visited because she knew how much I detested cleaning them. Matt and Barry removed the doors a couple of weekends ago. I was very happy, although it took a few hours and some patience to get all the glue and caulk off the tub and tile.

AND AFTER...

We decided the best way to go about picking a paint color was to find a shower curtain we both agreed on and base the paint color on the curtain. This is the curtain we agreed on. Barry (my step-dad) actually suggested painting the walls a light yellow after he saw the shower curtain. I think he has a good eye. I really like how it turned out.

Obviously, a bathroom redecoration had to include new towels and rugs.

Matt put a towel bar up on the wall since we lost the one that was on the doors. We found the sign on vacation and thought it matched the color scheme nicely.

Well, now that this project is out of the way, I'm ready to move on to painting the office and guest bedroom. Hopefully we'll get around to at least one of those in the next couple of months, although Matt wants to build a shed in our backyard and that might take priority. I am loving being a homeowner and being able to decorate and renovate and not thinking that we're just throwing money away because we will be moving soon. Hopefully we'll enjoy our new guest bathroom for many years.

The B-I-B-L-E, Yes That's the Book for Me

This last week I got to do something that I hadn't gotten to do since I was in high school. I helped with Vacation Bible School. I loved it too. I always helped with VBS in middle school and high school, and for all the years before that, I was a student in VBS. Once I started college though, I hadn't had the time off work or school to be able to help. I was excited that this year with the flexibility in my schedule during the summer, I got the opportunity to help. I helped with the three and four year-olds. They were absolutely adorable. I had so much fun playing with them, singing songs with them, reading them books, and listening to them tell me stories. One sweet little girl told me I had a frog in my throat and then proceeded to pretend to take it out. It was really cute. They were a really fun age to work with. You could see all their personalities so clearly, and they were all very well behaved. I was totally amazed at how they all followed directions and aside from a few minor problems sharing that were quickly resolved with "You'll get a turn in a little bit", they were great. Matt probably won't let me help again, because I sure had a major dose of baby fever after that week :). (In fact, I'm still not quite recovered yet). I'm really enjoying getting more involved in our church now that I'm out of school. It's nice to have a chance to serve and give back to the church for everything they do for us.

Aside from Bible school, this week I saw a few clients in the afternoon, and Matt and I had some busy evenings. We're participating in a couple's Bible study this summer on Monday nights called the Truth Project. We're enjoying having some good (and deep) conversations with the group during the study and getting a chance to hang out and spend time with other couples. On Tuesday, for our date night we went to the Movie to see Up. It was a cute movie, but not near as good as Cars or Finding Nemo in our opinion. Wednesday night I was up at church for VBS parent night.

Thursday was a pretty interesting evening for us. Before we left for vacation, we found bedroom furniture that we both liked and was in our price range (We had been looking and saving for awhile). So, the weekend we got back, we went to buy it, since my parents were in town with their truck. They didn't have the bed or a chest of drawers in inventory, so we got the rest of it home and were waiting on the last two pieces. Well, they came in, and Matt got anxious and instead of waiting for some friends (who own a truck) to go with us and help with the heavy lifting, he decided to bring the furniture home in our Escape (taking two trips) Thursday after work. Shortly after we made it home, I had to leave for a women's fellowship, so I left Matt and several boxes of furniture to fend for themselves. I got home a few hours later to a beautiful complete bedroom. He unloaded and assembled the bed by himself. I was really impressed with his hard work. I fully expected to come home to the unpacked boxes of furniture. I don't think I've ever had a bedroom where all the furniture matched, and I love it. We're in the process of redecorating now since we now have new furniture and recently got a new comforter, but once we're done, I'll post pictures of our new bedroom.

On Friday night, we decided to get adventurous and paint our guest bathroom this weekend, so we spent Friday night at Lowe's buying painting supplies and then came home and cleaned and taped. We finished painting this evening, so expect some pics of that soon too. Now we're gearing up for another fun and full week as the summer continues to fly by.

2009 Vacation Part 3

Matt got up on Tuesday morning to pick up our rental car while I took advantage of an opportunity to sleep in a little bit before the next leg of our vacation. After breakfast we headed off for the 3 and 1/2 hour drive to Montauk at the tip of Long Island. We made a quick stop to browse through IKEA in New Jersey before we left. I think Matt was glad we flew to NY because our space was limited, or I probably would have bought out the entire store. Matt had vacationed at Montauk a lot with his family when he was growing up, so he was excited to show me all of his favorite spots. We got there around 3 and set up our tent. After that Matt showed me the beach. We walked along the beach for a little while and put our feet in the very cold water. It was fun how close we were to the ocean. We fell asleep each night to the sound of waves crashing. Even though we didn't get a chance to swim because the water was cold, we enjoyed watching the waves and walking in the sand.

Our home for the 3 nights we were in Montauk



We walked across the dunes...

and found this on the other side.

Seeing the ocean at the campsite was another clear memory for me. I know Matt had told me that the ocean was just on the other side of the dunes, but for some reason I didn't expect it to be right on the other side of the dunes. But it was, and it was beautiful and peaceful and for the most part deserted. I remember thinking "Oh wow that really is the ocean, just a few feet from our campsite".

After spending some time at the beach we decided to head into town and get some dinner. We ate at a local Italian place that had delicious shrimp and lobster ravioli. After dinner, Matt took me to the docks to watch a beautiful sunset. This was the first part of the vacation that we got to spend as a couple, and we had a good time just enjoying some time being alone together. After the sunset we headed back to camp and went to bed early.

Watching the sunset

Had to go to the beach the next morning. Matt said he had to make sure it was still there :).

The next day Matt took me to see the Montauk lighthouse. We got there a little early and went on a little hike around the area before the lighthouse opened. We enjoyed exploring the lighthouse museum and climbing to the top to see the view of the ocean. We had a tour guide explain the history of the lighthouse as well as a little perspective into the lives of the lighthouse keepers.

At the top of the lighthouse

On the grounds of the lighthouse and museum

After seeing the lighthouse we went back to the docks for lunch and a little shopping. I enjoyed window shopping and seeing all the ocean and beach themed merchandise. It made me wish we had our own beach house to decorate :). We grabbed a quick lunch of friend shrimp which was fresh and delicious and ate quickly before the seagulls decided they wanted us to share our lunch with them. After lunch we went back to the campsite and enjoyed some relaxation on the beach. We laid out and read for a couple of hours on the beach. It was a bit chilly, but calming an tranquil. Afterwards we headed back to the docks for another yummy seafood dinner.

Just relaxin'

We woke up to a light rain the next morning that stopped soon after we got up, but it was cloudy all day. So instead of spending the day at the beach we went into town and did some more touristy shopping. We found a cute frame and sign. After more seafood for lunch, we made the short drive to the Hamptons to walk around. We walked in a few stores, all of which were beyond our price range, well except the ice cream store :). I wished I could just be a fly on the wall in that town (or village as they call it). I would love to see how everyone lives there and how they spend their time. We drove around and looked at a few big houses and then headed back to camp. We had a couple of hours before dinner and decided to try and find a place to go on a short hike. We drove to a nature trail, but Matt saw about 6 tics just at the entrance of the trail, and we decided that getting Lyme disease wouldn't be a great way to spend our vacation, so instead we went to Camp Hero (an old military base) which was by the lighthouse to take a short walk before dinner. While we were there, we found an outlook with a beautiful view of the bluffs and ocean. This was another of my favorite parts of the trip. The view was breathtaking and we shared a few romantic moments before headed back to town for dinner. I would love to go back there someday and do more hiking.

At Camp Hero

We savored another meal of fresh seafood (this time I had stuffed flounder, and Matt got a seafood trio) at a local restaurant and then went on one last stroll along the beach on the last night of our vacation.

The next morning we woke up to rain again, but this time the rain didn't stop, so we ended up packing up camp in the rain, which is not one of my fondest memories of the trip, but everything went quickly and smoothly. After packing up we headed out of town but made one last stop at another famous Long Island restaurant for one last meal of fresh seafood. I had their signature lobster roll (Lobster salad on a bun), and it was probably my favorite meal of the trip. After lunch we headed back to NYC to fly home and see our Rhapsy girl. The trip home was more stressful than we hoped for but we made it home safe and sound with a camera full of pictures and lots of great memories.

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to go on fun vacations together. Our vacations represent some of our best memories we share as a couple, and I think they strengthen our relationship. It's refreshing to take a break and spend time together doing new things without the worries and stress of everyday life. I told Matt that is probably my favorite thing about vacations.

2009 Vacation Part 2

The second part of our vacation includes visiting the Big Apple for two VERY busy days. We left Ithaca Saturday afternoon and drove to Matt's Aunt and Uncle's house in New Jersey. We arrived in NJ that evening, and Aunt Carol and Uncle Wally were amazing hosts. They fed us delicious meals, helped us plan out our time in NYC, drove us into NYC, and treated Katie and Ben just like family. We are so thankful for everything they did for us while we were there and for the chance to visit with them.

We woke up early on Sunday morning and made the trip to the city. Matt's aunt drove us to Battery park for our first sightseeing adventure. We took a ferry out to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. I remember Matt pointing out the statue of liberty from the park and then it sinking in that we really were in New York City. We got there early and didn't have to wait long for a ferry. When we got to Liberty Island, we took a free tour around the island and learned some of the history of the Statue of Liberty. It was interesting to learn more about it. She is made of copper and is the thickness of two pennies were just a couple of facts we learned. We also enjoyed getting some views of the city from the Island. Whenever I think about the statue of liberty, I just remember dressing up as her for a program when I was a first grader. My grandma made my costume, and I'm sure my mom still has my homemade torch somewhere :)

Our ferry to Liberty Island


On the ferry with Lady Liberty in the distance





On Liberty Island

View of Manhattan

One of the 40 some pictures Matt took of the Statue of Liberty

After spending some time at the island and Matt taking lots of pictures, we boarded the ferry and went to Ellis island. I thought Ellis Island was a neat place to visit. There just seemed to be so much history in those buildings. I'm not sure if any of my relatives came through Ellis Island, but it would be interesting to find out. While on Ellis Island, we took a tour of the ferry station where immigrants boarded to head into the city as well as some of the medical facilities used to house immigrants with diseases and illnesses that had to be treated before they could leave the island. We also took a little time to tour the museum in the main building and learn about some of the immigrants and the process of open immigration that occurred in the U.S.

Ferry Station on Ellis Island

A view of the registry room on Ellis Island

After a whirlwind tour of the museum, Matt and I hopped back on the ferry and then caught a subway to Times Square to see the Lion King. One of the most clear memories I have of our trip was stepping out of the subway station right into Times Square. I guess for some reason, I didn't expect to be right in the middle of the action when we came out of the subway station. That was wake up call #2 that yes, we really were in NYC. Matt and I walked along Times Square and grabbed a quick lunch before heading to the theater.

They recently closed off some of the streets to traffic, so people just hang out in the middle of the road.

Seeing the Lion King was one of my favorite parts of our time in NYC. I was amazed by the costumes, set design and special effects. The animals were amazing, and they had the cutest baby elephant costume. The set allowed for the cast and propsto come up from under the stage which made for some great effects. The stampede scene, although probably the saddest part of the story, was really cool in how they made it look like a real stampede. In one part of the play, they arranged stars in the set to look like Mufasa which was really neat as well. The music was great, the costumes were beautiful, and the storyline was inspiring. Overall, it was a great show, and that deal Matt and I made that one Broadway show was enough (because of the price) even if we go back to NYC someday is null and void. I'm ready to see another one already :).

Yup, we saw that!

After the show, we caught up with Katie and Ben for a little more sightseeing. We walked around Times Square, did a little shopping, and saw a couple other touristy things. We walked through Macy's and rode the escalators up all nine floors. We were amazed at how huge that store is. I have no idea where they get all the merchandise to fill up nine floors. We also saw the Empire State Building and Madison Square Garden. We ate dinner at a cute 50's diner. The waiters and waitresses were all aspiring Broadway stars, so we were constantly entertained with song and dance while we ate. After dinner we decided to head back for the evening. That turned into more of an adventure than we were expecting, but after traveling to two different train stations and multiple subway rides as well as a mad dash to make the train, we arrived back in Ramsey, ready for a good night's rest, before we did it all again.

We slept in a little bit on Tuesday and made it to the city around 10. We spent most of the morning touring this museum:

Matt and I watched a planetarium show and walked through the museum looking at all the animals and dinosaur bones. They had a neat aquatic exhibit. I think we were a little disappointed that we couldn't find a lot of the characters from the movie, but we still saw a lot of neat things. That museum was huge, but we took the approach of seeing a little bit of everything. I think we made it through the entire museum (minus the closed exhibits or exhibits that cost extra), but we were walking pretty quickly through a lot of it.

Dinosaur bones at the front of the museum

What would a trip to the museum be without a picture of Matt with some elephants.

Ben and Katie spent the entire day at the museum, but we ditched the museum after lunch and headed to central park. We walked around a little in Central Park and saw a little castle in the park that Ben and Katie had found the day before. Then we decided that it wasn't everyday we were on vacation in NYC and decided to take a short horse and carriage ride through the park. It was romantic and beautiful and fun to people watch a little bit while we were on our ride. That was another one of my favorite moments in NYC.

Central Park

After the carriage ride

I had heard (and seen pictures) of this famous dessert restaurant in NYC, Serendipity, and I was dying to try it out. Katie decided the museum was more interesting than dessert, so I drug Matt with me :). I got their famous frozen hot chocolate and it was delicious. I would love to go back, but I'm a little glad it's all the way across the country because I would spend way too much time there if it was closer.

This would be the ultimate girls' night.

Matt got cheesecake. He said it wasn't as good as the one I make, but he had to say that if he wants me to keep making cheesecake for him :). It was still good. He gave me a bite.

After our dessert, we had a little bit of time before we needed to meet up with Katie and Ben to head back to NJ, so we decided to squeeze in a little more sightseeing. We headed to Rockefeller Center and took a few pictures, walked past NBC studios and also got a quick look at St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was breathtaking. Then we raced back to the subway station and headed toward the train station. The ride home the second day was a lot smoother and less stressful than the first day. When we made it back to NJ, Aunt Carol and Uncle Wally had generously grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone before Katie and Ben headed to Ithaca. The meal was delicious, but a little bittersweet because I knew those were the last few minutes with Katie for another long stretch of time. Matt's aunt and uncle were so thoughtful to get Katie a birthday cake since it was her birthday. After dessert, we said goodbye to Katie and Ben and geared up for the next part of our vacation in Montauk.

One last picture with the four of us before we went our separate ways.

Matt's uncle, aunt, and cousin. It was really good to get a chance to see them. We hope we can make it up there again someday.


Happy Birthday Katie!

2009 Vacation Part 1

Matt and I made it back from our New York vacation on Friday evening. It's been fun to look at pictures and remember the fun times we had there. I want to blog about our trip too, but I have no idea how I can fit all the places we went, things we did, and memories we made into one post, so I'm going to divide it into three posts. We took a longer vacation this year, and I told Matt that it felt like we went on three different vacations in one. This post will be about our time in Ithaca with Katie and Ben.

We got up really early Thursday morning and finished up last minute packing. All our traveling went smoothly on the way to New York. The cab driver was early, and all our flights were on time. We were sleepy though from getting up so early. I don't know about Matt, but I had a hard time sleeping the night before probably as a mixture of excitement and knowing I had to get up so early. We both dozed a little on the plane. We made it to the Ithaca airport Thursday afternoon, and it was the smallest commercial airport I had ever been to. I knew Ithaca was a smaller town but was amazed they actually had commercial flights going in and out of that airport. Tulsa's airport seemed huge at that point (until later when we flew home out of JFK). Katie picked us up at the airport, and I asked Matt to take a picture of us when we saw each other. I was so excited to see Katie. We both look ridiculously happy in this picture. I remember saying goodbye to her when she moved to New York, and we were both wondering when the next time we would see each other would be. That was a hard goodbye because there was so much uncertainty and she was moving far away. I think our smiles show some relief that we actually were together in the same room again.

Reunited!!

After we left the airport, Katie gave us a tour of her and Ben's house in Ithaca. It is a big, older house with lots of room and character. After we chatted for a little bit, Katie mentioned wanting to show us some waterfalls while we were in town. She said that there was one just about a quarter of a mile from her house and that we could walk to see it. This was one of my first signs that we weren't in Oklahoma anymore. I was expecting to see a waterfall like this one:

Instead this is what we saw:

I was amazed that this beautiful creation was only minutes from Katie's house. She said she had stumbled on it when she was running one day. It was so beautiful. We just don't have waterfalls like that around here. After spending some time at the waterfall, we went back to Katie's house and she and I chatted while she cooked dinner. One of my favorite parts of the vacation was just spending time with Katie and Ben doing normal things like cooking, chatting, and watching movies. It reminded a lot of the things we used to do when we lived in Stillwater, and also reminded me about how much I missed Katie being an everyday part of my life. After dinner Thursday night, Ben and Katie took us to one of their favorite ice cream places for dessert. They do have good ice cream in New York! After dessert, we set the guys up playing video games, and Katie and I had a nice long chat. She showed me a scrapbook her mom had made her about her college years. We had fun talking about past memories as well as talking about our lives now, families, school, jobs, church, and about some of our future plans and dreams. It was so wonderful having a chance to talk with her in person for a change.

The next morning we got a chance to sleep in and recover a little from the busy day before. After breakfast, Ben and Katie took us to another waterfall in Ithaca (Buttermilk falls). We got a chance to climb to the top of the waterfall so we got lots of breathtaking views and photos. It was a nice hike/climb and fun to enjoy some outdoor activities. Matt mentioned that the hike up the waterfall was his favorite part of our time in Ithaca.

Buttermilk Falls

After our hike, we enjoyed lunch at a local lake front restaurant. Then Katie and Ben gave us a tour of Cornell. We got to see some older buildings with neat architecture. Katie showed us the places she spends most of her time including the dairy bar where we enjoyed more yummy ice cream. It was fun to see where she and Ben spend a lot of time. After our tour, we went kayaking on the lake in Ithaca. This was my first time kayaking and Matt didn't have much experience, so Katie and Ben were obviously much faster than we were and able to steer better. We had fun trying to figure things out and getting some different views of the city.

I think we were all ready for a break after kayaking so we headed to the movies Friday night to see Night at the Museum 2. We had a good time watching the movie in anticipation of seeing the Museum of Natural History in NYC just a couple of days later. Saturday morning, Ben and Katie took us to a local farmers market that was really neat. People were selling everything including crafts, art, paintings, flowers, different types of food native to other cultures, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It was fun walking around and doing some people watching. After that adventure we loaded the car, said goodbye to Ithaca and headed for our next adventure in New York.