Cafe de Valentine

this weekend, marks wedding weekend for our great friends steven mueller and julie long. ryan has been friends with steven for a LONG time and steven is actually how i met ryan. when i worked at camp in santa cruz, i worked with steven at camp a few times and then hired him for the whole summer in 2004. that summer he would talk on the phone some to his friend ryan and he spoke highly of him. the following summer, ryan joined steven on the summer staff and i was only able to attend for one week. that week did it for us i guess. we were both dating other people at the time, but within a few months those relationships were over and we were spending a lot of time together. steven at the time was dating my roommate (i guess i shouldn't talk about things like that the weekend of his wedding, but it's part of our history!) and would come to fresno to hangout almost daily. ryan would tag along to hang out and he and i would end up spending much time in conversation and hanging out. th...

it comes in a s tyrofoam cup with a straw. SWEET TEA! now, let's just clarify a few things. * i love J esus more than i love sweet tea (i think) *i do often make my own sweet tea at home for free *i can go one day without it. (but usually not more than one) all that being said, i truly feel like my "problem" could be called an addiction. I've never struggled with addiction as a sin issue, i don't really have an addictive personality (which i think people that really struggle with it do). now, i really enjoy sleep (like look forward to it and will use any excuse i can to nap on the weekends), i don't know what i'd do without my cell phone in my hand at all times, and i really prefer noise ( tv , or music etc) at all times. however, i still don't think i would call any of those things an addiction. a preference maybe, but not so much an addiction. i can honestly sit before this computer and tell you that i have SERIOUSLY considered moving to the sout...

we've had a few things this week so i figured i'd share. we bought ourselves a set a bikes last weekend to attempt to find a "hobby" that we could do together and maybe get into shape in the process. {ignore the messy garage, we're still in the midst of projects when our garage temp isn't 165 degrees} we've been riding a bit each night and so far it's kind of fun. thursday morning ryan didn't have to work and i didn't have to be in until 930 so we got up at 7am and started the coffee {so it would be ready when we returned}, filled the waterbottles, and headed out. we rode to my parents and back which is over 3 miles one way so i round up and say we rode 8 miles. {exaggeration is an art that i, personally, have perfected} thurs, july 3rd was ozzie's birthday, so we headed down to hanford after work for some BBQ and gynormous cupcakes! here's a picture of kate and oz {can you see her baby bump?} we can't wai to meet our nephew in Nov...

this weekend is the fouth of july. that means a few things for us. freedom. and the thankfulness for that. pride. for God and country and to be a part of both. it also means fun! fireworks. friends. bbq's. warm weather. three day weekend. family. homemade ice cream. i can't wait. it's going to be a great time! we'll be bbq'ing at our house in the afternoon/evening with friends and then heading to reedley fireworks show with my WHOLE family to watch my 92 year old uncle put on the show. he's done it every year and this is the first year ry and i will see it together. it will be great, and i hope to have photos to share. happy fourth.

it's time to play catch up with some photos. as many as my new {very slow} internet will allow me to upload. hubs and i decided last weekend to cook a big dinner for the two of us. something fancy at that. we started with an orange garlic shrimp appetizer that was divine! followed by bbq'd steaks, homemade rice pilaf, grilled pineapple, and a yummy salad with fresh broccoli and feta cheese. delicious! some more of our flowers are blooming. i snapped a few shots. some are a bit out of focus, my camera has issues. i have a few more shots from a doggie play date but my internet is giving me grief, so that'll be it's own post. maybe another one dedicated to food too. that little bit made my hungry!