new hair-cuts...

Well upon the request of both of our parents we are posting some pictures of the hair-cuts we recently got. I know most of you don't care what our new hair cuts look like, but it is quite the event which Jeremy decides to cut his hair. If you have seen recent pictures of him, this is quite a change. Jeremy really likes his, which is saying a lot, because he is more picky about his hair than I am about mine. And I decided to have her cut bangs in my hair, which is the first time I have had them in many many years. So right now, they are very annoying.

visit with grandma and grandpa

Well, Jeremy and I had another wonderful weekend! Grandma and grandpa, came in on Thursday evening, and then we got to eat dinner with Liz and Judy in Indianapolis at Liz's house. She made us vegetable beef soup, and chili!! It was a perfect meal for the cold night that it was. So we got to spend some time with them before we drove back to Huntington with grandma and grandpa. They got to stay with us all day on Friday and Saturday. We had a great time with them! They could not get over how much snow we have! Grandpa would keep saying, "just look at all that snow piled up!" He didn't go outside much, because it was too cold :). They actually came on days where they got in two good days of sunshine! It was still cold, but the sun was actually out! Saturday it snowed a few more inches which gives us close to two feet. But it is warming up this week and is going to be in the 40's, so hopefully some of the snow will melt!

So Friday evening we went into Ft. Wayne to go out to dinner for Jeremy's birthday. We ate at a restaraunt called Flat Top Grill. It is really similar to a BD's Mongolian Barbeque. You pile up everything you want stir-fried in a bowl, and then hand it to the cook, and they cook it up for you and bring it to your table. It was a lot of fun! We came back that evening, and played a game of Yahtzee, which grandpa ended up winning. Not sure how he did that, since we all pretty much played the game for him ;)!! He got lucky, and ended up getting a yahtzee, on his last roll! I am a little bitter, because I would have won, if it weren't for that :).

Saturday, was a nice relaxing day. We sat inside most of the day and watched the snow. We watched a couple of movies and I worked on making dinner. I made lasagna, salad, bread and spice cake for dessert. Everyone seemed to like that ok, and grandpa loved the spice cake! Grandma had to tell him to back off a little bit :). After dinner we got to listen to Erin, and Hillary's basketball game online, where they won the conference championship!! I am so glad that we are able to listen online, since we can't be there. The girls we sooo excited, and they got to cut down the net, then I think they all took a little swim in the pool :). After we listened to their game, Jeremy and I talked grandma and grandpa into making their characters on our Nintendo Wii, so that they could play. I think they were glad that they did! We had so much fun!! We played I think 4 bowling games with them, and they both started getting really good!! Grandma actually beat Jeremy one time! They said that they were excited we are bringing in home over spring break, so they could play again. Grandpa joked that they might have one by then :).


Sunday we got around and headed back to Indianapolis. We stopped on the way to eat at Cracker Barrel for breakfast/lunch. Then we went back to Liz's to spend some time with her that afternoon before uncle Gail flew in from Casper. He happened to be in Indy this weekend because of a meeting, so we all got to eat dinner Sunday night at his hotel! It was so nice to see him, we hadn't seen him since the wedding. Grandma and grandpa hadn't either. We had a good time eating, the best food we have ever had! Grandma and I decided that it was the best steak we had ever had, which is saying a lot! The food was quite amazing. The company was even better. It was good to just get to chat for a couple of hours. So, overall it was an amazing weekend!! And we miss everyone so much already!! But we are coming home in a little less than a month for Jeremy's spring break. Hopefully we will be able to find a place to live in that week! Everyone, feel free to keep your eye out for any possiblities!

Blizzardy

Well northeast Indiana is officially having the worst winter they have had in 10 years (according to the weather man)!! I figure, of course the one winter, I live here! Oh well! It has been extremely cold, with the highs barely getting above zero, and on Tuesday we had ourselves a little blizzard! It started Tuesday morning when I left work. It was snowing like crazy, and the wind was really blowing. I am glad I went to the grocery store that morning, because I would not have been able to get out any later than that! The security guard at work says he has been there 20 years, and they have never been in a blizzard warning, and Huntington University cancelled school for the first time in 13 years. They get big snows up here like this, but they usually do not have the wind. So I just wanted to show everyone what it looks like up here now. We have about 20 inches of snow on the ground, but they do surprisingly well at getting the roads cleared off! We are supposed to get another few inches tomorrow, so I'm sure we will have about 2 feet! It was kind of fun at first, but now, I am ready for it to be gone! It doesn't snow and then melt like it does in Kansas. It stays.....forever. It never gets warm enough for any of it to melt, so this just might still be on the ground come the end of March! I never thought I would say this, but I am ready for it to not be snowing anymore, and, I am actually looking forward to seeing the sun for a little bit! Grandma and grandpa are up here right now visiting us. It has been great having them here!! I will update in a couple days with pictures of their trip, but they just can't get over how cold it is here! And grandpa can't get over how much snow there is! He said that if Kansas had snow like this that they would be stuck for a few days, because no one would know what to do. The one thing I do want to take advantage of with the snow, is to go to the state park around here, and have Jeremy and I ride a Toboggon. Enjoy the pictures!

michigan a-go-go

I am finally getting a chance to update about our weekend trip to Michigan. On Friday evening we left after Jeremy's classes to go up to Grand Rapids and spend some time with Tom and Kristy. They are moving back to Wichita on March 1st, so we wanted to get to hang out again before they move back! Due to the below zero temperatures here, we almost were unable to go because when I left work Friday morning my car didn't start. Thank goodness it was only the battery, and we got he car jumped, and to Wal-Mart. They installed a new battery for us, and it has run fine since then! They car guy at wal-mart, kind of laughed at me, when I asked if I needed a new battery. I think he was wondering how it had ran as long as it had. So then around seven o'clock we headed for Grand Rapids. That evening we went to Red Robin, with Tom, Kristy and Ryan Beebe. The guys went to a coffee shop later that night until about 3am so Kristy and I took over her and Tom's king size bed, and now Jeremy is regretting that because I want a king size bed....and I keep reminding him of that :).
Saturday we had an awesome day with everyone! Tom, Kristy, Jeremy and I drove up to Grand Haven, MI on the coast of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids had a ton of snow, but this town had way more!! Probably at least 3-4 feet! The goal was to go to the beach, and walk out on the pier over the lake. So we got there, and it was possibly the coolest and strangest thing I have ever seen! The beach had huge piles of sand on it, that were covered with snow, and then once we walked off the beach, and onto the lake, as far as you could see, Lake Michigan was totally frozen over! We ended up walking out quite a ways onto the lake. The way the water froze, looked really strange, almost like the waves froze in their place...which I'm sure they didn't. But that is what it looked like. I am going to attach quite a few pictures and you can see what I am talking about. After we were done hiking on the lake we went to a cute little coffee shop in town, to warm up. Then we drove back to Grand Rapids, for a very eventful evening. Due to the huge amounts of snow that they have, I wanted to play in the snow. So we went sledding....off Tom, and Kristy's roof :). They have a low hanging part of their roof, and the guys put snow piled up underneath that. Then we crawled out of one of the upstairs bedroom windows onto the roof, and sledded off. It was about a 3-4 foot drop..not bad. So needless to say that was a blast! I am going to try to put a couple videos on here of me and Jeremy sledding, but we will see if it works.
Sunday, we went to church with them at Mars Hill. That is the church that Rob Bell leads. Unfortunately he wasn't speaking that sunday, but it was still an awesome experience. We loved the way that they set up their service, and lead their worship. They set up there worship stage in a circle, with a big wooden cross in the middle. All the worship leaders are facing in towards the cross, and not out at the crowd like a big concert. And then when the preacher gets up, the cross is always between him and the people he is teaching. Jeremy and I just thought it was a neat concept. It was a very laid back service....no flashy lights, and it was totally about Jesus, not about the way the church looked, or the way everything was set up. It was humbling to see such a huge and world-wide known church, with a world wide known preacher, and it was just all about Jesus. Anyways....we liked it :)
Well below are pictures of our weekend. Today is Jeremy's birthday and we are stuck inside because of the blizzard outside. We are supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow, and it is blowing like crazy! So we couldn't really get anywhere if we tried. Hopefully it is all cleared off by Thursday, because grandma and grandpa Butch are flying up to see us!

This is Kristy standing beside a fence
that divides the parking from the beach.






Overlooking the beach and the lake








This is what looks like waves!







Overlooking the lake at the pier.










Tom and Kristy










This is Lake Michigan at sunset.











Me and Jeremy









Lake Michigan with the sun setting









Me and Kristy approximately 4 feet
down in the lake :)








Kristy and I again, in the crevase we found.












This was where we went sledding












Jeremy sledding (he snapped that saucer on that run)












Me sledding...do I look scared??











Tom going head first!









Jeremy going head first!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD0xcDEFg0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpMYsMqzhL4

These are the links to watch our videos of sledding. The top one is Jeremy's, and the bottom one is mine :)

fun times and fun friends!

Just wanted to put up a couple pictures of what we have been doing the past couple days. Last night, Jeremy and I finally had a much needed date night. We went to Red Robin, and then The Gap, and Target! The perfect date night if you ask me :)! Then tonight we went over to our friends' house (Travis and Becky). They had us over for dinner, and then we all watched, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, and ER together. We also played a little bit of TV Scene It, but we won't really talk about that, because the guys totally beat us.
Not much else is going on in northeast Indiana! Jeremy has started his classes for second semester, and that is keeping him busy. It has been WAY to cold lately. The high this coming monday is 1!!! 1 degree!! And there is always snow on the ground....which I never thought that I would complain about, but I am kind of ready for it to go away :). Definitely a bit colder here, than in Kansas.
I work the weekend again, which is ok. Nobody wants to work this Sunday, since the Colts are in the superbowl. Its kind of a big thing up here, to have the Colts and the Bears going. And, well, I don't care either way, so I guess I will work! :)
Just wanted to give you a quick update, and some pictures. The dog in the pics is Travis and Becky's dog, Wendy. She is a lot of fun, and she really likes Jeremy....which is kind of funny because Jeremy doesn't really like her :).