happy hump day!

It's Wednesday which means the upcoming weekend is just as far away as last weekend. Hopefully I'll get a chance to binge sleep...yes sleep.

I'll start with what we're looking forward to. On Friday, Alex and I along with Brian, Melinda and Corey are going to be locked in with the teenagers of Trailhead. We've made a timeline with events and whatnot, but I'm still not really a night owl so it will be an interesting evening. But we're really looking forward to hanging out with the students.

Then on Saturday (after we've recovered from the lock in slept) I have a to do list for Alex and I to improve out house's curb appeal a bit- scraping, sanding and painting the small portico over our front door, sealing the wooden steps and landing area, planting flowers, laying some sod from where we've removed tree's and of course the ever present battle against the weeds. There has been some talk of building a fire-pit but that's still a discussion point and not quite on the list...yet (I'm persistent). But, all of that yard work won't hold a candle to our fun weekend last weekend.

My sister, Becky and her family came down to spend the weekend with us and to enjoy all that living in the metro area has to offer. We spent Saturday in Forest Park with a picnic and the obligatory trip to the zoo. The animals that we saw were very entertaining and it was great to watch Ethan and Nora enjoy them. Becky has more pictures on her blog than I do, so check it out.  

After the zoo we headed back to Edwardsville and ate dinner at one of my favorites: Dewey's. There, we gave Nora a lemon to try...

She wasn't a fan but, she sure is cute! After we ate, we got another Edwardsville staple- Annie's frozen custard. The kids were sad to see the night end but we were all tired and ready to rest up for Sunday. 

On Sunday, my parents came over after church to hang out with Nora while the rest of us headed to Busch Stadium. We were concerned about the weather, but after a few prayers, we had perfect ballpark weather- not too hot, not too cold. It was perfect, God is good. Ethan had a great time and so did the we! The little boy in front of us got us on the jumbo screen with his mad dancing skills and at the end of the game Ethan got to run the bases with 5,000 other kids. We had a great weekend and cannot wait for the Collier clan to come back for a repeat! 

For more pictures from this weekend, check out Becky's blogpost . 

Happy Easter!

Happy (belated) Easter! We had a wonderful weekend spending time with family and celebrating Christ's resurrection. We ate, played, ate, talked and ate a little more. We worked on Friday morning and then headed to my parents house to see everyone and go to the Good Friday service. Saturday was spent at Alex's grandparents house, doing nothing less than eating and talking. Sunday we celebrated Easter and then had to come back to reality and get ready for the week to start. We are so blessed and thankful to have such a wonderful family and to get to see them often.

Happy Easter!!

My sister and I have the same pictures, so if you've looked at her blog, these may seem familiar.

what a Good Friday

Happy Easter Weekend!! This weekend is such an important weekend that we shouldn't overlook or diminish with jelly beans and bunnies. Yes, I am definitely looking forward to gorging myself on jelly beans, and spending time with family. But, this weekend has so much more significance! 

God sent his Son to be brutally beaten and hung on a cross to save us from our sins. Jesus died and rose again to save us from our sins and to save us from having to bear the cross as he did. He did this because He loves us more than we can even fathom. 

via

Happy Easter, He is Risen!!!

Weekend Shenanigans

We had a great weekend! I started my weekend on Friday. My good friend Kassie asked Alex and I to watch her girls whenever she and Clint went to the hospital to have their third baby, a little boy. Friday was the day! So, while Kaitlyn, Mallory and I watched Frozen and played outside, Kassie was superwoman and brought Benjamin Samuel into the world. He is an adorable little boy and both mama and baby are doing well. We are so honored that we got to spend time with the girls and then meet baby Ben at the hospital.

Unfortunately the Mapel's are Cubs fans...but nevertheless we'll still love Benjamin :) 

The big sisters meeting their new baby brother

The lovely mama and her sweet babe

Mallory's group selfie

This weekend was also our first Cardinals game of the season and it was a great game! We went with our friends Brian and Melinda. We had a great time and enjoyed watching the Cubs lose and the Cards win! We walked through ballpark village and then headed over to Pappy's for dinner. It was absolutely fantastic and I think everyone needs have some of their BBQ. It was such a nice day and we are so grateful to have such awesome friends!

Check that nice v-neck I'm rockin'-I now have a lovely sunburn in a 'v' shape.

You'd think that after 24 years of being fair skinned I would learn to wear sunscreen...

Sunday was our day of rest and it was much needed! Now we're back to work and gearing up for a busy week. I'm looking forward to this weekend and spending time with family and celebrating Easter. 

Enter to Win!!

AW Insurance (our insurance agency) is giving away a pair of St. Louis Cardinals tickets for the Tuesday, April 29th game against the Milwaukee Brewers. All you have to do is "like" AW Insurance's Facebook page and enter your email address (so we can contact you when you win, not for solicitation). It's that simple AND to make it even more simple, just click on the link below! May the odds be ever in your favor!

ENTER here!

Island Time

After our weekend away in Jamaica, I have been thinking a lot about time. We, as Americans, spend a lot of time worrying about time. We plan events with timelines, organize our lives and schedules and spend our time thinking about time. So far in this post I have written "time" six times, seven now.

Before we even landed we got a taste of "island time," our flight was delayed because the Kingston air traffic control was only allowing a certain number of of flights into the country per hour. So we waited. When we got to Jamaica and through customs and immigration we boarded our bus and waited a bit to leave. Then, once we were on our way, our one hour bus ride turned into two because Roger, our driver, liked to stop and chat when we would drop some passengers off at their resorts. But, "no worries mon we'll get there before the sun sets." When we arrived at our hotel we checked in and got to our room and there was no clock. In fact the only clocks in the resort were on the wrists of the staff. I felt silly but I'd try to read their watches as they breezed by us.

After we got used to waking up whenever our eyes opened and eating when our stomached growled, time became irrelevant. We slowed down and began enjoying our time together. The sun dictated a lot of our activities, including my sunburn. I wish that we could have brought island time home with us, but unfortunately we have a sign on our door that says we arrive at 9am and leave at 6pm. It was good for us to escape, relax and unplug. Now we have to get back on schedule to live in the real world and not on island time.

Happy April Fools!... just kidding it's the 2nd

This youtube video shows a waitress's best shift ever...enjoy!

Island vacation

This weekend Alex and I took a mini spring break vacation and headed to the warm, sunny island of Jamaica! We left early Friday morning and returned Monday night. We left a nice note on our door at the office, changed our voicemail and escaped! We stayed at an all inclusive resort in Ocho Rios and had a great time. Our hotel was clean, the sun was hot, the food was good and the drinks were cold. I don't think there is much more we could have asked for, except a few more days. Thanks again to both of our parents for splitting up custody of Moose and to Greg for being our chauffeur to and from the air port.

Bus Beer