Summer Highlight Reel

This summer has been pretty busy around these parts!  Between Memorial Day and the 4th of July, Steve and I traveled every weekend but one!  So time has really flown.  Here's what we've been up to so far this summer, one picture at a time.

sweet south dakota: day 1 (mount rushmore)

Two weekends ago, Steve and I joined my family in beautiful South Dakota for my family reunion.  It was my first trip to South Dakota and I am pleased to say that all of my expectations of the state were blown out of the water.  The lodge where we stayed was nestled in beautiful Spearfish Canyon, where the topography is stunning and the cell phone service, non-existent.  It was perfect.

{This is a very picture-heavy post - I wanted to make sure I savored and memorialized every moment of our trip!  Thanks for bearing with me and all of the pictures :) }

hey there, high school

I flew down to Texas for the weekend to attend my ten-year high school reunion and had a blast.  After arriving in Houston and spending a great day with my mom, my college roommate and I headed off to our favorite restaurant, Chuy's, for the best tex-mex in Texas.  I filled up with tons of chips and queso and a swirl margarita - yummm.

4th of july recap: part 2

The rest of our day in Put-In-Bay was full of exploring.  We had the best lobster bisque bread bowls in town at the Boardwalk...

4th of july recap: part 1

Happy belated Independence Day!  We spent the weekend celebrating America's birthday with our good friends (and awesome hosts), Chris and Emily, at Chris' family's lakehouse on Lake Erie.  We had the best time!

On the 4th, we took a ferry over to Put-In-Bay to explore for the day.  The typical modus operandi, as we were told, is to take the ferry over and rent a golf cart to get around once you arrive on the island.  You wouldn't believe how many golf carts we saw over there!  We rented our own (the infamous Clarabella) and drove all over the place on it.

houseboat trip - part 1

After my sister’s medical school graduation, my family headed to beautiful Lake Ouachita for a week-long houseboat trip.  It was a great vacation - the best ever!  We spent five gorgeous days on the water.  The weather was perfect, the water temperature was just right, and the company was enjoyable (as always).  It was all around, a great trip.

summer to fall

This past weekend, we soaked up the remnants of summer with some much-needed pool time at my in-laws' - cannonballs and all.  We took the dog on a long (and sweaty) walk.  We grilled out and ate a delicious meal on our new outdoor dining set.  I read a book in a swimsuit on our back patio with a cold glass of rasberry lemonade.  It was simply delightful.  I failed to take pictures this weekend, so in honor of National Dog Day (yesterday) here's a shot of my sweet pup soaking up the summer sun/heat.

These are a few of the little things about summer that I love, but that I haven't had much opportunity to do until recently due to so many busy travel weekends this year.  I can't even begin to tell you how it was so refreshing to just sit back and relax in the late-summer sun. 

While I'll be sad to see summer go, I am starting to look forward to the fun things of fall - including, of course, Colts football!  I went to the pre-season game against the Browns with my friend Jess on Saturday night and the boys in blue were looking pretty good.  Should be a good season! 

the state fair

It's the best time of the year in Indiana - State Fair time!  After early service at church this morning, we headed over the state fairgrounds.  This year is the Year of the Popcorn, which Steve was very excited about.  

We began with a tour through Pioneer Village.

Steve's grandfather used to sell these tractors back in the day. 

 No idea why the Indiana State Fair would have a wolf show, but I was very excited nonetheless.  (For those who don't know, I have been slightly obsessed with wolves since age 9 or so.)

 Next stop was the horticulture exhibits, aka the "grown-up stuff."  This is the first year that Steve and I found ourselves lingering at the gardens and examining different floral species - I blame it on being homeowners, or maybe maturation, but it was surprisingly a lot of fun!  And Steve even won a "take-home herb garden."  We're looking forward to giving it a try next year.

Next stop was the food exhibits - including the world's largest popcorn ball!  Steve was in popcorn heaven.

I was more impressed by this windmill made entirely out of cans.  

We headed to the animal exhibits next.  These were always my favorite growing up.  This year they had a llama exhibit and this guy was just too cute.

And of course, what would the state fair be without delicious fair food?   I went for the classic elephant ear, while Steve opted for fully loaded fries.

We opted out of fried oreos, snickers, twinkies, etc this year but I still managed to snap a picture and drool as we walked by.  Stupid (relatively) healthy eating lifestyle!  

Last stop was the Midway (aka where all the carnival rides are).  We didn't ride anything this time around, but strolling past the rides took me back to when I used to go to the fair as a kid.  Great memories.

It was an absolutely lovely day and we had a great time.  Besides, what kind of Hoosiers would we be if we didn't attend (and love) the State Fair?  Here's hoping 2014 is just as fun as 2013!

summer nights

Life seems to have gotten away from us lately, so we took a night off on Friday to see The King and I at the IMA.  Our first real date night in a while. 

source

We packed a picnic, watched the sunset and sat back to enjoy the classic musical (one of my all-time favorites) under the stars.

 

The evening certainly wasn't perfect, but it was real.  It was fun.  For one evening, we set aside all of the current baggage of our "normal lives," and picked up a blanket and picnic basket instead.  We got (unnecessarily) competitive over card games.  We stayed up too late and ate too much popcorn.... and it was so freeing.  Just like when we were first dating.

I think somewhere along the way, a lot of married couples forget how to date each other.  Life just gets in the way.  But it's amazing how one imperfect evening under the stars on a blanket with your love can lift that heavy burden of life off of your shoulders, even just temporarily, and bring you back to each other.  In that evening, you feel truly alive together - just like when you first fell in love.