Sort of Like a River

One of the days my parents were here we decided to go kayaking down the St. Joseph River.  It weaves right through South Bend, so it's really close to our place.  The shuttle leaves from St. Patrick's park and you get to wear their AWESOME orange life vests.

Here we are--ready to start our trip :)

It is a really pretty river and it was fun to just enjoy the scenery.  Matt liked taking me on adventures to look for fish near the banks.

Dad and Mom in their kayaks

Matt and I

Then I took this lovely self portrait.

After a little while, paddling got really tiring!  It's a lot of work!  And, this river is NOTHING like the Provo river that runs out of the mountains my friends.  We don't have any hills in Indiana so it's basically at a standstill.  I'm convinced that it would take the same amount of effort to paddle upstream as it would down.  Near the end Matt tied my kayak to the back of his and pulled me down the river--he's too good to me. :)

This picture was taken right before these boys asked, "Woah, did they get stuck together like that on their own??"  My response: "Yes, yes they did."

And, here we are looking awesome with our paddles.  :)

The Windy City in the Summer!

The second day my parents were visiting we took a little trip to Chicago.

Isn't Chicago gorgeous in the summer??

After our day at the beach in this same lake, I wanted so badly to jump in and go for a swim. :)

While we were in Chicago we went to the Shedd Aquarium.  I was extremely impressed and Matt loved it.  He once said, "Fish are my favorite animal because they don't come out on land and bother me."  :) 

I didn't get any pictures of the really cool things they had like sea otters, penguins, MASSIVE snakes and really colorful frogs, but here were a few of my favorite little fishies.

We also went to see a 4D planet earth movie that was pretty sweet.  Our favorite parts were when they sprayed your face with water, and of course the glasses...

Ha, their serious faces are so much better than ours--think invasion of the body snatchers... :)

One of my favorite parts of our visit was the water show where they showed how they train the dolphins.  Check out the view of lake Michigan with all the sailboats!

Dad, Mom, Matt, and I in Chicago :)

After the aquarium we were going to go on an architecture cruise, but we were all really exhausted so we just went to dinner at a nice mexican restaurant instead.  I'm not sure if we were just really hungry or what, but they had the BEST chips and salsa I've ever had! :)  Until next time...

Favorite Day

I think the first day my parents were here was my favorite.  We slept in a bit and then went to breakfast at my favorite breakfast place of all time--the American Pancake House.  The food is amazing and they have fresh squeezed orange juice.  I ordered french toast with hash browns and Matt ordered a bacon, egg, and cheese panini with hash browns (we LOVE hash browns around here:)).

After breakfast we drove up to St. Joseph, Michigan and enjoyed walking through these lake side shops.

We even even stopped for ice cream :)

After walking around town we made our way down to our favorite beach. :)

Next time we go, I'm definitely spending some time on these swings.

Then Matt auditioned for Baywatch...

Haha, such a babe.

It was a perfect day for swimming.  It was little overcast, but still really hot.

Matt and I spent a couple hours just playing in the water like kids again--it was definitely the highlight of our summer.  My parents swam for a bit and then sat on the beach and played paparazzi with my camera.

I'm not sure what I said in the first picture but apparently it was hilarious.  In the second one we were waiting for that wave to hit us, and in the third you can see the effect of that wave on my legs. :)

I'm so glad I married my best friend because he makes my life so fun!

My cute parents :)

Matt and I after playing in the water

My mom's cute toes.  This picture also shows how amazing the sand is on this beach.

Yep--he's a babe ;)

Campus Walk :)

The last day that Matt's parents where visiting his brother James pulled through with his moving truck (he and his family were moving from Pittsburgh to Provo).  It was fun to have him visit, even if it was only for a day.  We had lots of yummy food and went for a walk around the campus.

James & Mom on the left, Dad and Matt on the right :)

We got some famous dome pictures...

And, of course we fed the campus squirrels.

 It's amazing how they'll eat right out of your hand!!  During the summer Matt and I would eat our lunch on a bench outside and feed these squirrels.  Sometimes it freaked me out though because they will come and sit on your feet!  That's a little too close if you ask me!

And, we had to get a picture of all the attorneys/future attorney in front of the ND law school.

People always tell me how much James and Matt look alike--especially with their goatees. :)

The pictures didn't turn out very well for some reason, but I'm glad we got a few anyway.  Matt and James may or may not have had some bonding time playing xbox later that night--even though it was Sunday. ;)  They had to live it up since these best buds hadn't seen each other since last December and won't be seeing each other until next December--man we need to live closer once we're done with school!

PPP Great Silent Auction!

If you use facebook, you've probably seen my notes about the Pound the Pavement for Parenthood Silent Auction, but seriously it's awesome!  There are a lot of great things to bid on (super great deals!) and more on their way!  

Make sure you check it out and make a note to keep checking because the bidding will continue until Sept. 15 and more hot items will be added.  You can place a bid on items by leaving a comment on the picture with the amount you are willing to pay.

Note: You can still donate items/services to the auction by emailing poundthepavementforparenthood@gmail.com

Clear Water and NO SHARKS! :)

 While Matt's parents where here we had to show them our favorite place in the area--the BEACH!  You might think that because we don't live near the ocean we don't have a good beach, but I submit to you that our beach on Lake Michigan may be better than the beach on the Ocean! :)  *Note: this may or may not be due entirely to the lack of sharks.*  It's warm and not salty, but there are still some decent waves and it's CLEAR and clean.  Perfect for swimming.

One of our favorite beaches on Lake Michigan is in a little town called St. Joseph.  They have cute stores along a little main street near the beach.  We started there and had to get a few pictures with the random pirates they have along the walk. :)

I love that they have this little snack shack on the beach.  So fun!

Before this, Matt and I had only been to this beach in October when it was freezing cold and windy, so we weren't expecting to swim.  Once getting there and dipping our feet in we both ended up going in all the way--fully clothed! :)

 P.S. I have a really cute husband. :)

 Matt, Dad, and Mom on the beach.

They are so cute. :)

Our beach even has great sand!

I think we might need to move into one of these houses on the beach and Matt can commute to Notre Dame. :)

Sophie Turns One!

I absolutely loved this photo shoot.  Sophie just turned one and she is ALL girl.  :)  Click here to see more!

Chicago in the Summertime

We have done so many fun things this summer that I haven't had time to blog about.  We've just been busy having fun I guess!  Every night was a party this summer and it's really sad to see it come to an end... SO, instead of just skipping to the next part of our lives, I'm going to do a little post about some of our fun adventures.

At the end of June, Mom and Dad Purcell came out to visit us!  It was such a blast eating good food, staying up late, watching every episode of Shark Tank with them because Matt and I love it so much, and going on adventures with them.

One of the days they were here we took a little day trip to Chicago to visit the Science and Industry Museum.

Mom, Dad, and Matt in the car on the way there. :)

The museum really was incredible.  I didn't get any pictures of my favorite parts, but I have to say that one of them was all the human bodies they had in the health section.  The human body really is amazing!  I was a little weirded out by the "pickled fetus" section though.  I don't really know what else to call it, but they had fetus' at each week of development throughout a pregnancy in little cases filled with liquid.  The first few weeks were cool, but as soon as it started to really resemble a baby it just made me sad.  The entire museum was incredible though--best one I've ever been to!  It was so informative and just amazing (have I said amazing enough? ;)).

Here is a picture of Dad with his favorite plane... I can't remember the story behind it, but I think it was a WWII plane?

We also saw this little chick hatch, which was super adorable.  He couldn't even really stand up yet. :)

I also liked all the little town replicas they had.

This is the U-505.  It's the only German submarine captured by the Navy in WWII.  We went on a tour of the inside and it was SO cramped and hot in there.  I can't imagine living down there with so many smelly men.  Our tour guide was awesome and even made me jump a couple times.

After walking around we were exhausted so we went out for Chicago Style Pizza.  It is SO good, but I can only eat it once a year or it will clog my arteries and I'll die.

Mom and Dad at dinner

All of us at dinner with our pizza :)

More posts about the rest of our summer adventures--coming soon!

Summer Lovin'

Ok, so I've been kind of a slacker on this blog the last couple of months.  Matt and I have been having the summer of our lives.  It has seriously been amazing.  Just the two of us, in Indiana, working 8-5, eating lunch together everyday, and hanging out together every night.  It has been a party!  :)  I'm so glad I married my best friend because he makes life so fun.

We also had Matt's parents visit and my parents visit within a month and a half.  It was a blast and there will be more posts with pictures about all our adventures with them.

I've also been working on a couple photo shoots which take a decent amount of time outside of work.

So, between partying it up with my best friend, hosting visitors, photo shoots, and work, I haven't really had a lot of time to blog about all the fun we have been having!  Rest assured these posts are coming!  Sadly, Matt starts an intensive trial class that goes from this Saturday through the next from 8 am-6:30 pm everyday (including both Saturdays and Sunday)!!!  No easing into the next semester for us!  Needless to say, I'll have a lot more time to blog while he is busy studying... man I'm going to miss having him around though!

I'm so grateful for the BEST summer of our lives so far and for my BEST friend who I was able to share it with.  :)

We may or may not have watched every episode of Lost (again), too much Olympics, every Shark Tank episode (again with Matt's parents), and every episode of the best TV show ever made...

I'm so lucky that Matt loved this show too because he wasn't too sure about it when I first mentioned that we should watch it together... but he may have liked it even more than I did which is saying a lot!

I hope you're all having a wonderful summer too! :)

THIS is a Row Boat

I'm sure most of you have heard this allegory in one form or another, but I feel it's particularly applicable to the good news I'm about to share.

 

There was a man whose farm was located on the banks of a flood-swollen river.  As the water rose, a neighbor drove up in a Jeep, urging him to leave before the farm was flooded.
 

"Oh, no," said the man confidently, "God will save me."
 

The water rose higher, and the man was forced to move into the second story of the farmhouse.  A police boat soon came, and the officers called for the man to hurry and get into their boat.
  

"Oh, no, that won't be necessary," the man insisted. "God will save me."
  

Finally the house was completely engulfed in water, and a Coast Guard helicopter swooped into rescue the man, now perched on the roof.  Again he refused.  Just then, a huge wave of water swept over the house and the man drowned.
  

When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, "I put all my faith in You.  Why didn't You come and save me?"
  

And God said, "Son, I sent you a car.  I sent you a row boat.  I sent you a helicopter.  What more were you looking for?"

When you can't have children it's easy to feel like maybe God doesn't want you to have children.  We know that He is all-powerful, so why doesn't He just step in and "make it happen"?  Every month we have felt the loss and discouragement of still not achieving our greatest desire to become parents.  Then, this past weekend I heard this allegory again and it struck a cord deep in my heart.  God CAN perform miracles, and He IS all-powerful, but most of the time He works through His own natural laws and through other people.  It's not likely that Matt and I will ever achieve pregnancy on our own, but He has provided many options for us to become parents!

We have prayed time and time again that we would be able to achieve pregnancy the "natural" way, but if not, that he would bless us financially to be able to do whatever necessary to become parents. 

So, I'm ecstatic to announce (to those of you who haven't heard ;)) that Pound the Pavement for Parenthood (website, facebook, twitter) has chosen to sponsor Matt and I.  This means they will be sponsoring a 5k race in our name to help us raise funds to start our family.  If you live in Indiana, come walk/run/jog/eat a sandwich while you happen to be walking a 5k with us!  It's for a great cause and when you see our adorable little one you can think, "Hey!  I helped them get there!" :)  We'll definitely try to have ways for everyone to get involved--even if you can't come walk/run for us!  I've already had several people send messages wanting to know how they can help even though they live far away.  We feel so overwhelmed and humbled by the support we've received already.  It is an expensive journey no matter which route you choose and we feel so incredibly grateful for this amazing opportunity.

When we received the email on Sunday that we had been selected as one of the three sponsor couples and read through the contract, I turned to Matt with tears in my eyes and said, "THIS is a row boat."  The Lord works in mysterious ways my friends.