Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes. ~Gloria Naylor

First off, I want to start by wishing a Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! Today is a day that I wish I could have spent with my dad, however, I am so happy to know that he had a wonderful day Motorcycle riding and doing what he enjoys. I am so thankful for him, and miss him everyday! Also, Kyle and I wish his Dad, Jack a Happy Father's Day! He and Mary Kay are currently on their bike ride. We were happy to read their blog today  and see that all is still going great. Keep following their blog at http://www.spokinhome.blogspot.com  and if you haven't yet, read a little about why they are riding. Their adventure has been very exciting and filled with great stores. We are so inspired by them and have continuously found ourselves trying to do something for others, just as they are.


Earlier this week, Kyle and I celebrated my brother's 28th birthday with him! Kyle made some fish, chicken, potatoes, and green beans! It was a delicious meal:-). We then finished with a chocolate fudge birthday cake. We had so much fun hanging out with Brandon and Austyn. They are really two peas in a pod. Here are just a few of the pictures from our night.

Brandon and Austyn

Austyn LOVES his potatoes..just like his Aunt Sarrah:-)

Austyn helping blow out the candles on Brandon's yummy cake!

Sugar high!

On Saturday, Kyle and I met up with Matt and Julie and took the girls to a festival that was going on in the area. There were so many vendors. We ate some Greek food, and it was so good! It was the first time that I had ever tried it. The girls had so much fun and it was great to hang out with them. They are absolutely adorable and are always making us laugh. 

The girls ready to go jump around!

Today Kyle and I went with Matt and Julie to their friend's, Steve and Monica's for a Father's Day cookout. We sat outside and talked for hours! We even started a tournament of Washers. We can not wait to hang out with them again!

Oh..and guess what?! 6 months till the wedding! We are so excited!

There's never enough time to do all the nothing you want. ~Bill Watterson

Kyle and I decided to take a weekend to just- RELAX! I have to say, this was our first time of doing this since we've moved to Denver and it was great. We didn't have to be anywhere or do anything. On Friday night, we went and had a delicious dinner at Shells and Sauce. I had Chicken Marsala and Kyle had Lobster Ravioli! We then rented a movie and called it a night. On Saturday, we started to work on our Save the Dates (I promise, they are coming soon!) Then we went downtown to a festival.

After the festival, we went to my brother's (Brandon's) house to hang out with him and my nephew Austyn. After playing with trucks, kickball and looking at bugs we said our goodbyes and then headed out to see our good friends Mista and Landon. Yet again, by 10 Kyle and I were ready for bed! On Sunday we had a cookout at the park with Brandon and Austyn. It was beautiful out!

When we got to the park, Austyn decided he wanted to learn how to start the grill up. So he helped Kyle get everything going!

As Kyle cooked, I layed out in the sun and Austyn started wrestling with Brandon. It was adorable!

 Austyn also wanted to start a baseball game. It is amazing how far he can hit the ball! I can't wait to watch him when he is older!

After eating a great meal of burgers, chips, salad, and fruit, it was time to call it a day!  Kyle and I went home and watched the Blackhawks game...which was a WIN:-) Then we headed down to the best ice cream place in Denver and finished our night off with an M&M cake cone and a Carmel Irish Stout waffle cone. It was a relaxing weekend- just what we needed.......

 Even Stella would have to say so!

Also...keep following Kyle's parents at Spokinhome.blogspot.com  as they continue their bike ride from Colorado to Indiana. Their blogs have been very eventful and inspiring! Keep them in your prayers as they make their way home!

Spokin Home - My Parents Adventure

Well, this is Kyle checking in.  I figured it was about time I add something to the blog since my name is in it.  My parents left Denver this morning at 7AM on their journey back to Plymouth.  It sounds like it was a pretty eventful day, but I’ll let my dad describe it over at www.spokinhome.com.  Sarrah and I drove down to Larkspur, where they were camping for the night, to take them some dinner and hang out one last time.  We had a lot of fun and it was sad to say goodbye, but I couldn’t be more proud of them for what they are doing.   The whole idea of this ride started a couple years ago and to be honest I never thought it would come to fruition, but it has and it is awesome.  They are doing the ride for many reasons, but the biggest is to motivate people to do something for others every day.  They are specifically riding in memory of my nephew Noel and to raise money for a scholarship in his name.   You can find more information about this over on their blog. 

I will admit when I first talked with my parents and read about the whole “Do Something For Others” I sort of overlooked it and didn’t give it much thought, but today that changed.  I was walking a couple blocks to get my haircut and just as I started I passed an older lady that was having trouble carrying her groceries and I looked back real quick and continued to walk.  I walked a couple more steps and then thought about my parents ride and why they were riding .   I turned around and asked the lady if she needed help and the look on her face was one of relief.  I told her I was headed the same way and I’d carry them for her.  They were heavy and we walked a long way, but she was very nice and I know very appreciative of my help.  I only tell this story because I am not sure I would have done this a month ago.  I may have, but I think sometimes we get selfish and can only think about what we need to do for ourselves.  I probably only walked out of my way 10 minutes today, but know Josephine is happy I did.  Next time you come across an opportunity to do something for others don’t pass it up.  If you need motivation just think about my parents pedaling across middle America on their bikes.  

Here are a few pics from tonight.  My brother, Phoebe, and Sylvie also came down and are camping with them.

“You need special shoes for hiking – and a bit of a special soul as well.” — Emme Woodhull-Bäche

 Adam leading Kyle in Rock Climbing for the first time!

Kyle rock climbing

Phoebe graduated from Kindergarten! 

A beautiful view from our hike on Saturday!

We found someone on the trail..So we got a picture together:-)

Beautiful!

Kyle and I climbed some rocks, but I had to get a picture of his "I'm the king of the world!" pose.

Our wonderful Coloradian friends:-)

Matt and Mary Kay ran the Bolder Boulder- a 10k!

Kyle and I had an action packed Memorial Day weekend.  On Thursday, Kyle went Rock climbing with his friends Adam and Landon. Kyle said it was so much fun and he wants to do it again! On Friday, Kyle's parents came in from Indiana. They are getting ready for a big bike ride- in which I will talk more about in a blog I will post tomorrow! We went over to visit his parents and had dinner with them, Matt and Julie, and the girls.  On Saturday, I started off my day with a massage and it was wonderful! It was so nice to be pampered. After the massage, Kyle and I decided to go on a hike. It was so much fun and the views were breath taking.  We got a ton of really neat pictures. I absolutely loved it! Afterwords, Kyle and I went to downtown Denver and walked around for a bit. We grabbed a couple of appetizers and then decided to head back to the apartment, where Adam and Yvonne, and Mista and Landon were going to meet us. We decided to have a game night. Of course, the girls won:-) On Sunday morning, Kyle and I went to a new church. We found one that we really liked, which we are very happy about.  Then we headed to the Farmers Market. This is one of our favorite things to do on the weekend- Kyle and I really enjoy it! We picked up some food, and then headed over to Matt and Julies for the Indy 500. We cooked out, played some games, and ate a ton of food! Kyle and I left in the early afternoon and then later that night Adam and Yvonne, and Mista and Landon came over again. We love it when they all can come over. Game nights are so much fun. We played some more Taboo- and yet again, the girls won:-). Sadly, this was Adam's last night with us for awhile. He is going to Plymouth for the summer to help his dad with some work. We are sure going to miss him and can't wait till he is back.   On Memorial Day, Kyle and I went to the Bolder Boulder. There were 54,000 runners. It was by far the most people I have ever seen participate in a race! The runners were all dressed up and having so much fun- it was hilarious. Afterwards, we ate at one of my favorite places- Watercourse. Then Kyle and I went to a couple of stores and went around town all afternoon. We ended our weekend at Matt and Julies house, hanging out with the kids and his parents. Tomorrow his parents leave to head back to Indiana...on their bikes! Not motorcycle bikes- actual bicycles! We are so excited for them and the adventure ahead. Tomorrow I will write more about their adventure and post some pictures of them starting off. So stay tuned:-) All our Love- Kyle and Sarrah

Cookouts & Good times with Family and Friends

Baby Lyla at the park

 The Crawfords!  

 Kyle and I, Mindy, Adam and Lyla, and Adam and Yvonne

Sylvie and Phoebe

Silly faces!

 Phoebe having fun with Adam and Yvonne

Phoebe took a picture of all the adults. Yvonne and Adam, Matt and Julie, and Kyle and I.

 

 

We had so much fun this weekend! Our good friends The Crawford's came to visit. We were so excited to see them (especially Lyla, since we haven't seen them in over a year)!  On Saturday, we had a big cookout at Cheeseman Park.  We had a ton of food and fun games to play.  We also had a great crowd- Adam and Yvonne, Mista and Landon, The Crawford's and Kyle and I. We hung out at the park all day! We are so lucky to have an apartment two blocks from such an awesome area to hang out with friends.  On Sunday we had an awesome breakfast at "Crepes and Crepes" (Thanks to Yvonne for recommending it to us).  It was so delicious. Then sadly, The Crawford's left to head home to Durango. Later that day, Adam and Yvonne went with Kyle and I to a cook out at  Matt and Julies.  Yet again, the food was amazing- we had some great black bean burgers, guac, potatoes, veggies and fruit. Yvonne and I played washers and were undefeated the whole night. The kids had a great time making smores and playing "Hide and Seek". It was such a fun, relaxing weekend.

 

Our Move to Denver...

Packing up the truck! We could not believe how much stuff we had! 

Kyle- Right before we took off. It was raining like crazy!

Our apartment building. It's a beautiful  building built in 1929. It's highlighted by beautiful vintage features.

Spray painting the desk we made for the office.

To start off our trip, it was storming on the day we left! Luckily, we had packed up everything the night before.  We left around 11 a.m. and decided to drive all the way to Kearney, Nebraska. We ended up getting there at about 11:30 at night. We were so thankful for a break from the truck! The next morning, we left at about 9 a.m. We were so excited because we knew we only had about a 5 hour ride ahead of us.  It happened to be extremely windy that day so the ride to Denver that day was pretty rough, but we made it. Kyle and I were thrilled when we pulled up to the apartment. I was going crazy to go in and look at it, since Kyle had picked it out and I had never seen it in person yet. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a great kitchen and living space. It is double what my old apartment was. Plus, it comes with a washer and dryer in it (which is so nice, after having to spend $3 dollars every time I wanted to wash clothes in college)! The apartment is highlighted by a ton of vintage features- the windows, the bathrooms, and the original hardwood floors are fabulous. Kyle did a great job picking everything out. I will post pictures of the apartment as soon as we finish all the decorating. For now, we are almost done unpacking with just some little stuff to do. We had a ton of help unpacking the truck- Adam, Matt, and Landyn. Julie brought us all some pizza that night. We are so thankful to have all of them here with us. My brother and his family came over later that night too. It was a fun first night at the apartment. The rest of this week we have been busy setting up the apartment.  Kyle has been really busy between work, softball games, and helping unpack. I also had an interview for a summer position at a Montessori School and I got the job! I start on Monday. Some other good news is that we have some special visitors this weekend- The Crawfords! We can not wait to see them:-)

Graduation!

 

This past weekend, I had my graduation and graduation party. I was so happy to have some of my family come and watch the ceremony (which was over 2 hours)!  They are huge a part of all the success that I have had in my years at Purdue. After graduation, we went to Eric and Mel's house for the party and where the rest of the family was waiting for us to arrive.  We had a ton of food, drinks, and cake! I even recieved some great gifts that I can not wait to use this school year. And on Thursday it was Jack's birthday and Saturday it was Eric's birthday, so we celebrated their birthday's later on that night.
 It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone. Kyle and I will miss everyone so much, but we are looking forward to the visits and starting our life together.  A big thank you goes out to all the people who helped with the cooking, preparing, cleaning, decorating, etc, this weekend. And a special thank you to Kyle, who planned and organized the party. He did such a great job.
Well, our next post will come straight from Denver! We spent the whole day on Sunday packing up. We are all ready to go now. Stay tuned...I'm sure our moving experience will be something worth reading about :-)