Who are We?

No, this is not going to be a deep post.  But if you know us at all, you will come to realize that aside from our exotic travels, we typically stay home and run (Jesse) or scrapbook (me).  We certainly don't do things like go to concerts.  The last concert we had been to before this past week was over five years ago.  But this week, it all changed because we went to not one, but two concerts in less than a week!  We began our music binge with Better Than Ezra, a band that happens to play "our" song.  They were doing a little free concert and we decided that all we wanted to do was stay up early in the morning (oh I love you baby).  We had a lot of fun, and they put on a pretty great concert.

Just a few days later, Jason Mraz played at the Sandia Casino Amphitheater, which is a pretty nice venue.  We actually planned on attending the concert with my sister, but she has moved on to bigger and better things (just kidding?).  We really enjoyed ourselves at this concert too, and I decided that I'm so lucky to be in love with my best friend.

So that was our musically adventurous week.  More about our Labor Day weekend in a bit . . . 

Birthdays Galore

Over the past month there have been tons of birthdays in our family (happy birthday everyone -- we love you!)  I haven't had any time to scrapbook, but I did make some cards in the nick of time!

 I created these first two cards based on challenges from A Cherry on Top.

Finally, I create this card based on the card sketch from Scrapbook Express.

13.1

Jesse ran another half marathon last weekend and made his second best time!    

He finished 51st out 272 runners. 

He also finished 7th in his age group (he joked that he finished 7 out of 9 in his age group, because that was the results when he first looked at it, but an additional 10 people finished after he checked!) 

 And he did all of this before church (overachiever!)

I, on the other hand, barely woke up in time to catch him at the finish line (underachiever).

Jesse's New BFF

I have been MIA for the past week (who am I kidding -- really, the past month) because I have been working 'round the clock for an administrative proceeding.  In the meantime, my poor husband has been neglected.  Things have gotten so bad that he sought the company of this alarming creature he found out in our patio:

Bleh!  

Hamburger Love

This month our dear friends the Hamburgers left for a new and exciting ministry in Belgium!  We are so excited for them, but sad to see them go.  At least we have an excuse to plan another trip to Europe (soon!)  Until then, we'll miss you!

Maryland 4th

As is our tradition, we spent the 4th of July at the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland with the Parson/Whitson clan.  

It was a hot but beautiful couple days that we spent lounging,

fishing (and fish cleaning!),

and sailing.

There were plenty of indoor activities too, like reading and playing damnation.

On the 4th of July, we built a bonfire,

roasted marshmallows,

and enjoyed a fabulous fireworks display!

Connecticut Part Deux

Last week we also made a stop to my sister Nicole's place in Connecticut to spend time with my dad and sisters.

While we were there, we took a day trip to Long Island,

played a lot of wii,

and engaged in general shenanigans.

We also spent a day at a really cool water park.  It was exciting.  REALLY exciting.  See?

There were a lot of inflatable toys that we played on,

there was rock climbing (even Chloe decided to be so brave),

cliff jumping and rope swinging,

and Jesse, Matt, and I went on our first zip line!

What fun.

Connecticut Days

We just got back from a week with family on the East Coast.  We started with my mom's, where we went to Abbots for must-have lobster.

Then we got some wine and walked around the Jonathan Edwards winery.

We (okay, just Rachel) also spent some time getting to know the new pup Zach.