Up, Up, And Away

Today is date night...or date matinee! We went to the movies this afternoon. Matt and I both LOVE movies, especially kids movies. So we went and saw "UP".
It is really a fun movie.


It was in 3D! So we got these awesome 3D glasses! Don't they look like the Blues Brothers glasses? I love them! Up was a lot of fun. Pixar did a fantastic job with the story and of course the animations! The 3D element was fairly decent, not as good as Monsters VS Aliens but good enough! I don't want to give away any of it, so I won't go into details. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel adventurous, & then it makes you all warm and fuzzy-like warm and fuzzy donuts! You really should see it!

Last night we had a Burn Notice Season Premiere Party. We invited a few friends, grilled a few burgers, fried some french fries(first time too), and enjoyed the start of the third season. It was wonderful to have friends over. We have a great apartment that allows for plenty of visitors, and we love having a full house!

But for all the fun we've had so far, it has also been a very busy week! This week we had the pleasure of having our case worker, Julie, over for our home study! It was/is a very exciting prospect! We think it went well, and now we're just waiting for the written report to be finished up. But to prepare for Julie's visit we went a little crazy with the cleaning...I cleaned a lot more than I needed to. Oh well, at least now we have a super sparkling clean home!

Thank goodness that the week is almost over.
Then we'll be off for another week full of adventures!

Here's to all your adventures.

A Day For The Books

An Update:
We have all of our adoption paperwork done! We're currently waiting for our doctor to mail our medicals to LDS Family Services. Once they get that, our case worker will give us a call to schedule our home visit. That's where they come in and see where and how we live. It's completely unnerving! I'm running around frantically cleaning and organizing the house. I am starting to feel like a beheaded chicken. But I have a feeling it's going to be completely worth it in the end. That idea is the thing that keeps me going.

But in the last few days I've begun realizing that we don't have much in the way of baby supplies. And that as we are getting so close to the home study visits that now is the time to prepare for having a baby! So, today I went and bought a few supplies. I bought diapers for the first time! =) I suppose it's kind of silly to get this excited over 36 newborn diapers. But to me it feels so concrete that some day in the (relatively) near future we will have a baby in this house. I also bought some baby proofing items, a few onsies, and some bedding for our crib. It's strangley uplifting for me to search and buy baby items. I am glad that we have a few larger items arleady taken care of so I can focus on the smaller things. Hopefully, by the time we are picked we will have almost everything we'll need.
~*~
Outside our world of adoption, I have started another semester of school. This summer I'm taking a Digital Imaging class. I'm learning all the cool tricks to photoshop. I find it nice to actually know that I'm preforming the correct techniques. It's only two nights a week but it's starting to be kind of intense. I'm excited to finish the class.

Matt has started a home fitness program, P90X, and is enjoying the hard workouts. He's already lost a few pounds and it's only been a few weeks. He is very excited to see how far this program can take him. Work is a little slow for him right now, but that's the way we like it. He flies fallen soldiers home, so we like it when he doesn't have to fly anyone home.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Spring has sprung! And wow, it is beautiful out here in MI. Everything is turning green and the trees are blossoming. It really looks like popcorn is popping on the blossoming trees. You can even smell spring in the air. It smells lush and refreshing. And the amount of daylight is wonderful! I'm writing this at 8:30pm and it's still light outside, just barely starting to turn into the sunset colors.

Spring isn't just warmer weather. It's also time for Spring Cleaning! We're working on keeping the house organized. We're down to two rooms that still need a little help, the master and the office. I'm sure that we'll get them all set in the right order this week. Spring is also well known for "Twitterpation" or being "Twitterpated"(from Bambi). It's a great time of the year because you have a wonderful excuse to hold hands and snuggle up close. Love is in the air.

But I think my favorite part of spring is that spring brings so many options. There's tons of things that you can do! Our complex just opened up a frisbee golf course. I'm sure we'll enjoy that this season. All the putt putt places are finally open again. Soon the amusement and water parks will open up. But the best part....is all the great picnics that you can have! With the food and the friends, it always a perfect time, even with the ants! We have pulled the grill out and it is ready to see some firey action. Plans are already in the works for some geniune good ole' Texas Bar-B-Que slow roasted brisket. It's making my mouth water just thinking about it!

Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death

April 15th, Matt and I enjoyed attending the Tax Day Tea Party. It was all about standing up and letting the Government know that we don't approve of their spending habits. And protest the burdens of taxation for their bad judgments concerning America's wallet.
It was a really neat experience. It was my very first political rally!

With Matt being a pilot he can be away from home a lot. But that doesn't stop us from doing things together! Like the Tea Party...Matt had business in Delaware and I was home here in Michigan. But we both went to our own Tea Party and we we're able to talk about our experiences later that night! It's neat that even though we're apart, we're working together towards the same goal.

Here in Michigan: We made posters and stood on the corner in front of the court house. We waved at the passing cars and talked to the people on the street. We had a lot of support there! About 150-200 people showed up. The news and paper were there talking with people. We even sang "America The Beautiful". =) It was very uplifting and encouraging.

There in Delaware: It rained all day. But they still got a large crowd together. I'm not sure how many people, but more than here in MI. They had speakers...who talked about the hardships of taxation, and the appalling amounts of money being spent in Washington. People had picket signs. Matt was glad that he went. And even happier that he took his wife's advice and bought an umbrella! =)

We like to stay politically informed and involved. Matt is always listening to or watching some Conservative Talk Show. We both really love this country.

Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.

So for the last few weeks I have been trying to figure out how to get a cool funky template for our blog.  And I had the darnedest time doing so....it never worked!  So I stayed with the boring old pre-made templates that blogger provides.  I mean they're not bad....but I really wanted something fun!  And I finally figured it out today!!!  I'm so happy!  

I also figured(kinda) how to have music on here.  So, these are some of our favorite songs and types of music.... Now, I hope this thing is more fun to read!  To friends and family, if I have failed to have your blog on my reading list let me know and I'll add you asap!  

Marriage is our last, best chance to grow up.

Matt and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary last Saturday! It was a beautiful day, clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight. Since it was such a wonderful day we decided to enjoy the opportunity of being outdoors! We found a state park nearby that boasted about great trails...and we went on a 9 mile hike. We packed up our day pack with water, nuts, a few extra pairs of socks, and our camera equipment. We hiked, talked, and took pictures along the way.

We found these awesome train tracks and couldn't help ourselves.
We had to take a few pictures!

About the middle of the trail was this little lake...there were a few people fishing, a few enjoying a picnic lunch, and us taking in the crystal clear water... It was very refreshing to have such amazing surroundings.

We even got our feet wet! Only not in this beautiful lake...and not really by choice! We went on the blue trail because the yellow trail was flooded. Only to find out that the yellow and blue trail shared the last quarter of a mile...including the flooded bridge that was warned about at the beginning of the yellow trail but not the blue trail!!!! There was only a quarter of a mile left, it was almost dusk, and it was starting to get cold. We had to walk right through it! There was still ice in the water! It was freezing! Thank goodness for the extra pair of socks we packed! We finally managed to get back to the car and we took full advantage of our heater to warm our cold piggies.

When we got home, we both worked on making dinner. We had Shrimp Diablo and Steak with rosemary potatoes and asparagus. Matt even spoiled me with chocolate cake for dessert!

It was a great day!

Happiness is not pleasure, it is victory.

What are three of your guilty pleasures?

Courtney: All Kinds of Candy, Reading in Bed, and Sleeping In!

Matt: Krispie Kreme Donuts, Mountains of Doctor Pepper, and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Alright, so we'll admit we love the sweets! I'm not sure who actually has the bigger sweet tooth...but then again, I don't really want to figure it out! I'd be afraid of losing...and winning! But I do think I'll dust off my baking skills and bake Matt some of my famous Chocolate Chip Cookies! They are one of the reasons Matt liked me so much when we we're dating!

Today is the first of March; and oh, how I love March! In fact, we are getting ready to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary! It's coming up in the next two weeks! We're so excited to be married! And for six years, it feels so comfy. But right now we're just trying to figure out what to do...where to go...for the big day. It's been our tradition to go to the temple, but it's closed for cleaning that whole week! I'm sure that we'll figure something out!