Margin

I'm not going to lie, this last week has been difficult for me. On top of our typical Monday and Thursday night small groups, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday with friends. This was not a bad thing, but Tony was leaving Friday morning and I wanted a night with just him, especially after leaving him the weekend before. On top of this, I had to work some late hours which meant most days I came home from work in time to change and then immediately turn around to partake in the nights events. Once again, not a bad thing (I know I say this a lot), however, if there is one thing I learned about myself this week is that I like my downtime, or at least my alone time filled with cleaning, homework or other activity of my choice. All this nonstop activity left me pretty crabby, or at least terribly sarcastic.

Tony left on Friday morning to get to Michigan by 4 pm at the latest. He was attending a Promise Keepers conference with his dad and some of the men from the church he grew up in. (He had a great time and really appreciated being able to go to the conference and spend time with his family.) With him gone, I was left with some good quality time to myself.

Friday night I ran some errands (on my bike since Tony had the car) before I arrived back home after work. The dishes were done, a couple loads of laundry complete, and popcorn was made to settle in and watch some Netflix. Saturday was also spent doing laundry (after biking to the bank to get some more quarters), watching more Netflix, some other odd projects, playing portable ping pong with some friends, watching How to Train Your Dragon, and a skype date with a friend I haven't talked to in over a year. Overall, it was a great weekend for me to relax and collect myself before school began.

Beyond my self-realization, one thing Tony and I learned this last week in regards to our marriage is our need for margin. This upcoming semester I have a night class that requires my Tuesday and Thursday nights, Monday nights are spent with friends and small group (that we are now leading) has been moved to Wednesday nights. This completes our weeknights. It will be a very busy semester for me and Tony, but hopefully this realization will make a significant impact on how we manage our time.

Reconnecting

One of the side effects of getting older and growing up is that we tend to move apart from our childhood friends. The question is: how do you stay in touch with each other? We decided that the third weekend in August was going to be spent camping together. Only four of us showed up, but we met Friday night at Governor Dodge State Park for a weekend of camping, hiking, swimming, frisbee throwing and lots and lots of talking. It appeared there were only two rules: no make-up and interesting conversation topics were a must. It was a great time to catch up with one another.

Four beautiful ladies

Trying to find the trail head that was not where it appeared to be

Stopping by the falls

Our attempt at an awkward family photo

Taking a break in one of the small caves

An afternoon at the beach

Porkchops, sweet potatoes and fruit salad for dinner. We eat good!

Just your typical game of Quelf

One free weekend

With out visit to Wisconsin the first weekend of August we did not have an opportunity to celebrate my birthday so the following weekend was reserved (mostly because it was the one and only weekend in August that we would both be home). 

Friday night was the last regular season softball game for the church league Tony has been playing in. He had a good game with a couple great hits, however, the team ended with a loss. 

Saturday turned out to be a lazy day. I woke up to make banana pancakes and then we headed off on a bike ride. This area of Iowa is pretty bike friendly and we took the time to explore some of the bike trails. We ran across an area that was actually a stopping point for the Mormons on their trek out west.

A field near the Mormon Handcart Trail

A rest stop on the way

A late lunch was had at Which Wich and we made it home in time to watch Oz: The Great and Powerful (interesting movie) while eating a delicious dinner of popcorn.

The weekend was complete with a birthday party for an adorable little girl. Happy Birthday Naomi!!!

Naomi daintily eating the frosting

Babies and Weddings...they're all over!

The last couple weeks since we got back from Oregon have been a little bit of a whirlwind. We have spent most weeknights spending quality time with friends, eating dinner and talking so much that I feel like I haven't cooked a meal for just Tony and I since we got back. Don't get me wrong, it has been wonderful fun, but this week is just for us.

While the weeknights have been spent with friends, the weekends have been spent traveling to visit family.

The end of July brought about a trip to Michigan to visit with Tony's family and catch our first glimpse of Baby Richard, the first grandchild on the Hammond side. We left Friday night after Tony got off of work to arrive at 1 in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. These late night trips are always hard for us and we managed to stay awake by listing off words in alphabetical order from a specific category. Somehow it did the trick.

Proud Uncle Tony

The Hammond boys

It was by far the best trip to Michigan as we spent most of the time hanging out and chatting with one another. We both had meaningful and wonderful conversations, got to meet the baby (!!!!) and hold him, eat dinner with some of the extended family, gave Heidi her baby shower gift, and attended church at the park even though it was raining.

The following weekend (the first one in August - my birthday weekend, but we'll celebrate this later) we drove to Wisconsin for a Dieringer family reunion and wedding dress shopping. Once again we got there late Friday night since we left after Tony's softball game. Spent the night camping in the backyard and the following morning I had the chance to visit with Percy in the Milwaukee area. The rest of the morning was spent putting the food for the reunion together and we headed off to West Bend. The kids played in the pond, the adults chatted and bellies were filled. The girls went dress shopping on Sunday (mission accomplished!!!) while the boys watched the kids. Another great weekend with family!

With all these busy days, we (or I) have decided that this week and upcoming weekend are ours. No extra planning and no obligations other than to spend time with each other.

Forgot to mention...

As per tradition, Tony and I ate the top of our cake around our one year anniversary. It wasn't exactly the cake top from our wedding (we ate that one on the honeymoon), but rather the one my mother-in-law made for our open house reception in Michigan. She also did a wonderful job wrapping since it tasted absolutely delicious a full year later. Thanks Mom!