Camping in the desert...and then a resort

et's just be honest....I'm not really a camper. I'm a good sport. And I love the outdoors. And I even like camping. But I'm not a good camper. Therefore...unlike my beautiful SIL...there will be NO close ups of me from our most recent excursion. Now, that being said...we had a BLAST!

Here we are waking up in Joshua Tree National Park (please don't hate on the side ponytail.)

Destin way a top of a rock formation. 

No Erin...this rock formation is WAY better than Mastadon Peak, let's call it Pterodactyl Peak...I mean really...how does one differentiate between these rock formations anyhow?

We LOVE the desert...and it was a perfect day for hiking.

At the end of the trip we found this cluster of palm trees and decided it look straight out of a scene from LOST. It was awesome. 

After a long day of hiking...we headed over to Palm Springs from some REAL relaxation. (No this is not a stolen photo...it is actually the view from our room. Ahhhhh-mazing.)

It doesn't get ANY better than this. 

Peace out!

Countdown to 30 (part 1)

ountdown to 30.


Yes, it's true. I will actually turn 30 this year. It's hard to even imagine. So...in order to keep things light, happy, fun, and YOUNG...I have created a monthly blogging topic on things that make me feel old and things that make me feel young as I approach this milestone decade.

Young:
I can run a half marathon in under 2 hours.

Old:
Destin says I have arthritis in my foot.

Where is the love in that?

LOST

ost!

We have watched since the beginning...and we had many doubts throughout the course of the show. But we are ready for this final season to begin....

The final season.....are you ready? Did you keep up?

This is the LOST supper. (Cute! huh?)

:) Happy Wednesday

The difference between getting somewhere and nowhere is the courage to make an early start. The fellow who sits still and does just what he is told will never be told to do big things."

--Charles Schwab,
entrepreneur

Destin's out working hard for the family today...so Bailey (and I) sent him this message. Hurry home soon!

P.S. Don't be fooled by the halo....

The final frontier...

It's finally here. The last semester. I can't even believe it...but I'm so happy. I have set up a countdown timer to my final day (the day I "defend" my project).

Ahhhhh!!!

Counting it down!

By the end of today

In keeping with my (apparent) video-heavy blog of late...I give you this:


Fifty People, One Question: New Orleans from Benjamin Reece on Vimeo.

I saw this the other day on my friend (Pete's) blog and LOVED it. I love the way it’s shot and I love the question.
Just one question.

By the end of today what would you wish to happen?

We the Savers

he nice "friends" of mine, over at ING sent me this message. And I find it to be so true. :)
Enjoy!

I'll take HALF

unning is a mental thing....so we must be INSANE!






Yesterday was a beautiful Sunday out here in the desert.

A perfect day for a run.

13.1 miles of running to be exact. So that's what we did.

The P.F. Chang's Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon

 

And they're off!

 

Destin rounding the corner at mile 8...

April...somewhere on the course.

Tyler and Justin (our friends) running.

 

Victory is sweet! See the medal?

 

Yay! We did it!

 

The running gang.

 

And here are our results...not too bad! Destin ran with me until about mile 7 and then he picked up his pace towards the end.

 

 

Happy running!

Announcing Courageous!

ourageous!




During a special service at Sherwood Church in November 2009, Sherwood Pictures announced their next theatrical production: COURAGEOUS! The congregation and fans across the country are thrilled to learn that fatherhood is the focus of the fourth film from the moviemaking ministry of this church in southern Georgia. Filming is scheduled to begin in spring 2010.

Announcement Video



I just thought I'd like to share this as I always feel a special place in my heart for these guys...since Stephen was mine and Destin's youth minister growing. :)

Fellowship Match 2010

There's nothing quite like waiting around to find out where you're going to spend the next year of your life. No really...it's fun.

Without further ado....watch the video below, and turn the volume up!


Thank you for all of your prayers.....we're excited!

unplugged

We decided to start off the year with an "unplugged" weekend. (Meaning we took off for a little cabin in the woods and turned off cell phones, computers, etc.) It was a blast, and perfectly relaxing!

This was a small little coffee shop in the town square.

Lunch of grilled cheese and soup.

Snuggle time with the puppy on the chair.

Enjoying the sunset view. (Pictures NEVER do it justice.)

Lots of reading!

Yummy steak dinner.

And quite possibly the LARGEST hot cake I've ever tried to eat. :)

This was a bizarre dentist's office on the way out of the little town.

All in all, it was  a good and relaxing weekend. I recommend an unplugged weekend for anyone who's willing to try one. (It can be harder than you think!) But well worth it in the end.

Yesterday we took off for the Fiesta Bowl, just for fun. We didn't really care which team won, but had a great time at the game!

2009 in Review

Here's a recap of 2009 in pictures.

January--watching the Atlanta Falcons play in the desert.

Feburary--trip to Malibu to see Mark & Amy

March--Dad & Amy visit the desert!

April--Girls (college friends) trip to Philadelphia & Girls (family) trip to New York.

May--STAYcation in the desert with visits by the little brothers and their girls.

...and 6 year wedding anniversary.

June--Sisters trip to the desert and family trip to the beach.

July--Family (Destin's side) reunion in the mountains.

August--Boys + me trip to New York! I love these guys!

September--housing Sean & Erin along their cross-country trip.

And 10 year high school reunion--wow! We're really are getting old!

October--My birthday and a trip to Jacksonville (maybe next year we'll win!)

November--Thanksgiving in California with Mark, Amy, Sean, & Erin.

And finally the SURPRISE trip to New York in December. Here are the pictures from our final day in the big city. I must say 10 people and one big city was one of the best adventures ever!

A few highlights of from 2009:

Greatest adventure: Planning a surprise trip to New York for the little brothers.

Vacationed in: Malibu, CA; Philladephia, PA; Amelia Island, FL; Cashiers, NC; Jacksonsville, FL, & New York, NY x 3!

Greatest challenge: Planning for fellowship (we find out where we are going in a few days!)

Finally I will leave you with this, a list of people that I think should blog in 2009 2010.
1. Erin
2. LaurieAnn
3. Loren
4. Marie
5. My Mom
6. Emily


Happy New Year! Here's to the best decade of my life yet!

Big Apple, day 2

On the second day of our trip we woke up to the city covered in snow. It was beautiful. It literally felt like we were walking in a winter wonderland. (That was until one of us would step calf-deep in some melted snow/water!)

First up, we headed south to Battery Park to check out Lady Liberty. (As you can see she is the very small dot in the middle of our photo.)

If you saw knee deep snow, what would be your first thought? Apparently out was to try and jump a fence, land in the snow up to our knees, and not mess up the rest of the snow...for the picture's sake of course. (**Turned out pretty good!) And made for a lot of laughs.

Then to Wall Street and the big Merrill Lynch Bull.

Then we took the subway over into Brooklyn, so that we could walk the Brooklyn bridge back into Manhattan. This is one of my favorite activities in New York (Thanks Jamie!)

See my excitement?

Somewhere during this part of the trip, we became obsessed with jumping pictures. (Who knows why?)

More subway rides...towards brunch and Central Park.

Finally, after a long day (a small run through the streets) and a quick dinner, we made it to Radio City Music Hall for the Rockettes. They were amazing. (And the boys only fell asleep once!)

All is well. Good night big city!

Third time's a charm

ey little brothers....you just graduated from the University of Georgia...what are you doing to do next?

Disney World? NO!
NEW YORK!!!!
Our little brothers graduated from UGA on a Friday. All of the family was there to watch them. As a surprise graduation gift, the "kids" in the family planned a "kid" trip to New York for them. So after their graduation, Destin & I, Mark & Amy, Sean & Erin, the brothers/graduates, and their gals left almost immediately for the big city.

"Start spreading the news...I'm leaving today...I want to be a part of it...New York....New York!" 

~Frank Sinatra

Day one started off grand with lunch at Pio Pio. The MOST AMAZING chicken ever.

Next up was more surprises for the graduates with a trip to Niketown to custom design some running shoes. Here are the boys hard at work and with cards of their final designs.

This meant that the girls had some free time to SHOP!!!

Next up we made a brief run by the Rockefeller Center to see THE tree. It was as amazing as I remember. :)

Dinner at John's Pizzeria was amazing and delicious. Can you see the sheer happiness on my face?

We saw the broadway show In The Heights that night and we all LOVED it. I highly recommend it for your next trip to New York. Here we are outside the theatre...and look...it started to SNOW!

We headed to Times Square to grab a few pics and experience the lights. After the show there was an INCREDIBLE snowball fight in Times Square. I've never seen anything like it!

Times Square Snowball Fight! from Sean Hill on Vimeo.

This was my THIRD trip to New York this year. They say that the "third time's a charm" and I couldn't agree more. Congrats little brothers...we (all) hope you know how proud we are of you!

Merry Christmas!

erry Christmas!!! Oh that's right...we went to NY! :) More to come on that. Hope that you and your family have a blessed holiday...and that you remember the reason for the season.

Love,

& Destin

Wrap up

ealth consists not in having great possessions but in having few wants. ~ Esther De Waal

We're still here. I just wrapped up semester number 3. So glad to have that over! The only things you've missed in our lives was a little bit of travel. We worked on Thanksgiving...but went to California for the weekend to spend it with our family out there.

Then we came back to the desert...worked for a week and went back to California for Mark's graduation from Pepperdine. We did not get a group shot...well we did, but it's on Amy's camera...somewhere between CA and GA.

That's right...Amy and Mark are moving back to GA. So...while they vacationed in Hawaii...we came back, worked another week, and then were the first stop on their trip back east!
And last weekend we went to a Christmas party where the theme was "Christmas spirit". Destin thought it would be great fun to go as "Christmas morning"...so here we are all dressed up for Christmas morning...PJs, slippers, and robes. I must say, this was the best/easiest party outfit I've ever had!

So that's us and where we are. The quote at the top? That's just to let you know that what's important to us is our time with our friends and families. We feel very "wealthy" in the family/friendship area, and we have very few wants.....speaking of which, do you have a trip planned to come visit us soon?