Summer Days!

Here's what we've been doing the last few weeks!

--Getting a LOT of rain! This is a picture of our backyard on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago after it had just started downpouring! We received over 8" in May, over 11" in June and have already received 4.5" this month! This is very strange for Texas, especially since we had been in a drought for so long!

--Celebrating Mom and Dad's 33rd Anniversary! We made them a delicious Mexican meal to celebrate the occasion, and now they are off celebrating on their Alaskan cruise! We are so thankful for the example of committed marriage that both our parents have given us!
--Singing a LOT, and all in solfege! On Friday, I finished my Kodaly Level II course up at the Univ. of North Texas. It was absolutely exhausting, but I am so excited about everything that I learned, and I can't wait to implement it all into my classroom this fall! Here's a pic of me with my classmates and our instructors.
--Test-driving lots of SUVS. David and I had so much fun test-driving on Saturday...even more fun that I thought I'd have!!

--Reading...a lot! Especially since Saturday at noon, when both David and Emily received their Harry Potter books in the mail. I haven't heard a lot out of them since they both opened their books, but at this point, they're both well over half done!
--Eating a delicious meal at Buca di Beppo's, courtsey of a gift card Uncle Jon gave us 2 years ago at Christmas! We didn't mean to be matching in our green shirts...but do you like Dave's beard? :)

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing and fun summer, too!

Goodbye, Katie!

We'll miss you more than you'll ever know!


Our sweet, beloved basset: Katja Jane
March 12, 1995 - July 14, 2007

Michelle's Wedding

I got back early yesterday morning from Ft. Wayne, where I had been since Wednesday for all of Michelle's wedding festivities! Michelle is my best friend from college, and her family is like my second family. I spent a lot of weekends at the Cooper's during college, and I was thrilled to spend this special time with them, also! Earlier in my visit, I helped Michelle with lots of errands and finishing up her to-do list. We also spent some good time together going out to eat, talking, and laughing. Here are a few pics of this exciting time!

We spent time packaging up lots of pink candy for the favors and tying ribbons on all the programs.

We went to Biaggi's for incredible desserts on Thursday night for Michelle's pseudo-bachelorette party.
Michelle & I stayed up (too) late on Thursday night watching "Music & Lyrics." We weren't sure if it was really that funny, or if we were just so tired that we thought everything was hysterically funny!
On Friday, we had a bridesmaid's luncheon with delicious food! Mrs. Cooper thought of everything--even a chocolate fondue fountain!! They also had a massage therapist that gave each of us a 30 min. massage as well as 2 nail techs, who gave us French manicures!

Michelle & her dad at the rehearsal:
Crista, Michelle's sister, and I dressing Michelle, who was a very beautiful bride!


This is one quick shot of Michelle and Jeremy!
Here's the two of us...it's hard to believe she's now Mrs. White!
After Michelle & Jeremy had left the reception, and the Coopers and I had loaded everything into the cars, we went back to their house, ate lots of delicious leftovers, and watched "Father of the Bride." It was a fun, relaxing way to end the day! Congratulations, Michelle & Jeremy!

EBI Family Day!

As soon as we got home from Colorado, we woke up early the next morning and headed to Decatur for the EarthBuilder's Family Day! It was a fun day at the shop (where they keep and repair all the equipment, supplies, etc.)! It was great to see a lot of the people that Dave and my dad talk about working with, along with their families. We had excellent brisket, ribs, and even some smoked wild pig (of which I did NOT partake!). Here are a few pics of our activities:

Daniel, the general superintendent, brought his horses for the day, so Dad took a ride!
Dave and Emily enjoying the festivities!
Emily, Mom, & I at the serving table:
Dad enjoying ribs....a treat he hasn't had in a LONG time!
Em & I modeling the EBI Family Day t-shirt--Dave drew the picture on the front! I didn't know I married such an artist! (For those not familiar with heavy construction, the picture is a Lorain crane lifting a bridge beam that says "Earth Builder's Family Day 2007.")

All of the machines were out in the yard for guests to run, so we took a ride up the manlift! It was high enough for all of us--the Bergstrom's are well-known for their fear of heights!!
This was my first time on a horse! I might be smiling, but I was quite nervous. Dave took the reigns and led it around in a small circle for me, and then I was off--whew! :)
There was also a game using the backhoe where you had to pick up a rubber ball sitting on top of a cone using the backhoe bucket, swing the boom over and drop the ball into a large can, and then return the bucket to the starting position. A lot of the operators competed to see who could do it the fastest! Dave was very fast (16 seconds), but not quite fast enough! However, he did awesome for someone who's only been running the equipment for such a short period of time!

It was a very fun day, and we hope it becomes an annual tradition!

Colorado!

We just got home from our trip to Colorado about an hour ago!! I am so excited to be back in our home that I can't go to sleep yet...poor Dave is much more tired than I, though, since he did the majority of the driving today! We had a wonderful trip! Here are a few snapshots of it!

Our first stop was last Friday in Denver, where we met our friends Amanda, Jeremy, Emma, & Jacob at Starbucks. It was so fun to see all of them! David and I had a great time meeting the twins and talking with Amanda and Jeremy! We are hoping they'll visit Texas sometime!
Then we headed to the Greeley area, where we spent the night with Dave's college roommate, Kenny, and his wife, Carla, and their 2 1/2 week old baby, Edward Henry. We had a wonderful evening reconnecting with these dear friends and cooing over little Eddie!!
In this picture, Eddie is wrapped in a beautiful afghan that my grandma made for him!

Here's Dave and Kenny enjoying their drink of choice from TU days--Vernor's!

After saying good-bye to the Overton's, we drove to Loveland to visit Grandpa Rinn, where he is staying for the summer. We went to a pancake breakfast with him, and then spent the morning touring the trailer park where he is staying, catching up, and enjoying Frosties at Wendy's!

From there we left for Steamboat, but we took a different route & drove through Rocky Mountain National Park, which was breathtaking! We drove on the highest maintained road in America, which provided amazing views! We also saw moose and elk. What an amazing Creator God is!!

We had a great time in Steamboat with all the Rinns! All of us were together, including Jon's fiancee, Kristy! I am excited that there is another girl joining the family! It was very special for all of the Rinn boys to be home on Father's Day! We enjoyed Susie's delicious cooking, boated and grilled on Steamboat Lake, talked about wedding plans, made s'mores and talked around the firepit, went golfing (just the guys), and took family photos!

We also visited the ranch where Michael is working, and the peacock following us around there made me very nervous! (You can see part of it in the picture below.) While at the ranch, Michael tried to trick Susie and me with a rubber snake--I screamed so loud my voice was hoarse for the next day! I was ready to leave the ranch after that! ;)
Here are the boys (minus Michael) after their early morning golf game!

This was our "modern" pose...Note Jon and Kristy's dogs in the middle....kissing? ;)

...and the best pose! David did a great job arranging all the shots and then running to his spot before the camera took the pic!
On Tuesday we headed to Keystone for our anniversary getaway! We stayed in an amazing 2-story "loft" room with a beautiful view. We had a fabulous time together--reading, relaxing, & eating delicious food. We also played many games of Scrabble, which got so intense that we had to go into town to get a Scrabble dictionary! David also got to play his favorite round of golf (yet!) at the River Course at Keystone! He got paired up with 3 elderly ladies for the first 9 holes--hilarious! They all loved him, of course! Then, I joined him for the back 9, which he played solo. The scenery was stunning, so I really enjoyed riding around with him and watching him play!
Here are a few last pics of us enjoying Keystone!!! It was hard to leave the beautiful mountains, but we are also thankful to be back home!
Dave's golf adventures


We spent lots of time reading...

...and celebrating our 4th anniversary!

4 Years Together!

It's hard to believe that it was 4 years ago today that we said "I do!!" These four years have gone by so fast...which isn't hard to believe when you're married to your best friend and true love!

"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death. Many rivers cannot quench love, rivers cannot wash it away." Song of Solomon 8:6a & 7a

The Rest of the Babies!

I realized that I never blogged about the rest of the sweet babies that were born to all of our friends this spring!!

#3--Trenton Caleb Sprowl, March 8, 2007 (We need to get a picture of Trenton!!)

#4--Beckett Harrison Russell, March 19, 2007

#5--John Lake Patterson, May 22, 2007



Jenny and I just visited Kimi & Lake this morning! It was such a precious visit! Little Lake was born 5 weeks early, but he is doing great!!

#6--Edward Henry Overton, May 28, 2007
We will get to meet this little guy this weekend in Greeley, Colorado!