Six Years!

A happy (belated) six years to...us. Yes, this past Saturday was our five plus one anniversary. Sorry, no pics, but we had a good time ;)

Here's to six plus many more ahead. Cheers.

Guys Weekend

Last weekend Jeff, Jim Hulslander, Mike Riddle, Derek Swierczek, Joel Card, and Dave Tofilon escaped to Pine Island, Florida for a long weekend in the sun. Some highlights from our escapade:

• Dave loved his first time experiencing the last row (window seat) in the plane almost as much as he did being surrounded by three chatty sisters and their mom
• Beer is more than just a complement to a meal, it can double as breakfast, a snack, or shark repellant (see photo)
• Bocce is the new shuffleboard
  
• Mike likes to ponder the deep mysteries of the universe while floating around on funnoodles
• Derek speaks in Spanish if he has enough to drink
• Jim is a master of pillow-talk...wait, what? I mean uhh, I'm just guessing at that one, of course guys don't share a bed together. Pfft, no way, that's gay
• Speaking of gay, six guys in a minivan cruising around Ft. Myers doesn't seem to impress many ladies
• Joel cheats at Poker. I can't prove this, but if I lost and he won then this must be the case.
• Jeff's Uncle Mike (not to be confused with Non-Uncle Mike Riddle) was kind enough to take us out on his boat, help us out with the jet skis, and hang out with us as we lounged. Our sincerest thanks for his generosity in time and energy
• Watching football with five guys in the same fantasy football league is an interesting experience. Thanks to everyone who prayed for Clinton Portis' knees
• Public urination is underrated (sorry, no pics)
  

Overall it was a very successful time away, and I am certainly glad we all were able to make it happen. My thanks especially to all the women who held up the fort back in Illinois while loaning their husbands. I sincerely hope we get together for something like this again in the future.

Jeff

Kathy & Greg's Wedding

We were delighted to attend the wedding of Kathy Simpson and Greg McClelland this past weekend. Allison met Kathy shortly after moving back to Illinois after college. Greg is our friend who we always seemed to see all over town… Ravinia, 4th of July Fireworks, Palatine Street Fest, and once when we just looked out the window of the Metra… there was Greg! We are very excited to have them live in the building directly behind our townhome. We hope of many nights on the porch with a bottle of wine and these two are in our future.

We were able to sp e nd some fun time with the Goodalls and the Riddles… and flower girl Autumn. Here is a shot of the little lady herself enjoying a tasty beverage (H2O). It was heard that she moved on to the hard stuff later… kiddie cocktails! Mike & Jen… you better watch that girl! We finished the night saying goodbye to little Autumn, who had outlaste d us all, grooving on the dance floor looking for some more cake. All in all a great way to start a weekend.

Why Cubs, why?

Stop breaking my heart Cubbies, it can only take so much abuse.

Visiting the Red Hawk

Oxford, Ohio. Home to cows, corn, and a little school called The University of Miami. We got to spend last weekend visiting our sister Kelly after her first couple months as a freshman. First, the campus is beautiful, and makes us both wish we could go back to college again. Second, Kelly made a starting spot on one of the top skating teams in the world there, and it's truly amazing. Not only does she have three servant boys...err, personal trainers, but a gorgeous facility, and an incredible opportunity to compete worldwide with a top caliber team. We've always been impressed with her talent, but we tip our hats to her even more now.

On our way down Friday night we picked up our brother Blake at Purdue, and after a late arrival passed out asleep in our haven't-poured-a-dollar-into-maintenance-since-1972 hotel. Saturday we saw Kelly's room, met her roomate, saw her skating facilities, and a toured a good chunk of the campus. Then it was off to the Miami / Syracuse game, followed by a nice Italian dinner in downtown Oxford. After watching Blake scour craigslist for a bicycle made prior to 1980, we all crashed for the night.

Finally, Sunday we drove down to Cincy (after stopping for Chipotle, of course) and watched the final game for the Central Division Champion Chicago Cubs as they played the Cincinnati Reds on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. Despite it being a meaningless game, we had a great time.

Thanks to Kelly and the rest of the family for the wonderful weekend!

-Jeff

Turkey Trot 2007

Growing up in Chicagoland, when it was cold, we went inside and warmed up. In college, I learned that people in Boulder, Colorado just put more layers on and went for a run. My senior year, I partnered with a friend and started my training to run a 5k… while I admit, we walked a lot, I was able to run/walk my first race: the Breast Cancer 5k in Downtown Denver.

As the years have passed, I strayed away from my running habits and ran a few Turkey Trots, but always took longer than 45mins.

This year, I have committed to run the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. Since I would like to eventually do this in under 40mins (?) I have started a ‘regimented’ training program. It is for running-weenies like me and started with a 10-minute brisk walk, hah! My goal is to run every time it says to, without missing a date hoping that on Thanksgiving morning I can meet my goal of 40mins. I figured by sharing this on our blog, I would be committed. ***gulp***

So, if you like, please check out my running “programme” and cheer me on (I am at week #2 as of today). If you are interested in running with me, you can sign up for the 2007 Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot. I would be honored to run in your dust!

-Allison

Leadership Retreat

A few months ago, we were reminded how blessed we are to attend Willow Creek, and as a result get an inside pass to one of the world’s best leadership conferences, the Summit. We attended this year, and decided then that we needed to take a weekend this fall to do a Leadership retreat of sorts. We wanted to focus on self leadership and take some time out to work and wrestle with God on His plans for us.

We came out of our weekend with a few thoughts to build upon for our next time.
#1: It is not WHERE we are going, but WHO we are becoming.
#2: 2008 is going to be a crazy year of change for the Smitties, and we needed to rest in God right now… we need to enjoy every moment.
#3: We are a team, and we both need to function well individually for “us” to function well. We lean on each other, we support each other and we work together. It is fun like that.

#4: Jeff felt a call on his heard to study the nature of discipline. He wants to study how is it cultivated, increased, adopted and maintained.