Looking for a good book?

Reading has always been one of my favorite hobbies. I just love getting lost in a good book! I find that during the school year I have a hard time getting through novels. (I'm going to work on changing that this year!) However, during the summer I'm able to get caught up on all the good books I've been wanting to read. I read some wonderful books this summer! I enjoy all genres of stories. Mystery and romance novels are at the top of my list, but this summer I read a good variety of books! Here is a list of the books I have read recently in no particular order!

The Last Song
Written By Nicholas Sparks

Same Kind of Different As Me
Written By Ron Hall and Denver Moore

First Family
Written By David Baldacci

The 8th Confession
Written By James Patterson

The Pact (A Love Story)
Written By Jodi Picoult

True Blue
Written By David Baldacci

And the Shofar Blew
Written By Francine Rivers

Her Mother's Hope
Written By Francine Rivers

I would highly recommend all of these books to anyone. Well, all except one, but I'll get to that in a minute! It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I really loved all of them and Francine Rivers, David Baldacci, and Nicholas Sparks are my favorite authors. BUT, if I had to pick JUST ONE I'd choose "The Same Kind of Different as Me." This story is a true account of the lives of Ron Hall and Denver Moore and how their journey's through life intersect. I laughed, I cried, and I could not put the book down! The one book I did not enjoy was "The Pact (A Love Story)." I know people rave about Jodi Picoult as an author, but this story was just depressing. It had bad language and I did not enjoy the whole premise of the story.
I'm excited to start "The Shack" as my next book to read. What are some good books you've read lately?

Mexican Pizza

I love to cook and I'm always looking for new recipes. I came across this recipe for Mexican Pizza and thought I should share it! It's quick, easy, and so delicious!

I found these Tostada Shells at Aldi's!

Here's what you will need:

-tostada shells

-refried beans

-1/2 pound ground beef cooked and seasoned with taco seasoning

-shredded cheddar cheese

-taco sauce

-chopped tomatoes and black olives (I don't add these, because I'm not a vegetable fan, but I do add the olives for James)

Preheat your oven to 400*F

Place tostada shells on cookie sheet

Layer heated refried beans, ground beef, and cheese on tostada shells

Place another tostada shell on top

Spread taco sauce on top of shell and top with cheese, tomatoes, and black olives if desired

Cook at 400*F for 8 minutes

Enjoy :)

4th of July

I love all holidays. The 4th of July is always fun around the lakes. This past weekend was full of fun 4th of July activities and I loved every minute of it!

On Friday Lisa, Mandy, and I met for lunch at Spikes. I don't go to Spikes often, but it has such a fun atmosphere. It's all outdoor eating with sand volleyball courts and a stage for bands and singers. It's quieter at lunch than dinner, and we had a great time talking, eating, and being outside!




After lunch we headed to Mandy's mom's house to spend the afternoon on the lake. The house is gorgeous, with a wonderful back deck and a huge yard right on the water. I would love to have a house like them one day!! The weather was perfect and we got to enjoy the wave runners, the water, and the sun.




Friday night James and I went golfing and watched the movie Up!


Saturday James and I drove to Indy for Loretta and Caleb's wedding. Loretta and I met in college. Her cousin Anna and I were roommates our Freshmen year at Indiana Wesleyan. It was so good to see all my best friends from college. Meagan and Loretta live in Oregon and Liz lives in Colorado, so we don't see each other often. The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for Loretta and Caleb!












We drove back to Warsaw Saturday night after the wedding and Erika and Alex stayed the night at our house. We got up Sunday morning and James, Alex, Erika, and I all went to lunch. It was great to see the two of them! Sunday afternoon James and I were able to relax and get things done around the house. I also made these cupcakes!


I made the cupcakes for a little 4th of July get together we had with our friends Sunday night. The Harstine family and James and I went over to the Duncan's house for fun, food, and fireworks! We had a great time. We had another beautiful evening and really enjoyed the time with friends!

I am so thankful for all of the men and women that are fighting or have fought to give us the freedom that we have. I feel very blessed to live in a country that gives us the freedom to make our own choices. I hope you all had a wonderful 4th!

2 Years

Two years ago today I married my best friend! I am so thankful that God brought James into my life. I am absolutely crazy about him. I treasure the time we have together and the memories we are blessed to make.

Here is us on our wedding day July 5, 2008!

Here is us on our first anniversary trip to Boston last July 2009!

Here is us in July 2010!

Landscaping

Last weekend we were able to complete a project we've been wanting to do for a while! It is amazing to me how much work is required to make and keep a house a home. Growing up my parents always made it seem so easy, but it's definitely not easy or cheap! Our landscaping has needed some TLC since we moved in. With the help of my parents, we were able to get the job done last weekend. I absolutely LOVE how everything turned out. James and I had a pretty good idea of what we wanted the end project to look like. Friday while out on a date, we stopped at Menards to pick up supplies. Our options seemed endless, there were so many possibilities! We got what we thought we needed to start the project on Saturday. We then went out to dinner and to see Toy Story 3 in 3D, which we loved. I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone! We got up early Saturday morning, and I was so disappointed because it was raining. I never thought I'd be so excited to do yard work, but I was really looking forward to getting the landscaping done. Thankfully, they rain cleared out pretty quickly and it turned out to be a dry and VERY hot and humid day.

Here was what we got Friday night at Menards... the first of MANY trips!!



We had really not done anything to our landscaping since we moved into the house, aside from pulling weeds and trimming the bushes! The following are the BEFORE pictures of our landscaping. It had gotten pretty ugly, I just could not keep up with the weeds!

I am so thankful I don't have to look at that anymore! We were so grateful to have my parents help us with this project. They are much more experienced in this area than we are. Elena even came over and helped shovel rocks. I love having a big family for so many reasons, a big one being there is always someone willing and wanting to help.

And now it's time for the AFTER pictures! I am thrilled with the outcome and it was certainly worth all of the hard work and effort. I think it seems to make our home so much more welcoming!

I am now working on decorating our front porch! I made a purchase at a garage sale on Friday which I am really excited about. I will post pictures when everything is complete!

Family

Saturday evening we had our 3 nieces and nephew over! We had pizza for dinner and then went to my parent's house to swim. It was still in the upper 80's at 6:00, so it was perfect weather for an evening swim. We played a pretty long game of "Marco Polo" which was one of my favorite pool games growing up.

Aubrey, Ashlynn, and Alexis enjoyed laying on and playing with the rafts!

Shay and Uncle James were having competitions off of the diving board!

Uncle James and I had fun watching the kids swim!

Here is all of us after we were finished swimming.


After the pool, we decided to go for a walk on the trail in Winona Lake. It is so pretty and peaceful on the trail! We saw a deer and a few other animals, which Ashlynn and Aubrey especially liked.

We came home and I made popcorn. The girls watched a movie and I we all fell asleep on the couch before it was even half over! The boys had fun playing video games.

Here is us girls on the couch before the movie started!


We got up this morning, had breakfast, and then went to church! We all had a great time, and it was fun to get a taste of what life will be for James and I a few years down the road when we have our own kids!