Sweet Suites!

As many of you may know (or not know), the Michigan Football Stadium-"The Big House", has been under construction since Nov 2007. Well, it is finished. And it is fabulous. Last night, I was able to go up and see the finished product. For those of you who might be thinking, what in the world is she talkin' about, the stadium added suites and club seats (indoor and outdoor). The pictures do not do it justice, and I didn't take NEARLY enough, but just to give you a small glimpse of the newest addition. I took one from inside a suite looking out the window, and the other picture is a section of outdoor club seats. You can see more at www.mgoblue.com And there are suites and seats available if anyone is interested :)

Anaheim, CA

Last week was the annual NACDA Convention (a.k.a.Athletic Conference). This year, it was held in Anaheim. Let me just start this blog off by saying we will NOT EVER move to LA (based on traffic alone!!) Going from LAX Airport to the hotel on a fast and fearless shuttle was about all our hearts and nerves could handle...Ted and I just closed our eyes and squeezed each others hand! As each passenger got off at his/her destination, there was such a look of relief...and a "good luck" to the rest of us. Well, we did in fact make it safely (thank you Lord!) and had a great week in CA! Our hotel was within walking distance to Disney Land. We didn't actually go to the park, but did walk to Downtown Disney one day, which was really cool and REALLY expensive (never in our right mind would we spend $18 on Jamba Juice and a pretzel). Oh well :) Ted attended several meetings, I attended several pool times...although I must say, it wasn't exactly hot. We were lucky to reach 80 degrees during the day and at night, it got down into the mid 50's. NO humidity though, which was lovely :) There were a few events that I was able attend. One of those was hearing Condoleezza Rice speak-VERY cool! Ted was also able to meet and get a picture with one of his favorite players, Dave Winfield. Speaking of baseball players, we also caught an Angels game. They were home playing the LA Dodgers. We decided to take a chance and walk to the stadium which was just a few miles from the hotel and managed to find a pair of cheap tickets. It was a lot of fun. Friday, we checked out of the hotel. On our way back to the airport, we stopped at Santa Monica Pier and ate at a yummy Mexican restaurant. We also went and dipped our toes into the FREEZING Pacific Ocean! One of Ted's coworkers/boss had rented a car and was very kind to give us a ride back to the airport and show us something "toursity" before we headed back to the Eastern Time Zone.

Happy Father's Day!

Just wanted to give a shout out to our dads...we love you SO MUCH!!!

A Trip Down Memory Lane...

High School Lane that is! Last Thursday, Ted and I flew to Oklahoma City to visit our families(of course!) and to attend my 10 year high school reunion. It was great to see everyone. I'd say all in all, there was a pretty good turnout, and the event was very nicely done. I really goofed this trip...AND FORGOT MY CAMERA!!! I always have my camera on me, but for some reason I never grabbed it before we left. My sweet mom loaned me hers. However, I must have been rather flustered because I managed to snap only one or two other pictures besides reunion pics (I am so sorry families!) We also celebrated Carleton and Mimi's birthday...I did manage to snap their picture! It was so good to be on Oklahoma soil :)

Beth Moore Girl's Weekend!

Sorry, I'm a little behind with this blog! Last weekend (May 21 & 22) myself and 6 other girlfriends went to Grand Rapids, MI where Bible teacher and author Beth Moore spoke to a group of approx 7,000 women and maybe 5 brave men :) It's hard to really put into words what an incredible experience it was. "For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God". Psalm 86:10 Thank you Lord for precious friends and for how you love us so.

p.s. we also found a Sonic late Friday night, woohoo!! An unexpected blessing :)

Family, Ford, and Food!

Al and Dixie (Ted's mom and dad) drove up last Tuesday from Oklahoma City to visit us for a few days...oh boy did we have fun! Of course the best part was simply being with them and having them here, but my favorite outing of their visit was our trip to the Henry Ford Museum/Ford Rouge Factor Tour. What a treat!! We spent the earlier part of the day going through the factory (which was quite impressive!) Unfortunately no pictures allowed, but we got to see how Ford F150 trucks are made. Amazing. We then ate lunch at the Wienermobile Cafe (can you guess what we ate?) and then toured the museum. We saw dozens and dozens of Ford model cars, including presidential cars (we have a picture of the car JFK was assassinated in). Dixie is standing next to her first car, although she said hers wasn't pink! We also took a picture next to the bus that Rosa Parks rode when she refused to give up her seat. And the picture of Ted next to the rocking chair was the actual chair that President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in on April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theatre. Pretty cool!

We were also taken care of in the food dept:) Thank you both so much for treating us to some yummy meals!! We are so thankful that you came to visit us...we love you guys very much!! (Al, I'm going to take you to the cup cake store next time you're here!)

Ballet, BBQ, and Birthday

Saturday afternoon was our Spring Performance. The studio I teach at does a big recital every other year, and this was an "off" year. Basically that means that we do things on a much smaller scale, it's a more casual event. The children do learn a dance, but they don't wear a costume. They each had a hair piece and wore their normal class attire (leotard, tights, and ballet shoes). Here are two pictures I managed to snap of a few of my students. I was so proud of their dancing and big smiles!

We then went over to our friends Bryan and Emily's house and dined with their sweet family along with our friends Robert and Bria...this is the third dinner party we've had (our theme being BBQ)! OH it was yummy :) We were in charge of dessert and baked beans (which spilled in Ted's car on the way over, ooops!) We still had plenty left in the dish thank goodness :) Once again, I managed to bring my camera but not snap a single picture :( Emily had a gorgeous picnic table set up on their deck, complete with a red and whited checked table cloth. We ate and laughed and had our usual experience...a MARVELOUS TIME!!!

That leads me to the Birthday portion...my sweet Hubby turned 29 on Sunday :) We had a lovely day celebrating his birth! After church, we went and ate lunch at Panera (his choice!) and then we went and piddled around town, then went and walked 9 holes at UM golf course. Where are the pictures you ask? Well, I managed to slack off (again)and don't have a single memory captured on film. So you'll just have to take my word for it, but it was a beautiful sunny and relaxing day. Happy Birthday Ted Led, I love you!! (Don't worry, you have 364 more days until you're 30!!!!!) ha!

Where there's a will...

there's a way...to somehow get into this pose (GOOD GRACIOUS!). I received a coupon in the mail to try out a free Yoga class.So I went this morning (it was amazing!) You know the feeling of "oh my gosh, my body feels like jello, I might die, but I feel great"? That's me at this moment:) And just so I don't mislead my readers, no, I did NOT make it into the pose featured on this blog...some day though (I HOPE!)

Recipe Share Time

This is sort of a random blog :) But I came across this recipe and thought I'd pass it along, it sounds pretty yummy!

KEY LIME CURD CHEESECAKE BARS

Ingredients for crust:
2 cups + 2 TBSP Sugar Cookie Mix
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold
1 TBSP key lime peel, grated

Ingredients for Cheesecake Filling:
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 eggs at room temperature
1 cup Key Lime Curd

Directions:
1. Grease a 9x13 baking pan, preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium size bowl, cut the butter into the sugar cookie mix and key lime peel using two knives until small crumbs form.
3. Press crust mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes until the crust is a light golden color. Let cool 30 minutes.
4. While cooling, prepare filling. Mix softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended.
5. Add eggs and mix just until eggs are incorporated.
6. Poor cheesecake filling evenly over the crust.
7. Spoon key lime curd randomly on top of filling and then swirl with a blunt knife to combine.
8. Bake for approximately 35-45 minutes or until center is set. Allow to cool in pan.

Ladies, when the "Spring Cleaning Spirit" moves him...

Step out of the way!

The Great Outdoors

My dear friend Rachel and her husband Jason are moving in just a little over a month...we met them about a month or so after we moved to Ann Arbor. They are such a precious couple and will be greatly missed. That being said, we have tried to have a "Rachel & Anne" date once a month. Poor Jason and Ted haven't really been invited on any of our "girl dates" (1.they're girl dates :) and 2.we talk 90 miles a minute from the moment we're together until we're saying goodbye! I think we'd wear them out, ha!) Usually Rachel and I will grab coffee, but today we opted for a picnic outside because of what a gorgeous day it was! (I was wishing I had worn shorts instead of jeans!) We went to the Matthei Gardens which are part of the University. We walked some of the trails and found a nice spot where we put down a blanket, ate turkey sandwiches and fruit, and chatted up a storm. Here are a few pictures from our lunch. Thanks Rachel for a fun afternoon :)

Men's Glee Club...we are fans!!

Saturday evening was an absolute treat! Ted and I attended the 150th University of Michigan Men's Glee Club Annual Spring Concert at Hill Auditorium. Let me just tell you how incredible this concert was. A little background info, The U of M Men's Glee Club was founded in 1859 and is one of the oldest collegiate choruses in the United States and the oldest continually-run student organization on the Michigan campus. The club performs regularly within the state of MI(we've heard them at a few tailgates on football Saturdays) and tours the country as well as abroad every spring. They are internationally known and have won several awards. They hosted close to 500 alumni from previous choirs, one of whom is Bob McGrath who many of you know as Bob the music teacher on Sesame Street (he just completed his 38th season!) He received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the concert. The singing was just heavenly! The first part of the concert, the Glee Club sang all international songs. The second half was made up of American songs and of course, Songs of Michigan (Yes, we all stood up and sang the entire "Victors" fight song). Ted and I teased that the Men's Glee Club are probably the only ones who actually know the ENTIRE song, ha! Here we are outside of Hill Auditorium and I quickly snapped a picture of the stage before the concert.

Happy Easter!

What a beautiful sunny day it was here in Ann Arbor. We were blessed to be able to be with our church family this morning for worship and then have lunch with some dear friends from church afterward.

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." Matthew 28:6

Praise the Lord, for our Redeemer LIVES!!!

Pistons Game

Wednesday evening, our friends Matt and Jessica invited us to a Pistons game. We bought all of the required "ballgame food" (hot dogs, popcorn, and a $6 souvenir cup for our coke b/c it's only 50 cents more than the next cup size down-and of course we forgot it, ha!). The poor Pistons have had a rough year, and they ended up losing to the Miami Heat... but we still had a great time with the Spiveys. Thanks guys for a fun evening out! (and I'm sorry I somehow didn't get a pic of the four of us).