Donald Braun

I was only able to meet him twice, but he was a great man. He is Nick's grandpa, and so many more things to others as well. The sad part is, he passed away just this past Saturday morning. Nick was planning on going to visit him anyways for Spring Break, but ended up leaving a day early due to his passing. It was really hard for him to not be able to say goodbye to his grandfather, but the ceremony earlier today was beautiful. Nick was even asked to read Psalm 23, being their eldest grandson. He did a wonderful job, and I know it would have made his grandpa proud, especially since his grandma was so happy from it.

The ceremony was full of wonderful music, and stories of love and support from the family members. Even those who barely knew him were able to grasp an understanding of how wonderful of a person he was. I am truly grateful to be able to say that I met him, and was even able to spend a little time talking to him just last year. He was truly a fighter in life, and overcame so much. He will be missed dearly, but loved by everyone even more.

"Dad, I have an idea"......

                   "Let's talk about that"

(a quote that Peter, Nick's dad, put into the ceremony program.
it really defined the relationship he had with his kids.)

Catching Up .. Spring Break!

So, as you can tell from the huge gap in dates from my last post until now, I got lazy with blogging again. I don't know if it's because it's Spring Break, or what, but I'm going to try and get better about it and back on track!

And with that.. here's how I've spent my Spring Break so far!
:) enjoy all of the pictures! There will be plenty more to come!

Our morning sky we got to look at while the sun was rising! (Nick took the picture too!)

Viva Las Vegas!

 

 

 

 

Hoover Dam!

Nick and I at the Hoover Dam!

The road on our way to Phoenix, AZ!

After 28.5 hours of straight driving with a stop in Vegas, at the Hoover Dam, and maybe 5 other bathroom/food stops .. we FINALLY arrived in Phoenix, AZ!

Hanging out at the hotel!

In-N-Out Burger! Pure Deliciousness!

My very first In-N-Out burger!

Before our 4ish mile hike!

After our hike! Yes, I did it all in flip flops!

The infamous pool ball!

Nick and his Uncle Chuck! Duke v. Arizona March Madness game!

Me and Nick's cousin Zoey! (Chuck's daughter)

Nick and I watching the game!

Me and Chuck! "Under any other circumstance, this picture would never happen!" - Chuck

So there you have it, folks! Just the first part of my Arizona vacation over Spring Break! I leave Monday night, and I'm hoping and praying that when I come home the weather is somewhat decent, because I've been rockin' shorts and sandals my whole trip!

Help Support the Courage Classic!

 

Help support Nick and his family with their three-day bike ride this summer! All of the money raised by each team goes to support the Child Abuse Intervention Department (CAID) at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma! It's all for a really good cause and anything helps, so please, go check it out and see what you can do to help and spread the word!

The given description of the event is as follows: Join us for the 20th Annual Alaska Airlines Courage Classic where you will be part of a unique three-day bicycling adventure as you pedal to help stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect in our communities by supporting Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and the statewide Children’s Trust Foundation. 100% of the revenues generated by Courage Classic goes back to the CAID, accounting for approximately 30% of the annual operating budget.

The Courage Classic begins on a Saturday in August and continues through Monday. Teams ride all day, over three mountains in that time! Can you imagine? Each member of each team rides over one mountain a day! Please consider helping support their team, it really is for a great cause. Anything helps too! And if you're not able to help support financially, I hope that you'll pray for their team and keep them in your thoughts. Passing the word along would also be very helpful! Again, whatever you're comfortable with :)

Thank you very much for your support!

Nick's Courage Classic Donation Page!

Battle: Los Angeles

Nick and I were able to go out on a little date last night like I had mentioned earlier, and the movie did not disappoint! It's surprising too, because most of the reviews said it was terrible, but I guess that's because it's not a movie for people who don't like combat all the time? Who knows. It's kind of like watching a video game too, because it's shot while they're running, which I guess could turn-off a certain crowd. I was definitely interested the whole time though, and Nick is officially obsessed ;) It was fun to go out again like we used to :) even when it's just for a movie! (one he's been waiting foreverrr to go see though! :p)

Now it's Saturday though, and I'm not sure what we have planned for the day. Sleeping in was amazing, although the sleeping part was a little rough, but we will definitely be doing something else!

What do you have planned for your weekend? :)

Any fun date-nights with friends or loved ones?

Sometimes it takes a storm.. Or just a best friend.

I've been doing a lot of reflecting lately, and I guess you could say that sometimes it takes a storm to realize what you really have and even want. Maybe it wasn't really the storm though, it could have just been spending time with a good friend and realizing how nice it is to be so close with a person, even when they're gone.

Meet Alyssa. She and I have been best friends since junior year in high school when our boyfriends were best friends. We wouldn't have known each other without them, and the four of us used to do everything together. We hit a few rough patches along the way, especially closer to graduation, which made going off to college a little sad (she goes to Baylor in Texas). We were able to talk it all out though, and now we're as good as ever! It's always nice to hang out and talk when she's home from school too. It makes me miss how things used to be sometimes.

Either way, I love when she comes home from Baylor for her breaks. We usually get together at least once and do something for a whole day. Yesterday, I went over to her house and we just hung out and talked. We got Wendy's for dinner, then eventually made it back to her house for a game night! It was awesome, and I'm so happy I was able to enjoy myself like that with someone other than Nick (not that I don't love enjoying myself with him!) since it doesn't happen very often.

Oh, and since yesterday's weather was crazy stormy - I stopped by the waterfront to take some pictures. I've been getting better about keeping my camera with me all the time lately, and it's really paid off! Nick even surprises me sometimes and will pull over when he knows I'll get a good shot ;)

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Nick and I are going to see Battle: LA tonight after he gets off work :) 

He's been so excited for it to come out, and I promised him I would go with opening night!

Rain, rain...

It's been pouring like no other all day long. I can't believe it! Well, I mean I can, I live in Washington for crying out loud, but still. I'm ready for all of the rain to go away and the sunshine to come out and play! (see that little rhyme I did there ;p) anyways.

Stay on track.

Today was one of those "I'm feeling sorry for myself" kind of days. It really sucked too. It all started last night when I got frustrated/irritated with something that happened and I probably really didn't need to. It was stupid. I still don't even know why it got to me. But that's not the point. The point is that I didn't really feel better until I went and did something for me. I just let loose. I didn't do anything big, but it was just what I needed. I drove around and applied for a coaching job (fingers crossed!) and I blasted my music and sang at the top of my lungs. Like I said, nothing big at all. But it made me happy, and that's what I was going for. I even went to a church service tonight with two girls from my class. Yes, it was for an assignment; but it was nice to spend time with them. Church was nice as well, especially with how my day was going.

But to make it even better, I made plans to hang out with my home-on-spring-break-from-college best friend :) it's always nice when she comes home because we just get to talking about anything and everything, and next thing you know, it's a few hours later! We're definitely really similar, which led to us butting heads for a while, but we got over it! And now I get excited every time she comes home for a break!

How was your Wednesday? Hopefully better than mine!

Is the weather crazy for you too?

A toast to the end of my hiatus

I don't really know why I decided to take a break, but I did. Not from blogger entirely either, just from posting. It was a bit strange after I realized it, and now that I've realized it, I keep wanting to post while still trying to not ramble about pointless things. Anyways..

I had a really eventful weekend too. I wanted to post all about that, but I keep leaving my camera at home with all of my cool pictures, or only have five or ten minutes to post. Maybe it's just me, but I take a while to write these bad boys up. So anyways, now that I'm home, and I have my camera. Here it is..

There was a double date with mine and Nick's best friends, Alex and Alexa :P

This consisted of going to Applebee's for half-priced appetizers, and then a park nearby and walking along the beach. It's always fun when Nick and I have some alone time with a camera too, because it's just us and we don't have to worry about anyone waiting on us or getting impatient (since Alex and Alexa were talking and getting to know each other). It helps that he's into photography like me too .. he is after all, the one who bought me my camera ;)

I also got to have some sisterly craft time with Isabelle too! <3

We made a big poster together (mostly done by her). It was a giant heart that I painted and wrote Family in, and she drew little baby hearts around it with all of our names by each one! Even one for little Chewy :) She sure does love him!

 

That's a good chunk of my weekend right there! I haven't been up to much else except school and cleaning my room. By the way, that second part is intense! Spring fever definitely caught up with me and my room is spotless now! But hey, it was necessary! And to top it all off? This week is my last week of school (minus my two finals next week, yuck) but then it's SPRING BREAK! Yippppie! <3

I hope you all are having a fabulous start to your week!

Any big plans for Spring Break? Or is OC the only place having theirs next week? :P

Aisle to Aloha!

If you haven't checked out her blog before, it's a must! She is a fantastic painter and is having a giveaway for a cutie of your choice over at Eclectic Whatnot! :D! Be sure to check it out, and fast too! The giveaway is only open for 24 hours - meaning the winner is announced tomorrow morning! I can't wait ;)