They Took Us Out to the Ballgame!

So all that money spent getting degrees from the Master's College- it's paying off! The alumni association invited we local alums to a Dodger Game- on them! Not just the game, but all-you-could-eat food and bus ride down and back. Now, turns out the bus ride thing wasn't my favorite. I got car sick (well, bus sick) on the way down and almost gave the whole bus a show as we were arriving at Dodger stadium. Greg took a picture of me, but oddly enough, I decided NOT to post it for public viewing. Once on solid ground though, I started feeling better and we had a great time.
Here are Brooke & Chris Kropf (our favorite neighbors who go to church with us) :)
Tom & Yetta Garwood (our favorite lovers of Ireland and fellow reflux parents)
Nate & Ashley Murray (Our favorite friends from Chapel Media Days)
And then of course, Gary, who likes to try and mess up my pictures. Gary is our favorite.... well... Gary.

Grant cracks me up

This is one of my favorite moments from the parade: when a big green tractor came around the corner, and little Grant, the tractor lover, just stared, and pointed, with eyes as big as saucers. It was very exciting.
Then he entertained us with his instrumental accompaniment as a band went by. He just started playing along!
Just some of our group: the Kropfs, The Powells, & The Myers'
Back at home, we had a potluck lunch and sat around talking while the kids played. Dan Powell made homemade strawberry ice cream for us to enjoy- Mmmmm!

I Lied, There's More

STILL more camping pictures? Yes, sorry.
Do we have to sit like this for the picture? It's kinda bright!
A nice view from behind our campsite.
Cooking hot dogs for lunch
Self portrait: Mother & daughter

Last Few

OK, just a few more camping pictures!
Here's Greg, wearing Addie in a hiking backpack, up on a huge dead tree.
A nice family picture!
Ceana and Ally
Greg and Addie show me their "antlers"

The Kids Sure Had Fun

Camping as a kid is soooo much fun!
There's the marshmallow eating...


The dirt to play in....
(Ally's eyebrows are not normally dark brown like this)
And is you're Ceana, there's wildflowers to pick and arrange for a table centerpiece.
These purple flowers were all over the ground around our campsite, aren't they lovely?

Camping Highlights

There were so many good parts to our camping trip, it's hard to pick just a few, but here they are. The first night, with our appetites spurred on by the clean, crisp air, we enjoyed a meal cooked over the fire (we cooked over the fire the entire trip!). We made hobo packets and they were so good!
Here's Jen, serving dinner.
Addie and Ally at the table. See how much food is crammed in Addie's mouth?
Our glorious, deluxe fire pit. It's as big as our apartment's patio! It's so big because we were able to occupy a group camping site that was off by itself from the rest of the campground, so we had lots of privacy and lots of space!
Greg and Ben haul some wood for the fire- we burned this whole log!

A Camping We Will Go

We went camping and we liked it!!!
OK, so we went for just one night and only an hour and a half away, because we were a little nervous about how this was all going to go. But all our fears were laid to rest- it was sooooo fun!
To be out in the clean air, surrounded by nature, no sounds but the wind and the birds, the smell of the campfire... ahhh.
We went with our dear friends and neighbors, the Myers family. Seeing as how Ben is a former Forest Ranger, we decided they are our idea of the perfect camping companions.

Here is the Myers Family: Ben, Jen, Ceana, & Ally.
And the Spanglers: Greg, Me & Addie

I will post more pictures and stories about our camping adventures later, but I had to do this one first. Here is a shot of Greg and Ben- two men destined for friendship. Jen and I think it is pretty funny how alike they can be, and how many of the same activities they enjoy. Mind you, they didn't plan with each other what to bring so they could wear matching outfits, but here they are. Nothing says good morning like brisk air and a cup of camping coffee.

Our Anniversary Weekend

Yesterday we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! I can hardly believe so much time has passed! We spent a quiet weekend at home, since we got away to San Diego just a few weeks ago.

Since a whole bunch of our neighbors were out of town this weekend, we decided it would be a good quiet weekend to set up our tent. We bought a used tent several years ago and haven't managed to go camping yet, but that hopefully will change this summer. We thought we'd get it out and set it up and make sure all was good. It was, and we were delighted to find that the tent had all kinds of features we would want, like plenty of space and a zip-in wall that divides the inside. Here's Addie, Greg and some neighbor kiddos enjoying it.
Yesterday Greg and I exchanged small gifts and cards. He was delighted with his gift- can you tell?
Now he can proudly display his love for "The Office"

Greg gave me some clothes too. I had been needing and wanting some clothes I can exercise in in the hot weather. I am STILL working out 4-5 days a week (even I am surprised) and my makeshift workout wardrobe just isn't working. So I was delighted with new exercise clothes.
For dinner, we stayed in and worked together to make risotto for the first time! During our wonderful dinner in San Diego, we finally got to try some and loved it, so we committed that we'd learn to make it at home. Here I am showing off my Risotto Alla Primavera- it came out great! We also had Greg's favorite Dijon Chicken.


Our evening ended up including an unplanned party outside our front door. We sat out with our friends and neighbors, Ben & Jen Myers, and Robert & Gerri Dupee, on Robert & Gerri's last night in the complex. They leave today for Tennessee. We got to share some of our dinner and then Greg and Ben made a Bananas Foster Upside Down cake and we all enjoyed in thoroughly. What a nice evening- sitting out in the cooler temps and eating dessert and talking and talking. I don't know if we could've planned a nicer night if we'd tried!

The Zeikles Visit

What could end a year better than a surprise visit from some of our favorite people?

In case you don't know them, this is Tony & Kirsten Zeikle and their kiddos, Caleb & Ally.
The Zeikles were instrumental in getting Greg and I together, since Tony was Greg's buddy in college and Kirsten was mine. The first time Greg and I ever spent time together was in participating in their wedding, and two years later, they were bridesmaid and groomsmen in ours (yes folks, it took two years, please send your sympathy comments care of Niki and your chastisements to Greg. Just kidding).

Anyway, now they live in Kansas City, which is way, way, way too far away from us.

They made our day on Friday by calling us up and announcing they were in town visiting family and would have several hours if we were free. What a great time we had catching up! Their kids are a joy to be around, just like their parents! The only down side was that even several hours is not enough time for friends like these, and before you know it, they were gone!

So Tony & Kirsten- thanks for the visit, and may we remind you again that Dallas is a wonderful city?