Hello, Lakewood!

Rise and shine!
On a Saturday? Cori, are you okay? 

Guys, I was meeting up with the Costanza clan and heading north to Lakewood. The Vega's were waiting on the other side, and so were a cast of folks I'd not yet met, but was looking forward very much to getting to know.

Roooooad trip!

We piled into the van at the Costanza house and wasted no time finding the highway northbound. It was a smooth ride nearly the entire way, until we hit a stretch of unpaved roadway and a broken down semi that resulted in nearly an hour of lost time. Good thing there were some interesting views along the way:

What should've been 4 hours turned into 5, but the end was all that much better when we rolled into the driveway of the Constanzas' friends, and were greeted by them, their 4 awesome kiddos and of course, Talsy & David!

We settled in, exchanged introductions and cozied up with some heated blankets to talk with the Vega's about the recent happenings in the mountains of Panama. It's been just a little over a year since we've seen Talsy & David; we've all changed so much but still hardly at all [if that makes any sense at all] in just a years' time.

talsy. david. chris

OH, and I experienced Angelo's for the first time. This place alone would be enough to bring me back. Thanks for ruining pizza anywhere else for me for the rest of time, Angelo's... haha. 

this place.. yummmm...

The night wound down as David & Talsy headed back to their host home for the night, the kids all headed upstairs to bed, some of us took showers and then started to wind down until the air mattress was finally inflated, the couch was made and each of us retired to our respective spots for the night. 

Tomorrow: Church at Crosspoint, where the Vega's will share the update on the missions with us. I'm ready & excited to experience Crosspoint and see what they're all about. Plus, Todd gifted us with these super soft and super comfy shirts [thanks, guys!!!]

thank you!!

Good night, Lakewood! 

xo | cmd

Callie the Diamondback

Rob was still in Illinois this morning, so Sydni and I did church on our own. We started a new series this week on relationships, and as Pastor Jeff's messages usually are, I'm pretty sure the rest of the series will be excellent.

The Panama meeting was after church, although it wasn't much of a meeting. Chris, Tana, Beth and I gathered after the service, but we're hoping the next time we get together will have a better turnout. There were several other meetings happening at the same time, which detracted some from our informational meeting. I'll have the opportunity to go with Chris and Betsy next weekend to Cleveland, to see Talsy and David while they're here visiting; hopefully then we'l be able to determine exactly what our trip will look like.

Rob surprised us by showing up several hours earlier than expected, with his newly-tuned truck and a bed full of auction stuff.

He'd purchased this a couple weeks ago without my knowing [at a price tag far less than MSRP, wooo!], and picked it up at the auction warehouse on his way out to Illinois last week.

I shared this little gem on Facebook, and in no time realized that I'll have to tote her to Arizona sometime this summer, whenever we visit Jesse & Liz; it turns out she just got a new Diamondback too! I'm ready, Summer... the trails are calling... 

OH, and it's Superbowl Sunday, a minor detail for me. Sorry, not sorry, but if I'm being honest with myself and the rest of the world, the truth is that I had absolutely no interest in watching the game, but the invite to spend the evening with the Costanzas far outweighed my indifference for the game itself. We are truly fortunate to be able to get to know this family more and more, and tonight was the perfect way to relax and somehow still enjoy the game. 

Congrats though, to the Broncos! I know my parents and just about everyone else I know seemed to have their fingers crossed that Peyton Manning & Co. would come out on top, and they weren't disappointed. 

Tomorrow's a new week, but with plenty in store! Becky's back from Trinidad & Tobago, so we'll see her, I think there's a dinner with Jess in that mix somewhere, small group and then I'm off to Cleveland with the Costanzas this weekend. 

I'm pretty pumped, but yeah, I agree... let's get through Monday, first ;) 

xo | cmd

Yard Work & Bonfires

Rob and I got breakfast moving early this morning, as we anticipated a day full of yard and boat work. We chowed down and headed outdoor for a day of weed-pulling, grass-mowing, boat-buffing and other miscellaneous meanderings around the house.

i'm insanely in love

See ya later, weeds...

pre-weeding..

At some juncture in the day, I received a text from Chris, inviting us over for a bonfire later that evening, as one of their friends from Cleveland was in town visiting for the weekend. We happily obliged, and after the afternoon wore on, we cleaned up and made our way over for a relaxing evening of friends, loom bands, bonfires and smores.

The sun went down, and the sparks went higher! 

We sure have had a happy Saturday, and we hope you have too!

xo | cmd