50 Nifty....

Today at work I was telling some co-workers that I can name all 50 states in alphabetical order in less than 30 seconds.  Then Ellen said, "Yeah I learned the song." At that moment, Ellen, Bill and I all chimed in singing "50 Nifty United States from 13 original colonies..." We all learned the same song... I grew up in Texas, Bill grew up in Illinois, and Ellen grew up in Indiana! I don't know, it was just funny!

I should have known....

Recently my company gave us an incentive of a $100 gift card for completing a health assessment. Sounds great, huh? Yeah I thought so too until I found out last week that it was taxed and taken out of our last paycheck....

So Happy Together....

Today my parents will celebrate their 30th Wedding Anniversary. Holy cow! My sisters and I consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have been raised in a home with loving parents who never even considered the option of splitting up or getting a divorce. Now I'm sure that from time to time they had their disagreements, and especially after being married for almost a year, I appreciate them even more! So many of our friends growing up had parents going through a divorce, and it was the norm. Sad, but nonetheless somewhat normal. My parents have not only gotten through 30 years of marriage together, but they have gotten this far and they are still so extremely happy! I love it! They worked so hard to raise us in a Christian home and I am incredibly thankful for that. They prayed that my sisters and I would find quality mates who would lead us in our own happy marriages... one down, two to go! They loved us when we were horrible (especially me at 13-14 years old) and when we were adorable (usually Holly). And for all of that, I am eternally grateful! They saved their money so faithfully so my sisters and I could go to college debt-free, all the while tithing 10% to the Lord. They also were able to pay for our beautiful dream wedding. Thank you so much! Maybe I'll be calling you in a few years for financial advice....

My mom has always been someone to whom I can call when I need to vent about something emotional, and there's hardly a question I'm ever scared to ask her. I had to call her last night and ask her how to cook corn on the cob, and she was there for me.

My dad has always been the biggest man in my life. You know that little girl/daddy relationship? We totally have it. And luckily (?) for him, I inherited his sense of humor. As I got older, he would find that I could often beat him to the punch on puns and sarcastic comments so you could say that I learned from the best! And if you were at our wedding last summer and saw the beautiful speech he gave as he gave me away... tears. Thanks Dad!

Mom and Dad, I can't thank you enough for all you have taught me and will continue to teach me. Probably the most valuable thing you taught me is how to have a good marriage by example. I'm so proud of you for meeting this milestone and maybe Mike and I will go ahead and start planning that 50th anniversary party! Look out!

Love you!!!!

Hello Blogger!

OK so for years I've been with Xanga, and you know... it doesn't have the look that blogger does, and so here we are. Also, xanga didn't work so well with my Mac and I had a hard time uploading pictures. I'd like to keep up with it as often as I can, like I used to so faithfully before Mike and I got married! 

Now for what's been going on with us for

 the last month b/c I've been a little slacking in the posts! The first weekend in May, Mike and I participated in one of Indy's biggest events (no, not the 500), the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon! Well actually, we did the 5K but still... it was fun. I was so sure that I would finish before Mike because I walk a lot more than he does, and I can really haul booty when I get in a race. Usually when we take our walks together, I leav

e him in the dust! When the race started, we were both running, mostly to get ahead of the slow people. I ran for about the first 1/2 mile, but Mike kept going! He ran the whole thing and that stinker actually beat

 me! I couldn't believe it! Of course I'm super-proud of him, but a little shocked that I didn't finish first! Way to go, honey!

Since we participated in the 

5K, we were given free admission to the Indianapolis 500 Opening Day celebration. He has been to the race before, but didn't really enjoy it because it

t was so hot and people were generally stinky and drunk. I've been to the track a few times for the car museum, but this was my first "racing event." I really like Indy, and it's cool to live in a city that is so well-known and famous for something.... racing. And blue eye shadow. And mullets. And homes decked out in loud checkered flag decor. Gotta love it!

Then a few weeks later, my Dad's birthday came and I had the birthday present of all birthday presents in mind.... I was on www.hannity.com (I've been Hannitized!) and noticed that Oliver North (Dad's a big fan) had written a new book, and was coming to Indy to sign copies! So after work one day I went over to the Lifeway Christian store in Castleton and after waiting for only 1 hour, I got the book signed! He was not posing for pictures, so this is the best I could do... cool!

We had a fun memorial day weekend! It was busy, but we had a good time! In the Couts family, 3 birthdays (Uncle Kerry, Grandpa, and Mike) all occur in the same week, so they always celebrate together, and we can usually count on Kerry being at the grill making some de-lish steaks! We went over to Kerry & Glenda's new place in Avon, and it was amazing! They have a nice new house, with a huge deck, a garage, barn, basketball court (1/2) and a huge backyard! We had a great time celebrating the birthdays and enjoying the weather that finally decided to be warm.

Mike and Kerry at the grill

My sweet Brother-in-law Ryan and his wife Laurel... they always make me smile!

Last Friday night was Mike's 36th birthday, and I surprised him with 2 tickets to the Indians game right behind home plate! We had so much fun!

Needless to say, we've been incredibly busy recently, so I'll try to keep up!