Wonderful Weekend

Did everyone have a nice weekend? Mine was spectacular. Here's a rundown of the ingredients that came together to create a wonderful three days:

1. Grilled Deliciousness. We bought a grill from one of Steve's AF buddies at the end of Fall last year and were finally able to use it last week. We first used it Wednesday night for grilled pork chops and they were yummy. On Friday, we grilled hamburgers and last night we grilled hot dogs. It's amazing how different things taste when they're grilled as opposed to using a grill pan on the stove. I'm already thinking of foods to cook this week on the grill. And, it's fun to see Steve learning how to grill and how proud he is when it turns out so delicious.

2. Sarah and Aaron. Friday evening, we had dinner with my wonderful friend Sarah and her boyfriend Aaron. Having used up most of our date night budget for the month, Steve and I decided to have a date night at home. I had wanted to call Sarah to find out about her new guy but decided it would be even better to invite them over to join us for the evening! It was great to see Sarah and to chat with her AND it was extra special to see how happy she is in love. Aaron seems like a super nice guy and obviously has excellent taste in women. After dinner (grilled hamburgers, baked tater tots and sweet potato fries, and coleslaw), we played Trivial Pursuit. It was a lot of fun although I kind of wish it had left more openings for asking Aaron more questions about himself. :)

3. Bike riding. I love riding my bike. I love the feeling of wind blowing through my hair, my legs pedaling hard and fast, the world rushing by at a fast, but still see-able speed. I love that I see parts of my neighborhood that I wouldn't otherwise because they are "too far away" for a walk. Not that I couldn't walk them, but I usually don't have enough time to walk that far! A seven-mile walk takes me almost 2 hours but the same distance took me 45 minutes to cover on bike. This weekend my biking became even more enjoyable. First, Steve attached a water bottle holder and an odometer to my bike. I love love love knowing how fast I'm biking and how far I go. Second, we bought Steve a bike! Yesterday evening we went on our first bike ride together and it was wonderful! The man is in much better shape than me and has stronger legs, but I was able to keep up with him most of the time and he didn't have to go too much slower than he probably would alone. It's yet another thing we can do together. Yippee!

4. GMAT. Spending 3 hours in a way-too-cold testing room, overly taxing my brain on a Saturday morning wouldn't add up to a great way to spend the morning except that I got a pretty decent score. The average score for students that are accepted into the Masters of Accounting program at WSU is 560 so I really wanted to get higher than that. Also, I wanted to get into the 600s, just a personal goal. I scored 620! It doesn't guarantee that I'll get into the program, but at least I'm confident that it won't hinder me from getting in! And, it feels good to have it checked off my to-do list. It also means one less thing for me to have to study during the week.

5. Spring. I loved the weather this weekend. It was warm but not hot. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on Saturday. Nice! At one point, on base at the dog park, it got a little nippy so I put on a sweater, but I ended up tying it around my waist when we went for an afternoon walk along the Ogden River. I even got my first sunburn of the year - just a mild one that faded by Sunday morning. I love seeing green buds on the trees and daffodils and other flowers blooming all around my neighborhood. Birds chirping, grass turning green, and the smell of dirt make my heart swell when I'm outside either walking or riding my bike. I realize it's still early Spring and rain/snow are going to happen, but just knowing that Spring is here makes me happy. The only downside is the swarm of mosquitoes that are going to start showing up. It's something I would have forgotten about (since my hometown doesn't have mosquitoes) except this weekend I also got my first mosquito bite of the year. Sigh. Oh well, it still doesn't erase the joy of Spring!

I hope you all had a good weekend, too, and that this week is full of wonderful things for all of us. If nothing else, hopefully we'll survive to get to next weekend! :)