Road Trippin'

Tonight, Coleman had an unveiling of their new Road Trip grill, designed by Paul Jr. from OCC.

Apparently, Paul Jr. has branched out of the Chopper business and formed Paul Jr. Designs (his website isn't up yet, so his Twitter account will have to do). He is partnering with different companies to re-design existing products and Coleman was his first "client" (click here to view a video of Paul Jr. talking about the grill). He took this grill...

...and turned it into this:

I can't say I was star-struck or anything, but it was fun to see him and be there for the event. We don't watch their show too often, but we may have to tune in soon to see how they developed the grill and to see if they air anything from tonight - maybe we'll get on TV (ha ha!). Here are a few other pics from the evening:

Brandon kept mentioning that Paul's girlfriend doesn't look as pretty on TV as she does in real life...

And sadly, we didn't get any pictures of the real star, my friend Ali, who helped organize and run the event! Sorry Ali :(

Five Day Challenge

For the past year or so, Brandon's grandma has been making a special hand cream with her friends at church. Almost every time we go to GC to visit, she brings me a small container of the lotion and every time, I politely accept. However, I haven't ever really used the hand cream. I'm not sure why I haven't used it, but I just put it in the closet and use what I already have.

Well, a few months ago, Brandon's mom, sister and I were discussing the lotion and his mom was telling us how well it works and that she really does like it, especially on her heels (I hope I'm not divulging too much here!). So, this past weekend, Brandon and I were in GC and his grandma brought me over a small container. Pam and I exchanged a smile and I proceeded to place the lotion in my purse. Later that day, Pam and I were again discussing the lotion and she told me I should really just try it and I might be amazed at the results.

So, starting this past Sunday, I have decided to apply the lotion to my dry feet (I walk around barefoot pretty much all of the time) before I go to bed each night for five days, just to see how well the lotion works. Once the five days are up I will re-evaluate the state of my dry feet and make a final decision. If it actually works, I will pull out my stashed away containers and make them a part of my bedtime routine. And, if I don't see that much of a difference, I will continue to collect the small containers and re-gift them to Pam! But, if I can make a prediction, I'm going to predict that I won't be re-gifting anytime soon!

4th of July Fun

We spent th 4th of July at Tablerock, like we do every year. We celebrate with my mom's sister and her family since they have a house there, too. This is really the only time the whole family is together since we don't see them at Christmas time anymore.

Brandon and I arrived late Wednesday evening and got up early on Thursday and hit the lake with my parents and Matt and Tara and Eva.

The boys (Matt and Brandon) and my cousins jumped off the cliffs and swung on the rope swing at the bridge. I decided to stay in the boat and take pictures!

The crazy guy diving - that would by my husband!!!

Friday morning was a bit rainy, so we didn't spend as much time on the lake as we would have liked. We waited on the first part of the rain by swimming in a cove and just playing around. Todd really got my mom by jumping off the boat and pretty much dunking her in the water.

We were finally able to do a little tubing and knee-boarding and then it was time to head in.

Friday night, we had a shrimp boil and it was really fun and pretty tasty, but we didn't get any pictures. It was a fun change from the normal "lake food".

Saturday morning was our annual blueberry picking trip. The little girls loved picking the berries, but didn't last very long. And, I think Eva ate more than she picked. The picking wasn't as good as it has been in the past, but Brandon and I still came home with four pounds!

Once we got back home, Todd and Natalie and Brandon and I decided to head out on the lake for a little while before the big 4th of July BBQ and fireworks. We had a good time, but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

Yes, Brandon is a little crazy on the knee board!!!

We came home and got cleaned up and took our annual family pictures!

This year, instead of putting on our own fireworks show, we walked down the hill to the shore where some of the other families in the area were shooting off fireworks and just watched their show. It was better than any we could have done and we were just able to sit and enjoy it.

Needless to say, it was another great 4th of July, and now, it is time to get back into the groove of everyday life.

PASSED!!!!

**EDIT** This was posted by Brandon!

For the past month i've been studying to pass the LEED Accredidation test (building GREEN). Passing this test would make me 1 of 2 people in the office LEED Accredited and would also make me that much more marketable, which is extremely important in today's economy. I was told this is the toughest test I will ever take and that only 1 in 3 passes on the first try. Everyone in the office knew I was taking the test today and I couldn't imagine going back to work to tell them I'd failed. I got in one last cram session this morning before I finally convinced myself that I put in the time and effort and the rest should take care of itself.

Once the test was complete all I needed to do was build up the courage to hit end and see the results instantaneously on the screen. I was so convinced I wasn't going to pass and couldn't imagine seeing the word FAIL on the screen so I put the mouse over the end button and covered the screen with a piece of paper. Once I clicked the mouse I slowly pulled the paper away from the screen fearing the worst, not expecting to see another screen pop-up asking me if I wanted to end the test. So once again I positioned the mouse over the yes button and covered the screen with the paper, clicked the mouse and pulled the paper away again ever so slowly, this time it asked if I wanted to take the survey now or later. By now my nerves were shot and feared God was just playing with me. I figured one last time with the paper then I'll just start clicking. So I moved the mouse and placed the paper once again over the screen, this time it had to show my results. As I slowly pulled the paper down I could start to see my results and thank the lord I got a 178 out of 200 needing only 170 to pass.

To celebrate my test results and the up-coming holiday I've decided to get real comfortable with a few beers tonight. Never again will I study that much for a test.

Small Group BBQ

A couple weeks ago we hosted our church small group for a Summer social to stay connected and enjoy the nice weather before the heat set in. I also took the opportunity to play with the camera and its many useful settings.

A storm was was slowly developing over SE Wichita which provided an opportunity for some cool pictures.

Before everyone left I convinced Luke and Travis to help me experiment with slow shutter speeds. Luke stood still while Travis pretended to punch him in the face, turned out alright for my first attempt.

We are headed to Tablerock lake next week for the 4th of July with Tessa's family, my nieces always present opportunities to take pictures so I should have a few to upload. Have a safe 4th of July.

Brandon Joins the Party

I've been inspired by my cousin's wife, Heather, to take my picture taking to another level. I feel weird posting pictures on facebook for everyone to see, so i've decided to take interest in The Brungardt Beat. Periodically I will chime in with some pictures from our lives taken with my new camera, Nikon D60. The first set of pictures is from my weekend at "The K" shortly after getting some expert advice from Heather. Enjoy!!!

My summer baseball coach Todd Tichenor was called up this year to ump several major league games, it was pretty cool to see him live in action. Todd made national news earlier this summer for getting a little trigger happy.

Lauren's uncle B sure did come through in the clutch. I've never gotten a baseball at a game, but after she asked for one I didn't have a choice other than to guarantee the impossible, Babe Ruth's called shot if you will. Headed into the top of the ninth I took Lauren up to the dugout calling out to the players to give my niece a baseball, Ramon Hernandez made a hero out of me that day. After I got the ball everyone around us started clapping and giving me a high five, but all the excitement embarrassed Lauren and she refused to touch the baseball. I was told she didn't touch the ball until the next day after I'd left, she called to say thanks.

Having a Bad Day?

Watch this, your day will somehow seem better!

Peace.

This weekend, I had the rare opportunity to spend most of the weekend by myself while Brandon went to KC for a couple of Royals games. Now, about a year ago, I wouldn't have considered this an "opportunity" as I HATED to stay home alone, but over the past year, I've come to realize that sometimes I just need some "me" time.

I spent the morning hanging out with Heather, Brandon's cousin and Ashley, Brandon's sister. We walked around the Old Town Farm and Art Market, browsed through the Old Town Square shops and even ventured over to College Hill. It was a fun day of girl talk, shopping and just enjoying the beautiful weather. Afterwards, we met the guys for a quick bbq lunch and then we were off on our seperate ways.

I spent the rest of the afternoon just relaxing and hanging out with Koby. I made a quick trip to my aunt's house to return a few things I had borrowed and then headed to church to work check-in. The rest of the evening was spent lounging on the couch, watching whatever I wanted on TV and playing on the computer (Brandon and I have an agreement that whoever is not on the computer gets to choose what is on TV, but this weekend, I got to do both!).

Typically, I don't sleep well when Brandon is gone, but this weekend, I slept like a rock. As I got up Sunday morning, I realized that I was truly at peace. I wasn't worrying about every sound and keeping myself awake planning my escape should the house alarm go off. God really has a way of answering prayer, even if it isn't right away (I used to pray all of the time that I would feel safe when Brandon was travelin so much).

I went to church and then ran some errands and came home just as a rain shower was clearing. As I sat outside, throwing the ball for Koby, I couldn't help but think of how blessed I am. Lately, I've been hearing of so many sad situations - loss of loved ones, marriages ending, people suffering from bad decisions, loss of jobs and so much more - and I couldn't help but be thankful for God's provision over our lives. I know sometimes it is easy for us to get caught up in the everyday, mundane things and complain about this and that and we completely miss the blessings that surround us.

By the end of the weekend, I was definitely ready to have Brandon home, but I was also very grateful for the "me" time, if anything, it reminded me that I need to pause more often.

Slacking...

...but I will have a new post today! We had a busy, but great weekend, so I'm a little behind.