A Fun Weekend!

On Friday night Stephen and I hung out and played the low-key card because I had to wake up at the booty crack of dawn on Saturday to take a test.  It was a lot of fun just being able to relax and be without much craziness or a hectic timeframe.  We both enjoy Friday nights like that.

On Saturday, I took a certification test and lost 3 hours of my life that I will never be able to gain back.  I guess I shouldn't be so Debbie Downer about it considering it could very well be the last test I ever have to take!  After my test, Stephen and I ran a few errands in preparation for one of my best friends Katie and her husband Kyle's arrival.  They rolled into town at around 1:30ish and we immediately started having a good time!  We headed to Wilde for lunch where I enjoyed a scrumptious buffalo chicken sandwich on pretzel bread with sweet potato fries.  Stephen and Kyle both feasted on bison burgers while Katie enjoyed their marvelous macaroni and cheese - seriously, ah-mazing.
We rolled ourselves out of Wilde and walked around Lincoln Park for a bit, headed back to the apartment where Kyle and Stephen both took on the roles of old men and fell in and out of snoozers on the couches. We talked and caught up on life and just really enjoyed each other's company.
After we felt like we had a little bit of hunger return to our bellies, we headed to our favorite restaurant: The Basil Leaf.  Katie and I enjoyed a cup of their awesome tomato basil soup and a salad while Kyle went for the whole mamma-jamma and got a bowl of the tomato basil and Stephen altogether lost his mind and ordered a full on entree...he obviously had his hunger return in full force!  We walked out of Basil Leaf happy and stuffed and so we took a stroll down to Lake Michigan and then called it a night.

On Sunday we woke up and headed off to church to get an awesome teaching on forgiveness from Pastor Lutzer.  If you're ever in the Chicago area and are looking for a good church to attend on Sunday morning, may I suggest The Moody Church?  You'll hear a solid scriptural message and be surrounded by people seeking their Lord with their lives.  Okay, enough of that :) after lunch we headed back to the apartment and packed up a wonderful picnic.  We hauled everything to the lake and enjoyed a wonderful lunch with an awesome view and great conversation.  Throw in a little walking (okay, a lot of walking) and some beach volleyball and you'll get a good idea of what our Sunday afternoon looked like.

That night, Stephen and I both had small group so Katie and Kyle ventured out into Lincoln Park solo.  My small group went to RibFest and enjoyed 2 slabs of ah-mazing ribs!  Stephen enjoyed poking fun of the fact that my girl's small group went to and was excited about RibFest - he said that his guy's small group was going to have a tea party.  If they did, I wouldn't make fun of them....that's a lie.

I sent Katie and Kyle on their way on Monday morning, only after I stuffed them once again with a wonderful breakfast at Yolk.  I was sad to see them go, but so happy and refreshed at the time we got to spend together!  This upcoming weekend will be another full and fun one as Stephen has some college buddies coming to town.  We'll have a second round of company and lots of food to keep us full and thankful for the blessing God has given us of great friends!

What about you - did you do anything fun or refreshing this weekend?  I sure hope you didn't have to wake up early on Saturday morning to take a test!