Lovely, hot June days

June has been flying by. I can't believe it's almost halfway over already.

Not too much has been going on since I posted last. I've been babysitting and hanging out with my friends. I don't have a constant babysitting job this summer. Just whenever my aunt needs me, haha. And I'm watching a family with 3 kids one night a week. No real job, but the random babysitting is enough I guess. And mowing Mrs. Small's yard.

My best friend Jackie moved in with us. So I have a roommate again. It's nice to have a friend here all the time. Especially since mom and dad were gone this weekend. Dad's home now, but mom is still on her Texas roadtrip with aunt Marsha. She'll be back Saturday or Sunday.

This past Friday night, I made a spur of the moment decision while I was in Evansville with Angela. I got my nose pierced! It's something I have wanted to do for a long time, but never did. I thought my parents would be mad, but neither of them are. Dane got his ears pierced and has tattoos, so I think I'm in the clear, haha.

Other than that, nothing else is really going on. I'm just trying to enjoy my summer. I'm possibly going to a church camp at Beulah in Eldorado next week. I'll be at 3 camps down at Camp Oxford in July. And we're planning a rafting trip in TN for August before I go to a wedding in Atlanta. It seems like there is so much going on, but everything is all spread out. I'm cherishing every moment of this summer at home, because I probably won't be home next summer. I'm going to try and get an internship somewhere, hopefully New York or Chicago. We'll just see.

Well, that's all I've got for now :)

summer summer time

well, it's been a super long time since i have posted anything [sorry grandma :)]. i guess i got too busy with the end of school/finals, going to texas, going to michigan, and just hanging out.

way too many things have happened since april 19. i think i'll just hit the highlights, haha.

well, after finals were through, school was over, my 20th birthday came & went, and graduation happened, i made a trip to texas. it was one of the most fun trips i have ever been on. allyson, becca, and i spent 12 hours in a car, singing ridiculous songs, playing 'my cow', buying scratch offs, eating ice cream, and just having a whole lot of fun. we spent monday and tuesday in dallas, and then headed to abilene on wednesday morning. we were there wednesday, thursday and friday morning. we drove back to dallas on friday morning, and allyson and i flew out friday night. there were many things that happened, but i don't have enough space to tell you everything that went on.

monday, we ate lunch with becca's little sister, mary.

and played with her after school.

we tried to rope in becca's backyard.

allyson was pretty good at it, hence why the rope is around my waist, haha.

and here we are at becca's dad's ranch in abilene.

they let me ride a horse in abilene,

that's J Paul, he's a pretty cool horse.

the whole time we were in texas was so much fun. i can't wait to have another trip like that!

two days after i got back, i went to michigan with my parents to pick up a truck my dad had bought off ebay. we went to st. joseph, which is right on lake michigan. it was super beautiful.

i think we may vacation there one day, it was just like seaside/seagrove florida. the next day, we went to new buffalo, which was also on the lake.

it was really chilly, but i really enjoyed being on the beach. we took a lot of good pictures.

since then, i've just been home. hanging out with friends from home, and even friends from school. my friend alex is only 30 min. away in marion, so we had ice cream one night. and my friend kylene is only 30 min. away in carmi, so we had lunch one day. i've enjoyed being home, and getting to spend time with friends.

yesterday, we had a get-together at my house. mostly dad wanted to get people over to kayak and hang out. dad and all his bffs were out there rolling and having a good time. all my bffs came over and we fished/kayaked/ate/hung out. it was great. alex got to come and meet all my friends and my parents. it rained for a little while, so everyone came inside and we rock-climbed in the basement for a bit. it was a blast just getting to be with everyone.

i'm working on getting job. not many places are hiring and no one really wants a kid that will only be there for two-ish months, but i'm still trying. i'll probably end up just babysitting for my aunt and one of her friends, and mowing mrs. small's yard. next summer, i'll hopefully be in new york doing an internship for vis com stuff. we'll just have to see.

this evening, dad taught me how to use the lawn mower, so i can start mowing and get paid for it :) tomorrow, i'm going to work out at curves with my momma. and who knows what else will be going on, probably more cleaning around the house and picking up stuff still from school.

i've been going to the high school/junior high youth service on sunday nights. the kids are really starting to get into the worship and diving into a deeper relationship with Christ. it makes my heart happy to see these kids worshipping and having a good time. i miss when i was in youth group, it was so good then. i'll definitely be helping with junior high camp this year, mostly working in the kitchen with my momma, aunt denise, wayne mitchell, and all the regulars. and more than likely, i'll be helping with senior camp and possibly helping with junior camp. i've also been asked to be a counselor at the methodist camp at beulah in eldorado. so i'll be church camping all summer :)

Just a little encouragement for myself and whoever happens to read this:

1 Timothy 6:11-12

"But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

1 Chronicles 16:23

"Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day."

closing time

and so begins the last full week of classes before finals begin. i'm excited and sad all at the same time.

i'm so ready to be done with classes and move into my major (art) classes next fall, but i'm really sad because a ton of seniors are graduating and leaving (jennifer, alex, jamie, matt, guy, austin, phil, steve, etc.) and my dear friend hannah and possible carley and cody are transferring schools. i'll still have a lot of friends around, but it won't be exactly the same without them.

exactly 19 days until graduation, which is also my birthday. i'll be 20, no longer a teenager. i'm going to have to do something for my last teenage angst, haha. probably just get another piercing in my ear.

the day after my birthday i'll be driving with my friends becca and allyson to becca's home in dallas, tx. and spending about five days there. i'm getting a plane ticket home for my birthday. i'm pretty darn excited to get to hang out with these girls. they are two of my bestest friends here on campus. we'll be spending time in dallas and in abilene. and then i'll fly to st. louis from dallas on the 14th or possibly the 15th. i can't wait!!

saturday night was the scf banquet here in evansville. it was a gathering of current students, alumni, parents, and board of directors. we had some worship, some stories about God's work on campus, some scripture reading, and fantastic food. i read acts 17:24-28, which has been a scripture that has played a big role in my life these past few months, when i've been trying to decide what i should do with my life. it was a good time to get together and encourage others through what God has been doing. i'm so glad i have been a part of such an awesome group of friends that have continued to build me up and help me through all my hard times. God has truly blessed me in more ways than i can even imagine.

tonight, i'm going on a girls date with kaitlin. we're going to moe's for mexican :)

i'm getting low on meals, so we're eating off campus, so i can conserve some meals

i've also been getting repaid for all the meals i've given to austin & phil, taco bell and wendys are key to this equation, haha