Tennesse Mission Trip - July 2o1o :)

Last week, my youth group went on a mission trip to Knoxville, TN (in that general area, no one really knows where we actually were ;) ) We drove through Memphis, then through Nashville, then to Knoxville, then to the TEAMeffort camp. We spent the week there, then came back home, going the same route in reverse. But the fun in between the long car trips went a little like this:

The first night, we stayed in Memphis. We got to our hotel around 4:00, dipped in the hotel pool, and then went out for a burger at 'Kooky Canuck's'. That was pretty neat! They were actually featured on "Man vs. Food" for their 6 lb. burger. Yes, we saw one. and yes, it was HUGE. Then we walked around Memphis, went on an old trolley (!That was really cool!), went in a mall, walked into a couple of stores, then went back to the hotel because it was Saturday night in Memphis - I don't think I need to explain more ;)

We then woke up, drove to camp, and went to chapel. But because of the time change, we didn't stop for supper before we got to camp. and then chapel didn't end until 10:00, so we were all half-starved by the time we had a chance to go to Taco Bell (our choice for the evening). Then we remembered that curfew for camp is at 10:30. Wonderful. So we raced over there, only to find out that the lobby was closed and we had to go through the drive-thru. Just Great. So all 12 of us pile into the 14 passenger van and crawl through the drive-thru. Amazing. we all ordered (thankfully, it was on one bill - the Air Force was paying for it!!). Complicated. But, amazingly, we all got our orders back perfectly. no sour cream on a plain taco, no soft tacos when you ordered hard. Wow! those guys in there were AMAZING :D haha :):) So then we went back to camp and crashed in our beds. What.a.night. :)

The next morning was the first work day. You see, this is a 'normal' Christian Camp, except they assign each youth group a different work site. Some people work on houses, in back yards, on churches, put roofs on houses, build sheds, ect. My youth group was blessed with working on a church. And I say 'blessed' because we weren't working outside in the TN heat (however, there wasn't any AC in the building, so it was still HOT). The church itself was already built, but we were doing jobs like painting, mudding, putting up sheet rock, and holding up compressed cement on the face of the church. When we got to the site, we were each assigned our jobs to do that day. I was assigned mudding and sanding. But somehow I got switched to holding up the cement boards, which was actually nice because I got to work outside where there was at least a little bit of a breeze :) After that long day, we went back to camp, but not before we made a necessary stop at Sonic to get a cold slushie. :) We went back to camp, showered, ate supper, went to chapel, and then decided we were hungry, so one of our leaders brought us some McDonald's fries :) excellent.

The second day of work was basically the same : Wake up, eat, go to work site, work, take a break to eat lunch, go back to work, finish the day's work, go to Sonic, go back to camp, shower, eat, go to chapel, went to Wal-Mart (that was crazy!) go to bed:)

Wednesday was pretty cool :) It was the same as our other two workdays, but for lunch, the pastor of the church brought us pizza - which was a nice replacement for the sandwiches :) We went back to camp and after chapel we went to Taco Bell again - only this time the lobby was still open, so it wasn't as ... complicated.

Thursday = best day of camp :D
There wasn't a work day, so instead we went Whitewater Rafting! that was so.much.fun :) Then we came back to camp, but the scenery on the way was beautiful! I could have definitely got used to the mountains and tall trees! When we got back to camp, we showered and cleaned ourselves up again for the last chapel. The last chapel was really cool! We got an opportunity to 'lay down' our bad scaffolding (i.e. things that are in our lives that basically shouldn't be) at the cross. We really opened up spiritually as a youth group that night - which was awesome. By the time all of that was over, it was 11:30, which would've been fine, except we didn't eat supper. So we snuck past the staff, piled in the van, and crawled out at IHOP. All was fine until we saw each and every staff member walk through the doors. Apparently it's their 'tradition' to come to IHOP every Thursday night. And who would've walked up to our table other than the director of the camp. But it was okay - they thought it was just as funny as we did! :) So finally around 1, we all went back to camp and slept like rocks.

Friday is sight-seeing day. We went to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge to walk around, see the shops, and do some other cool things like "Ripley's Mirror Maze". that was FUN :) [warning: that place is very expensive for what you get]. But we made it back to camp in time to pack up for the next day's journey to Nashville.

On Saturday morning, we woke up and left for Nashville! Once there, we found our hotel and dropped off our trailer with our luggage (it was too early to actually check in) , then went downtown to see Nashville! We walked around, went in shops, ate at a cute little cafe, then went to the TN Titan's Stadium! Then back to the hotel because of the rain. Then another girl in our youth group, Ashlyn, and I decided to go swimming in the outdoor pool (by this time, it had stopped raining! After showers, the group decided to brave the weather again to go see a movie - Despicable Me - it was a really cute movie (recommend it!) .
[so I'm not really sure of the order of the day's events, but it went something like that]

Then on Sunday, we woke up early (too early if you ask me) for the looooonnnngggg drive back. but we made it - and here I am at home on the computer typing this :)

Book Review: Little House on the Prairie Series

Ya, ya, I know. Most people read the Little House books when they're in 4th grade. But I don't like reading, and it took me a while to find the WHOLE series, which I wanted to read at the same time, in order. All that to say that I just read the series, and I thought it was great. Personally, I prefer non-fiction books or realistic fiction books - I'm not into Sci-Fi, Harry Potter, or anything like that. So the Little House Series was a perfect pick for me in the first place. However, I honestly think that the perspective of the books is perfect! Laura Ingalls Wilder really knew how to just write about simple, family stories. And to think, I've gone my whole life thinking that the show followed the books exactly. Ya.right. As much as I love both the show and the books, they're totally different! Anyways. Just a short little post to let you know that, yes, I like Little House on the Prairie - both the books and the show :)

P.S. Okay, so the show actually gets me out of bed every morning - it starts at 10:00 and I promised myself I could only watch it if I got out of bed, showered, and got dressed by the time it started. But it's a great, sappy, cheesy show to start my day out with :)

mInNeSoTa MaDnEsS 2o1o

This last week, my family and I took our yearly trip up to Minnesota - only this time, we drove a lot farther, and we had a few more complications.

I started thinking about the trip early on - my cousin's wedding, my grandma's 80th Birthday party, seeing all of our relatives, and bringing our pop-up camper along. But my anticipation soon came crushing down when we found out there was something wrong with the engine in our suburban - the only vehicle that could pull the camper AND fit all 5 of us. Of course, this happens the day before we were supposed to leave, so there was no time to fix it. So my parents looked into a few options: rent a car and spend an extra 600$ that week, not go, or cram into our little tiny Subaru legacy. (Which, by the way, is a great car). So they used process of elimination (without me, of course) to decide what to do. Obviously, they didn't want to see an extra 600$ go down the drain just for our comfort. Obviously, we all wanted to go - no matter how we got there. So. We all crammed into the Subaru, and let me tell you: that was a tight squeeze. You see, the poor car is supposed to seat five . . . but let's just say you can only fit 4 comfortably - especially for long car trips. haha :) Then there came the issue of packing. We are all used to having the Suburban to spread out all of our stuff and basically bring what we want. But this time, we had to cram all of our junk (for a whole week) into the tiny trunk of our little car.

To this day, I'm still not entirely sure how we made it all the way up there, but we managed somehow, because sometime after a cheap hotel, we were all standing in my Grandma's driveway. Whew! My rear end was so sore I was sure it was going to fall right off, but somehow, that's still here too ;) So we spent Tuesday and Wednesday night at Grandma's (my Dad's mom) house, and then we were off to see my Grandparent's (My mom's parents). Thankfully, Grandma and Grandpa live only about 45 minutes away from my other Grandma - so it was a short little trip :) When we made it there, we all went over to my Aunt and Unlce's house to eat and 'chill' for the afternoon. Well...my unlce as a speed boat, and we talked him in to taking his neices out for a swim on one of Minnesota's lakes. That was wonderful. We got to go tubing and jump in the fReEzInG cold water and go for a little swim :) I then spent the night at my cousin's house and woke up and went Strawberry picking! I love strawberry picking: the 'eat more than you pick' rule, the fresh air, and all of the sweet little red berries. Then my sister, cousin, mom, and I went back to my Grandparent's apartment to de-stem and clean all of the ripe berries so we could freeze them to bring them home to make jam :) After that, unexpectedly, my parents decided to go to the new Twin's stadium and take the 10$ tour (which, by the way, was WELL worth the ten dollars). There were only about 40 other people besides my family, and we all got to walk around the new stadium and see everything. We went in the visitor's dugout and locker room, we sat in all of the private rooms that your company has to rent for a LOT of $$$$$ (waaaayyyy too much if you ask me), we got to walk on the fields [okay. so we weren't supposed to walk on the actual grass, but just guess who decided to step on it a few times just to say she'd done it?!] Anyways. All in all, we definitely had a blast at the Twin's Stadium :)
[just a warning - everything in that gift shop is WAAAYY overpriced, but it's the MLB, what do you expect??]

Then, after the strawberry picking and the Twin's tour, I went back to my cousin's house and got to hang out with her (the rest of my family was at my Grandparent's apartment) . Yes. that was an EXCELLENT day.

Then. (yes, there's more), we went back to my other Grandma's house for some of her delicious food:) We woke up, and went to my cousin's wedding. That was a perfect wedding :) So we spent the afternoon there (and evening, really) and went back and crashed at my Grandma's house :) We woke, went to church with her, went out to lunch with her, and then we were in a cute little town somewhere in Minnesota at a cute little tea room for my other Grandma's 80th Birthday Party (which was perfect too, of course) Boy, was she surprised when she saw that laptop! :) We then spend the evening walking around that cute little town, wishing the stores were open. We stayed at a little hotel with the rest of that side of the family, then woke up to my "Birthday celebration". ya. It was my Birthday, so we made the best party we could. Mom went to the gas station and got me a couple of doughnuts and an orange pop :D and then I opened the 'presents'. But basically, because we couldn't possibly fit anything more into that car, I just got a bunch of cards with some money :) I was content. Even if it wasn't the BEST Birthday, it was better than some of the other ones I've had. haha :)

Then, like before, I don't know how we did it, but we were home. It was 1:00 in the morning. and we were all exhausted. I crashed into my bed, and that was the end of Minnesota summer trip, 2o1o :)

Be sure your Dentist will find you out. . . .

Yesterday I went to the dentist to simply get my teeth cleaned and lo and behold, the dentist knew everything I've eaten since my last appointment. and not because I don't brush my teeth or because I had really bad breath. I'm not really sure how she does it, but it goes a little like this:

"Do you floss twice daily?"
"Do you eat candy?"
"Do you sip on pop?"
"Do you drink Gatorade?"
"Do you have fluoride in your water?"
"Do you eat sugary cereals?"
"Do you consistently brush your teeth EVERY night before you go to bed?"
"Do you like to eat cookie dough?"
"Do you rinse out your mouth after you have pop or Gatorade?"

I mean. seriously. they asked me EVERY one of those questions. and let's just say I slack off on that stuff every once in a while ;) Which isn't necessarily good. But who really wants to rinse out their mouth after they have a little sip of pop? Anyway. I thought that I should just share that because . . . . . I don't really know why. But let's just say I've had some *great* dentist experiences;) Like getting those 11 teeth pulled (yes, all at once). Or having that one tooth pried out. Those didn't feel so good :) But I do appreciate what they're trying to do! ;)

I Wish

So I haven't written in a while - but right now I'm not even sure who actually reads this thing, so I could care less. . . .

But I'm going to do a list. A list of wishes. A list of things I've always wanted to do, but have never gotten the chance. A list of things I hope that I will someday be able to do. And a list of silly things that will never happen, but hey, I can wish, can't I?

1.) I wish these 'grown-up' decisions would never be. What happened to the hardest choice being which crayon to choose? Right now I'm being forced to make some tough decisions - and I don't appreciate it

2.) I wish I could go back in time. Back to where I went to my old school, lived at my old house, hung out with my old friends, and I didn't have to make hard decisions.

3.) I wish I could fly. If I could fly, I would go back to Nebraska. and I think it would be amazing to be soaring through the sky and look down and see all of these little cars driving on the freeway or something.

4.) I wish I could be more motivated. I only like to do things when I feel like doing them (which isn't necessarily often) For instance, right now, I really should be folding three loads of laundry, cleaning my room, or sweeping the hallway. So much for that . . ..

5.) I wish that someday, I will be happily married. I hope that my future husband is out there today, living his life for the Lord and keeping himself pure for me.

6.) I wish that I could drive. but no. I have to wait another year and a half before I can even get my permit! >:(

7.) I wish that I had a job. yes. that's not really what most teenagers want, but I want money and something do to. but once again, I have to wait another year for that one.

8.) I wish that I could go to a Vikings game before I die. I love the Vikings. and hey, I'm a Minnesota brat.

9.) I wish that there was an 'undo' button in life. for the stupid little things, like spilling the last glass of my favorite pop and for the bigger things, like saying something REALLY stupid to someone.

10.) I wish I was as perfect as I think myself to be

11.) I wish I had better feet and knees. dumb family genes...

12.) I wish I could be fearless.

13.) I wish that sometimes, you could wake up from the 'dream'. like when I moved last summer. For the longest time, I thought I would wake up, and everything would be back to normal.

14.) I wish I knew more kids my age that weren't rich and snotty. bleh.

15.) I wish I never become one of those kids that are rich and snotty.

16.) I wish I could live a life for the Lord and glorify and honor him in all that I do.

17.) I wish that I could have a golden retriever puppy.

18.) I wish that my cat would never die.

19.) I wish to someday become a teacher.

20.) I wish that someday, I look back on this blog, and check off every one of these. ya right.

21.) I wish my best friend and I could be best friends forever :)

I'm sure I'll add more later. but that's it for now, folks! :)

Individually Strong. Together Unbreakable.

This last weekend, I had the privilege to go on an 8th grade retreat with my class at my school. It was amazing. and not necessarily because I had a blast (to be perfectly honest with you, it was kinda boring :P ) It was awesome, though, because of the spiritual aspect. After two of the girls led us in worship, our Principal asked if any of the students wanted to say something encouraging or give their testimony. So a boy in my class gets up and tells his testimony. I could honestly feel the power of God sweeping through that room. Then someone else gets up and tells their story. Then someone else. it was amazing! Even I went up there and said something *hopefully* encouraging. At the end of the night ( this went from 8:45 till 12ish!) I think over 90% of the class had gone up there! :) It was AMAZING! :) Let me tell you - it got pretty emotional. Some of these kids have been through a LOT.
But I sensed the unity in this class for the first time. Everyone was leaning on each other and comforting those who were crying (which was virtually everyone). I had never seen any unity in this class before. There are groups, clicks, couples, but really no unity. But my eyes were definitely opened that night . Anyways, I should go, but I just wanted to share my amazing experience with whoever reads this blog :) Here is our verse, mission statement, and motto for next year (we voted on them on the retreat) :)

• Verse: Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three stands is not quickly broken.
• Mission Statement: We strive to trust in God, trust in others, and trust in ourselves.
• Motto: Individually strong, together unbreakable.
  

Madison Jayne :)

Like most people in this insane world, I have a best friend. and I love her to death. But when I moved, she didn't move with me. Which was a major problem. You see, Maddie still lives in Nebraska, but I live in Oklahoma. And let's just say we don't get to see each other enough. In fact, since I've moved over 10 months ago, we've only seen each other once. But anyways. I would tell a million stories and inside jokes, but no one reading it would understand any of them. haha...So I just thought I'd tell the world that I love Madison Jayne and that I miss her very very very much! :)

Movie Review: The Blind Side

I thought that the movie "The Blind Side" was an amazing movie. It was one of my all-time favorite movies. I thought it had some good christian morals, for being a 'new' Hollywood video. This movie wasn't even made by Christians, so I was shocked when they were reading Bible verses and playing Christian music! But I think the overall story was amazing :) This is such an awesome real story, and I'm glad they made a movie about it :)
By the way, I would watch this movie again in a heart beat!

Moving

My family moves a lot because my dad is in the military. It can sometimes be really really difficult, but sometimes be really cool :) For instance, I got to live in Okinawa, Japan, for 3 years! We loved it there! My house was a block away from the East China Sea, and because we were homeschooled, we went down to the ocean to go snorkeling a lot! Also, my family lived in Nebraska. And although that may sound really boring, we met some awesome people :) We went to a small Christian school there, and I made some amazing friends. But moving can also be really hard -- emotionally and physically. This last summer, my family moved from Nebraska (we had been there for 4 years) to Oklahoma. Like I said before, I had some awesome friends, and it was incredibly hard to say goodbye to them. Then when we got here, I didn't know anyone my own age.
When you move within the country, the Air Force gives you a choice to either move yourself (they actually pay you!) or they will move for you. We thought it was a good idea to move ourselves considering it was only a 7 hour trip. And although we had a lot of fun and got paid for it, it was hard. We started packing in May around the same time my brother was graduating from HS. It was crazy at our house. We were trying to get ready for a graduation party and trying to pack ourselves! It was also hectic because our school was moving into their new building, so we were trying to help them and we had to pack up my mom's classroom (she was a drama teacher, so we had to pack all of the costumes and other junk). But I think looking back on it, we wouldn't do it any other way! Although it was a crazy hectic, we had crazy fun! :)
Every time we move, I just think God is teaching me to rely on his love and strength, and not other people's :) Although it's hard, I know that the testing of my faith develops perseverance (James 1:1-8) :)

P.S. I'm glad my dad knows how to drive a semi-truck! :)

Movie Review: Wall-E

I'll probably be doing some movie reviews on here -- and here's the first one. If you're reading this, I would appreciate your input :) Anyways. Here's the first review on Wall-E.
I saw Wall-E when it first came out, but didn't really think much of it. Recently my 7th hour Media Class watched the movie while our teacher was out of town. And the more and more I thought about it, the more I disliked the movie and the movie's implications. It strongly implied that the whole world should 'go green' or we'll all get overrun by garbage and have to leave the earth. Also, it may just be me, but I don't like movies that predict the future. No one REALLY knows what's going to happen - except God, of course :) But back to my original thought. I thought the movie also implied that humans are irresponsible and lazy. Don't get me wrong. I think that a lot of people are, without doubt, irresponsible and lazy. but this movie basically said that ALL people are SOOOO irresponsible and lazy that they let their trash take over the world! I was actually quite shocked when I discovered this and not necessarily in a good way, either! Sure, the story line with Eve and Wall-E falling in love is cute, but seriously?! It's not like ALL movies don't have people falling in love. Anyways. If you haven't seen the movie, I don't think it's worth watching. If you have, it's not worth watching again.

The Animals

Some of the most important things in my life are my pets. And as stupid as this sounds, it's true. I have 2 horses, one dog, one cat, and my younger sister has 2 birds and a rabbit. As far as the birds and rabbit go, I could honestly careless. I like an animal that will do tricks, not pee on you, and won't just fly away :P But I love my horses, dog, and cat. So I'll tell you a little story from each of them :)

• Boomer - We got Boomer this summer when we moved here. He's fat, kinda lazy, but an amazing horse :) He's really nice to people, but he's a butt when it comes to poor Sooner :( Let's just say that his favorite pastime is nipping Sooner's rear end :P

• Sooner - We got him the same time we got Boomer -- they've been together since birth. He's a little bit younger than Boomer, and he's definitely most frisky. He has scars all over his rear end from Boomer biting it, but I try extra hard to be nice to Sooner :) Don't tell anyone, but he's my favorite;)

• Scout - He's our dog, a 4 1/2 year old sheltie that already has arthritis. It's pretty pathetic, but we still love him :) He's my boy -- He got me through a lot this Summer when we moved and I'm super thankful for him :) There will be pictures of him up on here very soon :)

• Thomas - He's our cat from Japan. He's fat, and likes to sleep, but he's not lazy :)He's small for a cat, but I think he's beautiful - I'll post pictures of him someday too :)

Anyways. Those are my boys, and I love them to death :) I hope to someday get another dog, but we "have too many pets" -- (only because Kari has 3 of her own :P )

The FIRST post :)

Short. Sweet. Simple.
That's what makes a good blog post. I've read a lot of blogs, but my favorite definitely aren't the ones that are stretched out to the ends of this earth. So I'll try to keep this as short as possible. Especially because I have a *certain* older sister of mine who is begging me to get on this dumb computer :)
I've never really blogged before, although I do like writing - just not enough to make it my profession someday. Anyways. about me. I have 3 siblings. My older brother, Kyle, who's in college somewhere in Wisconsin, my older sister, Kelly, who's a junior in HS (she's going to the same school I am), and my younger sister, Kari, who's in that horrible stage of dramatic 5th grade. I've been blessed with 2 amazing parents who are still married after 19 some years - which is a rarity nowadays :) My dad is a Chaplain in the Air Force and my Mom is a teacher at the big Christian School that I go to. I move a lot because of my dad's job, but I'll write about the stories from all of those moves later :)
That's my family. The people who I live with everyday, the people I eat with. The people I love <3 I'm entirely blessed by my LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ to have these people in my life :)