The Return of the Mangy Mailbox Monster

Our poor innocent little mailbox...now broken and torn by the horrible monster. Why must he choose our little mailbox...aren't there millions of others that he could assault...but no...it's ours over and over again. I think this is probably the third or fourth time he's eaten ours for a midnight snack. My neighbor just shook her head and tossed me the mailbox lid that had flown over in her yard. The monster has gotten hers too several times...and their neighbors. I'm pretty sure I heard the attack last night...the noise of the truck barreling down the road...the point of impact...such horrible sounds. I ran to the window...but alas...it was too dark to see the destruction. But the morning light showed the sad little mailbox lying helpless in the driveway amidst the falling rain.

Pictorial Recap

Hey everybody!! Life has been busy the last few days...but a lot of fun. Here is what I've been up to:

(This picture won't go down to its spot so it will be first...lol ) Monday night I took my brother bowling as a very belated birthday present, and we got a sweet deal! Two hours of bowling for the two of us + shoes for $10!! The guy accidentally gave us another hour! Cool huh? We played 7 1/2 games! :) It was very fun!

I set out Thursday (July 9) after work and drove to Charleston, WV, and spent the night with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Then Leanna and I got up and hiked through the woods Friday morning. We had lunch and then I headed down to NC to visit Katie and her family. It was a wonderful, first road trip by myself! :)

On the trail ... I fell through this bridge on the way back...hehe.

Millie found all the mud holes... :)

The woods were so green.

My cousin Leanna and I on the top of the mountain.

At Katie's, we enjoyed taking walks every night down a side road.

Jenna and Thumper

Katie took me to a tea house! It was so special! :)

Katie and I - sisters at heart :)

(This is out of order...) The pretty sunset on my way home from Charleston. Yes I was snapping pictures as I was driving - but I lived. :)

Katie and I made pavlova. We ate a lot of this dessert in Ireland!

Yummy Pavlova!

All the girls - Me, Kirsten, Katie, Mrs. Kaufman, Katrina, and Jenna. It was a blast having sisters for the weekend! :)

Last weekend, Lucas was back in Cincy so we went on a date Friday night and out bowling with friends on Saturday. It was so wonderful being with him! :)

Lucas' group, Faith, was at my church Sunday morning. They did an awesome job! It was a very special service. They came to my house for lunch, and then they were off to AYC.

I've also been working at a Summer Camp this summer. I usually help drive kids to parks and on field trips. We have lots of fun together! This beautiful field of sunflowers is across from a park that we go to, so we got a few pics! :) (Oh and we had two more adults with us...don't worry! :P)

This fellow was way taller than the rest!


So happy!

Ms. Dana (the Summer Camp Leader) and I

So that is what I've been up to. I've been very busy with work - Summer Camp and Panera, but I'm thankful for the work and usually it's a lot of fun too! I can't believe summer is nearly over. :( I guess summer will never quite be like it was when I was a kid since I have two jobs now. Wow...that's depressing. But...I'm gonna try and enjoy every last moment of blessed "summerdom." And be sure that I'll share all that I do with you! :)

Smile - it's still summer!!! :D

*Sigh* - Finally!

Finally - a time to blog!! So much has happened over the last few weeks. Let's see... a quick recap.

--June 19-21 - My brother and I spent the weekend at Aunt Brenda's! Our own little vacation 20 minutes from home!! We got new tennis rackets and played tennis every night. And we did other fun stuff too! Love you Brenda! :)

--June 24-26 - Helped out (whenever I wasn't working) at Camp Hope, our church's own Children's Camp. It was a blast!! I had so much fun hanging out with some cool 6-12 year olds. What a special group of kids!

--June 27 - Had a delightful time babysitting three sweet kids!

--June 29 & July 1 - Got to hang out with my awesome boyfriend! :)

--July 2 - Mom and I went to an Isaacs concert - wow what an perfect night! So special.

--July 4 - After working at Panera in the morning, the fam celebrated the 4th at Smokey Bones...yum! :)

--July 5 - Gave a little power point presentation about my Ireland trip in church Sunday night. Enjoyed reminiscing!

-- Summer Camp - and amongst all these lovely things I've been working at a Summer Camp at Liberty Bible Academy. It's been wonderful...I usually work from 12pm-4pm about 3-4 days a week, but yesterday I helped out all day by driving some kids up to Boonshoft Museum in Dayton. And next Wednesday I'll be driving up to the Creation Museum. I feel very blessed with such a cool job!

-- Panera - and for my second job of the summer... I've been working 10 -15 hours a week...and I still love it!

And if this post seems unusually cheery and happy it is because:
1.) My Independent Study is DONE *and the crowd goes wild!*
2.) Tonight after Summer Camp I'm driving to Charleston, WV to spend the night with my aunt, uncle, and cousins and then Friday I'm driving to North Carolina to see my friend Katie!!! It will be my first little road trip solo and I'm very excited!!

So that's been my life the past few weeks. I've had some ups and downs, but God is so faithful! I'm learning to base my happiness and fulfillment in HIS love! What an awesome God!