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!

today's thoughts that might be random

Biking in the rain is SO fun. Actually it was. I've got another 10 miles under my belt. Add that to the 9 or so miles a week or so ago that makes 19 - yes I can add! Lol. I'm going for - oh - maybe 200 miles this summer. Yeah that sounds good. :) I will just have to imagine that I biked them on Mackinac. Wow - I miss that place.

I found a little coffee shop called Grinders Coffee Company right outside of Maineville on Rt. 22. They play 93.3 - a Christian station. But they close at 3:30 pm so my independent study work was cut short. But I'll go back - I'm glad I found a little coffee shop that's not a chain. Lol. It'll be my little hang out.

If you want to hear the most random bell chimes - go to Loveland at 12 noon. We were laughing so hard - I'm sure someone was tampering with it. It was out of control. LOL.

I need to go to King's Island. It's been WAY TOO LONG. Yep pretty sure a ride on the Vortex would really help my headache right now. Lol.

I miss my boyfriend. :(

Okay gonna do more independent study work and then - news of all news - I'm getting a FACEBOOK. But only when the independent study is done.

Farewell fair friends. :)

Picking + Cleaning + Sugar + Pectin = Freezer Jam

When your fingers smell like strawberries - you know it's been a good day. :)

Delightful "Summerness"

I was driving home and decided that I HAD to have a s'more. So I popped a marshmellow onto a graham cracker and put it into the microwave for ten seconds and then yelled, "Look at it blow up!!" Yummy - so good.

Yup it's summertime!

Actually this whole week has been blessedly "summer-like." I shall recount the ways using nifty bullet points!

• biking with the fam
• sleeping in...waking up...and then sleeping some more
• Vacation Bible School - singing, praising, teaching, laughing...just a lovely time
• planting a flower
• washing dishes upon dishes
• washing clothes
• making supper
• reading a fiction book (The Wheel on the School)
• reading a inspirational book (Completely His)
• reading the Bible - with no time restraints!
• shopping at Wal-mart
• watching Remember the Titans
• walking with mom at the park
• playing tennis with Andrew at a different park
• visiting a dear friend, even if it was just for an hour
• making a drink stop at Sonic during happy hour
• eating a blizzard from Dairy Queen after VBS (thank you Mom!)
• texting people quite randomly and then not so randomly (lol)

Yup - it's summertime. And I absolutely love it!

Summer is Here! :)

I'm sitting here trying to think of what to say - my mind swimming with so many memories. I've been to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland - which was a trip of a lifetime. And then the first part of this week I spent in Illinois with Lucas' family and had a delightful time! Jo and Rach if you are reading this...I miss you both! :) What I wouldn't give for a coffee drink at JoeSipper's right now with you two! :) And then this morning, Lucas took me out to breakfast and we said our goodbyes for about 24 days since he'll be traveling with his trio. So, yeah...it's been a wonderful three weeks - full with delightful memories, but now I must get my life organized for a busy summer. VBS is next week and then I start Summer Camp at LBA the next week, and then we have Children's Camp at Church, and there went the month of June! Crazyness! :) But I'm definitely looking forward to the change of pace that summer affords. Enjoy those bright sunny days!

Ireland

It's still a bit surreal ... The last few days I've been in Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland with 17 of my best friends, my boyfriend, and the heros of my life, Mr. and Mrs. Wolf, and Mr. Crater. And a little part of my heart is still back in Ireland with the dear friends that I made there.

My heart is just so full of the thought of God's goodness. He was so faithful to us and we all felt His guidance on the whole trip. This was definitely a life-changing trip for me in so many ways. Such precious memories.

This biggest hang-up of the trip is that my luggage still has not arrived from Chicago. (*Actually it just arrived as I was posting this! *) But I did get a $100 voucher from United Airlines, so who knows where I'll be next! :)

More to come, I'm sure. :)

A 'lil update

It's nearly two o'clock in the afternoon and I'm eating leftovers from the party Friday night and I just got out of bed. This means one thing - classes are OVER!!!!! :) I made it!!!!! :) Thank you God for your strength and help! I do have an independent study to finish up by the end of June, but that shouldn't take too long!

Last night was Concert on the Lawn. I completely enjoyed myself, even though some mysterious things occurred during several of our songs! :) My brother took a video and I watched it last night, and you can hear the flutes like the whole time!!! So cool! It was so fun playing with Jessica Harptkof (sp?). Like old times! :)

Well - our Ireland trip is here!!! We leave Monday! So the rest of today and tomorrow, I will be doing some serious preparation and packing. I'm soooo excited!! :) Please keep us in your prayers! :)

Guess What???

I'm dating!!! I'm still not sure if I quite believe it yet! ;) After a special band tour, and a month of getting to know each other better, Lucas P. Ryder asked me to be his girlfriend!!! :) I'm just a wee bit excited! lol :)

Needless to say, I have zero motivation for homework!! :) But I MUST persevere!! :)

Have a wonderful week! :)