day 1: life is a highway

            “…i want to ride it all night long!” the first day of the grand adventure started with a morning of packing and loading the RV which has tentatively been named Abner. we all wore our cool matching shirts that brooke designed just for the trip. 

a quick stop to say goodbye to family and get some photos while we still all love each other. kidding of course. then it was time to hit the road! we blasted through Washington in a couple of hours which were filled with good music, laughter, Uno, and waving at other motorists. 

we quickly found out just how much noise this thing makes! it sounds like every little piece is rattling, so if we can’t hear when we make it home again you’ll know why! 

we made it to the Oregon border at about 8pm and stopped for dinner just past Portland. After getting a bite to eat we let tonka sit in the front passenger seat and he promptly got us onto the northbound interstate. so we did a quick loop back up to Portland and headed back down on our way. we drove until we found a rest stop a couple miles north of Cottage Grove and all crawled into bed around 11pm. we looked so cool parked by all those semtrucks. Brooke and I had the best spot to sleep in the upper bunk in the very front of the rv. 

love these girls

this last year i have had the utmost privilege to meet with the greatest girls once a week to discuss life and faith. they offered a safe place to laugh and share troubles. 

i feel so blessed to know each and every single one of these beautiful ladies. 

we spent time exploring different books of the Bible as well as the book The Search for Significance together. 

i loved hearing their insights and praying with them each week. 

these thursday nights taught me more about myself, my Lord and my faith while creating friendships.

this time has brought me closer to God and been *such* a blessing. 

thank you to each one of you and i love you!

gettin there

can i just say i'm super excited to be almost stuck in an rv with my family? 

but in order to jump into the many busy summer adventures i must finish the school year first. 

harder than it sounds folks. 

for example here i sit typing to you instead of how my view on the Bible has changed or what i thought of a book about economics. i know you'll all agree that this option was much more fun. 

this also helps me not to think about having to leave my friends and not getting to see them for a long time. or going off to a foreign world where i don't know a single person. 

nope not thinking about any of those things. just the fact that i have exactly one week before i pack up this cute little apartment and head out for traveling new places. 

in other news i am so proud of my little sister for placing 11th in all of washington 1a state for javelin!! 

and congrats to the rest of the family for being able to make the trek from lynden to cheney and back in just 20 hours. judging by that trip i think there are a few of us that are lovingly hoping a certain tall teenage boy loses his voice. and that lindsey needs enough sleep or it's not so much fun anymore. 

and just a couple photos that i managed to find/take before my battery didn't like me.... i think it's time to find a new one before all the adventures begin

brooke, her friend lindsey, and their amazing coach

tim thought he would be funny and pull a face

jokes on you now tim! 

brooke lined up with the other girls in her flight

so powerful

way to go brooke! 

so proud of you!

don't worry.

the school year is counting down! 

everyone keeps saying only 2 weeks left! 

no. 

sorry. 

but that's ok because it is almost over and then we get to enjoy sunshine without worrying! 

worry. 

the main reason for this post. 

you may remember this post. i'm proud to say that i'm on my way to being better like i hoped. 

but today i happened to see this post from Bits of Splendor. it helped to reaffirm that i can keep working at things without being perfect. nice to hear near the end of the school year while trying to nail down decisions. 

so if you need a boost hop over here and check it out

that's all for now! 

only 2 weeks to go :)

*20* years

happy birthday to me.....

(wow that sounded more self-centered than i anticipated) 

Wow this is incredibly late! BUT i am so thankful to everyone who was so great by spoiled me with love and good food that I think they still deserve credit! 

the weekend long fun began friday night when eric came over and took me to the coolest dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. we had the coolest seat in the entire house! there was a real trolley in the restaurant and our table was right against the front of it so that the headlight was the lamp for our table. we got to sit in these big wingback chairs and even enjoyed spumoni just as a newlywed couple came in still dressed from the ceremony! it was so fun to enjoy time with eric and to talk and laugh. 

the next morning we headed over to Sammammish High School to watch brooke throw javelin! i got to enjoy a venti vanilla bean frapp with two shots and caramel. eric may call me a coffee addict but i prefer caffeine achiever. :) we sat and waited for a few hours chatting and enjoying the meet. finally brooke got to throw and she did great! we were the last people to leave but it was fun to watch her :) for dinner eric took us out for red robin burgers. yum :) then we hung out until eric had to leave. it was fun to hang out with my sister because we haven't seen each other in so long!

in order for her to get home the whole family had to come down to get her! we went out to Blue Moon Burgers and ate delicious food. then we wandered around the Fremont Market for awhile until we headed back to enjoy the yummy chocolate cake mom had brought down!

after they all headed back north my friends took me out to dinner at the coolest place! it is called The Lunchbox Laboratory and it was so neat! i can't wait to go back.

all in all it was a fantastic weekend of good company, tons of good food, and just plain fun.
thank you to everyone who made me feel so special :)
i can't believe i'm 20 now!! 

Simple Happiness

Can you think of anything better than spending a rainy Saturday afternoon in a coffee shop with a friend? 

I dare so no you can not think of anything better. 

This has to be my favorite part about going to school in Seattle. 

The rain tapping on the windows. 

People chatting. 

Working away on homework (ok maybe not so much part of the favorites)

Enjoying a delicious cup of coffee. 

And the company of friends. 

That's how I like to spend my day :)

I'll leave you with this photo of me staring at you creepy like because I was too scared to take a better picture! I hope you can't see me blushing because I think someone looked at me funny when this took...

Hmmmm......

Well i haven't been what you might call "dedicated" to updating this little blog regularly now have i?

This time i won't make any promises to be better because it would seem that just isn't going to happen. 

i really enjoy *reading* blogs but then when i look at that little blank window waiting for my words i run in fear. Yes, i run in fear. But tonight i write. Just to fill you few readers in on my little happenings. 

School is starting again after a fun spring break. 

i spent the majority of my time doing the following:

Hanging out with friends.

 Watching soccer and spear-throwing    (also referred to as javelin). 

Enjoying yummy home cooked meals. 

Spending time with Eric.

Reading and watching the Hunger Games....finally. 

NOT doing homework - thought I wouldn't have to do any because it was a break but the siblings need help and who am I to say no? ;)

And simply loving the time spent around my family. Seriously the more time I spend away the more i realize just how much i love them. 

However, nose to the grindstone! 

I have classes to take having thankfully picked my major finally. 

Study abroad trips to plan. 

Adventures to be had. 

And to be honest I'm just excited to be back in Seattle :) 

Oh land of coffee....