Oh Yes We Did

I went on a two and a half week road trip including trips to Kansas to see my family, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and back again. It was such a fun time to be with family and friends along the way. Here are a few pictures!

Kansas is easily one of my favorite places, and had a blast hanging out with my family. There was a lot of card playing, cooking, talking and laughing. I also got to babysit the newest addition to our family! Meet Emma, my nephew Chase's little one. Isn't she beautiful?



When we were little, my dad and grandpa built a one-bedroom cabin in the woods near Grand Lake in Oklahoma. I have so many of my favorite memories there, so it was perfect that I came on a weekend they were going down! We swam in the lake (it's much warmer than Lake Michigan!), went boating and tubing, ate incredible food cooked over the open fire and just spent fun times together. We also spent some quality time with quite a few bugs...like this one:



Amanda and I decided to take a road trip before she started school again. We thought Seattle initially, but I'm so glad that didn't work out now....we had more time to see such cool things going only half the distance! The drive through Colorado was one of the most exciting parts of our trip. I thought we both were going to fall over when we caught a glimpse of the first mountains. The sky was the bluest I had ever seen and the mountains were breathtaking!



We camped in Yellowstone for 4 days- and saw incredible places. There was too much beauty to even take in. I would definitely recommend going, if you've never been!



We ended the trip visiting our aunt and uncle in Billings, Montana. Our grandparents were visiting at the same time, so we spent most of the time talking, sharing recipes, hearing stories from the sheep-herding days and just enjoying each other's company over coffee (which Amanda and I had been missing like CRAZY!).



Missing being on the road, but also glad to be back. More pictures to come! :)

R&R

Heading to the lake this weekend with my family to fish, sleep, cook out, swim, boat and breathe deeply.

THEN, heading to Yellowstone with my favorite sister for a week! Ahhhh!!!!

Oh life, how good you are to me. :)

Happenings

Oh it's been SO long. A quick update on what I've been doing:

Watching tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, lemonbalm, arugula, sweet potatoes and flowers growing in pots on my porch.
Reading
Camping
Saying goodbye to World Relief staff, clients and friends.
Beach going
Sushi eating
Job searching
Cooking
Attempting to teach ESL to an incredibly entertaining family
Crying
Dreaming
Rediscovering my love for Kansas- yet again
Playing the guitar and learning a bit of banjo

AND, planning the road trip of a lifetime with my wonderful sister-friend. Can't wait to see some of my favorite people (and lots of trees!!) along the way!

This seems to wrap up my 'life season' over the past few years (and the last few months on a more recent note):

Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.' James 4. 13-15