Hand me my dog, Hand me my bag...and that American Flag!!

This past weekend my mom and sister and I packed up the car and headed to Nashville twice!  We hit the road and about 20 minutes down the road had an unexpected flat tire, so we came back, switched cars, and headed off again. This time we made it!  We were on our way to see Legally Blonde the Musical.  This is my favorite musical.  I told my mom that I identify a lot with Elle Woods.  This made her laugh, but all through out school whenever I would get upset about math classes I would pop in Legally Blonde and Elle would inspire me to keep studying!  I don't know if I should be embarrassed by telling you this, but it is the truth.  I just love her personality and how all things are so positive.  Anyway, when we got to the theatre we realized that we had first row seats!!!!!! Dream come true!! I thought Lindsay was going to faint as we walked to our VIP seats.  We could see the sweat and feel the spit(gross but didn't care) of the performers.  I also got to chat it up with the orchestra.  Lindsay and I got invited to the after party!!  It was a great trip and a much needed escape from school.  Thanks mom!!  

Laura Bell Bundy, the original Elle Woods

Emmitt...he was patting my back while this photo was taken

Rhiannon from MTV's Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods

She played one of Elle's sorority sisters

Lauren from MTV's Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods

The understudy for Elle

Vivian

Laura Bell....We love you!!!

Elle Woods...maybe?

Bales Girls out on the town in Nashvegas

VIP Parking

Kristin, Welcome to the Family

Tate and Kristin heading to the reception after the wedding ceremony

Uncle David, Aunt Carol, Cole, Tate, and Seth at Tate's Graduation this spring

My family grew by one person on June 6, 2009.  Kristin Gregg...Geren is officially after 7 years my cousin.  Check out Jennie Andrews for a couple of pictures from the wedding day.  They had a very sweet wedding.  I do ask for your prayers for our family during this time of happiness and sadness.  On the long awaited day of my cousin's wedding my aunt was admitted into the hospital.  She had been battling pancreatic cancer for three and a half years.  She was in the hospital for about a week and a half until she went home to be with Jesus last Wednesday.  At her memorial service our pastor said that some people are either lovers and some are fighters, but Aunt Carol was both.  She loved her husband, three boys, and us so tenderly, yet she was one of the strongest women I know.  We rejoice in her new heavenly dwelling with the Lord, but our hearts break without her presence in our lives!

it hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time

I am going to wrap up my posting on Frontier Ranch! It has taken me way too long to share the whole week with you, but there is not much time in my life with school to study and weddings to attend!  

The last three days at Frontier Ranch were incredible. We conquered repelling down a mountain and racing on the ridge runners.  Yes, I repelled down a mountain.  One on one times were hard at times and rich in conversation at times, but every time was so worth it to get a peek into what Jesus was saying to each one of the sweet girls.  Cabin times became so real, genuine and comfortable.  I am uber excited to share with you that our cabin times did not stay at Frontier.  We are now meeting on Thursday mornings at Panera.  We are reading through Luke.  It is one of the most precious gifts to see my friends at 7:45 am in the summer with their Bible in their hands reading the Word of God!  AWESOOMMMMEEE!!  I want to tell you about one thing that I had never seen at a YL camp, but absolutely loved.  It was called cardboard testimonies.  At first I was a little skeptical, but to be able to watch and be apart of it totally changed my mind.  Through the week, the whole camp would gather in the club room for "real life."  This is where the people on assignment would share through role play...kinda...what they were like in high school and going to YL camp.  During the week leaders had to opportunity to write on an index card what they were like in high school and on the other side what they are like today with Christ.  At the last session of real life, some of the leaders were chosen to write what they wrote on the index card on a piece of cardboard.  We walked out one by one to a song and showed our old self side of the cardboard and then flipped it over to reveal who we are today with Christ.  Golly, so many stories were told that day that our high school friends could relate with, and it showed them that Jesus really does make all of us new!  I wish I could tell you every detail about what happened the whole week at Frontier, but it just overwhelms me.  I will just end by saying, God is good! The girls that traveled the long and brutal journey with me to Frontier fought with all their might to not go.  Now, they can't believe the experience they had and are so glad they finally gave in to the begging.  They got to meet Jesus and will forever be changed!

it hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time...May 27

View from the top of the mountain we climbed on our hike!

DAY FOUR!!!!!!!!!!!

I could not believe we had made it this far in the week, and I could not believe that before the day was up I would have completed the ropes course. I was nervous all day. My girls are all about adventure, and I am all about staying safely on the ground. They were super pumped about the ropes course, and I appeared to be! On the inside I was FREAKING OUT!!!! In the end all of us loved it. I can't believe I said it, but I said that I wanted to do it again!! You take a little different perspective of fear when you are walking beside one of your high school friends. We also took a "little" hike on day four. My girls were born for adventure, so they loved it!! It was the hardest one mile hike of my life. The air is so thin, and I would get sooo out of breath. It was worth it after the hike when I had one on one time with Jane. She told me that she would never ever forget the hike, the pretty view, the speaker telling us that God made the mountains and everything we saw on the hike and said that it was good, and that God made us and said that it was VERY good. Jesus whispered to Jane just how much she He loves her on that breathtake hike...unbelievable!! I also got the opportunity to hold Haley's hand the whole way up and down the hike. Haley was in a horrid car crash last year. It is a miracle that she is here today and able to take this hike. It was so sweet to my heart to watch her make it to the top and see the glory of God all around. It was a sweet day four at Frontier Ranch!

it hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time..May 26, 2009

Jess and I coming out for entertainment night. 

This picture captures our personalities and deep love for one another.

How sweet are our girls.  The crazy shirts we are wearing were made by them!

Day 3! Good morning and off to the corral.  Our cabin woke up and hiked up in the cold rain to ride horses in the cold rain, and to eat breakfast in the cold rain.  It was a really hard time to be a leader because every ounce of me was freezing and cold and riding a horse that did not want to stay with the group.  I even told them I was a beginner!! hehe!  It was hard, but of course we had fun.  That afternoon we had water olympics in the freeeeeezzzziing cold rain.  Luckily the pool is filled with water from hot springs.  Not many pictures from this day because we spent a lot of time in the water.  The girls mainly participated in the synchronized swimming competition, and they dominated. That night the speaker gave an unbelievable example of our heavenly father and how he is waiting for us to jump out from hiding.  When playing hide and go seek with his daughter he would count to ten and say, "Where's Jessica?"  At the sound of her name she would jump out from wherever she was hiding and shout, "Here I am Daddy!"As he was telling the story for the last time he said, "Where's Jessica?"and at that moment his daughter stood up in the crowd and said, "Here I am daddy!"  Then the speaker pushed people aside, climbed over them, nothing was going to stop him from getting to his daughter to hold her in his arms. How awesome it was for me and my girls to hear that our heavenly father is ready and waiting for us to come out of hiding, and when we do, he is going to run to us and hold us in his arms.  All we have to say is, "Here I am daddy!" 

It hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time..May 25, 2009

Day Two at Frontier Ranch! Jess and I woke up early to sneak away for some quiet time with Jesus and each other.  Even though these moments were super early, they were one of my favorites times of the week.  We read, prayed, talked, and drank coffee as we sat together outside in awe of the view of the Rocky Mountains.  It was perfect and I wish all of you could experience it with me!!  Day 2 was the volleyball tournament.  Our cabin dressed up in camo and orange bandanas complete with water guns and war paint under our eyes.  We didn't win, but we put up a good fight.  That night the speaker told us the story of Zachhaeus.  It was awesome!  He actually had  a tree mounted to the wall in the club room to climb up in while he told the story.  I found it so wonderful how he asked us to climb over the branches of misconceptions about Jesus and take a risk to get out on a limb to see Jesus this week!

it hurts so bad but feels so good at the same time..May 23, 24 2009

This is how you brush your teeth when you are on a bus for 36 hours

First club, front row, no excuses!

These girls had bruises from fighting for the front row in club...that is heart!

They gave me polka dots for my war paint...they know me too well

Fighters

FROTIER RANCH 2009!!! There are really no words to even describe the week, but I will try to give a little description of the best week of my life.  Where to begin...how about 9:00 am, Kmart parking lot, Knoxville, TN.  Me and 4 bus loads of high school kids eagerly throw our very large and heavy luggage under the bus and climb aboard a bus, a bus where we would spend the next 26...no, no, no, make that 36 hours of our lives!  Before we even pull out of the parking lot we are delayed because of a bus breakdown!  After a tune up to one of the buses we hit the road.  We make it to Clarksville for lunch.  Arby's was on the menu!  Market Fresh sandwiches...yum!  After lunch and we continue on our trek to Colorado...no, no, no to Sam's parking lot for 3 1/2 hours!  Yes, our bus broke down again.  We slept, ate gummy bears, read Twilight, played mind games until we finally got a new bus.  Finally, we were on our way.  By about 10 we arrived in St. Louis and ate a Chick fil a dinner under the Arch.  It was awesome.  I still can't get over that people can go inside of it.  I don't know if I could handle such a little space.  When we got back on the bus it was time to sleep...on a charter bus.  This means brushing your teeth with a water bottle and a trash bag, not washing your face, soft clothes are the clothes you have been wearing all day, an ipod, blanket, and seat partner, and a Benedryll.  Believe it or not, I did fall asleep.  When I woke up we were even closer to Frontier and I could barely hold in my excitement.  Traveling on the second day was more fun because of the scenery outside of the bus window.  I am still amazed at the mountains that I saw.  They are beautiful. If I haven't talked to you in person already, the next time we talk I will probably try to convince you to go see these awesome mountains.  We arrive in Buena Vista...love this town...for lunch.  Next stop...finally Frontier.  We drive up the mountain and pull down the hill into the center of camp and there is cheering and screaming and yelling and just a huge celebration going on...WE MADE IT!! CAMP HAS BEGUN!! They work crew welcomes us and carries our luggage to our rooms.  This was a great part of camp for me because my bag was twice the size of me.  We get settled in and start exploring camp.  I would try to describe but I am still in awe.  That night was our first leader meeting, our first yummy camp food, our first club, our first cabin time, and the OBSTACLE COURSE.  We ended the night painted up and screaming like crazy as Jess and I let our girls lead us and protect us as we went through an obstacle course through camp with no lights.  They loved it.  The night ended in going down the slide into the pool and sprinting back to the cabin to try and warm up!!  Awesome first two days...more to come!!!

Sorry I have been MIA

Sorry friends for my lack in posting.  The past 11 days I have been getting ready to go to a YL camp, Frontier Ranch in Colorado and actually spending a week there with my two of my high school girls from Central.  I will definitely have a huge posting about that trip just as soon as I catch up on sleep and on health!  Just know it was the best week of my life! I know that campers are the ones that usually say that going to YL camp is the best week of their lives, but it was just the same for me being a leader.  I can't wait to share all that happened.  But, to catch you up on what happened today...summer school began, I paid my first KUB bill, I watched the Bachelorette, and for the remaining part of the day I snoozed!!