Summer

So pretty much, I've been really bad at posting this summer, in case you didn't notice. My apologies for that. I've had a pretty crazy summer, but I don't feel like I've really done a ton. Here's ten things that I have done with my summer, though...

1. Spending A LOT of time with my family. Jadon coming home has been a struggle, but God is definitely using it in so many ways in our lives. I can't even begin to describe all the ways that He is using it to work in us, and each in incredibly different ways, too. Jadon has been fun to have around, but sometimes, well, he hasn't been. But I guess that's the way it goes with pretty much any sibling...

2. Flambeau canoe trip for youth group. Early/mid June, our youth group took a three-day canoe trip. Our first day, we canoed 13 miles and it was pretty insane. But our second and third days, we only did about 3-5 miles each day. After only about an hour or so canoeing our second day, we stopped and camped on Cedar Rapids and it was AWESOME!! Katie, Kaera, and I actually walked across the rapids, which was probably my favorite part of the trip.

3. Calling Laura a couple times each week while she was in Maine. She was there for a little over a month and a half, but finally got home last night!! We went for a really long walk, and it was SO good to see her again!!

4. Youth group Mississippi trip. We spent a week in Lakeshore, Mississippi helping a church down there build a bunkhouse for their volunteers to stay in. Katie, Kaera, and I mudded and sanded a couple rooms most of the week, but on the last day, we were finally able to prime the two rooms.

5. Reading. On our way down to Mississippi, our youth leader, Jer, started reading to us A Voice In the Wind by Francine Rivers, requested by Katie and Jessie. We didn't get to finish the book, so when we got back, I aksed our pastor's wife, Brooke, (who had lent it to us for the week in the first place) if I could borrow it so I could finish. I will admit, I did cry at the end and then had to immediately go pick up the second book. Of course, it took about four days to get to the library, which was painful waiting for it, but it was okay. I didn't like the second book as much as the first, but the ending is what made it worth it.

6. The occasional hanging out with friends. Although I love my family to death, sometimes I just need a break and need to get out of the house. Jadon is very good at wearing us all out, and we all come to that point where we just need to be away. So I've especially enjoyed my friends' company this summer!

7. Coloring. Last week, Jessie and I decided that we really wanted to color and went to Gordy's and each got a coloring book and crayons. When we got back to Katie and Jer's we colored for a while and came to the conclusion that it was one of the most relaxing things you could probably do. When you're focusing so much on staying in the lines, that's pretty much all you think about, and it was relaxing to not think about all the craziness going on in our lives.

8. Kind of running... I'm doing cross country in the fall and we were supposed to be running this summer. Due to my kind of recently healed leg (okay, it's been two months now, but at the beginning of the summer it was recently healed), I started out only doing like a mile per day. After I got some new shoes (because when I went to see the foot doctor, I was banned from running again until I got new shoes), I looked up on Google Maps what route would be a mile. The route I came up with seemed kind of short, but whatever. The next few times I ran, my time was significantly better and I was so excited. Except then Andrew did a route that seemed super long and I did Google Maps for that and it was only two miles. I was kind of confused as my route didn't seem proportionate to his route and went back and found out that I had really only been doing .8 miles and was super disappointed. After that, I lost some motiviation. So then a few weeks ago, I started running with a few other friends, but they don't go nearly as far as I wish and they stop and take breaks and go at a much slower pace than I'm used to. So that, too, is an adventur and a half. Cross Country training starts in two weeks, so we'll see how that goes...

9. I got my results from the AP Exam... and I got a FOUR!!!!!! I was super excited!! I guess that's not really something I've done this summer, but it's something I'm excited about from this summer.

10. Finally, I took my drivers test yesterday morning. I was so nervous beforehand and felt like my stomach had just POOFED and left a big void where my stomach was supposed to be. When I was actually driving, it wasn't quite as bad, except for when I did my parallel park and hit the curb the first time, but then was able to fix it on my second attempt. I don't think he took any points off for that... So we get out of the car at the end of the test and my dad comes out and went over some things that I would need to fix, but... I PASSED!!!! So now I'm officially a liscensed driver. :) Yesterday, I drove myself to Best Buy and bought The Truman Show and a 60's CD, to which I half-blasted on my way home. It was fun. :)

And that's my summer so far. Two months down, one to go...