A Day at the Beach

We have found that we are a little slow to get to the beach.  Which I don't really mind.  But we haven't gotten to the beach before 2 either day we've gone.  And we lug a bunch of stuff out for a couple hours.  I like the beach.  But I kind of like the air conditioning too :).  John LOVES the beach.  He would stay in the water all day if you would let him. With no rest.  And he has no fear.  Highlights of the day:
--Ann caught a fish with a net for John.  You would think he just won the lottery!
--John boogie boarding.  The adults were boogie boarding in the big waves.  John was boogie boarding in the tiny waves just before they hit the beach (in ankle deep water).  But it was the equivalent for all of us, I think.  John was definitely having as much fun as we were.

Tomorrow the goal is to get to the beach earlier.  Teresa (not me speaking in 3rd person but Aunt Teresa) and Chris are going to go paddle boarding.  Surprisingly, I opted out.  I really couldn't decide, but the ultimate decision was that I don't want to work hard enough to learn something new :)!

Travel Log

We are at the beach.  Well, technically, in a beach house, but close enough.  The getting to the beach has been quite the adventure.  But we are on vacation so we're taking it in stride.  Thursday afternoon I packed up my car and drove to mom's house for the night.  Saturday morning we drove to my grandma's house (just a few miles away) to get my aunt and head to the airport.  We arrived at the airport at about 11:30 and got through security without a problem.  We were a little late boarding the plane.  For a time reference, we were supposed to take off at 1:15.

And then the fun began.  We sat on the plane at the gate because it had started raining and lightning and they couldn't put our bags on the plane while it was raining.  Then we had to wait to take off because of more lightning.  Really?  It hasn't rained in weeks.  Oh well.  We finally got into the air between 30 minutes and an hour later (all of my time frames are a little iffy because a- I was trying not to pay attention and b- the pilot LIED a lot about how long things were going to take).  Into the air we go. Yippee!  We arrived in the Atlanta airspace only to circle the airport because of weather in Atlanta.  We circled long enough that they had to reroute us to Knoxville, TN because we were getting low on fuel.  We landed and sat on the runway for another hour or so.  They kept debating whether we should park at the gate or not.  At one point in time we saw the pilot running across the tarmac to the fuel cart because we were supposed to be first in line for fuel but other planes were getting fueled.  Then we finally got back in the air and finally landed at 8:20 in Atlanta.  Only 4 hours later then anticipated.  Then we had to get the rental car. Long story short about that, our indecisiveness got us an upgrade! :)  We finally arrived at my brother's house around 10ish.

Saturday morning we left around 8:40'sh in our two car caravan.  I was driving the rental car which was a fun experience for me.  I don't normally drive on road trips and my two passengers were my brother and my aunt.I'm not sure I've ever driven my brother around before.  He is usually the driver.  Lunch at Chick-fil-a :) (although it was a little bit of a process to get to it).  And then we hit a little bit of traffic.  But overall, it was not a bad trip to the beach.

The house we are staying at is AMAZING!  Three bedroom, three bath, living room, family room, dining room, huge kitchen, and breakfast nook.  Really nice and spacious.  John just keeps wandering the house.  We got unloaded and then walked down to the beach.  Sort of.  We got to the end of the road and found out that our beach access is technically just a bunch of rocks.  A little disappointing.  We're still talking logistics of how we are getting to an actual beach.  A few blocks up there is walking access to the beach, but not great for getting all of our stuff.  Then we went in desperate search for dinner.  And then we went to the grocery store at 9:30 at night.  And bought the store out.  Almost literally.  We will not starve this week.  And then off to bed.

This morning we are taking our time to get to the beach .  But we are enjoying our first official day of vacation!

More travel stories to come! :)

The Longest Journey to the Beach Ever

I am officially on vacation.  But getting to my vacation destination has become quite the process.  This afternoon I am driving up to Chicago and staying the night with my mom.  Tomorrow afternoon we fly to Georgia, rent a car, and drive to my brother's house.  Then Saturday morning we will get up, pack two cars and drive to the beach!  I'm not complaining, it's just kind of funny to me that it is such a process.  But all that really matters is this--I don't have to go to work tomorrow.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day.  Or the next day!

33--It's the same forward and backward!

I have been remiss in letting everyone know what has been going on with my birthday.  Life has gotten away from me. And I haven't been motivated to blog.  So, here is bullet points of my birthday week-ish.

--The week before my birthday, Emily and I went to see Nunsense at a dinner theater.  I enjoyed it so much.  Emily bought tickets the day before and we're pretty sure she might have bought the last two tickets.  When they took us to our seats, we were surprised that they were taking us to the floor and not the upstairs.  We literally sat right in front of the stage.  As in, our table butted up against the stage.  I could have reached out during the show and unplugged the five mikes.  We definitely had not trouble seeing!  The play was a lot like I remember from high school.  I laughed a lot.  Cringed in a few inappropriate places.  Overall, it was a great night.

--The fourth, while not having anything to do with my birthday, in my mind is always a part of my birthday week.  As has become tradition, I went to Kari's for dinner and then down to the fireworks.  Although it was OBNOXIOUSLY hot, I went with almost no complaint (which is saying a lot for me!).  After all, I couldn't very well miss the fireworks, they're for my birthday!  Another great display on the Peoria riverfront.  Anyone who wants to come next year, let me know, you'd be more than welcome!

--Most of you know, I took Thursday and Friday off because who should have to work on their birthday?!

--Thursday, I would like to say I slept in, but I had some trouble with that while I was off.  I think I woke up at 6:40 and had too much running through my mind, so I got up at about 7:30.  I went to the grocery store to buy food for my party on Friday.  I watched some TV.  I had decided I wanted Wing Stop for lunch, so I went to pick that up and called Ginger to see if I could eat it at her house.  So I spent the afternoon with Ginger, Taylor, and Hudson.  I got my annual birthday picture with Hudson (I'll post it as soon as I get it from Ginger!).  I went home and watched some more TV.  Then I met Emily and Kari at Chilis for dinner.  As you can see, my birthday kind of centered around food! :)  I also got lots of texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages.

--Friday, I finally began to sleep in a little (meaning I slept past 7).  I got up and made my birthday dessert--banana split cake.  Then I met an old coworker for lunch and was able to catch up with her (I don't think we had seen each other in over 6 months).  Then I had people over to Kari's house for dessert (her house is bigger than my apartment).  It was fun to just hang out with people and eat more food! :)

--Then today we had my birthday lunch at work.  We were supposed to go to Chick-fil-a, but unfortunately its not open yet.  And neither is Chipotle.  So we went to QDoba instead.

I think I might be done with actual birthday celebrations.  It was a great week and I had a relaxing and fun time off from work.  Thanks everyone for the fun birthday messages and for helping me celebrate!

Row, Row Row Your Boat

Today I went on a canoe trip with my small group from church. There were 10 of us that travelled to Indiana to mosey down a river together. The water was very low, so sometimes, moseying really meant getting out of the canoe and walking to the next part of deeper water. It was a lot of fun. I didn't mention the trip to a lot of people beforehand because I knew all the teasing I would get. I'll agree that it's not my usual choice for a Saturday exursion. But I love my small group and I was up for the adventure from day one. Originally Alyssa and I were going to be partners. Until we realized that neither of us have been canoeing. Well, technically, I've been in a canoe before, but I just sat in the middle while two other people rowed the boat.  I had the great fortune of partnering with Diane.  I must say, I probably made her work too hard.  I just paddled however I wanted to and she did all the steering from the back.  But it worked.  And  I think she enjoyed the trip with me.  Here are a few pictures from the trip.  Unfortunately I was the only one with a camera, so there is no visual proof that I was on this trip with everyone else.  But I promise I was the photographer! 

Here we are stopping for a lunch break.  For some reason, it felt very Survivor-ish to me.  And I was reminded again that I would never make it on that show!

This picture (above) cracks me up because Nan did not realize I was taking it, even though it looks like he was posing.  He had just turned around from skipping rocks with the rest of the group.

Here is one of the most shallow places.  I think we all had to get out at one point in time to get our canoes going again.

None of us thought the river was ever deep enough to tip the canoe, but somehow Alyssa and Sarah managed the task just fine! :)

Sarah and Alyssa taking a break after we finished our trip.

The moral of the story: I would go again.  And I picked a great group to go merrily down the stream with.

Today I'm thankful for:

1. Air conditioning.2. That I have enough money to live in a place where there is central air (and not a window air conditioning unit or no air at all) and that I have enough money to make the apartment as cold as I want (or my roommate will allow).
3.  That I am not a man who has to wear a suit to work.
4.  That I am not 7-9 months pregnant.  Or pregnant at all.
5. Water.
6.  That I don't live in a place that is this hot all year round.
7.  That it is only 4-6 more months until everyone else is complaining about the cold and counting down to summer while I am lavishing in the cool air, sleeping with my windows open, and jolly (yes, that's right...I said jolly).

Happy ridiculously hot day to everyone! :)  See how good I have been about not complaining about the heat (unless you read this all as a very backwards complaint, but I really am thankful for all these things today!).

I'm declaring it my birthday month

I know that I am officially two days early, but I'll just cut off two days at the end of the month.  K? :)
Why am I ringing in my birthday month a few days early?  Because then I can justify these two purchases at Walmart tonight:

I don't usually like the dyed flowers, but these seemed fun to me.

And I couldn't pass up ice cream oreos.  After 3 cookies, I'm still trying to decide if I like them.  They definitely taste exactly like sherbet, which is kind of weird.  But also good.  Thus the conundrum.

Plus, Emily's birthday present to me is happening tomorrow.  She is taking me to see Nunsense at a local dinner theater.  I have fond memories of Nunsense from high school and am hoping that this performance only enhances those memories.

And, it's a week from my birthday, so I felt like it needed to be mentioned.

Slow to anger...great in power

I have been reading through the Bible for awhile now, and am currently reading the minor prophets.  Today I read the book of Nahum.  First, I found it interesting that the book of Nahum is about God's judgment against Ninevah.  Ninevah is the city that God sent Jonah to in order to preach repentance.   The Ninevites did repent, and God spared them from His wrath.  However, later, the Ninevites again turned from God and increased in wickedness.  And now God is ready to judge them for their wickedness.  Nahum 1:3 struck me in what I would consider an inconsistency in God's character: "The Lord is slow to anger and great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished."  How can God be both slow to anger AND great in power, punishing the guilty?  I can easily jump on board the "slow to anger" part because I want people to not get angered easily with me.  But "great in power" appears to be such a negative aspect, making me think of destruction and hard-handedness.  But the more I thought about it, the less I saw it as a contradiction.  First, I know that God does not contradict Himself, so I knew I had to evaluate further.  But then I started thinking about how much power it takes to be slow to anger.  God's power is demonstrated to me every time He shows me grace instead of the wrath I deserve for the sins I commit, for my disobedience, for when I choose the things of this world over the things of eternity.  God constantly shows His power through His restraint of justice in my life.  But this verse is also talking about how God shows His power through His justice.  God had given the Ninevites opportunity to repent and follow Him.  Even though He is slow to anger, it does not say that He does not get angry.  He withheld his justice from them once when they repented, but this time, His justice would be complete and the Ninevites would be completely destroyed.  One of the last verses of the book says, "Nothing can heal your wound; your injury is fatal."  Does God contradict Himself?  Nope. As hard as it is to understand, He is both merciful and just and I can trust that He knows when to be slow to anger and when to show His power through His justice.  I am so glad I serve a God I can trust and who loves me enough to demonstrate His power through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins so that I will not have to feel the full power of His wrath against my sin!  Praise Him!

July, in all its craziness

There are several things I am looking forward to in July.  I promise.  But can we take just a moment to not wish June away too quickly?  After all, crazy isn't always what it's cracked up to be!  I cannot believe that this year is almost half over.  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  Or when you're just going through everyday, ordinary life.  But here are a few things I get to look forward to in July:
1. the 4th--one of my favorite holidays!  Which is literally followed by
2. the 5th--my very favorite holiday! :)  I'm slowly, but surely, getting into the birthday spirit.  I think.
3.  Not one, not two, but three weeks of working less then five days at work!
4. Snuggling with my nephews.
5.  A flight to Georgia with my aunt and mom.
6.  A road trip to the beach with my mom, aunt, brother, sis-in-law, and nephews.
7.  Chick-fil-a (not in Peoria) at least once (okay, who are we kidding, I better get it at least 3 times!)
8.  My birthday off (and subsequently a 5 day weekend.  Because I decided, I get the 4th off anyway, I refuse to work on my birthday, and it just seems silly to work on Friday).
9.  Dad, Amy, Daynah, and Josh, and five or six other boys coming to Peoria at the end of the month!
10.  I don't have anything else to add that I can think of, but I much prefer a nice well-rounded list! :)

It's all about the effect

And I'll admit I'm lacking effect.  I don't have the picture to back up this post, but I decided to post it anyway.  Today I drove by the place that I've known all along is the future site of the Chickfila.  But it's the first time that I saw the sign (heehee...I have the Ace of Base lyrics running through my head now) that confirmed it for me.  "Future Site of Chick-fil-a" in nice big red Chick-fil-a font.  It made me smile first thing in the morning.

But seriously...I can't get those lyrics out of my head now! :)