Camp Nurse!

Hey everyone! Just a quick post to say I'm off to be camp nurse for a few days! Inspiration Point Bible Camp is one of my favorite places on earth, and I get to spend the next few days as their camp nurse! I'll be leaving after work tonight around 11:30 so I can be there first thing in the morning (as a late-owl I'd rather drive tonight!) then will come back on Thursday in time for the 3-11:30 shift at work again. Their nurse needed a few days off, so they asked if I'd fill in, and I was thrilled to say yes!

Please pray for safety for everyone, and that I'll quickly figure out just what I need to do when I need to do it. I'm happy to fill in this way, and I'm really looking foward to my time there!

Here are some pictures I took there last fall at a Scrap and Stamp retreat.



I'll tell you how the week goes!

June 1-3

As promised, here's a post about the weekend before last. I drove to Mom and Dad's and arrived Thursday late in the evening. On Friday, I went to Julie's preschool where she teaches and also where David is while she's at work (in a different room). I picked him up early so that I could just spend some time with him! The two of us went to the Burnsville Mall and met Carrie and her boys there, and we walked around and played in a kiddie area. It was so great to spend some time with her! The boys have sure gotten bigger, as you can tell from their link on the right side under "links". David took a nap much of the time, but Carrie did get to see him smile and he also had a bottle once he woke up. In such a short time he'll be the one playing on all the fun kid stuff! Rumor has it he's rolled over twice now! Here are some pictures of Carrie's boys:





I really look forward to lots more times getting to take David all around the Cities, hanging out with my friends down there! He and I can go to the park, the zoo, a lake, even just the grocery store or a mall might be fun! Thanks, Carrie, for meeting us!

Then, on Saturday my friend Jim and I went to the Minneapolis Arboretum, which is just west of the Cities a short ways. It's incredibly beautiful!! It ended up raining later in the day, but while we were there is was great weather. The Arboretum was recognized by USA Today as one of the best public gardens in the country, and it has 1000 acres of formal gardens, meadows, outdoor terraces, and just amazing stuff to look at. Can you tell I looked at their website?! We walked all around, taking in the amazing flowers, plants and trees. We wanted to take a few snips of many different plants, but decided that was probably against the rules so opted not to. I realized when I uploaded my pictures that I didn't really take very many (coming from my picture-loving family!) so the pictures you'll see are really from just a few different areas. Jim's been thinking of adding a water feature to the garden at his house so that's what a lot of pictures are from. You'll see one waterfall that cascaded over a few things, including some brick pavers that you can walk on and the water runs between the stones. It was really clever! That waterfall ended into the bigger pond we sat by for a while. For those of you near the Cities, I highly recommend a trip to the Arboretum. There was stuff for kids to do and I'm sure all throughout the year the scenery changes. I hope to go back again!

After the Arboretum we went to my favorite Mexican restaurant in Savage, got COLDSTONE ice cream (Mmmmm!!), and looked for a tent for when Jim and some of his family make their annual trip to the Boundary Waters. It was a full and very fun day!

On Sunday, I got to go to Oak Hill, and was reminded again about how much I'm looking forward to worshipping there! This last Sunday at Bethel I thought again about how much I'll miss it, so I sure am glad that I can look forward to my next church! After church I went with Aimee and her family to Panera Bread and sure enjoyed the laughter and their company! Thanks for always making me feel part of the family! You can see some updated pictures on Kyle and Lissa's link on the right side.

It sure was a fun weekend! That weekend I thought "wow, I can hardly wait to live in the Cities!" and this past weekend I thought "it sure is going to be hard to leave Fergus!" I guess that's a good situation to be in?!

Great day!

Yesterday was such a great day! The garage sale was a huge hit, and I was able to sell off most of my stuff! All the big items went, lots of the smaller stuff as well, and we ended by dropping off the rest at Goodwill so it's out of the house. Very successful! My parents had come up to help me, and I sure couldn't have done it without them. We made four or five trips to the parking lot with my dad's truck full of stuff. I figured they'd go back to bed after we set everything up since it was such an early morning, but they were both troopers and stuck around for the day. All the stuff from the couch to the tall bookshelf was mine.



There were tons of people selling stuff, and lots of people buying as well. I had gotten nervous that no one would show up to buy, and that wasn't the case at all. The parking lot was a blaze of activity! (Also a blaze with the heat -I have a terrible sunburn!)


We were right next to two of my youth group girls, and had a blast chatting with them. Amy even fit right into my laundry bag!


After the sale was done and we got cleaned up, my mom and I took Aunt Frances shopping, then we picked up my dad and Uncle Leif and went to the Fergus Falls Summerfest Parade. What a fun event! After last weekend's fun in the Cities (more on that in my next post) I was thinking how I can hardly wait to move, and after last night's parade I was thinking how much I want to stay! The parade was the ultimate showing of a great small town life. It was perfect weather, thousands of people lining up along the street, everyone standing and putting their hands over their hearts when the flag went by, and clapping for the firemen, military, and police. The parade included those people along with local businesses and churches, high school marching bands, and people throwing candy to the kids lining the streets. It was laid back and carefree. Sitting there made us all feel as though there isn't a care in the world. It wasn't perfect and rehearsed, it was great small-town fun. It was wonderful!


We got a good spot right in the middle of the closed-off street, and arrived early enough to be right in front.


Uncle Leif had asked 4-5 times earlier in the week if we could go to the parade, so I'm really thankful it worked out.










So many more pictures that I could've posted!

Then, after dinner with Leif and Frances and dropping them off at their place, we decided to drive by the High School parking lot where there had been helicopter rides going all day long. Well, since going in a helicopter is one of the many things I want to do before I die, I decided to hop out of the car and find out how much it cost and if they'd be back tomorrow (they looked like they were packing up). The guy said that it was $35 per person and they were not coming back tomorrow, but they'd be willing to take us up for their last ride! I ran back to Mom and Dad, told them they were coming with me, and I WENT FOR MY FIRST HELICOPTER RIDE! My parents had both done it before, but this was a first for me! It was so fun! The guy was a great pilot, and while a helicopter is by nature a little bumpy, it was really a smooth ride! I got to sit in front, and he asked where I wanted to see. I said the hospital, Hillcrest, and my house, and we got to see those things plus the rest of Fergus as we rode all around. My stomach would drop a little with each turn, but really it was pretty thrilling as seen by the huge grin on my face!
Now, please forgive these blurry pictures, as I said it was a little bumpy, but you'll be able to see downtown, the river, Lake Region Healthcare Corp, Hillcrest, the CLBA offices, my house, and our fun helicopter. Mom and Dad are in the back seat but it's a little dark. They had a good time, too! I'm SO glad we did this! Thanks for being spontaneous with me!














After all those pictures, I think I better learn how to use slide.com for a slideshow! Thanks for sticking with this long post!

Garage Sale!

It's been a busy week! I have pictures from last weekend that I want to get posted, but I haven't been online much. I was able to go to the Cities, hang out with Carrie and her boys, spend time with family, go to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum with my friend Jim, and hang out with Aimee and her family on Sunday. Full weekend! Lots of fun and it sure made me excited for my move!!

Anyway, those pictures will have to wait for now. This is a quick post that I meant to upload earlier in the week, but time has slipped away. We have the big garage sale at church tomorrow morning, from 8am-1pm, and I wanted to remind all of you Fergus Fallsians (is that how the word would look?) to come! There will be many families all gathered in Bethel's parking lot to sell off our stuff. I've been hoping to get rid of 50% of my belongings, and while I don't really know what that would look like, I think I must be close.

For all of you reading this who don't live in Fergus, will you pray for a good turnout? No matter how much work I've done to get ready, it won't matter if people don't show up. It's supposed to be a beautiful day so I'm planning on arriving early (for all those die-hard garage salers we have in town) and spending the day in the sun.

I better get back to pricing stuff. I'll let you know how it goes!