i've moved!

i've moved! last wed i moved into a house across town with 3 girls that i've met this past year. they all went to UVA and graduated in 2008 as well and are all awesome. the house is sweet as well. it's about a block from the downtown mall and 5 minutes from work. it's very roomy and has a huge backyard. here are pictures of my room-

(that's right- green trim and a blue door- love it)

and you'll just have to come to charlottesville to see the rest of the house! :)

Capernaum camp

The beginning of August a group of us took 17 Capernaum campers to Rockbridge's Young Life camp for 5 days of camp. (If you're not familiar with Capernaum- it's like Young Life but for kids with special needs) Anyways, the week was absolutely incredible.

They adapted the entire camp so any kid no matter the disability (including folks in wheelchairs) could do any activity. Zip line, tree swing, ropes course- along with the water slides and just general group games. I was also just blown away by the depth of insight that so many of these kids bring to life and to God. During our cabin times one girl made comments like "God is here to show us his love and give us the courage to follow in his footsteps." The guy leaders said that in one of their cabin times one of the guys with Down Syndrome talked for like 5 minutes and it was the most encouraging thing they had heard in a long time. During it he talked about how God rains kisses on us and then began kissing the leader's arm next to him. When I asked him about it later he talked about how he's mr. silly bones and started talking about toothpicks. the moment was lost. you never quite know what will happen next. and i love it.

here's a picture of (most) of our group

it was an awesome time.

that's campin!

The last weekend in July I went camping with a few friends in Charlottesville. We went to Todd lake near Harrisonburg. We had never heard of Todd Lake which we were sort of surprised about....but when we got there we found out it had leeches! Aaah! I went swimming the first day before finding this out....the next day I was a bit more hesitant. However a few of the guys were trying to get them and when one did all we had to do was put some salt on it (which they had available there) It shriveled right off. But still gross! But besides that the area was beautiful and we had a lot of fun just hanging out in nature.

Karen was excited to have the tent set up:

I recently bought some Chacos (which I love) and Karen has Keens, so naturally it was time to go camping with our sport sandals.

Our friend Jeff brought a hammock. We even set up a clothesline- it was fancy living

Liz hatcheting wood for the campfire

Our friend Jon was an Eagle Scout and therefore knows all things woodsy. He built the fires, chopped wood, and managed to make a pineapple upside-down cake in a dutch oven. In the morning we were all lamenting the fact we didn't have coffee or tea. Jon's solution? Oh I see some sassafras trees! Let me dig up their roots, peel them, and make tea out of them! And it was some of the best tea i've ever had...a good use of an invite!

wild sassafras tea brewing

Jon also brought these iron things called mountain pie makers. You put in bread, sausage, an egg, and some cheese and then put them in the fire. Out comes a delicious breakfast sandwich!

the final product

i always find it refreshing to just be out in nature away from cell phone/email range and just unplug for a while. can't wait to go again!!

rooooad trip!

the finale of my time with louisa and the kids was a road trip up to new hampshire over the 4th of July weekend. they were meeting some friends up there for a week vacation so i jumped on the front end for some fun times and adventure.

first stop: Hershey, PA! most well known for being the (nearby) site of one of the greatest weddings of all time, it also holds chocolate world! we took the chocolate world tour ride (twice) and then took a trolley tour around Hershey. it was very kid friendly and actually quite entertaining (group sing alongs, costume changes, candy) and also very informative. i didn't realize what a philanthropist and visionary Milton Hershey was and it was really cool to learn about!

next stop: Scranton, PA! although it is true that we went there because it is the "home" of The Office, Scranton is a very interesting place. it was originally an iron making/coal mining town and seems pretty much stuck in time. we found the "Welcome to Scranton" sign at the Steamtown mall (really called that) and then headed over to check out the old iron furnaces before it got dark. these pictures make scranton seem much more picturesque than it was, but these stone structures were giant!

we spent the night in Scranton and the next morning went to tour a coal mine right outside the town. it was amazing! we descended 300 feet into the earth in this metal structure on a pulley system and then took a tour around the old mine. although it is adapted for tourists now with electric lights and room to stand up everywhere you walk, it is still very much preserved like it was while it was in use. about a year ago they even had to take all the tourists out up one of those emergency chutes (like you saw during the Chilean miners rescue) because the yellow tram thing broke. (aaaaah) it was especially interesting to hear about the lifestyle of the miners and how the boys would start working it at age 7 above ground and age 10 in the mines. that is how old my nephews are! it was an incredibly hard life and made me very grateful to have not lived in that time and place. if you ever get the chance to go into a coal mine i would highly recommend it.

we finished up that day in Boston, MA where we met our fellow travelers and I got to connect with a dear friend I met at the Forge. The next day we headed to New Hampshire to a beautiful house in the mountains! we spent the evening canoeing and hanging out with the kids and then I flew back to Charlottesville the next day. It was a great road trip with lots of good adventures! Plus it was wonderful to get more quality time with the family!