the adventures of little river

dinner, chocolate & the big question

2009-02-26T14:22:00.001-08:00

i know, i know....it's been way too long since i've posted anything. but, believe me, i have a good reason. i guess my blogging-hiatus started awhile ago....so the blogging world has been left out of the loop that i met an amazing man. not just amazing...but wonderful and fun and incredibly talented and good looking and all around great. so this relationship started last summer and grew and grew some more and then what-do-ya-know, valentines day rolls around and rob surprises me with.......any guesses?......anyone?....it's the ultimate surprise. that's right, a ring! he proposed!! we're engaged!!!!! i was so surprised, which made it that much more fun. in case any curious minds want to know, here's how it went down: we had plans to make dinner together for valentines day...so we found an excellent new recipe that we were going to try together. so he comes over to my place. we make dinner. we ate dinner. i'm taking my sweet ol' time, because i haven't the slightest idea what is waiting for me in the gift bag that he brought over! so after dinner, he rather non-chalantly says, "lets open gifts." so, i gave him a little something i made for him. then comes the gift bag that had been sitting there since he came over. there were some fun things in there that i loved, but the last item i pulled out was a big, tall box of chocolates. i was looking forward to indulging in one of them. so i lifted the lid off, but there were no chocolates in sight. instead, there was an open ring box staring up at me with a stunning ring inside. sparkly beautiful. better than any ring i've ever seen. i was shocked. really, i was. i'm not even sure what i said at first. i looked over at rob. i'm sure my jaw was dropped. he then proceeded to say sweet things, followed by, "will you marry me?" to which i said absolutely yes! oh my goodness, we're getting married! :) that was a little over a month ago...and the countdown sits at just over four months until the big day. 4 whole months. man. seems like forever. i cant wait to be rob's wife. there will be many adventures ahead...

today i'm thankful

2008-12-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

i'm thankful for christmas. i'm thankful for the feeling of being cozy. i'm thankful for parents who give freely of their window washer fluid, mittens, food, and love. i'm thankful for a relationship with a great man. i'm thankful for babies that are just learning how to walk. i'm thankful for homemade goodies. i'm thankful for friends who go toothbrush shopping at midnight. i'm thankful for surprises. i'm thankful for scarfs on a chilly day. i'm thankful that the Lord wants my heart.

just a few things that were going through my head...

how do you spell laundromat anyways?!

2008-10-01T20:09:00.001-07:00

for those of you that still might be peeking in on my blog to see if by chance i decided to re-enter the blogging world...well, here i am. no excuses really for not blogging. but one really junky thing is that my camera broke. which makes me sad. so...until i get my hands on a new one, no photos :(
but anyways...i was sitting in a laundromat tonight and, no kidding, i love laundromats. there's something comfortable about them. there's something down to earth about it. a bunch of strangers coming together in the same room to wash their clothes. it's just a cool thing. and i think i like it because you wouldn't normally find wealthy people there...it's your everyday, working, maybe even lower class people. i like that.
being there brings back memories in a heartbeat. memories of college. memories of being in california. there was this one time that several of us were looking forward to getting off catalina island so we could go wash our clothes in an actual washer and dryer. i remember...it was late at night and we lugged our suitcases and backpacks to the laundromat. i'm not sure how we came across to the people that saw us, but my guess is that we were kind of a homely bunch. the island had a way of making everything dirty. as we began to unload and wash our things....this woman comes us to me, not at all the definition of wealth or class, but absolutely precious...and offers me a flannel shirt that she had just washed because i apparently looked cold. i quickly refused and said i'd be alright, but was very thankful. she offered again and said i could just throw it away when i was done with it. i smiled kindly, but reassured her that i didn't need it. it was one of those special moments that makes you appreciate people, strangers even.
being at the laundromat tonight just brought this all back. and i love it. meeting people along the way of life. witnessing people's generosity. it's a beautiful thing. there was no one offering me an old flannel shirt tonight...but there was a dad with a couple kids who were having a blast playing together...and there was a woman and her mom folding clothes. and it just smells so good in there. so fresh. and so i just sat and enjoyed it....and waited for my sleeping bag to dry. :)

2008-06-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

i just so happen to be a big fan of my niece, kinsley. :)

unexpected things...

2008-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

so i was standing around talking after church today...and my dad comes by and slips me an envelope with my name on it. "hmmm...", i thought. interesting. figuring it had something to do with something i'm involved with at church, i opened it up. inside i found a good amount of money with a little typed note that included the verse..."and my God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. " philippians 4:19. whoa. i couldn't believe it! i guess it shouldn't be so hard to believe that the Lord would work in such fun and surprising ways...but it just caught me off guard. i wasn't expecting it. it's yet another way that...through my months of unemployment...he has provided for me along the way. to whoever it was that gave it to me...you're really rad. and your generous heart is like peeking into the Lord's heart. thank you so much!

the next step is in view

2008-05-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

as most of you know...last november, i left msa and found myself in california without a job. i had no clue where my job search would lead me or what my life would look like in the coming months. along with the many resumes, applications, and interviews came lots of wondering, questions, and hopes. these past months have been hard in many ways...but so very good in other ways. i remember when i was about to leave catalina island, and i didn't know where i was going to go or what i was going to do....i remember thinking, "i just wish that i could put life on pause for a minute so i can figure out what i should do." and as i look back, it seems that's exactly what the Lord gave me. it's crazy. and he began to answer that by hooking me up with rick and kathy, who i am forever grateful to. i still smile huge when i think about them and how we were brought together. what an adventure. i mean, meeting them once and then moving in with them! i love it. i love how unpredictable God is sometimes. so...after making the tough decision to move back to illinois, i found myself in the same position...searching for a job. God had already been at work in my heart...changing my perspective on wanting to move back. really. i give him all the credit for that one because it was nowhere in my plans. it also appears that he was working on something else that i hadn't been expecting. through circumstances and timing and praying and talking to people...a job started to come into view. it's funny though because if i hadn't been paying attention, i wonder if i would've missed it. just because it's not what i was looking for. it's not what i was expecting. but...as i've seen so many times...and have begun to enjoy and embrace...God so often works through ways that i am not execting. so...here i am to say that through all the waiting. (which was a sweet time of waiting on the Lord, i do admit....but hard, no doubt), through all the times of not understanding and wanting direction and clarity....God has once again been faithful, and i now know what the next adventure of my life is going to be. it comes in the form of taking on the position of being an office manager at balance design. that may sound a bit familiar to some of you, as it is the position my mom now holds. how is that going to work, you might be asking? well...pretty soon balance design is going to lose the best employee they've ever had (you guessed it, my mom) because she has earned the right to no longer work...and be a full time grandma and much more :) so...in a few short weeks, i will once again be employed. and you know what...i'm just really thankful for it.

just wanted to fill ya'll in...

my new abode

2008-05-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

i guess i decided to take a temporary leave of absence from the blogging world. but i'm back. for now at least. i think i mentioned much too long ago that i would post photos of my apt...just so ya'll that live too far away can glimpse into my life. so here it is. it took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to fix it up. (ok, so maybe there wasn't too much blood, except for the multiple times i've cut my fingers with the new and quite sharp knives i have...and there haven't been too many tears...and i guess not all that much sweat either.) but there were many hours of painting and cleaning and all that kinda stuff that goes into getting a place ready. and it's been great to have my own apartment. but it's kinda sad because now i can no longer say that all of my posessions fit inside my car. there was something kind of freeing about that.

one more...

2008-04-17T21:17:00.001-07:00

alright, so while tristan and jonathan were here, i had to take them to stockhom inn. while there, elly m. got this fabulous yellow balloon from the waitress. i decided to see what it would be like to take a picture of her through the balloon. haha...i thought it was quite funny. and maybe a little creepy. but definitely funny.

i love the schmits

2008-04-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

i decided that i absolutely love the international terminal at the airport. there's so much excitement there...so much adventure at hand...so many languages spoken...so much culture...so much potential for newness and the unknown. oh i wish i could just travel the world at the drop of a hat. as i stood waiting for tristan and her cute little family to arrive from sweden the other day, i just enjoyed people watching. my favorite was this guy that was all dressed nice with flowers in hand. he looked nervous and couldn't stop moving...but he kept his eyes on those doors that would soon reveal the one he was waiting for. i felt like i was watching a movie, and i hoped that i got to see the happy reunion. sure enough, i did. it was so cute. soon after that, i saw them coming...tristan, jonathan, and their little daughter that i had never met. it's a weird thing when your best friend suddenly has a baby. strange. yet so very fun. i got to hang out with them and all their jet-laginess for a couple days, and it was so great! tristan and i met on move-in day of our freshman year of college...and we were inseperable for the next two years, until the great divorce happened and i moved to chicago and left trist in colorado. but what a journey we've been on. she's one of those friends that there is that instant connection that you can't even really explain, but it's amazing. and i'm glad that she's back in the states. :) here's a peek at their precious little one, elly marta.

kinsley

2008-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

it has been brought to my attention (thanks, tristan:) that i've been doing a terrible job of showing the life and times of my niece, kinsley. so...here she is....she's growing so much, her smile is contagious, her giggles are so precious, and i think she'll be talking soon. (haha, ok...maybe that's too high of an expectation...but i do wonder what she would say if she could talk.)

oh happy day

2008-03-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

hey...just wanted to say happy easter to each of you! this morning at church, there was this discussion going on about grace, and it was so great. the reality of the grace that Jesus introduced is overwhelmingly unbelivable. it doesn't add up in my head when i try to sort through it and figure it out. but man, there's just nothing else like it.

may you begin to (or continue to, or be re-awakened to) realize the grace and peace that are yours....

barnyard surprises

2008-03-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

this one is dedicated to kari:)
so i was out in the barn today, cleaning up a bit...which included "mucking". haha, mucking. it's a good word to add to your vocabulary if you haven't already. it basically means cleaning up horse poop. so, i was mucking in the barn, when i came across an unusual looking piece of poo. at a second glance, i noticed that it had feet. what? that was about when i realized that it wasn't at all a piece of crap, but instead it was a dead mouse, all curled up. ewwww!
love you, sis :) and just for you, i decided not to add a photo to this entry.

meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2008-03-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

while some friends are off to a nice, warm, sunny place...i get to hang out with their horses, dogs, and cats. it's great! doing the chores, feeding all the creatures, the smell of the barn...i absolutely love it all. really, i do :) there's something fun and satisfying about getting up in the morning, and going out to the horses that are neighing for some food.

so here's the crew...meet the horses: winnie cooper, captain, franky, and becca. meet the dogs: muffin and wallace, as in william wallace :) and the cats: moonlight, ivy, and pumpkin. even though cats aren't my fav animal, i decided that life as a farm cat could be pretty sweet. i was watching ivy pounce all around the gigantic stack of hay, and it just looked like so much fun! and they climp up in the rafters and jump around from here to there. they don't have it so bad :)

transition

2008-03-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

alright, so i know it's been awhile since i last blogged. i guess i've been getting used to life back in rockford. i'm not gonna lie. it's kinda weird to be here. not quite sure where i fit in and what i'm gonna do here. but i'm glad to be here just the same. oh...and i have a freshly painted apartment that is just about ready for me to move into :) stay tuned for some photos on that.

we made it...

2008-03-06T21:31:00.000-08:00

a little over 2700 miles later, my mom and i returned to rockford. it was such a great time together on the open road. the grand canyon...hanging out with friends...hiking in arizona to watch the sunset...reading ted dekker...memphis bbq...beboppin' to carrie underwood...eating way too much fast food...snow in new mexico...dairy queen...and toad suck park. (haha, we didn't actually stop to enjoy the sights of toad suck state park, but did you know that it actually exists somewhere in the middle of oklahoma?! we're still laughing about that one.)...and much more.

thanks for driving with me, mom :)

and now i'm learning how to transition back to life in rockford...

one of my last shabangs...

2008-02-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

so do i look like a natural?!? haha. i didn't feel like a natural. it was lots of fun though! rick and kathy took me shooting the other day. we used a 22, 9mm, and an AR-15. those are all just numbers and letters to me...all i know is that the big one was my fav. except for the ringing that i still have in my ears! weird to think that i was holding something in my hands that has the capability of absolutely destroying something or someone. something that has been used to cause so much junk in this world. but i must say that it was a hoot to see the cans that we were shooting at fly way up to the air! it was so fun everytime. :)

from illinois to california and back...

2008-02-21T07:56:00.000-08:00

...that pretty much says it! i'm returning to illinois :) it's official. my interview yesterday went fine, but i knew in my heart that illinois is where it seems the Lord is nudging me. in the big picture...it's not what i expected. a year ago when i left home, i didn't expect to be returning in one short year. but i'm excited! not sure what is going to happen...but it will be an adventure to say the least.
thanks for praying for me. one really neat thing about this all is that the past five or six days have been the sweetest time of waiting with the Lord that i have ever had. and even though the question went through my head countless times of why is this happening now....i'm really glad that it did. because i'm better for it. it's funny how the Lord grows us and changes us and teaches us...and the things that he uses to do it. i'm a big fan of it :)
i've gotta run, but i just wanted to give an update.

more later,
b.

one more thing...

2008-02-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

oh, i forgot to mention that my interview with samaritans purse didn't actually happen today. they called and rescheduled it for tomorrow. more waiting...gotta love it.
keep praying :)

pinkberry

2008-02-19T16:17:00.001-08:00

so i had the first time experience last week of going to pinkberry. for all of ya'll back home, it's a yogurt place with cool atmosphere. probably the only place where you can get green tea yogurt with cap'n crunch on top. yes, that is what i indulged in...tasty stuff. (hey tristan, it'll never beat ice cream and graham crackers:) somewhere in the midst of taking pictures, the girl behind the counter says..."ummm...there's no photography in here." what?! crazy. little did she know that i had already taken a bunch.

the people i'm with...they are fun msa friends....sam and sam...nope, i didn't stutter. they have the same name.

life as a jigsaw puzzle

2008-02-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

my apologies that i'm just now getting around to sharing with ya'll the kinda big life decision that i made a week or two ago. after what seemed like an eternity of being in limbo, i have finally come to a place where i know what my next step is going to be...i'm returning to illinois! (well...at least i think. please read on.) it was an extremely hard decision because there's definitely stuff about life in california that i will miss. it's happy and sad all mixed together. i realize once again that those two emotions can perfectly co-exist. it doesn't make sense to me...but the happiness doesn't lessen the sadness, and the sadness doesn't decrease the happiness. what a phenomenon.
but...as the story unfolds, just the other day i received a message from an organization i had applied to two different times, most recently in december. they wanted to schedule a phone interview. what?! you've got to be kidding me, i thought. what is the Lord doing...why couldn't this have happened just two weeks ago. it's crazy because just before i got the message, i was out for a run by the ocean. i was taking it all in...enjoying the beauty...and talking with God about things he's doing in my heart and life. and in those moments, i definitely acknowledged the fact that it will be hard to leave, but in my heart, i learned that i was ready for this move. i was ready for whatever it holds. i shouldn't be surprised at how the Lord works and how his timing is so much different...but i still am.
so...as i scheduled the phone call for tuesday, questions and emotions were swarming around in me. i won't pretend to know what is going to happen. all i know is that i'm back in the waiting room:) if you happen to be reading this, will you pray for me? especially on tuesday. my hope is that the Lord clearly communicates something to me. no matter what the outcome, i realized through this that my excited to go home is genuine. sometimes it was hard to know if i was just talking myself into wanting to go back to illinois. but now i know it came from the heart. my first response when i got the call wasn't, "yes! now maybe i can stay in california!", but it was more like, "oh no...what is going on? why this? why now? what do i do?"
in church this morning, the guy was talking about how when Jesus rode into jerusalem on the sunday before he was crucified, it wasn't what people were expecting. (just like so many other things in his life). he was on a donkey of all things. definitely not something that anyone would normally associate with a processional into the city. but he went on to talk about our own expectations of God and how often times we pray for the Lord to do things on our terms. like doing a jigsaw puzzle where we have the box top to look at to see what the picture is going to be, we have this idea about how our lives are going to turn out or how God is going to act. so today i'm praying that God would show up on his terms. that i wouldn't try to fit the pieces together in a way that i want them to go, but that i would let him put the puzzle of my life together in a way that is best. which usually isn't the way that i thought.
and i can tell you this...going back to rockford was not the way i thought my puzzle was going to turn out. and whether or not this interview on tuesday will be something that was just meant to affirm that decision, or if it's going to create a different picture...i'm still learning to trust.

much love,
b.

i love joshua tree

2008-02-12T16:16:00.001-08:00

i always kinda wondered what inspired U2 to title one of their cds "joshua tree". the wondering has ceased. some friends and i journeyed out to joshua tree national park on saturday...and it all makes sense now. the place is absolutely wonderful...desert, mountains, blue sky, and these fascinating trees that look like a confusion between a cactus and a palm tree. huge rock formations that were like playgrounds for grown-ups. one of the best things though, was a real live oasis that we hiked to. i have such a clear picture now of the word oasis. it was a brilliant spot...a bunch of gigantic palm trees, greenness, and water smack dab in the middle of a desert. it was so peaceful!

the latest...

2008-02-06T16:58:00.001-08:00

well...my most recent adventure is of a different sort. i've been working for an attorney through a temp agency. and while he isn't my favorite person in the world, i'm extremely thankful for the work. it's bringing back memories of my former days of working at the bank...because i have to dress up. man, i guess my msa attire of shorts and a t-shirt won't cut it for this one.

keep praying for me...change is coming...and i think it involves moving across the country again!

much love,
b.

lost keys

2008-01-23T14:06:00.000-08:00

so i was looking through some stuff today and i found something that i wrote a couple years ago when i was going to school up in canada. it struck me because it spoke to where i'm at today...maybe it will encourage you too.

proverbs 2:1-6
my son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
for the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

these verses have been coming to my mind often these days.
and today was no different...

you see, i lost my keys last night. just keys, i know. not a huge deal. i could live without them, i could pay to replace them. but just the same, it was annoying and frustrating because i knew they had to be around and i was nearly certain i had seen them sitting on my bed moments earlier. so i went to bed last night not really concerned, woke up this morning wondering where they were at, but yet again, not too concerned. but then it really started driving me crazy. i searched my whole room. lifted my mattress to see if they had fallen under there somewhere...shook out my sheets and my blanket thinking they got caught up in there somehow...went through the pockets of the jeans i was wearing yesterday...looked through drawers...moved everything on my desk and shelves countless times because i just couldn't figure out where my keys were! i knew they were somewhere to be found, i just didn't know where.
...search for it as for hidden treasure...look for it as for silver...cry aloud for understanding..call out for insight...
it was like i was hit in the face by an unexpected punch. here i was nearly frantically searching for something as insignificant as my keys, nothing in comparison to a hidden treasure or silver, yet how often do i search for knowledge and truth, understanding and insight even to the degree that i was tearing things apart to recover my keys. it was as if i sensed God saying, "brooke, look for me in that same way, with that sense of urgency only much more so...search...cry out to me...dig in...i have things i want to show you, i have the insight and understanding, the knowledge and the truth that you are looking for...pursue me...i have what you need."
it was powerful and very real.
oh...and my keys were indeed found! as i was looking once again through my room, i got a knock on the door. it was a girl named naomi...and she was holding my keys! she said that some woman found them on the sidewalk near the pool down the street. last place i would've looked. hmmm....

the most beautiful baby ever...

2008-01-10T21:24:00.000-08:00

it's true. she is the most beautiful baby ever. :) and i had the joy and privilege of spending the afternoon with her today. the landman family came home from the hospital yesterday and are quickly adjusting to their new life. poopy diapers, feeding schedules, little sleep at night, squeezing naps in during the day, and just enjoying each moment with their baby! kinsley is entirely blessed to have mike and kari as parents. they are going to do such a wonderful job!

here's a few more photos for your enjoyment...

welcome to your life, kinsley grace...

2008-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

i'm speechless when i try to think of the words to describe this precious little life that i met today for the first time. i can't tell you how amazing it all is....or how amazing God is for being that one that is behind every part of it. it leaves me with wonder and awe and joy. and i already love her so much...and i hardly even know her....but i love her. she's beautiful. she's a perfect miracle. and i'm so very glad i am here to share in this day and this excitement.

well everyone...meet my brand new niece....kinsley grace. born this afternoon absolutely healthy and wonderful!

happy 2008!

2008-01-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

resolution: a resolve or determination...a firmness of purpose...the act of determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure...settling of a problem...reduction to a simpler form

i think new year's resolutions have gotten a bad wrap. they've become known as things that people never keep, so what's the point in making them, right? usually the resolutions are along the lines of losing x number of pounds or exercising so many times a week or maybe it's stopping a bad habit. all of which are good things. but i think there can be more to it than that.

for some reason, i've been thinking about 2008 and the resolutions i want to make, the things i want to do/change/learn. but i don't want to do them just because i should be doing them. i want it to come from a place of desire...a place that just wants to be the best brooke i can be.

so i guess i'm just saying that i want this to be an intentional year. a purposeful year. a year of growth. i don't want to coast through this year.

and i want to challenge you to think about the things you can intentionally do this year....

friends...

2007-12-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

just a few fun photos since i've been home....

merry christmas!!

2007-12-25T20:15:00.000-08:00

hey friends...
just wanted to say that i think ya'll are great....and i hope you've had a relaxing, refreshing, joyful, funny, and special time celebrating Jesus today!

home sweet home for christmas

2007-12-22T20:02:00.000-08:00

i rolled into town safely on thursday...and wow, it is so very good to be here! home is such a great place. great people. as i walked in the back door for the first time, my heart just breathed a sigh of relief. there's just something about being home...the comfort of it. the familiarity of it. the safety of it. it's so good.

one of the exciting things the first night i was here was seeing my sister all big and stuff. she's due in about 3 weeks and she is so lovely :)

whoa!

2007-12-18T23:06:00.000-08:00

so ya know those verses in the psalms that say, "the heavens declare the glory of God. the skies proclaim the work of his hands"? well...i'm not saying that the Bible wasn't written as it should've been...but...if i lived back in that day, and if i were a writer of the scriptures, and if i just so happened to live in northern california at the time, i think i would've written it something like this..."the giant sequoias declare the glory of God, their height proclaims the work of his hands!" :)
i cannot even begin to put in accurate words just how stunning these trees are...oh my goodness! it's safe to say that i have never seen anything like them before...and never will again because i just so happened to see the biggest tree in the world! it's called the general sherman. (it's 275 feet tall and 105 feel around) and it's unbelievable!

i took a little detour on my way back down to southern california and went to kings canyon and sequoia national parks. it's beautiful country. the mountains. the trees. the snow. the winding roads. the sunshine. the view. amazing. one of the spots i went through was called the giant forest. which turned out to be a perfect name. it made me feel like mini-brooke as i passed through.
one of the last photos here....the one of the root system of the fallen down tree...the thing is so stinkin' big that i climbed up and stood up in the middle of it. so cool.

an evening in san fran

2007-12-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

my adventure continues...last night matt and tracy (the couple that i'm working with) and i cruised over to san fransicso for dinner. i love going to new places! we took public transportation, which brought back memories of my days in chicago. so many different kinds of people. so many different stories hidden behind their faces. so much people watching to be done! it was a very pleasant city. i liked it quite much. although, it was nearly dark when we arrived which meant that i could barely see the golden gate bridge or the ridiculously steep streets...it was still so great. we went to fisherman's wharf and heard a slew of barking sea lions...ate at a nice place by the water...walked in an a morgan stanley christmas party on accident...saw the cable cars passing by...and it was just a fun experience, which included some silly photos. and while i couldn't quite make it out to alcatraz, a photo by the semi advertisement sounded just as good. my fav is the random one of matt and tracy and the large head of a woman. :)

only six days until i'm home :):)

from redwoods to liquid sandpaper

2007-12-11T20:33:00.000-08:00

just in case it was ever in question before....it is official now that i absolutely love trees! i had the opportunity to see some redwoods for the first time the other day, and it was so terrific! i've dreamed about seeing them for a long amount of time, and sometimes God brings things about in funny ways that i never would've even imagined. (hmmm....that kinda sounds like a verse i've heard before) so the reason that i had to come up north in california (which is exactly where the redwoods are found) was because of a temporary job with a construction company. what?! me....construction?! haha. funny. but it's true. i came up to oakland to work at a fedex facility for the week. never would've thought that would be the circumstances under which i would be able to see some of the most incredible trees. but it's great! i think on the way back down to southern california, i'm going to have to continue the experience of seeing redwoods and sequoias:)
not only has it been a time to expand my view of the Lord's absolutely beautiful creation, but as i was working today, i learned that there is such a thing as liquid sandpaper. who knew?! it's crazy. it's weird.

nine days until i'm in the snow of northern illinois :)

stay tuned for some photos of trees...

rockford in 17 days!!!

2007-12-03T21:26:00.000-08:00

i just wanted to let the world know that i have the joy and privilege of going home for 11 whole days starting on the 20th!! there's nothing quite like being at home for christmas....i'm excited. :)

mt baldy

2007-11-24T14:55:00.000-08:00

hey guess what?! i climbed my first california mountain yesterday! and what an adventure it was. i set out with mark, brandon, and david...and i was expecting a great time, an awesome view, a good workout...but what i got was all that plus so much more :) yes, it was a great time! it surely was an incredible view of the mountains and the kind of beauty that overwhelms me. and yeah, it was a workout...my sore muscles today are reminding me of that. but i also got to experience the kind of wind that could knock someone off a mountain! hahaa...thank goodness it didn't! but wow, it was so stinkin' powerful and strong and it made the hike unforgettable. i didn't realize the wind was so strong until we were just a ways from the top. we passed a couple groups who said that they didn't make it all the way up. my first thoughts were, "oh, but we'll definitely make it!"....but eventually i got to thinking, "ok, maybe i can't do this!" it was out of control!! i've never been through anything like that before. seriously. there were times when i had to just crouch down on the ground, or lay flat, because i was no match for the wind. we ran from rock pile to rock pile trying to make it all the way up. when we finally made it up to 10064 feet, it was quite an accomplishment! it just so happens to be the tallest mountain that i've climbed :) so...the way down was an accomplishment just the same. the wind was still intense in spots....especially at the "passageway of death", which is what i like to call it. i was in the back of the line when we approached this particular spot, so when i looked up and saw it for the first time, i thought-oh my goodness, i don't know if we should be doing this! had it not been windy, it would've been a piece of pie...but with the wind barreling through this narrow trail with a rock slide on either side, i'm not gonna lie, i was a little scared. but we walked on :) and i'm glad we did...because it was fun, but absolutely crazy. at one point, the guy behind me was doing the crab walk just so he could stay close to the ground. that was probably the same point that i was huddled in a ball. i really thought that i was gonna go off the side! it was great. so, we made it through the death trap...and continued on. the wind was still howling, but it wasn't so bad. maybe we were just used to it. the trail was beautiful and the trees and mountains and clouds grabbed my attention. but pretty soon, the word was out that we had taken a different trail down than we thought we had. but it was all good...i had signed up for an adventure :) eventually it got to the point where we had to pull the headlamps out because darkness had set in, which made it even more fun. the end of the trail finally came in sight...but we were quite a bit off from where the car was at. so....guess what? i went with mark, and i got to hitchhike for the first time in my life :) i've always thought that would be fun, and it was definitely a good first-time experience. the woman that was gracious enough to give us a ride was super nice. and i was so thankful for her because, well, the car was way further than i thought! it would've been a rather long walk. it was a great day...and here's so pictures to show it. although...keep in mind that these photos don't capture the wind...the blasting frigid air...the beauty in its entirety...or the passageway of death (man, i wish i could've had a video of that to show ya'll, but i must say i was more concerned for my life:)

the hunt is on

2007-11-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

so my search for a job continues. questions are still swarming about my head and heart as to what is best, what i should do, and just wanting to make a wise decision. i'm eager to see just exactly what that is going to be and where this journey takes me. i had two interviews this week...and one more tomorrow. please pray for wisdom for me. the people i'm staying with are still so welcoming and comfortable and glad to have me. although yesterday i set off their house alarm. whoops. it was rather funny, once i was able to get the silly thing turned off.

much love....b r o o k e

no longer a stranger

2007-11-11T14:23:00.000-08:00

oh...one more thing. i arrived in lake forest on friday night to stay at my temporary home for the next three weeks. i wasn't nervous, but at the same time i was thinking...what in the world am i doing? i've spent an hour with these people. but it was clear to me that it was from the Lord, so i just went with it. and whoa...it's been a really good thing. they are so generous. so open. so comfortable. and moments when i start to think that maybe i should feel awkward being there...they remind me that i'm welcome, to just make myself at home, and that they're glad to have me there. and they have blessed my heart.

more later...

a page is turned...

2007-11-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

i know it sounds so clique that a chapter of my life has just ended, but it's so true. and that's exactly how it feels. it was a chapter that was sometimes a comedy, sometimes a drama, sometimes a tear-jerker, and sometimes a choose-your-own-adventure. my experience with msa isn't something i would want to take back...yet i realize and accept that it's time to move on. as i pause to look back and try to process what i learned and where God was moving through it all, my heart is filled with lots of great things.
here's some of the nuggets of goodness that i'm leaving msa with...
friendships that i wouldn't have otherwise had. experience in the amazing ocean and knowledge of some of the things that fill it. a reminder of how simple life can actually be lived. times of learning to trust the Lord and cling to him. experience in teaching and leading. an appreciation for truely good drinking water (catalina water was less than desirable.) a great adventure and great memories that go along with it. a realization that the needed amount of showers and clothes washings isn't as much or as frequent as one would think (don't get me wrong, i haven't turned into some gross girl...but camp has a way of making me comfortable with a little dirt.) seeing things i've never seen, doing things i've never done, being places i've never been, and praising God for his stunning creation. and friends that will probably forever call me creek.
and as this page is turned...i'm looking ahead to a blank page. as that one song says, "...the rest is still unwritten..." as i drove away on friday with msa behind me, i was overcome with this sense of freedom. which felt really good seeing that this past week was consumed with questions and uneasiness. i'm sure those feelings will resurface as i continue seeking out where my road is headed, but that freedom was just so needed. so comforting. the sun was shining, my windows were down, and u2-joshua tree was playing. it was a moment that made me smile. i drove up to this amazing little chapel that overlooks the pacific...catalina was fully in view, and the sun sparkled on the water so much that it nearly hurt my eyes. for that moment, things just seemed right.

leaving the island...

2007-11-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

this is my last night on the island. the last night of hearing the ocean as i drift off to sleep. i took my last snorkel today. last group of kids. last campfire here. lots of lasts. and my heart is a bit sad. sad to say somemore goodbyes. sad because it's the end of this time of my life. and because the days ahead of me are big questions that are staring me in the face.

good stuff

2007-11-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

as i'm sure most of you know, my job is up really soon. really soon meaning this friday! yikes...i can't believe that my time with msa has come to a close. there's a part of me that's very ready to move on, and another part of me that is going to miss this place greatly. but anyways, so i've been trying to figure out what i'm going to do with my life for awhile now. i've been applying to places...scoping out apartments looking for somewhere to call home. i've had hopeful moments here and there, but nothing certain. so...this past week i spent a couple days on the mainland just trying to sort through some of this. and i'm not gonna lie...saturday was a roller coaster ride kind of a day. it was super cruddy because the reality of my situation consumed me. i realized i'm sort of disappointed with life sometimes. and i just wished i could hit the pause button on this journey so i could collect myself and try to piece somethings together. my heart and mind were filled with thoughts and questions of what in the world am i doing here in california, where do i go from here, am i ever going to find a job that satisfies, should i go home, am i making the right decisions, i'm in need of some roots and some relationships, why does God seem so uninvolved in this, i feel so alone, what kind of job am i even looking for, i just want to make my life count....those were just some of the things i was pondering. and i was just overwhelmed.
but it was saturday night. and i was on the mainland. which meant that i was able to go to church! which made me smile. i slipped in the doors, probably not noticed by many. i sat amidst the crowd. tears just filled my eyes...because it was a safe place, because it caused me to dwell on the goodness of the Lord, and my heart could just unload a bit. the service was great. the music was great. and i didn't want to leave. because it just meant that it was time to go back to the sailboat that i was staying on. so...i lingered for awhile. people filed out of the room. but i just remained seated. my head was down, so i didn't notice that someone came to sit by my side. i felt a hand on my shoulder. i turned to the side to see a man...probably somewhere around my dad's age. we sat in silence for a moment or two because just the fact that he cared enough to come up to me, a complete stranger, made the tears come again. i briefly explained my situation. he was quick to suggest that i come and meet his wife and their friends. as he introduced me, one of the first things he said was that i needed a job and a home. i'm not gonna lie, it sort of made me feel uncomfortable. which made me remember that sometimes i have a hard time accepting things/help from people. it humbles me because i realize that i can't do it on my own. so there i was....my needs were right out in front for these people i just met to see. but they didn't seem to mind. they were really great and seemed to care a lot. pretty soon, they asked if i'd like to join them for something to eat. i had an apartment to go and check out...but i told them i would meet them there. so i did. as we were sitting around the table, rick and kathy asked a bunch of questions. they were just trying to piece together my story. where i'm from, how i got there, what i'm looking for, etc. they also asked about the apt i went to see. it was a decent place and she offered it to me...but it wasn't available until december 1. (which i knew when i had called earlier that day to inquire about it...but for some reason i just decided to call anyways, even though it made no sense because i need a place this friday!) rick smiled when he heard that...because he then told me that i was more than welcome to stay at their house for the three weeks inbetween. i cannot tell ya'll how amazing this was. these people i'd never even met...they prayed for me in the parking lot...they offered me a room to stay in...and they just seemed so glad to do it. i was so encouraged. and i was reminded that the Lord wasn't far off, but he was right there putting all this together. wow...God is so faithful. so why do i ever worry? my dad reminded me that God is rarely early, but he's never late. seriously. it's so true. that's so like God to wait until days before i go homeless to show me the next step to take...all to just build my trust in who he is, to remind me of his faithfulness, and to continue to build a history with him. i love it. but man, it's stretching. and it hurts sometimes. i felt like i was at the end of my rope...but it's like God gave me another mile to work with. wherever ya'll are at...if God seems uninvolved, if questions need answers, if you've had enough...man, i know how that feels. i totally do. but from someone who has been given an answer to just one of the question marks...i encourage you to just hang on. hang on. even when you think you can't anymore. because no matter what it feels like in the midst of your circumstance, the fact doesn't change that the Lord is faithful.

more to come...

a glimpse of camp life

2007-11-02T18:09:00.000-07:00

seeing that i absolutely love photographs, i decided to do a bit of a photo documentary of a week at camp. it turned into two and a half weeks and more pictures than i know what to do with, but it was lots of fun! so here's just a peek into it...

rainboots on a desert island

2007-10-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

so i work with this really cool girl named sam, and she surprised me with these fabulous rainboots for my birthday! (they're so great that she couldn't resist getting a pair for herself!) i understand that such a wardrobe accessory isn't crucial for life on catalina...or in california for that matter, but who could pass up something as swell as these green and blue rainboots?! i mean, c'mon...just look at them! i love them! so yesterday, sam and i decided that no matter what the weather was (which actually turned out to be an awesome sunny day) we were going to wear our boots. and that we did. :)

we were in line for breakfast together when one of the guys that works in the kitchen said to us, "what are you suppposed to be?" he thought it was a part of our halloween costume. haha, it was quite funny.

silver peak

2007-10-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

when i started off this season a few months back, one of the things that i wanted to do was to hike up to silver peak...which is the fourth highest on catalina, but the tallest spot on the west end. seeing that i've got less than two weeks left here, i thought it was about time. so yesterday nemo and i had a free afternoon, so we set out. it was a beautiful day, no doubt. just in case any of you out there have been skeptical or think i've been lying to ya, i just want ya'll to know that catalina island is absolutely beautiful! :) not in an everything-is-green-and-life-is-thriving kinda way...but it's amazing just the same. when we got close to silver peak, we were walking down a gravel road where we could see the ocean on both sides. it was awesome. we couldn't see the mainland at all, probably mostly due to the smoke from the fires that are still burning over there, but we did get a glimpse of one of the other channel islands to the west. we were hoping to see a whale breeching, but that was wishful thinking. i'm going to miss this place when i leave...

my home away from home

2007-10-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

i totally appreciate weekends on the mainland. it's freedom. it's fun. and it's an adventure...because this just so happens to be where i stay. at first i greatly disliked sleeping on this boat. i mean, sure it was kinda fun...but not ideal. and sometimes there's shady people there. but i realized this weekend, after i rolled into the marina one night, that strangely enough, there was actually a somewhat comfortable feeling to it. maybe just because it has become familiar. as i walked through the gate and rounded the corner to the somewhat gross bathroom...i caught myself feeling at home for a second. maybe that's a good thing, maybe that's a bad thing. i haven't quite figured that one out yet....but it definitely just confirmed my vagabond lifestyle.

my search for a home and a job continues. two and a half weeks left here on the island! whoa. i'll take any prayers ya'll want to bring before the Lord on my behalf!

under the sea...

2007-10-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

check out these photos from yesterday! for one thing, snorkeling in emerald bay is just plain great! i was able to go out without kids, which means i can just have fun and relax and enjoy everything underneath the surface! one of these is a shovelnose guitar fish...and the other is a leopard shark. the leopard is the only shark i've ever seen...and they aren't harmful to people, but yesterday a friend and i were going through an enormous school of small fish. and i'm talking huge! meaning that i could hardly see through the school, they were packed in so tight. there were quite possibly hundreds of thousands of them! so awesome! right as we see those, emily says to me, "oh this is a great spot to see sharks cause there are so many fish around!!" she was all excited...and so was i for a moment. then i thought....whoa, she's not talking about those cute little leopard sharks! but unfortunately, we didn't see anything other sharks.

as usual, these photos don't do them justice. if only ya'll could go snorkeling with me here...it amazes me! there's that verse in psalms that talks about the sea teeming with life, great and small...and it's so true!

hope all is well with each of you...

love,

the girls of emerald bay

2007-09-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! just dropping in to say hi. :) this was from one morning last week when brooke, sam, and i went for little hike. brooke is my roommate, and sam is the director of marketing...cool girls. hope all is well.

much love,

brooke

first week of camp is over

2007-09-15T16:15:00.001-07:00

we have this little tradition at good ol' emerald bay that whenever the kids take off on the boat, some of the staff jump off the dock as they're pulling away...they all cheer, it's fun to be a part of...everyone enjoys it. the first group of kids we had took off yesterday...and here's a few captured moments of the send-off jumps...

back to ebay...

2007-09-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

so here i am, back at emeral bay. it's a gorgeous place, there's no doubt about that! wednesday kicks off our fall season with a group of kids rolling in. so until then, we're getting camp set up, we're brushing up on the classes that we teach, and of course snorkeling and kayaking too :) here's a few photos of life here...my awesome cabin, the waterfront, the dining hall...the basics:) oh, and the deer family that i was feeding an orange to last night.

fun family photos

2007-08-31T17:42:00.000-07:00

i love my family! it's true. i have been blessed in a huge way with a family that loves! my parents and sister were able to fly out and see me this past week...and it was such a great time! (we missed you chad, cara, and mike!) i actually just dropped them off at the airport today...and i drove away with tears in my eyes because sometimes God just overwhelms me with the good things that he pours out on me. as good as it is out here in california and i believe that this is where God has me for this time, it's still hard to say goodbye to family. this week i was able to show them where i've been and what i've been up to for the past six months. the mountains to the island...and more in between. for those of ya'll back in rockford, make sure to ask my fam about the lovely boat ride back from the catalina. haha, it was a memorable time. :) oh...and let me just tell the whole world right now and any that's reading this blog...my sister makes the cutest pregnant woman ever! you can't get away from it, kari...you're simply beautiful!

until next time,

brooke.

p.s. i just realized that the hippo picture is kinda random....but come on, they're pretty sweet creatures!

one kid's perspective on being grown up...

2007-08-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

so i was talking with one of the campers today...and she was asking me about where i live and whether or not i still live with my parents. i could tell that her little brain was thinking real hard about what it all meant and what that would be like. then she says to me, in her cute little six-year-old voice..."you're so lucky. you get to make all your own decisions, and you get to have candy whenever you want!" she made me laugh outloud! sometimes i think about how easy it is to be a kid...the respsonsibility is at a minimum...you've got the rest of your life ahead of you, but she helped me realize that one of the perks of being a twenty-something is that i can eat sour patch kids and twizzlers for breakfast, if i so choose. :)

hey...

2007-08-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

hi friends! i fully realize that little river hasn't kept ya'll updated on her adventures lately, but hey...thanks for hanging with me. :)

first of all...this precious little girl is one of my favs. her name is olivia, and i have had the joy to spend last week and this week with her here at camp in newport beach. she's awesome...that smile tells it all.

summer camp is wrapping up pretty soon, and i'm finishing it up here on the mainland. island living is certainly fun, but i'm not gonna lie, i like having a dairy queen down the road and a church that i can go to. i'm here for a few more weeks and i'm going to soak it up before i head back to emerald bay for the fall season.

unfortunately, adventures aren't always happy-jump-for-joy ones...last week i had to say a goodbye to an awesome friend. somewhat suddenly, sharayah left to go back home to pennslyvania. our friendship has been one of my great california adventures...and i'm so thankful for it. but i miss her a lot.

on a brighter note, my wonderful parents and my lovely pregnant sister (yes...for those of you that may not know...kari is pregnant!!!) are flying out to california in exactly ten days. that's right. :) i'm going to enjoy playing tour guide as i show them a piece of life here. it's gonna be so good to see them once again!

alright...i gotta run. the sunshine is calling my name.

love,

flashlights

2007-07-16T20:56:00.000-07:00

so last night i was heading up to the campground after being down in the hopping town of two harbors. it was extremely dark, which made the stars that much more amazing. i couldn't find my headlamp, so all i had was this crappy little flashlight. it was pretty worthless. it barely lit the path in front of my feet. i tried to shine it into the darkness ahead of me, but it just seemed to make it worse. so, i just pointed it at the ground right in front of my feet...cause i guess that's all i really need, right...to see where my foot is about to step. maybe it's just curiousity or thinking about walking into the black unknown...but my natural inclination was to want to see far beyond what i could actually see with this tiny flashlight. but i knew where i was headed...my destination was the campground that was a ways up the hill. i knew i would get there, but only one step at a time. the analogy became so clear to me. it was so much like life. and that verse in psalm 119 flashed into my mind. the one about God's word being a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths. then i thought about my future. it's like my life was that path. the campground, the place where i was seeking to get to, is my dreams, my passion, my place in this world, who i was created to be, and what i was created to do. i trust that eventually i will get there, but my eyesight doesn't allow me to see anything besides the ground right in front of me. my mind skipped off to november when i will be jobless...and quite honestly, i have no idea what i will be doing. i trust that the Lord won't leave me high and dry and homeless...but when i really think about it, i get a little anxious. just because i don't know. it's stepping into that unknown. (which, i must admit, there is a certain level of excitement and adventure in that! but still...it weighs on my heart)
a friend of mine here in california recently shared the verse in proverbs that says something to the effect of how we determine our course, but the Lord plans our steps. there is definitely comfort in that...especially for a girl who is asking that question yet again, where am i going? and what am i going to do with my life?

california

2007-07-12T17:38:00.000-07:00

i guess this means that my move out west is now official! i'm not gonna lie, it was a little bit strange taking the illinois plates off my car yesterday...but at least i won't be driving on expired out-of-state plates any longer. and...as if i wasn't already certain about it, it's been confirmed that the department of motor vehicles is one of my least favorite places to spend any amount of my time. to make matters worse, i had to return again this morning to retake the written test because i failed it the first time. whoops!

oh give me a home where the buffalo roam....

2007-06-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

on my way to avalon a week or so ago, brooke and i (yes, there is another staff member named brooke!) came across a herd of lovely bison. what awesome beasts they are! actually, during camp this past week, we were camping out with the high schoolers at a place called little harbor, which is a few miles away from two harbors...and i woke up in the middle of the night to sharayah telling me that a buffalo just wondered through our camp site!

so...we just finished our first week of summer camp. i can't say that it was my best week ever, but there definitely were some high points. throwing up off the side of the boat wasn't among that list of highs. i was out with a group of kids on a shark search. we were chumming for mako sharks...which basically means that we cut up a bunch of fish, putting them in plastic bags, and trying to entice the sharks to the surface. well, it turns out that we didn't see any sharks...but as we were sitting in the boat, there was a bit too much rock and roll action for me...and i lost my breakfast into the pacific. i thought i was over that sea sickness business, but i'm afraid not. one awesome thing though was that we saw a huge amount of dolphins swimming along our boat. the coolest thing ever was the baby dolphin that was among them. no joke, it was no bigger than two feet long. oh my goodness, it was so very precious!

we stayed the week at a camp ground in two harbors. i was an instructor this week, which meant that i didn't have to sleep with the girls in a cabin. i've included a photo of my view from the cabin i was in. simply amazing. can't believe i got to wake up to that each day.

the week went pretty quickly. lots of snorkeling and kayaking. good stuff.

i'm on the mainland now for the next two weeks. my team is here to do camps in newport beach. MSA has rented an apartment for us, which is kind of nice. it's going to be nice to have a place to go to at the end of the day. a place with a light switch, a normal toilet, a refrigerator, and good drinking water. :)

alright....have a great day!

God's amazing creation...

2007-06-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

alright....so we were out on a snorkel adventure yesterday morning. it was a beautiful day, by the way. california has this awful thing called "june gloom" where it's terribly cloudy until late morning or early afternoon...but yesterday morning, the sun woke me up. hardly a cloud in the sky. it was beautiful! so anyway, we had to test out a couple different snorkel locations that we are going to be taking kids to this summer...places i've never been to yet. as we were cruising along in the boat, i saw something that just amazed me. i had heard about them before, but quite honestly thought it was kinda silly. so have ya'll ever heard of a flying fish?! yeah, they're awesome! all of the sudden, someone pointed one out to me....it looked like a bird, but then at a closer look i could definitely see that it was a fish...but it had wings!! and it was flying. not just a big long jump....but actually flying and then diving back into the water. it fascinated me!! really....it was awesome!

and the snorkels were awesome too. one of the places we went was called ship rock. i jumped out of the boat, and was immediately amazed. the water was so deep...i've never been in such endless water. fran told me that it was at least 300 feet deep at places, if not more. it was kind of surreal...i was starring into this deep blue nothingness....and would suddenly see huge schools of fish, or gigantic kelp that i couldn't see the end of. it was so fun! as we jumped out of the boat and started swimming around the gigantic rock, we noticed that there were a couple sea lions sprawled out in the sun. they started barking at us. and it's possible that we got a little too close..maybe. pretty soon, they were jumping in the water and swimming towards us. now...i didn't know much about sea lions before moving to cali. i just thought they were some cute ocean mammals. well, they don't have the word "lion" in their name for no reason. so....we started swimming as fast as we could, but there was really no where to go because we were out in the middle of the ocean. it's funny now, looking back on it...but i'm not gonna lie, my heart was beating pretty quick! after a bit, we thought we lost them. so we started just enjoying the amazing stuff underneath the surface of the water. a few moments later, we saw the sea lions in in the water, swimming down below us. it was really neat at first to see them swimming...but then i remembered that they can be dangerous. so once again, we just started swimming really fast. they ended up swimming right under us and all was well.

our other snorkeling location was through a small cave. it was so great....it got to the point where the water seemed pitch black and i couldn't see a thing. kind of a strange feeling, but fun. as we slowly made our way around, things started came back into light again, and it was so sweet. it's unbelievable just how much goes on under the surface. it is truly amazing!

we're heading back to the mainland this afternoon. we'll be back on sunday with a group of kids for our first week of summer camp. it'll be interesting to see how it all goes. i have a feeling it might be a little choatic, just because it's a lot different than the program we ran at emerald bay and most of us have never done a summer camp. but...we'll get through it :)

much love to you all...

brooke.

highlights

2007-06-16T22:38:00.001-07:00

this past week has been filled with some semi-unorganized training for the summer season. i'm still not quite sure what to expect, but i do know that summer camps will be a lot different. we moved from emerald bay (which is where we've been running camps) to two harbors. i've never lived in a place quite like two harbors. it's a town of about one hundred people...where there is one restaurant, one store, and that's about it. we will be living in a public camp ground that has an absolutely amazing view of the ocean! not kidding...it's stunning. we have to pay for our showers...a quarter for 90 seconds. my goal is to become a pro at a two quarter shower.

as far as the summer program goes, it'll be a little less education-oriented and a little more adventuresome. i'll still be doing a good amount of snorkeling. which, by the way, i went yesterday for the first time at the two harbors location, and it was amazing! i saw a crab, some huge sea hares, a brilliant kelp fish, a sea star, and a tiny garibaldi...along with a heap of other fish. we'll also be doing a lot of sailing. it'll be interesting teaching that, seeing as i've only done it twice now!

i was at the bolsa chica beach earlier this week and saw a dead whale. the thing was huge...although, it was actually pretty small as far as whales are concerned. it was a young one...and probably 20 feet or so. even though i felt bad for the whale, it was quite fascinating to see. it was being swarmed by gulls and was getting tossed around by the waves coming into shore. and oh man, the stench was like none other.

i've been kinda frustrated lately because i feel like my life needs to be simplified a bit. by that i mean that i've got too much stuff...too many possessions. maybe it's just because i'm living the life of a vagabond and my car is packed full of all my things, aside from the one backpack i take to the island. i just realize how many things i really don't need. i'm thankful for it...and i'm glad to simplify...because it almost feels like it drains me...like it drags me down having to cart around all this stuff that doesn't matter all that much anyways. for some reason, it seems to be heavy on my heart.

i've been back on the mainland this weekend...hanging out in laguna beach at sharayah's friend's place. i'm heading back to the island tomorrow for one more week of getting ready for summer camp.

hope ya'll have a great week!

well hello there...

2007-06-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

thanks for being faithful readers of my "little adventures" despite the fact that it has been several weeks since i posted anything. we finished up the spring season at emerald bay with two of the busiest weeks we've had yet. many kids, crazy schedules, and good times. this past week i actually had off...so ian, sharayah, and i flew home to rockford to surprise my family! and what a surprise it was! man, i love that kind of stuff. they had absolutely no idea...and it was so fun and good to see them! it was a pretty packed week trying to hang out with people and relax at the same time. it was good for my heart though to be able to be home. but it was also fun to come back to california because i knew i was coming back to a job that i really enjoy.

i went to an amazing church this morning, which filled me with a desire once again to go overseas and love people and tell them about Jesus. that has been a reoccuring theme over the years....hmmm.

this afternoon we decided to take a trip down to mexico. which is so foreign to me to think that i could just spend the afternoon in mexico. stange...but i love it. it was a first time for sharayah and ian...so it was a fun experience. we strolled through the market area and stuck out like a couple of tourists. oh how i love being in different places! i know it was just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the united states border, but it's quite a difference. there was this one woman selling stuff at her booth...and i could hardly communicate with her...but she just brought a smile to my face. she wanted me to buy a hat so bad, and maybe i would've if i'd had the money just because i liked her. she had a sparkle in her eye. then there were these little girls trying to sell us gum. oh, they were so precious.!

it was a quick little trip...and now i find myself at a ridiculously huge house in laguna beach. sharayah has a friend that nannies and lives with a family here. and quite honestly, as nice as this place is...i just don't fit here. sometimes it almost upsets me when people have so many "things". the houses in this neighborhood are straight from the movies. but i must say, i'm just excited to have a bed to sleep on for the night. the alternative was a tiny sail boat shared with five other people. so i guess i got the better end of the deal.

alright. i'm off to get some sleep. tomorrow we start a week of training for summer camp...and wednesday we head back to the island.

for those of you that i saw this past week at home...it was great to be there!! thanks for being a part of my life!

much love,

brooke.

i'm still alive

2007-05-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

hello everyone!

well....in case ya'll have been wondering, i am safe and sound on catalina island. the fire was on the opposite end from where i'm at. it's kind of strange though that people back in illinois knew more about it than i did...because we had no way of watching the news or anything. although we did see and smell smoke. so the only way it really effected us here in emerald bay is that we haven't had electricity or internet for the past week. it just got turned back on a couple hours ago, and i must say that it was super nice to be able to check my email. i feel connected to the outside world once again!

so camp has been going well. we've had some fantastic kids...i got charged by a buffalo...sharayah is back on the island...i had to do some first aid on my boss this afternoon when he walked up to me with his hands covered in blood (he ended up having to go to avalon to get stitches)...i decided to train for another half marathon...and tonight was burrito night in the dining hall, which is my fav meal here on the island! it's the simple things in life:) oh, and as you can see by the photo, i'm working on my tan lines!

more later....

love,

brooke.

my humble abode

2007-05-05T08:27:00.000-07:00

so this is where i live now. not quite the awesome cabin in the mountains....but yurt life is great! just saying the word "yurt" is fun. basically, it's a glorified tent. when i moved all my stuff over last weekend, i brought a few more things to make it a bit more like home...so it's really comfortable.

we just sent a bunch of kids off yesterday. so i'm enjoying my first weekend on the island. the camp is filled with boy scout or ymca groups on the weekends, so this place is still hopping.

last night a bunch of us walked over to parsons...which is one of the beaches on the other side of the island, just a mile or two away. we got there just in time to watch the sunset....it was beautiful! the waves were all kinds of crazy, so it was fantastic just to sit and watch them. i don't think i could ever get tired of that.

we're going into town this morning...which means that we're driving into two harbors, a town of about a hundred people. since i'm one of the older staff members here, i am now one of the drivers. which means i get to cart everyone around on the weekends. msa has two vehicles...a really old suburban and an even older 15 passenger van. i'm kinda scared that one of these times they are going to break down on me. but, it'll be an adventure. just to give you an idea of the condition of these vehicles...in the suburban (also known as hercules), only one of the windows rolls down. not a terrific thing for living on an island in the summertime. last weekend, one of the guys i work with, ian, rode in the backseat with the door open. there were some close calls though, seeing that he was sitting on the outside seat...and the road follows a cliff the whole way. yikes!

sharayah, my friend who has been in the hospital, is out!! she was actually released last sunday. her and her mom are coming out to the island today just for the day....so her mom can check things out here and see what it's like on catalina. then hopefully she'll be back to work in another week. the doctors still don't know what happened. she has some follow up appointments next week, so maybe that will reveal something.

alright. enjoy the weekend. i know i will...it's been a hectic week, i'm just still getting used to how things run here on the island. but i love it!

until later,

brooke

island living

2007-04-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

i love working outdoors. seriously. it's great! this morning i sat down by the ocean before breakfast. i could hardly keep my eyes open because the sun was so bright and beautiful!
my day was filled with doing a natural history hike...snorkeling and teaching about fish...dissecting squid (and i tried eating the lense of the eye ball)...and leading a trust walk. we got two groups of kids in today, and it's the craziest week i've had so far. there are kids everywhere! we had two kids on the front deck tonight that were getting cactus pricklies pulled out of their arms and hands. whoops!

keep praying for my friend, sharayah. it's been a week since she got taken to the mainland, and her condition has not improved. they took the tube out of her today...and had to put it back in an hour later because she wasn't able to breathe on her own. i hope to go to the mainland friday to see her and give her mom a bit of a break.

alright...i'm off to bed. i'm enjoying life in a yurt. i'll have to throw some pictures in here of it sometime. it's fun :)

here's a few more...

2007-04-21T08:02:00.000-07:00

oops....i meant to add these photos as well. these were all from two weeks ago in newport beach doing day camps there. they were precious kids! but it was an incredibly draining week.

island life

2007-04-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

alright, so living on an island is tough, as you can see from these photos. :)

these were from my trip to avalon last weekend. what a cute little place. at times i felt like i was in a different world. maybe it was because the town was filled with golf carts. it was just so unique...like we were in some play-land or something.

so all of last week, i was working at camp in emerald bay, which is on the opposite end of the island from avalon. also a phenomenal place, but so much more secluded. but the views are unbelievable. it's so strange to me that i'm working on an island. never quite thought i'd do that. and it sounds like i'm going to be moving to the island for good...as in leaving the camp up in the mountains and working on the island for the rest of the season. i wasn't expecting it, but i'm definitely ok with it. i've got lots to learn though...because i'm more comfortable in the mountains, just because i've spent more time in them.

so i work with this awesome girl named sharayah. now, sharayah has had quite the last two months. she has been accident prone, to say the least. so this past wednesday night, all of the sudden her lip got super swollen. huge. then she started having trouble breathing. being in the middle of nowhere on an island, we called baywatch...which is the island way of saying that we called 911. they came...and longer story short, she ended up getting air lifted over to the mainland. so, it was midnight....the camp is full of sleeping children....and in comes this helicopter. and off she went. i was scared for her...she was going all alone...and this is her second helicopter ride to a hospital on the mainland in the past two months. she's an incredibly tough girl, and she nearly refused to go...but after some encouraging on our part...she decided to do it. and we were all so glad because they ended up having to intibate her (not quite sure if i spelled that one right), and she's still in the hospital. ian (one of the guys from the island) and i took the boat over yesterday to be with her.

so much has happened...and i know this is brief....but i just wanted to let ya'll know that i'm still here and i'm doing well :)

my cell phone doesn't work on the island...and email time is limited, but keep checking back in for the latest on life in southern california :)

much love,

brooke.

my week in newport

2007-04-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

hey friends....
so, it's been quite a week. it wasn't hard to get used to driving to work down the pacific coast highway with the ocean right there the entire way! although it was kinda strange to pass by bentley and ferrari car dealerships on the way to work. definitely not something i'm used to! this place reeks of money. the other day, i was canoeing with some fifth graders, and they were talking about how the houses they live in were a couple million dollars. but the strange thing is that they weren't saying it in a bragging kind of way...it's like that was normal to them and each other. so that certainly isn't something i'm used to! needless to say, it was quite a different feel being in the newport beach/huntington beach area than up in the mountains. but i loved the fact that i was able to just go and enjoy the beach after work. it was absolutely beautiful!

i was doing day camp this week because the kids were on spring break. we spent a lot of time at the beach...we disected squid...talked about sea stars and whales and cool stuff like that. but it was quite a frustrating time. we had no clue what we were doing. we weren't prepared for it and hadn't received any traning on it, and they were completely different classes than we teach up at the mountain. there were times that i just felt embarassed because it seemed as though we were just throwing this thing together, which isn't a way to run an organization. i don't know how they function this way. but we pulled it off...and i think the kids had a good time. i just think it could have been done with more excellence. and we're all glad that the week is over.

so tomorrow morning i'm heading back to catalina island. i'm going camping with a group of people i've actually never met before, which should be fun. my friend kelly has a friend out here, and he asked me to come along. then...i'm going to be staying out on the island for next week and the following week to work at the camp there. i'm looking forward to it. i like the variety of it.

alright...well, i love you all...and those of you back in illinois...enjoy the snow for me. i'm struggling over here because i got sun burned this week. :)

easter on catalina

2007-04-09T22:12:00.000-07:00

hello, hello...

well, i would say that this past week has been the best week i've had since being here in california. some of the MSA "islanders" came to help us out at the mountain...and it was just fun. fun to get to know them. it was the kind of fun where i laughed until my stomach hurt...and the kind of conversations where, at the end of the day, i was satisfied with my friendships here. it was great.

i'm in newport beach this week doing day camp. it was a choatic day because none of us really knew what we were doing. i don't understand how an organization can function this way...by not actually training their employees and making it so we can do the best job we possibly can. it's been frustrating.

i ended up going out to catalina island yesterday for easter. took the ferry in the morning and came back last night. it was fun to get to actually sit around a table and share a meal with people on this awesome holiday. i was thankful for that. plus, i didn't throw up this time on the boat....so that it always a bonus :)

just wanted to send a quick hello and a little update.

much love,

brooke.

oh how i love the ocean

2007-04-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

well...i've been making my way around southern california, and this weekend i spent in santa barbara. beautiful place! quite wealthy, so it seems...but it's still gorgeous! on my way there, i witnessed my first california forest fire. when i was still a long ways off, i thought it was the most disgusting smog i had ever seen...then the closer i got, i realized it was indeed a fire. the smoke was rolling off the side of a mountain, and down onto the highway. (turns out it was the backside of the famous hill that the "hollywood" sign is on.) i later read in the paper that it was two teenagers from illinois that were on vacation with their parents...and they intentionally set the fire. man, those illinois people....what are we going to do with them?!

so anyway, my time in santa barbara was great. i love the location of the camp where i live...but i also love to get around and see things. and i can't quite seem to get enough of the ocean. (oh, i saw another whale!!) about four or five years ago...tristan, jessica, izzie, and i spent spring break with connie, a great friend of jessicas...and she just so happened to live in santa barbara. she's a great lady....and since then, i have sporadically kept in touch with her. once she found out that i was moving to california, she invited me to come visit. so of course i took her up on it! we took walks on the beach...ate meals at restaurants on the beach...walked around downtown sb...it was very refreshing and relaxing. a change of pace from the camp lifestyle. hey, and i got to watch the news for the first time in a month...that's the huge reason that i miss having a television.

well...my laptop battery is running low, so i better end this....i'm hanging out in riverside, cali at a barnes and noble. i'm checking out a church here, so i was just wasting time.

much love to you all....

friends forever...

2007-03-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

together at last...together forever....

ah, yes...the day finally came where i stepped foot into a wonderful new relationship. you might remember me talking about her. her name is rosie, and she is a furry chilean rose turantula. as she walked onto my hand this afternoon, i just knew it was going to be an instant bond. a bond that will never be broken. bosom buddies, kindred hearts, best friends...whatever you want to call it. that's rosie and me.

ok, ok. so maybe it didn't go quite like that. and it probably never will. i was scheduled to help teach the animal class today for the first time. i kinda laughed, because...well, i'd never even touched the thing before. so, jiffy handled rosie with the kids...while i watched. my chance to hold her came later behind closed doors. right before i held her, i felt sick to my stomach. but i just had to do it, there was no way i wanted to back down. once her first leg climbed onto my hand...(i can't believe i'm saying this)....but it really wasn't all that bad. i mean, not that i ever, ever want to have one of my own or would ever enjoy crossing paths with one unexpectedly....but for someone who has always screamed for someone to kill a spider for me, it wasn't as frightening as i was certain it would be. and i don't expect to have nightmares tonight of taratulas climbing all over me. i can even imagine doing that class all by myself one day. i was so glad to have done it.

the island experience

2007-03-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

so my first island adventure began when i stepped board the ferry boat. i was so excited...it was new...i would be experiencing a lifestyle i'd never seen before. within 20 minutes of being on the boat, i realized it wasn't such a joyous occasion that i had day-dreamed about. let's just call it the barf boat. no kidding! now....i've never gotten sea sick before this. then again, i was told the water that particular day was unusually rough. i found myself on the back of the barf boat, looking out at the horizon, tring to get the repulsive feeling out of my stomach and head. pretty soon, there was a whole row of people along the back of the boat...all huntched over the railing. i will say though, that it was the coolest throw-up experience that i have ever had! i'd rather puke off the back of the boat into the ocean anyday over having my head in a toilet. so anyway...it was rather comical.

the island was absolutely beautiful! i kept feeling like i was on vacation...then i remembered that this is my reality, this is my job! the camp sits on the north eastern side of catalina, with nothing else around. it's about 6 miles to the nearest town...and it's on the opposite side from avalon, which is the touristy town. i didn't have to teach any classes while i was there...so i pretty much shadowed a few of the sea classes.

i ended up breaking a fear that i never even know that i had! it showed itself during my first attempt at snorkeling. it sounded so great! i mean, how could it not...checking out the life under the sea! well....once i had the wet suit on (the water was ridiculously cold, by the way), had my flippers and mask, i thought i was all set to go! the struggle came when i actually had to put my face in the water and breathe through the tube. i felt like no matter what i did, i just couldn't get any air. it was awful. it was suffocating. but here i was...on staff, amidst all these campers...doing it for the first time...and realizing that it made me panic a bit! i kept trying...but it was the same feeling every time. i flippered my way up to the guy who was teaching...and told him i was really struggling. he was more than kind and had me swim out with some girls that were shivering uncontrollably. i was a bit bummed because i felt like a quitter. but i knew i'd have a second chance. that second chance came the next day. i was told i didn't have to go...but i needed to. i wanted to. i didn't want to be afraid of snorkeling. after all, "breaking your fears" is plastered all over the MSA staff shirts i wear...so i was determined to do this. i am so thrilled to say that the next time was 100 times better! wow!! after spending a few minutes practicing the breathing, it was like i didn't even want to lift my head from the water! the fish...the kelp...things swaying with the waves, all an amazing indication of our Creator. i was captivated by it! i was so excited. now...it's not to say that i'm some superstar snorkeler, but i sure want to do it again! i don't think i'll look at an ocean the same again...there's so much going on under the surface that we just don't see.

other than that, i kayaked, hiked, slept in an a-frame(basically it's in the shape of a tent, but it's made out of wood with a door...small, but it does it's job). i saw a whale and hundreds of dolphins...it was brilliant!

i made a new friend, too...her name is lorena, and she's from venezuela. (i love friends from other countries!) it's kinda random how she ended up coming to the island...but she knows someone who knows someone....and she just came out to practice english. so we had fun trying to communicate and understand each other. she made my time on the island even more fun.

and, i'll have ya'l know...i held my lunch down on the boat ride back :)

my (distant) brush with a celebrity...

2007-03-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

ok, ok, so i suppose it was bound to happen. seeing that i'm in california...the breeding ground for rich and famous people. so i went to the house of blues last night in hollywood. mat kearney was playing, and oh man, i think mat k. is fantastic! so after the first opener, a woman went up on stage and was talking away blah, blah, blah...and then she said, "we have among us tonight, keifer sutherland and a big bunny...." huh?, i thought. i didn't know if she was being silly or what. but then again, i did see a big fat bunny costume walking around. so i started searching the crowd for jack bauer...uh, i mean kiefer. i couldn't see him anywhere. well, at least i figured that i was possibly in the same room as him. even that was pretty neat! i heard some whisperings behind me....and it seemed like kiefer was the buzz word. so i asked the lady behind me....and sure enough. she pointed him out to me...and he was sitting at a table so close to me! there he was! turns out he has his own record label now, and the second band that was opening is on his new label. so from then on, it was hard not to just glance over at him and think about how that's the same guy the united states sees on tv and loves, that's the same guy who fights terrorists in a single day :). it was just weird to see him hanging out....sitting having a drink at a table with some friends....and clap and cheer when the band finished. i definitely recognized a jack bauer haller even over the rest of the crowd. i would've inserted a photo here of the one and only jack bauer had i not had to check my camera at the house of blues valet...silly rules. and i had to pay 5 bucks to check it! silliness.

besides that....let's see....
i'm continuing to check out churches. and having fun doing it. there's just so many here, it's crazy! i went to saddleback this past weekend. the place is amazingly huge. it's almost like it's an entire community within itself.
yesterday, jiffy and i drove into san pedro....which is right on the ocean. it's not as glamorous as you may have just pictured in your mind though. when we were driving into the area, i kinda felt like i was driving through gary, indiana. not pretty. it's an industrial area...with all these big rig looking things. a bunch of huge metal structures. just not at all a nice beach town. when we got around to where we were staying though, it was a bit better. it's a boy scout facility, and mountain and sea adventures has an office in their building. so guess what...jiffy and i got to sleep on couches in the little office room...and this morning we had to shower outside in our swimming suits. ya know those kinds of showers that you might find at a swimming pool. the ones that you have to get wet in before they let you jump into the pool. yeah, those were like the ones i had to use. kinda strange. especially because there was a big important meeting this morning happening at this location...and there we were showering. kinda awkward. but hey....it was a great view of the ocean!
so today we had a group of high school seniors arrive from las vegas. we did a bunch of marine biology stuff with them. it was so neat!! we went to an aquarium that was just spectacular! then we went tide pooling. i got to hold a little octapus...and something called a brittle star. amazing stuff. God just blows me away with his creation and creativity. really...it's amazing. i am in wonder of God because of it....the colors of these creatures are so brilliant...the way they were delicately made with such a purpose and part of how they work with the environment they are in. it's awesome! and tidepooling is just fun!! life abounds in those little nooks and crannies of the ocean. absolutely awesome!!

there's some photos for you to see....(for some reason they decided to put themselves up at the top by the talk about jack bauer...so maybe i haven't figured out this technology thing yet.) two are from the aquarium. the other is fran (the husband to the big wig director of the whole organization) showing some of the students some creatures he found.

alright...well...that's about it for now. we're headed to the island tomorrow. it's such a different lifestyle there, so i'm excited to experience it.

the team...

2007-03-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

hey, hey....if all went well with my limited technological abilities, ya'll should be seeing a photo posted here! :) this is the MSA (mountain and sea adventures) clan. two of these guys came over from catalina island just for the week to help us out because we have a lot of kids. so....it's hana, ryan, jiffy, maverick, faith, rocky, and me. speaking of catalina island, i found out that i will be taking a little trip over there next week!! we have no campers next week....so all of us are going to san pedro on monday. my california geography is definitely not up to par, so i have no clue where that's at. but i do know it's not terribly far from LA, and it's on the coast. then....on wednesday, jiffy, maverick and i will be heading to the island for a few days. i'm very excited to see this place that i have heard so many people talk about. i'll make sure to post some pictures :) so check back.

much love... b.

more mice...

2007-03-14T22:19:00.000-07:00

well, it's a new week. a new groups of kids. 120 of them, in fact. they're only here for three days of camp, but i can already tell that it's going to be a choatic couple days. it started off rough...classes this afternoon weren't as smooth as i'd like...but some of that is to be expected.
i taught pond lab twice this afternoon. as i was setting up for it, i just stopped and thought about how awesome it is that this is my job....that it's my job to work outside....it's my job to be in the mountains. whoa...it's great! the two groups of kids i had were mostly uninterested, didn't want to listen, had chaperones that just contributed to the distractions (which was really frustrating)...but we got through it. i could see a couple of them were into it and were fascinated by all the organisms they get to dig out of the pond and check out under the microscope, and that's what i like to see. i have to do the same thing over and over as i teach this class, but i can tell that i won't get tired of seeing them get excited about it.
then tonight, i taught owl archeology. quite interesting. as the kids were disecting owl pellets and finding bones of mice and birds and moles and who knows what else....all of the sudden the kids started screaming. i heard someone say....it's a real mouse!! having seen many other mice in that room before, i wasn't surprised. one of the dad's immediately began to try to catch it. the kids totally got into it. i looked as one of the teachers from the school groups jumped up on a counter and was squirming and laughing. everyone was giggling and trying to get a peek at the mouse, but it was hiding behind a stack of chairs. it took awhile...but finally it was caught! it was a tiny little thing. kind of cute actually. kind of. the dad was holding it up by the tail and kids were flashing pictures left and right. it was so funny. then he let it outside...which means it'll probably just find it's way right back in. but oh well. the teacher who had planted herself on higher ground came up to me and was apologizing that it had interrupted the class...but she said that this was already one of the highlights of their time here. it was just fun to watch them all get into it. it definitely added some excitement. :) i wonder if i'll ever stop having mouse stories. maybe one day i'll just get so comfortable with them around. i don't know, we'll see about that one. actually yesterday in our cabin there was a lizard. that's a new one!
alright...well...i'm off to bed.
later,
brooke.

highlights

2007-03-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

like everyone's week, i'm sure, this past week has had delightful times and yucky times. we had a full camp....with over 100 people from two different schools. i got sick mid week and felt terrible. i remembered how awful it is to be sick in a new place that doesn't quite feel like home yet. it made me miss my parent's house. my parent's couch. and knowing that someone familiar would be around soon wondering how i was doing. but i guess i am 26 now, so i should get used to not being at my parent's house when i'm sick! i'm feeling much better today...i'd say practically 100%.
i shadowed some more classes this week....ones that i think i'm really going to like teaching. bird lab and orienteering were great. we had the kids fishing one day...and one boy fell in the pond! while teaching pond and creek lab to one group, the kids found a trout that was stuck in the creek and couldn't get back to his buddies in the pond because it was uphill filled with rocks and logs. so a couple of the kids couragously, after many attempts, grabbed ahold of the fish and walked him back up to the pond. it was neat to see the kids cheering it on...and hooting and hollering when he was back in the pond. they ended up naming him loghead julio. it was great and funny. after each class, the kids have to write conclusions....that includes what they did, what they learned, what inspired them, etc....and nearly all of them talked about rescuing the fish! it made me smile.
i tried out a new church today that was about an hour away from camp. it was fantastic, and i'm certain that i will go back! there's a girl i met at camp this week who wants to try it out with me next weekend. it's quite similar to river valley...so i felt at home. when i walked up to the door, there was a woman there greeting. i put my hand out to shake hers as i said "good morning", and she said, "how about a hug instead." she was so cute.
after church, i decided to go exploring a bit. hey, it was a beautiful california day, i had a full tank of gas, a road map, and a free afternoon....so i headed towards the ocean! i ended up driving through LA and caught highway 1 for a bit up to malibu (alex and lori schwindt warned me that highway 1 was absolutely amazing...and i agree!!) it was a perfect beach day...there were a gazillion surfers out there...and i loved the smell of the ocean. i went through the streets of malibu looking for a place to grab lunch, but quickly realized that i was out of my league. the place smelled of money...everyone looked like wanna be famous people...and i'm certain that i drove past some movie stars homes. they were like castles on the side of the cliff. crazy.
so now i'm sitting at barnes and noble in redlands before i head back up the mountain for the week. we don't have students coming until wednesday, but have other "stuff" to do...i'm not quite sure what that is yet.
just for a critter update....we're still catching mice! just last night, i walked into the living room and saw a not-quite-dead-yet mouse still squirming around. i let out an "eewwww" and then i was fine. i have not had the wonderful opportunity yet to handle rosie. :) maybe this week. i did find out that we actually have two turantulas. fabulous. more to enjoy, hey? i guess they thought the second one, sophie, was dead....but low and behold....she's still moving! and apparently doing fine now.
alright...well...i'm off to get some groceries. :)

jumping in

2007-03-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

today was my first day of teaching classes all on my own. i felt that i was quite under prepared because there was hardly any training involved....so that caused some frustration and nervousness to settle in. after breakfast this morning, i was talking to God and saying, "what in the world am i doing here?! i don't know if i can do this job!" but...i'm so happy to say now that they went really well! it was fun, and the day is closing in a much better way than it started. the classes that i taught were pond lab and creek comparison and coniferous forest field study. the pond one was filled with the kids learning about organisms and metamorphosis of the dragonfly...and digging through algae in the pond and checking out under the microscope all the awesome things that they found. it was so fun to see them get excited about it...to get their hands dirty and work as a team. the coniferous forest one will probably be one of my favorites. we talked about six different kinds of trees and i took the kids around camp locating the different ones. did ya'll know that the coulter pines are nicknamed the "widow maker" because they have the heaviest pine cones out of any in the world...and they can get up to nine pounds a piece! whoa! they're quite amazing. i found out before i did the coniferous class that one of the chaperones had actually studied forestry in college. great, i thought. here i am teaching the class for the first time and i've got a pro on my hands. it went fantastic though. she was so kind...and added a few things here and there, but it was all good.
then tonight i did a quick activity called wilderness attitude. it was basically talking about what to do in survival situations...and the kids did skits to demonstrate. it was super.
it's amazing how tired you can get after working with kids all day. they're great, but man, i sure appreciate my bed at the end of the day.
oh...and for those of you that have asked...my camp name is creek :)

goodnight to you all...

little critters

2007-03-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

i had an action packed weekend of hunting down/being scared by creatures great and small. ok, so maybe not really great big ones...but it seemed like it at the time. friday night, my roommate and i were watching a movie, when we were interrupted by mice running around in the kitchen. (oh, let me add in here that the night before there were some traps set out and we caught six by the following morning!) so...being distracted by these mice that were invading our space, we set up a trap, which involved a trash can, a candle, some dental floss, some peanut butter, and a paper bag. we sat and waited in silence hoping that they would take the bait. well, they never did. but they were crawling around the fire place...on the counters...trying to get in the cabinets...and they came within two feet of us and just stared at us as if to say, "nana, na, na, na, na....you can't get me!" finally we gave up. then yesterday, we were just chillin'....i went to sit down in the living room and suddenly saw something flying at me. i let out a scream! jiffy was in the kitchen thinking that i saw a mouse. she poked her head in the living room just as the creature was flying right towards her. then she screamed. pretty soon we were both screaming and laughing all at once as i grabbed a blanket, laid flat on the couch, and screamed. it was so funny! we soon realized it was a bat. jiffy yelled for me to make a run for it...and we darted for the door. we ran up to maverick's cabin..laughing the whole way. he came to rescue us with a broom and bag in tow, wondering how in the world to catch a bat. it was pretty simple, as it very nicely let itself out of our front door. then....(this is the last critter story for now....oh the joys of living in a cabin!) jiffy and i were just about to go to bed last night when we heard a loud banging type noise outside. we concluded that it was coming from out front porch. it was our trash can. for all we knew it could be a bear. so we ran to the front door and put our ear to the door to see what we could hear. something was definitely rummaging through it! jiffy called maverick right away...laughing that once again we needed some help. we were curious, so before he got down to our place....we decided to crack the door just a peek to see what it was. well, it ended up being a big fat raccoon. not as exciting as a bear...but maybe it's better that way.
so anyway...those are my critter stories. the bat incident was by far the funniest...it still makes me laugh.

i suppose i should've done this first...but allow me to introduce ya'll to the people that i'll be spending most of my time with for the next few months.
meet tiffany: her camp name is jiffy. she's my roommate. she just graduated from san diego christian college, has lived in san diego her whole life, and is absolutely into soccer. she wants to eventually be a p.e. teacher, which i can totally tell that she is going to be great at!
meet faith: her camp name is hope. she's the director, at least for the next three months. she's from california, near san diego. she's 28 and has been involved with ministry in one way or another since finishing college.
meet hanna: camp name, sunshine. also from california...real close to where we're living now. she's with us for just the next three months as an instructor. i don't know her as well yet, but am sure that will come with time.
meet mike: camp name, maverick. he's the one and only guy on our team. he's from kansas, but loves california. he's great teaching the kids...and actually likes holding the turantula.
meet josh and kristin: camp names, hawk and grits. they are a married couple who actually work out at the island. they're here for one more week helping things get under way, as the rest of us are quite new and don't really know what we're doing.

well...that's all for now. i've got to get back up to the mountain. i drove into san diego today to hang out with my cousin and his wife, and their absolutely adorable son. (that seems so strange to say that i just drove into san diego for the day. weird. and fun.) i saw the ocean...and loved it!

until next time....
and yes, photos will be coming :)

hmmmm...

2007-03-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

...alright. where do i start? it seems that so much has been jam packed into the last few days. my dad and i arrived on tuesday safe and sound. my first impression of the camp was "wow!" it's greater than any camp i've ever been to...probably because it sits right in the middle of some amazing mountains. it's so strange...it's almost like i don't feel like i'm in southern california. maybe because i'm so far removed from what is normally associated with southern california. for crying out loud, my cell phone doesn't even work where i'm at! i never really thought i was a big fan of cell phones anyway...until i realize that i'm two thousand miles away from home and don't have use of my phone! well...thank the Lord that there is a tiny little place at camp where i can connect to wireless.
ok...so, my cabin is awesome! great big living room with a big stone fireplace. a room with a bed by a window that gives me a peek at the mountains each morning. a bathroom that far exceeds any expectation for a camp bathroom. and the kitchen...well, the kitchen has a little to be desired. but we'll have to share with the guys cabin, because they lucked out with an awesome kitchen.
i'm living with three other girls. tiffany and i (actually, she goes my jiffy. we all have camp names) share a room....and faith and hanna are next door. i think it'll be a good team. we're still in the "getting to know you" stage...and unfortunately, it hasn't been an instant connection like i had with tristan back in our freshman year at judson...but it'll all work out!
the job started yesterday...and i've got so much to learn! it's a litte overwhelming. i've shadowed several classes....things like shelter building, trout pond lab, animal camo, owl archeology. then today we spent several hours doing the climbing wall and the zip line. the days are full...but i love that i no longer have to dress up for work! i mean, really...it's great.
one thing that's not so great....i found out that there's one class where i'm going to have to handle a gigantic turantula and a 5 foot long snake. ok, so the snake isn't so bad. i actually held him yesterday. it was kinda neat. but the turantula...oh man. i didn't know that was in the job description. i was filled with this terrible dread when i found this out. now, i'm not afraid of an awful lot...but spiders. oh my goodness...i hate them with a passion! they are so ugly...creepy...and crawly...and i just shudder when i think of one sitting on my hand. and this is one of those hairy ones with the big huge belly.....and too many legs. her name is rosie. who in the world would name a turantula such a pleasant name like rosie. she should have a hideous name. ewwww. ok, so it's kinda ironic though because one of the themes of mountain and sea adventures is breaking your fears. hmmmm. so i realize that i've got to break down this fear of mine....especially if i'm going to be encouraging students to do the same. so i'm aware of this...but, oh....i can't believe it. i can't believe i'm going to have to hold it. one day...i'll be posting a photo of me with rosie...and i'll rejoice in the fact that i faced this fear. yuck.
i drove my dad to the airport this morning. i had to say my last goodbye. now it's for real. i'm here. i'm gone from there. and it was kind of an alone feeling. so it's going to take a bit to transition. as much as i think i'm going to like it, it's still a transtion. still a change. still an adventure. and it's an awesome opportunity to just cling to the Lord.

day 2 of my journey

2007-02-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

well, well, well....as day number two draws to a close, it feels so good to not be in a car anymore. as much as i love roadtrips, i'm glad to have a break. the weather allowed my dad and i to get out of the midwest with no problem, at least not for us. as we were driving through iowa and nebraska yesterday, we began to count the cars and semis that we saw in the ditch. (yeah...so there's not much else to do while being surrounded by the flatness of the cornfields.) the grand total was somewhere around 60 vehicles off the road. it was quite terrible!
today we spent a whopping 14 1/2 hours in the car. as we were trekking our way through the rockies, i was reminded of the line from lord of the rings that my brother and i always quote, "i want to see mountains again, gandolf...mountains!" it was so good to be back in the rockies. they are extraordinary! although, there was wind and snow and ice as we climbed to 11,000 feet and back down...but once again, we made it through with no problems. it was absolutely gorgeous!! oh my word, it just reaffirmed my love for mountains and trees and clouds and everything natural. ah, i'm loving it. really. the sunset in utah was to die for. it was one of those that pictures just can't possibly grab ahold of. yet, i still took a ton of pictures...maybe i think that one day i'll actually capture one in all it's glory. fat chance.
alright...well, just wanted to let ya'll know that life is good...that God's fabulous creation knocks my socks off...that we are safe...that saying goodbyes were so hard, but i do not doubt that this is an awesome step for me to take right now....
until next time,
unless of course i gamble all my money away on our way through vegas tomorrow and don't have enough to make it the rest of the way to california. (ha!)

oh...i tried to add a photo to this blog...and seeing just how technologically ignorant that i am, i'm not certain i did it right. if it didn't come through...well, maybe next time.