A Much Needed Post

Well, its been a ridiculously long time since we last blogged..and I would like to send out my deepest, deepest apologies for that.
I guess I will start by attempting to give you a detailed description of the rest of my time at home..so, let's just go day by day.

Thursday

Jonas and I helped my brother Matt and his fiance Heather get completely moved into their new house. This involved moving heavy objects such as TV's, bookshelves, cabinets, and a couch. By the time we moved everything, we were all dog tired. Later, we helped my mom set up for the wedding rehearsal dinner. The plan was to decorate the coffee shop area to give it a romantic Italian bistro setting..and after 3 hours of hard work, a few shattered light bulbs, and 19 trips to my house and back, the bistro was complete. It looked wonderful and we were all very proud of our hard work. And later after that we went over to my friend Kara's house to visit Marty, Andy, and her.

Friday

We met Marty and Kara for breakfast at the Koffee Kup. After breakfast, we all went to the school to visit some teachers...as all the cool graduates of KHS do. We visited with Mr. Gaff, Mrs. Sanders, Clink, Thurner, Frau, Otto, and Benham...Mrs. Chatwell, if you read this and wonder why we didn't visit..well, you had a class and we didn't want to interrupt. We were all really bummed though. It was really a weird feeling to be back in those hallowed halls of KHS. After our lovely visit back to school, I went with Heather and the other bridesmaids to get our nails done in Valpo. Believe it or not, this was the first time I've ever really had my nails done. I just always prefer to do it myself. The guy who did my nails flirted just a little too much. At one point, after some small talk and learning I was traveling back to AZ in a few days, he told me he would take me to the airport..and I just kinda stared at him..not knowing what to say. Anyways, he created many more awkward/weird conversations. But, I've learned to expect that, because it seems that awkwardness follows me where ever I go these days. So from there, we had the wedding rehearsal followed by rehearsal dinner. Both went smoothly and a good time was had by all.

Saturday (wedding day)

At 10, we went to Heather's to get our hair and makeup done. This seemed to take forever to me. All three of us bridesmaids were insanely tired for some reason and had trouble staying awake all day. Finally, 2 o'clock rolled around and we went to the church. We finished getting ready there. We only had a 2 serious emergencies in the bridesmaid department. Lindsey's dress ripped at the zipper..it was very noticeable..but luckily, Heather's Grandma had a sewing kit on hand and the problem was solved. The other bridesmaid, Holly, sprayed perfume directly on her dress creating a big giant circle wet spot..but it faded enough to not be terribly noticeable. I was so nervous..like the about to get sick kind of nervous. Why, I don't know..the only responsibilites I had were to smile, walk down the aisle, and read a passage from Colossians. Yet, I was freaking out. And it certainly didn't help that I couldn't take deep breaths because my dress was so tight. But, the ceremony was beautiful and simple..and everything went smoothly. We took pictures outside afterwards and then headed up to Valpo for the reception. It was super fun..my dad danced like a maniac. Literally. He had moves that put Michael Jackson to shame. After a long night of dancing and celebration, I spent the night with some of my best friends from high school. It was great to see all of them again. After seeing them everyday at school for 13 years..it's been hard to be away for so long. We made cookie dough and attempted to stay up all night..but by 3 or 4 am, we were all asleep.

Sunday and Monday
We all went to church after a late night of dancing and struggled to desperately to stay awake. Everytime we prayed I had to force myself to keep my eyes open..because I knew if I closed them, I'd be out cold. The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing and watching movies..and then at 6, I took Jonas to the bus stop to head back home to Canada. After that, I met Karley at Youth Group..where we caught up with Jeff and Andrea Overholt..the two best friends/youth leaders ever. Then, Karley and I went to Starbucks and got to catch up on her life at Trinity and my life in AZ. Monday, my parents both had the day off to spend with me..so we went to breakfast, relaxed, and carved pumpkins together. It was a fun last day at home..I won't be back again until Christmas, which is a long time in my mind. But, there's lots to do back in AZ, so I'll be just fine.

Tuesday (the dreaded day of travel)
As you know, ten days ago, when I traveled home I had an interesting day of traveling. I've been worrying about having a repeat experience..where I'd lose more irreplaceable things, get screamed at by TSA at the airport, and infuriate a sassy bus driver. Luckily, it was a much better day than expected. But, I found this funny...my bus driver was the same woman that I upset a week ago..I don't think she remembered me, but, boy did I remember her! A few unfortunate things did happen though. My cell phone went dead...at the worst possible time. I needed to call Courtney, as well as my parents to let them know I had made it. I didn't have time to find a payphone..and I discovered I brought the wrong charger. Oh and my bus to Flagstaff from Phoenix was a half hour late..and I almost hyperventilated as I stood on the curb freaking out, thinking I was never going to make it back. I needed my phone to call the bus service to see what in the world was up..and finally, the bus came..and my heart started beating normally again. I made it to Flagstaff and found out from Courtney that my parents were freaking out..since I hadn't called them..and were convinced I was kidnapped. I immediately called home and reassured them that I was alive and well. From there, C and I went to Sam's Club, the grocery store, and McDonald's for dinner. We made it home around 9:30..unpacked and went straight to bed.

Ok..sorry if this was incredibly disappointing. I tried to get myself into crazy situations..so I could have exciting things to blog about. But, as I'm reviewing this entry..it seems that I failed. But, Courtney and I have both promised to never neglect our blog for as long as we did.

Oh..and I might as well fill you in on today's events. The village of Kykostmovi has truely embraced Red Ribbon week thus far. Yesterday, we all recieved really neat t-shirts to wear in the parade today. Yes, that's right a parade. Court and I got the privilege of decorating the bus (the kids rode in it down "main street" for the parade). Did I mention it was 20 degrees outside this morning? I'm not even exaggerating. After working on the bus for 20 minutes, we could no longer feel our hands..we sprinted inside to get gloves, and then had to go back out to finish it. Court and I were seriously looking forward to this parade, but were informed we had to stay back to take care of office work. We were completely bummed. After the kids left on the beautifully decorated bus, we drove to the post office to check the mail..and were fortunate enough to get to see the entire 3 minute parade! Just like the precious parades in Kouts, it was short and sweet..oh and they wip candy at you. We we're seriously diving and dodging from suckers and candy bars. Back at school, we spent the rest of the day working in the office, doing computer classes, and playing tag at recess. After school, C and I went back to the post office to check the mail again..and then to the Hopi Cultural Center to buy a present for our bff Cari's 21st bday tomorrow! (Happy Birthday Cari!) and I bought a present for my dad's birthday, which is next month. We got home, ate some buffalo wings, put in a movie, and started in on all the blogging we had to catch up on!

Ron, the principal's husband/maintenance guy/adopted grandpa, offered to fix our bike tires, which if you don't recall were mutilated by spikey plants on our first bike ride. So, were looking forward to being able to ride those again some day!

Answer to prayer: Court and I have really wanted to make friends with some Hopi/Navajo kids our age..and we have! There's a girl named Valerie, who volunteers at the school a couple times a week and is also Levander's (sheep riding kindergartner) big sister. Anyways, we hung out with her alot today..and basically, we're best friends now. We might hang out this weekend and she has plans to take us to all the secretly cool places around the reservation. We're really excited!

ok..if i type much more, my fingers may shrivel up and fall off. So, I hope you all enjoy this update..and be expecting consistent daily blogging from this day forward...for the most part.

We miss you all!
Love,
Lo