Nanny Life

According to a 9-year-old boy I babysat today, the following is a formula for deciding which animal you'd be if you were, in fact, an animal.

favorite color + what kind of tail you think you'd have if you had a tail + the number of foods that you like + the number of foods that you don't like + 2nd favorite color = animal.

Apparently I would be a pig, although I'm not sure I'm confident that this formula is scientifically accurate. But nevertheless, you should try it! :)

Ikea and a movie, sounds like a perfect Monday night to me!

Having a casual, evening fence-climb
while watching the sunset. Duh.

A Weekend in Louisville

Happy Birthday Bro!

Yesterday was my big brother's 28th birthday so we celebrated with a lovely dinner out to Applebee's (a family favorite). Grandma Catherine joined us which is always an awesome addition to birthday celebrations. After dinner, we headed back to West Chester where I met up with my friends Lori and Kala who stayed at my place for the night before we all headed to Louisville this afternoon to prepare for the Color Run. The race starts at 8am tomorrow morning and it'll be interesting to see how we do considering that none of us run much and that, when I attempted to run 2.2 miles yesterday, I thought I was going to die. So. Sounds promising, right? :)

The fam

I think I might take up roller derby as a new hobby

Ok. So I'm a little obsessed with the movie "Whip It," mostly because I have a major celebrity girl crush on Kristen Wiig and think she's one of the funniest people on the planet. AND, every time I watch the movie, I start developing this somewhat irrational belief that I could dominate in roller derby which is an idea that is kind of fun to entertain. And maybe a tiny piece of me believes that I could actually be decently good at it. I've also never been involved in a sport where there is no penalty for hitting people and I think that could be pretty exciting. We'll see. I'll keep you updated.

Chicago!

Upon our arrival in Chicago, we accompanied
MA to target where Liz decided she was cold.
After us responding "no" to her question of
whether  it was appropriate to wear merchandise
around the store to stay warm, she decided to
go ahead and do it anyways. 

Dress-up dinner in the Chicago suburbs with
our amazing host, who I know will be reading this
so I made sure to include an adjective she would approve of :)

Our epic return to the Hi-Way diner

Finally. Around 3:30am on Wednesday, we pulled into our beloved Hi-Way diner in Lincoln, NE. Liz and I visited on our road trip last year, fell in love with the place, and decided we needed to return during this summer's cross-country trek. I ordered one piece of french toast which was called "magic toast" (very exciting, I know) and Liz ordered a full meal complete with two pancakes and a side of bacon. Naturally.

A visit to Fort Collins

Tuesday, Allie, Liz and I spent the day in Fort Collins. We had the privilege of hanging out with our friends Shannon and Brian for breakfast and for an afternoon visit to a local brewery. We also were able to check out a really cool coffee shop called the Little Bird Cafe where we caught up on emails, spent a little time with Jesus, and mentally prepared for the 17 hour drive to Chicago that lie ahead of us that night. Overall, an awesome way to conclude our time in Colorado :)

Me creepin' on a cute moment between Liz and Shannon

Mmm, coffee... and Macs :)

Allie and I being weird- and this was only
an hour into the drive... and  we decided it made
sense to stop that soon solely because we saw
a sign for Olive Garden and couldn't resist

Hanging out with the Snyder clan

Babysitting Adventures

An adorable moment between
Jordan and her Aunt La La

A Camping Extravaganza in the mountains

Setting up the tent incorrectly b/c Liz's
bro insisted that we figure it out on our own :)

Off-roading

8.6 Miles

Around 12:30am this past Friday, I was snuggling into bed on an air mattress on my friend's apartment floor in Denver, Colorado. Although we had talked about going out to get a drink or to see the new batman movie that night, we instead decided to have a quiet night in eating a homemade dinner, lounging on the couch, and putting in a movie. The movie ended around midnight and we were all in bed by 12:30.

And 8.6 miles away, an unspeakable tragedy was unfolding.

Since 7:45am Friday morning when I was woken up by a friend's text telling me the news, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the shooting. Along with the rest of the country, I'm angry and sad and confused and frustrated and although national tragedies always grab my attention and slap me in the face with the reality of how fragile life is, this one feels different. This one hit a little closer.

8.6 miles.

And if I, a random visitor who just happened to be in town when the shooting took place, am struggling so much with the weight of it all, I can't imagine how the Denver-area community members must feel. My heart breaks for the victims, their families, and their friends- for the community that, in a short period of 13 years, has endured two of our nation's deadliest massacres. And the painful reality is that there are no words that will ever be enough to convey the horror and there is no explanation that makes any of it make sense. There is no remedy for unspeakable grief and even though the passing of time may ease it to some extent, there will always remain the harsh truth that nothing will ever be the same for those involved.

With that truth, however, we must remember that there is another Truth. As we wrestle with God over the unfairness of it all, over the bullshit that often defines our broken world,  and over the darkness present in our own hearts and minds, we have to remember that there is hope. God is not silent in our suffering. Maybe this is all easy for me to say because I'm not in the midst of grieving the loss of a parent, or sibling or friend. When I do experience breathtaking feelings of hopelessness and defeat that accompany the inevitable tragedies of life, however, my ultimate desire is that I would still remember that God is so very present- that His love is powerful and redemptive and that He is transforming hearts and minds all of the time. It is a truth that is so easy to forget and yet so freaking important to remember. My prayer is that the knowledge of God's presence would become more and more real to the people of Denver over the following weeks, months, and years.

A quote at the Columbine High School memorial
that we visited in Littleton, CO today

Hiking and Hammocking Adventures

Baseball in Denver!

Rockies vs. Pirates

Katie, Liz and I watching the Pirates dominate

Colorado here we come!

IHop. 3am. Manhattan, Kansas.

Hello St. Louis!

So. We went to the City Museum, which is basically an adult playground. And it was the best thing ever.

A giant hamster wheel! Seriously.
Doesn't get much better than that.

The beginnings of roadtrip 2k12

We had a minor car issue on the way to St. Louis...

...But nothing that couldn't be fixed
with a little duct tape :)

A lovely day in West Chester

Saturday, I spent the afternoon hanging out with my mom in West Chester and it was such an awesome day. We hit up kohl's, target, and bath & body works, and then topped it off with lunch at McAllisters. With only a few days between my return from a 6-week stay in New Jersey and the departure of my 11-day Colorado adventure, visiting the parents was definitely a priority :)

Oh my goodness. They're so precious.

Liz and I are backpack/duffel bag twins.

Dang. That is one good-looking staff team :)

These are the people I was blessed enough to work
alongside in Wildwood, NJ this summer

The Neon Braceleteers, Wildwood Edition

The girls of condo 120c with our neon bracelets...
which were really just indicative of how many movies
 we watched this summer since I'd only sit still
long enough to make them during movie nights

Bowling Round 4

Liz and I rocking our bowling shoes

Yes... I bowled an 82. But I was just getting warmed up :)
I think my best for the evening was 114.
Still pretty lame but at least I broke 100
at some point in the evening.

Skyline, oh how I've missed you!

Yes. I went to Skyline by myself last night because I couldn't find anyone to go with me and because I was craving it so badly I couldn't wait. And it was AWESOME. One cheese coney with onions and mustard (the onions are a recent addition to my order), Greek salad no peppers, and sweet tea with no lemon= a tiny taste of heaven.

Wildwood Flashback... already. Mostly because I have lots of pics from Project that I haven't put on here yet :)

Picking at Lori's arm. Katie (far left) apparently
disapproves... or is just really disgusted :)

Kofenya Love

Back in the Oxbox = lots of kisses for the babies

Anders (yellow eyeballs in the background) is terrified

Pittsburgh Adventures

Thanks to Liz and her parents (who were gracious enough to host me in Pittsburgh for the weekend) my drive home from Wildwood wasn't nearly as brutal as it could have been. I spent Saturday laying out by the pool, ate like a champ, and saw the new Spiderman movie! Liz's rents took us into the city for a delicious steak dinner on Saturday night and we went on a couple of lovely morning walks over the weekend as well. It was a great way to transition back into normal life and provided such a nice buffer period between Wildwood and Ox.