Tuesday was a very early morning for us. I believe we were on the road by 6:30. I spent a bit of the time sleeping, but was awake to see a couple storks' nests as we drove past and the city of Alexandria as we drove through. The big exciting thing on our drive was passing through a gypsy village. Oh my was that interesting. Everything was very extravagant looking, big ornate houses. Jenny told us though that those are all fronts, the real house are quite small and behind them.
Our home base for the day was at a local church in Rossiori. We set up and put on a concert and carnival just like at Peris, except that these kids were crazy. It was kind of scary doing the cake walk with them because they were doing so much running and shoving.
We recovered over some lunch and then had free time. I did a bit of shopping, tried authentic Romanian sausage (called "meech") and bought a scarf.
We put on one more concert for a second group of kids and another carnival. These kids were much less hyper than the first ones, thankfully. One little girl was very cute, when given her candy she exclaimed in Romanian "I've won something!"
After carnival we packed up, got sack dinners to go, and made the drive back to Pipera. We could tell on our way home that a storm was blowing in and just as our van got back to the team house, rain drops started falling. These were HUGE raindrops. I made a ran for the porch, and no sooner had I made it up the steps then it started pouring buckets. This was absolutely the biggest thunderstorm I have ever seen.
Some of the others were not quite so lucky and were drenched by the time they made it inside. Gusting wind, pouring rain, and booming thunder...definitely a good night to be inside. There was pizza waiting for us for a little extra dinner, now that's a good pizza delivery service!
Tues night was when I hit my low of the trip. I was sitting on one of the couches pondering the week and the storm, and then it hit me. I thought of the babies at the baby hospital, lying in their little cribs, alone, in the dark, in the middle of this storm. Babies who don't have parents to rush in and comfort them if they're scared and crying.
It only occurs to me now, several months later, that this could be an analogy for unreached people: alone, in the dark, in the midst of storms, with no one to shed light into their world. How important missions are for all the lost and lonely people in this world!
After pizza consumption we had night light and hot seat. Hot seat quote, Ryan to Katie D. (who are dating) as he picks up paper and pen "Describe your perfect date..."
Saturday, August 22, 2009
6-1 Children's Day
(ee gads I need to finish my Romania journaling)
June 1st is Children's Day in Romania. It was established during Communism, which didn't make sense to me at first, why a communist dictator would care about children. But, if you think about it, children are a very important resource, and are easily brain washed, so it's prudent for a dictator to try to win them over.
Anyway, Children's Day still exists as a national holiday. Many museums offer free admission for children and there are all sorts of parties and carnivals for the kids.
Due to the late night we had had Sunday in combination with thelong day we were about to have, breakfast was made optional so people could sleep in a bit. I, however, never skip breakfast if I can help it. I ate rather quickly and then went with a few others to the Mega Image grocery store. I bought some more chocolate for gifts and some other Romanian snacks I had become fond of.
Back at the house we had worship and devotional time led by Matt and Amy Beth. Then the day got interesting.
The original plan had been: eat lunch, then go do a concert and carnival at Peris. However, after lunch we were informed that the orphanage directors had taken all of the "good kids" to an event at a different orphanage being put on by the Chinese ambassador. Instead, we went to where most of the kids were (an orphanage called Voluntar) and put on a concert there.
Favorite moment #1 of the day was as I was putting together my clarinet. I felt a little tap on my arm and turned to see Marius with the biggest grin on his face. I successfully said hi in Romanian as he gave me a big hug and asked him "che fach?" (how's it going?) his smile widened as he exclaimed "bine!" (good!) and ran off to greet other Winds members.
The concert was one of the most disorganized ones I have ever done, but considering it had been planned an hour before we put it on, not bad. After being thanked by the Chinese ambassador and the orphanage director, we loaded the vans and went to Peris where we did the same concert, but for ALL the kids.
Then, chaos ensued, carnival time. It was amazing how much we had been able to pull together. We had popcorn, face painting, hair wraps, magic show, limbo, ring toss, balloon animals, crafts, games, the fishing game, and a cake walk. Katie D. and I ran the cake walk. I took care of controlling the music and she did the number picking and candy giving.
After a few rounds we figured out we could just pick the number by looking at which kids had not had candy yet. I think only a few of them figured out we were rigging it, lol
Favorite moment #2 for the day was when Katie picked the number for an older boy and as she leaned down to get candy, he grabbed the little girl behind him and pushed her into his spot so she would get the candy instead.
We began the clean up when the kids were summoned for dinner and returned to Pipera for our own dinner. Night light was filled with excited chatter about our favorite kid moments of the day and instead of hot seat we had a special guest interview afterward.
Kostel is Jim's Romanian counterpart. He shared about his personal experience in the Revolution and about the effect of H2H's ministry in Romania. Kostel is extremely passionate about ministry and God, and also a very funny man. Favorite Kostel quote: talking about Jim always wanting to expand ministry "Jim like sin, bigger and bigger, but I like it." lol
June 1st is Children's Day in Romania. It was established during Communism, which didn't make sense to me at first, why a communist dictator would care about children. But, if you think about it, children are a very important resource, and are easily brain washed, so it's prudent for a dictator to try to win them over.
Anyway, Children's Day still exists as a national holiday. Many museums offer free admission for children and there are all sorts of parties and carnivals for the kids.
Due to the late night we had had Sunday in combination with thelong day we were about to have, breakfast was made optional so people could sleep in a bit. I, however, never skip breakfast if I can help it. I ate rather quickly and then went with a few others to the Mega Image grocery store. I bought some more chocolate for gifts and some other Romanian snacks I had become fond of.
Back at the house we had worship and devotional time led by Matt and Amy Beth. Then the day got interesting.
The original plan had been: eat lunch, then go do a concert and carnival at Peris. However, after lunch we were informed that the orphanage directors had taken all of the "good kids" to an event at a different orphanage being put on by the Chinese ambassador. Instead, we went to where most of the kids were (an orphanage called Voluntar) and put on a concert there.
Favorite moment #1 of the day was as I was putting together my clarinet. I felt a little tap on my arm and turned to see Marius with the biggest grin on his face. I successfully said hi in Romanian as he gave me a big hug and asked him "che fach?" (how's it going?) his smile widened as he exclaimed "bine!" (good!) and ran off to greet other Winds members.
The concert was one of the most disorganized ones I have ever done, but considering it had been planned an hour before we put it on, not bad. After being thanked by the Chinese ambassador and the orphanage director, we loaded the vans and went to Peris where we did the same concert, but for ALL the kids.
Then, chaos ensued, carnival time. It was amazing how much we had been able to pull together. We had popcorn, face painting, hair wraps, magic show, limbo, ring toss, balloon animals, crafts, games, the fishing game, and a cake walk. Katie D. and I ran the cake walk. I took care of controlling the music and she did the number picking and candy giving.
After a few rounds we figured out we could just pick the number by looking at which kids had not had candy yet. I think only a few of them figured out we were rigging it, lol
Favorite moment #2 for the day was when Katie picked the number for an older boy and as she leaned down to get candy, he grabbed the little girl behind him and pushed her into his spot so she would get the candy instead.
We began the clean up when the kids were summoned for dinner and returned to Pipera for our own dinner. Night light was filled with excited chatter about our favorite kid moments of the day and instead of hot seat we had a special guest interview afterward.
Kostel is Jim's Romanian counterpart. He shared about his personal experience in the Revolution and about the effect of H2H's ministry in Romania. Kostel is extremely passionate about ministry and God, and also a very funny man. Favorite Kostel quote: talking about Jim always wanting to expand ministry "Jim like sin, bigger and bigger, but I like it." lol
Friday, August 21, 2009
Independence At Last
Independence is an interesting thing. One could spend quite a long time thinking about it philosophically, pondering the human desire and need for it.
That is not, however, why I am blogging right now.
Yesterday marked the end of 1 week living and getting settled into my condo. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be a 5 minute walk from the trolley line. A short walk, and I can get anywhere I could possibly need to (except my parents' house). The best part, I don't need anybody to come with me. No more scurrying to find rides every time I need to go somewhere besides Albertson's.
My roommate Ana won't have a car this year and my other roommate Anja is planning on mostly using the trolley this year, so the 3 of us have been doing quite a bit of exploring. I've made 3 trips to campus, a shopping trip to Fashion Valley, and an excursion to Old Town.
A benefit of still being in San Diego is I'm able to see all my SD friends a LOT more often. Raelene has been down a few times already to visit, explore Mission Valley, enjoy our pool/jacuzzi, and go to Wicked downtown with us and my fam. I also got to hang out with a couple of my good friends from the Braille Institute days who live within public transportation distance of my condo
The downside of the living independently thing is, I have no money to do anything now. Ah well, such is the life of a student right? :o)
That is not, however, why I am blogging right now.
Yesterday marked the end of 1 week living and getting settled into my condo. I can't tell you how amazing it is to be a 5 minute walk from the trolley line. A short walk, and I can get anywhere I could possibly need to (except my parents' house). The best part, I don't need anybody to come with me. No more scurrying to find rides every time I need to go somewhere besides Albertson's.
My roommate Ana won't have a car this year and my other roommate Anja is planning on mostly using the trolley this year, so the 3 of us have been doing quite a bit of exploring. I've made 3 trips to campus, a shopping trip to Fashion Valley, and an excursion to Old Town.
A benefit of still being in San Diego is I'm able to see all my SD friends a LOT more often. Raelene has been down a few times already to visit, explore Mission Valley, enjoy our pool/jacuzzi, and go to Wicked downtown with us and my fam. I also got to hang out with a couple of my good friends from the Braille Institute days who live within public transportation distance of my condo
The downside of the living independently thing is, I have no money to do anything now. Ah well, such is the life of a student right? :o)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Girls' Weekend
What happens when your dad and brother go out of town, your best friend is in town, and you have keys to an empty condo?
A really fun weekend with the girls!
When my dad and Steve decided they were going to go to my dad's family reunion in Chciago, my mom and I decided we should have a mini vacay down at the condo, and since neither of my roomies are moved in yet, I thought it would be a perfect time to invite Becky to come see it.
We kicked off our vacay with a stop at my new favorite frozen yogurt place L'Amour de Yogurt and then headed down to Mission Valley. I spent some time unpacking and settling in and we made a grocery trip to get some food for the weekend. Once the groceries were unpacked, we made the short drive (I love being central to all the fun things in SD!) to Old Town for dinner.
Friday night is the best time to be in Old Town if you're looking for fun! We had dinner at La Pinata, a family favorite for as long as I can remember and walked along the shops listening to live Mariachi music.
My mom dropped us off at the condo and went home for the night since Dave had come down for the weekend. Meanwhile, Becky and I took the opportunity to check out the pool and jacuzzi. Honestly I can't remember the last time I was in a swimming pool, but I remembered Friday night how much fun it is to go swimming on summer evenings. THe only downside was the water was extremely salty, kinda gross. Hopefully it's a bit better once the summer craziness dies down.
We topped off the night by watching Top Gun, one of my all time favorites that Becky hadn't seen yet.
Saturday my mom and Dave brought one last piece of furniture down and then joined us for lunch at Outback Steakhouse. Yum good eatin'! Becky and I spent the afternoon exploring IKEA, and determined next time we go, we should actually have something in mind to buy. Perhaps then we won't end up dizzy and headachey afterward, lol.
We both crashed for naps when we got back to the condo. Once we had both resurfaced we made up a Ready Made Asian salad (neither of us were extraordinarily hungry thanks to lunch at Outback, hee hee) and munched on that out on the patio. Raelene came down to join us after she got off work. I gave her the tour of the complex and the condo. We chatted and hung out for a bit before deciding to go walk around Fashion Valley.
Basically we just window shopped. By the time we got there a lot of stores were closed or just about to close. But it was fun to walk around and chat. After seeing Dippin Dots (which regrettably was already closed!) Becky and I were craving a cold treat. It took a bit of driving around, but finally we found our way back to the Ralph's center my mom had taken us to on Friday and we tried out Paradise Yogurt. Becky and I shared a "hurricane" which is kind of like a Blizzard from DQ. We got cheesecake yogurt with oreo, coffee, and chocolate syrup mixed in. It was tasty, but rather expensive.
Raelene dropped us off and headed home and we headed to bed. Sunday morning we packed up and met my mom at church. The afternoon was pretty chill, I think we all got a bit bored. Dave had rented a couple movies, so we watched The Man Who Knew Too Little which was really funny. Sunday evening was my last concert with the Poway Community Band. My grandparents and Kim, Jordie, and Maddison came down for it, which was great, I love having people come to concerts. :)
The post concert evening was spent watching TV and Becky headed for home this morning. It was a great weekend. I'm really excited to be spending more time down at my condo and for my roommates to move in. Until then, I have a bit more packing up to do here :o)
A really fun weekend with the girls!
When my dad and Steve decided they were going to go to my dad's family reunion in Chciago, my mom and I decided we should have a mini vacay down at the condo, and since neither of my roomies are moved in yet, I thought it would be a perfect time to invite Becky to come see it.
We kicked off our vacay with a stop at my new favorite frozen yogurt place L'Amour de Yogurt and then headed down to Mission Valley. I spent some time unpacking and settling in and we made a grocery trip to get some food for the weekend. Once the groceries were unpacked, we made the short drive (I love being central to all the fun things in SD!) to Old Town for dinner.
Friday night is the best time to be in Old Town if you're looking for fun! We had dinner at La Pinata, a family favorite for as long as I can remember and walked along the shops listening to live Mariachi music.
My mom dropped us off at the condo and went home for the night since Dave had come down for the weekend. Meanwhile, Becky and I took the opportunity to check out the pool and jacuzzi. Honestly I can't remember the last time I was in a swimming pool, but I remembered Friday night how much fun it is to go swimming on summer evenings. THe only downside was the water was extremely salty, kinda gross. Hopefully it's a bit better once the summer craziness dies down.
We topped off the night by watching Top Gun, one of my all time favorites that Becky hadn't seen yet.
Saturday my mom and Dave brought one last piece of furniture down and then joined us for lunch at Outback Steakhouse. Yum good eatin'! Becky and I spent the afternoon exploring IKEA, and determined next time we go, we should actually have something in mind to buy. Perhaps then we won't end up dizzy and headachey afterward, lol.
We both crashed for naps when we got back to the condo. Once we had both resurfaced we made up a Ready Made Asian salad (neither of us were extraordinarily hungry thanks to lunch at Outback, hee hee) and munched on that out on the patio. Raelene came down to join us after she got off work. I gave her the tour of the complex and the condo. We chatted and hung out for a bit before deciding to go walk around Fashion Valley.
Basically we just window shopped. By the time we got there a lot of stores were closed or just about to close. But it was fun to walk around and chat. After seeing Dippin Dots (which regrettably was already closed!) Becky and I were craving a cold treat. It took a bit of driving around, but finally we found our way back to the Ralph's center my mom had taken us to on Friday and we tried out Paradise Yogurt. Becky and I shared a "hurricane" which is kind of like a Blizzard from DQ. We got cheesecake yogurt with oreo, coffee, and chocolate syrup mixed in. It was tasty, but rather expensive.
Raelene dropped us off and headed home and we headed to bed. Sunday morning we packed up and met my mom at church. The afternoon was pretty chill, I think we all got a bit bored. Dave had rented a couple movies, so we watched The Man Who Knew Too Little which was really funny. Sunday evening was my last concert with the Poway Community Band. My grandparents and Kim, Jordie, and Maddison came down for it, which was great, I love having people come to concerts. :)
The post concert evening was spent watching TV and Becky headed for home this morning. It was a great weekend. I'm really excited to be spending more time down at my condo and for my roommates to move in. Until then, I have a bit more packing up to do here :o)
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Son Rock Kids Camp
I just completed 6 days of Vacation Bible School at church. I promptly dubbed myself in "VBS recovery mode", but it was definitely a great week.
I led a group of 5 pre-kindergarten boys with the help of my VBS partner Jarin, who's going into 8th grade. Our theme this year was Son Rock Kids Camp: Where kids learn to build their lives on the Rock. It was most definitely crazy at times, and I was glad I didn't have more than 5 in my group.
The kids learned that they are: accepted, protected, forgiven, saved, and living for Jesus. I learned that I'm glad I'm not going to be a classroom teacher :)
The low for me for the week was seeing some of the attitudes of some of the high schoolers, who wree clearly only there to be with their friends.
My high for the week was on the last day when one of my kids, without help from me, said word perfectly one of the Bible verses, not just the simplified kinder ones we'd been teaching them, but the whole thing. :)
I think next year, if I'm feeling brave I might teach 1st and 2nd grade. If I'm not feeling brave, I might just go back to teaching music, but I'm glad I did kinder this year.
I led a group of 5 pre-kindergarten boys with the help of my VBS partner Jarin, who's going into 8th grade. Our theme this year was Son Rock Kids Camp: Where kids learn to build their lives on the Rock. It was most definitely crazy at times, and I was glad I didn't have more than 5 in my group.
The kids learned that they are: accepted, protected, forgiven, saved, and living for Jesus. I learned that I'm glad I'm not going to be a classroom teacher :)
The low for me for the week was seeing some of the attitudes of some of the high schoolers, who wree clearly only there to be with their friends.
My high for the week was on the last day when one of my kids, without help from me, said word perfectly one of the Bible verses, not just the simplified kinder ones we'd been teaching them, but the whole thing. :)
I think next year, if I'm feeling brave I might teach 1st and 2nd grade. If I'm not feeling brave, I might just go back to teaching music, but I'm glad I did kinder this year.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Washington Trip Part 2
Sunday morning Tad introduced me to his church's "postmodern" or "emergent" church service. He has disapproved of the service from the beginning, but wanted me to see it for myself. His disapprovals lie in the fact that there have been multiple occasions of denial of the complete authority of scripture by leadership. Definitely not ok.
As a whole I thought the general idea of the service was fine, but as an outreach. It was very seeker friendly and very informal. The problem is that the majority of the people who attend the service, are not new from the community. They're people who have been attending his church for some time, and just like the service better. A couple main things that bothered me about it were 1) prior to the offering the pastor described it as something we do if we feel led to. Hmm, I believe scripture says (in several places) to always offer a portion of what God gives us back to Him. Personally, if faith were about doing things I felt like, I wouldn't be living the Christian life.
Second thing was that there were young children running around for the entirety of the service. Besides being loud and disruptive, Tad told me that there was a program for them, going on at the same time. I can understand parents wanting their children to be used to going to "big church" as my family called it, but kids aren't going to get anything out of a service by running around screaming for an hour. They could have been up in Sunday School learning.
Hence I agree with Tad and his family on the matter. I also disapprove of the general movement being called "postmodern", but that's a whole different soap box for me.
We did go to the regular service afterward, which I was grateful for. After church we had lunch at a place called Chico's Tacos, which reminded me quite a bit of Rubio's here at home. I had a very delicious, very large California burrito.
Justine was able to drive down from Yakima that afternoon to hang out with us. I got to show her my Romania pictures and such and we spent several hours playing Mario Party. All I can say is, shake the can is a very interesting mini game. Tad's mom ordered in pizza for us, and then Justine had to drive home. I was so fortunate on this trip to get to see all the people I love in Washington.
Tad and I decided to take Valencia to a nearby park to play. She got to run around, sniff, and even go down the slide once. Once we tuckered her out, Tad and I sat on the swings and talked.
Monday we met Tad's dad at Jack in the Box for lunch and then went to Tad's doctor appointment. It was good for me to hear some of the stuff straight from Tad's doctor, gave me a bit more perspective. On our way home, Tad gave me my first Sonic experience. Supposedly we're finally getting one of those in SD in the near future, which I am now very excited about. Tad is a big fan of the limeaides, so I tried a cherry one and he got a mango one. He also insisted that I had to get a Route 44 one, which means it's 44 oz, oh goodness did that take me forever to finish. It was indeed quite tasty though. :)
I am very excited, as you can tell :D
Tad got a call to go fix a computer in the evening, so after he left, his mom and I went to go help a family friend pack to move. We had some good one on one bonding time, which was much appreciated at least on my part. Their friend Nita is amazing, such a sweet, giving lady. She has college age kids, which makes it even easier to get along with her and her husband, cuz they're like our parents right now, haha
Mrs. Tilden and I helped her by putting together some boxes and keeping her company as she sorted out her garage. We got a little tag team action going on when Tad came by and his mom headed home. Tad's been helping Nita with some picture stuff on the computer. We went inside to do a bit more of that, and then Nita did a spur of the moment photo shoot for the two of us, haha. That was really fun. Since I don't always get to see him, I cherish every picture we have of us, and I can never have enough (a bit to his dismay, lol) You can check out my favorites on facebook, but here are a couple of 'em.
Tuesday was leisurely around the house. I worked on things here and there while Tad worked on his computer jobs. Since we had been around the house all day, Tad suggested we do our just us date night that evening. I used the excuse to dress up a bit (cuz girls can't get enough of those, right?). My boyfriend is the sweetest guy ever! He was basically flat out broke the week I was there, but I had asked for a date night, so he took me out to Applebee's.
We shared an order of honey bbq wings and an order of spinach artichoke dip. Date nights are so great. Even spending all day at the house together is a different kind of quality time than spending time out together. After dinner we went for a walk in a park along the Columbia River. We went down to the water and I stuck my feet in and we watched people in their motorboats. It was fun, but still quite hot out, so we went to walk around the mall to cool down.
Tad takes beautiful pictures :)
I didn't have anywhere specific in mind to shop, so we stopped in Game Stop for Tad first. We walked through a souvenir/gift shop place and then shared an Auntie Anne's pretzel. I can't tell you how good itfelt to spend a couple hours just hanging out at the mall with my boyfriend. I almost felt like we had a "normal" relationship.
After the mall we stopped by Paul and Jessica's to pick up something Tad needed to fix the computer he'd been working on. I actually got to chat some with Jessica, which was really nice.
Wednesday we grabbed lunch from McDonald's and then did some errands. While his mom took Jeana to get her senior pictures taken, Tad and I went and got his oil changed and some other things on his car fixed. On our way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and shared an Orange Julius. Dinner with his family was at a Teriyaki place his family had taken me to the last time I was in town. From there we went once more to youth group, which was interesting thanks to some bad attitudes that night.
The remainder of the evening was spent once again at Paul and Jessica's. We watched the last disc of Tsubasa (that I had brought with me from home) and then played Tripoly. And when I say we played Tripoly, I mean we played until 3 am. We were having fun, and I was in no rush to go to bed considering I had to leave in the morning.
Thursday morning I got up at 8 and Tad helped me pack my stuff up. I hate packing, I'm awful at it and I don't enjoy it. I've told Tad that when we're married, he can do all the packing for us, lol. His mom made me a lunch and thne he dropped me off in Pasco. My flights went just fine, I happened to see one of the same airport workers in Salt Lake as I did the week before. She asked if I needed help and then said "Ma'am, weren't you here yesterday?" hahaha I was like "no, but I was last week!" hahahaha, good times.
I had such a great time with Tad and his family, and getting to see Emily and Justine and my aunt. This is definitely up there with my top favorite visits Tad and I have had. And maybe next time it won't just be a visit :)
As a whole I thought the general idea of the service was fine, but as an outreach. It was very seeker friendly and very informal. The problem is that the majority of the people who attend the service, are not new from the community. They're people who have been attending his church for some time, and just like the service better. A couple main things that bothered me about it were 1) prior to the offering the pastor described it as something we do if we feel led to. Hmm, I believe scripture says (in several places) to always offer a portion of what God gives us back to Him. Personally, if faith were about doing things I felt like, I wouldn't be living the Christian life.
Second thing was that there were young children running around for the entirety of the service. Besides being loud and disruptive, Tad told me that there was a program for them, going on at the same time. I can understand parents wanting their children to be used to going to "big church" as my family called it, but kids aren't going to get anything out of a service by running around screaming for an hour. They could have been up in Sunday School learning.
Hence I agree with Tad and his family on the matter. I also disapprove of the general movement being called "postmodern", but that's a whole different soap box for me.
We did go to the regular service afterward, which I was grateful for. After church we had lunch at a place called Chico's Tacos, which reminded me quite a bit of Rubio's here at home. I had a very delicious, very large California burrito.
Justine was able to drive down from Yakima that afternoon to hang out with us. I got to show her my Romania pictures and such and we spent several hours playing Mario Party. All I can say is, shake the can is a very interesting mini game. Tad's mom ordered in pizza for us, and then Justine had to drive home. I was so fortunate on this trip to get to see all the people I love in Washington.
Tad and I decided to take Valencia to a nearby park to play. She got to run around, sniff, and even go down the slide once. Once we tuckered her out, Tad and I sat on the swings and talked.
Monday we met Tad's dad at Jack in the Box for lunch and then went to Tad's doctor appointment. It was good for me to hear some of the stuff straight from Tad's doctor, gave me a bit more perspective. On our way home, Tad gave me my first Sonic experience. Supposedly we're finally getting one of those in SD in the near future, which I am now very excited about. Tad is a big fan of the limeaides, so I tried a cherry one and he got a mango one. He also insisted that I had to get a Route 44 one, which means it's 44 oz, oh goodness did that take me forever to finish. It was indeed quite tasty though. :)
I am very excited, as you can tell :D
Tad got a call to go fix a computer in the evening, so after he left, his mom and I went to go help a family friend pack to move. We had some good one on one bonding time, which was much appreciated at least on my part. Their friend Nita is amazing, such a sweet, giving lady. She has college age kids, which makes it even easier to get along with her and her husband, cuz they're like our parents right now, haha
Mrs. Tilden and I helped her by putting together some boxes and keeping her company as she sorted out her garage. We got a little tag team action going on when Tad came by and his mom headed home. Tad's been helping Nita with some picture stuff on the computer. We went inside to do a bit more of that, and then Nita did a spur of the moment photo shoot for the two of us, haha. That was really fun. Since I don't always get to see him, I cherish every picture we have of us, and I can never have enough (a bit to his dismay, lol) You can check out my favorites on facebook, but here are a couple of 'em.
Tuesday was leisurely around the house. I worked on things here and there while Tad worked on his computer jobs. Since we had been around the house all day, Tad suggested we do our just us date night that evening. I used the excuse to dress up a bit (cuz girls can't get enough of those, right?). My boyfriend is the sweetest guy ever! He was basically flat out broke the week I was there, but I had asked for a date night, so he took me out to Applebee's.
We shared an order of honey bbq wings and an order of spinach artichoke dip. Date nights are so great. Even spending all day at the house together is a different kind of quality time than spending time out together. After dinner we went for a walk in a park along the Columbia River. We went down to the water and I stuck my feet in and we watched people in their motorboats. It was fun, but still quite hot out, so we went to walk around the mall to cool down.
Tad takes beautiful pictures :)
I didn't have anywhere specific in mind to shop, so we stopped in Game Stop for Tad first. We walked through a souvenir/gift shop place and then shared an Auntie Anne's pretzel. I can't tell you how good itfelt to spend a couple hours just hanging out at the mall with my boyfriend. I almost felt like we had a "normal" relationship.
After the mall we stopped by Paul and Jessica's to pick up something Tad needed to fix the computer he'd been working on. I actually got to chat some with Jessica, which was really nice.
Wednesday we grabbed lunch from McDonald's and then did some errands. While his mom took Jeana to get her senior pictures taken, Tad and I went and got his oil changed and some other things on his car fixed. On our way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and shared an Orange Julius. Dinner with his family was at a Teriyaki place his family had taken me to the last time I was in town. From there we went once more to youth group, which was interesting thanks to some bad attitudes that night.
The remainder of the evening was spent once again at Paul and Jessica's. We watched the last disc of Tsubasa (that I had brought with me from home) and then played Tripoly. And when I say we played Tripoly, I mean we played until 3 am. We were having fun, and I was in no rush to go to bed considering I had to leave in the morning.
Thursday morning I got up at 8 and Tad helped me pack my stuff up. I hate packing, I'm awful at it and I don't enjoy it. I've told Tad that when we're married, he can do all the packing for us, lol. His mom made me a lunch and thne he dropped me off in Pasco. My flights went just fine, I happened to see one of the same airport workers in Salt Lake as I did the week before. She asked if I needed help and then said "Ma'am, weren't you here yesterday?" hahaha I was like "no, but I was last week!" hahahaha, good times.
I had such a great time with Tad and his family, and getting to see Emily and Justine and my aunt. This is definitely up there with my top favorite visits Tad and I have had. And maybe next time it won't just be a visit :)
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I Think I'll Go to Washington Part 1
You know, since the last time I saw that boyfriend of mine was in March. Last Wednesday I got up bright and early to fly up to Tri Cities to spend a week with Tad and his family.
My trip got off to an interesting start thanks to a mix up with security. The man standing on the other side of the metal detector either didn't understand that when Valencia set off the alarm he could just check her, or was too lazy to do so. Thus, a very flustered me got patted down and wanded. My flight went smoothly. I was fortunate enough to have been seated next to a man who trains search and rescue dogs, so he's used to flying with dogs at his feet.
I had a two hour layover in Salt Lake City, enough time so I could relieve Valencia and get some lunch. Valencia's favorite part of the SLC airport was getting to ride on the little carts they drive around. We rode on one to get out of security to relieve her, and another when I accidentally went to the wrong gate section. She thought that was the best thing ever.
I got some lunch from Quizno's and found my gate. I happened to meet an older couple whose daughter has raised dogs for gdb. Flight from SLC to Pasco went well and Tad picked me up. When we got back to his house, it was discovered that the crockpot had not been plugged in. So dinner was out at a Mexican restaurant. after dinner we went to youth group at tad's church. He helps out with the kids, and is a general punching bag/tackle target for the boys, lol
Following youth group (about 10) we went over to his friend Paul's place. I finally got to meet Paul and another friend Theresa. We hung out, talked, and I watched them play DDR.
Thursday Emily drove down from Spokane and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. It was great to see Emily again, and Red Robin is always a tastey lunch option. Poor Tad though got patronized by our waitor. *every 5 minutes* "Do you want a box?" "No, I'm just a slow eater." "Oh, no worries man, me too." oh goodness
After lunch we piled into the Tilden's minivan and set off for Seattle. We arrived around 7 and met Tad's Uncle Dave at a restaurant called Thirteen Coins. His uncle was really nice and seemed to like me, which we always count as a good thing. By the time we were done with dinner it was time to head over to our hotel and get to sleep.
In the morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and made our first stop of the day at Uwajimaya, a giant Japanese food/gifts store. I picked up some Pocky and Mocchi and looked at their paper lanterns. When their bookstore opened Tad and I took a quick look through there.
I do love me some Pocky :o)
We met my Aunt Diane at Duke's Chowder on Lake Union for lunch. It was great to see her again and for her to meet Tad and his family. The Hastings and Tilden families are quite alike in personality and humor, so everyone got along great. Mrs. Tilden's favorite thing to do in Seattle is browse through the giant Good Will Outlet store. I tend to be a bit germaphobic, so I didn't do much looking, though I did find a cute mini deck of Hello Kitty playing cards.
Once the Good Will shopping was done it was time to head back to the Tri Cities. We stopped at the SuperMall outside of Seattle and then at Jack in the Box in Ellensberg for dinner. It was on the way home that Tad was given the new nickname "Puddin Head" by his dad. ;)
Saturday we had a leisurely morning and lunch and then got dressed up to go to a wedding at Tad's church. He and his family have known the groom (Jake) for years at church and Tad knows the bride (Heather) from NNU. Needless to say, he was very excited to have so many of his friends from home AND from school in the same place. The ceremony was beautiful, had I not been wearing mascara I probably would have cried through most of it.
The reception was in the church gym. They had icecream, punch, and cake and cute little bride and groom rubber duckies. I got to see several of Tad's friends who I had met before and meet a lot of new ones. Favorite moment of the wedding was probably when Tad's sister Jeana caught the bouquet.
so cute!
me with my love
Jeana with the bouquet
We had dinner at a nice Chinese place, came home, changed, and headed out for another party. I finally got to meet Tad's other friend Lindsey, a birthday buddy for me. Theresa, Paul, Trevor, and Jason were there, as well as friends Molly, Kyle, and Jessica (Paul's girlfriend). There was some volleyball and badmitten played, some hanging out and talking, and bbqing. Later, after it got dark, we hung out in the basement and some people watched a fiarly inappropriate sounding movie. Before we headed home we stopped with the group at Safeway and got mini Ben&Jerry's icecreams.
It was great meeting so many of Tad's high school friends. Though it's sad that most of them aren't Christians, and it sounds like they've had pretty rough lives. Makes a lot to pray for. :)
My trip got off to an interesting start thanks to a mix up with security. The man standing on the other side of the metal detector either didn't understand that when Valencia set off the alarm he could just check her, or was too lazy to do so. Thus, a very flustered me got patted down and wanded. My flight went smoothly. I was fortunate enough to have been seated next to a man who trains search and rescue dogs, so he's used to flying with dogs at his feet.
I had a two hour layover in Salt Lake City, enough time so I could relieve Valencia and get some lunch. Valencia's favorite part of the SLC airport was getting to ride on the little carts they drive around. We rode on one to get out of security to relieve her, and another when I accidentally went to the wrong gate section. She thought that was the best thing ever.
I got some lunch from Quizno's and found my gate. I happened to meet an older couple whose daughter has raised dogs for gdb. Flight from SLC to Pasco went well and Tad picked me up. When we got back to his house, it was discovered that the crockpot had not been plugged in. So dinner was out at a Mexican restaurant. after dinner we went to youth group at tad's church. He helps out with the kids, and is a general punching bag/tackle target for the boys, lol
Following youth group (about 10) we went over to his friend Paul's place. I finally got to meet Paul and another friend Theresa. We hung out, talked, and I watched them play DDR.
Thursday Emily drove down from Spokane and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. It was great to see Emily again, and Red Robin is always a tastey lunch option. Poor Tad though got patronized by our waitor. *every 5 minutes* "Do you want a box?" "No, I'm just a slow eater." "Oh, no worries man, me too." oh goodness
After lunch we piled into the Tilden's minivan and set off for Seattle. We arrived around 7 and met Tad's Uncle Dave at a restaurant called Thirteen Coins. His uncle was really nice and seemed to like me, which we always count as a good thing. By the time we were done with dinner it was time to head over to our hotel and get to sleep.
In the morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and made our first stop of the day at Uwajimaya, a giant Japanese food/gifts store. I picked up some Pocky and Mocchi and looked at their paper lanterns. When their bookstore opened Tad and I took a quick look through there.
I do love me some Pocky :o)
We met my Aunt Diane at Duke's Chowder on Lake Union for lunch. It was great to see her again and for her to meet Tad and his family. The Hastings and Tilden families are quite alike in personality and humor, so everyone got along great. Mrs. Tilden's favorite thing to do in Seattle is browse through the giant Good Will Outlet store. I tend to be a bit germaphobic, so I didn't do much looking, though I did find a cute mini deck of Hello Kitty playing cards.
Once the Good Will shopping was done it was time to head back to the Tri Cities. We stopped at the SuperMall outside of Seattle and then at Jack in the Box in Ellensberg for dinner. It was on the way home that Tad was given the new nickname "Puddin Head" by his dad. ;)
Saturday we had a leisurely morning and lunch and then got dressed up to go to a wedding at Tad's church. He and his family have known the groom (Jake) for years at church and Tad knows the bride (Heather) from NNU. Needless to say, he was very excited to have so many of his friends from home AND from school in the same place. The ceremony was beautiful, had I not been wearing mascara I probably would have cried through most of it.
The reception was in the church gym. They had icecream, punch, and cake and cute little bride and groom rubber duckies. I got to see several of Tad's friends who I had met before and meet a lot of new ones. Favorite moment of the wedding was probably when Tad's sister Jeana caught the bouquet.
so cute!
me with my love
Jeana with the bouquet
We had dinner at a nice Chinese place, came home, changed, and headed out for another party. I finally got to meet Tad's other friend Lindsey, a birthday buddy for me. Theresa, Paul, Trevor, and Jason were there, as well as friends Molly, Kyle, and Jessica (Paul's girlfriend). There was some volleyball and badmitten played, some hanging out and talking, and bbqing. Later, after it got dark, we hung out in the basement and some people watched a fiarly inappropriate sounding movie. Before we headed home we stopped with the group at Safeway and got mini Ben&Jerry's icecreams.
It was great meeting so many of Tad's high school friends. Though it's sad that most of them aren't Christians, and it sounds like they've had pretty rough lives. Makes a lot to pray for. :)
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