Happy Fourth!

Well, I've had enough of you guys, I'm going to take another break. J/K, I leave for Denver tomorrow afternoon to visit my friend, who works as a wrangler, at a camp out there. Turns out her sister is going to be there the whole time too. I was a little bummed about that but I guess I was just being selfish, thinking that I was paying all that money to go out there to see her and she's going to be hanging out with her sister... but we'll still have fun. I'm excited to be in the mountains again too! Anyways, I'll be back home late Monday so happy Independence Day!! (Make sure you take time to be thankful for our country. Man, it's easy to forget the freedoms we have and take for granted!!!)

I caught you a delicious bass...

Actually that would be Jen...all I caught was some little blue gills but that's alright, I showed my little brother up at least! My dad bought a fishing boat this past weekend from a friend of his. It is kinda old but it's still cool! It has those cool fishing seats, a screen that tells you where all the fish are and has a depth meter, and it even has a box in it that if you push a button it fills up with water and you can put fish in there! So yesterday was way too hot for us to go mnt biking so Jen and I went fishing. It was fun, It was kinda hard with 4 people in that size boat all trying to cast...one time I had a strang angle that I had to cast from so I went anyways and accidently threw my whole pole in the lake! My dad was kinda upset with me because it sank right away (why they dont' make floating fishing poles I have no idea) but we could still see my bobber so we started pulling the line up. The bad thing was that I hadn't "locked" my line cause I was in the middle of casting when it went out so we were thinkin' we'd keep pulling on the line and eventually it'd just run out without bringing back up the pole. So we (actually my dad:) ) kept pulling the line up and finally got the pole to the surface where we could grab it! Yea dad! haha I felt bad cause I've already broken one of his fishing poles and I didn't want to loose another one, but all in all it was pretty hilarious. And after all that, on the way home he actually said he would teach me how to back the truck up to put the boat in the water and take it out myself! He is actually going to let me take it out by myself! I have absolutely no idea how to drive a boat "but IIII am a very fast learner and..." (Jen, you know what movie that is from?) So anyways, a friend of mine just came over here with 3 kids she watches and we all played in the little blow up pool and the sprinkeler. That was fun, hopefully it wore the kids out so we will have nice long naps today! Aw, McKenna started telling me she loves me:) Well now she is screaming at me so it's time for sleep and me to clean!

this morning...

i am such a cop-out.


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HAPPPPPY BIRTHDAY TIFFANY JANELL DERKS!
I'm coming to see you in less than a week!

mOneY

There are so many times when I restle between whether or not I want to be rich when I grow up. It's not like I have a choice really but I just think about what I'd do either way. There are hard times/dangers with both I think. The couple I nanny for has a ton of money and things they do make me think about it the most. They are kind of addicted to work I think, and making money. This week was kind of a stressful week for me with just getting back from my trip and then working extra hours right when I get home, plus McKenna was really cranky and wouldn't sleep for me. They kinda figured that and payed me extra today. They said it was money so I'd stay. It made me kinda angry actually that they did that, thinking that money is going to keep me there. My attitude toward my job has been changing anyways lately and I've been thinking about quiting actually. I didn't think I'd ever want to quit but raising a kid who isn't your own is just too stressful. It's a good job giving me good experience but I'm starting to just think that I'd rather "experiment" on my own kids. I don't know, it's just getting harder. Especially with her "terrible two's" stage starting. Anyways, that just reminded me of how hard it would be to NOT become dependant on money if I were to ever have alot.

miss me?

Don't worry, I'm going to make up for all those days I missed, in this one post. I'm going to tell you all about my trip! June 8th I left for a 12 day trip to Israel with 6 of my friends from church, along with about 50 other people.

Well If you've been reading this lately you'll see that I changed it. I was going to summerize every day of the trip but for one thing it was just taking way too long cause we did and saw and learned so many things and also I just don't really like recapping, I decided:) I'm just gonna give like some summerys for you to read and I hope you enjoy!

Random things that I loved/learned through and about this trip:
1. Being in a different culture. The eastern way of thinking is incredible! It makes so much more sence! One example that sticks in my mind is ways we view God. We, in America, love to describe God in theological terms like omnipresent, omnipotent, powerful, love, great... say that list out loud with your eyes closed. What did you see? Now say these words closing your eyes - living water, shade in the desert, gentle breeze, good shepherd. Those are the things God is described as in the Bible. Those are words that we as humans naturally understand without having to memorize definitions. We know what water feels like when you are hot or thirsty. We understand shade and the effects of a soft breeze. That's why God uses those words to describe Himself in the Bible.
2. I was also impressed with their traditions. We heard the phrase alot, "To be a Jew is to remember." All their holidays, prayers, services, everything is done remembering something and they don't forget. I don't really know how to explain that more, but that was so neat.
3. Lastly, they ask questions. I don't know what else to say about that either but I just know that in America we like to think we have it all figured out and are too proud to ask questions.

Basically this was an "in-depth Bible lands tour." The purpose was to lead Groups of people through Israel, learning about the land in which the Bible was written. The things that are there are the things that the people of those times understood. It was amazing to learn about things that I thought I understood but it started to make so much more sence. We stood in the ruins of many cities where kings, priests and "celebraties" of the Bible stood. We walked through the valley where Goliath was killed with one little stone. Walked through the wilderness where the Israelites would have walked, where David sat watching sheep all day, where Samson was raised. We went to towns where Jesus' disciples lived, traveled and preached. We got to swim in the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. We prayed at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. It was such a neat experience, hard to explain everything and remember everything we were taught but...wow. I'll leave for now but if you want to know more just ask!