Spring has Sprung!

Spring is FINALLY here!! It's beautiful outside and will be for the next week! Trees are blooming... the grass is green... the sun is out. Basically, everyone is happy and outside and unfortunately, no one wants to be in class anymore. SPRING IS HERE!!

Yay CU Events!

So we've had a plethora of great College Union-hosted events in the last few weeks. First there was the "Here Comes the Sun!" Ballroom Dance... A spring themed formal dance. (See picture in front of gazebo-gate-thingie) Then there was Class Films (one of our biggest events of the year) last Friday. We dressed up in formal attire to present "oscars" at the end. (See pictures of dressed up CU members as well as my presenter group: Ashley, Dan, and myself... Ashley) And finally, the Student Activities Office hosted a CU Appreciation party (which was awards show themed) and presented us all with fake oscar awards... spray-painted water bottles glued to upside down bowls... it was great) So yes, it's been a fun few weeks but I have so much to do before school ends... Less than a month!

Education is Important.

This is sad: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/01/school.grad.rates.ap/index.html

Oh hey, it's April?! Crazy!

Two more things

I forgot to put up this picture of us at the CN tower. So here it is.

Also, I think you should all know that we formed a scooter gang over the weekend. Yes, Justine, Christa, and I purchased red Razr scooters and we scoot now. Actually Christa and I have joint custody of ours. But yeah, it's pretty much a big deal. And a lot of fun.

Ok, I think that's all.

Oh Canada!

So, I went to Canada last weekend. Here are some of the revelations I had while I was there:
1. I haven't been "out of the country" in four years.
2. Michigan touches Canada - who would have thought?
3. Detroit and Toronto are not actually that far apart.
4. New York and Canada are divided by a river! Crazy!
5. Canadians really do say "eh"
6. I really like geography and borders (you've probably noticed this by now).
7. I've gotten a lot better at long roadtrips.

We had a great weekend. Because of a snowstorm expected to roll in just past midnight on Friday, we had to leave Thursday night and drive until morning. It was quite an adventure. Actually it went really well and there were no problems. Nobody fell asleep while driving... Nobody got sleepy while driving... To be honest, I got extremely CRAZY when I saw the U.S.-Canada border. It was four in the morning but I was bouncing off the walls of the car with excitement. It's a good thing my friends love me otherwise I might still be on the side of the road round about Sarnia, Michigan.

The six of us went to Toronto to visit Nate's family who moved there a few years ago. They live right on Lake Ontario so the view was BEAUTIFUL from the back of the house. Trish and I had a room that looked out on the water and it was pretty great. On Friday (after a catch-up nap) we drove out to Niagra Falls. It was mine and Paul's first time seeing the falls and was it ever impressive. It's hard to wrap your mind around so much water pouring over and down into the river below. It was incredible... and cold with the mist flying up everywhere. On the way there we also stopped by the first bar in Canada (and no, we didn't go inside :). I'd also like to mention that we stopped at a scenic viewpoint during the drive and took a picture ON THE BORDER OF THE U.S. AND CANADA! It was a highlight.

Saturday we explored downtown Toronto including Chinatown and the CN tower. The tower is the largest free-standing building in the world (at least for now). Toronto is a pretty fun, artsy city so it was great to walk around and see the sights. Also a highlight: they have a whole network of underground tunnels so you never have to walk above ground if you don't want to! Incredible.

Sunday we went to church and celebrated Easter with the Askren family. Then we headed back on the road for Chicago. We made a short (un-planned) detour through Detroit, stopped for a little "blow-off-the-steam-from-sitting-in-the-car-for-so-long" time in Trisha's grandma's hometown of Bethany Beach, Michigan, then landed back safely in Wheaton early Monday morning.

It was a great trip. I hope you enjoy the pictures. In the car photo, you'll notice i'm FLIPPING OUT because we're really close to the border. Yes, this picture was taken at 4 am. You know this is true based on Paul's face in the back row... In another picture, You'll notice the ever-exciting border behind us. Yes, that is New York on the right and Canada on the left. Oh hey! Look at us jump at Niagra Falls. The oldest bar is behind us in another shot. Trisha and I posed in front of the beautiful water. And then there's Niagra Falls. And those are the pictures.

4 Photos of Miss!

First is two of my LOUD teammates and me in front of the National Civil Rights Museum. The building the museum is in is actually the Lorraine Motel which is where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. If you see the big wreath behind us, that's the spot on the balcony where he was standing when he was assassinated.

Second is a team picture on our last night in Mississippi. Four of the guys in the picture aren't from Wheaton but were working on the farm run by Mendenhall Ministries.

Third is a (ridiculous) picture of my driving shift at the end of our three hour tour-of-duty. We thought it was pretty hilarious how large the grill was on the front of our van.

Fourth, a picture of our team walking the road between where we stayed and the church we worked with...

yay pictures! canadian pictures coming soon... woo!

Back!

Well, we made it back from Mississippi over the weekend and let me tell you: it was a fantastic spring break! Thank you for your prayers as we travelled safely all week and really did bond well as a team. I'm waiting on getting more pictures from other people to post them, so if you hang tight, you'll get to see my southern adventures soon. For now, let me just say that 1) we were in the HEART of rural Mississipii, and 2) I love sweet tea!