Off to Saranac We Will Go

We left this morning for Saranac Village with 57 kids and leaders. We made a pit stop in Washington D.C. to go to the Nationals/Orioles game at the new Washington Nationals stadium.

Just to let you know, the stadium is in the Anacostia portion of DC, which is the murder capital of the U.S. We are also staying at a hotel that is just a few blocks away from the stadium and smack in the middle of the "yet to be revitalized" portion of Anacostia. It was special to pull into our nations capitol and introduce our high school friends to what a real ghetto looks like. Seriously.

The only way that Matt could put it diplomatically on the microphone to encourage them to NOT leave the hotel under any circumstances was to say, "I am sure that you have been in safer neighborhoods in your life..."


We went to the game and met up with my little brother Drew and a friend of his, Sammie. We had a great time catching up until the bottom of the 5th inning when the Heavens opened up and we were in the middle of a torrential downpour. I have never seen a rain/lightening storm quite like that before.

So we left and now we are heading to bed cause we have to get on the bus at 5am for a 10-hour drive into camp.

Our children are being graciously housed at my parents for the week. It was an amazing drop-off with the kids. Asher made it seem like the whole trip was his idea.

"I want to go to RiRi and Opa's house. Can I ride in their car? How about Mommy and Daddy go on a real long date and then come pick us up?"

Well, wasn't that convenient?
We just strapped that kid into my parents car and got the heck out of dodge!

I accidently left my camera cord at home, so I am going to struggle with updating pictures while we are here. But if I can snag
one from someone else, you can be sure to see the pics!

Thanks for praying and thinking about us!

One Last Brag

This is a video from Windy Gap last week...Matt and Asher did a little program for the summer staff and work crew. 

Pretty much adorable. My favorite part? That he tries to breakdance with Matt.

I roll

Tonight, Matt and I bought a car.
We have been looking for months as we knew that my beloved 1998 Jeep Cherokee was on its way out since the catalytic converter began a death rattle a year ago.

It is not yet dead, thankfully or else we wouldn't get any trade-in value.

I really wanted a station-wagon (how sad of a sentence is that?). We only have two kids, so we don't need a minivan. I like the way a station wagon looks and I love the hauling capability of my Jeep. So I knew that I wanted something with a deep trunk.

The options?
Subaru Outback (which everyone said Matt would hate because of his height)
Volkswagen Jetta or Passat Wagon (that I really like)
Mazda 5 (seemed like compromising safety)
Volvo XC (out of our price range)

What did we end up with?Yes, that is the car in MY driveway! Volvo is a variation on the Latin phrase ''I roll.'' Hence the title of this post.
We got an incredible deal and ended up spending less money than we even budgeted on a car! I can not believe it.

Oh and they took my Jeep as a trade-in which is a minor miracle.

I feel like I don't even deserve to drive a car this nice. But it sure is beautiful. I am so fired up I can't even really talk about it.

Best part? I left my license at home and didn't get to test drive it before we bought it. That makes our house (which I did not see the inside of before we bought it) and my car that I simply trusted my husband's judgement. See? I am growing! Trust. What a beautiful thing!

Running Mix

I realized that I never posted the final running mix from February. Also, I have just started using my running mix again since I gained five pounds during my month at camp. Eating Mike and Ikes, Milk Duds and nightly visits from the Dorito Fairy did not agree with me.

Also, Lindsey Hancock let me know while we were together at Windy Gap that she has been waiting on it, and so; my dear reading public, here it is:

In order:
Vertigo-U2
Lose Yourself-Eminem
Are you gonna be my girl-Jet
Always Be My Baby-Mariah Carey
Let's Hear it for the Boy-Denise Williams
Rehab-Amy Winehouse
We're Not Gonna Take It-Twisted Sister
Unskinny Bop-Poison
Keep the Car Running-Arcade Fire
Pump It Up-Elvis Costello
Fighter-Christina Aguilera
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)-They Might be Giants
Dancing in the Dark-Bruce Springsteen
Girlfriend-Avril Lavigne
The Sweet Escape-Gwen Stefani
Mr. Brightside-The Killers
Blister in the Sun-Violent Femmes
Wind It Up-Gwen Stefani ** my new favorite song
Jessie's Girl-Rick Springfield
I Wear My Sunglasses At Night-Corey Hart
Cradle of Love-Billy Idol
Everybody Everybody-Black Box
The Power-Snap!
What's Up-4 Non-Blondes
My Boo-Ghostown DJ's


Obviously not all of these will get you as fired up as it does for me. But head on over to itunes and check the ones out that you don't recognize. You might be surprised! This is enough music to get you through several workouts or one really long one!

While you are there, also check out my friend Ryan Long's new song called "Change Me." He was on assignment with us at Windy Gap and we sang this song several times during the week. It is a great song, with amazing lyrics. We will definitely be using this one in club in the fall.

The Sweater

I absolutely have to share this video with you. It is a song that I have been hunting down for years "The Sweater" by Meryn Cadell. I remember being in middle school and listening to this song over and over again. I have loved it forever and I don't know if you remember it or not. But what you will remember...is the longing desire to wear a sweater belonging to a boy in high school or middle school. Well, not if you are a guy. But then this is a little window into the soul of a teenage girl.

This video will bless your day!


The best parts of the video are as follows:
1) she is totally sporting a wilson phillips haircut
2) I am pretty sure that the director of this video moved on to "Groove is in the Heart" by Deelite
3) I always thought that the singer of this song was african american. I have no idea why.
4) I love that she refers to teenage boy smell as "goat"

Home!

We have landed back at our house today! Hooray! Of course, both kids have lost it crying for half the day. Asher has some kind of virus deal happening in his mouth that makes eating impossible and so he is not a happy camper. I am trying to unpack us and still have the house look like it did while we were gone. Not an easy feat...

But I have managed to upload a video from the month that shows you Matt and Brian Hancock as Rob and Gib blending rhymes about toppings for ice cream. The song is called "Oreo" to the tune of "Low" by T-Pain. 

Enjoy!

Happy Father's Day

Dear Opa and Doc,

If we didn't have to get into Mommy's car that does not have air conditioning and drive out of camp in order to call you on Father's Day....we would have. We love you so much and are excited to get to see you soon!

Love, Asher and Lucy

Matt and Leslie

Christmas Come Early

We took our assigned team picture today and so all of the mom's got our kids dressed up for the occasion. 

And then we had four hours to kill with kids in nice clothes at camp. So Matt and I took the kids out to take some pictures and I am pretty sure we managed to get our Christmas card picture taken. Sorry if you get to see this again in December!

Also, Asher and I went on the giant swing together this week. Now he is excited about doing the zip line and the climbing wall this week. Is my child nearly three or 13? 

Lookee What We Found Here

Last night we put Asher to bed and thought that he was exhausted. We went downstairs where I wrote letters and visited with Buddy Odom. 

Matt came back to the house around 11:30 and we went upstairs, opened our pocket door to our suite and found Asher curled up on the floor using his blankie as a pillow. He also brought his dog "Bats" along for moral support.

Pretty much my favorite thing so far on this assignment. That and Cheerwine slushies. 

Shoutout to Dr. Bukk

One of my new clients at Big Bridge this spring has been Dr. Bukk's Fake Teef. If you are involved in Young Life in any way...then you know about Dr. Bukk's. But just in case you aren't, you will need to go visit their website in a few weeks. We are revamping it right now and wanna know who their new poster child is going to be?

Seriously.