Recap: a week in the life

This last week has been nothing but absolute craziness!

last Thursday: Bachelorette Party for Emily in downtown Portland

All the Ladies!

Friday: last minute wedding craziness and rehearsal dinner

Saturday: WEDDING DAY!

getting her hair done!

morning of the day!

the Beautiful Bride and Maid of Honor

My handsome date! :)

The couple's first dance

the 4 of us :)

Later Saturday evening, I drove to my Aunt's house and started family craziness! My aunt was having a surprise 50th birthday party and I got there just to enjoy the tail end of it (still in wedding attire!)

My big brother and I

Sunday: What a great day! We had church outside at my uncle's cute little country church. After church, we had a chilli cook-off picnic and played all sorts of games.

Me and Dan with our grandparents!

I'm the auntie of this cute little kid :)

my Mom and I. Isn't she beautiful?

Blake and my Mom playing in the grass

my Grandma playing and singing with Blake

Later that afternoon, we got to watch old family videos of when my mom was a kid. It was so cool to see my mom as a little kid and my grandma as a cute little young thang! We decided to spend the evening hiking Multnomah Falls!

All the cousins! We're all so big now!

 

Me with Dan, Stasia, and Blake

Oregon is stunning!

Dan and I at the top

After the hike, we all went out for pizza!

Monday: We had a leisure morning and then we decided to go float the Sandy River. 

Dan tied the canoe to the car!

Family picnic

Dan and I floating along

Stasia and I showing our excitement!

Tuesday: I'm back in Corvallis! Anna and I did our blackberry goodness!

Wednesday: Emily and Jonathan drove through Corvallis post-honeymoon, so they met up with Greg and I for a bit. We ate at American Dream pizza and strolled a bit through campus. Later that evening, my family arrived! We went out for Indian Food and stayed up late all talking. 

Thursday: We spent the morning walking around the OSU campus!

Starting him young: He's a beaver believer!

I literally said while taking this picture, "Oh no! I'm ganna look like a freshman!"

In front of Valley Library: Dan, me and Mom

Blake and I in class

We spent a bit of the afternoon cooling down in my apartment and then headed south to the Oregon Coast!

It was in the 60's!

Stasia and I found a really cool pirate ship slide!

We went to Mo's for dinner and enjoyed yummy clam chowder!

I had a great time with my family! I'm so excited for this weekend and my adventures with Caeli in Portland!

This summer has been nothing like I expected, but I have been overwhelmed with love, friendship, and God's faithfulness. I love the many adventures I have gotten to go on, experience, learn from, and grow.

Blackberries and C-town

Last night was my first night back in Corvallis after absolute wedding craziness. (Which by the way, was SO much fun). I'll write more about that later when more pictures trickle in from many different sources.

Anna and I had made plans to get together for a long time, so we did! We ate dinner at Cafe Yumm, which is pretty much our favorite place in all of Corvallis. We decided to go blackberry picking and bake, so we did! We got home, washed the berries, and baked this yummylicous desert that we both enjoyed!
After we ate, we both did some painting, crafting, and Lion King line reciting. We had our favorite movie on in the background and we both know pretty much every single line of that whole movie. Have you ever noticed how many life lessons are in the Lion King? There are a lot! It is such a great movie!

 We layered the blackberries on the bottom of the dish and lightly sprinkled sugar over them. Then we used a can of dough and dipped it into melted butter and rolled it in a cinnamon sugar mixture. We layered the dough pieces over the top and baked for about 20 minutes. The end result was fantastic!

And the Iphone tells the story of...

This last weekend/half of week, I got to spend some time in Portland. I spent the weekend with Emily doing wedding prep galore. On Sunday, we went to Solid Rock and I ran into some friends from Corvallis! :)

me, Emily, Sara, and Tina! <3 (the boys are not photographed)

Emily gets married in 8 days. EIGHT. {enter here squeals, jumping, and the big to-do pile} Then her and her hubs are moving across the country to Tennessee. I'm ganna miss this lady. We were so busy, I didn't get around to taking any pictures. I spent a majority of my time working on the Wedding Playlist. Really, I was just illegally downloading songs hardcore. Shhhh. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't think you understand what this tasks entails. I'll be honest with you: click, copy, paste, find song somewhere on hard drive, put into itunes, playlist. bam. NEXT. It took hours upon hours. BUT I'm so glad I could do it instead of the Bride.

The future Mr. & Mrs.

Monday evening, Brynn and I did a test run on Emily's wedding day makeup. I can't say any more than that, but it is going to be GREAT. Brynn and I went out to dinner with her Dad. YUM. We went to Chevy's and we delighted in cocktails and mexican food. Is there really anything better? Well, yeah, there is. But I really enjoyed my pina colada.
When we got home, we put on the Olympics. I gotta say, these people are so deserving to be there. They do some amazing stuff! While we were watching the Olympics, we laughed our booties off reading Damn You Auto Correct. Have you ever read it? You should. Pure hilariousness.

I don't know how we came up with this idea but Brynn had some extra fireworks she didn't use on the 4th of July, so we headed out into the church parking lot behind her apartment and let some loose. We we're having all sorts of fun and laughter, until we realized how late at night it was and we saw a cop car driving down the street. We picked up everything and ran inside. SO WORTH IT.

The next day, we headed to Salem. The birthplace of our beautiful friendship. I got a haircut and Brynn got a new piercing! I have been contemplating getting my nose pierced for nearly 2 years, and I almost did, but I chickened out. In my defense, I don't have ANY piercings at all. Not even my ears!

We went out for really good, but expensive BBQ. I put a napkin in my shirt. Yes, I was that person and I have no shame. It was worth it for every single fabulous bite of ribs. Ah, drooling just remembering how good it was. We then came home, put on the Olympics and did a puzzle. Don't judge us, it was a really hard one. We worked on it patiently for all 3 hours of the Olympics. 

We kept losing pieces, and then I realized they all somehow managed to land in the crotch of my sweatpants. Don't ask. I was (and still am) as confused as you to how they got there. We laughed hysterically.
Favorite moment of the night: Brynn goes "is it weird I like to eat..." And before she could finish her sentence I said, "no, most people eat..." and we died. Literally. If laughter could induce dying it would have happened that night. Love this girl so so much. AND I'm so beyond happy she is finally back in Oregon!

Lately, I've decided to take on the task of riding a bike. {large amounts of laughter here}Yes, I do not know how to ride a bike. So Greg and I walked downtown to Peak Sports so I could get correctly sized for a bike. They let us take the bikes out on a test drive. So we did, or really, Greg did. I went on a nice walk with my bike. I rode it for probably 0.5 seconds, if that. I attempted, and Greg laughed. After such a refreshing walk downtown, we stopped at The Beanery for blended chai, and then walked to central park. I played on the swings and went down the slide. I enjoyed acting like I was 5. What's better than that? Really.

Then we decided a swim would sound absolutely decadent. So we got Peter to go along with us, and we all went swimming. Did I mention I've been sick? Well I have. My life has revolved around this nasty cough that induces dry heaving and lack of breathing. Swimming? I didn't think that one through. But it was still a refreshing little dip. Later that evening, we went on a motorcycle ride since Greg sells the beloved bike today. We enjoyed a last ride on the beautiful red babe. Or, I did. I'm not really sure if Greg enjoyed it. I couldn't see where we were most of the time, so I was singing worship in my helmet while it was too windy for Greg to hear me. I live a really beautiful life and I am amazed at the many ways God answers my prayers, hears my every word, and blesses me with such wonderful people to love.

Camp: the beginning

On Tuesday, June 12th, Caeli and I left for Mount Hermon Kidder Creek to start our summer at camp!
Here is our road trip journey in pictures:

all packed up and ready to leave Corvallis

Stopped for ice cream at the K&R Diner in Rice Hill, OR

We made it to CALIFORNIA! and ate really yummy huckleberry lollipops!

We arrived at camp around 8pm on Tuesday night and we dropped off our stuff in our cabin and went down to Ranch Camp for campfire.

Later in the week, we learned how to belay on the high ropes course. It was fun to all train together and belay on each other. My favorite part was when I would fly up in the air trying to belay Morgan and Caeli.

Alysaa, me, Caeli, and Morgan

Later that evening, we got to watch the other counselors lead a campfire for their campers. We enjoyed silly songs, hilarious skits, and I pretty much almost peed my pants. Campfire's are one of my favorite things about camp! After campfire, we had smores and broke out into impromptu worship. It was beautiful.

One afternoon later that week, Caeli and I didn't have much to do so we went to help pick up some bikes for the Marble Mountain Marathon happening that weekend.

 Kyle, Alyssa, Caeli, myself, and David all came along. We stopped at Dotty's for ice cream! YUM.

We played "Hot Seat" which is a game that allows you to ask someone anything you want for 5 minutes while they are in the hot seat. I really enjoyed it! It allowed us to learn more about each other and get to know each other on a different level. Later that evening, I introduced some staff chaotic, which is pretty much the best card game ever. Every round, the winner was in the hot seat.

We had a relaxing weekend, and then prepared for campers that arrived on Sunday June 17th! This place is beautiful. The nature is breath-taking. God is clearly at work here and He is changing lives. I'm so excited to see what this summer is going to hold.

Blessed

"How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard"

I leave Corvallis tomorrow morning for camp in California. This is a bittersweet moment. I love camp, everything about it, but I am absolutely saddened to leave what I have God has developed here. I am blessed with tremendous people in my life. And I wouldn't change a thing.

For my last evening in Corvallis, I had a dinner with some bible study girls. We laughed, we shared our hearts, cried much needed tears, prayed together, and gave very tearful goodbyes as we all depart for summer.

Then I spent the evening with Greg. :) We hopped on his BMW motorcycle and whizzed through country roads with beautiful views of mountains and trees. I enjoyed holding on tightly as we rode. I started singing worship to God, the whole thing was absolutely beautiful. We stopped at a park, went for a little walk along the Willamette River, and then watched the sunset. I really like this guy. :)

What a great way to spend my last night in the town that has become home. 

I am beyond blessed. 

"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12

Some Days are filled with the Unexpected

Some days you hit little road bumps. Things don't go quite as planned. And you know those days, you get kinda frustrated and start feeling really down.Those are the kind of days Satan likes to attack. He sees we are weak and he takes advantage of it.

My Friday the 13th was one of those days.

It all started with a very difficult and unplanned Thursday night. I normally spend my Thursday nights at bible study, with some lovely girls, but this week, I was doing something very unexpected and somewhat traumatic. I woke up Friday still dealing with what happened the night before. I went to class, took a quiz, and went back home to pack for my exciting weekend at the beach for 15 beautiful girls from my college group. I packed my bags, picked up the girls I was driving and got all the way to Monmouth when my car started making a noise. A thereisarocktumblingaround noise. I pulled over and put on my flashers.

After a few attempts, I ended up having to have my car towed all the way back to Corvallis. Yay AAA. I got home, walked in the door after paying the tow man and cried. Literally sat on my bed and cried. I was pretty certain at that point that I wasn't going to be going to the coast for the retreat. But Aimee was not okay with that, so she called all the cars that hadn't left yet and arranged a seat for me.

my poor baby being towed

Beautiful sunset view from the house

Then I finally arrived on the coast for the weekend with some lovely girls.

Erin, Rosie, Amy, Tina, Lexi, me, Sara

Catch phrase: aka INTENSE

On that night, we stayed up til 3:30 in the morning or something sharing stories. It at all started with games where we would ask a question and everyone would go around and answer. The question that kept us up so late was, "What is something you have overcome?" Little did we know at the time what that question would turn into. There was tears, laughter, hugs, confessions, acceptance, confessions, and so much more. It was really a beautiful time.

I woke up on Saturday morning rested. We made breakfast and then headed down to the beach.

Back row: Deanie, Taylor, Christy, Rosie, Erin, Lexi, Erin, Lacey, Sara
Front Row: Amy, me, Aimee, Tina, Casey, and Jessie

A few of us decided to hike up the massive dune. And then have a few little adventures. :)

Sara, Rosie, Lacey, Deanie, Jessie, Lexi, and I after hiking up the dune

Rosie, Deanie, Lacey, and Lexi walking sliding down the other side

Yep, we did it.

Isnt this just beautiful?

Deanie and Sara

Me and Deanie

the two Sara(h)'s

I sat down on top of this mountain and looked around me. God created all of this. I sat there singing "Indescribable" quietly to myself. God, you are indescribable.

 The whole earth is His.

"the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them-The Lord, who remainds faithful forever." Psalm 146:6

Lacey was sitting on this ledge and she turns around to me and says "Each wave is a little different. Some have spunk, some just kinda sizzle away. And each of the rocks, they are all different shapes and sizes. (silence) Kinda like us."

What Lacey said couldn't be more true. We are all different because God created each and every one of us exactly how He wanted us to be. That is so comforting and absolutely beautiful to me.

As we were sitting and admiring the beauty, Deanie, Rosie, and Sara went on a little adventure.

This is my view is Sara, Rosie, and Deanie from where I was sitting

We headed back over to the rest of the group and plopped right down.

Then we had a little cermony for Ryder, Lacey's dog who died suddenly this week.

Ryder loved popcorn, so it was only appropiate to write his name in the sand, cover it in popcorn, and wait for a wave to wash it away.

What an unexpected, but so amazing weekend. I am so blessed by all these AMAZING women who love the Lord that I have in my life. My car still isn't fixed yet, so that's kinda a downer, but it's okay. I have a great community of friends helping me out. :)