What we never showed you!

As an appreciation of Jon's hard work over the past 4 years, his boss was kind enough to throw him a going away dinner. He invited the the team members that worked closely with Jon over the years and who he had relationships with. It was definitely "bitter sweet" as his boss so eloquently said in his toast to Jon. Thank you Mortenson!

What color!

Just hanging out outside on a branch. It always amazes me how light birds actually are and how a branch never seems to give way beneath them! This post is just because.

Tee or Tea

Both actually! I was able to go golfing for a work event today and had a little bit of tea with dinner. What could be better? Well, it was a beautiful sunny day with light humidity, perfect day to swing a club. In fact, I also got to spend some time at the beach (sand trap that is). I suppose I didn't do too badly for being my first time out all summer, but my slice is definitely worse than my bite.

Anyway, if you're interested my team scored 74 on a par 72 (scramble scoring). Not too shabby!

Just a reminder to keep...

Singing! It certainly lifts your spirits and keeps things in perspective when you are lifting your joyful noise unto the Lord. Tonight as I practiced with the worship team for Sunday morning, we practiced "Blind Man". If you don't remember what that song is, bring yourself back to summer camp and loud singing that says:

Blind Man stood by the road and he cried (3x)
He cried Oh, OH, OH
Show me the way
Show me the way
Show me the Way
The way to go home!

Now, singing this song tonight, I couldn't keep from smiling. It's a simple reminder that says:

Jesus rose from the dead and he cried (3x)
He cried Oh, Oh, OH
I am the way
I am the truth
I am the Light
I am the way to go home.

Ahh... the Color of Red!

Yesterday was gorgeous. I was out at Covenant Harbor on Lake Geneva for church and a baptism service. Long gone were the "chance of thunderstorms" and out was the sun with just a few clouds. And with sun comes sunburn. I forgot to apply sunscreen and got a little rosy. You know the feeling when you know your nose has gotten burned. Thankfully, lotion seems to do the trick!

I hope your week is filled with sunshine!

Plan 'B'

I started my Greek course last Monday and quickly discovered the intense format of a 6-week language class was not for me. After lots of prayer and discussion with my professor and family I decided to postpone my Greek training until this fall during the normal school year.

Just wanted to give you an update because I know so many of you are praying for Eme and me during this transitional time in our lives. It seems our lives are full of unexpected twists and turns!

Enjoy your weekend!

Pirates of the 21st Century

Whoever said that Pirates were a thing in the past, was obviously mistaken and has never visited Detroit. Here, our friendly Pirate is greeted by a police officers camera phone (Jon quickly snaps his own shot).
Jon and I traveled to Detroit to visit friends, BUT we were also fortunate to witness a Pirate walking down the street, a saxophonist playing the theme song to "Seasame Street" in the heart of Greek Town, and many entertaining families enjoying the fireworks display. God Bless America!

4th of July Plans

Eme and I are headed over to Detroit to visit our friends Jon and Heidi Kamrath for the 4th...What are your plans? We'd love to know!

Day 8 - (11:59 pm) "I'm not tired!"

As always, vacations seem to fly by. This one in particular was packed with amazing sights, impassible road blocks, and a ton of new experiences! Yet, as with all vacations, at least for Jon and I, we were ready to be back in our own home and especially our own bed.

We woke up, packed our bags and headed to Betsy and Dave's for our final good-byes and to return the pillows we borrowed. Leaving Valley Springs at 9:10 for the Sacramento Airport we realized we drove a total of 1200 miles. 1200 MILES!! It seemed crazy, but oh so worth it. You can never have the same experience again in a lifetime, something will always be slightly different to make that experience one in a gazillion. We asked each other what our favorite part was, and we both quickly decided on Yosemite. Surrounded by breathtaking views and elements of nature, God's creation was so refreshing and rejuvenating, that you can't help but want to go back and experience it all again.

Our first plane arrived and boarded. There were a dozen youth from a local church (most of which had never flown before, without proper plane etiquette) flying to Africa, I'm guessing on a missions trip. The girls directly behind me where playing slap jack or war on the tray table attached to MY seat. Fun, nothing like a constant drum beat to keep the Z's away.
Anyway, we arrived safely in Chicago, boarded the train, hopped on the bus, opened the front door, and were thankful to be home (around 10 pm). A couple hours later, we were still going and not an ounce tired. Finally, since we HAD to get up for work the next morning, forced ourselves to sleep.

1200 miles from Sacramento to Yosemite to San Fransisco and back= $More than we thought dollars
24 pack of water for our adventures = $Not as many as we really should have bought dollars
The blessing of being able to travel to California before Jon starts Seminary= Priceless!

And that... was day 8, and our vacation!

Day 7 (California History Lesson) - Pronunciation

Here I was taking a nice video of Big Trees State Park so I could share God's creation with you and some guy walking past me has the nerve to correct my pronunciation of the county we are in.

Ok, that "some guy" was Dave...but it was pretty funny because I kept saying it wrong the whole morning and finally, I guess, he got fed up with my lack of respect for his county's dignity!

Day 7 (Bonus) - Everything's Bigger in...

The trees in California beautifully huge!

And so are the creatures that crawl at night...

Day 7 - "No. I can't fold the cheese."

After a...restful...night sleep at the 10th Green Inn we headed over for a little breakfast at Betsy & Dave's before our big day at Big Trees State Park.

But first we stopped at a grocery store to get some sandwiches for lunch. Everything was going great, until Betsy made an unbelievably ridiculous request for their sandwich. Here's how the interaction looked:

Betsy - "We'll have the (I can't remember what sandwich she ordered) turkey sandwich, but could you only put cheese on half the sandwich?"

Sandwich Artist (SA) - "No."

Betsy - "You can't just cut the cheese in half?"

SA - "Um, no."

Betsy - With a slightly confused tone - "Um, well, could you just fold the cheese in half?"

SA - "No."

Betsy - "Really?"

SA - "I can't fold the cheese."

Betsy - Still confused and getting slightly agitated - "Well, could you just leave the cheese on the side?"

SA - Slow to agree - "Um. Sure, I can do that."

Betsy - "Ok. Great. Thanks!"

Jon(athan) - Standing in the background soaking in the scene is thinking how incredible this exchange is! I mean, it's not like she's asking SA to add a rare tropical growing vegetable only found in the deep African jungles. She's not even asking SA to quickly compute the square root of 1,257 in her head. She is simply asking SA to cut, neigh, fold the cheese in half!

Wow! This was a terrific treat on our way to Big Trees.



We experienced our first sequoias in the South Grove of Yosemite and they were magnificent. The sequoias at Big Trees were just as amazing. These things are huge!

Since Betsy & Dave didn't have to catch up on 8 days of a vacation they already posted about our Big Trees trip, so you can supplement this post with theirs.

I have to say, the self-guided interpretive trail was very educational. History and nature...two of my favorite things.

This was a great last day of hiking and experiencing God's creation in northern California to end our trip.

When we got back to Betsy & Dave's house we got to see a special California treat. Check out the bonus coming soon.

That... was day 7.

Day 6 - "Who was watching him? WHO WAS WATCHING HIM?!!?"

We decided to stay an extra day in San Francisco since the Alcatraz tour were all sold out on Saturday. We tried buying our tickets early online, as they recommend, but it's hard to follow their suggestion when the online ticketing isn't working. But we were thankful to get tickets as we both really wanted to see "The Rock."

Eme enjoyed her brief stay on the island.

Today was much cooler than the day before and the fog rolled in making it harder to see the sights, so we were glad yesterday was sunny and clear.



After learning some very interesting history about Alcatraz, we were off to Valley Springs for Justin's 1st birthday party. (No, he's not a deprived adult who has never had a birthday party...he is my 1 year old nephew!)



We joined Betsy and Dave at their friend's house for a pool party and barbecue. Let me tell you, this kid LOVES chocolate cupcakes! I think he really liked his CAT bull dozer as well (whoever gave that to him are genius ;) The pool felt great and the food was delicious! The after party included a slight scare involving Justin...but kids are quite resilient! Stairs are a fun adventure when you are 1...

After the party we crashed at the only motel in Valley Springs. The 10th Green Inn is an...interesting...place to stay. But it had a bed and we were content.

Eme and I were glad we were able to share in Justin's birthday at the pool party. It was fun!

That... was day 6.

Day 5 - "You're Supposed to Pass on the Left!"

After Eme planned our San Francisco site seeing route the night before we were ready to go Friday morning! We got our Trolley tickets and were off on our first adventure.





After exiting the trolley we walked over to Blazing Saddles and rented 2 bikes and made our way to Golden Gate Bridge. It seemed like a daunting task at first, but after a couple steep hills we were practically at the bridge!

We crossed over, came back and and some interesting encounters with the locals on our way back. Jon even got a free lesson on passing from one runner.


Amongst the touristy things we accomplished was the "Crookedest Street" and the Full House opening scene or some Victorian Homes of San Francisco, if you will.










After a full and rigorous day we settled into our hotel for a relaxing evening and planned for our next morning.

On a side note, Eme and I realized how clean Minneapolis and Chicago are compared to San Francisco. There seemed to be litter and dirty sidewalks everywhere. We certainly gained some robust cultural experiences while exploring SF that I'm not sure one could obtain in any other U.S. city.

That... was day 5.

Day 4 (Bonus) - Hot Tamale

Wild fire footage (keep an eye on the strenuous workout)