Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday, so when I found out that I had an away soccer game, you can guess that I was less than pleased. With that being said, I tried to put my frustration with the time of the soccer game away for the night, because I knew that if we won the game, we would make it into the conference tournament. We played against O-WU and were down 0-1 the first half. The second half we made an amazing come back and scored two against them to secure our spot in the tournament. Needless to say, Halloween wasn't ruined. Though most of my Halloween night consisted of riding home on a bus, we all made the most of it. As soon as the game was over, we took showers and put on our costumes. We didn't get back until a little before one that morning, but I still managed to get out and have some fun.

Some of the soccer girls stopping at Wendys to grab a bite to eat.

Frankengirl, the queen from 300, Twister board, Little Miss Muffett and Batgirl all made it to the costume party on the bus. I actually sewed some of the queen's costume on the way home. Needles on buses...not so safe.

The Farm was hosting a costume party that I got to catch the end of.

I even found my partner in crime, Batman!

Batgirl and Storm having a duel.

My friends catching some moves on the dance floor.

This fall has been a tough one when it comes to soccer. I came into the season being really physically fit and uber pumped for the season. Pre-season went great and all was good until about our fourth game, when I got kicked in the heel bone by a girl. I ended up having a bruised heel bone that put me out for about three weeks. I was finally getting back into it and playing again when suddenly in practice I severely sprained my ankle.

Never before have I ever had a problem with injuries, but this year that has all caught up to me. I am just trying to take things slowly now and once again get back into it. We still have five games left this season that I am trying to work towards. I have really gained an appreciation for those who have injuries and come back to a sport, especially something like an acl tear.

Hopefully next season will go a little differently!

Bruised heel bone. This may not look bad, but it is one of the most painfully annoying injuries because you can't put any weight on your heel. I wonder if this will help me to start running on my toes!

This past thursday after I sprained it. When I fell I screamed, but then got up and hobbled back into the wellness building and convinced myself on the way there that it was fine. I was thinking it probably wasn't even bruised at all. I took off my taping from my previous injury and found this huge thing on my ankle. Lets just say it wasn't one of my best moments.

This one was taken a few days after the fall when it really started to color up.

"Especially in Michigan"

So you know it's an amazing trip when you see 11 shooting stars in one night. Whether it was going to the historic Macinac Island, or getting up on water skis, Michigan was proved once again to be an amazing spot to be. It was a last minute summer vacation that me and three close friends took and was the perfect ending to a somewhat stressful summer. After taking Calculus, it was exactly the relaxation and fun I needed before heading back to college.



Three of the four of us at Macinac Island, a pretty cool spot! The entire island is filled with bicycles and horse drawn carriages because no cars are allowed.


Looking out over Lake Michigan. The water was a little chilly, but quite perfect when the sun was out.


Arc Rock, a beautiful rock formation at Macinac Island that resembled the doorway to Narnia.


Karman and Meredith getting some height while tubing. We all had a blast tubing and water skiing and jet skiing.


Out on the boat. Meredith taught us all how to drive.


My favorite picture from the whole trip. This actually was a lot harder of a shot to get than it looks like because there were only three of us after Rachel left a few days earlier. We set the camera up on a pole next to the shore, turned on the ten second timer, and then Karman sprinted down the dock and hopped up on the bench to get the picture we wanted. Thank goodness for technology.

Birthday Surprise

This June, I knew I would be celebrating my 21st birthday, but I had no idea I would get to celebrate with all of my best friends. Karman had told me we were going on an adventure for the weekend but refused to tell me where. I kept getting sidetracked by her intentionally-misleading clues and it wasn't until we reached Indiana that I knew Merry would also be involved. After meeting up with Merry at the airport we then went and surprised Rachel and kidnapped her for a weekend of fun. Finally we arrived at a quaint little cabin by lake Monroe and enjoyed some quality time with each other. The next day we were surprised once again upon arriving at the Murat theatre to see the musical Wicked. It was a better present than I ever could have asked for!

We got a little lost while looking for the cabin

The fantabulous four at the campground by lake Monroe

"Live Like You Were Dying"

This past weekend held enough adventures to fill the whole summer. I went down on friday evening to stay with my brother in Evansville and the fun started there. We spent all weekend running around having fun, but the two highlights of the trip included my first motorcycle trip and skydiving. I had thought about going skydiving for quite some time but things never seemed to fall into place. So when my brother called me up in the spring and asked if I would be interested, I told him I was game. We had to wait around at the Carmi, IL airport for about 4 hours for the clouds to clear up, but the wait was totally worth it! It didn't really hit me as to what I was getting myself into until the door opened up at about 10,000 feet so that we could jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Definitely going on my top ten list of amazing things. 

A good silhouette of Jared

Jared's friend getting ready for the plane to take off. The craziest part was that the pilot flying the plane was younger than any of us!

A shot of the me(wonderwoman) and my bro(Mr. Sunshine)

I TRI

After much training, I finally competed in a tri-athalon this past weekend. It started at 7:30 in the morning with a 1 mile swim, then a 20 mile bike, then finished of with a 6 mile run. By the time it was all said and done I was exhausted but felt very triumphant! I did pretty well, beating my time last year by 8 minutes. This year I also conned my brother Jared into coming up and competing too. 

Jared finishing up

Me and Jared right after he finished

Meet Beatrice

About two months ago, after much thought, I purchased a Trek road bike. It has proven to be one of the best investments I have ever made. I look forward to getting to ride my bike everyday that I can. I bought it initially because I wanted something better to ride during the upcoming triathalon, but now I am thinking about really trying to get into my biking during the spring and summer. Last weekend I was about 5 miles out when I got my first flat. As a newbie, I didn't have any of the necessary tools to fix the tire, so I ended up walking the whole 5 miles back to campus.

A shot of the lovely Beatrice

This is the new carry on pack I bought for the bike. I ended up getting it for free because the cashier forgot to ring it up.

Remembering Dad

The other day I noticed some herbal essences shampoo and it brought me back to a childhood memory of the smell of the shampoo that my dad always used. From this, I realized shampoo rhymed with the word canoe and that just got me going. The following is a poem I wrote in memory of my dad and all the things that remind me of him.

Dad

The taste of an orange and the smell of herbal essences shampoo

the sound of man who can't sing in church and the sight of an 'ol canoe

The cans of sardines covered in mustard and those blurry programs on tv

The feeling that there was someone bigger and knowing church held the key

The time he told my ccd class that I had a brownie with something more

and the fact that he would pay me way too much money for just  about any chore

The idea that a tree house should be twenty feet in the air

and the way he wore his clothes, giving matching no care

The thought that pictures were the best type of souvenir

and the ugly head above the fireplace of his first killed deer

The stink given off by one of those old rusty vans

and the thrill of leaving for a vacation without any plans

The way he rubbed my feet not worried if they were dirty or clean

and the embarrassment he loved to give me when I was about thirteen

The rumble of a motorcycle and the constant energy he always had

and how each and every one of these words leads me to the word Dad

Skiing in real snow

Over mid semester break this year, five of us girls took a road trip to Michigan to go skiing. A friend of mine and her parents were generous enough to drive us up there and let us stay in their cute as can be cabin. We spent two days on the slopes of Boyne Mountain in the most northern part of the lower peninsula. We all had so much fun skiing the days away and piddling around the town--which had the cutest little shops and restaurants.

This is the black diamond called DL's Drop that I made it almost all the way down until I fell at the bottom while celebrating my feat

All of us girls before going out on the slopes

No ski trip is complete with out some hot chocolate!

Triathalon Training

I just got back from a 14 mile bike ride and a 2 1/2 mile run. I have been trying to train for this spring's triathalon here at Earlham. I participated last year just for fun, but I am hoping to do a little better this year. Hopefully my new Trek road bike will aid in my pursuit. I purchased it after much thought about a month or two ago and I have been getting some really good use out of it! 

To the Beach and Back

For Spring break this year I decided to travel down south to meet up with a friend and start out on a journey. We spent the first day enjoying the beauty of the ATL, then headed out early the next day for Savannah-another beautiful city! We realized a few days before heading to Savannah that it holds a huge St. Patrick's Day Parade and party. The entire city was crazy and covered in green. I found myself really counting down those three months until I turn 21! 

A quick snapshot during the parade in Savannah

After spending the day walking around all the squares of Savannah, we headed off to St. Joe's Peninsula State Park in Florida. There we beach backpacked into one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. The best part about all of it was that we pretty much had the beach to ourselves! I had never backpacked before but there is something special about having everything you could possibly need on your back. We had fun cooking our little dinners on our tiny foldable stove, playing on the beach all day, and finding our way around the peninsula. My only regret is that we didn't have more time to spend on the beach. 

What we hiked through 3 times with no shoes, there and back, before realizing there was a beach access path

The gorgeous beach with a good shot of the sand dunes

We had to run to catch this sunset but it was definitely worth it

Alexis and Gabe, the children of some close family friends, just celebrated their 1st and 3rd birthdays. Alexis' theme was an entire array of princess apparel and decorations. I also joined in the festivities by dressing as Belle, with the help of my mom's sewing abilities to alter a dress I found at a thrift store. Gabe was also happy as can be with his Thomas the Train theme and thoroughly enjoyed destroying his first birthday cake.

Gabe enjoying his first cake

All of the princesses

Alexis and me (Belle)

Gabe chewing on a balloon with an evil brow