go Bisons!!!

Tonight we took the Gymnix team to Lipscomb University in Nashville to do their halftime show. There weren't many fans there. McKenzie posed with the Bisons' mascot because her mom owned buffalo and one went crazy and they had to shoot it. Now their freezer is full of buffalo meat. =P

The team's music didn't start at first, so Carlyle whipped out his iPod and saved the day after several moments of akward silence. This picture is of Deanna and Lauren flying over the pyramids.

Three almost-together flyers

Josh almost held his hand-to-hand to make this pretty cool move.

biting the bullet?

Out with the old and in with the almost new. Don Mathis scoped out this Altima on Friday and said that I should go take a look at it. It's a 2006 Nissan Altima SL with a 2.5 L, 4-cylinder engine. It has tinted windows, obviously, a Bose premium sound system with a 6-cd changer, 16" alloy wheels. It has a black leather interior, heated seats (mmm...), and the all important cupholders that my previous ride was lacking.

I'm still in shock that this car is mine. I told Jaclyn that I'm afraid to drive it because I might mess it up! I'll get over that quickly.

a visit from my parents and part of the zoo

My parents came this weekend to help me look for a replacement car. We think we found one, but have to go back to the dealership tonight to see for sure. I might have a new car by tonight!

We went to vespers in the gym Friday night. Our Highland kids led out in song service. I like the back-lit view from the sound board.

We took a walk out to the soybean field by campus. Maggie thought she could dig a big hole in the middle of the field. Oreo just like running in the wide open space.

Jumping is Oreo's specialty. She's hilarious. I like her ears in the first picture.

We went to the Acrofest show on Sat. night in the gym. Ridgetop, Memphis Jr. Academy, Madison, Highland, and SAU performed their routines at the end. This is Highland's team, the Gymnix.

J.P., Don, dad, & mom watching the routine

Saturday

This is pretty much all I did on Sabbath afternoon. I ran out of scrapbooking glue, so part of this is done with wood glue. I don't think it comes highly recommended by scrapbookers! The picture's not that great. I don't think it's quite in focus. Anyway, most of you have already seen the pictures so you get the general idea.

Last night was the class volleyball tournament. I took pictures of all of the girls' teams, but didn't have the energy to round up all of the guys for pictures. We weren't done until around midnight. This picture is the freshman team.

Sophomores

Juniors

Seniors

dey is da ones you eat

huh?

At the request of Renee and Jaclyn, here is a picture of me trying whatever they made up on the phone. Actually, they were trying to make my ear feel better. I've been sick since Friday and I can't hear out of my left ear, so they were giving me tips over the phone/instant messenger. This particular picture would be me putting oil in my ear after doing a hot & cold treatment (which, btw, hurts like crazy). I told Jaclyn that I would get my anointing done in the same step, but then I remembered that I have about a million funnels. I don't know why so many come in a package together. Anyway, I may be taking one of my nine sick days for the year tomorrow to go get my ear checked out and make sure I don't have an infection!

a Connecticut donut in King Arthur's shorts

12.29.06 - Winter Camp - Day IV

The last time I was at Camp Au Sable (I think), I got Ralph Tompkins III. He was born in the camp store and I took him home when I was about 14 mos. old. He made the trip back to camp with us, so I had to take some pictures of him there. This is him ready to head home.

Ralph and me at the camp sign.

Getting ready to drive away. Notice we got more snow the last morning than ever before (it's ok though, because I think it rained after we left).

12.29.06 - Grand Haven, MI

Thanks to a slight detour, I got to see another MI lighthouse in Grand Haven. We spent at least a couple of hours there on the beach and walking through the shops on one street. I even got interviewed by a newspaper editor guy. He wouldn't send me a copy of the newspaper. =( I got a book of Mad Libs, which we completed in the drive from Grand Haven to Berrien Springs.

12.30.06 - Home! Well, almost . . .

Notice the tripodometer (right rectangle, lower number). 978.7 mi. from Camp Au Sable to our driveway. We did that twice, plus I had to drive 500 mi. each way to get from Winston-Salem to Highland! It's been a lot of driving!!! I'm glad to be done with it . . . 3,000 mi. is a lot for 10 days!

nature overload

12.28.06 - Winter Camp - Day III

Thursday, we woke up and saw that it looked a little more wintery outside. The lake was kinda frozen (at least slushy) and we had a light dusting of snow.

I wanted to go to the Nature Center during the morning, since it was supposed to be open during that time. Ryan wasn't ready to go inside, so he went and jumped on the bridge for a while. He discovered the sign afterward that says NO JUMPING!

So, the Nature Center wasn't open, but I had fun taking pictures of the chickadees, goldfinches, and nuthatches visiting the feeders outside.

Squirrels like the bird food too. Camp Au Sable has big black squirrels that Maggie would love to chew on. While I was taking this picture, a bald eagle flew by over the lake beside me. I took off running to take its picture and tripped over a turtle shell on the way to the edge of the lake.

I tried to feed the birds out of my hand, but they never made the leap of faith from the feeder to my hand. I did get pooped on though.

This is what happens when you let my mom loose in the Nature Center.

Our afternoon hike was to Fort Shallenbarger where they do outposts and programs. We took a trail through the woods back to the main part of camp.

Deer near the go-kart track during the afternoon

happy campers

12.26.06 - Winter Camp - Day I

Because we didn't get in quite enough driving on the way to Berrien Springs, we decided to head north another 5 hours to Camp Au Sable in Grayling, MI.

Heilmans pulled in shortly after we did. We spent the time before worship playing Hand & Foot. Randy creamed the rest of us.

12.27.06 - Winter Camp - Day II

Wednesday morning was beautiful, even if the lake wasn't frozen.

The 6 of us took a quick walk around the lake on the boardwalk. We had fun figuring out animal tracks in the snow on the planks, mainly squirrel and great blue heron. There was enough snow to pelt Ryan and my dad with a couple of snowballs.

My favorite thing we did the whole week was canoe down the Au Sable River. I wish I had taken my camera in the canoe. I was going to, but chickened out when they said the river was high.

The foosball table is always a handy way to waste time waiting for meals. (Just don't expect Ryan to hang around very long after they announce the line's open.)

This post brought to you by the Travelocity Gnome.

the Michigan ocean

12.24.06 - Waco Beach, Warren Dunes, & the St. Joe lighthouses

After 12.5 hours of NC, WV, VA, OH, IN, & MI, we finally arrived in Berrien Springs around 12:30a on Dec. 24. It's my Grandpa Jack's (dad's dad) house on Snow Rd.

I mentioned on the way up to MI that I wanted to go to the beach while we were up there. The first day we were there, everyone seemed pretty excited about going to all of the places I wanted to go to, so that worked out nicely. We fed ring-billed gulls at the first stop and I tried to make sense of feeling like I was next to the ocean. I'm always surprised at how big Lake Michigan is!

This little endeavor left my fingers covered in gull spit. At least when I got bit, they didn't draw blood. If I die of West Nile Virus or the Avian Flu, you are all responsible for hunting down the bird in this picture.

Next on our list was Warren Dunes State Park. For those of you who haven't been there, here is some perspective for you. My grandparents' van is dwarfed by the sand mountains.

David (dad's step-brother) beat mom and I to the top. We headed for the lowest part of the ridge we could find.

I tried to convince mom to roll down with me, but you can guess what she said.

And last . . . the St. Joe Pier