I'm off to see Josh Turner in concert with friends. For free. Have I mentioned how much I like living here?

My sister sent me a text message yesterday to say that Mom was thinking of joining her and Jacob when they come visit in about a month. I was excited - I'd love to spend some more time with Mom, but then I thought about some of the stuff we were planning to do that I didn't think she'd really like - going to the beach, Busch Gardens. So, I called to talk to her about that stuff, to let her know what we were planning, but I'm thinking now that I might have come across as though I didn't want her to come. Of course, we can totally change our plans to stuff we'd all like to do, so I think I need to talk to her again. Though, I think we'll be stuck on the beach thing - I've been talking to Jacob about that for weeks now.

It's been a busy weekend, but a really good one.

After Josh and Sara's wedding Saturday afternoon, Heather B and I ran to Sam's to buy food for our service in the park on Sunday, then went with a bunch of friends to Busch Gardens. There were a ton of us, almost too many to name, and we were only there for a couple of hours before the park closed, but it was so much fun! I haven't been to Busch Gardens before, but bought a season pass a few weeks ago. I can't wait to go back.

Sunday we had our church service in the park. The service itself was pretty simple - a longer worship time, and Nick just gave a quick preview of what we're doing in the weeks to come. We had some carnival games for kids, two big inflatable toys (a moon bounce and obstacle course) for kids and adults, and tons of food. There were a bunch of newer families there, too, and it was great to get to know them a bit better.

I got a lot of great pictures throughout the whole weekend, but can't post them yet as my laptop is still away for service. Best Buy has had it for over a week now - this isn't unexpected, though its longer than the first time. Maybe this time it will actually be fixed.

Heather's friend Katherine is in town visiting for a few days, so last night Heather, Heather, Katherine, and I went out for girls night out. We got dressed up and drove down to Waterman's Beachwood Grill in Virginia Beach (Heather made reservations and wouldn't tell us where we were going until we got there). After dinner and pictures (including some non-traditional ones), we walked down the boardwalk to the pier (at least as far as we could go without paying) and then back up on the beach. There were a couple different places playing live music - it was a lot of fun. I'd like to go back to the pier sometime, but when its still light out. The sunrise would probably be beautiful, but I'm not really awake to do that.

Tonight I'm looking for a dress for Josh and Sara's wedding on Saturday, and meeting with Nick and Heather to finalize July's volunteer schedule and plan everything for our service in the park on Sunday.

On the diet front, I really, really wish people would stop bringing donuts into work. Its probably one of my biggest weaknesses, especially because I can never seem to eat just one. I think I ate four on Tuesday (though I did manage to resist the Krispy Kreme ones yesterday).

Jenni came over Monday night to help me re-plumb my toilet. Its been leaking water and keeps running, and replacing the flapper didn't do the job. So, I bought a kit to completely replace everything.

Its great having a friend like Jenni, because she's got experience with all kinds of household maintenance stuff (like hooking up a washer and dryer). And she's really willing to teach me how to do it myself, so I'm learning a lot in the process. Plus, now I can say that I re-plumbed a toilet. :-) I can't imagine doing it by myself, though - some of the steps would have just been really awkward with only one pair of hands.

My friend Kate is working at Rockbridge for the month of June, so I went to visit her this weekend. Its kind of different being there as a visitor, with someone who is working, rather than as a leader. I was reminded really quickly of just how exhausting going to camp as a leader is - definitely the most physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting experience of my life. On the other hand, there's a really great camaraderie between everyone there, and something absolutely amazing about being completely emptied of yourself. There's a rightness in feeling like you have absolutely nothing else left to give, and yet knowing that its still okay because it isn't about you anyway. Even just a little bit of time there, only slightly more than 24 hours, and I came back determined to live intentionally in my life, to stay off the sidelines and make each day count. In fact, I spent most of the trip home brainstorming ideas for the church, including coming up with some ideas for the children's ministry.

My refocused weight loss plan is going pretty well, this weekend not withstanding (tons and tons of temptation, and not much in the way of other options). I've lost roughly two pounds a week, with the exception of my weekend in Frederick (I only lost one pound that week, but given the temptation there, I'm really happy about that).

And, I'm laptop-less again. Hopefully, for no longer than a week.

One of my favorite photos from my time in Frederick - this is me trying to keep the camera away from Jacob. I can't get over how old he looks.

I have hydrangeas! I'm so excited. I came home from my weekend in Frederick to this, and I can't wait to cut some of them and bring them inside. I have just the place for them, too.



Heather, Nathan, and I went to HarborFest in Norfolk - its got all the typical festival stuff, with booths and vendors and tons of people, and there are tons of tall ships docked along Norfolk's waterfront that you can board and tour. We only made it on to two, but one, from Bermuda, was really neat - its amazing just how many people they can fit on that boat. And because its right at Town Point Park in Norfolk, we parked in Portsmouth and rode the ferry over. These are my favorite photos, both not actually from the festival itself, but from the ferry ride over and back.





I bought a print of a beach scene by a local artist to go in my bedroom. Its beautiful - I can't wait to frame and hang it. I have tons of stuff for my bedroom now, just need to get started hanging it.

Ikea: I went to Ikea yesterday with Kelli and Stephanie - Kelli needed to look at some big pieces of furniture for the apartment she's moving into tomorrow, and Stephanie and I just like shopping. I got a few great things, and I'm really excited to get them home and use them. But, the weirdest thing happened to Stephanie while we were there. Kelli and I were trying out a sofa, and this man is sitting in a chair right next to it with his wife standing beside it, and Stephanie is standing near all of us holding the measuring tape. The man says, "do you need to measure it?" and Stephanie says, "yep, that's my function today" and the man mouths to her "it's eight inches." Can you believe that?

Creative photography: I'm in Frederick this weekend, because my brother graduates from high school on Monday night. This morning, I went with Jacob and Katie to Jacob's friend's soccer game (watching 9-year-olds play soccer, especially when who don't know the 9-year-old, is not very exciting). Jacob spent most of the game taking pictures with my camera, which led to some pretty interesting pictures. I'll need to wait until I get home to post them, but some are just hilarious - let's just say he had a really hard time aiming at the correct body part.