Saturday, August 31, 2013

I shot some calves (with a camera).

 That face. Those ears. I can't handle it.

 How did you get in here?? You're not cute. 

 That's better. Wuzup with all those flies, little guy?

 His facial expression is scaring me a little bit...

 Um, okay. You can stop being so cute now.

 ....is she sticking her tongue out at me?! How dare she! 

 There that cow is again.

Can't decide if I want to run away or kiss his nose...

Dinnertime. (Somebody has the right idea.)

Friday, August 30, 2013

just a couple pictures



Five Minute Friday: Worship

How great is our God - sing with me
How great is our God - and all will see
How great, how great is our God

They were words that a good portion of those kids had probably sung at least once in their young lives. But I don't think any of them had ever sung those words the way they sung them that day. They didn't just say the words in a sing song voice. Instead, they worshiped God and those words poured out of their mouths. Closed eyes. Open eyes. Hands stretched to the sky. Hands folded in front of their waist. Swaying with the music. Just standing and taking it all in. Each of those young kids had a different way of worshiping. But one thing was the same. They were all worshiping Jesus.


Monday, August 26, 2013

this summer

(Disclaimer: All numbers are estimated.)

This summer was crazy. It was chaotic. It was fun. It was stressful. It was joyful. It was tearful. It was jam-backed with good times. It was interesting. It was full of growing experiences. It was...good.

This summer...

...I graduated from High School.
...I spent 5 weeks in WA helping my cousin.
...I went on a road trip with my sister to visit relatives in NM, NV, and CA.
...I drove/traveled somewhere around 4,500 miles (not including daily commute to work).
...I spent somewhere around 250 hours on a tractor.
...I attended my first wedding as a photographer.
...I went 35 days without seeing my dog (it was horrible).
...I was a counselor at a camp for a week.
...I house sat somewhere around 25 days for 3 different families.
...I slept in 9 different beds.
...I said goodbye to my sister for 2 years.
...I started a photography business.
...I bought a car.
...I took over 1,600 pictures (those are just the ones that I have on my new-to-me laptop that I got mid-July, so the 1,600 isn't counting trip pictures or anything...).
...and I learned a lot about God and His unfailing love for me.

Days go by
I can feel 'em flying
Like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
It's all we've been given
So you better start livin' right now
'Cause days go by

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Radical Radishes Rock!

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to be a counselor at Camp Tadmor. I took 374 pictures between Monday around 4pm, and Friday around 11am when I had to take off for freshman orientation stuff. Here are a few (ok, a few more than a few) of the pictures that I took.

My good friend and co-counselor, Zinny. (Camp name, not real name.)

Our girls were as crazy as their counselors.


The whole group (plus one who hung out with us till her parents headed home).

 Monday night a lot of the parents joined us for a BBQ down by the lake.



 Cozy, Shaggy, and Nifty did a skit throughout the week that was both hilarious and well done.

Tuesday morning going on a scavenger hunt to get our pancakes.


Our amazing sweeper.

We got paired up with a guys cabin, and were named the Radical Radishes. Each morning we would go do "low-ropes" which were different activities to help build trust. (Above is the trust fall.)


The game in which Zinny got a concussion. (I threatened to re-name her Crash.)

Giant swing time!



  Every day we had several hours of free time in the afternoon, and a lot of it was spent down at the lake.



The skit continues...

Singing "How Great is Our God" with a bunch of young kiddos = one of the best things ever.

More low-ropes...


Water recreation! (The Radical Radishes won.)



Hot dog roasting time.


Each of the boys had to cook a hot dog for a girl...it was rather comical to watch.


Lined up for dinner.

Anybody want a ticket to the gun show?

Some of the group that was brought from our church.


Photobomb!


The speaker (Adam) was really, really good. He talked about brokenness and love, and we were able to have a lot of really good discussions with our girls afterwards.



Doin the Mohawk-Walk.

Radical Radishes!

Because I had to leave for freshman orientation stuff, I wasn't there for the last 24ish hours. T'was rather disappointing, but I got to be proud from afar when I got a call from all my girls saying that they had won the contest!! (Throughout the week you won points for different games, etc. and whoever had the most points at the end of the week won these big, black afros and bragging rights.) 
It was an amazing week up there, and I am very much looking forward to when I can go back. But for right now, I think I need to go do laundry...