WHAT WEVE DONE SO FAR

greetings everyone.

before i begin this post i should say that i am paying by the minute and with such a different keyboard, it takes me wayyyy too long to find the shift button, the capitolization button, and even the letter y...so if this post lacks a lot of punctuation and grammar etiquette, i apologize and hope that you can muddle through it. i really am excited, i just cant make exclamation points, so yall know.

well, currently i am in our hotel in reutte, tyrol in the northwest corner of austria. there is not much here, but it is kind of our little retreat between big cities, of which we have been in many. i love nature. i am glad to see it right now.

so far, ginger and i have done an unbelievable amount. here are the highlights

paris - louvre, eiffel tower, notre dame, coffee, crepes, parks, ww2 memorial, latin quarter, lots of walking, nightlife on the canal

amsterdam - anne frank house, delicious juice, meatballs, and pancakes...walking along the water, rented bicycles, large parks, nausea from inhaling so much marijuana smoke, peace out amsterdam...

vienna - opera house, city park was my favorite of anything yet, apple strudel rocks my world, schnitzel also good, tram tour, hofberg palace, albertina museum with monet and picasso, w2 memorial statues, plague memorial statues, best pension yet, first european gelato, friendly locals, street performers really fun, st stephens cathedral

rural austria - rented bicycles and did 40 km ride between towns of melk and krems. beautiful. rode along river through huge hillside vineyards, saw castles, rode a barge, rode through small towns on the way, much greenery, ate apples on side of path from tree...had first encounter with poison ivy after retrieving apples from tree...only lasted about ten minutes, also first allergy experience from the outdoors, still didnt ruin the day. took train back to melk and back to vienna.

salzburg, austria - 4 hour sound of music tour....THE BEEEESSSTTTTTTTTTT. so good i just took the time to look for the capital button to emphasize that. it was AWESOME. sang songs, saw many sights from the movie, etc. tour guide was great, only two other people in our small van tour...girl from texas studying in germany and her german boyfriend, both very nice. she was a music major and loved the sound of music more than anything. she made her boyfriend watch it before the tour and he fell asleep.

now - in reutte we rented bicycles again. rode the most expensive bike i have ever been on today to the edinberg ruins which were excellent, rode a really tough and unsuccessful ride to find lake plansee, but had to return the bikes by 6pm. it is 7 right now and all i want to do is sit and drink coffee leisurely and read the chronicles of narnia-the last battle, which is a superb and truthful book. might be my second favorite of the series after the magicians nephew. thank you, jenny, for being gracious enough to lend it to me. i am keeping it safe and clean. i also miss you and think you are great.

here is a bible verse that i have been chewing around like cud in my head when i am on a train or waiting for something or riding a bike through the austrian countryside-

He must increase, but i must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. he who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony. whoever receives His testimony sets his seal to this - that God is true. John 3.30-33

wanted to post pictures, but there is no usb port on thie computer strangely enough. you will have to imagine them from what i said that we did. i will get them up on a website as soon as we return home.



might be able to post again while we are here, but it is not certain.

i am thinking of you all as i do these amazing things, and i cant wait to see many of you in az when i return.

if anyone from church reads this, tell the worship team i have been praying for them on what would be sunday morning, also during the week and especially thursdays like today.

peace

ONE MORE DAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!

Well, this is one last quick update before Ginger and I depart tomorrow morning for our European excursion!

We made the drive to Phoenix last night and even got the chance to have dinner and chat with my old roommates, Kiku and Sarah.  They are delightful.  We stayed with my sister in southern Phoenix, and today it's all about pulling together the lo

ose ends before our flight!!!

Britni drove us 

down, so the THREE of us are also able to catch a 

Diamondbacks game this evening.  We full expect to be on television due to our clever sign-making abilities and seating location, so be sure to watch!  Cubs beware!  Here come the Dbacks! And snack bar beware!  Here comes Britni!  

I'll try to get a few pictures up tonight of the game if I can, but if not, arrivederci, adios, and au revoir to all!  I hope to get on the internet and post once or twice during the trip, but I guess there is no telling how much time or money we will want to spend in internet cafes.  Enjoy the rest of your summers!

4th of July Finally!

4th of July (over a week ago now!) went off with a bang…of thunder that is! We (my sister, Jeff, Britni, Ashley, and me) enjoyed a morning parade in downtown Flagstaff, and then came the cloudy skies! Our plans for enjoying the 4th poolside at my sister’s hotel were foiled, but we still had a great day playing games and cooking up some fine American cuisine (aka beanie weenies and jello) at my house. Unsurprisingly, the Dbacks couldn’t come through and win that night. Or any night lately. Come on GUYS!

The pace remains slow and quiet in Flag, with the two most interesting activities of my week being fixing up my bike to ride around town and reading up on adventures to be had in Europe (in only 10 days, whoop!). The summer is winding down since I will begin my first internship in Sedona only 5 days after returning from Europe!

Here are some of the aforementioned adventures Ginger and I hope to have on our trip if there is time! Only having limited time in each country, we will of course not get to all of these, but they are some ideas!

France: Paris (Eiffel Tower, historic walk of Paris, Louvre, eat)

Spain: Barcelona, Madrid, running on wilderness trails, beach, soccer game, who knows

Italy: Rome (Vatican, St. Peter’s, Trevi fountain, Colloseum), Venice (getting lost walking in alleyways, eating gelato), Pompeii, Amalfi Coast

Switzerland: August 1st = national independence day, hiking in the Alps

Germany: Wittenburg (church where Martin Luther nailed his theses), Black Forest (hiking, scenery), Routte (cycling to castle ruins, summer tobogganing, folk dancing festival)

Austria: Innsbruk, Hallstatt

Again, if anyone has suggestions for MUST HAVE experiences in any of these countries, please let me know! Thank you to those who have already given advice! It is much appreciated!

Happy weekend all! Enjoy the rain if you are in AZ!

I have returned to Flagstaff from our extremely eventful family camping trip! My family has been camping at Pine Grove just outside of Flagstaff for several years, since I have been at NAU. It has always been wonderful, but this year held an unwelcome surprise. In past years, we have camped in late July or early August, but at THIS particular time of year(late June), unbeknownst to us, is biting fly season. The camping started off great, lots of sleeping in hammocks and eating (camping is our family’s code word for these two activities), but soon soured after we got hit hard by the unforgiving FLEETS of biting flies the second day.

(pictures of Pine Grove; Becky trying to ward off the bugs, and the red welts of death)

The dogs and my dad took the brunt of it, sporting red welts all over their bodies. Needless to say, we threw in the white towel and headed for a more suitable “campsite”, aka Jeff’s family’s cabin in Kachina, AZ (also just outside of Flagstaff in a different direction). It was a happy medium between the biting flies and a Marriott Suites, and we had a great time there! There was no hammock, but still plenty of eating and sleeping. We toasted marshmallows and made smores, played lots of games, and YES, we got MUCH more than my desired summer shower. We got a torrential downpour with hail included! What a great week!

(pictures of us making smores and the candy-sized hail!)

(picture of Dad and whole family at cabin)
I am back at my apartment in Flagstaff again, and I just watched a SUPERIOR comeback win by the recently ENORMOUSLY struggling Diamondbacks, and Britni is due home in an hour! My sister and Jeff are also staying in town for the 4th of July weekend, which I plan to celebrate tomorrow with a downtown parade, a snow cone, and an afternoon BBQ/movie in the park! Happy Independence Day everyone! Praise God for this free and blessed country. Sure we have our flaws, but I love that He put me here, and I pray that He will actually stick with us and continue guiding us, if we actually listen and actually take a stab at honoring HIM. Enjoy the 4th friends!