A Jolly Good Time

Kayla came from the black hills and plains of South Dakota. Laura came from the rolling prairies of Nebraska. To California. We laughed 'till our stomachs hurt. We sang praises to our Saviour on winding mountain roads. We shared our struggles, our hopes, our fears. We revelled in the Lord's amazing love and grace. We stayed up reeeeally late. We did everything from girly shopping excursions to camping in the majestic Redwoods. It was a sweet time--memories were made, hearts entwined. Praise the Lord for His goodness and mercy and blessings. He gave us a beautiful time I will never forget.

{girly photo shoot}

This girl is amazing, peoples! It was so much fun to finally be able to meet her in person. :) Folks, you have no idea how much we talked of meeting face-to-face, and to have that dream come true was such an incredible, undeserved blessing from the Lord.

It was SUCH A BLAST seeing Laura again. Talk about incredible. :)

Photo Credits: Kayla

A group shot. We had too much fun together. :D

I love this picture that Kayla got! She is an amazing photographer. Just saying. :)

Photo Credit: Kayla

Another together picture.

Photo Credit: Kayla

I don't know what was so funny, but looking at each other really cracked us up. LOL I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing... :D

Photo Credit: Kayla

I treasure this picture...

Photo Credit: Laura

Since it was my birthday, "two pictures" were in order. :D Think: Norman Rockwell with this one. :)
Alright, now for a serious one... There, that's better...slightly. ;)

{camping}

We trekked up to the Redwoods and had such a blast camping there for three days. Anybody want a marshmallow? :D
On the way up the mountain, the Camry was heating up, so we had to stop for a bit. We took pictures. Well, what else to you expect from three camera junkies? :DOn Thursday night, we climbed up on a rock to get sunset pictures. Dedication is the name of the game. :) One observation: you would have to *try* to get a bad picture with this amazing scenery.This kind of thing makes you want to break out singing "How Great Thou Art" at the top of your lungs. ...good thing for the other campers there, I didn't. ;)
Aimee and I have classifications for sunsets. There's the peaceful, quiet banana ones and the banana blueberry smoothie ones. And then there's the stunning ones and ones where the sky almost looks like it has golden handwriting on it... Well, I think this would fit under the banana blueberry smoothie one...with a hint of strawberry, too. :)
More scenic pictures. Whoa, don't get carried away with that caption. :POk, so the whole trip, whenever we came up on a water fall, I would take about a gazillion pictures. I was trying to get that misty water look, but without a tripod it's pretty much a no-go. This was the only semi-decent one of the whole lot. Oh well, it was fun trying. :DYes, Steve has a beard. We persuaded him to keep it when he came back from Alaska so we could see what he looked like. Well, he ended up keeping it...at least for now. Talk about adopting the mountain-man-rough-and-tough-it look. :-# If you didn't get that whole symbol thing, it's supposed to be a guy-with-beard smiley. Oh, I heard that groan, love. :) Picture-taking cuties. :D
Ok, here's the phenomenon of the year. I didn't take a single pair of flip-flops with me!!!!! ...but that was pretty much all Rick and Steve wore the whole time. I was so stoked!!! Usually, flip-flops are about all I wear, and I get teased mercilessly for wearing them at, ahem, not-so practical times. Well, I had promised myself that would not be the case this trip. Turns out, I was the weird one for not wearing flip-flops. This world is sadly ironic. A blur of motion, and Dad is off on his next adventure. :)
The Redwoods are incredible. They're not the most beautiful trees ever, but they are strong and stand up to the tests of time. I think they present a beautiful picture of what a true follower of Christ should be like--not striving for outward appearance or fleeting fame, but seeking to grow stronger on the inside, sending roots deep into God's Word. Anyways, those were just some thoughts that were tugging at my heart.Lots of rubbernecking. :)Group shot!

Photo Credits: Guy with Shaggy Hair (It's a no-fail every time.) :D

{beach}

We had a truly marvelous time at the beach on Monday!! We played Ultimate, * attempted* volleyball in the dark, exclaimed over a random guy's neon yellow shorts (yes, neon), ate sandy hot dogs, and played a marathon game of four on a couch.
The lighting in this shot is vanilla ice cream in picture form. :DMy super handsome bro, whom I happen to be very proud of. He passed the Explorer Academy with flying colors. And the Academy isn't exactly a piece of cake either. Yep, he's one amazing guy. :)
Smile.I love this picture.I'm amazed every time I think about how God orchestrated our friendships. If we had not have gone to a tiny church in Sacramento and heard Mr. Steele speak about a Christian college in South Dakota, we probably wouldn't have been friends. God had it planned from the beginning of time, and that thrills me. What an incredible God we serve. I love you girls so much! Come back soon.

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

1 John 4:7