Hi Guys! I'm back, well sorta. See I am in Madras after a 13 hour road trip and I need to be in Eugene. David's going to drive me over on Saturday and then I'll truly be back. In the meantime I wrote an ongoing blogger post over the week and I think you'll enjoy it. It's long and I challange you to finish it! *laughs manically*

7/4/2004 1:12 PM

Where shall I start?

After I got back from Madras, I was able to immediately move into the other room. It took me two days to be able to get all of my stuff moved out and get the room cleaned out. Then I took a week to job hunt, work on my external study (College Algebra – easy stuff), and do some hanging out with my friends. I got about a third of the Algebra done.

I found out my grades for Spring Term:
General Psychology – A+
Beginning Greek III – A-
Introduction to Literature – A
Small Group Dynamics – A-

Term GPA = 4.0 Cumulative GPA = 3.75

I was extremely happy! For once in my college career I got a 4.0! I’ll be aiming for it of course, but I’m going to be extremely busy next year being an RA with everything else going on.

I found out from April during the few days we were hanging out that she was heading to Michigan to live at her parent’s home. I examined her route and it turned out that she was going through Butte, which is where my mother’s mother lives. We had two options – either she’d be able to spend the night at my Grandma’s or I’d be able to go with her. Turned out that my family was going to be there for sort of a reunion over the fourth. I was in limbo over the weekend trying to decide whether to go with April or to stay home. Plus I’m still trying to get a job. I did a little job hunting on Monday and decided that if I didn’t get a job by Tuesday, I’d go up to Portland with April. Well, by Tuesday evening I didn’t have a job, so I prayed, felt like I needed to be able to see my family, and told April I was going with her.

So we left April’s house at 11am or so and drove up to her sister’s in Portland. Well, things weren’t exactly peachy. There was a lot of tension going on and it was a bit awkward. Autumn was in the middle of a move so we decided not to stay with her. I called my friend from college, Rebekah who lives in Hermiston, and asked if we could stay the night there. She talked to her family and they were positive about it. We left around 5:30 and got to Bekah’s at 9:30. April went to bed early, but I talked with Bekah and her mom until midnight. It was a lot of fun!

We left at 5:30am and drove to Butte via Spokane. That was a blast ‘cause I’m very familiar with that route. Seeing the different scenery and getting to drive on roads I was familiar with allowed me to relive memories. We got to Butte around 4:30 or so. April took a nap and I got to visit with my grandmother. Mom, Dad, and David, got here at 9 or 10ish and we all went to bed.

April left early after Dad looked at her van to make sure it was tripworthy. That was Friday. Today is Sunday and I got a call from her earlier with the news she was home without mishap. I’m happy ‘cause I was a bit worried about her traveling without anyone else, but God protected her.

Speaking of memories – I’ve been reliving a lot of memories. Just being in this house where we lived for 3 ½ years and visited over and over again. I walked the old neighborhood and remembered playing with my friends. We also went to one of the churches we attended here. Turns out it’s been 17 years since we’d left.

7:07 PM

They had remodeled the old school where they have the church, but other than the fact that it seemed smaller to me, it was the same church. The pastor of 2years, did a good sermon about the Lord’s Supper with various tangents about living a Christ-like life. After the service, we talked with various people we knew from those long gone days. There were some girls who were around my same age that I barely remembered. What’s funny is that there was a connection with Eugene and the Chi Alpha ministry there. Of course, those that remembered us were amazed at my growth. *grins* Amazing what 17 years of growth can do…

We ended up talking the pastor and his wife for at least an hour after everyone else left. It was a good experience and there was insight on both sides. It made me think about my internship I have to do next year. It might be possible for me to help out there next summer. Once I find out the details about the internship and also scope out whether my church in Eugene would be able to have me there, I’ll write some letters and do some praying. One positive thing is that I’d be able to stay with my Grandmother, thus, unless she wants me to, forgoing rent. It’s definitely a possibility, though from force of habit, I don’t want to make plans. *grins*

We had a good Fourth of July picnic just about an hour ago. It was chicken, potato salad, regular salad, and watermelon. Very good food!

9:20 PM

Just a note – I’m in Mountain Time right now, but all of the times in this entry are Pacific times.

Butte is known for it’s love of the Fourth. They usually have a large parade and a pretty good fireworks show. Last night was the show and this morning was the parade. The thing about the people in Butte is that they love to spend money on fireworks and they buy some that are really nice. We just spent 30 to 45 minutes outside watching the neighborhood fireworks. It’s amazing the amount that people buy! Now I’m not against fireworks, but it seems like buying a lot of them (think $500 worth, or more) is a waste of money. When I have kids, I’ll probably buy some, but I’m not going to spend a lot on them. Moderation is my motto. *grins*

7/7/2004 7:19 AM

Dad, David, and I went to Lewis and Clark Caverns yesterday. It’s about an hour out of Butte in some very pretty hills. The cave is ¾ of a mile from the visitor’s center and they run tours through it. The whole trip took a couple hours or so and was a blast!

Today we’re going to Virginia City.

Okay, so we went to VC and had a great time! It's a tourist trap, but still interesting. The highlight was what I'll post as soon as I get it uploaded.

All in all it was a very great trip! I'm glad to be home and relaxing.