Why my church friends make me smile:

Because Cassie will eat an entire jar of fluff or mayo plain without thinking anything of it.
Because Danielle can't get through a conversation without punching Darrell.
Because even if Nick became anorexic, Darrell would still call him fat.
Because Joey was never taken to the zoo and will never be allowed to forget it.
Because Darrell will never give up trying to pick up hot chicks.
Because bubbles make Jamie happy.
Because Nick and Darrell are "not gay".
Because everyone loves going to the beach but also hates being sandy.
Because Cassie and I are the only girls not afraid of swimming in rivers or the ocean.
Because we have every word in Catch Phrase memorized.
Because we play the game like it was a life-or-death situation.
Because Joey's always late...but we always wait for him.
Because we're all broke but somehow manage to pull the cash together for food anyways.
And because no matter how broke we are or how much we "fight" or how often we run out of things to do, we're always willing to hang out day after day after day after day...

Summer reading list update:

So my Dr. Brown class for this next fall is Modern Christian Writers. As usual, I have a reading list for her class. This summer it's about 20 books (5,000 pages). So far the books have been great:

"Lilith" by Gordon MacDonald was one of the first science fiction books written. The basic story makes you feel like you're in a weird dream and it's kind of confusing to follow. However, it's really good and I highly recommend it, especially because it ends up having a spiritual allegory aspect to it
"Orthodoxy" by GK Chesterton was by far my favorite book so far. It's basically his explanation of how he went from a Pagan to an Agnostic to a Christian. He was a brilliant man and most of the book is his arguments against those arguments made against Christianity. Not your typical light summer reading, but great if you're up to it.
"The Man Who was Thursday" by GK Chesterton was great! Easy reading and definitely readable in a day. It's basically a double agent thriller with a spiritual twist at the end. Very funny too.
"An Experiment in Criticism" by CS Lewis was not exactly a "Christian" book. The basic premise is looking at literary criticism from the opposite point of view that most critics take. I found it interesting as an English major, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you're interested in lit crit.
"Till We have Faces" by CS Lewis is nice if you're looking for fiction and lighter reading. It is his adaptation of the love story between Cupid and Psyche. Not my favorite, but he is a great writer and I enjoy reading anything from him.

Well, that's it so far. 5 down and 15 more to go! Up next is "Descent into Hell" by Charles Williams. So has anyone else read anything good? I'll add it to my "Books I haven't read and want to read but won't get around to reading them anytime soon" list :-)

After being home on summer vacation for almost 6 weeks, the weather was finally nice enough to go to the beach this week! (This weekend will be the first in 14 weekends that it has not rained). So despite a nagging cold, my dear friend Danielle Cloutier & I packed up our stuff and headed for Hampton. A construction traffic jam delayed us a bit, and I was reminded of the drive back to school from Easter break when Malinda started blowing bubbles out the window at the trucks. Unfortunately, I couldn't reach my bubbles. Aside from that, the drive there was a breeze. (But that's probably because Dani's window sticks when you roll it down and she didn't tell me until after the fact. It took the whole trip for me to raise it, centemeters at a time). We camped out on a nice patch of sand right near the middle of the boardwalk. Even though it was a Tuesday, the place was packed. Dani pulled out her SPF 45 and I reached for the 15. (She still managed to burn while I only turned slightly pink). With our sunscreen on and towels strategically placed for maximum sun coverage, we settled in for a relaxing afternoon. After some sunbathing and talking we braved the surf enough to stick our feet in the freezing waters while avoiding splashing children. After a while we resumed sunbathing, although it was abruptly paused for about 10 minutes as a rainshower passed through. It didn't rain that hard, and cleared out a lot of the "wimpier" beach-goers. After a nice afternoon, we packed up and prepared to join the long line of cars on our trek home. I'm so glad I'm not "landlocked" like some of my school friends. I already have plans to go to the beach twice more this weekend and don't know how I'd survive summer in NH without it!

So I was playing pool at Jillian's with Jay last Friday (Friday the 13th). We played like half a dozen games, and it just so happened that I got stripes every other game. And at least twice when I was stripes I was stuck with one ball left trying to get it in a pocket...any pocket. And what number ball was that? Ya, lucky number 13. *cue creepy Twilight Zone music*

“I cannot even imagine where I would be today were it not for that handful of friends who have given me a heartful of joy. Let’s face it, friends make life a lot more fun.” ~Charles Swindoll
My friends are so great...they always know just the right thing to say when I need it the most =)

So I've been home from school for about three weeks now. Unpacking took forever, and I'm still not completely done. But when is my room at home not a mess? I subbed at CCS for a week and a half, which was a lot of fun (see earlier posts). My job situation for the rest of the summer is still a bit mysterious, but I know it'll all work out soon. Other than unpacking and getting a jump start on my ever-present list of books, I've been spending a lot of time with friends. It's been so great to spend time with everyone and catch up on life! I know it's gonna be a great summer. A new young adult small group started up in church last weekend. The basic premise is to watch a movie with a religious theme and discuss it in relation to our lives. Last Saturday we watched Signs. Summer Sunday School also started last weekend. They've combined Preschool through 5th grade together in a VBS kind of series through the Holy Lands. Luckily there were 5 of us, because we had 16 kids show up! I just got the camping passes and tickets for the Soul Fest, and already can't wait (even though it's still 2 more months away). We have 11 people going, possibly 12, so it'll be a big, fun group. So ya, I have an exciting summer ahead. I miss all my Grover friends though...don't forget to keep me updated on your crazy lives! I'll end with a little piece of advice off of Relient K's new album: "Don't touch the positive with the negative end, cause after all of the sparks you're left alone in the dark."