Thursday, July 12, 2007

Summer Fun!

So I have been absolutely awful at updating my blog--here's to staying better updated!

This summer has been packed with many fun times, much touristy stuff around LA, and after SLP was over--rest and relaxation! I'll share a few pictures and stories of some of my favorite things from the summer so far....

Memorial Day was a beautiful and relaxing day with some of my favorite people at Fuller. I attended the annual Presby cook out and spent the day laying in the sun, catching up with friends, and ignoring the finals that were just around the corner. Here are Sarah, Sophie, Alethia, Becca, and I--what a good group!

During my break from SLP Becca, Sophie, and Sarah went with me to see the broadway musical Wicked to celebrate my belated 24th birthday. I had never seen a show on broadway so I loved experiencing for the first time--the beautiful sets, amazing special effects, and brilliantly talented singers. Wicked is a wonderful show--I highly recommend it!

Immediately after SLP was over, I headed to the mountains for Family Camp. It was a great weekend to get away and enjoy time getting to know church members in a different capacity than Sunday mornings. We did all the typical camp activities... skits, silly songs, field day games, and my personal favorite--campfires! We had times of worship in between. This is a picture of a group that I went hiking with. We never found are targeted destination but we had a good time getting to know one another and seeing the nature of Thousand Pines. I look forward to getting to know the people of SMCC even more as I intern there starting January.

My little sister flew in a few days after SMCC Family Camp. Visitors are always a good excuse to see tourist sites. We spent time at Disneyland, touring WB studios (very cool place by the way), a little Hollywood, the Pasadena sites, and Santa Monica. And I'm very proud to say--that after living on the West Coast for 2 years I finally was brave enough to swim in the freezing cold waters of the Pacific Ocean. This is a picture of my sister on the Santa Monica pier.
The last two weeks I've enjoyed spending time with a friend a couple of us have gotten to know through Houston Presbyterian Cursillo, Barbara. She came to take a 2 week intensive at Fuller (she is an extension student in Houston). We've taken turns hosting dinner for each other--which is always fun. And as a special treat, on the 4th of July we headed to Long Beach Aquarium. I got to pet sharks and sting rays! There were also many cool fish and other sea creatures. The movie Finding Nemo has transformed aquariums everywhere as we constantly found Dory's, Nemo's, and the sea turtles Crush and Squirt. The fireworks were less impressive that we expected but the neat exhibits in the aquarium made the trip well worth it. Here are me, Barbara, Sarah, and Sophie at the start of our day.
The last couple of days have been more low key. I've been trying to savor my free time before I start my summer intensive classes Monday. I've enjoyed a lot of reading for fun as I finally caught up with the rest of the world and read books 4, 5, and 6 of Harry Potter. I finished them just in time to go to the midnight premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie--which I highly recommend to all! And to finish I'll leave y'all with a picture of the Harry Potter car that was on display at WB studios--so cool. :)
Now I look to summer classes, a weekend getaway to Catalina Island with my girls, and staffing HPC 47--so 2 trips to Houston, TX. Happy summertime all!

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