ideas? anyone? anyone?

so, here’s the thing. as I’m starting life here in minneapolis, I’ve decided I’d like to start a new hobby. preferably something that will get me out of doors every once in a while. please post ideas. thank you.

a quick glance over my shoulder before tumbling over the precipice

catchy title, I know. sometimes the brilliant ones take a long time to come up with and sometimes they just come to you. this particular mouthful was a case of the latter.

I feel like I’m caught in a river that’s about to sweep me over the edge down a thundering waterfall. there’s no time to slow down, consider what’s about to happen, prepare for the bottom, or even feel particularly sad about what’s being left behind. I’m sure there will be plenty of time for all of that later, it’ll probably all hit me as I’m driving out there and I realize how much I’m going to miss everyone. but for now all I can do is hold on and embrace what’s about to happen.

For anyone who doesn’t know, I’m moving to Minneapolis this weekend. It’s been something that I’ve been asking God about since I left, to be honest. I know that there were reasons He called me back to Colorado and I’m glad to have experienced all that I have, but from the moment I came back I haven’t been able to embrace this as the place that I’m supposed to be. I did two years of the furnace and lived on my own for a year before finally feeling like God was saying that the time had come. I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing or for how long, I just know that it’s time to go back. I’m don’t even know why I’ve been wanting to go back so bad. True, one of my best friends lives there, but every time I think about how cold it gets during the winter I wonder if I’ve lost my mind. Areas that get so cold that your car won’t start in the morning shouldn’t be inhabited by humans.

Oh well. Just keep focusing on the positive. That’s what I keep telling myself. But really, it amazes me that I’ve only been home for 3 years when I think about all that’s happened. Been to Berlin twice, backpacked Europe, went skydiving, was in my first relationship, moved in and out of my dad’s house three times, lived in a creepy building in Old Colorado City, lived at the church, worked at Chick-fil-a, worked at Starbucks, bought a Subaru, saw most of my friends from the Honor Academy get married, it all seems like a blur but I really have been blessed to experience all that I have. I definitely reverted to my old, extremely introverted self but I have made a few really great friends that I’ll keep in touch with.

I recently watched a movie (preview) in which one character remarked to another that “everyone is lost at 25”. I’m sure that’s not really true, it’s probably not even really true of me but I do feel a certain freedom to be lost if I need to be. My life is by no means figured out. I have no plans whatsoever for the future and am not sure why this move is so important. I just have to remind myself that “not all who wander are lost” (thank you, Mr. Tolkien) and that “man makes his plans but the Lord directs his steps” (thank you, King Solomon). Life truly is a journey…

A brief review of the best day of our lives.

Day 2 of our trip to Orlando. Second summer in a row that Jean and I have gone a-traveling and I definitely think that it’s a tradition that should continue. Since this year we brought my other sister with us, perhaps next year all four of us will go? Time will tell.

Today is the day that we force ourselves to realize that Orlando holds more than just The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, disappointed as we are that that is the case. Yesterday saw most of our dreams coming to life as we wandered around Hogsmeade, ate at the Three Broomsticks, explored Hogwarts castle (even though the ride that we were in line for broke down both times we tried to ride it), and watched a wand choose a lucky wizard at Ollivander’s. Since I know you’re all dying to hear, I’ll go into a bit more detail while I wait for the girls to finish getting ready (read: start waking up).

TWWHP is located at the back corner of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. We barely noticed the Dr. Seuss or Arabian Nights areas as we dashed past them scanning the skyline for the towers of Hogwarts. We knew we would be coming back today to explore those sections but for that day all that existed was that one small area of the park. As we entered Hogsmeade, we saw the Hogwarts Express belching steam to our right. To our left began a long row of shops whose names we knew well. Zonko’s Joke Shop, Honeyduke’s, Dervish and Banges. Further on we would see Ollivander’s, Flourish and Blotts (you can’t actually go inside but you can see many of Gilderoy Lockhart’s works smiling back at you from their displays), and The Three Broomsticks. We headed straight back to the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride which sits inside Hogwarts Castle. You enter the line through the dungeons then it weaves through the greenhouses before going back inside and wandering through the halls, past Dumbledore’s office, through the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and finally into the Room of Requirement where the ride begins. We never got this far since the ride broke down while we were right outside but we’re hoping to go back today. After this, we got in line at Ollivander’s to watch a wand choose a wizard. We waited for about 45 minutes then a group of about fifteen of us entered the back room of the shop and watched a young girl try the Lumos and Accio spells with unsuccessful wands before finding the one that was right for her. Pretty cool. Then we wandered the front part of the shop where several different kinds of wands were for sale. You could buy wands from the movie or they had a selection of other wands for sale as well. I bought Harry’s, of course. Then Jeanice and I went on the Hippogriff ride before the three of us had lunch at The Three Broomsticks. They had several British sounding meals and Butterbeer, of course (This stuff was much better than the Butterbeer we tried to make in my kitchen last year). After lunch we got back in line for the Hogwarts ride but it broke down again soon after so we decided against waiting. Then we wandered through the rest of the shops at Hogsmeade, the girls bought dress robes (where they’ll use them, I can’t possibly imagine), and then we explored a little of the rest of the park for a while before heading back to the hotel.

Today we’ll be going through the rest of the Islands of Adventure park and the next two days after that we’ll be at Disney World. I forgot my camera so I don’t have any pictures but Jean has been taking a lot so I’m sure those will be on facebook soon.