hello one and everyone!
so sorry for the massive amounts of not-posting; the past few days have been hectic (with a side of "no data service" from Sprint, AT&T and Verison).
so, to do a quick re-cap...
SUNDAY - bud taught an amazing Bible study about being God's workmanship and then about 80% of us went rafting and had a blast! the Ragers decided to do a family "chill day" and hung out at camp and took a trip to the town of West Yellowstone. Scarlett and i went looking for animals and were rewarded with about 300 bison, around 50 elk (including one bull with HUGE antlers), one very confused black-tail doe, 2 coyotes, an adolescent black bear...and a partridge in a pear tree. ;)
MONDAY - the long drive. what was supposed to be 9 hours on the road turned into 12, due to construction in several places and long stretches of 25 MPH in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. the Grand Tetons were (are?!?!) absolutely inspiring, and the Lord blessed us with high spirits and plenty of fun with Chinese Fire Drills as we waited for traffic to move on... we passed many towns with populations of less than 300 (on read "10", no joke!), and it was awesome for the kids to be exposed to something...different. :) we pulled in to Laramie and the Table in the Wilderness Ministries (TWM) house at about 11:00 PM and promptly claimed bunks and collapsed. :)
TUESDAY - mountain biking, field games and hiking. okay, tons of stuff happened this day, but i can't do it justice. suffice to say that everyone had an amazing time (even though i think just about every single person who biked fell off at least once!). zach reynolds was our greatest casualty on the bike trail with a gnarly wound to the elbow and hip, but don't worry - he's fine. alexandra, on the other hand... not so good. while hiking back down from Medicine Bow, she took a tumble and dislocated her bad shoulder. she and i ended up at the ER. good news - if you're gonna dislocate your shoulder, Laramie is the place to do it; the ER staff were phenominal and very, very, very...happy (sorry, my brain is tired and the poetic adjectives are not coming). :) so, she and i ended up back at the Ministry house for bed while everyone else had sharing time around the campfire and slept at TWM's property in Centennial, WY.
WEDNESDAY - the river day. okay, let me tell you - natural hot springs sounds like a great idea, right? and it is...if you like slimy, hot water - complete with hot muck between your toes and the smell of sulfur in your nostrils. but i dove in anyhow. :) it WAS kinda cool, i guess. and then after that we went floating down the river for a few hours and much fun was had by all, both in and out of the water. then we went back to camp, packed up, drove back to the Ministry house, had one last worship and sharing time and now everyone else is sleeping (i hope!) while i type this entry.
please keep us in your prayers - we've got a crazy morning ahead, but i think the kids are up to it. :) our flight leaves Denver at 8:35 AM (Denver-time) and we should be back in Fort Lauderdale by 2:30 PM...ish. leaving time for Baggage Claim madness and the drive back to church, we're estimating we'll be back in Boynton by 4:30 PM or 5:00 PM. :)
okay, sleepytime for me... much love and thanks again for praying!
kaulana :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Laundry Room Madness!
So today was a good day. We woke up at seven, which was a lot better than getting up at 4:30am to go hiking. Though the hike up the mountain was pretty much off the chain. Right now I sit in the laundry room waiting for peoples laundry to be done. I guess that is why I am blogging! Today we went to old faithful. Though I would have to say that I enjoyed the Old Faithful Inn a lot more. The architecture of the building was amazing. It reminded me of Scandinavian architecture which was very nice to see. After we visited "Old Faithful" we ventured to the "Grand Prismatic Spring" (Also known as the circle with the color). We climbed a mountain and saw the best image. A deadly hot pool of teals, aquas, mandarin....... and other colors. See the girls told me to say the colors like that. I started off writing. Blue, Green, Orange. Too Boring? I think not. I thought that the walk was going to be only like two miles. Instead it was 5.2 miles, but who's counting? Well lets just say that the walk was well worth it. As we walked up there was a Huge, like 80 feet waterfall. It was so amazing. The great Floridians decided to climb up the side and scream like we were wild amazon people. Twas great! The we all met and had a bible study where we looked at Job. Not a job silly. The book of Job! The quiet time on the side of a mountain over looking flowers (Fleur), Trees (Arboles), and woodchucks (Woodchucks). After all of that goodness we drove back to the campgrounds with minimal traffic stops caused by Buffalo. Kelly had a Pizza party! Oh I forgot Today is Alexandra's Birthday! Happy Birthday You! yeah. Then we took Showers, and now I must go so I can drive all of your beautiful children water rafting tomorrow! Alexandra says Hello to all! So do the Chipmunks.
-Patrick H.
-Patrick H.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
camping in the woods
yellowstone is incredible. the drive to the park was beautiful. most of our surroundings, the mountains, lakes, forest, etc. just seems to stretch out as far as you can see and is virtually untouched by man. i don't have words to describe it, but we'll get some pictures up soon...promise :)
once we arrived at yellowstone we still had quite a lengthy drive into the park to get to our campsite. on the way we stopped for a potty break at the Old Faithful lodge, which was unlike anything i have ever seen before. hopefully we will get to go back and explore it a bit more.
then we split up into our different teams...some of us went food shopping and the rest set up the campsite. all of our teams did great getting everything set up and ready to go. it is cool to see everyone working together so well.
the campsite itself is awesome. it is right on the shore of a lake. when you look out over the lake all you can see is forest across the lake and then huge mountains behind the forest. what's incredible is that no matter how far to the left or the right you look standing on the shore, you still see the mountains! it's waaaaaaay cool.
what is also waaaaaay cool is the lake water. how convenient that the lake our campsite is set up at is a swimming area. we had a bit of downtime after setting up camp, during which a bunch of the guys went swimming in the...cold...water. there is a semi-dock a bit of a ways out that you can swim to and jump off of so we had fun watching the guys wrestle each other off it into the water.
and then...
kaulana taught on listening/hearing from the Lord and how to hear God's voice. how amazing is it that the God of the universe who created all of the incredible things we are getting to see loves to personally speak to each one of us?
now we just finished dinner & are getting ready to have worship & sharing time. aaaaaaaand...kaulana is ready to post pictures. so without further ado...
-alexandra
oh i almost forgot!!! so far we have seen...buffalo, coyote, ospreys, many chipmunks (they are many of the girls' favorites so far), deer, bats...i wonder if they think we look as cool as they do.
once we arrived at yellowstone we still had quite a lengthy drive into the park to get to our campsite. on the way we stopped for a potty break at the Old Faithful lodge, which was unlike anything i have ever seen before. hopefully we will get to go back and explore it a bit more.
then we split up into our different teams...some of us went food shopping and the rest set up the campsite. all of our teams did great getting everything set up and ready to go. it is cool to see everyone working together so well.
the campsite itself is awesome. it is right on the shore of a lake. when you look out over the lake all you can see is forest across the lake and then huge mountains behind the forest. what's incredible is that no matter how far to the left or the right you look standing on the shore, you still see the mountains! it's waaaaaaay cool.
what is also waaaaaay cool is the lake water. how convenient that the lake our campsite is set up at is a swimming area. we had a bit of downtime after setting up camp, during which a bunch of the guys went swimming in the...cold...water. there is a semi-dock a bit of a ways out that you can swim to and jump off of so we had fun watching the guys wrestle each other off it into the water.
and then...
kaulana taught on listening/hearing from the Lord and how to hear God's voice. how amazing is it that the God of the universe who created all of the incredible things we are getting to see loves to personally speak to each one of us?
now we just finished dinner & are getting ready to have worship & sharing time. aaaaaaaand...kaulana is ready to post pictures. so without further ado...
-alexandra
oh i almost forgot!!! so far we have seen...buffalo, coyote, ospreys, many chipmunks (they are many of the girls' favorites so far), deer, bats...i wonder if they think we look as cool as they do.
Yellowstone!!!
Hello everyone in florida!
This trip has been amazing so far and we are excited to see what the Lord will continue to do...
We woke up pretty early this morning and ate breakfast at 7:30 (which was an amazing feat considering we had TEN, yes, TEN girls in one room all showered and ready-to-go on time). We ate at this awesome mom & pop restaurant across the street called "our place - home cookin' and 25 cent coffee". Probably the best part of that experience (aside from the massive pancakes and biscuits & gravy) was the sweet lady who had to inform us floridians that we were drinking our hot chocolate wrong. It came in these great little containers and we all thought they were great and drank right outta them, until she informed us we should pour it out into our mugs. it was pretty fun. the exchange went something like this:
waitress 1: son, you do know you are supposed to pour that into a mug.
zach russell: oh. um...i am?
waitress 1: *smiles* where you from?
bud: florida. we don't drink hot chocolate in florida.
waitress 1: that's okay son.
zach russell: so...see that whole table over there? they're drinkin it wrong too
waitress 1: that's horrible!
zach russell: i know!
waitress 1: (to other table) oh no! you have to pour it into the mugs!
waitress 2: (from other side of restaurant) where are they from?
wairess 3: (from somewhere else in the restaurant): florida!
miscellaneous staff and seasoned patrons: oooooooooohhhhhh.....
it was pretty hilarious.
okay. so now we are loading up the luggage into our various vehicles and will be hitting the road in t-minus 5 minutes (weird!!!!! i was writing it and kaulana said it out loud at the same time...) we are super-excited for the drive to yellowstone, which is apparently one of the most scenic drives in the country. we have a bit over two hours to drive through it, and then....
YELLOWSTONE!!!
...we can hardly wait...
*stay tuned for photos!*
Madison - Montana
This trip has been amazing so far and we are excited to see what the Lord will continue to do...
We woke up pretty early this morning and ate breakfast at 7:30 (which was an amazing feat considering we had TEN, yes, TEN girls in one room all showered and ready-to-go on time). We ate at this awesome mom & pop restaurant across the street called "our place - home cookin' and 25 cent coffee". Probably the best part of that experience (aside from the massive pancakes and biscuits & gravy) was the sweet lady who had to inform us floridians that we were drinking our hot chocolate wrong. It came in these great little containers and we all thought they were great and drank right outta them, until she informed us we should pour it out into our mugs. it was pretty fun. the exchange went something like this:
waitress 1: son, you do know you are supposed to pour that into a mug.
zach russell: oh. um...i am?
waitress 1: *smiles* where you from?
bud: florida. we don't drink hot chocolate in florida.
waitress 1: that's okay son.
zach russell: so...see that whole table over there? they're drinkin it wrong too
waitress 1: that's horrible!
zach russell: i know!
waitress 1: (to other table) oh no! you have to pour it into the mugs!
waitress 2: (from other side of restaurant) where are they from?
wairess 3: (from somewhere else in the restaurant): florida!
miscellaneous staff and seasoned patrons: oooooooooohhhhhh.....
it was pretty hilarious.
okay. so now we are loading up the luggage into our various vehicles and will be hitting the road in t-minus 5 minutes (weird!!!!! i was writing it and kaulana said it out loud at the same time...) we are super-excited for the drive to yellowstone, which is apparently one of the most scenic drives in the country. we have a bit over two hours to drive through it, and then....
YELLOWSTONE!!!
...we can hardly wait...
*stay tuned for photos!*
Madison - Montana
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
hello everyone :)
it's the end of day two and we made it to Cody! We spent roughly around 8 hours in the car but the drive was amazing. We left left our hotels at 8am and began our drive with a bible study on cd about prayer and it's power to change not only our hearts and lives but also that our prayers put us in the battle with the Lord.....i could go on about that :) at around 11:30 we made it to this amazing park...i think it's called natural bridge park. We found a small trail that lead up to this beautiful place to take some pictures...we got some good group shots up there and then it was time to head back down. We all spread out on these picnic tables that were there and had our quiet time to meditate and reflect on the bible study from the morning. We stopped at a dinner for lunch and the food was really good. It seemed a little sketchy at first to eat at some unknown dinner but as soon as we got there and saw a full parking lot we knew it was going to be a good lunch. The next leg of our drive was even better then our first. We drove through this canyon and it was so impressive, the way the rocks had to be blown and cut away to the river at the bottom that ran through it and even being able to drive through a tunnel that was part of the canyon. When we made it to cody, we checked into one of the coolest motels i have ever seen. It's called bir Bear Motel and every where you look you are sure to see a bear something. Our last event of the day was the rodeo. Pretty fun, but very different for our little south florida group. It was alot of fun. Pictures of today will soon follow but right now my camera is charging and everyone is sleeping cause tomorrow we will arrive at yellowstone.....i can't wait!
Good Night
it's the end of day two and we made it to Cody! We spent roughly around 8 hours in the car but the drive was amazing. We left left our hotels at 8am and began our drive with a bible study on cd about prayer and it's power to change not only our hearts and lives but also that our prayers put us in the battle with the Lord.....i could go on about that :) at around 11:30 we made it to this amazing park...i think it's called natural bridge park. We found a small trail that lead up to this beautiful place to take some pictures...we got some good group shots up there and then it was time to head back down. We all spread out on these picnic tables that were there and had our quiet time to meditate and reflect on the bible study from the morning. We stopped at a dinner for lunch and the food was really good. It seemed a little sketchy at first to eat at some unknown dinner but as soon as we got there and saw a full parking lot we knew it was going to be a good lunch. The next leg of our drive was even better then our first. We drove through this canyon and it was so impressive, the way the rocks had to be blown and cut away to the river at the bottom that ran through it and even being able to drive through a tunnel that was part of the canyon. When we made it to cody, we checked into one of the coolest motels i have ever seen. It's called bir Bear Motel and every where you look you are sure to see a bear something. Our last event of the day was the rodeo. Pretty fun, but very different for our little south florida group. It was alot of fun. Pictures of today will soon follow but right now my camera is charging and everyone is sleeping cause tomorrow we will arrive at yellowstone.....i can't wait!
Good Night
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
11:32 and all is well...
so. we made it to our first destination (the springhill suites, cheyenne), and the hotel is very...happy. :) and we're all very happy to be at the hotel. ;)
anyways - let me tell you about the plane ride! first of all, we have to give major kudos to the fine folks at Frontier Airlines; they were so amazingly accommodating and friendly and helpful! so, we get all our-selves on the plane and as soon as the "fasten your seatbelt" sign goes off, i make my way to the rear of the plane to clear our Master Plan with the flight attendants. like i said earlier, they were more than happy to help, and so without further ado and in front of the whole plane, we whip out our 23 party hats (plus kelly's sparkly one!) and sing the birthday song to kelly! as soon as the song is over, we pass out the goodie bags - all 120 of them.
do you get it?
we threw a birthday party on the plane
and
everybody
was
invited!
:) the goodie bags had all kinds of fun stuff in them (thanks to the Russells and Aerin for stuffing them all last night!) - stickers, star-shaped glasses, balloons, smarties, hershey kisses, crazy straws, those little games where you have to make the bbs go in the hole (or NOT go in the hole!), cards... it was a lot of fun and really cool that the whole plane was part of it. kelly probably got more attention than he wanted, but oh well - he deserves to be appreciated! :)
so, the plane ride was good and over-all, pretty smooth. :)
and then to the Denver Airport, which is beautiful and amazing, and we drivers took a purple Freedom Taxi to an off-site Budget Car Rental place where a very nice guy named Matthew stayed AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE so that we could get our rental cars all straightened out. let me tell you, i thought it was going to be a nightmare (i've been wrestling with Budget for about 2 months b/c our reservations got messed up the day that i made them), but the Lord totally straightened everything out and not only did we get everything we needed, but we rolled out in style! hopefully, i can get some photos of our red and silver posse and post them for y'all tomorrow...
all the people that we have met have been so kind...and happy! people in Colorado and Wyoming and happy people, we are finding. it's a welcome change. :) and the weather is another welcome change; tonight we'll be in the 50's and that's more than fine with me!
so, all in all, for our first day, i'd say...success! :) more than just "success" though - we truly are seeing the hand of God, outstretched and totally open to bless us...over and over and over.
tomorrow, we wake early (kelly says we hafta be out by 8!) and then we have the loooooong drive to Cody. Rodeo tomorrow, baybee!!!!
thanks again for your prayers - we love and miss you all and wish you were here with us!
kaulana :)
anyways - let me tell you about the plane ride! first of all, we have to give major kudos to the fine folks at Frontier Airlines; they were so amazingly accommodating and friendly and helpful! so, we get all our-selves on the plane and as soon as the "fasten your seatbelt" sign goes off, i make my way to the rear of the plane to clear our Master Plan with the flight attendants. like i said earlier, they were more than happy to help, and so without further ado and in front of the whole plane, we whip out our 23 party hats (plus kelly's sparkly one!) and sing the birthday song to kelly! as soon as the song is over, we pass out the goodie bags - all 120 of them.
do you get it?
we threw a birthday party on the plane
and
everybody
was
invited!
:) the goodie bags had all kinds of fun stuff in them (thanks to the Russells and Aerin for stuffing them all last night!) - stickers, star-shaped glasses, balloons, smarties, hershey kisses, crazy straws, those little games where you have to make the bbs go in the hole (or NOT go in the hole!), cards... it was a lot of fun and really cool that the whole plane was part of it. kelly probably got more attention than he wanted, but oh well - he deserves to be appreciated! :)
so, the plane ride was good and over-all, pretty smooth. :)
and then to the Denver Airport, which is beautiful and amazing, and we drivers took a purple Freedom Taxi to an off-site Budget Car Rental place where a very nice guy named Matthew stayed AN HOUR AND A HALF LATE so that we could get our rental cars all straightened out. let me tell you, i thought it was going to be a nightmare (i've been wrestling with Budget for about 2 months b/c our reservations got messed up the day that i made them), but the Lord totally straightened everything out and not only did we get everything we needed, but we rolled out in style! hopefully, i can get some photos of our red and silver posse and post them for y'all tomorrow...
all the people that we have met have been so kind...and happy! people in Colorado and Wyoming and happy people, we are finding. it's a welcome change. :) and the weather is another welcome change; tonight we'll be in the 50's and that's more than fine with me!
so, all in all, for our first day, i'd say...success! :) more than just "success" though - we truly are seeing the hand of God, outstretched and totally open to bless us...over and over and over.
tomorrow, we wake early (kelly says we hafta be out by 8!) and then we have the loooooong drive to Cody. Rodeo tomorrow, baybee!!!!
thanks again for your prayers - we love and miss you all and wish you were here with us!
kaulana :)
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