Whirlwind

Life has been EXCITING and CRAZY since I last posted! Nikki and I spent an amazing week at Miracle Ranch in Tecate, Mexico. The youth group painted the boys' dorm and had a great time playing soccer and "traes" (tag) with the kids at the orphanage. Our guide, Bill of Transformational World Opportunities, did a great job of not only teaching the kids about the current economic situation in Mexico, but was great company as well. The kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves even though we had a go-around with Montezuma's revenge on Wednesday (not so fun with Mexican plumbing). The kids at the orphanage most appreciated the time our kids spent with them, since we are the only youth group visiting this summer. Our kids most appreciated the fact that the kids were so happy, even though they had very few possessions and no parents. It truly was a transformational experience for them, and they area already planning day-trips for the fall.

We arrived home on Friday and got to hear all about Caleb's week at soccer camp. We had a busy Saturday with a council meeting for Scott, a birthday celebration with Caleb's birthmom, and a memorial dinner at church. Yesterday we had dinner with my parents and Devon. It was a good weekend.

Today, however, meant back to work with four fun-filled days of AP training. :P I arrived at home to find five additional teens headed to the pool. Two more showed up after that. As one of our alumni said, "they just fall from the sky." It's always a party. We had a BBQ and red velvet cupcakes to celebrate Kelly's 18th birthday.

And tomorrow Nikki leaves at 5:00 am for Oklahoma, where she will be undertaking another mission and learning about Cherokee culture and history. If she ever finishes packing, that is. I'm so excited to hear about their adventures, and so grateful that she has the opportunity to go.

And that's about it for us. I keep waiting for things to slow down. Maybe next week??

Happy summer!