GNIRRRR 2008

The Great Northern Iowa Radical River Run Race took place over the weekend. My teammates were Ben and Heather and we enjoyed the "organized chaos" as our tee-shirts read, on Saturday morning. The fog was thick which added to the mysteriousness of the event! It involved 10 teams that had to run 4 miles, canoe 3 miles, portage 1/2 mile and complete 4 mystery events which involved carrying eggs, croquet, basketball, and cutting open a pumpkin to use it as a pale to collect water and dump into a 5 gallon bucket. Rather than try to explain further, I'll let the pictures tell the story. It is truly a one of a kind event that has grown in interest...3 teams in year one, 6 teams in year 2 and ten teams in year 3.

Wedding Congrats!

Wedding congrats go out to Keven and Leigh and Josh and Jackie!
Wishing God's blessing on your marriages!

Backpacking at Pictured Rocks

The backpacking trip to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan was simply awesome. I've never been on a backpacking trip before so I greatly enjoyed the new adventure. I had told our Outdoor Rec Coordinator at work that if he could convince my co-worker, Kristy, to go, I too would sign up for the trip. To my surprise, Kristy signed on and I was soon in a 15 passenger van on the adventure with her and a few new friends! Justin went to school in the UP so he knew I would love the autumn colors and he was certainly right!

We camped for three nights, moving our camp each night. Our hikes consisted of a 6 miler on Friday, 13 miler on Saturday and 5 miles on Sunday. I estimate that my pack weighed 30-35 pounds so needless to say, my body is a little sore today! The weather went from cold to cool to warm as we hiked and we did endure some rain on and off. All in all, it was an amazing trip. Me at the trailhead ready to begin the journey.
One of my favorite spots along the trail.

L to R: co-worker Kristy, student trip coordinator Amanda, and D.

Kristy and D.

Preparing dinner. Trip coordinators. Andy, Adam, Amanda, Eli, Nick, Mike and Forrest.Miners castle. One of many waterfalls along the route. Group photo along the trail. Look at the beauty of the trees! An example of the trail we hiked. Beautiful beach! A few of our trip participants took a dip in Superior-not this gal!Group photo on our departing day.

Adventure Awaits

I'm leaving on a backpacking trip today to MI with our Outdoos Dept. at my work. I've never been on a trip like this before so I'm excited! I got all my food put into baggies last night and got my backpack packed! Justin advised me to try a few "hills" with my pack on by going up and down the stairs! Hope I'm ready! More pics to follow when I return.

Busy Saturday

A busy Saturday included a trip to the black and gold campus for tailgating with Justin's class followed up by a game at Kinnick. Ironically, my sister and her husband were also at the game. We met up with them briefly to share an extra free ticket and we were both on our way into the sea of black and gold. After the game, we stopped by the hospital to visit a co-worker's son with cystic fibrosis. Three year old Berne had been in the hospital for about a week and is scheduled for surgery on Monday due to some problems with his colon. His dad said he was in the best spirits he'd been in days and it was fun to watch him play with his Thomas the Train toys on his hospital bed. Please keep Berne and his family in your prayers. His twin sister, Maren, also has cystic fibrosis. We drove back home to attend a 90th celebration of John Deere Waterloo Works. I hadn't seen that much green in a LONG time!

Beautiful Wedding

Friends Mike and Christy got married Friday night. What a beautiful wedding! I was delighted to serve at the guest book table with my friend Shelly. She and I had a hand in getting the bride and groom to the alter. Shelly knew the bride, I the groom. She asked me a few years back if he was seeing anyone and whether or not I'd share his phone number. The rest is history! Congratulations, Mike and Christy! Justin and I are so excited to have you guys as "near neighbors" soon!

Our 3rd Anniversary

Happy 3rd anniversary, babe! Lovies!

Class Reunion

Justin had his class reunion over the weekend. About 1/4 of the class made it back. We had a great time catching up/meeting everyone. Justin was his class president so he was highly involved in the organization process!
Justin and his classmate, Zach did a program for their classmates. Everyone seemed to have a good time reminising.
Introductions.

Classmates catching up.

Ty

Justin's sister had a baby boy over Labor Day weekend. We got to meet little Ty this past weekend. What a sweetie! Welcome to the world, Ty!

Country Beauty

The sky was beautiful tonight around our home, casting just enough sunlight to really illuminate the fields and trees. Here's a few photos I shot of the beautiful surroundings just outside our door. And the picture below is in our living room. I love this time of night as the sun is coming through the window.

Labor Day Laboring

We spent much of our Labor Day weekend laboring-fitting, huh? Justin spent a lot of time in his office working on homework, work-work, and the agenda for his high school class reunion. I was able to get him outside for a bit to put up a birdfeeder. My Dad made us the pole-it's resistant to climbing squirrels-and we bought the actual feeder itself.I was hoping to be able to catch a picture of a bird on the feeder to feature here, but no such luck yet. Maybe we'll have to wait until winter when they are desparate for food...
I spent time painting our bedroom. Here I am below painting the trim work by the ceiling.