More Swell Stuff

Here we go again! School will be in session before we know it, and that means CHANGES CHANGES CHANGES! I am on my way to Grand Rapids, moving in with two other wonderful girls. I am just so excited to move all of my stuff again.... ;) While Gerald, is on his way to Allendale! Yipee! Nothing like farms.
The weather has been rainy, watch movies all day, boring. However, this weekend with many Coast Guard adventures was awesome! So, I guess we deserve a few rain clouds. Gerald, Erinn, Justin, Carlee, and I passed out waters in the parade with all of the tri-cities churches. It was a great time to serve and see the many thankful faces. Afterwards, we all went to none other than Applebees afterwards, and completely crashed, I don't think one of us had the ambition to finish our meal. Carlee and I found a hole in one of the cushions at applebees and hid a fork in it. No doubt it will be there the next time we go.
Well it's been a while since an update, so just thought I would add a couple comments. Hope all is well with you all!

"Good rice, good curry, good Ghandi let's hurry!"

Friday Night Spite.

Here I am Friday night, and I just got paid....money, money, money.
Name that tune...

It's Bekah here, and I gotta say nothing like a Friday night, and knowing you have to work the next morning. WE HEEE!
I arrived at the Goodwill today, and headed straight to the back of the store where I would find a possible coffee table. Without luck, I began to look at the clocks and lamps. ONLY TO FIND.....a TIKI TIME CLOCK! At the ticki ticki ticki ticki room.
That one is for you Shyle.
I was in awe and laughed right out loud.
I will give you a complete update tomorrow, but in case Nate and Shyle check this on this Friday night, I thought I would throw that out there.

Miss you guys....so bad.

Rain? Ice? Snow? Fog?

Yesturday it was sprinkling rain, then I woke up and there was 4 inches of snow on my car. I drove to school through slushy mushy, walked to the bus stop and to class through bitter cold winds. Then I got out of class and walked though bareable clear weather and temperature. Then drove to work through pouring rain, and now am looking out through a haze of fog from the library. Midnight...going home.

Bekah's New Apartment

Heeeeeeelllllooooooo, la la la (seinfeld reference)
Well Bekah's got a kickin new crib on the West side (of beacon blvd), and she is pretty much all moved in. Tonight we assembled a new shelf deal she got for her birthday from Target, its pretty cool, you'll see a picture. Anyways we're just hanging out tonight, I'll have her post in a little bit so you can get an insite to how she's feeling with her new found independence. I, on the other hand have a biochem exam tomorrow, so I'll see ya'll later, enjoy the pictures, we'll try to post more often. I love you, if this is Nate and Shyle, hey guys!
G

The Last Supper

Thinkin Plans Prayin Plans

Bekah said it, it's a new year. The pessemist would say its another year, however i prefer the glass half full if you know what I mean. We were able to go to one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, San Diego. It wasn't scorching hot or freezing cold, I found it to be just right (you better not be thinking of Goldy Locks) And coming back was tough, a given, it was expected, just harded to bear when you actually have to deal with it. I'm adapting, to cloudy skies and snowy eyes. And I'm learning to find beauty and content where I am, because after all, God gave me this too. Nate reminded me on the phone that the saying is true "You don't know what you have 'til its gone", I think of the counting crows when I hear that, and then I think of Nate and Shyle, my life is one big cycle. Well as bekah said as well, anxiety is brewing, but subsiding as well, and i guess it takes dreaming and knowing someday certain things will happen, but guess what, its happening right now too. And I'm reminded of another conversation I had with Nate one night on Pennoyer, and he said something more elegantly along the lines that we can't keep waiting to wait on life. I'm finding that doesnt mean I have to make big decisions right now and rush through life, but enjoy what is happening right now, and soak it all in, because you dont know what you have, til its gone. Thank you Nate and Shyle for an unforgettable time in California.

Happy NEW YEAR!

Well, it's a New Year. Fresh start, diets, big plans, and great resolutions.

Yeah, not so much here. Gerald and I decided to take it easy on ourselves this year, and not make any resolutions. Or, maybe we are just being lazy...yeah.

We got lot's and lot's O snow, and went sledding last night. It was fabulous. There are plans in the making for snowboarding. I just don't know if I am ready to break my leg though. However, maybe I could collect un-employment....sounds nice.

It's been great to be home to see family, and friends and what not. But, I feel a bit at a dead end. It seemed like we had a fresh start, and came home to the same ol same ol. Which is good, but I just feel anxious to...fly.

I cannot wait to see what God has in store. I do feel a tidal wave a comin'!

Picture update 2

Over excited...

They did it!!!

nice necklace


nice butt

I'm in California...adventure

Mosaic

Ladies and mosaic

Will Nate and Bekah ride this ride?

They look scared...

Picture update 1

Chi chi chi chip and dale, rescue rangers

we're in tarzans tree house

we are tarzan, plural

this is gerald and bekah

we're in A

thank you Craig and Vivian for your amazing generosity.

Us at a biker bar

this one's for you Peyton

This one is for you in private Peyton

Magical

G's Please...

Okay so we gotta little Sea World in us. It was awesome to me cause, as Bekah most elegantly put it, when we were here as kids, it was the stage where we felt embarrased or stupid to have fun and be excited, but now we're here, and loving it. Personally, I thought the dolphins were much cooler than Shamu, but that is probably just because I got to touch the dolphins. Shamu was so big and really awesome, but I can't swim with shamu without the fear of being eaten, dolphins are so loving. Anyways, after Sea World we came home and looked up accidents with Shamu, so see if he ever attacked the trainers, you should YouTube it, you'd be surprised. Then after Shyle got out of work we got dinner and came back here and had a really awesome talk with her and Nate, I love having them in my life. So Nate, and Shyle, when you read this, know that. Today we went to the Swap Meet, where there were a lot cheap stuff, like a flea market slash garage sale. The funniest part for me was the wrestling masks, they reminded me of Peyton. We went shopping a little, Nate and I to Guitar Center and the girls to the mall. I found the guitar I want, a Gibson CJ-165, ooooooh baby. Anyways, the girls found an animal place that lets you walk their puppies for a half hour so they did, and I found a little Husky that was amazing, I want one. Now we're just chillin out, Shyle is at work, and I think Nate and I are going to go throw a frizbee. Thanks to those who posted, mom and uncle john, please post again and everyone else please write something to us too. If you click on the december folder to the right, everything we posted from the whole trip will come up so you can see all the pictures, otherwise only the last couple days stay on. Alright, love ya, see ya.

(love)

I've been staked out here for three days, still no leads.

I didn't do it, I swear it wasn't me


"Nachooooooooooooooooooooooo"

I have no idea what this is, gaurdian of all that is license plate

Let me guess, he's right behind me?

Ahhh, isn't she beautiful, Bekah, not the starfish

Nate and I got to touch flipper

Eeeee, Aeeeeaaa, (fiiiiiiiiish, pleeeeeease)

Dolphins are so much cooler than shamu

Sea lions were kinda lame, but I'm cool.

Okay, Shamu is pretty cool, when he eats people.

Look closely, he's a Jetta lookalike.

"My first Churro"

"Wish I was a Baluga Whale"

Maddie getting curious? or Nate being cruel?

They taste as good as they look, pacific waves.

Let me record, no let me record, okay boys, you can both have a camera

She looks like a little girl, he he he

Dolphins are so much cooler than shamu

Shamu Rocks!

We arrive at Sea World at approximatly 10:44:01 AM and the Dolphin show starts at 11. So, frantically scanning the cartoon map we were given, a stampede of people begin running. What do we do? Follow them of course. Only to relize we are in this marathon for the Dolphin show. Perfect. I mean the way people were running, you would think Barney had just gotten through the gates of Sea World and wanted to play. After running for what seemed like 5 hours, we (Nate, Gerald and I) decide we are much younger and definatly more fit than the folks we are up against. So, we kick it up a notch. And trash them. We leave the children in the dust, and parents to dust them off.
Okay, so we just ran to the show. No frills. But, it made a great story.
Sea World was fantastic, and I was so excited for Shamu. The show itself was shorter than I remember. But, I felt like a kid all over again. But, this time I didn't think Sea World was stupid. You see last time I went I was at that tender age of "everything is stupid, and I rock." Not the case this time around.
We went to the farmers market on Wednesday evening, and I HAD A BLAST!!! I felt so free, and alive. It basically was a big art show, with tons of jewelry, photos, and organic food. Awesome.
Well, the day has begun. See you all soon!

Beanz World

Well, Gerald has written a novel. So apparently, it's up to me to fill in the gaps. I would just like to start out by saying, "I would like to thank my family, Gerald's family, and most importantly God." I don't know why I said that, it just seemed right.
Tomorrow we are headed off to Sea World, I am SUPER excited to see Shamu. We go way back. Last time he saw me I was this awkward buck tooth, unibrow little gal. He may not reconize me. Gerald said it best while we were sitting by the beach today, "I just feel so comfortable here." People here are very chill as you can imagine. But also around our same age bracket. Which I am not familar with, because at home I work with adults all day long. None the less they don't act like the people at home. Of course this varies with what part of California you are in, but people here in OB live life in a different lane.
Tonight we are going to the farmers market just up the road. As everyone knows, I LOVE THE FARMERS MARKET! It's a bit different though, they have more jewelry, and hippie stuff. Which isn't neccesarily bad.
I enjoyed last night very much. We checked out these crazy houses with Christmas lights, and CRAZY HUGE displays in their windows. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Christmas here is a whole new exprience, people decorate with Snow flakes...yah. It's just different.
We are headed off to Trader Joe's, life is good.

_An Artist never blames her brush_

G's Update to Wednesday

hello everyone, sorry we haven't updated anything until today, we've just been doing so much. We got here at about 11am sunday, which is 2 pm your time. Pulled out the cell phone, heard Nate's voice, realizing we were now much closer, yet we didn't see each other yet. On our way to get out bags Bekah told me to walk outside and see what the weather was like...and as soon as I walked out the doors into San Diego, I started peeling layers off. Our transition was so huge, from getting on the plane after hiking through 5 inches of snow, to getting off and wanting nothing more than a t-shirt on. I anxiously grabbed our bags and ran outside to ride my skateboard. Nate called and said they were 5 minutes out, I informed him that I was skating. They picked us up and drove us for a quick run through down town, then back to their place in Ocean Beach (OB). When we got here we walked down to the beach to see the Pacific Ocean waves, for me the first time. Immediately afterwards we all realized we were hungry so we walked down to Newport, the main drag in OB and got some HUGE burgers at Hodad's. I got a double cheese that no other double cheese in the history of double cheeses could ever compare to. It was good, the weather was great, and I felt entirely content with my place in life. We went to church that night and indulged in some JAMBA JUICE. We got Nate hooked now, he shares my favorite, the Caribbean Passion. Monday Nate didn't have to work and Shyle has a break from 8-2 so we all went out for breakfast and then toured Old Town. It is a really interesting touristy town with a lot of little shops and carts with old mexican items and what not. It was fun to walk around with Bekah Nate and Shyle and just enjoy another day of beautiful weather. Shyle had to go back to work so we headed home. Nate and I skated down to the beach to check the waves, they are always up. I started feeling kind of light headed and dizzy so we went back to their place for a while and rehydrated me before we set out surfing. I brought his boogie board and Nate his surf board. I exhausted most of my energy supply swimming out against the emaculate waves. But once we got out there and I got rocked by one wave, I got a hold of myself and was able to get three really sweet rides in on the most amazing waves I've ever felt, all the way to shore. I was tired so didn't attempt surfing the first time out, but we might go out later this week. Shyle made us an amazing dinner monday night which made us very sleepy and that brings us to Tuesday. Tuesday we went Bekah and I went downtown San Diego and explored. I once again popped into many of her pictures, and repeatedly offered the line "take a picture of me in front of this" until we were both in a gut laughing state (see the picture of me touching the leaf). I'll let bekah tell you about the cafe and the homeless guy. Last night we went to Miguel's, a mexican restaurant with great cheese dip, and then got more JAMBA and drove across the Coronado Bridge into Coronado. I'll let bekah talk more about everything else, see ya'll later, enjoy all the updated pictures we posted!