Mad About...

Flying!

Stuffed animals, reading The Babysitter's Club books, my parent's music such as The Moody Blues and ABBA, strange landmarks, rest stops. These are the things that comprised family vacations as I was growing up. Road trips. We never flew anywhere. My dad believed in saving money and getting there the old fashioned way. Not too bad if your grandparents live in Arizona. Unfortunately for Emily and me, our grandparents lived in Michigan and Montana. Try five days straight in the car. Torture. (Although now I actually miss those trips.)

It wasn't until I was 10 years old that we took a plane for the first time (not counting the one time when I was a baby). Okay, maybe 10 sounds young to some of you, but I felt really old at the time, and most of my friends had flown in an airplane dozens of times.

I still remember that first lift-off. Strange that a girl, normally extremely shy and timid and afraid of heights, would love the experience so much! I don't remember feeling any fear. There was a light layer of clouds and we sailed through them as the sun shone bright. The rush of the engines and the sudden weightlessness was thrilling! I still love flying to this day.

It's easy to romanticize flying...to forget about the screaming babies and talkative old men, the airplane food and the limited leg room. I like to look back at pictures from the fifties. The glamour of it all. The fun stewardess outfits, the flight wings pins they used to hand out, the excitement of traveling to exotic destinations.

It's really a humbling experience as well. Nothing else makes me feel as small. As you fly farther and farther away from the earth, the cars and people go from looking like matchboxes and ants, to nothing. You can't see anything. And it's a good reminder that the world definitely DOES NOT center around me. Funny and sad how often I think that it does. God is big. He's holding our planet in His mighty hands. All of the oceans are like a small puddle in His palm and He can weigh the mountains like dust on the scales. That's the main reason why I love flying, the reminder it is to me of our amazing Creator!

5 Places I Love

South Africa

A team from the high school group recently went to Malawi and it reminded me of how much I love South Africa.

Right below is one of the main reasons. The Archer's live there!

And here are some other reasons:

Animals

We actually got to PET this little guy.
Beauty! We were able to spend part of our time at a place callled Hope Valley in the middle of some sugar cane fields.

And fun times with friends and sisters. :)

(And here's a couple more animal shots that got out of order.)

Monterey, CA

I don't even know quite what it is about Monterey, but I love it. I think I was in 6th grade the first time my family went on Spring vacation. I think it was a mix of the fresh, crisp air, the pletheora of cute, fuzzy otters and the quaint old-time feel of Cannery Row. I remember sitting on a rock overlooking the ocean somewhere off the 17-mile drive and just being amazed over God and His beautiful creation! I especially liked walking along the streets of Cannery Row at twilight. The streetlamps would come on, sounds of fog horns came off the water and I just felt so relaxed. Let me just say that it also didn't hurt that a Ghirardelli's is located along this street. Yum!

It was once the destination of one of Megs, Mel and my road trips. :) We are at Ghirardelli's in the picture below.

(There is just one thing I DON'T like about Monterey. And that would be the underground wax museum. There is an added creepiness of a wax museum being near the ocean. Yuck. I get shivers just thinking about it.)

Monterey does have a fabulous Aquarium. If you haven't been, what are you waiting for??

Ephraim, Wisconsin

My great great grandparents moved here from Norway. They helped found the town. The pictures above and below are of Anderson dock. My relatives, the Anderson's, owned it and all the big ships that brought supplies to the town would dock here. It's really fun too because the building is now all covered with names. Kind of like an "Amanda was here" kind of thing. The sunsets there are beautiful. My relatives chose to move here because the peninsulas reminded them of the fjords in Norway. You can see in the picture below. Ephraim is now a touristy town and it is really fun to visit. We've gone kayaking, took hikes in the peninsulas, eaten delicious ice cream at Wilson's (they put a jelly bean at the bottom of the cone), and explored family history. The Anderson's also owned a store and one of their homes was turned into a gift shop.

(The sunset's there are AMAZING!)

New York City

I could never take a good picture of Times Square so here's a nice one from the web. When Em and I first saw Times Square in person, it was right after a show and it had been raining but the rain finally cleared up. I felt like the princess in Enchanted when she comes out of the pothole. I was overwhelmed!

There's nothing quite like the view from the top of a skyscraper!

The first time we went to New York, I tried to take a picture of this fountain and my camera died right as I started to shoot. So here it is in summer!

Downtown Bozeman, Montana

Beautiful mountains and wide open spaces. :)My mom went to MSU for her last two years of college. My family drove to Bozeman every summer to visit my grandparents who retired there. They fell in love with the town when they came to visit my mom. My mom used to take Emily and me to the college so that we could toss pieces of bread to the ducks in the little pond they had on campus. It's to the left in the picture below. I absolutely LOVED going there.

I could have added another five places, but this post would be too long. These are the top five now. I can't wait to see where else I get to travel to someday!

Ten Reasons Why My Grandpa Was the Coolest

(Can I just say how much I love this picture? I think it's so funny the way my Grandpa is holding my arm.)

10. He always wore turquoise. Whether it was a ring, a string tie, or a belt buckle. He couldn't get enough of the stuff.

9. He used the word paw instead of hand, claws instead of fingers and fangs instead of teeth.

8. He drove this rad retro yellow van with only one seat in the back. The rest was open and so we got to sit on the floor whenever we went anywhere, which is super fun for a kid.

7. He was a fly fisherman and he tied his own flies. He had a room in his basement with a desk where he tied the flies and there were tons of little compartments all over the room that stored them. He and my Grandma retired to Bozeman, Montana because of the fly fishing.

6. He always wore cowboy boots.

5. He would write me letters. And I loved his handwriting. He often put a P.S. that would say, "When you come visit us, I will rock you to sleep."

4. He loved kids. He was really good with Em, Jeremy and me. He even drove a school bus for awhile when he was older.

3. He had good taste in music. He liked a lot of the big band stuff.

2. After he got saved, (which was late in life but before I was born), he treated my Grandma like an angel. My mom said he used to embarrass her when people came over because he would just stare at my Grandma and say, "Isn't Frances wonderful?"

1. He was just so loving and loveable. One time, after my Grandma died and when his health had really declined, we went to Montana and Em, Jeremy and me were at his neighbor's house playing with their dog. The owner's were gone but they let us go in the back. My parents and aunt and uncle were all gone so my Grandpa was the only one at home. Jeremy decided to hang from the door frame and I copied him and fell and landed on my back on the raised door jam on the ground. It hurt really bad and I was crying when we got back. My Grandpa felt so bad for me but didn't really know what to do. He was almost in tears as he lay me down on the couch and put a blanket over me. For some reason I will never forget that. He died when I was in 9th grade but I love him so much and can't wait to see him in Heaven!

Oh and one more thing, his name was Jack! I love that name!