Rocky Mountian Camp.... Again

This was my fourth time at Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp. The Mennonite Voluntary Service had a retreat where all units across the US could get together. Thankfully for us it was only four hours away :)

It was great seeing some friends from other units and people we met at our beginning orientation. During the week we had a sessions with a speaker, a little bit of worship, free time, and unit presentations. ... when we put up the photos of before and after the living room make over ... all we heard were gasps. Many people we made comments of the unbelievable improvements we've made to the house, as well as how many activities our house has done together.

During the week a group of us took a hike up the mountain. It was under two hours long ... but steep. However, being from high altitude us La Jara folk were already aclimated... NOT... I was dying! I thought it'd be easy for me ... seeing how I'm used to the altitude. However hiking UP a mountian... UP.. thats the key part. I live in a valley where there rarely are stairs. I never have to go UP!!! However we all made it to the top... even the Kansas flat landers :)

During the week I was also able to see some family! Zachary and I got lots of quality time together :)

And lastly, we went back to the Boulder unit for the rest of the weekend. It was great being in the city, being able to walk to store, being able to walk in the RAIN, feeling .. HUMIDITY!!!! Our last venture for the weekend was going to the National Park. Where we hiked around. All of us girls wore flip flops, being told that we weren't ever going to be hiking a mile... haha.. well it wouldn't been helpful to know part of that mile... would be throught SNOW. The rangers that did catch sight of our thin layers and sandals did nothing but smile and shake their heads. And yes, even though we were freezing cold ... we continued to stay in the rain (at points singing : "I'm Singin' in the Rain") and we had a good time.

Weekend Escapes

This weekend the MVS unit from Boulder, CO came to stay with us. This meant we had a house full of 7 people. Needless to say ... morning showers were tricky.... :)

On Sunday we took a trip up to Zapata Falls and the sand dunes. The Zapata Falls freeze over during the winter, making a beautiful frozen sculpture that's hidden in the "cave." Although with the warming weather it was already mostly melted. Now in order to get up to the falls, it's a small hike up the stream into the cave. This isn't too bad ... the hike isn't long, the rocks aren't too slippery and the streams not too strong. However there was one thing ..... the water. The water was only 15 / 20 degrees. That's colder than ANY ice bath I took in college. At first touch it doesn't seem bad, but after you're feet are fully submerged, the sudden shock of coldness and the full wrath of the temperature catches up to the brain. The shooting pain travels from the toes to the calves. After ten minutes you are numb enough to not even realize if you are just walking flat footed or if you really are bending your toes / foot as you take a step.

Thankfully we were able to warm our feet up once at the sand dune. As the snow melts off the mountains, a spring stream is created through the sand dunes. A small stream of fresh (but not cold) water steadily flows, constantly changing directions, branching off and merging together, shifting sand, pushing stones, never to be the same twice. We hung out for two hours, burying of feet in the steams sand, running around splashing, and digging in the sand. We only wished we had all the shovels, buckets, and toys the little kids had .... :)



It was relaxing, exciting, and fun. I even remembered the SPF ... so no burns on Megan :)

The Final Game

Soccer season finally came to an end.

Our last game resulted in a win of 13 - 1. Within the first eight minutes of the game we were ahead 4 - 0. By half time we huddled up and laid down a new rule. "You're only aloud to shoot the ball with your opposite / non dominate foot." Lets just say this didn't go over very well. However three more goals were made ....

Throughout the season the kids opened up to us and were soon able to joke around with us.
This season was very different from the last season, one difference being the ending record of four wins and two losses. It was a short season, but we all - players and coaches - had a blast.

O Sun.. Where Art Thy Burn?

Sorry I've been so slow at updates.

Last weekend was rather eventful ....
My friend from Kansas, Jesse, came back out for another visit. Nate was estatic about another male in the house ... which with them having each others back, resulted in mockery of throw pillows and decor. Another male in the house also brought on a challenge .... guys vs girls basketball game.

Now, us girls pretty much dominated the whole game .. maintaining a good and steady lead... that was till the score came to girls 20 guys 19. We were playing to 20 with a win by two points .... that two point win... crushed our game. Resulting in a comeback from the guys, and their unjustly win.

Saturday was an amazing day. Warm and sunny... a great day for two soccer games. Right our team had two soccer games. Sadly to say... it didn't go well. We had our teams first loss... but it wasn't even a loss... it was a blow out. Ending score being 15 to 4. The second game happened to be playing the same team... requesting for a shorter game ... we did alot better. However still lost 6 to 1.

That day also resulted in many house members feeling the wrath of the Colorado sun. Then sun which, in the valley, is 7,500 feet closer than we are used to. I laughed at my slightly red burn at first... that was... until it started to peel .... dumb sun. A lesson was learned by us all that day ...

SPF: quite vital.

Smell the Grass!

The snow's finally gone and soccer season is in swing! We had our first game two weekends ago.. FINALLY.

It's always a great feeling to watch the kids play and see what we've taught them click. During the middle of games we'll see them do some skilled move that will blow us away ... and they'll be so happy when they understand why we've been doing skill drills. Mary Jo and I are still protective coaches that "encouragingly" yell and give directions. It's still happening that you'll see Mary Jo or I dash down the to the other side of the field to explain something to a player. Most recently we've been explaining... "yes, you're the keeper, you CAN use your hands..." or "... no, you're the keeper, you can't go run up to take and dribble the ball, stay in the box..." They keep us on our toes.

(at half time of our first game I had to give a lesson of throw-ins
... a crucial part we forgot to review)

So far our season is going A LOT better than the fall season.
Game #1: win 7-0
Last weekends double header: Game #2: win 9-2
Game #3: (forfeit = automatic win) however we still scrimmaged (tie: 4-4)

We already beat our wins of last season... (last season wins:1) :)