New Years/ Josh's Birthday and Youth events

Sorry about the delay in posting. I have been so busy and tired that I got behind.

New Years
We spent New Years/ Josh's birthday with some of our friends from town and from Iowa. Matt, Ashley and Noah came down to Florida for the holidays. It was great to see them again! Jimmy and Katie, Brandi and Brian, Matt and Ashley came over to our house to celebrate. Christine and her boyfriend, Bruce, also stopped in to wish Josh a Happy Birthday. We all had a great time, eating and playing games. Here are a few pictures. Most of them are from Noah's view who was helping me take some pictures.




Noah's foot


Noah looking for the cats



A picture of a picture of a picture being taken.


Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Josh!!!




Exploding Christmas Tree
As many of you know Josh and I try to help out with the youth events as much as possible. After New Years the youth were having an event called the exploding Christmas Tree. Yes, they really do explode a Christmas tree. Our Pastor Charlie and Our youth leader Brian took their dead real Christmas trees and loaded them up with fireworks, woods, and igniter fluid and let it go. It was pretty amazing. Definitely something you have to be there to see! The pictures don't do it justise. Afterwards the kids played Manhunt, the Wii and/or watched movies. I had a lot of fun. It was nice to because Brandi, the youth pastor wife and a friend of mine, and I were able to spend sometime together talking.



Ski Trip



Josh and I were youth sponsors on the Ski trip that the youth took to Boone North Carolina. We had a lot of fun. I was the only one that had going skiing before. IT was funny watching everyone try to learn to ski. I am very proud of many of the kids. They toughed it up and worked hard. They did a great job for only skiing/snow boarding 2 days in their entire lives. We only had 2 injuries. The 2 sisters both hurt their legs. One with a twist knee and one with a twisted ankle. Neither were serious.

Many of the kids including the other female sponsor, Kera had never seen snow.



Around town





SUGAR Mountain

The different slopes at Sugar Mountain


On the slopes









In the Van

And we are okay with this crazy guy driving us?







Our hotel rooms were amazing!! Or at least the girls rooms were. Me and my girls had a fire place and a jaccious bath tub in our room. It was so awesome!

The heart shaped tub in the 2nd girls room! At the indoor heated pool.


At night their was a youth conference that we went too. Vickie Beeching was the singer they had for the performances. I don't remember the name of the speaker but he was amazing. He did a great job at touching on some hard core ideas and still keeping the kids interested. I was challenged but much of what he said. It is always great when the speaker at a youth conference gets the kids and the sponsors thinking.





And this is what happens when you put together a crazy youth leader and sponsor that will follow and lack of sleep plus exhaustion from all the exercise.

Brian not playing with his food but with the to go box. I was laughing almost the whole entire meal.




A very sore and tired Kera


Umm, yes they do have whip cream on their faces. Did you know this is how you build leadership! ;o)



Sam is eating off the whip cream and cheese puffs!