The Ice Cream Shoppe on the Corner

I've been doing quite a bit of traveling lately, just short trips, weekend trips.  I stood up in two weddings in August, both of which were a pile of fun in their own ways. 

                                         

My Bestie, Amber, at Ann & Lee's Wedding

My Papa and me just before wedding #2!

Both weddings were out of town and so, on top of other random travel (to all parts of the state!), I am ready to stay put, at least for a few days.  Don't get me wrong, I love to connect with friends, see new places, have fun experiences, but there is something about getting back home from a great trip.   Mmmmm.  It's just good. Tradition at my house is to make pancakes for dinner when we arrive home from out lake cabin in northern Minnesota.

It's seems like this summer's welcome home activity is a family trip to the ice cream shop on the corner!  I mean, of course we go there multiple times a week as well, but it's extra delicious right after being away for a day or two.  Yes, we are regulars there at King Cone in Amherst, WI.  Their hand-dipped ice cream in a waffle cone pretty much solves every problem you could ever have!  It would definitely solve world hunger and if it were delivered to peace treaty negotiations, we could achieve world peace rapidly as well!  The smile and greeting from Ben upon arrival means that we are truly home again! 

Do you have a comfort place?  A welcome-home place?

Memorial Day Pictures

** All Photos in this post are taken by Ann Davidson of Ann Davidson Photography. She has a passion for photography.  She is bookable for weddings, portraits, family events, etc.   Let me hear about how talented she is! **

The three of us, ready to pile into Ann's car.

Pewitt's Nest (outside of Baraboo) is worth your time!

And the token "jumping picture" in fields of green.

Memorial. Day. Adventures.

In an attempt to suck up as much "now" as possible and not freak out about the upcoming "now," I pumped myself up for a Memorial Day ride to remember.  It was time for the 2nd Annual Country Drive-While-Avoiding-All-4-Lane-Or-Busy-2-Lane-Roads Road Trip with Lee and Ann!  There is something just magical about not having any place to be, a tank full of gas, a bottle of Coke (without all that high fructose syrup) and a well-used gazetteer... just sitting three to a front seat and enjoying the day!

We drove south from Amherst on Cty A in search of the "secret road." Apparently, 15th Ave is probably known only to people who live on it and those in love with their gazetteer.  It was revelicious!  The trees hung over the road, hills, curves and all = perfect!  People in Dakota love to wave.  We felt welcome, friends!  We made our way to Montello (pronounced: Mon-TAY-yo) and stopped for some stretching (three people in the front seat is both a blessing and a curse, folks!).  Turns out, there is a granite quarry there  that the granite for Grant's tomb was extracted from.  Remember that for Trivial Pursuit: US Presidents Edition! 

Our general goal was to make it to the Baraboo area for some "natural area exploration." I think it's a bit ridiculous that we have to label our "natural areas" so that we don't end up putting a highway or gas station up on accident there!  Anyway, Abelman's Gorge was slightly over-rated, although this may have been fed by our fright in hearing that a bear had been sighted on the trail just last week.  We were all a little behind on our bear handling skill courses!  Pewitt's Nest (Hwy W west out of Baraboo) was just what we were looking for!  It was a gorgeous gorge!  Shady, beautiful river, stunning structures, and some good light hiking (let's not get carried away - it's a holiday, remember!).   It was definitely a place to which I would and will return!

We headed down to Merrimac and with all our hearts, wanted to ride the free river ferry, but the line was too long and unlike what my opening paragraph suggests, we did have a place to be... so we forwent (word?) that adventure.  Merrimac is magical.  We'd like to come back.

At the end of it all: 268 miles. Tons of gorgeous gorges.  Thoughtful conversation. Sweat. A couple of walking sticks.  A few pictures.  Awesome roads. A knowledgeable navigator. A faithful friend. An attentive driver (well, we did almost throw up all over each other toward the end!). Sun.  And all around bliss.  It was all it was cracked up to be!

Pictures may follow... eventually...

Checking Out.

I came out of Iron Man 2 on the mega-screen and found myself looking up at the sky a lot.  On my late-night drive home, I envisioned myself catching a glimpse of Robert Downey Jr whizzing by on his way to save someone.  Or semi-intelligent drones rising up out of the fields to block my path, while trying to create world-wide pandemonium (Isn't Wisconsin the place global chaos would begin?!).  Movies just do that to me... they take me to a place just outside of reality.

Books can do that for me too.  I remember walking down the street on my way to the Bahnhof in Innsbruck, certain that I was being followed by Hadrid.  I thought he was going to kidnap me and I would be swept up into some new adventure at Hogwarts.  That was in the midst of my Harry Potter marathon in anticipation of Book 7 being released.

The point is that, I guess, movies and books are a great little getaway, but it's always scary how easily they work with my mind.  I would hate to come to the end of my life and have only a list of titles and films I'd experienced.  I would rather have experienced my reality.  By "my reality," I don't mean some sort of subjective mumbo-jumbo.  I mean, I hope that I will have experienced True Reality, in the way God made me to experience it.  To do and be what I was created for.  

What does that look like?  I think I'm learning about it every day.  I hope you are too.  Read a book by Karl Marx.  And then one by Glenn Beck.  Make a friend in Sweden or Greece via the internet and find out how daily life is over there instead of listening to the media's depiction of it.  Roll around your yard like a dog and enjoy a beautiful day instead of watching beautiful days made up on television.  Play catch with your kid instead of promising to do it tomorrow.  Throw a party for your wife just because you love her.  Do this because, well, because God has given us this world as our reality to interact with... Don't check out and flip on the movie channel all weekend!  That's not what we were made to do...  we were made to live!

April Fool's Day (Part 2)

This is the first time in awhile that April Fool's Day has fallen during Cody's spring break.  Thus, he was home all day to ponder and plot a revenge against me.  How I wished he'd had school to take his mind off of me.  I was envisioning buckets of goop over my bedroom door or dead spiders in my bed.  I was trying not to be paranoid, just cautious and a bit more aware of my surroundings.

My day was full of engagements (wedding and others) so I did not arrive home until near 11pm.  All evening, I received texts from Cody (via Mom) inquiring as to when I would be home.  I couldn't tell if this way simply a part of his paranoia plan or not.  I had bags and things to lug in from my car.  As I came through the darken garage, a figure jumped at the window.  I didn't scream, but I jumped back a bit.  It was Cody, performing his "Pre-prank-so-she-let's-her-guard-down-prank." Of course, I didn't realize this is what it was until about 2am on April 2nd. 

I am awakened out of my dream to Jason Mraz playing inside my bedroom.  20 seconds, then off.  At first, I am not sure if it was occurring in my waking consciousness or in my sleep.  30 seconds later, more of Jason, then off.  Cody.  He has somehow wired speakers into my room to play off of his iPod. The music continues for 30 minutes like this... on for 20 seconds, off for 30, fast forward, on again, off, new song, rap, hip hop.  I really wanted to wait it out, but I also wanted my sleep.

Finally, I get up to talk with Cody. He played sleep, but then finally fessed up to running the controls.  I congratulated him on a prank well-played, suggested that next time he plan it so that he could sleep through it, and inquired about how much of the carpet he had to pull up to lay the wire.  We chatted for about 10 minutes and then went back to bed at a quarter to 3am.

I will leave you with one question: Does anyone have access to exercise bungee bands (used for resistance)?

April Fool's Day (Part 1)

April Fool’s Day always creeps up on me rather quickly.  I began conniving this past Wednesday for the perfect trick to play on Cody.  I was restricted to the items I owned or was willing to acquire in the next several hours.  No prank at all is better than one ill-executed.  I settled on random cell phone alarms and a simple mid-hallway fish line web.  I collected a few old cell phones that were lying around (I’m so thankful that we haven’t donated those old phones yet!).  I chose the ring style, volume and set the times in 20-30 minute intervals.  The hurdle in getting this part of the prank set up was in the fact that Cody’s door squeaks and rattles as you open it.  There is no sneaking into his room, sometimes no entry at all if he’s locked it.  I tiptoed toward it.  I turned it, nudged it, thought I was home scot-free, when I hear: What are you doing?  Cody was still awake in his bed!

I announced myself more openly as I reeled inside for a plan B.  A story.  Yes, a story is what I needed.  Cody liked a good story! Cody, I haven’t seen you all day!  I’m glad you are still up (DRAT, he’s still up!)… I wanted to tell you a story about my night at camp tonight.  Sitting down next to his bed, I began to spin a tale of woe while wondering two things.  I wondered firstly if he’d even believe my story, or at least be mildly entertained.  Secondly, I wondered if my story could create enough of diversion so that I could slid a few phones to various places underneath his bed.  I began in.

Now, the story wasn’t particularly exciting, except for the suspenseful inflection and various climatic moments.  In reality, the story was about how I was down at Riverside looking for my Starbuck coffee mug that I’d lost there a couple of months ago.  I rehashed every light switch I turned on, every thought, every fright.  Well, he took it all in, gasping and sighing at all of the right spots.  I left his room with my phones planted in the best spots imaginable, all the while dispelling any suspicion that Cody may have had that I was pranking him.  Good night, Cody.

The fish line: My only comment about the fish line is that it’s hard to work with in the dark.  I had to create the illusion that I was in bed (hence, no lights on) so… well, I lost quite a few strands, to be found in the morning.  That said, it was also pretty easy for Cody to see the fish line early on April 1^st.  The alarms wake him up, flashing, vibrating, ringing, dinging.  And I received a text after the last one (a phone that actually had service attached)…  nice Jaime.   And then a bit later, can you please take down the fish line?  

Over breakfast, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the prank and by the end of our conversation, I’d convinced Cody to walk into the fish line net just for posterity’s sake.  So, for the next few minutes, we walked and got tangled in it. 

I left for work on Thursday in a happy mood.  As I walked out, Cody mischievously asks me – so, when are you going to be home tonight, Jaime?  

I knew I was in for something. 

The Crack Heads

Meeting James and Melanie (and staying at their house) was the runner-up highlight of the trip to Fargo, second only to spending time with Mandy and being a part of her fabulous wedding day!  But a new friendship with the Iversons?!  Well, any friendship that begins with an incredibly embarrassing fart story and a picture of a horrific mustache is bound to last into eternity, right?  

Beyond their generous hospitality and immense hilarity, this couple blinded me by their deep understanding of God’s grace.  Just a few years ago, they were struggling to survive in their AA program.  I like to think of them as “The Crack-Heads.” I’m not sure if they were ever on crack, but, good gravy, they sure used the term a lot!  These sheets are like crack for your body… The scent of that candle is like crack for your nose… and others.  They were so vocal about what God had done for them, His grace in literally changing their appetites from themselves and substance to Him and his love.  

Having been a believer for awhile now, I found these concepts that rendered them speechless somehow “old-hat.” That’s why it was so refreshing to spend time with them!  It renewed my sense of awe at God’s action in human lives.  It also enlivened hope in His Power.  He can change lives.  He can and does act powerfully in unbelieving souls.  He acts mightily in my life.  It was like breathing again.

So thankful.  They didn’t sugar-coat the Christian life.  They faced it head on, struggling through the flesh.  Marriage makes you humble.  Having children reveals your selfishness and need for God. It turned my view of life on its head!  I am not here on this earth to enjoy life, have fun, and try not to face my sin.  Every event in my life has been designed by God to make me holy, to make me humble, to see my sin – and my need for Him.  

James and Mel helped me see that obedient life isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.  It was just what I needed to catapult me out of my annual March slump.  Thanks be to God for you two!  You’re like crack for my soul!