A few days with the fam...

The last two weeks found me crossing hundreds of miles from Tremont, IL to Chicago, to Atlanta to Salt Lake City, to Idaho, to Eastern Oregon, to Portland, to Medford, to San Francisco, to Vegas, to Memphis, to (hopefully) Louisville, KY (if this plane ever gets here). I have enjoyed a whirlwind vacation visiting many friends and family. In Tremont I was able to spent two quality days with Maria (a dear college friend), walking in the cornfields and enjoying small town life. In Chicago I wandered from favorite coffee shop to favorite restaurant to favorite hang out places with Rachel and Heather (more friends from college). What a nice treat to just walk around Chicago and enjoy it with friends without worrying about homework or getting back to school. In Boise, Idaho I got to see my great grandmother and grandpa who I haven't seen in several years. My family met me there and we embarked on a long roadtrip. After meeting all my dad's cousins and other random family members and seeing all the places my dad remembers from growing up in Meridian/Boise area we headed to the little town of McCall where I got to have breakfast with Ralene..another dear friend from school. There I had the biggest pancake and cinnamon roll I have ever seen in my life. I wanted to spend some of my vacation sitting on a dock by a lake and I got my wish in McCall (for about 40 min). It was nice while it lasted. We headed from McCall to Joseph, Oregon where we have dreamed of backpacking for years. None of us are really in shape to backpack right now but we went on a short hike to get a magnificent view of Wallowa Lake. There we stayed with friends and got to explore the small town where people still leave their doors unlocked and trust each other. From there we headed to Portland briefly and saw several friends.....you know who you are and it was SO GREAT to see you! On the way home we stopped and I got to see Josh (my big little brother) at Camp Tadmore where he is working for the summer. I can't believe they can get him to wake up at 6 every morning and clean toilets until lunch. Unbelievable! On to Medford for 3 days where I caught up with friends and family and enjoyed sharing stories and pictures with my church and all the people who have been so supportive. My wonderful sister woke up at 3:30 this morning to take me to the airport and I have been on three flights and am waiting for the fourth..to get me to Louisville, KY to meet up with my team who I miss so much! I better wrap this up before the internet times out....Ang