Happy Father’s day to all of your dads out there. I just want to take a moment and express how blessed I was by my dad and how much I miss him every day.

I wish we could go for one more hike, one more bike ride, or even have just one more good laugh together. I should have told him how much I appreciate all that he did for me more frequently. I often think about all of the long, hot hours he and mom spent sitting on an the bleachers waiting for Travis or I to swim for 25 seconds. His life was such an awesome example for Travis and I: he worked his fingers to the bone every day and still had the energy to be there for us. He loved my mom so faithfully and demonstrated what true commitment was. He was a shining example of God’s love. He wasn’t perfect, but I couldn’t have asked for a better father. I love my dad so much.
Thank you, Lord, for letting me have him for 26 years and for the assurance that he is in Heaven with You now.

I just posted a backlog of photo sets from the past couple of months:

This is how I feel about math class tonight:

Anthony and I took a quick trip to the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon last weekend:

We stayed in Wellsboro, a quaint town about 15 minutes from the Canyon. On Saturday morning, we took a stroll through the town and I was impressed by the diversity in housing design. The town itself has a couple of small hotels (no chains), several restaurants, and an smattering of artsy stores (as well as a few unimpressive looking clothing shops -- all boasting great sidewalk sales). We stayed at Penn Wells Hotel, which was built in 1869 and still possess a certain amount of charm from its rich history. Unfortunately, our room was not very comfortable or clean. The floor is slopes towards the hotel’s center and double bed (which I’ve never heard of in a hotel) seemed smaller than the one in our bedroom. The bathroom sink had two faucets that weren’t close enough together to allow the water to mix and the hot water was scalding. On the other hand, the shower had awesome water pressure and was definitely the highlight of my experience with Penn Wells.

The canyon was beautiful, as advertised. We enjoyed a (very steep) winding hike down the Turkey Path, which has several beautiful waterfalls. The bike path at the base of the canyon looks really excellent, but we didn’t bring the bikes because the forecast called for rain. The trail was home to more caterpillars that I have ever seen in one place. We sat on a bench by the river at the bottom of the trail and within minutes had them crawling all over us (and Anthony had the misfortune of sitting on two of them).

Unfortunately, I woke up with a sore throat Sunday morning, which developed into one of the nastiest sinus infections that I can remember (and sadly I get a lot of them). We stopped by the canyon for a few more pictures and then decided to head back home. The drive itself is really beautiful & overall I thought this was an adventure worth taking.

I’ll post some photos in a couple of days.

Promises break like waves crashing on the shore: seemingly without much effort, but turbulently stirring sand nonetheless. Our hearts are moved as they break at our feet & our breath stolen as they crash over our heads.

It has been quite a while since I’ve written anything creative but I am feeling the urge again. Maybe its time for me to break out the old notebook?

Xander checking out Anthony’s drums.

Travis showed us this on Easter Sunday. I’m posting a link to it here because I love Les Miserables, because this lady has an amazing voice, and because it is beautiful to see someone that is perceived as the underdog triumph:

Watch out world, here comes
Susan Boyle.

The irony of the song isn’t lost on me. Susan is proof that dreams do come true (even if it doesn’t happen when we’re 18) -- this brought tears to my eyes. I hope she wins the competition.

It’s officially Spring! Anthony and I enjoyed the lovely Spring-like weather last weekend by going for our first bike ride of the season. I’m so excited for the cool, sunny days in the coming months. Bring on the biking / hiking adventures!

Also, Rita’s is giving away free Italian Ice in honor of the first day of Spring! I suspect it will be like free Ben and Jerry’s day at Penn State (lines around the block), but you can’t beat the price. : )