It's been awhile.

Yes, indeed it has been a very long while since I updated xanga...almost two months!  I'm starting to get the notion that the world of xanga is becoming a thing of the past, but regardless I'm still going to post a catcher-upper.  To start, I'll say that the last two months of my life have been...packed full of adventure!

Being back at home for the summer, I went back to being an employee at Pet Supplies "Plus".  Although I wasn't really planning on going back, now I'm happy that I did.  I've actually been given some good opportunities.  I'm now considered a "keyturner", which is someone who can be in charge of the store and do basic managerial work.  I never plan on becoming a full-time manager of any retail company, but the experience is still good.

June 30th was a big day for my family.  Sarah and Sherman finally got married (I say finally because sometimes it seemed like it would never come).  But, I learned throughout the process that being involved in a wedding, even when it isn't your own, takes up an incredible amount of time.  I had the honor of being a groomsman in my sister's wedding, as well as singing in the ceremony.  Looking back, it seems like those were the simplest two things I did!    There are a lot of behind-the-scene lists that they needed help with, and it was an experience to be a part of everything.  The whole wedding and reception went remarkably well, and I'm very happy for them.

The morning after the wedding, I departed for the trip-of-a-lifetime.  July 1st was my first time out of the United States, and arriving in Ireland wasn't too shabby   Spending 31 days in Ireland, Northern Ireland, and London was definitely something I will never forget and I'll never take it for granted.  There are too many stories to write out in this entry, but just know that my life has been filled with so many good memories and experiences.  When I first arrived in Northern Ireland, I helped out at a Holiday Bible School for kids  It was located in the little town of Coleraine, and it was great.  Then, I was a camp counselor at Camp Shamrock - a place that will forever be instilled in my mind.  I spent 10 days living in tent with 4 eight-year-old boys, trying to teach them about the Bible.  Although challenging at times, it was definitely worth it.  Camp was good getting to be with the kids, but also to have the chance to hang out with the other counselors.  Throughout the time, I did some new things such as bouldering (which is climbing up a rigid river/water fall and then jumping off cliffs at the top), and attempting to hike up a mountain.  After camp, I spent 5 days in London.  It was really neat to see some major landmarks such as Big Ben, the Parliament House, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye.  We also went to a ton of museums.  For the remainder of the trip in Ireland, I got to see some awesome castles.  That of course included kissing the Blarney Stone.  Ireland was so beautiful and the entire trip was amazing.  I am confident about going back sometime in the future.

Now, the summer is quickly coming to a close and school is right around the corner.  I travel back to Oklahoma on August 22, only 2 weeks from now.  In some ways, I'm ready to go back, but in other ways I would like to stick around in Ohio for awhile longer.  This next school year is going to be a whole new experience.  I'm excited for it, but also nervous at the same time.  I'll be a sophomore in college, it's scary to even think about.  Time is flying by incredibly fast...

Now you have been updated on my life.  At this rate, who knows how long it will be before you see another entry.

I'm sitting here in the computer lab of Kentucky Christian University.  It has been exactly 1 year since the last time I set foot on this campus.  This week is Servants...it's really strange not being involved with that now.  It's the first time in 4 years that I'll be watching the concerts instead of being in them.  I had 3 days off of work this week, so I decided to take a little trip down here to Kentucky and visit everyone.  It's so good to be here.

I had some time to think last night, of course after staying up until the morning hours talking to the people who I can give the most credit for shaping me into the person that I am.  It's incredible how my life has changed so much in the past year.  Walking around the campus of KCU has made me realize that.  It causes me to appreciate times from the past that I may have taken for granted.  But I've also realized that life goes on and everything changes.  Its nice to be at KCU and have the chance to briefly "relive" parts of my life from the past, but it also makes me more thankful for the way my life is in the present.

I guess those are my thoughts for now...

In some ways I feel like summer break should be coming to an end because I've been in Ohio so long, but in other ways I feel like, "what the heck!? It's already June 3rd!?"  <--Today I'm feeling more like the second one.

Sarah gets married in 27 days, whoa.  That's really all I can say.  We've had some fun hangout time in the past couple of weeks though.  Last night, Sarah, Sherman, Terin, and I spent the evening together.  We thought it would be a good idea to park the car off to the side of the road, turn up some music from the radio, and dance like crazy people in the middle of the street.  Don't worry, there wasn't too much traffic.

4 weeks 'till I leave for Ireland!   P.S., praise the Lord for minimum wage being $6.85 in Ohio.

It has been awhile!

...and a multitude of things has happened.  First off, I'm back here in good old Ohio.  It actually seems like I've been here much longer than I really have..but it's been just over 2 weeks.  It was really exciting to see my family and friends again.  My mom didn't even initially recognize me in the airport when I arrived though! 

Things around here have been really busy.  I started working again already.  My managers have been nice enough to give me a lot of hours and earn some good cash, but it's taken a toll on my out-of-shape body.  Last weekend I went to Ashley's senior prom, and that was a lot of fun.  It was weird at first to see all of the people that I would be graduating with, but quickly turned from awkwardness into dancing.  This weekend, I was supposed to go to KCU to be at graduation, but that didn't work out like my family had hoped.  So, since we had already requested most of the time off of work, we decided to spend the weekend together at the campground.  It was a great time of relaxation and hanging out.  Other than that, I've been working on a slideshow and doing other odds and ends for my sister's wedding, which seems to be coming really fast.  Speaking of coming fast, I'm leaving for Ireland in 48 days!

Well, it is good to be home.  But in some ways, it's also bittersweet.  I miss Oklahoma.