A Fabulous Weekend!!!

I'm back from a little sojourn over to Walla Walla for the weekend! Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE being this close to my home town!!! The only thing better would be to actually live there but, alas, that is not my lot in life yet. This was quite a "happening" weekend with bunches of people in town and lots of visiting.

THE SOCCER GAME

My first stop for the weekend was the George Fox girl's soccer game against Whitman College. Now, I know that some of you are completely flabbergasted and have fallen off the chair. It's true, voluntary attendance of a sporting match is usually unheard of in the life of Jessica. But, if you are going to find me at one, it will probably be GFU soccer. My good friend Andrew is now the assistant coach for the girls team. Andrew and I went to high school and college together so we have a lot of history and I attended many a men's soccer game in college when Andrew was playing for the Bruins.

Here are some pics of Andrew and I through the years:

Here's a picture of Andrew eating a chandelier - yeah, he's a little strange. (Don't hate me for posting this picture!!!)

It was an unfortunate game, the girls lost by one goal mainly due to a terrible ref! The really sad part is that they will now be fifth in the league rather than forth, at least that's what Andrew's dad, Ken says. Don't be too shocked - it's pretty impressive that I was able to determine who won the game on my own, don't for a minute think that I understand what that means for the teams rankings on my own!

After the game I helped Andrew's mom, Joyce, put together a delicious meal for the team - soup, chowder, sandwiches, cobbler - she really went all out! My help was minimal and consisted of arranging spoons and napkins on the table but Joyce said it was helpful. It was awfully cold and rainy so the girls were really grateful for some hot food!

THE BROTHER:

After the game, I rushed home to visit with my little brother Kevin who was visiting for the weekend from the University of Idaho. Kevin's studying Political Science and still isn't sure how he feels about being at the same school and in the same program as the one that Sarah Palin graduated from. I think it's cool! We had a great little visit, watched some James Bond - a Nims kids classic activity. Then he rushed off for an engagement party for one of his high school friends . . . lets not delve into Jessica's feelings about another 20 year old beating her down the aisle. Lets just trust that my romance at 30,000 feet with Airplane Man will put all there love stories to shame! Of course, this will only shame them if Airplane Man and I ever manage to reconnect, sigh.

So, the most recent picture I happen to have of Kevin is from the time he was playing Cogsworth the Clock in the high school's presentation of Beauty and the Beast - take a look -

THE GRANDMA:

I am very blessed, I still have all four of my grandparents - although two of them are hanging on by a thread now. This weekend my mom brought my grandma down from Spokane for a visit (this isn't the grandma who is really sick right now). She was sad to leave my grandpa who is too ill to travel but enjoyed her little trip. We had a good visit and she got to swing by and see my house today as my mom drove her back up to Spokane. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to spend some quality time with all my extended family but especially my Grandparents. This past summer has definitely shown me that no one will be around for forever. I've been watching my parents struggle with their ailing parents and it's made me wonder what it will be like for Nancy, Kevin and I to take care our our folks. Luckily, my parents have announced that they plan to take up hang-gliding, rock climbing and sail around the world when they are 65 so that it will be highly unlikely we will have to take care of them when they are infirm. I don't know if I approve of this method but I do appreciate the intent. ;)

Here are my grandparents a couple of years ago at Bloomsday. This is probably the way I will always remember them:

THE CHURCH:

So, the last stop of the weekend was church this morning. My dad has been on the building committee for a huge remodel of my home church and has been working diligently since summer 2007 on the project - and before that with all the planning, fundraising, etc. Today, I got to see the finished product in action - kids in classrooms, high school kids rocking out in their new auditorium, and a beautiful new office for the administrative team. It's great to see all his hard work paid off! I'm very proud of him and all he's done for this project.

Here's a picture from the ground breaking ceremony: