if only I had a spy cam

...then I could show you the interesting sights around campus.

I could show you:

• the infamous barefoot-guy
• girls trying to ride bicycles in six-inch heels
• the genius who set up his hammock on the quad today
• the guy who struts through the quad like he's on a runway
• long-boarders who slalom through people
• the 12:20-12:30 mob between classes
• protesters
• a group of Hindu men chanting in a circle
• squirrels
• aspiring musicians 

But, sadly I have no way of getting pictures from my cell phone and so, you must use your imagination. And use it well, I see pretty much everything on campus. :)

No wonder people look at me funny. I'm always stifling laughter. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

camping + reception #2

Once again, I had a crazy weekend. Surprise. 

Friday, was the Champaign Sunday school camp out. There was a 100% chance of rain so we made the stressful last minute decision to change to location. We ended up going to Comlara park, an hour north, where the chance of rain was much less. Katie, Stephen, Kaleb, Sarah, and I went early to set up. 

It rained while we were setting up and during supper but, after that it cleared up.  Beautiful clear sky, gorgeous stars, crisp fall air...It was perfect camping weather. :)

the clouds 

It's the 25th annaversary of Where's Waldo

Drew and Ryan volunteered to be Waldo during 

our twist on capture the flag.

breakfast Saturday morning

the traditional roasting of glazed doughnuts :)

beautiful morning by the lake

group pic

:) true personalities.

Saturday, after I got home, we set up for Matt and Lena's home reception.

center pieces

dessert table

yum.

Me and Lena trying for a picture

aw...:) love these (crazy) girls :)

Sunday was relatively uneventful. Thank goodness. Down time is not a bad thing.

In Christ 

~Michelle

...ahh :)

Long ago, when Jenny was down here at U of I she would always blog about Polar Pop's. 

Tonight, I went for my first Polar Pop as a U of I student. :)
 mm-hmmm. Bring on the D.P.

In Christ,
Michelle

embarrassing moment

I think I scared my classmate today.
I was driving her back from a meeting today when this happened:

Me: ...and that's why AH!!!! there.is.a. spider...on.my. mirror. (while feverishly squirming away and trying to drive at the same time.
her: yikes!
Me: Just a warning I'm arachnophobic  and I'm really trying to remain calm right now. But, can you squish it for me? please....
her: (trying to squish it)
Me: (screaming hysterically intermittently and trying to stay on the road)  Never mind. Don't squish it!!! if it falls on me we are going crash.
Her: (looking at me very wide eyed) ok...

So, I tried to back track and reassure her that I wouldn't kill her.  We did make it to the parking lot safely and I promptly jumped out and she squished the spider.

sigh...

In Christ
~Michelle

picnic, painting, picnic

Last week was full to the brim with activity. (beware, this is quite long and wordy, I'm covering about 3 blogs worth...have fun) 

Besides regular yg activities, nursing home sing on Tuesday, singing on Thursday there was a whole bunch of other things going on. 

Wednesday was the Illini grove picnic. It's an annual picnic for the Champaign church and students. Though the yg officers were in charge of it we really didn't have to do much. I was in charge of the drinks and table service. The guys brought the burgers...an hour late, after nearly burning down the shaker. :)  The burgers were great though and everyone seemed to have a good time. 

Thursday after the yg thing I normally would drive home but, Katie and I decided to paint our apartment Saturday so, I decided to stay down for the whole weekend. 
Friday, after sleeping in :) I got a call from my dad "blah blah (financial stuff that totally confuses me) you need to call the financial aid office." Anyway, I called and it turned out I hadn't filed my FAFSA. So, I have to wait to apply for a loan until I complete my FAFSA and have it reviewed, and then they have to wait 10 days before they will deposit the money into my account. Oh, and I only have 14 days to do this. 
Minor freak out. So...I ended up driving home Friday afternoon, finishing my FAFSA with a lot of help from my dad (thank you) and now I'm just waiting for the loan to be approved.

Friday night Washington yg had a singing at our house. It was really nice to be home for that.

Saturday, I got up early and drove back to Champaign. Katie and I started painting around 11:30. Sharnell brought us pizza for lunch and helped us for a while. 

All ready to paint!

Before

After

another view

I LOVE the map :)

before shot of the dining room

after

I love the way it makes the trim pop.

 It's not a very big difference. But, it looks so nice.

Today was the New Student Welcome. I was in charge of the food. 110 people had RSVPed so, naturally I rounded up to 120 and sent Katie to get 120 buns. Well today I started freaking out. What if people come that didn't RSVP? What if 120 come but they want seconds? What if I counted wrong?- What if we run out of food! Oh the shame, the horrors of being in charge of an AC function that runs out of food. 
So, I made Dave buy 30 more buns. 
120 people did not come to the picnic. It was more like 80. We had food left over. sigh. :)
The picnic went really well. We have a great group this year and I enjoy being around their parents. 

This year's U of I yg

(Not pictured: approximately 8 students, and 5 graduated )

In Christ
~Michelle

They're Married!

Mr. and Mrs.Wyss

 Sunday was my big brother's wedding. We drove up Friday, stopping in Minneapolis to pick up their rental  car. We ate out at Pizza Ranch with the Steiner family. Benj was pretty excited to show us how things worked. :)
I spent the night with Lena. We had a little bit to much fun and stayed up late with Heather S, Emily, Brittney, Heather W, and Alyssa. 

Saturday was pictures. :)

the family

the wedding party

After lunch, I took a long nap before we headed to the rehearsal. The rehearsal was quite funny as most of the wedding party had never been in a wedding before and Winthrop isn't very used to having weddings. 
Anyway, they all looked pretty stiff, especially when they had to link arms. :)

I went with my parents to help set up the rehearsal dinner at Sister's Tea Room.

the tables

name tags

awesome chicken :)

Saturday night after the dinner, we went to a singing at church and then the yg went to a lunch call after that. Jeana L. and Brittney F. came back with us to Lena's. Once again we had a late night. :) I love late nights laughing with a bunch of fun girls. 

So, Sunday they got married.

officially married

the get-away car

leaving

Randy and dad cleaning up the car :)

It was a great weekend. 
Lena is awesome. I am so excited to have her in the family. :)

In Christ
~Michelle

look what I found

so...very long ago...like, at the beginning of summer Carli and  Kandace came to visit me. I never posted this because when I got home Matt told me he was engaged and I kind of forgot all about it.

We ate lunch on the quad, 

stopped for frozen yogurt at Cocomero,

saw the sights,

and we even posed in front of the Alma Mater,

and in front of the fountain.

:) so beautiful...did I ever tell you that 

U of I is a pretty cool place?

Anyway, I can't believe I didn't post this long ago. It was a lot of fun. More people should come visit me. *hint, hint*

In Christ

~Michelle