Stepping Outside the Bubble

You know you've left the Calvin bubble when...

• you have to park in a parking ramp.
• it takes you twenty minutes to find a spot in said parking ramp.
• there are real cops on every corner around your school.
• people actually walk in the crosswalk because it is a major road.
• your skin color is in the minority of people on campus.
• those in the majority are not all international students.
• you pay more than $20 for a parking pass.
• sororities are actively advertised on campus.
• hip hop music is heard louder than anything else on campus.
• you're in a parking lot on the highway when you try to leave school.
• you're gone for 5 hours for a 2.75 hour class.

Needless to say, I started school yesterday at Wayne State University. The first day didn't go the greatest and has caused me to rethink taking classes at the downtown campus. Today I went to the Oakland campus off of 696 and that was much more relaxed and easier to get to.

I've been to two of three classes and will be busy with just those two. My young adult literature class involves reading 22 books in 16 weeks on top of a few short papers and textbook reading. My online class won't be too bad as long as I keep up with it. I'll keep you updated on how things progress with my last class on Monday night.

Labor Day on the West Side

This weekend we were back on the west side of Michigan to enjoy a weekend with our family and friends. Saturday we spent the day at the Meade's cottage by the Croton/Hardy Dam. We spent the day skiing, tubing, getting ice cream, and enjoying each other's company.Kelly skiing.

Brian skiing.

Nick skiing.
I don't do well at skiing, so I passed on that activity. We spent the afternoon tubing. When Brian gets back from Minnesota at the end of the week, I hope to put up some movies of us tubing.

Monday we had a picnic at Whistlestop Park in Byron Center with Brian's parents, brother, sister-in-law, and niece, Ashleigh. It was a hot afternoon, but Ashleigh never got sick of playing outside.

Grandpa's turn to throw the frisbee for Ashleigh.

Bringing the frisbee back.

Dad's trying to teach Ashleigh how to throw the frisbee. She's not so interested.

Ball's are best for bouncing...on!

Taking a trip down the slide.

A funny picture of us. Check out my new haircut!

Sunday was my mom's birthday so we spent lunch and the afternoon with my parents. In the evening we got to hear Bryan Dick preach for the first time. We also got free food after the outdoor service and spent a little time at the Dick's catching up after the summer.
Monday we got to see Oma and Uncle Henry. It was nice to see both of them again since we don't get out there every time we get back home.

Brian's already gone for the week to Katolight in Mankato, MN. He'll be gone til Friday afternoon, so I'm spending my first week of school by myself. I'd love to hear from people this week!

Flying to Canada

This morning I woke up to an usually large amount of Canadian geese honking. I thought nothing of it because we usually have a few families of Canadian geese in the pond outside our slider door. I just got back from running a few errands and heard more honking. I looked outside the window and was amazed at what I saw! When I counted, there were 60 Canadian geese total, some of those being babies. Here's some pictures.

My Stud Muffin

Since Brian is now a hard working man with a desk job and conferences he has to attend, we decided that it was time for him to have a couple of suits. He picked them up today after having them altered and modeled them for me. I thought I'd take pictures of each and see what everyone else thought. He has to attend a conference in Atlanta, GA the first full weekend in September and is wondering which one he should wear. Any votes?