Taylor's Best Vacation EVER !

Sunday evening Erika was at work and I was going crazy all alone in our big beautiful country house, so I decided to meander down to my Uncle Gordon's farm. As it turned out, U. Gordon, A. Terrry and Taylor were just about to head out on a drive and invited me to go along. 

What a treat! 

Who could say no to that? 

We piled into the car and headed off. 

Purpose of the drive: to give Taylor the vacation of his lifetime.

First stop: Burns. 

Taylor had never been. 

Of course, Aunt Terry had to document this historic moment. 

(I'm so glad you brought your camera, A. Terry!)

We took our time exploring the thriving town...

...soaking up every moment, right Taylor?!

Then, it was back into the car for more driving and sightseeing. 

(Please take time to notice the name on my 'football' jersey!)

Do you see the rainbow? 

(Erika, do you remember that movie we used to own about the kids who went looking for the pot of gold underneath the rainbow? Has anyone else seen it?)

We had great times in the car. 

I sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Say my Name, Say my Name.

Taylor introduced me to everyone's farm that we drove past and made up recited names of creeks and ponds such as "Turtle Pond" to impress me. 

U. Gordon gave fascinating history lessons and was a true Tour Guide. 

A. Terry captured all of the memories on camera...or tried to. We had to convince Taylor.

Some of you may have noticed a certain object in the back seat between Taylor and myself. It's my gun that Taylor begged me to bring along!  :)  Just kidding!

We saw a deer on the trip and I had to kindly remind my dear (ha!) cousin that 'twas not the appropriate season for such activities.

Last stop on Taylor's best vacation: Potwin!

I told U. Gordon that we needed to stop at the next Starbucks. 

He agreed with no hesitation. 

Too bad the closest one was 30 miles away.

I commented on all the "pretty houses"  and Taylor on the "sweet bins." 

I now know where everyone lives, who used to live there, what changes have been recently made, where A. Terry had her first Bible studies, and whose fields look the best (ssshhhh!).

I'm pretty sure it was the best 2 1/2 vacation hours of Taylor's life. 

It ended with him bringing me home on the four wheeler. 

Perfect end to a perfect evening.

Boot Camp -- Dorsch style!

After living 5 months in a country where it's culturally inappropriate to leave the house in shorts or tops with no sleeves and where there are no indoor fitness centers, I have been trying to take advantage of the country roads and get back into a running routine this summer. Tuesday morning I woke up with no desire to go running. Well, actually, I wake up most mornings with no desire to go running. I really despise the sport. Running with a purpose, aka soccer, is logical. I've told you in previous blogs about my undying love for the sport. Simply running, however, is not enjoyable. This particular morning I was especially unmotivated. I decided, therefore, that I would set up workout stations to rotate through and my mom and sisters were going to join me. 

(It took a little convincing.) 

These were the stations: jump-rope (don't be deceived--it is a workout), squats with weights, lunges, and running stairs. After rotating through each station multiple times, we worked our abs and glutes together. I think our abs got most of their workout from us laughing so much.

The next day we were sore. 

Very sore. 

I'm looking forward to doing it again!

No, I'm not being sarcastic.

If I had been thinking, I would have taken a picture at each station. We took a before picture, but were too tired to even think about taking an after picture! Oops!

a July summer evening

Sunday evening Mom and Dad wanted to take a "little walk around the yard" and this is what ensued...

"Ando, use your muscles and pull out some of those big weeds in the garden." -- Mom

"Lindsay, go get your keys and we'll check the oil in your car." --Dad

Finally! My chance to prove to mi padre that I know how to check my oil! 

 "You should always keep a rag in your car." -- George S.

Thanks, George!

 Thumbs up for successfully checking the oil.

Unfortunately, the oil was very low revealing there are still problems with my little Leo. 

His days in the automobile hospital are not over. 

(FYI: Leo is short for Napoleon--Conqueror, Champion, Hero.) 

The last part of the "little walk around the yard" was this:

Just  for kicks, here's a picture taken randomly that cracks me up!

Playing in a Giant Sandbox

Last Saturday some friends and I headed off to the sand dunes that are just on the outside of Niamey.

 We had bought schwarma's and were hoping to have a picnic, but the wind kept flinging the dust all over us, our picnic blanket, and our food.

Despite the annoying wind, we had fun performing crazy stunts off the dunes. 

Once you fall down, though, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to climb back up to the top.

The sand is so deep!

This little boy was having just as much fun as we were...if not more! 

Who says you need snow to go sledding?

Of course, you cannot not go to the dunes without staging a water bottle commercial!

So close...and yet...so far! 

(Bonus points if anyone can name the song title where those lyrics are pulled from!)

A few more sights from our expedition:

 The Niger River in the distance--this is with a lot of zoom.

 Aren't my friends beautiful? 

And finally...

...a picture of what happens when you roll around in Sahara sand.

Who needs to go tanning when you have the Sahara desert?

By the way, did you know that "dune" is the first big word Sarah, plain and tall, learned when she was little?

sweet blessings

The Lord, in His Goodness, has lavished many different blessings upon me--one of them being friends. Last night was the Senior Banquet and while most people were taking pictures of the seniors, we couldn't help snapping a few of ourselves!  :)  

Melissa and Shorty, they kindly allowed me to always be in the middle! 

I'm going to deeply miss these sweet wonderful beautiful ladies. 

Free Tan and Skin Exfoliation!

Monday after teacher-staff meeting, my friend Anna met me at school and we set off for the 25 minute walk to my house. We were visiting, catching up on life, when I happened to glance behind us and noticed this: 

  

First thought: Uh-oh! 

Second thought: Walk faster!

Third thought: Pointless! Grab the camera!  

  

This is looking behind us:

I have a new appreciation for the word billow. 

These were billowing clouds of dust.

Maybe cloud isn't the word to use.

Wave.

Billowing waves of dust.

 

Looks like a stampede...of dust particles.

This is now looking to the side/front of us.

We are overtaken.

 hmmm........

...what to do ... what to do...

Troy, if only I had your speed!  :)

The different colors of orange and brown were in-cre-di-ble !

I think Crayola needs to come out with a new set of colors.

Dust brown.

Sahara red.

Sahara brown.

Dust red.

Dust storm brown.

Dust cloud red.

You get the idea...

(Blog prize for the most creative color name!)

Back to Anna and I on our walk home...

We were doing okay, until this happened:

The storm had made the 4:30 afternoon look like 10:00 night.

I could barely see the hand in front of me. 

We thought about going to a little gas station store on the other side of the road, but had not the courage to cross the street. Traffic in Niamey is already life-threatening. Attempting to run across the road in a sand eclipse would be certain death. 

Thus, we kept navigating our way through the blackness.

Thankfully, the light orange soon returned and we could at least see if we were about to fall into the gutter.

The wind was so strong. 

It reminded me of Kansas on a very bad day. 

Strong wind pelting the face, arms, and legs with fine dust was an unknown sensation for me, but not necessarily a pleasant one.

My poor contacts.

Black plastic blags and trash were blowing everywhere.

It reminded me of Mary Poppins--the African version.

After a long and tedious trek home, Anna and I finally arrived... a few shades darker!

I'm still finding dust in my ears! 

And YES! I cleaned them!

Thankfully, the much-needed rain followed the dust storm.

There is nothing more beautiful than the sound of rain on a tin roof.

I love it...and find it soothing. 

It makes me crave hot chocolate and baguette. 

Andrew, you know what I'm talking about!

I had just been thinking how I hadn't had anything to blog about for a while.

Walking for 15 minutes in the middle of a dust storm helped!

I took a few videos, but they are too large to upload.

Melissa's 28 Today !

Today is my Sister-Sue's birthday! She is the best older sister in the entire world. True statement. She was away at boarding school for three years when she was in high school and I always missed her so much. I thought she was the coolest person in the world and I loved copying everything she did, much to her aggravation. When she would come home from boarding school, she did a good job of being "big sister." She would take me on sister dates. Our first date together was at home, where we watched my first chick-flick, She's all that, (She told me I should have a crush on Freddie Prinze Jr. because he was sooo attractive) and drank sparkling grape juice out of glass goblets she had bought for the occasion!

We share a lot of common interests: reading, journaling, coffee-shops, an appreciation for literature, road-trips, saying super emotioanl-sappy things to get Erika to "flutter her eyelids," etc.
Melissa is one of my biggest supporters in writing.
She often edits my work...and cries every time!

Unfortunately, we also share similar noses; long, with a slight bump on the bridge, and forms an arrow-head tip at the bottom. Hers is slightly wider, mine is slightly longer. Both undesirable! 

We tend to do crazy things together. For example, when we were road-tripping to cousin Cassie's wedding, we saw an old abandoned house on the side of the highway and decided to jump out, "explore," and take pictures.

When we road-tripped to Minnesota, I read The Scarlet Letter out loud to her.

We both love Stade Rennais!

We both like to take goofy pictures and pretend they look classy because they're taken at cool angles or in unusual poses! :)

Melissa-Sue is beautiful. 

She's talented. 

She speaks English, French, and is learning Spanish. 

She has a sharp intelligent mind and a kind generous heart.

I'm so glad she's the oldest because she does the best job of relating to all three of the rest of us. I think she often knows me better than I know myself. She brings out the best in all of us younger siblings. 

I'm so glad she's the oldest because she truly is someone that I look up to, admire, and respect. She's my role model in so many different ways.

I'm so proud to have a sister serving and seeking the Lord with all her heart, mind, soul, and strength. (And I'm glad you chose to work with Agape in France!!!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR SISTER!