Two major events within one week!!

These things are so major and so close together that I can hardly get my head around them both at once!

Major event #1: THE DANCE RECITAL WAS SATURDAY!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!! One of the best nights of my life! I think I enjoyed it even more than the audience did, lol!! I can't describe how amazing it was. It went SO smoothly, much smoother than last year. Except for two things, but both turned into sort of adventures and will be great memories. First of all, this big supercell storm came through and everyone had to go to these dressing rooms for shelter because there was a possibility of tornadoes!! Like right when we got there! But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us, and it's one of the reasons why it was one of the best nights of my life. At first I was a little freaked out because my Dad had dropped us off to go get something to eat, and then Hannah I got split up from Mom and Susie because we went to different dressing rooms. But I was with some of my friends, and we got creative with passing the time. None of us had any decks of cards (Hannah's were in her bag out in the little auditorium... oops!), but I did have some duck tape! We made a wallet for our teacher's brother and finished it just in time for us all to move back out into the little auditorium. When we got out, we looked over to the other dressing room, and one of the troupers' dads was playing his fiddle, and some of the younger Irish dancers were dancing! Of course we ran over to join the ceili!!

For those of you who don't know, a ceili (or ceilidh, if you speak Scottish Gaelic) is the ULTIMATE in fun parties. It's basically a get-together with lots of dancing and music and laughter and food and such. Irish dancers use the term for certain dances that can be danced at ceilis, but a lot of times we just use the word for any sort of dancing together, whether completely spontaneous or at a party.

Well, anyway, we joined in. Everyone took turns dancing in the middle of the circle to the fiddle's tune, while everyone else clapped and whooped. Even non-Irish dancers joined the fun and kicked up their heels! Then the four of us there from the troupe did a basket (a move where you lock arms around each other in a circle, lean back, and go around really fast!). It felt like we were flying! Then, we got everyone who wanted to, Irish dancers or no, and taught them how to do the basket! Soon a lot of people were going around and around (a lot slower, though, but they were THRILLED!). They absolutely loved it. And so did I! It was so much fun, so awesome, I can't even describe how great it was. It was really a ceili! Wow!

The second little "adventure" came right after we did our ballet dance. Kara and I had to run and change into our hip-hop costume. But no sooner had we gotten back to the dressing room and started changing than someone came and told us that we had to go backstage as we would be saying our verses onstage with a bunch of others soon! We just about panicked, because I remembered that after we said the verses there would only be ONE song before our hip-hop dance! That is NO time at all to change in and take off our "wreaths of death" (the flower wreaths we wore in our hair that took FOREVER to put on and take off), even if we changed in the backstage dressing room, which we couldn't. So there we were, lined up backstage to say our verses, half-changed. I was in my ballet dress with my black hip-hop tights and no shoes. Hannah helped me take off the wreath, so at least that was done. But we had so little time, we were really freaking out! Finally someone told us to just skip saying our verses and to go ahead and change, right as the rest of the people were going onstage to say it. So we RAN. Down the backstage hall, through the main hall, into the little auditorium, leaping over kids, around to the dressing room. We changed quickly, but I was having trouble getting my headband-thing to stay on! So I was trying to bobby-pin it and Kara was trying to get her jazz shoes on and people kept running in saying that we had to get backstage. I said a quick prayer, and then we RAN like maniacs back through the little auditorium, through the halls, and we JUST made it backstage in time for the ending of the song right before ours. It was pretty funny. We both decided we wished someone had got it on videotape, because it must have looked REALLY hilarious, what with us bumping into walls, leaping over kids, running like total maniacs and slamming into doors at full speed. Oh wow, I'm laughing now just thinking about it!! It was hilarious! Craziness.

By the way, a big THANK YOU to those of you who made it to the recital, even despite the storm (and we missed those of you who couldn't, because of the storm or otherwise! We love you anyway, lol!). I was so happy to see you all there! And my fellow graduates (most of you don't read this, but I'll say it anyway): Kevin, Aaron, Jessie, you all are awesome! And Kev, watch out, you never know when I might sneak on my hardshoes! *evil laugh* I threatened to do a click at him for punching my arm at the reception after the recital... I had NOTHING to do it, no NOTHING... of course I wouldn't have punched him in the arm first or anything... I'm too nice... lol. He went and hid behind Sara after that, lol.

And of course I won't forget all of you who weren't my fellow graduates! Sara, Kaitlin, Chris, Bethany, and the rest of you—so many! It meant SO much to me that you all were there! You rock!

Okay, so onto Major Event #2. On Wednesday, I leave for... MEXICO!!!! For the mission trip!! I. AM. SO. FREAKIN. EXCITED. AAAAAAAAAAAAAUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!! I can't wait!!! This will be my second year going, and it's going to be a LOT harder stuff than last year (we'll actually be staying out in a remote village for 4 days, with no showers or anything!!), but last year I discovered that when you're serving God with a willing heart, it's FUN. It'll be incredible. It'll be a blast! Wow, there are almost twice as many people going this year as last year! 29 instead of 17! So it'll be a little crowded, but it'll be great anyway. I think most of the people who went last year are going again and bringing their siblings, too, so that's why it's so much more! (Random comment of the day: have you ever noticed what a strange word "sibling" is?) Well, anyway, I am PUMPED. I will write all about it when I get back; there'll be a lot of stories to tell!

Would everyone please pray for us? Here are some specific things that I'd really appreciate your prayers for:

• For physical and spiritual health throughout all 8 days of the trip for everyone going.
• That our hearts would be open and that God would use this trip to do wonderful things in each one of our lives, and change us to be more like Him.
• For the first-timers that they wouldn't be too nervous (one gets sick when she's really nervous or excited on trips, so pray for her in particular!) and that we all would trust in God. Some of the first-timers are my sister Hannah, Kaitlin, and Kevin, plus MANY more.
• For safety for all of us, whether on the plane or on the bus or taxi in Mexico, or even walking around the villages or in the Hotel Zone on our R&R day.

Thank you all SOOOO MUCH!! You guys are AWESOME!