grid project - week 7

Woooooo, GP Week 7 update as promised!

Sunday, July 4: Went to the Regatta/fireworks.
I spent the Fourth with one of my friends here in the Burgh. We started the afternoon with a little party up on Mount Washington--one of Fr. Bob's priest friends was having a potluck at his church/rectory, and somehow I got invited along. (For what it's worth, the taco dip was DELICIOUS!) Anyway, we rode the incline to the downtown area and went to this thing called the Regatta...it's basically a big shindig where the rivers meet--there are boat races, musical performances, kids' games, fireworks, and (my personal favorite) freestyle motocross shows. I tried really hard not to freak out with all the people--thousands and thousands of them, all crowded in a relatively small space. Luckily, I didn't have a panic attack and DIE. Anyway, we went back up to Mount Washington and watched the fireworks from the church up there before heading back to the North Hills for some well-deserved sleep. All in all, a very busy, very fun day.

Monday, July 5: Ate some raspberry sherbet with white chocolate chips.
Simple pleasures, right? It made me happy, and that's what matters in the Grid Project!

Tuesday, July 6: Went to Kennywood Park for the first time EVER!
Kennywood is a Pittsburgh tradition. For all you Minnesota peeps, it's the Pittsburgh equivalent to Valleyfair. It's strange, though--Kennywood has special days throughout the summer for different groups of people to come to the park and represent (what whaaaat), based mostly on where people live or what ethnicity they are. For example, there's Canonsburg Day, and Polish Day, and Italian Day, and Jewish Day, and more. Well, every summer there is a big event called "Catholic Youth Day" at Kennywood, and I brought a carload of youth. It was a fun day for the most part--except for the part when I almost fainted. But really, other than that it was fantastic!

Wednesday, July 7: Reminded myself why I LOVE middle schoolers.
This marked the first day of a summer program I'm coordinating with a bunch of North Hills area youth ministers called Summer Stretch. Basically, it's a six-week service/social program for kids in grades 6-8 that happens each Wednesday. It travels around to a different parish in the North Hills each week so that each youth minister only has to do one day of planning for six solid days of programming. All in all, it's a great program that I'm excited to be a part of. So when forty middle schoolers swarmed the auditorium at St. Teresa's for Summer Stretch's inaugural session, I instantly remembered why I love middle schoolers so much. They're HILARIOUS! They're open to anything, they always tell it like it is, and they have so much energy! I love middle schoolers. I LOVE MIDDLE SCHOOLERS! I can't wait for this fall when I start up a program for them! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAYYYYY!

Thursday, July 8: Had s'mores at a friend's house...in MINNESOTA.
Yes, in the midst of all the ministerial chaos, I was also getting ready to head back to the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes for a little "vacation." So after navigating my flight (scratch that, flights--three, to be exact!) to Bemidji, which involved SPRINTING through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and uttering a few..."choice phrases"...I finally made it home. It was wonderful to see my mom and dad waiting for me at the little airport in B-Town, and after a yummy dinner with them, I went to my friend Erika's house and had some quality campfire/s'mores time AND some quality puppy time too!!! She saved a pregnant dog from certain death a while back (long story), and it had some kids, so we got to hang out with them for a little bit. The puppies were each about the size of a Chipotle burrito. SO CUTE! I need to get a puppy.


Friday, July 9: Traveled to North Dakota to see my grandma and other relatives.
Pretty self-explanatory, I'd say. It's so weird...my oldest cousin on that side of the family is going to be a senior in high school this year. When did that happen?! I guess I don't see them a whole lot, so my images of my cousins are stuck on a few years ago--no matter how many times I see them or get pictures of them or whatever, they're just...frozen in about the year 2005. So in my head, my cousin Joey (the senior) is in about seventh grade or so. It's wacky. Either way, it was a lovely (albeit SHORT) trip out to the No Dak.

Saturday, July 10: Went to an ordination.
You may remember from one of my Rome vacation videos that we visited a friend, Craig Vasek, who is studying at the Pontifical North American College (a seminary for guys from the United States who are preparing for the diocesan priesthood). Well, he was a deacon then, and on July 10 he was ordained a priest at the Cathedral in Crookston, MN. It was a beautiful thing, and I felt so blessed to be a part of it!

Okie dokie, one step closer! I'll try for another update tomorrow, but we'll see. For now...

Love you, miss you, blah blah blahhhhhh!