Moving...this says it all.

Molly jumped in the truck and decided to go with us. She didn't even mind the buckle-up rule. What a great dog. :)

Tearing the wall down...

TadAAA! The kitchen end product!!! With the help of Dave, Dad, Steve, and Joe...we successfully opened up the kitchen into the living room. What a difference!!!

Hmm...interesting walls underneath! Keep tearing it down!

Tearing it down...

The original paneling (ugh!) in the kitchen...soon to be gone!

More house pictures

Looking at the Landing from inside the living room

Looking out the front doors

Dinning room, looking out to the deck and backyard (kitchen is on the right)

Barn in back...yes, it needs some help. Joe thinks it might be a good woodworking shop!

Yet another building in the back...used to be a little apartment? We think we will salvage what we can and then tear it down to open up the yard a bit.

Are you my Mother?....

So, this is the most recent tag-along in the Hughes family...but don't worry, we aren't going to keep this one :) But we would really like to find a home for this little kitty. She is so sweet and loves people AND dogs ! Mom asked me to put up a picture...so here it is! Isn't she so cute, mom?? I think she would love the house on Orn road :) Hmmm, we shall see what Dad says, right?? :)

Chipotle and the 1800's

Mom, Libby and I met a few weeks ago in Richmond, IN for an all-girls weekend getaway !!! It was so much fun to be together! We enjoyed dinner at Chipotle...it was mom's first time, and she loved it! We laughed alot. Shopping, talking, and munching on chocolate chip cookies was enjoyed by all. We also loved touring the historic district of Richmond, where we oohhh and ahhhed over beautiful homes built in the 1800's. Finally we took a stroll through the charming Hayes Arboretum, where mom took this picture of Lib and I. What a blessing that weekend was. I am so thankful to have my family!!!!

Images...

The colors seem to be so brilliant this fall. We enjoyed at least 4 whole weeks of vibrant colors coming from the maples and other trees in our surrounding woods. This is just one of the most amazing times of the year. When I think about the colors, I smile, knowing that God created the color show just for our wonderment. I mean, He could have easily made the leaves fall right off the tree as the cool season approached. However, I feel His love every time I notice the gold, auburn, and deep red colors stand out beneath the bright blue sky!

Took a "creek stompin'" hike with a few kids during Fallen Timbers Outdoor Education week. We put our rubber boots on and took off through the wilds of Heartland. During the hike, we found fish and crayfish and "uncharted territory". Ok, well, to the kids, it seemed like we were hiking up streams that had never been explored before. I loved it.

Snuggle time??

Boy, are we glad these animals love each other! The first picture was taken a few weeks ago as I was lounging in the chair...I got adventurous and called Molly to see if she would jump up into the chair with me. Silly me...why did i even think she wouldn't! So as she made herself comfortable, the cat (now officially Sam) hopped on up and settled in. So funny! And then the other week, we caught this second shot, of Sam sleeping with Molly in her kennel. I don't know how Molly felt about the whole situation, but she tolerated it. Since then, we have often looked over and found the two laying together on the floor, in the kitchen on the rug (especially when i am cooking...they love to be right there with me) or back in Molly's kennel. Companions?? For sure! Entertaining for us?? You bet!

The Hunt continues!

So here is a picture of the house we are currently pursuing to buy!!! This was taken on the morning of our house inspection, which turned out very good. Things have progressed rather quickly these last couple of weeks since we first found out about the house. It is situated 3 miles north of Marengo on a quaint .683 acres of land. There are several things in and around the house that will need some loving care as we move in, but that is something we look forward to tackling together and with the help of talented family & friends! We are so excited to be potentially blessed with a home of our own! At the same time, things can get overwhelming at times! But we are trusting that as God continues to open doors, we will walk through them. Soooo, here we go! We should turn in all of our paper work and loan documents to the mortgage company by the 13th of November and hopefully close by November 28th!!! Here are some further pics of the future Hughes household!!! The sunroom :)

Bedroom

Upstairs bath

finished basement area

Back of the house....we are going to build a new deck!

First Days of fall...

So far this fall, Joe and I have kept ourselves fairly busy between work, animals, house hunting and fellowshipping with good friends and family! We have truly enjoyed being back at home in Ohio. In fact, as we traveled home last month from the west, as we came to Iowa, we opened the windows of the car and both breathed in deeply. After a sigh, we both agreed that there was nothing like the lush, fragrant smell and feel of the midwest! And now, fall is coming, which is quickly becoming one of our favorite seasons! We hope to attend Heritage Days Festival this weekend, where there will be reenactment setups, horse cart rides, and all the fall festival fixin's I suppose. Exciting!

We began our Outdoor Education Season this past week with a brand new school to our program, Granby Elementary School. From monday-wednesday we hosted the sixth graders and their teachers. Everything went very well and we now have some time to work out the kinks before a few other schools travel our way. Joe has had so much to do around camp, he hasn't had time to visit any other potential schools yet, but plans on doing so in the next month or so. We feel that the Lord continues to bless our program and give us opportunities to praise Him and His amazing creation. One of my highlights of the last week would have been the Aquatic class I had the pleasure of teaching. I took the kids down to Alum creek and for an hour we learned about all of the critters & creatures that live in the creek. The kids loved it! They explored all over in the creek. With nets flying, shoes splashing and minds wondering, those kids picked up so many things! Crawdads were the highlight, and in one class, we collected almost 20! Of course, at the end we released them all :) *sigh* I love teaching these kids, and watching them discover the world around them.

The pictures above are of our new kitty, who still does not have a name for certain :) But she is growing bigger by the day! Lately, I think she has taken to thinking that Molly is her "mom". !!! How funny to see them interact; Molly will just lay there at let the kitty play with her nose, ears and feet. Cute! Well, I will continue to try and capture some more of our moments on camera and share them as we have time!

back home again

Sorry it has been so long since I have blogged! We are finally home from our adventures west and settling into the temporary rental property that will be our home for the next few months. We are so happy to have our puppy dog back with us, and I think she might agree, too!! Unfortunately, Al the cat ran away early in the summer, so he is no longer part of our family. We were pretty put-out about that, but hope that he has found a new home somewhere with people that loved him as much as we did. We have not lost anytime in beginning the "house hunting" journey, as we looked at 5 houses just yesterday! There is one prospect, but it is still too early to tell. Patience is key, as well as trusting the Lord! He will provide in the right timing. We have dug back into work here at Heartland, as there is much to do in order to prepare for the busy fall season. We were welcomed back with open arms and are glad to be back with our camp family here. However, we do miss the friendships made in the mountains....it is all bittersweet. I will be hopefully posting a few leftover pictures from the summer and then some from our SWEET backpacking trip into the Tetons. We don't have internet yet at the house, so communication may be a bit slow for a bit :) Well, we are grateful for all of the prayers and friends & family who have seen us through this summer journey. And now begins the next chapter! Adios, mis amigos...

Blue Lake!!!!

The "Red Truck" Group...best ever!!! Greg is a crazy driver!!!

Joe standing beside is trusty truck...hardly recognizable from when we started!

Last weekend we took our annual (and infamous, might we add) trip to Blue Lake via camp trucks full of staff. The whole trip takes about 10 hours to complete...and this is quite the feat, as we only travel about 48 miles round trip! We had the time of our lives as we all piled into 5 camp trucks lined with old matresses and trekked up the mountain side on "primitive roads" that made us wonder if we should really be taking vehicles up there!! Joe got to drive the white flatbed truck this year, which he LOVED and says that he is now addicted to off-roading and wants to get a bit truck when we get home :) I just smile and nod. The best part is when we stand up in the back and scream as the trucks splash through huge mud puddles (or should I say lakes!). Lets just say we come home a bit on the dirty side from this trip. The scenery is amazing as we climb elevation. Sticking with tradition, we stop at Solomon City (an old abandoned mining city) and eat lunch together. Finally around 2:30 pm we arrived at Blue lake and then jumped out of the trucks to begin the infamous ascent to the top of Monument. This mountain is 10,999ft in elevation and quite the trek to the top. But we did it 2 years ago, so we knew we could do it again. The hike itself is not that hard, however, due to the elevation we are at, our lungs are grasping for air with each step, it seems! The top of the mountain is amazing...you can see for forever, it seems. We stood on a pile of rocks, basically, with the steep sides cutting away at every angle. Now we can say that we have climbed a mountain, twice!!! The wildflowers were beautiful up there, covering the hillsides, and Joe began singing "The hills are alive..." as we climbed :)

By the time we are almost home, we are pretty tired of bumpy roads, but satisfied in the adventures of the day. Dirty staffers head into the dining hall for one more tradition...Bagel Pizzas and Ice Cream. We all turn in early for the night and have earned a well deserved rest!!!

A successful Blue Lake trip, once again.

Blue skies and crisp whites...

Laundry

clean fresh

blowing drying hanging

breezy sunshine laughter blue skies

waving dancing refreshing

colorful peaceful

Laundry

4 Year Anniversary!!!

We had a wonderful evening the other week, celebrating our marriage and life together as husband and wife for 4 years!!! Joe surprised me with a 4-wheeler ride (we borrowed some from friends at camp) and we rode up to the Boulder Fields (about an 8 mile ride). From there we hiked down to the river, crossed into it, and went fishing in one of our most favorite spots!!! It was a beautiful evening...sun was sparkling across the water and the fish were biting! Joe caught about 15 and I caught 10...wow! We even had a picnic dinner to enjoy, followed by a scrumptious Huckleberry soda. We fished until late, and then drove back. What a way to spend the day celebrating. Especially here in the Mountains. Praise the Lord He brought us here...we have been challenged in our marriage at times, but that has brought understanding and more love because of it. We are truly learning what it means to put others before ourselves. And how to continue to pursue each other in our own relationship, even though it may seem like there is no need for that. Oh but there is!! Our Heavenly Father never stops pursuing our hearts, so why should I stop pursuing Joe's, or He mine?? :) Thank you for teaching us, Lord! And thank you for allowing us to teach others along the way. It seems we have shared our story (dating/relationship) with many of the counselors and crew this year and I hope and pray it benefits them in some way or another. We didn't do things perfect, thats for sure. But I think we tried our hardest (and still do) to let God lead the way in our relationship, and it is exciting to share that with other young adults who are considering what God might have in store for their own relationships.

So yes, it has been an amazing journey for the both of us. The years continue to go by so quickly...I want to cherish the moments and savor the memories for sure. We are so blessed to live life with our best friend at our side.

Creation Sings...

Thank you Father, for giving us this amazing Creation to enjoy. We are so blessed to walk out the door and look into the mountains that surround us. And as we wander down to the river, the beauty is overwhelming at times. And to think...You didn't have to create this for us. But you did...and it shouts Your glory and Your love for us. We stand in awe of the one who gave it all. This place is breathtaking, Lord. The works of your hand are wonderful.

Pick it up

One or two nights a week, we have found ourselves gathering with fellow mid-westerners here at camp to play the beloved game of Euchre! It is quite interesting, as staff who are originally from the west really have no idea how to play the game, and some have never even heard of it! But we have 5 people on staff from Ohio (wow!) so that makes a few teams for playing. Plus, we recently taught Laura and Curtis how to play and they have caught on very quickly. We played together just the other night...Joe and I were playing well and won 2 games :) He claims I am getting better...whew! We usually find a spot up in the dinning hall at night, where many of the family campers gather to play games, munch on snacks, and just hang out. However, if we want to be in a quieter place for the game, we hike on down to the "Children's Chapel" and set up. We have so much fun, fellowshipping and playing cards at the same time. Probably one of the most enjoyable evenings of the week for us! (well, ahem, besides when we fish, of course!)

Hose Head and more..

The Splash Ball...
Lindsay, Katie, Joe (getting wet!), Shelby, Bethany, Anna (behind)
Megan versus Anna
Tatum looking a bit odd...

Another night of fun! We put on a game night for our crew kids and played splash ball as well as hose head. I am pretty sure I learned about hose head from my camp adventure days :) and splash ball was new this year here at Clydehurst. Hose head is just a hilarious game, as your face gets smashed and distorted from the panty hose on your head. And then if you struggle with coordination at all, it is magnified when the two players try and swing the ball around in the air and twist it up with each other. Wow. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time...we had so much fun together! It is always refreshing to hang out with the kids outside of work time. We played a huge game of mafia later on in the evening, which brought back many memories of Huntington, as we played that game all the time my freshman year! Good times, for sure.

You've gotta friend in me...

We took the crew to natural bridge a few nights ago for a fun outing. We climbed all around the rocks and just had fun together. Joe taught a few how to fish. We have certainly enjoyed doing special things with the kids amidst the hard work each day. It is hard to believe we have less than 3 weeks left with them. We have seen life changing progress in many of their lives, which is just so amazing to witness and be a part of. Praise the Lord!!!

Self Defense Course

A few weeks ago, one of my girls, Vickie, asked if her brother would be able to come up to camp and give a self defense course to the rest of the girls. We had a blast, learning different techniques and practicing on each other. Here we are, posing in what we thought the best defensible position we knew how. Wow. Silly girls :) But we had fun!!

Change Over Weekend

Two weekends ago, all of camp worked very hard to make the turn around from kids camp into family camp. A tradition for the crew boys is to load up all of the unused bunk mattresses and haul them up to the barn. Of course, they love to use a big truck and then pile on the top! Here is Jake, Peter, Dustin, and Danny waiting for Joe to jump in the truck and take them to the final destination. Despite lots of hard work, seemingly all day long, the boys often find time to make the work fun!!

The 18 incher...

A few weeks ago, Joe headed out for a nice calm evening of fishing on the Boulder, just across the road from camp. Little did he know that he was about to catch the largest trout yet in his career :) He came home and was literally grinning from ear to ear and proudly displayed his catch. Amazing! There were a few other guys around right then who could appreciate and "ohh & ahhh" over his prize, which made him feel all the more like a true Montana fisherman. We were so excited to cook that thing up on the grill, too. Delicious is all I have to say. Nothing beats fresh trout grilled over some glowing coals. Since then, we have had many fishing adventures, as the river is slowly receding and great spots are opening up. *sigh* We love this hobby!

The Games We Play...

During kids camp, the counselors and staff join together to play a game we like to call "Safari Hunt". Here I am with Laura, Lauren, and Hillary before the game begins. We are all "elephants" who squirt kids with our "trunks" aka, water guns! We look a bit intimidating in this picture, but don't worry, we were much more cheerful while squirting everyone :) We had quite the time...there are also other counselors acting as lions, tigers, snakes, monkeys and hippos. I personally also wanted to be a hippo...they got to swim in the pool and the jump out when the kids came close and give "hippos hugs!" haha.

We play many games here at camp, in fact pretty much every night during the kids weeks we are doing a new game. It is so refreshing to watch kids run around and just be kids. No worries, no pressures. Just enjoying life and squealing with delight. Camp in the mountains is somewhat of a "sanctuary", if you will, for the children and adults that come to camp. A safe haven to come to, away from life at home and all that comes with it. I am so thankful to be here and experience the refreshing and refocusing power of living in the wilderness (well, somewhat of a wilderness). We only have 4 weeks left...I am hoping to take advantage of every little thing!

Waiting....

Here are some attempts (and failures!) we have had at capturing the animals in our lives. And right about now, we miss them! But God is good...and we will see them in a very short while. For now, we are here learning teaching and growing. It is very good. But we still miss these guys.