If you'd like a little ramble...

Disheveled glam. How do we manage it?

The funny (and wonderful) thing about families is the fact that even when I am gone, they go on. That being said, when I come home from my travelings, I jump back in with both feet and a right good will. Father's Day is this weekend! I've been so busy I hadn't even realized it! That being said, we've got a family fishing trip planned for early tomorrow down at the farm-pond. The fishing trip will, supposedly, include Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Technically I am supposed to be off flour and sugar, but I might make this diversion. I don't know. We shall see. We will then proceed to make an awesome, Southern dinner for Dad.

Excuse me for a moment: DAD. If you are reading this, I'm sorry but you'll have to come back sometime AFTER tomorrow and finish reading it, because there are spoilers coming and I won't have you reading everything beforehand and acting surprised when it comes up later! ;)

I have plans to make three different clean-eating pies for dessert tomorrow night! Since Dad is off of sugar and has been for the last year or so, I wanted to make him something he'd love...I couldn't decide over the three of these so I'm just making them all. Since they are freezer-pies they will certainly keep and I know there isn't a single person in this family who will balk at the idea of left-overs! As soon as I finish this post I will be off to the kitchen to make Samoa Girl Scout Cookie Pie, and No Bake Peanut Butter Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie as well as Avocado Key Lime Pie. Can't wait to see how they turn out! I love a good cooking challenge--always have--so all of these clean-eating recipes are right up my alley. :)

I forget if I mentioned where I've been the past two weeks: I'm sure I have but you never know. Especially when you consider the brain-overload I've been in the grips of recently. At any rate, for the first week I was counseling at Generation Joshua's iGovern East camp, which was so neat. The Gala, the DC trip, the scenario and the chapel times... :)

Sarah's room: Shayna, Bethany, Sarah, and Heather...lovely girls!

God directly answered so many prayers in so many ways, and I was privileged to be able to have ten girls in my wing for whom I was responsible. I also acted as the House Secretary which meant I got to read all the arbitrary and/or thoughtful bills aloud for the congressmen and women to vote upon. Such fun. I was a lobbyist for Disney and had a blast playing up the part:

I kept the guys laughing with my inventive ways to bring Mickey Mouse into the hair-styles... :)

It was so great to be able to spend extensive time with Daniel, who we hardly ever get to see anymore. I loved working alongside him, getting to know his people and places and just hanging out with my big bro. I've missed him. :)

Daniel and his cohorts (Glenn, Fergie, Jeremiah, and Joel) did a boy-band parody for Friday Night Live (they called themselves Hack5) and it totally grew wings and flew.

They had asked me to be the crazy Fan Girl up front (with Josie and a couple other gals) so in the Epic Video (clink link to watch) that crazy woman you see? That's me. And halfway through I lost my balance and toppled over, landing with my head in the lap of one of the camper guys. It was totally embarrassing and totally hilarious. I laughed my stinkin' head off, and so did the Hack5 guys.

We are seriously trying to make them go viral just to tease key members like Joel Grewe and Jeremiah Lorrig who find themselves with (to quote Nick) "sudden cases of dignity". And actually, it has spread through the entire HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) office till Mike Smith, The Higher Up Man has given permission to print Hack5 t-shirts because right now it's looking like the kids at camps will totally buy them. :D I am still laughing over the irony of it! What started as a joke is now an actual project that might soon be making money. Anyway, you can like their Official Page or the Fan Page on Facebook and encourage the whole ridiculous thing! During the week I made the first fan-art since I was, after all, the first Fan Girl. The silhouette actually turned out pretty well!

The second week, Abigail Taylor and I were staying with Tatum and Brittany (sweet gals!) in the room Tatum rents from a couple. We spent the days working in the GenJ office when needed, as well as rummaging about Purcellville. Tropical Smoothie figured largely in the offing.

*Squint*

Poor Brittany. I made her squint into the sun. She's such a peach.

I found the darned cutest little bookstore (or, rather, sought it out after Daniel told me of it) and bought Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse as well as a No-Fear Shakespeare "As You Like It" (so neat because it has original and simplified text) and The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. It makes me feel literary! I felt like I was on vacation, getting to just hang out with the awesome people of Generation Joshua & Co. I swear, there are probably very few offices in America wherein you can find such wonderful people in so tiny a space! While up in NoVa we saw Star Trek 2 (Benedict Cumberbatch makes a SCARY villain. And no, Jeremiah and Josie, I am NOT a fangirl!), and we had a gourmet, healthy-amazing meal made by Lucas Mason. and we sang "Wagon-Wheel" in beautiful harmony with a mandolin and guitar completely spontaneously at midnight. And it sounded so cool.

Annnnyway. I need to get to my pie-making and leave you to your other more important-things-in-life-than-reading-Rachel's-blog. I hope you have a lovely evening, and please please pray for the families effected by the wild-fires in Colorado. Brittany and Nick's family's home was almost burned, and Jeremiah Lorrig's parents/family AND grandparents lost their homes for certain. Colorado-strong, people.

I hope God blesses all of you tonight. I'm feeling so blessed because I got the chance to sit in a rocking chair in the dusk and the night smelled like good things growing and honeysuckle and roses blooming and there was a whippoorwill and a sliver of a moon and one solitary star. *sigh* It's so good to be home.