That means "seize the day" by the way...I mean, well, I think it does. We used that term to encourage the girls to do their homework :) So lately I've been just running out of steam for this semester. It's been grueling, draining, dramatic, complicated, hard, challenging, rewarding...and insane. It's tests and exams all the time and as you all might know, that gets old. So last Thursday Mary and I traveled down to Virginia by train after having planned only three days before. The trip took 14 hours with delays and layovers in Philly. Someone (cough ashley cough) told me there was no need to bring a winter coat...so I was freezing as they station/train were frigid. We made the most of it though and I have to say Mary is such a wonderful travel companion. We got in at 2 am, never have I been so happy to get somewhere! The next morning we went to convo (chapel) and I wasn't feeling that great so I rested in the dorm while Ash and Rachel had classes. After that, Mary and I took care of some info stuff and then went to see the Rory Tyer band play at the White Hart in downtown Lynchburg. It was such a cool place and we had fun relaxing and people watching. After that, Ash, May, and I met up with Nate for coffee at The Drowsy Poet. He's been a family friend of ours since before we were all born haha We had a blast talking and laughing and watching music vids on Nate's ipod (80 gigs, don't get me started!) and staying 'till closing. We got back to the dorm and stayed up late talking with the girls and laughing and just being tired. Thurs pics: our "scary people in Philly" face and departing from the train station. 
Friday pictures: May and I at White Hart 
So true! 
one of the cutest couples at LU--Zach and Amy! The Rory Tyer band 
Saturday: We slept in 'till 11 (wow! That's a first) and went to eat at The Rot again (the cafeteria which they actually improved a lot, it's a pretty happening place lol). Then May and I went back and hung out and I went with Erin, Dachelle, and Anna to pick up people for Salsa dancing which was really fun. I hadn't ever tried it before so it was really weird doing something different, but a total blast. Nate hadn't danced before but he did a lot better than I and was really brave for giving it a shot. Afterwards we all went to dinner and then went to see the play "The Rainmaker". We had a lot of fun, again. The play was not exactly fast paced but it was a really sweet love story that made everyone go "aww". We hit Coldstone after that 'till closing and then came back to the dorms and crashed after a fantastic day. May and I post-salsa dancing, we never were able to get pictures of those who went because the mac lab wasn't "nice enough" haha  wow I can't believe that's all the Sat. pictures, when you're having so much fun it's hard to remember haha Sun. talk about a busy day. We had campus church in the morning which was excellent...Johnny Moore spoke and he's really good. The worship was also excellent. We went to lunch and then May and I went ice skating with Nate. So I pretty much felt like a klutz on the ice since the other two had more experience than I did, but hey were nice to help keep me up instead of falling down every five minutes haha What a blast. They're also insanely good at the "take and skate" which is why we have pictures. After that we came back to the dorms, and managed to leave in 15 min for Panera where Janine, Rachel, Nate, May, and I enjoyed Jones soda and hanging out before making our way to Barnes and Noble where we proceeded to check out a ton of music and movies 'till Nate, May, and I decided we'd like to catch Heroes that night. So we scrambled back only to realize it wasn't on that night and all the tv's were taken. We hung out in the mac lab watching youtube videos and such. We went back to the dorm but turns out we had left stuff in peoples cars like laptops and such (hey, a girl's gotta have her jones soda), and killed some time by hanging out in the laundry room and I had the privilige of meeting a few of the girls from Nate's sister dorm. I definitely decided I want to go to LU so it's kind of exciting meeting people and thinking that I could be a student at this time next year. So packing at 1 in the morning is hardly a good idea. Mary and I made a quick project of it though and after talking and trying to stay awake, we stumbled into bed for three hours and woke up at 4. We were all ready to go, ready for Travis (our good friend haha NOT) to pick us up. It was 5:15 and he still wasn't there. So May and I are in the lobby laughing because we were so tired and stressed out. Janine comes down to save us and take us to the train station and her car won't work! We called Nick to see if he could fix it and he was sleeping. So Rachel gets up and we switched our luggage to her car, mary remembered her purse in Janine's car with her ticket, thankfully. We get half-way through campus when I realized I didn't have my ticket in my bag...I started madly clawing through everything looking for that vital piece of paper and I couldn't find it! We pulled out my luggage, opened it, and threw stuff everywhere...we were a sight, Ash in her green sweatshirt with the hood pulled up, my shoes almost falling off, Rachel and mary staying sweet and relatively calm. Rachel ran me back to the dorm, I ran inside at a speed Jack Bauer would be proud of and found my ticket right away on the desk, Ran back down taking the steps two at a time, drove like the fast and the furious to meet the girls. We thankfully found our way to the train station, which was pretty much a God thing. Then Ash let me know by stupid suitcase BROKE so we had to have the guy duct-tape it shut. Just as we checked our luggage the train pulled up. Thank you Lord. I prayed and asked if there was anyway he could help me find my ticket and get us to the train station, check luggage, and on the train in 25 minutes...he did it. The rest of the way back was flawless. I'm a bit tired and it's kind of a weird transition getting back into all this crazy stuff as usual but I'm so excited...I will be done with school I believe by the 8th? Then HSM starts up the 7th for three weeks. Fun, fun. Sunday pics. 2 am tiredness with May and Rachel  Panera...if Nate hadn't taken this I wouldn't have had a single picture with Ash! 
Ice skating! May and I  
two of the coolest people ever on either side of me. 
we were greeted by this gorgeous sunset outside. Alrighty, that about does it...how's that for a long post? <3Chels | 
