TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I'M LEAVING, TOMORROW!!!!!!

Alright, so here we are.
We leave tomorrow.
AHHHH!!!!!!
Pucallpa, here I come!
Tonight, Noelle's wedding. Leave Holland at 7, drive to Southgate to Craig and Lora's.
Tomorrow, we leave at 10:30 to fly to Ft. Lauderdale, then fly from Ft. Lauderdale to Lima.
We stay one night in Lima, then go on a scary/ fun little "puddle jumper" plane to Pucallpa.
We're going to a couple orphanages, a couple schools, and some villages to do the stories we've prepared, we're painting at a church, and going on the Evangelista II!
It's going to be an incredible trip!
So, goodbye until I'm back!
--Alyssa Joy

T-Minus Five Days and Counting!

I'm going to Peru in 5 Days!!! I'm so excited, and so thankful for all the people who are behind me on this trip. This past weekend I went to Grosse Ile to stay with Kaylie, and had at least 6 people tell me they'd be "praying me through." It was great.
Probably the thing I'm most excited about is the orphange we're going to. I'm so excited to play with the kids, and just show them Jesus' love!!! Like I told Sarah last night, I'm ready to be humbled.
My weekend was great. I got to see so many people... Kaylie, Christy, Sarah, Whit, Zack, Jenn, Strongs, Laura, Liz, and I met Emma again :) On Saturday night, Kaylie and I went to see Get Smart. It's hilarious. After that movie, we went to see Prince Caspian. Also good, but it was the second time I'd seen it! On Sunday night, we had a bonfire at Sarah's house. And Strongs fell off her bench. =D And there were burning sticks, and knifes, and we listened to Shane and Shane... incredible.
It was a wondrous final weekend before this summer, except that everyone I saw there is going to be at camp too!

The Last Weekends

I thought I would just post a few pictures from the past couple of weekends... since the picture posting option is so annoying, I'm doing them all at once.

We went to Crystal Mountain June 6-8. The weather was beautiful, and it was a great weekend..
.
This is a picture of the stream between two cabins on the way to the pool...

When we got home from Crystal, Bo and I wanted cookies. So we made some, and they were good. :)


On Wednesday, June 11, I got my braces off. Right after that, we drove to Piatt Lake. What a wondrous day.
It was too dark to see the lake when we got there, but I went down first thing the next morning. The water was freezing, and it was only about 55 degrees outside, so I didn't swim...

So excited to be Home!!!


The ceremonial first step into Piatt

Last weekend, we went to Mackinac Island for the annual MGL Grand Hotel weekend.


The lilacs were everywhere. These are my grandma's favorite kind, and
she didn't have her camera on her, so I snapped a picture for her.
I really like how it turned out :)


Mi familia... all dressed up for dinner.
At the Grand, after 6 pm, everyone is required to dress formally!

My dad and me... the next night, at the MGL reception.
I was the photographer for MGL for the weekend =]]

No Subject, Really

Today I went shopping with Emilyy Joy. I decided that for all of the creepy reputation it has, Hot Topic is a pretty cool store. I got a tee-shirt from The Almost for 50% off, because it had an invisible nail polish stain on it. I was pretty excited. I want to go back when I have some extra cash to spend on band teeshirts.
And, we found a photo booth! Those are my favorite for sure. We got some good poses, but were confused by the fact that everything on the screen was backwards from our movements.
Tomorrow I get my braces off, then we're going out to lunch. After we go back to get my retainer, we'll bring Bo home, then we'll head to Birch Run. I get my first caramel apple in 2 1/2 years!
After Birch Run, we're going to Piatt Lake!!! I'll finally be home. I'm so incredibly excited. We'll stay there until Friday, when we go to Mackinac Island until Tuesday. The summer is officially kicking off!
I watched the DVD from last year's Peru trip, and it made me even more excited!

Dance or Die- EP

Family Force 5's new EP, Dance or Die, came out yesterday. Naturally, I bought it as soon as I could. I mean, new Family Force 5 songs?!
So, here is my take on the "album."

Song One- Dance or Die: I honestly thought I had purchased the wrong CD. This song is techno-ey to the max. Kelly thought their last CD sounded like someone had put Hannah Montana and MxPx in a blender. Well, on this song, they threw in Daft Punk, some static, and a synthesizer. Actually, several synthesizers. The result was a cheesy song about robots attacking the earth and dancing being the only way to survive. In the words of Soul Glow Activatur, the lead singer of the band, "There is a story being formed about the whole album right now based on a planet that has been annihilated by robots and the only way to defeat them is to dance! DANCING IS YOUR WEAPON!!"

Song Two- Fever: Musically, this song was very enjoyable. It sounded a lot more like the "crunk rock" Family Force 5 I know and love. However... lyrics like "Fever, turning up the heat/Fever, come on and get sick with me/Give me whatcha got/Cause you know it's getting hot" and "This fever's got that thang that I just can't shake/Tried to sweat it out but it would not break/My heart has taken all the heat that it can take/Just let it burn me up for heaven's sake," leave me wondering what happened to the "Positive Message" that FF5 is trying to send out with their music. Again, according to SGA, "'Fever' is about catching a fever from the Holy Spirit and turning up the heat in your life while spreading it to others." But would a new listener, who doesn't avidly read every interview she can find (teehee) know this? Probably not.

Song Three- Wake the Dead: This is the high point of this EP, both musically AND lyrically. The sound is much more like classic FF5, and according to Soul Glow, "'Wake the Dead'" is pretty explanatory because it is talking about waking up a dead society and waking up the people that want to keep it that way- music, politics, and spirituality need to be woken up today." This is a good one.

Overall: This EP was really disappointing. I loved it just because it was Family Force 5, and there are some classic things about it. But "Fever," although it's supposed to be the band's best and most popular new release, really kind of ruined it for me.

I DO know that these guys have a heart for Jesus though, and want to reach as many people as possible, as evidenced in another interview with them.
"The Family Force 5 believes that we love all people and it doesn't matter what venue it's in, if it's in a club, or in a church. We love these people no matter what. We give them the same show, same message, same interaction, same way we're gonna hang out, no matter who they are - if they don't love Jesus, if they do love Jesus. Because that's the only way that we can reach everyone. And that's the way we're planting seeds in people who don't know Jesus. So that's kind of where our hearts lie on venues. It's not a big deal. I love it when a crowd's going crazy. Doesn't matter if it's a club or if it's at a Christian event. The thing is we're still worshipping God no matter what. So it doesn't matter what house we're in. That house is the Lord's house." -Soul Glow Activatur.