Strange Things Happen Under a Full Moon...

It's that time of year again where kids of all ages slip into pre or homemade costumes and beg for candy or to go to costume parties. For me, it was the surprise birthday party that we threw for my dear friend, Vanessa. Although her birthday is the day before Halloween, she claims that Dordt decided to have a costume dance in her honor. So, for this surprise birthday bash, we were told to, of course come in costume.

Being a good friend and not wanting the ruin that reputation, I decided to try my luck by going to the costume closet and see if there was anything that jumped out at me hours before the party. It just so happens that I found a marvelous gray cloak with green trim and at that moment I knew what I was going to be. Shelock Holmes! Perfect for the up coming movie in December ( I might just wear it to the theater when I go to see if for the first time, he he he). It just so happend that they happen to have a magnifing glass, throw some gloves in and the only thing left that I needed was a pipe. My costume was complete!

Later, after supper, Amber and I were rushing to don our costumes in time to get to the party before Vanessa even got there. Turns out that we were one hour early! But, as usual, Sherlock is always supposed to be where he is at his present! We were there just in time to help set up for the party and so we hung up streamers and ballons with the expectation of the soon to be joy of a woman no longer a teenager.

Time began to close in on us as more friends arrived and someone went to get Vanessa. We waited for what seemed like hours. Turns out that Vanessa was dilly dalling (needing to get a drink, needing to sing to her plants, getting her back pack ready; you name it, she HAD to do it!) Eventually those girls managed to drag Vanessa downstairs and we managed to surprise her, but apparently no one suspects the Spanish inquisition! Vanessa was shocked and came to realized how many of us are really looking out for her (despite her singing to her plants!)

All in all it was a wonderful party, but I dont think that I will be able to handle another surprise one anytime soon!

Thanks for reading,

Kels :)

Best Tri -State Yet!

Every year at Dordt we have a special event that requires two days of no school for students. Sad, but true! :) Heartland break, or Tri-state, comes along every late September and it is anxiously anticipated by all the college students from the very beginning of the school year. With only two glorious days off from school, everyone makes plans to make a trek home and this year, I decided to do that as well. Thursday I basically sat like a bump on a log all day. Had lunch with the Grandma, Cousin, and Brother. Then, I went to Keeley's volley ball game where they dominated!

The next day was awesome because my mother came home early from work and surprised us by taking my sisters and I to Minneapolis, MN.

That night we got to one our favorite st places on earth(next the library) IKEA! Also, The Mall of America was a pretty fun first for me :)

The next day, we got to go to the Shokopea Renaissance Festival! Full of...interesting people who yell at you if you walk away from their performance or if you are staring to long at them. I think nearly 85-90% of them were dressed in some sort of wench, princess, fairy, or knight costume.

Something that everyone should experience at the Renaissance festival is the food. Although expensive, it is really fun to have friends to pitch in and share "delicacies" that are not part of normal life. Some of the things that we got to enjoy were: Scotch Eggs ( a hard boiled egg with a quarter of an inch of spicy sausage around it, dowsed with your choice of gravy, cheese, or ranch sauce.) Another yummy for your tummy was the Nuttella and Banana filled crape!

After the Renaissance Festival, we realized that Minnesota must be obsessed with apple orchards or something so finally we decided to stop at a quaint little place that even had a pumpkin patch! We knew at that point that fall was definitely in the air!

Returning late Saturday night, we slept contentedly and in the morning attended church then went to Grandma's for an early Thanksgiving.

What an AWESOME weekend with some AWESOME people! I wish i could do that every weekend with my whole family!

thanks for reading,

Kels :)