Its summer time!

So, summer is officially here. I have moved back home. All but one box is unpacked and put away. I am a college graduate. But, it doesn't feel like I am. I am not sure when it will finally hit me. Some people say it will hit when I don't go back to Toccoa in August. I am sure it will! Everything happened so fast I didn't even have time to process it or to cry. I also didn't get to say good bye to everyone!

The last week at Toccoa was really good. Meredith came back on Tuesday. Me, Heather, Danny, Jonathan and Meredith all had a movie night and watched Taken. It was a good night!

On Wednesday me and Jonathan went on our last college date. It was a very interesting experience to say the least. It was kind of cold that day. It only got to the upper 60s. I had been wanting to go to Sliding Rock in Tallulah Gorge for a while. Since we were graduating we decided to finally go out there. No one tells you though what all that involves. I figured it would be like all of our other hikes: fairly easy and short. I was wrong. We took a picnic and sat on a blanket overlooking the gorge while we ate. It was really pretty and fun. If you don't know anything about Tallulah Gorge here is a rundown: to get down into the gorge you have to climb down 600 stairs. It's a long way down and it is very exhausting if you aren't used to climbing that many stairs. We went inside the building because we had to get a permit pass to be able to go to sliding rock. Well, when we get to the desk the woman told us we couldn't go down into the gorge with flip flops on (Jonathan had worn flip flops). Unfortunately she didn't tell us this when we called the day before to found out what all we needed to do to be able to hike to Sliding Rock.

So, we are standing there and I was very upset. I didn't want to go all the way back to Toccoa to get Jonathan's shoes. WE had to be somewhere that night and it is a 20 minute drive there and then 20 minutes back to the Gorge. I also didn't want to drive back the next day. So, instead I remembered there was a thrift store right up the road, so me and Jonathan got back into the car and headed there. We found these nasty old shoes and socks and bought them for three bucks. It was so gross but it saved us a lot of time and even some money! When we went back to get the permit the ladies were laughing at us!

Finally we were able to hike down to Sliding Rock. However, after about 300 stairs my legs were telling me they didn't want to go any further. And they still had 300 more to go. We made it down to the bottom and then had to cross over the river hopping from one big rock to the next. IT was funny. At one point we had to toss our shoes, wade across and then take turns tossing the back pack to each other. No one told us how long and treacherous of a hike it was. I was praying almost the entire time that Jonathan wouldn't kill himself with his cheap shoes on! It was a good opportunity to practice working well together in tough situations. It turned out well. After hiking for about a mile and a half across tons of huge scary rocks (at one point we had to crawl) we made it to Sliding Rock. We also saw a snake on the way over too!

Sliding rock was interesting. It is a huge natural water slide. The water was probably about 50 degrees though since it was overcast outside. When we got in to slide down we didn't realize that there were TONS of leeches in the water. So, we slid down into the water. We both had a really hard time swimming against the current to get ourselves back up on the shore. When we got out of the water we realized we both had leeches all over our bodies. I never realized how painful those things were to have one you. Within about five seconds they start making you itch like crazy. It was horrible. Like I said before, we had to be at a cookout that night so we only got to slide down the rock three times. I have to say though, that was enough for me because each time I slid down I accumulated more leeches on my skin. It took us about twenty minutes to pick all of them off of ourselves.

So, after that fiasco we still had to turn back and hike the mile or so back to the bottom of the gorge, then we had to make it back up 600 stairs. Going up was even harder then going down!

It was exhausting. That night we had our last get together at our professors house where we watch LOST. He was so sweet. We had a cookout and they made us a graduation cake! It was a really good time! I am really going to miss going over to his house with my friends to watch the show.

Thursday was pretty busy as well. Amber, Sam and Meredith all came over to Wildwood and we had a spend the night party! It was fun! We watched a movie and talked a lot! It was so good to catch up with them! That is one of the hardest parts about graduating. I won't get to see them much anymore. Amber is moving to France and Sam is going to Barbados. Growing up is not fun in that way! YOu have to move away from everyone.

Friday they made us get up SUPER early to practice for graduation. I was a grouch. They were WAY too detailed. Practice lasted 2 hours. My room mate had her wedding shower that afternoon. It was fun. I also went to see the waterfall for the last time. SAD! I did some packing. That night we all played spoons together. I hadn't played that game in a while. We switched it up so that whoever dealt the cards could make up their own rules and put the spoons wherever they wanted to put them. We ended up having them outside in the bushes, taped to the ceiling, in the freezer, under couch cushions, etc...It definitely made the game more dangerous but it was fun!

Graduation day happened so fast it is kind of a blur. Graduation itself was long and boring. It seemed so unreal. My parents, siblings and grandparents and aunt came up! It was really good to see them. It was raining though so it was kind of a chaotic morning. We ate lunch at Isabelles on the gorge. It was really yummy! I spent the rest of the afternoon packing and cleaning the house. It was sad driving away from Toccoa knowing I wouldn't go back!

Now I am home and I still haven't been able to process the fact that college is over. There were so many people I didn't say good bye to! There are so many things I will miss. But, I am still glad I have accomplished college and gotten it out of the way! I am one step closer to the mission field. That also feels weird!

Here are some pictures from Sliding Rock and graduation! Enjoy!