michigan a-go-go

I am finally getting a chance to update about our weekend trip to Michigan. On Friday evening we left after Jeremy's classes to go up to Grand Rapids and spend some time with Tom and Kristy. They are moving back to Wichita on March 1st, so we wanted to get to hang out again before they move back! Due to the below zero temperatures here, we almost were unable to go because when I left work Friday morning my car didn't start. Thank goodness it was only the battery, and we got he car jumped, and to Wal-Mart. They installed a new battery for us, and it has run fine since then! They car guy at wal-mart, kind of laughed at me, when I asked if I needed a new battery. I think he was wondering how it had ran as long as it had. So then around seven o'clock we headed for Grand Rapids. That evening we went to Red Robin, with Tom, Kristy and Ryan Beebe. The guys went to a coffee shop later that night until about 3am so Kristy and I took over her and Tom's king size bed, and now Jeremy is regretting that because I want a king size bed....and I keep reminding him of that :).
Saturday we had an awesome day with everyone! Tom, Kristy, Jeremy and I drove up to Grand Haven, MI on the coast of Lake Michigan. Grand Rapids had a ton of snow, but this town had way more!! Probably at least 3-4 feet! The goal was to go to the beach, and walk out on the pier over the lake. So we got there, and it was possibly the coolest and strangest thing I have ever seen! The beach had huge piles of sand on it, that were covered with snow, and then once we walked off the beach, and onto the lake, as far as you could see, Lake Michigan was totally frozen over! We ended up walking out quite a ways onto the lake. The way the water froze, looked really strange, almost like the waves froze in their place...which I'm sure they didn't. But that is what it looked like. I am going to attach quite a few pictures and you can see what I am talking about. After we were done hiking on the lake we went to a cute little coffee shop in town, to warm up. Then we drove back to Grand Rapids, for a very eventful evening. Due to the huge amounts of snow that they have, I wanted to play in the snow. So we went sledding....off Tom, and Kristy's roof :). They have a low hanging part of their roof, and the guys put snow piled up underneath that. Then we crawled out of one of the upstairs bedroom windows onto the roof, and sledded off. It was about a 3-4 foot drop..not bad. So needless to say that was a blast! I am going to try to put a couple videos on here of me and Jeremy sledding, but we will see if it works.
Sunday, we went to church with them at Mars Hill. That is the church that Rob Bell leads. Unfortunately he wasn't speaking that sunday, but it was still an awesome experience. We loved the way that they set up their service, and lead their worship. They set up there worship stage in a circle, with a big wooden cross in the middle. All the worship leaders are facing in towards the cross, and not out at the crowd like a big concert. And then when the preacher gets up, the cross is always between him and the people he is teaching. Jeremy and I just thought it was a neat concept. It was a very laid back service....no flashy lights, and it was totally about Jesus, not about the way the church looked, or the way everything was set up. It was humbling to see such a huge and world-wide known church, with a world wide known preacher, and it was just all about Jesus. Anyways....we liked it :)
Well below are pictures of our weekend. Today is Jeremy's birthday and we are stuck inside because of the blizzard outside. We are supposed to get 12-18 inches of snow, and it is blowing like crazy! So we couldn't really get anywhere if we tried. Hopefully it is all cleared off by Thursday, because grandma and grandpa Butch are flying up to see us!

This is Kristy standing beside a fence
that divides the parking from the beach.






Overlooking the beach and the lake








This is what looks like waves!







Overlooking the lake at the pier.










Tom and Kristy










This is Lake Michigan at sunset.











Me and Jeremy









Lake Michigan with the sun setting









Me and Kristy approximately 4 feet
down in the lake :)








Kristy and I again, in the crevase we found.












This was where we went sledding












Jeremy sledding (he snapped that saucer on that run)












Me sledding...do I look scared??











Tom going head first!









Jeremy going head first!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWD0xcDEFg0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpMYsMqzhL4

These are the links to watch our videos of sledding. The top one is Jeremy's, and the bottom one is mine :)