Last Days of AmeriLife!

Wow! I can't believe that yesterday was my last day of work in AmeriCorps! I am currently sitting in the Durango airport anxiously waiting to fly to Akron, OH for my childhood friend's wedding! I will fly back into Denver on Sunday evening to spend my last 10 days out-processing and saying goodbye to all the amazing people I have met!

I had to be dropped off here several hours before my flight, so I am thankful to have free wifi and a chance to update my blog! I have been so busy wrapping up the year and the end of my time in Durango. Here are some pictures to summarize all the great things my team and I have been doing!

For about 10 days in mid June, we had these UpWard Bound students working on the site with us from 1-4pm in the afternoons. It was a blast! I suggested that we divide the kids up into teams and have pairs of us act as "crew leaders" for the time the students were there. I planned and directed many fun service-learning activities, such as team builders and relay races. All of us really enjoyed having the kids on the worksite!

Here's Joel and I with our team (team "Sitting Bull" as the kids named us). Since our kids were 15-yrs.-old, they weren't allowed to work on the house (you have to be 16 to volunteer on a Habitat site). Therefore, we worked to build this shed behind a pre-existing Habitat house across the street.

Here they are working hard to side our shed!

This is the last picture we have of our house. The tresses were delivered and a crane placed them on top on our last day! It's estimated to be finished in mid-September.

During the last week of June, the office team leaders (Lindsey and Elisabeth) came down from Denver to visit us and work with us for a day. Here we are having a photo-shoot on our lunch break!

Lindsey and I (my team leader for shuffle round in Arkansas!)

Jamie and I posing in the window!

We stopped here on the way home from work yesterday to take a picture! A couple people on our team make jokes about "blasting" each other a lot, so we had to stop.

I love this picture! This round especially, our team has been cooking some really delicious and well-planned meals. We have also been baking lots of desserts and treats (probably because we have been lucky enough to have a HUGE fully stocked kitchen!) Because of this, we started calling ourselves "porkers," and I decided that we should make a COOKBOOK! I have been working on it for a couple weeks, collecting our favorite recipes that we have made since we started out together in October. When I was putting the final touches on the cookbook, I realized we needed a picture for the cover. Jamie suggested we take a picture in the kitchen holding utensils and acting silly. Here's what we ended up with!

As a thank you and going away present, Habitat paid for us to go bowling last Friday!

Lookin' cheesy....

This past Sunday, our team took our final team-outing up to Silverton, which is about an hour away from Durango. It is BEAUTIFUL there! We stopped at many scenic over-looks, had lunch in the historic downtown area, and enjoyed shopping for unique gifts like jewelry and moccasins.

Breath-taking...honestly one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

Doesn't even look real it's so pretty!

I have realized that I have this hidden talent...I am really good at self-picture-taking, even of groups!

After our fun team-trip to Silverton over the weekend, I wrapped up my last few days with more excitement! Tuesday was our Marty's (our team leader) birthday. We have been planning for several weeks a great surprise for her to show her how much we love and appreciate her.

We made her a very special gift (you'll see below) and then planned a surprise party for her. We got permission from our old church (we lived in one for the first month and a different one for our second month) to cook dinner there Tuesday night. Some people went to a pavilion near our housing and decorated, other walked to a liquor store and picked up some beer and wine, and others cooked Marty's favorite meal at the other church. Mary, Jamie, Kelly, and I "held down the fort" at home with Marty and told her to be ready at 7pm. While we were killing time before the surprise, we took Marty to a Mexican restaurant across the street. Because it was her birthday, they gave her a free FLAMING SHOT! Check this out!

After a couple drinks at the restaurant, it was 7pm and time to begin the surprise. The cookers (Tim, Meg, and Mackenzie) picked the rest of us up at the church and we blindfolded Marty. We drove around in circles a little bit to confuse her, and then we finally arrived at the pavilion. She took off her mask and was so happy to see all the food and decorations! We enjoyed the yummy food and then got ready for the best surprise -- our gift we made her. Amanda presented it to her, explaining that it was both a birthday and "thank you" gift, and she elaborated on how much we love and appreciate Marty. And then, she opened the box and found the amazing quilt that we made her!

We had each decorated a square for her, filled with quotes, inside-jokes, pictures, and paint. We all went around and explained our square to her! She was crying the entire time! It is so great and she can't wait to show it off to everyone when we get back to Denver!

After the gift giving, we enjoyed some drinks and played "Boxers or Briefs" one last time. We laughed hard and eventually, walked home for the night. It was so much fun and a great last bonding for our team!

Last night (Wednesday), we also did something really special. A couple weeks ago, we decided we should have "Christmas in July." However, we changed the name to fit the multiple beliefs of our team, so it ended up being the "Non-denominational, politically correct holiday celebration in July!" Anyway, we drew names for a "secret Santa" type gift, and created rules stating that our gifts had to home-made and use only materials from the worksite. Everyone has been secretly working REALLY hard on their gifts, and last night after dinner we exchanged them. I wish I had taken pictures of everyone's gifts; they were SO amazing. People made wind chimes, notebooks, wall hangings, picture frames, jewelry, pencil holders... We were all blown away by everyone's creativity!

Well, that's all for now! I have about an hour before my flight departs! Hope you enjoyed reading -- I will be home to Michigan in just a couple weeks! Hope to see you all soon!

PHOTO UPDATE!

Wow! As usual, it has been awhile and I am pressed for time. Here are a few pictures to serve as updates on my life over the past month! Enjoy!

Fire Six team hike over transition week -- afterwards, we were officially sent back to our permanent teams! (so sad!)

On the Tuesday of transition week, we had the annual "AmeriProm," held at the very classy (not) 4G's Mexican Restaurant across from campus. The goal was to dress as gaudy as possible. I wore a dress that MG got while in Arkansas, which was straight 80's.

Here are some of the lovely Fire Unit members in our dorm lobby before heading to the event!

And the fabulous members of Fire One, happily reunited after shuffle round!

On Wednesday of transition week, we had an "All Corps Decathlon" around campus. Each team dressed up and competed at various events such as: frisbee, soccer, trivia, egg drop, obstacle course, etc. Our team spontaneously decided to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

On Thursday, we got free tickets to a Rockies game, and then we headed out for "ladies night" at this bar in Denver where ladies drink for free from 9-close (yes, I said free. Dangerous, I know!)

Over the weekend, I volunteered with the National Guard and spent time relaxing and cleaning. On Monday, May 17th I headed to Bayfield, CO with Fire One. But I wasn't there for long. On Wednesday morning, I flew to Georgia to spend time with Eric and attend his Officer School graduation. It was GREAT to see him and his family, and the graduation ceremony was really nice.

Here's me with Eric's family outside of the graduation.

Eric's mom and I pinning on his bars which signify his rank as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Ok, that last picture was posed. He's really tall, so we made him squat down!


After graduation on Thursday, we spent Friday exploring the area with his family. We went to a state park with a mini canyon area and hiked around. I was unprepared and didn't pack any tennis shoes for the trip (only flip flops and flats) so I did some barefoot hiking. I felt that after my two months in Arkansas trail building, I could hike in almost anything!


Another view of the canyon.

On Saturday morning, Eric and I began our roadtrip from Georgia to my team in Bayfield, CO. Eric's next stop for the military is in Arizona, so we decided to drive together so I could help him make it across the country. We stopped Saturday night in Memphis, TN and had an awesome dinner at Texas de Brazil. Afterwards, we walked around Beale Street, which is like a mini-Bourbon Street from New Orleans. There's live music, artists, and lots of drinking.

Eric thought this sign was hilarious, so of course I made him pose for a picture!

Not quite as crowded as Bourbon, but you can see the similarities!

We spent Sunday night in Amarillo, TX and then arrived in Bayfield on Monday evening. We went into Durango and had dinner at the Steamworks Brewery, which was really nice. Eric got to meet my team and came over for dinner on Tuesday night. It was awesome to spent so much time with him and also for him to get a glimpse into what my AmeriLife is actually like!

Now for my project. We are building a two-family duplex in Bayfield. This is a picture of the lot from our first day. As you can see, it was just a cement crawlspace, so we are building from the ground up. You can see the beautiful mountains in the background. This area of Colorado is so pretty. It's always sunny, never rains, and it's hot (85-90' daily) but not humid because the altitude is around 7,000 feet.

Here's our team inside the basement on our first day. We are ready to learn tons of new construction skills and build this house!

My team installed the first level flooring while I was away visiting Eric. Here's a picture of us on my first day back. Jamie was the mastermind behind this picture. When asked why we were making a heart, she said "because we love each other!" Haha - it's a really cute picture nonetheless.

Here's a picture of Tim, Mary, and I using the circular saw to cut sections of OSB for the exterior of the house.

Since it was mostly girls who built the very first exterior wall, we decided we should have a "girls only" lift for the first wall. Here we are, showing off our muscles prior to lifting the wall!

And here we are standing it up!

We were so excited to have the first wall up!

And now we have the entire first floor framed! We are working on the staircases up to the second floor and then we will be starting round two of framing. It's really exciting building a house because the progress we make each day is very noticeable!

So where are we living? We are staying in a church in Bayfield. We have lots of space and the congregation is very nice for housing our team. I sleep in a storage closet (haha, yes, weird I know) with Amanda and Marty. It sounds strange, but we are the only ones who don't have to pack up our cots on Sundays for church, so it worked out pretty well.

Bayfield is a small town with a population of about 1,500. It's sort of in the country so we are able to make bonfires in the evenings and have Smores, which is always fun!

We are about 20 minutes from downtown Durango, which has TONS of fun things to do. Last Sunday we all went white-water-rafting, which was a great experience. The water was FREEZING because it was run-off from the mountains, which also meant the river was moving pretty fast. When we went through the most rapid part of the river, I was asked to sit on the nose of the raft and keep the boat from flipping over backwards! I had to put my legs outside the boat, hold onto the rope, and ride for dear-life like I was riding a bull while the freezing cold 7 foot waves of water knocked into me! It was so intense, and I couldn't even scream because the cold water was knocking the wind out of me with every hit. I eventually fell backwards into the boat and nearly had a panic attack because I couldn't breathe, but afterwards I was really excited that I did it!

Durango has tons of great bars and restaurants. Here's Ross, Mary, and I out for sushi last weekend.

And here's Mary and I out at the Wild Horse Bar and Saloon on Saturday night.

Overall, I am having a great time finishing up my last round of AmeriCorps. Everyday I learn new skills and things about myself, and everyday is a new adventure. Even though I am anxious for my adult life to really get started, I cannot imagine if I hadn't done this program!

Best wishes for a safe and happy summer to all of you! I will be returning to Michigan on July 31st, and I can't wait to see and catch up with everyone! Take care!

Alabama, Arkansas, I do love my Ma and Pa...

I created this video to show at our unit meeting tomorrow to summerize our time in Arkansas!

Chainsawing Video

Picture Updates from ARKANSAS!

It's been pretty hard to keep in touch from the middle of the woods in Arkansas, but here are a few more pictures as I wrap up my last week here.

Next Friday (May 7th) I leave to head back to Denver for transition week.

On the 16th, I will leave for my last project working with La Plata Habitat for Humanity in Durango, CO. I will be reunited with my permanent team, and we will be building a duplex from the ground up!

Here's a picture of where I spent a Saturday afternoon laying in the sun by the river.
SO PRETTY!

Mom and Dad came to visit (Yay!) We spent the weekend in Hot Springs and then came to hike the trails my team and I built on Sunday morning. Here we are on Multi-Falls bridge, the first of four bridges that my team built.

Beautiful view from the Visitor's Center.

Spring has sprung and there are tons of flowering trees and plants in the trails!


The state butterfly, Diana Fritillary.

Battle wounds from a day using the tree puller! Two GIANT bruises on my left thigh! OUCH!

Smoothing the trail with my fire-rake.

Chainsawing isn't quite so scarey anymore!

Using the hammer drill to insert wedges to break off part of a giant rock!

Using the demolition saw to cut pieces of rebar to secure our bridge.

As you can see, I have been learning how to use many different power tools! It's been an awesome experience, and I have learned a lot about myself and building hiking trails!