Invisible Children

When we were at the FusionConference, one of the breakout sessions was entitled "Invisible Children" and it was touted as something every American must see. Intrigued, we went to the session and sat down to watch a video. I had no idea how much my heart would be changed. The documentary is about the children of Northern Uganda, and their everyday plight. These children are kidnapped at night and forced to be in the rebel army. They watch as their friends and siblings are brutally killed for disobedience or trying to escape, and are scared into killing for the army. As a result, the kids are herded into buildings at night in an attempt to protect them. You really NEED to see this video. There are trailers and other videos on the website. The best trailer is on their myspace. I think we really need to be educated about what is going on and then do all we can to educate others, write our representatives, etc. Just do what you can. The most amazing thing about these kids is that despite all the murder and fear around them, they have a joy that I have rarely seen before. We got to experience this recently, as our church hosted the African Childrens Choir. Our tour group, oddly, was from Uganda. Kyle and I immediately signed up to have some of the kids stay with us during their trip. We had three little girls: Esther, Victoria, and Arabella-

These girls didn't stop singing and dancing all night. They danced their way into bed. The next morning, they woke up and started dancing again. Once these kids are in the Choir, their education is paid for through post-secondary. These kids have basically won the African lottery. We really loved having these girls in our house, and it really made us even more passionate about the Invisible Children movement. If you have any questions or want to know more, PLEASE ask. Much of the world doesn't know or doesn't care that this is going on, so we need to do our part to educate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!

Today's is Kyle's 23rd birthday. He's getting so old. Still hasn't caught up to me, though!! :)

Poor Kyle....

Kyle had sinus surgery yesterday. He's not doing too bad today, but is definitely feeling like he's been punched in the nose. He had to sleep in the recliner last night, so we've been camped in the basement. It's kind of fun, I don't make it down here too often. I took yesterday off to take him to surgery (in Rapid City) and I took today off to take care of him. He's doing surprisingly good, so I went and got breakfast this morning at Java Jae's (Jae's last day owning it :( Hopefully the new girl will be just as good). Tasha brought us some really yummy soup for lunch and birthday cake for Kyle - tomorrow is his birthday. We've been hanging out at home, watching movies and watching soccer. Kyle's been playing his xbox all afternoon, so this is what I've been looking at the last couple of hours:
I got him to take a picture also:

Doesn't he look sad? His nose is a little swollen and keeps getting stuffy/bloody. But, he's being a trooper and doing really good. I'm trying to get him to go get some ice cream - just to get him out of the house. Ok, not really - I want some. Most of you probably saw through that last comment before you were done reading it. Oh, on a fun note - my birthday present from Kyle came today. He had somehow hacked into my wish list at Alloy.com and ordered me EVERYTHING on it. I got like... 10 new shirts and a necklace. AWESOME! I'll let you know if any of the shirts end up in any pictures. it was so fun! How'd I end up with such a great guy?!!! It was the BEST surprise EVER! EVER! Thanks, babe!

Wedding Weekend

My Dad got married a couple of weeks ago (June 4th). We had a great weekend "camping" in Custer, SD. I really love being around my family and really enjoy spending time with my sisters. Kyle and I got in late Friday night, and woke up and had breakfast with my older brother, Chet. We needed nourishment for our adventure. We were going mountain biking. We headed up the Mickelson Trail at about 11:30 or 12:00. The trail was awesome. Small gravel, nicely maintained, benches for resting. It was overcast and I was sure we were going to ride into a storm, but Kyle assured me that we wouldn't. After 5 miles of uphill (at a small grade, it used to be a railroad track), we made it to Crazy Horse.

It's pretty cool to ride your bike past this. We didn't actually take the camera (I forgot it) biking, but we drove by Crazy Horse again, so you get this pic instead. After 10 miles of downhill and reaching speeds of 26 mph, we made it to Hill City, one of the cutest towns in SD. We stopped and had ice cream and then headed back. It was sunny now. 10 miles of uphill, which was hard, but felt good. I've been taking spinning classes for a few months, so it was really good to see that it was paying off. We then got our 5 miles of downhill and we were back. Total ride time was about 3 hours - 34 miles. But our trip actually took more like 4 hours. It was a fun ride. We headed back to the camp, hung out by the pool for a little bit and then got ready for a BBQ. We were actually crashing Sandy's family's reunion, but I don't think they cared too much. The kids (Tera, Mike, Macy, Katie, & Ryan) showed up a few hours later and we started having fun! Sunday, Tera, Katie & I got up early and went running. My little brother gave me the best b-day present - he remembered it was my birthday first (even before I did). Tera had gotten me a "It's My Birthday" crown from Toys R Us. Of course, I wore that down to breakfast. Later in the day, Dad got married:

The Bride & Groom

It was a perfect ceremony, even visited by a cute little butterfly fluttering through the ceremony. I have a few more pics:

Me & Grandma

My sisters
Me & My Boy

Kyle was the official photographer, but used Dad's camera, so we don't have any other pics. It was a great weekend, made me want to move closer to the fam!

Happy Birthday Girls!

Happy Birthday TODAY to Am & Dharma!!!! Love you guys!

Fusion Conference

If you get the chance, go to a Fusion Conference. It is a conference put on by RightNow.org, a group committed to getting 20 and 30-somethings more active in the church. It was really a kick in the butt to both Kyle and I and a result we are looking at ways to get more involved in our church and community. We went with a two other couples and our youth pastor and had a great time. Eric (the youth pastor) had just bought some new air soft guns "for the youth group", so the guys had to try them out. Here are some pics:

Tough Guy

Kyle & Me

Our favorite Macy pic....

Classic

The Irby Fam visits the CP

Haven't been to see the Corn Palace? You're missing out. A trip home isn't complete without a visit to the Palace. We even took pics:

In All Its Glory

Self-Portrait

Kyle saluting the rodeo....

Kyle chillin with Uncle Zeke

Kyle & I chillin with Zach

Karaoke Night in Artesian

My cousin Megan got married a few weeks ago. As a pre-party, the Yusten clan headed up to the small, small, small town of Artesian, SD to do a little karaoke. It was a great time as you can see from the pics below:

The girls - me, Jeanna, Heidi, and Tera.

Tera, me, and Mom

My brother-in-law Mike and my sister Tera. Hot.

My cousin Tayla, me, and my cousin Tambi.

The picture I promised I wouldn't post.

My cousin Andy and his future fiance, Heidi.

My momma and Aunt Nancy totally rockin out.

I may have even rocked out a little....

Congrats Katie!

My little sister Katie graduated from High School. Way to go, sis!
(Prom Picture, Not Grad Picture)

Why we love Wyoming....

Ryan & Kyle in the bighorns.
(Click on the picture - it's better when it's bigger.)

My dad, his fiance (Sandy), her daughter (Serena), my sister (Katie), and brother (Ryan) came to visit for Easter. We took them up the Bighorn Mountains on Saturday to go for a hike. We had initially planned on taking them to Rifle lake, but that trail was closed. So, we headed down to Tie Hack Reservoir (& Dam). Insert a thousand dam jokes... we did. The best part of the hike was near the above pic. We were hanging out (taking bathroom breaks) and enjoying the view... All of a sudden Ryan started down the hill and found a tupperware container. At first, we thought it was a first aid kit. However, we were wrong. It was a GeoCache. Basically, there are people who travel the world (or state) looking for these things. Ryan just stumbled upon it. We were so proud. So, you open it up and you get to take something out, but you have to put something in to. We took kleenex (we had used ours up during the bathroom break), kyle took a belt buckle, and we took something else, but I can't remember what. We left my dad's business card (just in case anyone needs a tractor), some chapstick, and a granola bar. If you get the chance and have a GPS, you should play this game.

Twins... or ... I Dress Too Young

Ruby and I on Mother's Day. Please note that we are wearing the same outfit.

road race season begins....

Tonight was the first road race of the season.... the 7th Street Challenge... It's only 1.8 miles, but 1/2 of it is uphill and not just uphill, up the steepest hill in town: 7th Street. It wasn't as bad as I expected, and I didn't finish last. A friend that I work out with ran with me, I think Kyle has retired from the road race circuit. No medals this run, and I finished at around 18 minutes. I'm happy with that. I'm not sure when the next race I can make it to is, probably June....

vacation help

My sisters (Tera & Katie) and I are thinking of taking a vacation this summer before Katers heads off to college. We're thinking a cruise, but looking for any fun and CHEAP destination. Anyone have any ideas? Our requirements: sun and beaches.

wyoming weather... sucks.

We just had a beautiful weekend. 70's-80's. Today - 32. Suckage. Why the huge weather swings. I'm dreaming of San Diego today... and I've never even been there.

Introducing Ruby Tuesday....

I realized that I haven't posted any pics of Ruby yet, so here they are. Ruby is our niece, Kyle's sister's daughter. She's a cutie, as you will soon see:

The day after her birthday.

Ruby Faith Martin being pestered by her Aunt.

Ruby laughing at her uncle kyle....well, that's what it looks like anyway.

Ruby and Kyle hanging out.

Me & Ruby chillin before bed.

Ruby with her parents, Rhea & Harley

STATE CHAMPS!

St. Thomas More - South Dakota State A Champions! Woo Hoo! Dylan saved the game with a final second steal. Way to go, boys!!!! WE ARE SO PROUD!!!

More pics from Grandma's Party

Elsie Ellefson Day Proclamation

My Dad Max & Macy
My Sister Katie, Sister Tera, and Me
Me & Macy

GOOD LUCK ST. THOMAS MORE CAVALIERS!

My little brothers play in the SD State A Basketball Championship tonight. My little brother Dylan is also nominated for the Spirit of Su award, which is the biggest basketball award presented in SD... for you out-of-staters. Good Luck Dylan & Tanner! Love you guys!

UPDATE: If you want to listen, log on to www.myeaglecountry.com at 6:30 MST. The names you're listening for: Dylan & Tanner Wince.

new year's resolutions update

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are still reading the Bible.... (our resolution was to read throught it this year) and we are right on track. Hooray! Also, I've been working out like crazy since January (spinning and a cardio/weight circuit) and have lost 12 lbs, 8 inches and my body fat is down by 3.6%. Woo Hoo! This week I was able to wear a pair of pants that I had ordered this fall, but wasn't able to get into. I also am going to wear some pants my step mom picked up for me last summer that were a little too snug. They fit now! Just tried them on this morning. I needed some motivation, as I have been really tired lately, just kinda wanting to take a break from the working out. But, now, I am movtivated to continue!