"snow day" fun

The snow came down in torrents yesterday afternoon. I borrowed Nate's truck to go grab some food (eating the same chicken wrap from the coffee shop didn't appeal too much to me); when I entered the restaurant, a few snowflakes began to fell, and when I left, the roads had turned into a maelstrom. A ten-minute drive took me forty minutes, and I fish-tailed every which way. Nate met me at the bottom of Grand Avenue to somehow navigate the truck up the slippery road, around a snow-coated corner, and finally into the overflow parking lot (we almost saw a car spin out of control and smash into a police cruiser). Stranded on campus, I rounded up some people to play "snow soccer." Caleb, Trista, Emily and I met on the quad and kicked a snowball back and forth for close to two hours. Nate joined us near the end. Trista lost her phone; we searched for thirty minutes, and when I finally put my hands on my waist and said, "We're not going to find it, Trista. I'm sorry," she looked down in sadness and saw it glinting in the sun. With Trista's phone discovered, we went sledding down the hill behind the girls' dorm (Rine), using laundry baskets and large rubbermaid lids. Courtney, Kirby, Monica, and Candace joined us, as well as two other freshman girls whom I don't know (I know one is named Brittany, though). Overall, it was a great time. The cold burned at first, but eventually it felt strangely warm. Curling up under my blankets afterwards felt like a taste of paradise.

Trista and I enjoying the snow!Trista is one of the funniest, most honest girls I know. Every time we hang out it's tons of laughter.

Caleb preparing a snowball to throw at me. He tried to tackle me multiple times, but he only got me twice. "You're a squirrelly little dude," he told me.

Nate joined us right as the snow began to fall really hard after a brief lapse. He (like Caleb) is a supervisor at the Hilltop Coffee Shop (where I work); so, essentially, he's my boss. As we played soccer, he kept trying to kick the soccer ball right into my legs, and he became jokingly angry as he kept missing. Eventually we just tackled each other.

Emily and Trista lying in the snow. Emily (along with Caleb) has enormously helped me over the past couple months to overcome some of the lies of the Enemy that have been piercing me. She has been a real encouragement, and I'm glad for the close friendship that's developed between us.

Caleb, Emily, Trista and I all smiling for a picture-perfect capture of a wonderful day playing in the snow!