the place where everyone wants to live

It's that time of year. You know...aside from all spring flings forming, the classic questions of "what are you doing over the summer?", and "what are you doing next year?" seem to pop up in every conversation. Well, you are in luck because we will answer one of those questions!

What are Morgan & Ashton doing next year? We're so stinkin excited! We will both be working with Residence Life at IWU [Morgan = a resident assistant...Ashton = assistant resident director]. SO what does this mean? We will be on Staff...together...IN THE SAME DORM!!

If you are even thinking about going to Indiana Wesleyan (and you should!), you definitely want to live in Shatford next year, but only if you're a girl! :)

---On another note, Ashton had an AMAZING dream this week. Want to hear? Yes, you do! Okay, so I'll only give the brief details, because trust me this one is long! So here goes...

*Morgan & Ashton are shopping @ the mall and decide to hang out in Urban Outfitters for the entire day. We head to the back & make friends with all the employees.

*The employees are re-vamping their "interactive" dressing rooms, which are decked out with a ribbon maze that you weave through to 'test the flexibility of their clothing.'

*But here's the good part...aside from flirting with the cute guys working, another one of their employees was none other than VIENNA (from The Bachelor)!!! She still had shifty eyes in real life, but I talked to her for an hour and she was very nice. Weird. But it it only gets weirder.

*A certain person, who shall remain nameless to protect his identity, decides to lay his head on Ashton's lap and take a nap. Mind you, this boy is someone we "know", but are not friends with. In my dream, Ashton had a great sarcastic remark..."sure you can just use my legs as a pillow".

*THEN, Morgan leaves and Ashton is left in the store just hanging with the employees. After trying on many clothes, we decide to leave. Except...I CAN'T FIND MY CLOTHES! I have on my shirt, shoes, undies...but no pants!

*As I am exiting the store (with no pants on) I get caught in the middle of a marching band parade & a little girl comes to my side and proceeds to tell me that my pant-less style is going to be the new trend of 2010. WHAT?!

*I then woke up, picked up my phone, and was beginning to text people to tell them I had met Vienna...alas, it was just a dream that was so vivid it seemed real.

Now, who wants to interpret that dream?! Woah, I don't even know where to begin.

Happy Palm Sunday! And hang in there for just one more week if you've given up something for Lent.

what we always want to do

'You know it will happen.' --- At least that's what we always say.

Things like...

(1) The Amazing Race: Now Ashton & Morgan have often professed a deep desire to go on this show, although we've never talked about going together as a team (but WE WOULD DOMINATE). But really...what chance do we have?? Not to say that we won't ever apply, BUT we aren't setting our hopes too high. Seriously though, Ashton & Morgan on reality TV?! It would be EPIC!!!! You would watch & love.

(2) Hitchhiking. This is only a dream of Morgan's. Why? I have no idea! However, Morgan claims that "it's just something you have to do before you die!" Surprisingly, most people seem to frown upon this wish. (I wonder why...) Therefore, Morgan needs to say that as much as she would like for this to happen, it probably will not. BUT REALLY...we've heard a statistic that 50% of people who hitchhike found their spouse this way!!

(3) Morgan is quite the achiever. Maybe. She is setting herself up either for extreme failure OR for being the most beastly woman alive! Her New Years Resolution? To add on a push-up and ab crunch every day of the year. So far...on day 87! She might need some encouragement to stick it out...check it.

(4) Camping & Hiking. Yet, this is not your average experience...We want to backpack all the way up & down the gorgeous California coastline!! We actually know that we COULD survive this endeavor. Anyone remember the Orange story from our last post? [Morgan contends that hitchhiking would be inevitable with the trip...Ashton disagrees...but this rift doesn't ruin our friendship]

While we may exaggerate and dream big, what do we have to lose? For real, we only have fun adventures to gain! Also, we just enjoy getting reactions from people to the crazy things we talk about. [We'd also love to hear YOUR crazy wishes...aka Bucket List?]

---Gosh, sometimes we sound so arrogant when we write these blogs. But don't be fooled.---

When California hands you lemons...

It's only Tuesday of our Spring Break adventure, and with 4 days down & 4 more to go we have enough stories to write a novel.

Since it will take awhile for this novel to become edited & published, we'll just go ahead and give you a special sneak peak:

Day one:
- In the airport and on the planes, we managed to meet some pretty notable figures. Exhibit A: Jeff Ulbrich. After overhearing the scouting report for the top players all of the nation (mostly from Ohio State!), Morgan confidently inquired about this man's profession. Come to find out, our creeper skills were right on track and we met a former NFL linebacker for the 49ers, who has also just recently been added to the coaching staff for the Seattle Seahawks.
- Next up on the docket? A woman with not only a leather fanny pack, BUT a leather fanny pack WITH FUR!
- After safely landing in San Diego, we were greeted by our dear friends Sara & Kimmie, and then headed immediately to the nearest In-N-Out Burger for Morgan's first experience of this California treat.

Day Two:
- We "crashed" a baby shower [this is becoming a theme in Morgan's life].
- At sunset, we took a blissful drive through the Hills, which led to exploring & climbing through the terrain while witnessing the vastness of God's creation.




































Day Three:
- BEACH DAY! Newport Beach was the location. Here we soaked in the sun, walked the beach, ate an orange we found in the sand, rode the ferry, "Ooed" & "Awwed" at all the cute houses, and ate some classic treats (a Balboa Ice Cream Bar and a Frozen Chocolate Banana).
- We ended the day with a trip to the Hughes home to watch the painful season finale of The Bachelor. Oh Vienna...




























Day Four:
- After sleeping our fill, we enjoyed the regular breakfast of Cutie tangerines & doing devotions out on the patio in the warmth of the sun.
- For lunch, we went to Old Town Orange and enjoyed delicious sandwiches at the Blue Frog Cafe. We proceeded to walk the streets of this quaint downtown district and enjoyed rummaging in all the local shops.
- AND OF COURSE...as the title of this post alludes, we made Strawberry Lemonade using the fresh lemons from the Lucas' backyard. Twas refreshing & delicious.




































Still to come on our adventure:
- LOST party (which Morgan will be thoroughly lost watching)
- DisneyLand
- Touring all L.A. has to offer
- Flying while the people sleep at one in the morning


Any great California ideas that you wish you were doing? Let us know, and we'll help you out by you living vicariously through our adventuring.

California Girls

Update: If you read our last post...we did get our wish. Monday - Wednesday we were in a Winter Storm Warning, and got a glorious 6ish inches of snow.

Although, that may not be the 30 plus inches that the East Coast received, we are no longer jealous of them...

BECAUSE...

...in 2 weeks Morgan & Ashton will be soaking in the sun, putting our feet in the sand, and meeting all the famous people in CALIFORNIA!

We are so very excited to spend some quality time with (1) our long lost OB '07 friend, Kimmie Lucas, (2) the OB leader with the greatest style, Sara Hughes, and (3) our fairly new friend, Mr. Zachariah Gibson.

You better believe that we'll have some crazy awesome adventures to document for you all to read. Be on the lookout!

we are soooo excited.

Heaven must surely have snow.

this seems like a contradiction:

the two girls in Indiana who may love snow the most...

are stuck with a measly 3 inches...

while our eastern friends get to enjoy frolicking in the depths of the white fluffy goodness.

COME ON, INDIANA...produce. produce!!

[hope you've enjoyed this extra short...but always sweet post!]

That's Your Opinion

the event? Cavs vs. Pacer game

the place? Indianapolis

the drive? 64.2 miles

the company? 5 girls. 1 couple. 2 strangers. And a car full of immature strangers.

the evening? ridiculously ADVENTUROUS

We knew from the first minutes that this was going to be no ordinary night. But then again...when is it ever ordinary if Morgan & Ashton (plus Nitzsche, Graber, and Short) are together?! We planned to begin our evening by rolling out of the parking lot at 4pm. However, Ashton made the wise decision of locking her keys into the car. Campus Police to the rescue!! Crisis #1 adverted.

$3 parking. Holler.

All you really need to know about the game is that our boys - LeBron, Z, Animal, Shaq, and Lil Gibson - WON...by a lot!

We hope you all remember reading in a previous post about our infamous 1 thru 10 game. Trust us, this game came into good use during the evening! Ashton was privileged enough to smooth talk her way into getting a group of crazy fans to hand over their homemade sign. What did the sign say? "I am KAZAAM" (In reference of course to the great Shaq...click the link).

Driving in the city after the festivities was an experience in and of itself. To any passers by, it may have appeared that this was a car full of crazy drunken ladies. (Except for the designated driver). And apologies to anyone we frightened or annoyed in the city.

Our immature actions ended up attracting some immature boys while driving on the boulevard. After driving beside them for close to 20 minutes & yelling out the window to them, we had (1) an invite to karaoke, (2) an exchange of phone numbers, (3) some legitimate questions about the actual age of these "men", and (4) all-out laughter.

Our night ended with a rendezvous with some fellow IWU "friends". We got free Starbucks out of this! Thanks Daddy.

We don't really know how to end this, but we can't wait to do it again next year!

...and then I woke up!

We all have them. You either love them or hate them. Most of the time you forget them. And they always make for great conversation & funny stories. Yes, ladies & gentlemen...we are talking about dreams.

It's probably accurate to say that when talking about dreams, most people tend to associate dreams with psychology and suppressed desires (most of what Frued researched). Recently, Morgan was reading in the Old Testament about God using dreams to specifically speak through Daniel about the coming conditions in Judah. This prompted thought about the significance of our dreams today. So how can we decide whether or not God is speaking to us thru certain dreams? Quite honestly, we cannot point to a specific dream that we strongly believe has been a revelation from God. Could this be our lack of discernment, or do we dream about specific things/events because these are the things that are pressing on our minds and hearts?

We want to transition into a little "show & tell" because these are some of the dreams we most vividly remember:

Morgan has had such great dreams in the past that she was often called upon in class to share her dreams with all the students. However, more often than not, her dreams have resulted in morbid endings, leaving her peers slightly depressed and confused. [Examples include: her friend being sent to jail and Morgan was forced to tag along even though she was innocent. Someone usually dies & it tends to be the same two people. She also once dreamt that her friend was a terrorist. And in another dream Morgan was assaulted and then found to be pregnant! Remember...these are dreams folks...not real life.] However, on a happier note...Morgan once had a crush on a dog...(and here's the kicker) this dog was also on her pro football team!!

Ashton's dreams, on the other hand, tend to just be random and highly illogical. Her dreams have consisted of such things as: churros, rotten bananas, adopted babies riding on motorcycles, giving birth to 1000s eyeballs (actually...someone else had that dream, but it was about Ashton), frolicking around a waterpark with her husky/chubby boyfriend, driving buses, and getting kidnapped at a courthouse.

All in all, while dreams certainly do provide much entertainment, we often wonder if they sometimes have any deep or real meaning to them. Now...we'd love to hear about your crazy, random, hilarious, and deep dreams. Also, we'd love to know your thoughts on discerning what dreams are sent as revelations to us from God.

[Just so you know...Morgan went out on a very thin limb to tell you about her dream with the dog. She is quite embarrassed by this. So you better think it's funny!]

Amish Weddings

Well now...this SHOULD be the last distance blog for awhile. Ashton and Morgan will reunite Monday, January 11. Mark your calenders.

So, let's talk weddings. To date, Ashton has been to somewhere around 20 or 30 weddings, while Morgan has been to a total of...2, the last of which was on January 2nd of this year. Here's the kicker- I (Morgan, that is) did not know the groom; nor did I know the bride.

Ladies and gentleman, Morgan Meyers is a legit wedding crasher. First off-I went with an amish impostor (see picture featuring Luke Helmuth as the impostor and Zach Gibson as the other kid). Boy, were people confused. Second- I had planned to leave after the wedding ceremony, BUT instead found myself at a sit-down, name plated, 50 guest wedding reception. Third- I chose to hid out in the bathroom in hopes of avoiding the happy couple as they frolicked from table to table in greeting. I succeeded.

Yes, I did feel semi- awkward. Yes, I did feel rebellious. If you ask me, I would encourage everyone to try wedding crashing at least once before death. And then tell us about it...on MAblog.

Which leads us to Ashton's ridiculous wedding story. It all takes place on a humid, rainy, summer day on the infamous Winona Lake. Our beloved Ashton can be found passing out programs at this outdoor wedding. The audience is facing the water as this ceremony unfolds, enjoying the picturesque setting of lake, boats, and a butt? Yes boys and girls, the wedding was rudely interrupted by a water-skiing gentleman who proceeded to yell "Don't do it!", accompanied by a full moon! Now there's a divorce waiting to happen!

But really- we love weddings- (like Morgan would love to be invited to more:) We are so excited about our many great friends' upcoming weddings. But, we hope and pray that they experience 0 nude men and 0 wedding crashers.