One of the Best Weekends Ever

This was one of the best weekends of the year here at Bluffton. The weather was beautiful, and spending time with my friends and Scott was amazing.
It all started on Friday afternoon. Scott and I went on a walk to the park and just had a good time talking and being together. It was nice to enjoy the sunshine and start the weekend off in a great way. After that me and my girlfriends all went out to dinner. We don’t get to spend as much time together as we would like to because we are all so busy so it was awesome to just get a chance to enjoy a night out together. We then came back to campus and headed over to the PALS Luau which was an awesome dance with a Hawaiian theme. PALS (Peer Awareness Leaders) did a great job of decorating Bob’s Place to look like a Hawaiian island. We had a blast dancing and just hanging out. After that me and a bunch of friends went over to visit Scott since he was on duty. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards and laughing. And, that was just Friday…
On Saturday I got up and was excited about Riley Creek Festival, which is one of the best days on campus. Riley Creek Festival (RCF) is a big festival on the lawn on campus. There were a bunch of student booths set up with everything from “make your own Hawaiian lei” to “make your own rocket” etc. There were also bands playing and huge inflatable games, like a giant obstacle course, slide and mechanical surfboard. We ate lunch at the festival, then spent the day in the sun having a good time with everyone. Me and a friend then made a trip to Findlay to get some random stuff, then back to RCF. After that was over, me, two friends, and Scott played Euchre, then had dinner and made a trip to Cold Stone Creamery in Findlay. After we got back from that, we laid out on the lawn to watch a drive-in movie that was the wrap up for RCF. What a great Saturday :). I spent the rest of the night working on a paper, and nursing my sunburns!
Today I woke up to another beautiful sunshiny day! After sleeping in, I went over and played games outside with Scott and a bunch of other friends. We played catch for hours and just soaked up the sun all afternoon. I came back and went to a dinner for the communication department, then I had a floor activity. We had a “mocktail party” where we served non-alcoholic cocktails and listened to music and played games. There were over 30 people that came, so we had a great time. It was an awesome way to wrap up my year of floor fun. Tonight Scott and I are going to go and look at stars on this clear night, which should be an amazing way to end what has been one of the best weekends I can ever remember!
I hope your weekend was amazing as well :)
Until next time…
Mary
pictures: me and a friend at RCF, and me and Scott at the Drive-In

Want to Have a Block Party? OK!

This has been another amazing weekend here at Bluffton. On Friday Scott and I went out to dinner and for a walk in the park, which was a great kickoff to what ended up being an amazing weekend. On Friday night I was on duty and me and the girls had fun just watching some stand-up comedy and taking random pictures.
Saturday I went out to lunch and shopping with two of my best girlfriends and we had a good time laughing and just enjoying some time together. On Saturday evening I planned a surprise date for Scott. We did some of his favorite things, watched some Scrubs, went out to dinner, watched a little bit of a documentary on Notre Dame football, hit up the coffee shop and watched his favorite movie. It was so nice to just unwind and laugh with him. We had a good time talking and just enjoying time together.
Today was a super busy day! All during the day we had a retreat with the new Marbeck Center Board. It was wonderful to get to know the new board a little bit better because we spend so much time together planning events for the year. We planned “Welcome Back Week” for next August and we have some awesome things going on – it makes me excited already to come back in the fall!
This evening was a big event for our residence hall! We had a block party for our hall (and the rest of the campus was invited to come too!) We blocked off the section in front of our hall and had a cookout, door prizes, corn hole, twister, a cake walk, ring toss, and cards being played for a few hours tonight and it was so fun! It’s great to take a break from homework to enjoy some outdoor activities as we prepare for another busy week. As the end of the year comes it gets crazy with homework and preparations for next year. The block party was a blast and a nice end to a great weekend.
Until next time,
Mary

Going By So Fast...

Three and a half weeks left? Are you sure? Coming back from Easter Break it seems crazy that we only have a few weeks of classes left, then we take finals and call it a year. This year has absolutely flown by and I cannot believe that I am going to be a senior next year. A girl on my floor my first year that was a senior told us that every year goes faster and so far she has been exactly right. College is so much fun and flies by in a way that I can hardly put into words. I am going to work hard to soak up the next few weeks and gear up for what is shaping up to be an amazing summer.
The day of graduation me and 10 other people are leaving for Detroit and flying out the next day for 3 weeks in Trinidad. This is for our cross-cultural trip for our general education here at Bluffton. Some students choose to take a few classes of a foreign language, but the majority of students on Bluffton’s campus take the trips. In May students from Bluffton will depart on trips all across the world. There are trips to China, Trinidad, Mississippi, etc. this year and everyone is anxious to see what kinds of experiences we will have as we head into another culture. I know that Trinidad is going to be a life-changing trip and I cannot wait for that. We have been waiting for it for so long, I cannot believe it is only 4 weeks away!
Life is crazy on campus these days. Everyone is in crunch time for papers and projects that will be due in the next few weeks. We are all itching for the summertime and ready to take a break from classes. It will be a busy last few weeks, but exciting at the same time.
I hope you are doing well, too. Come and visit Bluffton – it is an amazing place!
Until next time,
Mary

Baseball

This past Friday was the first baseball game of the season for the Bluffton Beavers. It was wonderful to hear that the men were going to have a season and be able to play after the tragic bus accident 4 weeks ago. On Friday everyone was anxious for the game and ready to show some Beaver spirit and go cheer the boys on. Scott and I went out to the field and met some friends about 45 minutes before the game and it was already packed. There were students, parents, community members, media, and other supporters all over the place as the team took on Mount St. Joe for an emotional opening day. It was amazing to see so many people cheering on the team and honoring the memory of the 5 players that were killed in the accident. After a few words and a prayer from President Harder, the game began and it was awesome to hear the crowd after every play the Beavers made.

The double-header on Saturday was great too - again, there were a lot of people there to cheer on the baseball team as they split the games with Mount St.Joe.

I was once again awestruck at the support that is out there for our school. We all thank you so much for the prayers and support through this difficult time.

This weekend has been an awesome one - watching baseball, hanging out with friends and Scott, and enjoying this beautiful first day of April - life is good. And, the St.Louis Cardinals play their opening regular-season game today too! I love baseball, and it's been all around this weekend. Go Bluffton, and Go Cardinals!

I hope life is treating you all well too - enjoy the sunshine :)

Until next time...

Mary :)