Preperation

I am officially done with school for the year and am now a Senior in college! This time is going by way to fast and I don't like it. However, it does feel good to finally be done with the bazillion papers and presentations I have had due in the last few weeks. I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to skip the last two weeks of school, but now that I am done, I can finally focus on my trip to Kenya!!

Last night, Nick sprayed my mosquito net and all of my clothes with Permetheran (bug spray) so that I don't get Malaria. My bags are backed and I'm all ready to go! About a month ago I had 8 shots and received 4 prescriptions. Hopefully those will help keep me from getting sick while overseas!

I would like to thank all of those who have made this trip possible by either contributing financially, by donating books and toys for me to take to the orphanage, and especially those who will be praying for me while I'm gone! Your support means a lot to me!

For those of you who don't know, this Saturday, May 30th, 3 friends and I are flying to Nairobi Kenya to volunteer in an orphanage for a month. Our first flight is 10 hours and goes from Seattle to Amsterdam, where we have a two hour layover. We then get back on the plane and fly for 9 hours to Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya is on the east coast of Africa and is bordered by Tanzania, Uganda, and Somalia. Don't worry, we are going NO WHERE near the Somalia border so we should be fine!!

While there, we will be staying with a host family which will be great because it will allow us to truly learn about the culture. I will try (key word is try) to call Nick at least once a week to check in and let everyone know that I am still alive and well. Feel free to call him and check in on my progress. I will also update my blog and facebook as often as I can find an Internet cafe. Check both regularly for updates and pictures from my trip!

Also, here is a link to the latest news letter from Fadhili Helpers, the non-profit that I will be working with. Check this out to see projects that they have been working on. http://www.fadhili.org/newsletter/newsletter_may_09.pdf

I ask that you all please pray not only for our health and safety while over there, but also that we will be able to make a lasting change in the peoples lives who we are working with!

Love you all,
Nikki

pic 1: I will either be in Nairobi or Mombasa!
pic 2:Map of Africa with Kenya Highlighted
pic 3: Larry standing next to a months worth of cloths
pic 4: My clothes and mosquito net drying after Nick sprayed them with Permetheran

The Lone Star State

Wow... Texas is like traveling to a different country. Everyone there is so proud to be Texan; they have their state flag EVERY where. It was crazy.

We had free plane tickets so we decided to go to Texas and check out the worlds coolest water park. Although we had a lot of fun there, Nick and I both agree that this is by no means the worlds coolest. The ones that I went to in Hawaii and Palm Springs were better. I would even venture to say that the one in good ol' F.W. (Federal Way) is better. All the slides required a tube to go down; there weren't any that you just went down on your back. The coolest thing there was the surfing place. They had very high power water shot out at you which resembled a wave and you had to try and boogie board. This was actually pretty hard but it was fun to watch other people completely wipe out!! Nick and I did half way decent on it. He was able to get up on his knees for a bit, and I stayed in front of the wave and didn't crash until I tried to get up on my knees. Many people crashed instantly!

We drove to Austin and Kayaked in Lady Bug Lake. Between the two of us we saw 7 turtles in there, and they were pretty good size! We also drove to Fredricksberg, a small German town in the hill country. Our favorite part was probably the day we spent in Corpus Christi which is right on the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf was like bath water and I could have stayed in it all day!! Nick could have too, until a fish touched his leg and he freaked out and decided he was done with the water!! We checked out the houses on Padre Island which were pretty big! San Antonio was fun. We did the Riverwalk, which was pretty, but definitely a tourist trap. We also looked at the Alamo. This was cool, but after seeing amazing architecture in Europe, I was a little unimpressed!

We camped for free at a Thousand Trails Resort (thanks Grandma). There was so much wild life here. One morning there were 42 deer in our campsite, which would come eat breakfast with you off of your table! There must have been 200-300 deer there total though. There were jack Rabbits that were huge. They came up to about my knee. One morning there were 17 vultures digging through the trash. Nick came out of the tent and two were right over his head and kind of freaked him out!

Overall, we had a ton of fun and it was nice to get to spend time with him before I leave. Even though we loved Texas, I have absolutely no desire to move there, which will make my Mom very happy to hear!! Texas is extremely ugly, and really makes me appreciate Bellingham and how gorgeous it is here!!

Baker Lake Backpacking Trip 4/9 - 4/10/2009

Nick and I celebrated Mothers Day by going on a backpacking trip around Baker Lake (sorry mom)! We decided that we would hike in 10 miles, spend the night and then hike back out! However whenever Nick and I go on trips, everything possible always goes wrong! Anyways, when we got to the 10 mile camp, it was all full from boaters. We were quite upset and very tired, but had no choice but to hike an additional 2 miles to the next camp ground, Noisy Creek. It was very pretty, and we were the only ones there, but it was a little cold. We were out on this sand bar looking directly at Mt. Baker, which reflected into the perfectly calm water. Behind us was a very cool creek/waterfall. We were surrounded by beauty, and reminded of why we love the North West!

The next morning we got up somewhat early and began our 12 mile hike out. The first 9 or so went well and we were going pretty fast. But for the last 3, my feet were KILLING me, so we had to slow down the pace quite a bit. In the 12 miles, we took 2 breaks, one about 6 miles in to look over a really pretty view and eat a snack, the second about 11 miles in to eat lunch. Both breaks added together were only about 30-40 mins. When we got back to the car, I had 8 blisters and and 2 very sore legs!