Jacket Weather?!

So, last night Amy, the girls, and I went to JV's first football game. It was a lot of fun, and it started sprinkling... we had our umbrellas, but it didn't get too severe to pull them out :)
While there were some hair tugging moments in last night's loss, the team had some really exciting runs, and I'm sure the guys will be fired up for a win next week!

Amy, Anna, & Brittany at the game

first quarter action

meet the o line

Last night, while we were sleeping we had our first thunderstorm! I was freaking out a little because I thought my dorm had a leak, and you can imagine me with my little book light making sure all my books weren't wet :) Well, it turns out it was just the pitter patter on our AC unit... no leaks to be found (at least so far!). Today's forecast: cloudy, scattered thunderstorms, high 79, right now it is 67, 70% chance of rain, wind 11mph... it is certainly a jacket, jeans, and tennies day for me :)

Well, the "sickness" has reached our floor. 4 girls are currently sick, and 2 girls (myself included) have the itchy throat coming on. Pray that it doesn't get too crazy out here!

Love you & miss you!
Anna

first week done... we made it!

We girls were talking at breakfast yesterday morning about how were were so scared on Monday... we felt like this week would take forever, but hallelujah! we made it through :)

So, many of you have heard that I am in a Soccer Class (yes, PE already)... on day 1 our coach was super intimidating. Seriously, Coach was using all this terminology that we'd never heard of and was making it very clear that we were going to be working hard... "this is an athletic class... be prepared to sweat... ladies- hair up, guys- no hats, if it is raining, snowing, or hot, we are outside, lightening... well."
Anyways, it is actually fun and I have learned a thing or two already... who knows, I may just be a soccer star :) JK

Last night, CUNE had a movie night on the field... We watched "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" on a big blow-up screen. I had never seen Pirates 4, so that made it more fun. Our whole floor sat together and cuddled up with our  blankets. The only thing we didn't like was how the movie made mermaids look evil... "what happened to Ariel?"said Amy :)
About an hour into the movie, Amy looks to me and says, "Anna, look up... the stars!" Wow! There were so many :) very cool. After the movie outside, we went back to the dorm and watched "Love & Basketball" in Sara and Morgan's room... what a classic :) While we watched the movie, the talented nail artist Molly painted all of our nails :) They are so pretty!

it was pretty humid after the movie... gross

A lot of people went home today and campus felt so empty... it was weird. So, just when we thought we had nothing to do (or I can rephrase that: just when we thought we were going to do homework all day),  Molly's family picked up Amy, Brittany, and I and took us out to Pizza Hut for lunch... Molly works there, so that was really fun. Molly's family is being our "Seward family" right now and we are so blessed to have them close by! They invited us girls over to their house for dinner on Sunday, so Brittany, Amy, and I walked over to Seward's SunMart and bought supplies to make Oreo ice cream dessert... it was so hot, but luckily, I got to carry the grocery bag with the ice cream, so I was a little cooler on the walk back :-) While we were mixing, we Skyped Mom, Dad, and Jen... it was really good to see their faces again. We got our first piece of "real" mail - not a book from Amazon - yesterday... thanks Mom, Dad, and Jen! Miss you so much already... this morning, we realized our Saturdays are going to be very different... we were "homesick."

a little creature stuck in someone's car in the dorm parking lot :(

Hobby Lobby candle warmer purchase

Then, Molly, Brittany, Amy, Eric (Molly's little brother), and I went to Lincoln to get stuff at the Hobby Lobby (awesome store by the way!) and Elaine's cookies for our floor girls. Amy and I really do feel like we are in the right place with just the right people... we feel like we've known these girls forever... it is such a relief to know that the girls on our floor have the same values. It is such a good place for us... :-)


Btw: the girls on our floor can already tell us apart :) it only took them 3 days! love you girls! & everyone is really nice and respectful here (we love it)!


Well, it's probably time to do homework... BYE NOW!


"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." -1 Thessalonians 5:16-18


"When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I." -Psalm 61:2

It's Amy here!

Well it's Amy here, tonight! :)
Just finished my first night class! It is Freshman Seminar, Mondays from 7-9. It is very relaxed & place to "find yourself" as my professor puts it :)

Can I just give a shout out to my NE David Pit ladies?!! They are so awesome! We get up and do everything together- breakfast, chapel, lunch, dinner, shopping, and other activities. And if we have classes together we walk there as a group :) Such a great group of girls.

This morning, Anna and I went on a run with a hall-mate friend behind CUNE on a bike path- very cool! Then we were off to the communal showers (which I have never had to wait in line for!) and then breakfast & class. Anna and I both have the same Spanish class, Monday mornings with Professor Pfabe (who actually had my dad in a history class, way back when) :) It was my favorite class of the day :)
Then we went to chapel- very cool to be surrounded with such strong singers :)
Then finished up the rest of the day with our other classes.

After dinner today, we went with our NE David Pit girls to check the A Capella list- only one girl from our floor made it. :( We are all very happy for her!
I think what made me most sad is that Jon sang in A Capella with the seniors that are in it now, so we won't be able to get to know those seniors as well as Jonny did. But Anna and I are okay- I didn't shed a tear until I called Jen, a few hours later. (Probably a mixture of different emotions) :) But in all seriousness, I am so happy to be able to sing. Lots of the girls in NE David Pit are in Women's Chorale with us, and I am looking forward to making stronger friendships with them :) almost all of us understand that we are freshman & it's not normal to make A Capella as a freshman.

I'll post more later, when I catch up on sleep :)
Now I'm off to bed- Get to sleep in tomorrow!
good night :)
<3 Amy

david northeast pit, and my first few days at CUNE!

Welcome to DAVID NE PIT Room 40

Dresser and countertop

My closet... just enough space :)

Dad tasting my Keurig's first cup :)

my desk, underneath the lofted bed

under bed area continued :)

my roomie (Rachel) and I

entire bed area 

Well, as you can imagine, I was very nervous for our move in day at CUNE (heart beating extremely fast). The day started out with an optional breakfast... so, we decided to go because we didn't want to be the only ones who didn't go... well, apparently, optional was taken as "don't go," so we were 1 of 2 families there with all of the athletes who were already living at CU - awkward! But, then we just waited around for the move-in/check-in stuff to get rolling. It was weird, because we were 1 of 3 families there a half hour early... where is everyone? at CUI families get there 3 hours early!!! Anyways, things got rolling, and it was good that we were there early... lines got long fast! The nerves slowly faded away as I started meeting other girls on my floor... we are all going through the same thing, and everyone was nervous. I got to the dorm before my roommate, and to all our surprise, the wing was redone! Carpet instead of tile, new desks, new bathrooms, and AIR CONDITIONING!! :-) Theo's dorm doesn't have AC... he has gone to bed hot every night he has been there. It's funny, but it's not... haha.
The WOW (Weekend of Welcome) activities were fun... scavenger hunt, games, skits, slip n slide, games, brother dorm events, Seward town block party, worship, etc.
So, let me put this into perspective for you... we arrived and moved in on Thursday-first night away from our parents, didn't sleep too well :'( - A Cappella tryouts were on Friday, and we said goodbye to Mom and Dad after that. Originally, mom and dad were going to leave right before our auditions, but Mom called and said that it would be better if they left after our tryout, so we would be more stable during the tryout. I wanted that too :), I don't think I would have made it through the tryout... crying, etc. So, we went to breakfast together, and then mom helped Amy and I warm up our voices. I was a bucket of nerves... once I started warming up, I cried. I get too nervous and too stressed out, but I really can't control that :/ Hugs and encouragement from Mom & Dad got me through (I miss those hugs). The audition went pretty well... Dr. von Kampen did a range check, tonal memory, rhythm exercies, sight singing, and then 1 verse of Amazing Grace, Beautiful Savior, or My Country Tis Of Thee. I chose My Country Tis Of Thee, because I sang it so much at Bethany, and I had it down. Well, I got really high (and low) in my range check (only cracking at my breaking point) - he confirmed that I am an Alto I :-) - then, I did 3 tonal memory exercises (each with 4 notes) and I only messed up on one note. I did well on the sight singing. I had to redo the rhythm exercise (but my friends did too, so that made me feel better). And... when I sang My Country Tis Of Thee I cracked and felt more breathy than I am okay with, but he said, "Like I told your sister, I'm not expecting perfection, I'm looking for potential, so don't worry." Then, he went on to say, you may or may not make A Cappella... there are alot of women auditioning... just because you don't make it, doesn't mean you aren't a good singer... you are exactally the kind of person we want in A Cappella... I know you'll be in whatever choir we place you in...you'll eventually be in A Cappella, but it might not be this year. So, I shook his hand and thanked him, and then on my way out, he asked when mom and dad were leaving (keep in mind, he's friends with them), and that's when the tears started swelling in my eyes... I said, "right now." I walked out, held it together for a minute, and then right when I saw mom, dad, and Amy, I cried again... boy, am I a little stresser and ball of emotions... I explained that the audition was fine, but that I just needed to let my nerves and jitters out. :) (Note: we find out about choir Monday night... we'll be happy in either the Women's Chorus or A Cappella, but, no lie, we'll be disappointed if we don't make it into A Cappella.) So, the saying good-bye part... the hardest thing we've ever had to do (maybe even for mom and dad?) "I'm not ready for you to leave," I said to mom and dad... anyways, it was really tough, and afterwards, Amy and I went for a walk. Mom cried for 200 miles, and I teared up or cried every time I thought/think about it... even right now. Most of the freshmen said good-bye Friday night, but Mom said that she couldn't say good-bye if she knew she was going to be in town for another day, and could see us again... we were a-okay with that!! Miss you Mom and Dad (and Jon and Jen)!

On Sunday morning, Amy and I (and girls from our floor) went to St. John's Lutheran (where our Mom and Dad got married) at 11am. Church was good... but, I'm already missing Bethany :(. Then, we had some free time, class meetings, and then the Opening Worship Service for CUNE at St. John's. So, we walked back over... the music was incredible. Dr. Blersch played the organ (remember, he was the guest composer at Bethany) and I got goosebumps when he started the opening hymn... I turned to Amy and said, "It sounds like Mom." The service was really great. A Cappella sang, there were trumpets, and everyone was singing... it reminded Amy and I of when we went to Mom's Doctorate Ceremony: the church fills with sound when you've got Lutherans who can sing :-). Anyways, we were all really tired (mom and dad say they do this on purpose: keep you busy busy so you don't think about leaving your family... and then you crash), but we had to keep on going: floor meeting and roommate contracts. The contracts are great idea, plus they give you an opportunity to talk about some important stuff... I feel like Rachel and I are pretty much on the same page about everything :)
So... if you haven't noticed, we are having a great time... tired, but loving it! We feel like CUNE is a good fit for us.
Things Amy and I have observed:
1. Toilet seat covers are no where to be found.
2. Hand dryers are the only way to dry your hands in the bathroom - and no, they aren't the powerful ones... drag.
3. Guys like to sing hymns! Who would have guessed that by college, they'd sing out? :)
4. Beef and Broccoli is also known as canned dog food (Amy) or stew on top of rice (Anna).
5. Girls wear running shoes and running shorts everywhere :) awesome!
6. it's more humid than we thought it'd be
7. making friends here is easier than expected
8. college is easier than high school
9. adjusting to cafeteria food will take awhile

Welcome to the good life... 8/18/11

Well, traveling from state to state, from field to field can definitely provide for some dead zones… so, sorry for the delay in blog posting. But you can’t say we didn’t try: we moved to every corner of the room, and even tried typing in random passwords for those few locked wireless networks :)

So let’s get back on track…

Late Tuesday afternoon, we arrived at the beautiful Rollie McDaniel household in Arvada, CO. It was great spending time
Uncle Rollie, Aunt Gayle, Sam, Jake, and Alex. Because we live so far away, every time we see them it seems like it has been forever, and of course the kiddos just grow up J. Sam is now into kick boxing and iCarly, Jake is into football and hockey, and Alex is into flower hair clips and karate. The best thing though, was that Sam, Jake, and Allie (J&A being the other set of McDaniel twins) were only quiet for about a half hour… I think that was the shortest “getting warmed up” time period ever! And, that was great since we only had till the next day with them. We cousins had some quality hang out time :-)… we played trampoline-jumping games, played cards, played the Wii, and watched Beethoven’s 2^nd. We had a blast, and as I always am after spending time with family, I wish we could’ve had more time, and I wish we lived closer! Love you guys!

On Wednesday, we ate lunch at Cable’s (“Where Friends Meet” – their motto…haha) in Fort Morgan (no, not Fort Marshall you Army Wives fans :-)). We had a pretty awesome burger and despite the town’s monument being surrounded by trash bins, it was an interesting little pit stop. About mid
 afternoon, we arrived in Ogallala, NE at Grandma & Grandpa Siffring’s house (Dad’s mom and dad). It was great being at their house again… we got caught up on all the things that happened since June (when they were in CA for our graduation) and then before we knew it Dad was grilling the meat and Uncle Neil’s family joined us from Wray, CO. I was so nervous because I hadn’t seen this part of the family in 8 years (not to mention, that I still hadn’t met the youngest member of the entire McDaniel family—little Mary)! But everything was so great, and there was no reason to be nervous. Paul is quite the worker, fixing up old cars and waking up early to get the trucks ready to go (oh, and he’s so tall now!). James, quite the football fan sure has grown up since last time we saw him. He mows 10 lawns a week. :-) Laura, quite the young lady, is going to nursing school, trained to be an EMT, and now works at the Hospital… wow! Mary, who was very shy with us (but I think I would be too if I was meeting my big cousins for the first time ever—and it’s too bad, we only had a couple hours together… she may have warmed up if we had more time), loves her bracelets and has started to play the piano. Anyways, like I said before, I wish we could’ve had more time with this side of the family… especially now that most of us are older, I feel like we’d get along so well, and be friends as well as family.

This morning, we had breakfast with G&G and then headed on the highway to SEWARD! Once we arrived, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things (thanks for the gift cards everyone… we used them all!) Then, after posing for a few pictures by the Seward City sign, we drove on to Lincoln to do a little more shopping and eat dinner at Granite City. Tonight, I realized it was the 5^th night in a row that I had eaten red meat for dinner… haha, I must be in NE.

a nail shop in Lincoln :)

Well, we are sitting in the basement at the Preuss’s house now in the midst of a thunderstorm and under the threat of a possible tornado… don’t waste time worrying, just pray (haha-just kidding). No really, we are just fine… the tornado probably won’t even hit, and we’ll sleep through the storm. What you can pray for however is that our nerves are calmed and that we’ll have a successful moving day tomorrow. Whoa… tomorrow.

Mom and Dad sang to us "Jesus Savior Wash Away" and "Dear Father in Heaven"... last time for a long time. We cried.

Then, Mom gave us custom necklaces by Michele Busch that says "shine." When we were little Mom sang "You Are My Sunshine" to us every morning before she'd leave for work...

She wants us to remember to "shine." Love you, Mom and Dad!

Good night!

Miss you, California…

Anna

797 MILES down, 643 MILES to go!!

Hello Hello :)
We are about to fall asleep, but I wanted to sum up the day for you guys.
Well, we left Jonny's at 8:30 this morning with a few tears and worked Bessie (our Expedition) good and hard today.
Lots of different scenery and weather today in 4 states...
 NV-->AZ-->UT-->CO

Utah

We first stopped at Smiths grocery (related to Ralphs?) and picked up some diet coke, deli pita pockets, apples, bananas, and grapes for lunch. We figured we wouldn't be wild and crazy for the truck stop dining locations when lunch time would come around, so we loaded up the cooler.
Leaving Vegas it was warm and sunny and before we knew it, we hit Arizona and Utah pretty fast. The red rocks were gorgeous.
When we were in Utah, we were all feeling a Starbucks run, but none could be found. I was thinking maybe it is because Mormons aren't allowed to drink caffeine....? So we stopped at a gas station, filled Bessie up, took a potty break, grabbed a coke and Mom took over the wheel.

Then the temperature dropped to a drastic 60 degrees and started pouring. But it was beautiful driving through the mountains (and we got to turn on the panel!). It's aways fun to see the differences in mom and dad's driving. When mom drives, we are blasting Chris Tomlin & when dad drives we're listening to pure country.

In between the different areas, Pops pointed out little things about farming and animals that we didn't know about; so today, we learned about hay and cows :)

Then it significantly warmed up again and we finally reached Green River, UT. (It's about 100 miles outside of Grand Junction). (Dad has a story or two about Green River from his hay day) But anyways, we stopped at a Phillips gas station for a potty break and a Mountain Dew for Pops :)

Our next and final stop for the day was, Grand Junction!!! It was 100 miles away, and I seriously watched those green highway signs too much. Every time I read it, we had only gone 6-10 miles since I saw the last sign. :(
But after conversation died, I decided to take a snooze. Next thing I know, we are 20 miles away from Grand Junction and I have a crink in my neck. But no worries, it was all good by the time we got to the hotel.

Then after deciding not to pick up the scary looking hitchhikers (headed to Lexington, NE) we checked in at the Clairon hotel and walked over to Applebees for dinner.
We had a great dinner and felt normal again after walking around for a bit.

Then we got back to the hotel, worked out, showered, and are now in bed. 9:21pm... not shabby at all!
Big day tomorrow, but not too long of a drive :)
xoxo,
Amy

Quote of the day: (context: I had just complained how crazy it was that I was tired even though we had been sitting in a car all day and then Anna says...) "I know! This has got to be how depressed people feel."

Our Little U-Haul's Hitched, Our Room Is Packed, and Our Eyes Are Puffy... DAY 1 ON THE ROAD (by Anna)

A week of good-byes can really make your gut ache inside... this week has been tough.
Starting Sunday, the realization of going to college hit home. Unexpected notes, hugs, wishes, and visits filled our last days and nights at home...We had visitors in the morning, afternoon, and night--while packing, leaving, and during those brief moments in between... church folks who have watched us grow up from the pews in front and behind, friends--who are really family, mentors, friends who we've shared applesauce with, friends who we've shared priceless conversations with, and friends whom we've only known for a year or two... to all of you, thank you! The moments we've shared this week are priceless, and have been a real comfort.

I found it difficult to believe this was all really happening because whenever someone dropped in to say good-bye, we found ourselves having a great time (and Amy and I just couldn't get over how sweet it was that you wanted to drop by... true friends). I mean, you do hear the doorbell thinking, okay this is it... oh boy, the tears are coming--oh, let's avoid the good-bye right now!-uhhh...I HAVE AN IDEA!: "let's chat for a few minutes!?" "Okay!" we all agree. In reality though, an hour and a half goes by... talking about so much (most of it being other than the obvious, "A&A leaving"). But, when it finally came to it (and, it did) the tears would swell in all of our eyes, and we knew it was time... Why does saying good-bye have to hurt so much?

Anyways, saying good-bye to Jen (and Jesse) was really tough. Every time we have had to say good-bye to Jen, it was tough, but when she went to CUI, she was just down the freeway, and we would visit in person. And, when she was in Spain, it was just a couple months, and it felt like she was off at college again... This time, I knew it would be more difficult. Amy and I were the ones leaving this time! Even after we'd been on the road for awhile, I still found eyes swelling with tears, and then emptying, and then swelling up all over again... Sigh... a tough day. "A roller coaster of emotions," as Mom always says.

But, yes, we made it to Vegas early this afternoon. While it's hotter than So Cal has experienced all summer, we are having a great time. We stopped at Home Depot to get a lock for our little U-Haul and we've been enjoying our time with Jon. Amy and I even helped with making a bulletin board in his classroom. For tonight, plans are to have a nice dinner here in Summerlin and get a good night's rest (as you can imagine, none of us slept real well last night).

We've already texted and called with Jen and it sounds like she and Jesse are having some bonding time tonight... movie, drinks, and grilling :) We wish Jen could be driving out with us, but we are very excited and hopeful for her job interviews that are happening this week!

Keep us in your prayers, keep in touch, and we'll keep you posted!

Love and hugs,
Anna

Concordia University-take a tour!

favorite winter picture

Spring time in Seward

the Weller Tower

Spring time in Seward

the quad

the Weller Tower

Our Story...

Some people call us "Amy and Anna"- some, "Anna and Amy"- others, "AmyAnna", and the rest call us "the twins" :)
Here's our story... After mom and dad had Jon & Jen, Mom decided she wanted one more (Dad says he would've been just fine with two) ;). Anyways... mom got pregnant! wahooo!!! And for 6 months of the pregnancy only God knew she was having twins, everyone else just thought mom was having one big baby. Then at one of mom's doctors appointments, the doctor told her there were two hearts beating inside :) Mom was in total shock! She was so excited and wanted to share the news! but she wanted to tell dad in person...so instead, she told her secretary the secret. Then she went over to Sears and bought two of everything! And later that night, she came home with the shopping bags and showed pops what she bought. And then he said, "Was there a sale?" and she said, "No, you silly goose! We are having twins!" (and yes, we are paraphrasing- we wish we had this on video. haha) Then they hugged and kissed. And then, they cried.
So they went from naming their single pregnancy baby Sarah (for a girl)/Nathan (for a boy) to having to figure out twin names! They were convinced it would be two boys or a boy & a girl. The names they picked were Nathan and Nicholas OR Nathan and Sarah. (haha are you laughing yet?)
So the pregnancy went on, and mom ended up in bed rest (sorry, mom!). Then about one month before the due date, mom was having a really bad day. She felt like it was time. So dad took her to Memorial Hospital (but stopped for a donut on the way) :)In the midst of eating breakfast, they decided it would be best to have two girl names JUST IN CASE they have girl twins(yay!)... and they chose Anna and Amy.
When they arrived at the hospital, her doctor told her it wasn't time and that she needed to go home. Well, she said forget that, and immediately her water broke! (she must have been thinking... "take that!").
We aren't sure of all the details, since we wern't really coherent yet, except that mom had a nurse in training & dad said she was really annoying. Anyways, mom began to push baby A out but had to stop because baby B had baby A's umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. EMERGENCY CESARIAN! The OBGYN rescued baby B and then delivered baby A approx. 30 seconds later. Now baby A was known as Baby A2 and baby B was known as Baby B1. Baby B1 weighed 5 pounds 11 oz and Baby A2 weighted 6 pounds. They were both happy and healthy GIRLS! When mom was finishing her surgery, the nurse came up to dad and asked him who was who. And he thought Anna was a more petite name, so he named Baby B1: Anna Rebecca and Baby A2: Amy Renee. (And don't worry, Amy throws the petite story at Dad whenever she needs to) :)
Now we've been blessed to grow up with the best family ever, and it's time to move on to the next phase... college.
We are making this for mom, but want everyone that wants to follow to follow. We are going to miss you all SO MUCH!
Love you bunches! Enjoy the blog and write comments! It's more fun that way :)