The Liberty Gang

WE'RE BACK!!!

2009-04-17T00:30:00.003-04:00

ok...so we've been gone for a year, but we are back and ready for a great bloggatious time. Katie and Leigh Anna are moving off campus into a great apartment in 14 days- thanks to our main girl Rhyssa we got a great deal.

here is a photo of us.

we are awesome!- well, thats all for now. Peace by to all.

Mel and John LOVE YOU GUYS!!

2008-08-01T21:10:00.003-04:00

Well----I waited forever to post this because I was so sad to graduate..but I think it is about time...we are going to miss you guys so much! What an awesome year we had last year!!! We had so much fun with you making tons of memories and strenthening our friendships. It was so neat to be able to see everyone grow as individuals, spiritually, and to each other. It will be even better this year!! We are so excited about the new house...about Kyle's football season, about Katie's youth-quest year, and LeighAnna's first year in nursing school! It's gonna be awesome!! We can't wait to hear all about it! Hang in there and HAVE FUN!!! And don't forget about us! and please don't forget to update this thing...haha...

So, here is Mel and John signing off.....graduating class of 2008

WE LOVE YOU, KYLE, KATIE and LEIGHANNA

Saying Goodbye To Aaron

2008-05-13T17:49:00.003-04:00

We had a sad morning on Wednesday because we said goodbye to Aaron. We had a time of prayer and then he was off to Florida. Thankfully we had some comic relief from the on-going food fight between Ryan and Cimber. It started that morning in the Rot, and as you can see from the picture below, Ryan had the last word....he dumped a three-day-old snowcone on her, mixed in with some ranch dressing.

The Last Night of Cooking

2008-05-13T17:35:00.003-04:00

Tuesday was our last night of cooking. Everyone came over and we cooked everything we had left in the freezer! It was also Brock birthday, so we celebrated that. It was also Aaron Lombardo's last night in Lyncburg, so we celebrated/were sad because of that.

The Old-Spice Commercial

2008-05-13T16:55:00.002-04:00

I don't know how many of you have seen the Old-Spice commerical, but Aaron Beasely, one of our friends up here, wanted to reinact it! It turned out good!

John drove the truck and Ryan taped

Happy Birthday LEIGHANNA!!!

2008-05-13T16:42:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, May 3, the Renstrom family hosted a birthday party for LeighAnna at the park. Nat and Adam were able to come, too! It was alot of fun!!

Melanie's Senior Recital

2008-05-13T16:27:00.004-04:00

These are some pictures that Katie took of my senior recital. It went so well and it meant so much to me to have all of my friends and family there to support me! The Renstrom's were able to make it, too! P.S. Everyone was giving Kyle a hard time for wearing that ROCK on his finger :)

The Camp-Out at Chic-fil-a

2008-05-13T15:57:00.003-04:00

On Thursday morning, there was a grand opening of a Chic-fil-a in Roanoke, VA, about 45 minutes away from Liberty. John and a group of friends camped out all night Wednesday and recevied 52 free combo meal coupons at 6:30 Thursday morning.

Here they are setting up there tent

Everyone lined up in the drive-thru for "nuggets at nine"

UTS

2008-05-13T15:47:00.003-04:00

The UTS boys were back at it again for the Spring Tournament. They looked really great out there! Kyle and Ryan weren't allowed to play because they are on Liberty's team, but they helped coach on the sideline! The team won their first 2 games and got the first place seed in the tournament. They won the next and then lost in the semi-finals.

Britt and Mel were die-hard fans watching them play in the rain!

The Spring Game

2008-04-19T22:21:00.009-04:00

Today was LU's spring game! It was Ryan Culkin's first game! Him and Kyle both did great!! Below are some pictures and some video clips of Kyle playing quaterback.

Here is Kyle receiving the play call from the sideline

Ryan Culkin is # 84

Dani's 20th Birthday Party

2008-04-19T21:52:00.005-04:00

Last night, Leighanna, Cimber, and Julie through a party for our friend, Dani. The theme was "famous couples", and it was a huge success! We had such a fun time!!!The whole group!

Leighanna, Dani, Julie and CimberWe dressed up as the redneck couple headed to the raceLeighanna and Josh dressed up as Mel and JohnHere we have Adam and Eve and Fred and Wilma Flintstone

And the best-dressed couple~ Victoria and David Beckham

A Little Run-in with the COPS.

2008-04-19T21:25:00.003-04:00

Hey guys! This is Mel, and I'm gonna tell a little story about what happened last Saturday night. At about 9:00, a group of us went to the park to play capture the flag, which apparently, is illegal after sunsest. We start playing, each of us decked out in black from head to toe, hiding in the woods.....we see a cop car, but he turned around and left. I think he was suspicious because of the 7 cars in the parking lot. Next thing we know, another cop car comes, but this time it is an SUV. It starts heading towards the woods we were all hiding in with a HUGE spotlight. He was driving on the sidewalks in the middle of everyone. Kyle took action and started telling Leighanna, Katie, me and Kathryn to "GET DOWN AND BE QUIET". So the cop car drives down and was about five feet from us shining the spotlight- i do not know how he didn't see us. I was cracking up because Leighanna was hugging a tree and as the car would move, she would move, so that he wouldn't see her. So the cop misses us, and Kyle said one of my favorite quotes of the night, "What a RUSH". HA. So we thought we might have gotten out of being caught, but then the cop car turned around and started heading back towards us. This is when things got intense. Kyle yelled RUN and we all start heading towards these other woods. Katie fell and hurt her ankle. Then we all realized we needed to get to our cars and get out of there!! So we start running towards the cars, and Leighanna fell on a speed bump and was bleeding. John was running as fast as I have ever seen him...so we all dash in the cars and three cars got away. When the SUV cop saw our lights turn on, he started flooring it thought the open field towards us! Then the SUV cop called for another cop who blocked the entrance. The cops told the rest of the gang that they technically could have them arrested, and that they needed to get out of there. They notified LUPD, and the next Tuesday night, it was announced in every hall meeting on campus that students were not to be at parks after dusk.

Home Run Derby

2008-04-19T20:13:00.003-04:00

The other Saturday afternoon, the weather was so beautiful, so we headed to the park for a little home-run derby! John and Kyle tied with 2 homeruns, and John won the tie-breaker! Way to represent WARD-TANK!!This is Katie's friend, Alyssa. They are going to be roomates next year!

The Spring Gala

2008-04-19T20:06:00.003-04:00

John and Mel went with their friends, Michael and Brittany to this year's spring gala. It was a "black and white affair", which meant that everyone was supposd to wear black and white. One of their friends, Chad Davis, took pictures for them! It was a fun time!

Kyle's Big South Ring

2008-04-19T10:05:00.004-04:00

Kyle got his ring for winning Big South today and it is sick. It is so huge!!! We are proud of you, KYLE!!

"The Prayer"

2008-04-12T00:41:00.002-04:00

Kyle here. Our blog was doing awesome at the start but the past 3 weeks we have had no post so now I have decided to post. So today Melanie sang "The Prayer" with Charles Billingsley in Convocation and it was Awesome! She had so many people come up to her at the end of the service and give her some lovin' (not literally, John wouldn't be havin any of that) but they did love her song! An Italian boy said that when he heard "The Prayer" was being sung in convo he looked over to his roomate and told him that no one could sing that song other than Celine Dion but he told Melanie after that now there is 2 people who can sing "The Prayer." Mr. Frye was able to come up for the day so it was nice havin Kev around. I gotta text him later and say what's up. So he recorded Mel singing so I put it at the bottom of this post. Hope you all enjoy!

Big South Champs- Liberty Football Team

2008-02-27T17:32:00.005-05:00

The Liberty Football Team got honored at half-time of the Liberty men's basketball game last night for winning the Big South Championship. The whole team walked out through the tunnel onto the court in a cloud of smoke and were announced the "Big South Champs!!

Here is the team coming out onto the court

Kyle is in the middle/back of this picture and Coach Rocco is in the front right

Big South Champs!

Kyle's SECOND Birthday Party

2008-02-25T22:14:00.003-05:00

Even though Katie threw Kyle a wonderful birthday party, we were informed that he wanted one on his real birthday, too...so all of the girls got together and cooked him some lasagna. We spoiled him even more and made him another cake...haha...we love Kyle!

Saturday Wiffle Ball

2008-02-25T22:02:00.003-05:00

Saturday, Kyle's birthday, was a beautiful, sunny day; a perfect day for wiffle ball. We were sad Katie could not be with us...but as usual, the "FAMILY" team dominated. Our favorite quote of the day was made by Kyle. He was in charge of picking teams, and when someone pointed out to him that the teams were unfair, and that his was stacked, he simply stated, "It's my birthday, and I can pick whoever I want."

Kyle's FIRST Birthday Party

2008-02-25T20:03:00.007-05:00

For Kyle's 20th birthday, we all got together at John's house for a wonderful dinner cooked by Katie and Leigh Anna! We celebrated on Thursday because Katie was gone with Youth Quest for his real birthday. Katie went over to the house Thursday afternoon and cooked Kyle's favorite- chicken enchiladas! They were so good...and everyone loved them! She also made Mama Ward's homemade strawberry cake- also Kyle's favorite- which everyone loved as well. Leigh Anna helped with all of the cooking, too. Kyle got an IPOD for his birthday, a shirt, a book, and some socks. After dinner we all played games and hung out. Kyle loved his birthday dinner and it was a great start to a wonderful birthday weekend.

UTS

2008-02-25T19:35:00.005-05:00

UTS is back in black...kidding...basketball. So far, they are 2-1. To be honest, the game got pretty intense the other night. We lost by 2 points. Even though it was an intramural basketball game, the crowd got pretty rowdy....we had the attention of the whole gym......Kyle thought it was sooooo distracting. In fact, there was a big group of people that waited around after for us to leave. Of course, we walked right through the middle of them not saying a word, as they were shouting "they quiet, they quiet". Then Katie said "We Don't Know You!!!" and walked away peacefully. It was definitely an exciting night!

P90X

2008-02-25T19:24:00.003-05:00

John and his roomates are doing the work-out "P90X". They are pretty dedicated and haven't missed a day yet! They have a poster to mark out each day that they do, as well as their "BEFORE" pictures. Below are some pictures of John working out and their poster.

John and Kyle's new friend

2008-02-19T15:27:00.004-05:00

Kyle and I (John) met a new friend recently. His name is Kenny and he is 7'7'' tall. As you can see in this picture, Kyle decided to put his arm around Kenny, but not for long because Kenny gave Kyle a "what do you think you're doing" look.

Just a note from Kyle

2008-02-19T12:17:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to let it be known that I will be using my time wisely by studying so I will not be posting as many blogs as Leigh Anna, Katie and Melanie. I am a student first then an athlete and THEN a blogger. Thank you

MEW

2008-02-19T09:49:00.000-05:00

This week at Liberty is Missions Emphasis Week. We are having a number of missionaries coming to speak at church and convo. One of the highlight speakers is Steve Saint and Mincaye. Mincaye is of the tribe of the Auca Indians that killed the five missionaires, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Flemming, Roger Youderian, and Nate Saint. Melanie and John met Steve, Mincaye and his wife before the service Sunday night at Thomas Road.

The best Saturday EVER!

2008-02-18T20:37:00.000-05:00

This past saturday was a fantastic day! The girls went and had brunch at the White Heart, a cute little place in downtown Lynchburg that we all love. The weather was PERFECT, so we decided to play a competitive game of wiffel ball (our favorite!). We always play fam vs. everyone else, and we call ourselves the ward tankers. The first game we got creamed, and it was devestating. We like to call Katie our secret weapon...just when you think she stinks, well maybe she does stink (but we wouldn't trade her for the world). Katie and our friend Ryan Culkin had quite a few words in center field. Katie dropped three pop fly's in a row, while screaming "I GOT IT!! I GOT IT !!" and then falling on her butt, the ball about 30 feet away from her. She is definitely our comic relief, during a tense competitive game of the wif.

After Wiffle Ball, we all ate dinner and then gathered at the house for our usual Saturday night hang-out. We were all sitting around telling funny family stories...like when the guys pretended someone broke in to the house with a gun and scared Adam, and when the Gossett's tricked David into believing the rapture happened! HAHA we had everyone rolling! This developed into a scary story time, and we all got into a "Halloween" mood, ecspecially John Gossett... So, we decided to visit the scariest spots we knew in Lynchburg. The first we went to was a scary house near downtown, right off of the river. Little did we know that Jon Rouleau and his friend Josh were already hiding there to scare everyone. Just as everyone had gotten out of the car, and approached the house, out of the dark came two scary men with a spotlight. Everyone screamed and ran!!!!! It was a good prank. We proceeded to a scary bridge on Route 666. It was called the "666 Bridge". Kyle and John had their turn of scaring the girls' car. They jumped out from the woods, and we heard the scream from down the street. The final place we went was a scary two-story abandonded house. Leigh Anna led the way until the flashlight died and she got really scared..(note the picture below). Some of the guys ventured to the second floor, and found a bed. Then everyone screamed and ran out. All in all, a wonderful Saturday full of new memories, and new stories.

Valentines Day

2008-02-18T20:02:00.001-05:00

For Valentines Day, Melanie and John attended a Valentines Banquet at the Kirkley Hotel that Melanie sang at. It was a alot of fun and the FREE food was great! John got Melanie some beautiful flowers and the new Sarah Brightman cd from the recommendation of Aunt Susan (and she loved it!) He also made her a picture collage from her opera! She got him a new polo. The joke of the night was that Mel and John went to a hotel for Valentine's. haha

The rest of us single kids, katie, kyle and leigh anna got together with a bunch of our friends and had a great night. First we all went out to eat at Hams/Tokyo's. We all kind of dressed up and then went to a crazy dance party at our friends,

Chad and Josh's house. Ok, so by crazy I mean we turned down the lights in the living room and put on some Steven Curtis Chapman, haha just kidding. We really did have an awesome time, in fact someone at the party got so into dancing that they ripped their pants right down the middle. We are protecting the identity of this person for embarrasment sake.

The First Official Blog

2008-02-18T19:59:00.001-05:00

All of us up at Liberty wanted our family and friends to be able to keep up with our crazy busy lives here at school! We love looking at your blogs and now you can look at ours! Everyone will be posting, so if there is a whole two-page post about Kyle and his football workouts, you know why!! We hope you enjoy it and we love and miss everyone!