A little trip down memory lane....

....all because I ran out of soap in the shower.  

Seriously.  I ran out of soap, and hadn't made it to the store yet to get new stuff....so I dug around until I found a couple of travel size bottles of body wash.   The instant I opened it up and squeezed some onto the washcloth, I had one of those smell-induced trips down memory lane.   I thought I'd share.   :-)  It's been a long time since our last blogging adventure, and I'm still working on a post explaining the absence and all that happened during the chaos that was the past two weeks, so bear with me for a little bit.  We're going to have a very picture-heavy post, full of memories...

You see, the travel soap I found just so happened to be the one I took to World Youth Day in August. 

I still don't quite have the right words to describe all that we saw and did during that 12 day pilgrimage.  So many new places and people (and flags, apparently!),  and more than anything else - a personal experience with the Body of Christ.   We truly are a universal Church -- and it was so evident during that entire 12 days.

Bring on the pictures!

Our gang - we had one of the youngest groups there, but they never let it stop them!

Ahh, Fatima, how I loved you....

Fatima again - preparing us with a glimpse of the universal Church

First thing that comes to mind when I think of WYD and Madrid?  Random street parties and dancing, usually instigated by the Brazilians.....

This guy made me think of Luke 19: 2-4:  "Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 3was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way."

The vigil:  just a sleepover with 2 million of my closest friends....

Our accidental B16 sighting (and blessing!  Woot!)  Such a great moment - we didn't know he'd be heading out along this route and just happened to be there as he went by.  :-)

I was hoping that our little picture trip down memory lane would give me enough time to find words to describe WYD......but it hasn't.   I'll let Bad Catholic do it for me: