cornerstone + indiana

: my midwestern man, returning to his homeland :

: "how many hours to go?" :


: en route to cornerstone :

: we arrived just two hours before josh's big show on the gallery stage, after two long days of driving :

(he also played two more shows at cornerstone)

: heron rushing the stage, dancing, and shouting "dada!" :


: our friend lisa :

: my friend dawn joined us at cornerstone :

: ergos save the day! heron would only nap on dad's back at the festival :
(walking with charity & her daughter lively juniper)

: heron attempts to play "cornhole" :

: joel & lively :

: heron & her friend lively taking a lunch break at camp :

: cornerstone mamas :
(me + heron, charity + lively, amy + hosanna)

: charity & amy :

we all had a blast at cornerstone, including heron! she's a social girl, so she couldn't get enough of the crowd of 20,000 people that surrounded her at all times. these were wild days of running & playing & dancing & meeting new people all day, so at the end of each day, 4 hours past her usual bedtime, she would crash in the tent. she seemed to love camping.

this was the first time josh has played all of his sets at cornerstone solo, but it all sounded awesome. (when we tour he plays solo, but these were bigger venues, so to cornerstone he usually brings a band). cornerstone this year was mostly about connecting with friends, and we were both able to get significant one-on-one & small group time with friends. we have felt a little isolated this year in NC, so seeing so many friends again, and having such meaningful connections, was a balm for our souls!

we camped with dear muncie friends sam & kristie koch & their kids, lisa, and the rest of the muncie/AWC folks. & my friend dawn from college joined us, too, & helped out with heron & merch as needed during the shows. many mornings heron & i would head to the coffee tent at 6:30 for breakfast, then end up over at charity, joel, & lively's camp (along with john & amy jessup, new friends) for the morning. josh was also able to have long talks with his jpusa friend scott, joel, and the troxels visiting from norway during the festival.

after cornerstone we started the trek back east, stopping in indianapolis for an evening with our friends jay & jess kirkpatrick. they are hoping to join us for part of our southern california tour in august. yes!

: jay & josh :

: heron & her friend kian watchman kirkpatrick :

one more indianapolis stop the next day, machu picchu peruvian restaurant with megan & tim!

then on to upland, home of taylor university, my alma mater, and temporary home to our friends kari & jason & their amazing kids, preparing to move to southeast asia next year.

: kari and liya :

: the guys and their daughters :

last stop MUNCIE, for one brief hour. just long enough for josh to take a nap before our 12-hour drive home (in one day!), and for me & heron to catch up with our friend erin.




we had hoped & planned to spend more time in muncie, but we were so feeling the pressure to return to north carolina to begin our insane 3 weeks of preparation for our move. we are sad that we were not able to see a few more muncie friends, but we love you dearly & hope to see you again soon!