one of ten & loving it.

homemade snicker bars

2012-02-09T11:26:00.000-05:00

Homemade Snickers Bars
[recipe from Nikki, who lightly adapted it from and old Taste of Home recipe]
makes one 9×13 pan
bottom chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Thoroughly grease you baking pan. Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour into the baking dish and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

nougat layer
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, roughly chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in sugar and milk, stirring until dissolved and bring to a boil. Let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in fluff, peanut butter and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Turn off heat and fold in peanuts, then pour over bottom chocolate layer. Let cool completely.

caramel layer
1 14-ounce bag of caramels
1/4 cup whipping cream
Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Let melt, stirring occasionally, until smooth – this took about 10 minutes for me. Pour over nougat layer and let cool completely.

Top chocolate layer
1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips
1/4 cup peanut butter
Melt ingredients together in a saucepan or microwave, then pour over caramel and spread until even. Let cool and harden completely.

Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving, then cut as desired. These can stay at room temperature, but they do get gooey. I like them refrigerated best!
Note: for best results, buy one of the half-sheet aluminum cake pans at the grocery store. That way, you can pop the entire square out and cut from there!

I made these for my family for the Super Bowl. They loved them! I gotta admit they were pretty good. Better than the store boughts. Did you make anything special for the Super Bowl?

newspaper nails -- diy

2012-02-04T15:55:00.000-05:00

The other day we found a tutorial for these online, and ever since, we've been wanting to do them. Well, today was the day. And I'm gonna make my own tutorial for y'all! Yay! Okay, so. You will need...

some old newspaper scraps you like(we found that the normal font turned out better than the others for the most part. we also tried crossword puzzles and comic strips)
white fingernail polish
clear, strengthening fingernail polish to go over top of it with
rubbing alcohol
a small glass bowl to put the rubbing alcohol in

First, you'll want to paint your nails white and let them dry. We did 2 coats so it took a bit longer.

While they dry, you can cut out strips of newspaper and fonts you like and get the alcohol ready.

Once they're dry, dip a nail in the alcohol and then immediately press the selected newspaper strip to the nail. Hold it there for a few seconds until the alcohol has soaked through the paper. (if it dries up, then just dip your nail back in the alcohol with the newspaper strip still pressed to it)

Then gently peel it off and -- ta-da! You have one totally cool nail. Well, hopefully. Not every nail is going to turn out, but most of them did for us. We also figured out that it works better with longer nails. My nails are nice and long so it turned out well, but Amber's didn't turn out quite as good just because her nails are a little smaller.

Now just repeat that with all of your nails. Let them dry a tad and then gently add the clear nail polish over top. Be careful not to smear it.

Then let it dry and you're done!

(my favorites were definitely Snoopy and the crossword puzzle)

So hopefully I've inspired you to go do your nails now! This is soo much fun and turns out great. Thinking of doing music notes next time! If you try this, make sure to let me know how it turns out for you!

P.S. This is what my closet now looks like. Right after I had cleaned it (of course) the whole shelf holding all of Ashlyn's random stuff and where all of our clothes were hung up caved in. Not looking forward to cleaning this up...

baking + a day at neptune

2012-02-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

(sorry I haven't posted in a bit. hopefully I'll keep up better with posting now)

So I tried about some Pinterest cookies the other day. It was really fun. I loovvveee decorating cookies and doing fun, creative stuff like that if you couldn't tell.

These cookie bowls were cool and really yummy, but it took like 3 tries + some cookie in the bottom of the oven for them to come out well enough to eat.

_________________________________________________________

On MLK Jr. Day, we all helped to make sandwiches and pack the cooler, then loaded up into the White Elephant and headed over to Neptune Park on the island for the day, with a quick stop to pick up Maddie.

Am I the only one who does bokeh with everything - including garbage cans?

Maddie and I had some hang out time. Haha, get it? hang out?

While the boys and Amber played football.

Then me and Maddie climbed a tree, took tons of pictures, got stuck, and had to have help getting out. Hey, at least we got in the tree!

For Nanny if you're reading this. ;-)

So we're standing on the pier. I take a picture of Maddie(below). me: wow Maddie that's a weird picture. random guy walking by: it was perfect! me and Maddie: *awkward stare at guy*

A walk down to St. Simons Sweets for a little snack with Kristi. While looking around, we found (*drum roll*) the World's Largest Gummy Bear! 5 lbs.

coke.

Trying on hats.

This is the tree we got stuck in!

After we got back from our little shopping excursion, we had an epic game of kickball. I think my team lost, though. :( Then we had to go home and make dinner(and eat it!).

What have you been up to lately?

things that make me smile

2012-01-26T14:15:00.001-05:00

(guest post by Kendra -- Hannah is gone for a little while, so I decided to pretend like I was her and write a post from her point of view, we'll see how this goes...)

>> cute pictures

>> pretty dresses

>> starbucks

>> pretty lights

>> books

>> balloons

>> snow

>> time alone

>> paris

>> cameras

>> freckles

>> castles

>> sweet food

>> road trips

>> mushy gushy cute pictures

>> letters in the mail

>> quotes

What makes you smile?

all images via pinterest

hello again

2012-01-13T06:10:00.000-05:00

Hey guys! Guess what? I forgot to post for 2 weeks. I'm such a seaweed brain. Anybody else have that problem? Of being a seaweed brain I mean.

So, since my camera is temporarily out of order, I don't have many pictures to post. I haven't even posted about Christmas. I just failed my resolution to do a better job with my blog. Instead I'm doing a worse job. Well, I guess I can always start now, right?

I got a new design, thanks to Kendra. You like? :-) Anyways I'm kind of rambling right now. Sorry I haven't been posting. I guess I got so busy with school and stuff I forgot. When I'm not doing school, I'm reading. I just finished the River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren. It was ammmaaazziinnngggg. And she's writing more, so I guess I didn't really finish it! yay! Don't you hate finishing a good series? But knowing that more is coming kinda makes up for it. So if you're looking for something to read, I'd totally suggest that. Now I'm reading the Kane Chronicles!

In Geometry we're learning proofs and I pretty much hate them right now. Anyone else feel my pain?! Hopefully I get better at them, cause right now I'm really struggling. :-P

My cousin is sitting under me typing on her laptop right now. She's pretty cool, even if she hides all the candy from me! We're about to go into full fledged war - me, Amber, Bethany, and Matt vs. Luke and Chris. I know the sides aren't really fair, but a lot of people are traitors(umm including me. Okay I'm more of a double agent. Luke thought I was on his team when I was really working for Amber. That's not like being a traitor. That's more Greco-ish. anywhoo) We are also planning an attack on the piano with a chainsaw. Just kidding. But we could! Seriously, Tiff, 6 hours of scales every day gets to be a little much. Not to mention that you start at 5 in the morning and finish up at 11 at night(no she doesn't play piano the whole time).

and would anyone else start thinking of marshmallows when they hear the name Marcello? or is that just me?

Poor Marcello.

How was everyone's Christmas?! Mine was totally awesome!! :-D Amber got here on Christmas Eve and we went to the amazing Christmas Eve service at our church and then home again for tons if yummy food. Then we opened presents. basically the same deal on Christmas Day. All of us kids drew names out of a hat so we didn't have to buy a present for everyone, then some of us got each other extra gifts. We had a lot of gag gifts this year, and let's just say I was pretty scared to open a present from Joe and Tay (2 of my older brothers). ;-) As you can tell, we were having a lot of fun. Either that or someone had too much eggnog(which you can buy early from Fred's, btw)!!

Cute little Sofi.

Alright well I should get off the computer now. I just needed to make a post. I seriously can't believe I forgot to post for 2 weeks. oh well I needed a break anyways. Hasta Luego!

things i'd like to accomplish in 2012

2011-12-31T15:02:00.002-05:00

exercise daily + watch my eating habits
keep my room clean
make my blog nicer
learn at least 1 new thing (some of the things I'd like to learn are playing the guitar, horse back riding, knitting, how to cook without blowing up the house, etc)
improve my photography
get a job
purchase a Nikon D3000
go somewhere I've never been
finish embroidering and quilting the half-way embroidered baby quilt I'm working on
read 100 books + expand my reading more instead of sticking to the same books/genres
get up on time + get to bed on time
read the whole Bible in a year + pray more + keep a journal to Jesus

That's the list of my "resolutions" for 2012. Last year I think I actually fulfilled several of the things I was aiming for, which is better than usual! Let's hope this year I actually accomplish something worth it. What are some of the things you'd like to work on this year?

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T16:48:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone!! Don't forget the true Reason for the season! :-)

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-24T14:43:00.001-05:00

sorry for the bad quality of these pictures. Everyone was moving, and I don't have an amazing camera.

Baking, baking, baking!

Benjamin!! Isn't he adorable?! <333

We are expert at making messes.

My wordless book in Christmas cookies. Yes, the first cookie is a gingerbread ninja.

first your heart is black as a ninja with sin, then you ask Jesus to wash away your sin with His blood which is as red as well, blood. Now your heart is as white as an angel. You grow as a Christian, green as a Christmas tree, and when you die and reach Heaven and Jesus, Heaven is as gold as a Christmas star.

We are not at all violent. (I think some of us got confused about whether this was Christmas or Halloween...)

Ms. Sherri telling us what good cooks we are! :-D

Aren't these little guys adorable?! I looovvee cute cookies. I can never get myself to eat them, though...

This is what it looks like here. Its about 70 degrees F right now so it doesn't exactly feel like Christmas. Yes, we live in South Georgia.

The sky.

Flowers are blooming. So not right.

Notice the beautiful fall leaves that arrived just in time for Christmas!

This is what my house and front yard looks like for everyone who imagined it totally different.

But we're making it look like Christmas anyway.

I'm in there!

Even Sofi's getting festive. =D

A little inspiration to keep us working...

Mom inspiring us to keep in shape with her Ho-Ho-Ho-Hoedowns!

A couple fun photo shoots.

A little more baking...

And we were off to kidnap some people who uhh needed kidnapping!

Ignore the random piece of hair in my face...

I had to post this one. Its okay to be weird, right? (yes, that's red icing on my right cheek. I told you we'd been baking!)

Christmas lights!! Too bad they don't sing. :-(

Does anyone else find it hard to believe its Christmas Eve already?! It doesn't feel like Christmas at all. I guess I better go wrap presents. Oh and my cousin Amber will be here in about 5 hours to stay and student teach for like 3 months! I think I forgot to mention that tiny thing.

Just a picture to make you say "awwwwwwee"

with just 5 days 'til Christmas...

2011-12-20T19:51:00.001-05:00

*all pictures via pinterest*

Everyone's rushing around, doing last minute Christmas shopping.

I'm decorating my room(yeahhh. I waited a little late). Paper snowflakes, Christmas books. Snowmen night lights.

Baking Christmas cookies, and decorating them so they're adorable. Mixing up fudge, and preparing plates for friends + neighbors.

Adding new Christmas cards to the collection in the kitchen.

Dancing around the house chanting "only 5 days 'til Christmas!!"

Listening to Christmas carols.

Watching Christmas movies.

Curling up by the fire, and reading while sipping a steaming mug of hot cocoa.

Wondering why we have a fire(actually we don't. I wish we did.) when its still just 65 degrees outside.

Sitting by the tree, shaking every present with your name on it.

Getting as many Christmas tree bokeh pictures as possible.

So excited for Christmas, but kinda sad its almost over already.

What's it like at your house with just 5 days 'til Christmas??

relaxing

2011-12-18T17:30:00.001-05:00

I think my favorite day of the week is Sunday. Its just so peaceful and nice. After coming home from church and eating dinner, we always just relax. Napping, reading, watching a movie.

Today I've been reading a ton. I just got the second book in the River of Time series yesterday and I've been reading it every second since. I'm trying to savor it, but I'm kinda miserable if I'm not reading it because its so good, and I have to know what happens next. Its sort of romancey/adventurous and I'd totally recommend it if you're looking for something good to read!

The boys have this Play Station game, Modern Warfare 3, and they've been showing me how to play it. Its actually kinda fun, but I can only play it for a few minutes before I have to go read. Yeah, I'm obsessed.

Mom and Dad are going to a Christmas party tonight and leaving us here to watch movies and raid the fridge and parrrr-taayyy. (haha jk Mom cause I know you're reading this) Actually, Mom made this really good dessert to take, and I wish we could eat it. :-( Well, we do have a little replica of it, but still...

As I type this, I'm listening to the others watching the Tebow game, and kinda dying to read Cascade. I think I'll go read it now before I go nuts! Have a wonderful Sunday!!

guess who came to dinner?

2011-12-12T21:00:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure if you read my Mom's blog, but last Saturday night we had the pleasure of having 30 Chinese government officials come for dinner at our home. You can read the whole story here.

When I first heard that they were coming, I assumed we would all stand around staring at each other, and the night would be very boring. I was pretty surprised when they arrived, and there wasn't one dull moment! They all poured into the foyer with gifts from China! This is something they gave us that was supposed to clean the air.

This is what it looked like when they all walked in. (Sorry about the bad quality of these pictures. My camera takes horrible pictures at night.)

Everyone was so happy to see my dad again and meet all of us. :-)

This is my dad with my "Uncle." He told Dad that Dad was his little brother. ;-)

They wandered the house a bit and even danced!

Then we came down for dinner. :-) We served them Brunswick Stew, chicken thighs, mac n' cheese, green beans, carrots, and cabbage sauteed with bacon! It was delicious! Here's a short little video of my dad telling them the menu and their translator translating it into Chinese. Pretty cool!

Here's another video of Dad blessing the food. It was awesome. (sorry about me sounding like Darth Vader. note: never bow your head if you are videotaping a prayer!)

Over dinner, they taught us a bit of their language. First they taught each of us kids 'our number,' meaning how far down we were of all the kids(they couldn't seem to get over the fact that we have ten!) And we played the number game. If they said your number, you had to raise your hand! They figured if they taught each of us ten kids our own number and we remembered it, then we would know all ten numbers in Chinese! ;-) Then they taught us how to say 'happy birthday,' 'good morning,' good evening,' 'hello how are you?,' etc. It was so fun. :-) They also taught us how to sing Happy Birthday in Chinese as one of them actually was having their birthday. We celebrated with cake and sang in both languages! so cool!

Here's another quick video of them singing for us. Tiffany played the piano for them, so they decided to sing for us. :-) The first song was sung in the opening ceremonies for the Beijing Olympics. :-) The second one is definitely my favorite, but the battery ran out just as she was getting into it. :-(

It was an amazing experience, and I really hope I can meet all of them again one day.

what to do on a Saturday afternoon

2011-12-03T13:38:00.001-05:00

After sleeping in till 10, wash some dishes.

Then you'll probably be hungry, so you can attempt to make a sandwich.

That didn't really work, so you try french toast.

While you eat it, you have a Narnia marathon.

Once that gets boring, you read, read, read.

Well, that's what I'm doing, anyway. What about you?

i'm dreaming of a white christmas

2011-12-02T22:46:00.001-05:00

but its so not gonna happen. *sighs* Its not even cold here, really. I mean to us it is. Its like 50 degrees and we freak out. Okay, maybe its more like 40 right now, but same difference. Anyway, I'm soo cold. My toes are numb and I have goose bumps and I'm shaking all over. Okay maybe half of it is from being hyper. And the rest is from standing outside when it was 37 degrees in a short sleeve t-shirt and a pair of socks(oh, I was also wearing pants!) for 5 minutes. :-D Soo, ummmm, have you watched the Good Luck Charlie Christmas Special yet? So totally awesome! big surprise, too! Well, we guessed it at the beginning of the movie, but.. it might be a surprise to you! Oh my goodness I was about to say pero instead of but. Weird. I have a million Spanish words floating around in my head. :-D I haven't taken any real pic lately cause my camera has been acting up. Somehow the screen got cracked. :-/ But I did manage to take a few random silly ones. :-) Then I'm gonna go and read or sleep or eat candy canes. Okay I'm soo hyper. But singing Christmas carols at the top of your lungs in a whiny voice is fun. anywhoo.

(yes I sit on the couch while the others are watching movies and take random stupid pics of myself)

Ohhh btw in case you're wondering, my life lately has been like this: get up at 10, fam. devos., do school until 1, eat lunch or chill on the comp!!, do more school, a bit more school, eat a snack and do more school, comp time or read, read, read, read, eat dinner, read, read, read, comp time, stay up till 11. :-D Yes, that's basically my whole life. with a few random moments like this to make it interesting:
*awkward silence* Tiffany: "wait wait wait!!! is it 20 till or 20 after?! cause someone once told me that every time there was an awkward silence it would be 20 till or 20 after!" Chris: "its 9:38" Tiffany: *GASPS* "THAT BASICALLY *IS* 20 TILL OR 20 AFTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

xD I love my family. WEll time to go! It super hard to blog AND talk on the phone. likes its lipping from my ear. aaaahhhhhhh Byyyyee

rockin' around the christmas tree

2011-11-26T20:16:00.001-05:00

today we set up our tree and other Christmas decorations

I've been waiting all year to do bokeh on the Christmas tree. ;-)

hanging the first ornament

this picture is soo cute.

Have you gotten your tree set up yet?

black friday shopping 2011

2011-11-26T19:37:00.001-05:00

got up at 6am. left at 7. dad bought us Starbucks on the way to Jax. <3

we saw a giant Christmas tree. it makes me think of Elf. :-D

clocks... :-D

lunch. Yum.

I didn't get much Christmas shopping done, but I had a ton of fun. :-D

thanksgiving day 2011

2011-11-26T17:15:00.001-05:00

On Thanksgiving day, we woke up at 7 and went off to run the Turkey Trot. I came in 8th in the 5K race and Luke came in 7th. :-) Matt got 4th in the fun run. And the rest of us did pretty well, too.

Everyone helped get ready for dinner. Well, most of us.

We all enjoyed watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. :-) Its tradition to watch it every year while we all work on dinner or just lie around.

This is the dining table all nice(thanks to me, Tiff, and Kristi):

I was actually able to enjoy the delicious meal this year. Sadly, I was sick last year, and all I felt like choking down was a little mashed potatoes.

The boys actually looked decent this year, and Joe looks like a model. xD

(Josh, Matt, Tay, Joe)

After dinner and a movie, we were all ready to relax by the fire and eat dessert.

I'm thankful for Jesus's love, my awesome family, my wonderful friends, cozy movie nights, hot chocolate, popcorn, Christmas, candy canes, music, my computer(Zoe), my camera(Darrion), photography, pinterest, C.S. Lewis, Rick Riordan, Jerry Jenkins, bbq chips, sweaters, candles, American Eagle, colored lights, bokeh, the sound of keys clicking on the keyboard, and so much more, but those are a few on the top of my head. :-)

I had an amazing thanksgiving. What about you?

giving thanks

2011-11-23T14:29:00.001-05:00

A- amazing friends
B- books

C- christmas
D- dads
E- elf

F- fires in the fireplace

G- God's grace
H- helado (dude how I knew that I have no idea. maybe those spanish classes are actually paying off!)

I- inspiration
J- Jesus Christ
K- kids
L- letter factory
M- music
N- narnia

O- owl city
P- popcorn

Q- queso

R- rick riordan
S- stamps
T- turkey

U- umbrellas
V- vests
W- wonderful family
X- xylophones..?

Y- yummy food
Z- zeus and all his siblings (yeah that's all I could think of)

*all images via pinterest*

you would not believe your eyes if 10 million fireflies

2011-11-18T19:49:00.001-05:00

I'm like ~~basically~~ officially obsessed with this song now. I'm working on a poem right now for school, and this is my inspiration, along with Deer in the Headlights and TobyMac.

Oh, and this is Bella. Me and Bella.

went to Neptune today.

that's Jekyll!! =D

the lighthouse :-)

Okay so she was actually trying to help me not get eaten, but I'm not sure how that would've helped... Anyway I didn't get eaten! The person taking the picture finally came to their senses and pulled me out. *whew* and don't ask me why Julie is laughing... I was kinda mystified about that, too.

Yeah, and Thanksgiving is next week!!! I don't know whether to be excited or totally freaked out or both! The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we always set up the tree, and we basically go all out with our Christmas Spirit. Oh yeah, and we'll be running the Turkey Trot 5K/1 mile fun run on Thanksgiving morning. :-) That's why my legs are reeaaallyy sore right now.

So anyway, I'm gonna go sing Jingle Bells and listen to Deer in the Headlights, but hey, I just thought I'd update y'all, and maybe I'll do it again sometime. :-D

P.S. does anyone want to babysit Bella next week? I'm paying an acorn an hour.

P.P.S. I'm running the 5K, not the 1 mile fun run. ;-)

P.P.P.S. sorry that I didn't finish the lyrics. That's why I posted the video.

P.P.P.P.S. I think P.S.'s are fun.

P.P.P.P.P.S. people in suits like to walk around neptune and i'm a jeanyus

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. I should end this now.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. But nah.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Say that (minus the S) out loud and see what your family does.

P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.P.S. Well, bye!

i miss the beach

2011-11-16T01:35:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I miss the beach. Its right here, but I miss it. Its been like 2 months since we were last there. Okay so maybe I'm getting spoiled but I still miss it.

authentic people

2011-11-16T00:52:00.001-05:00

blog party! Okay I'm doing this cause I'm bored and just cause its fun.

1} What's the nerdiest/geekiest/weirdest thing about you?
Ummm that I name everything I own? I don't know. Okay sometimes, I actually like Algebra. *gasp* I know.

2} If you could live in a fictional universe from any book, movie, or
television show, what would it be?
Narnia!!!!!!!! I mean is that even a question?

3} Little or big, practical or frivolous, what is one of your favorite items in your house?
the coffee pot haha i just had to say that. i don't really have a favorite item(but I do enjoy food)

4} Do you like animated movies? If so, what is your favorite?
Yes!! I like Megamind, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, etc.

5} What is your favorite household chore?
None of them. But if I had to choose, vacuuming is kinda fun. and dusting.

6} What's your favorite thing to get at Starbucks (or your favorite coffee shop)?
I wouldn't know. I haven't been in like forever.

7} What is your favorite pizza topping?
pepperoni and cheese

8} Waffles or pancakes?
waffles!!!

9} Do you like to play games? If so, what is your favorite?
Uh yeah! I like Catch Phrase... :-D

10} Have you ever let anyone win a game?
Probably one of my siblings

11} Have you ever dyed your hair?
Nope. and I don't really want to

12} Do you make your bed every morning?
Nooo. Its never really unmade. I sleep on top of the covers for a reason.

13} Picasso or Norman Rockwell?
would you repeat that?

14} Do you like carpet, tile, or hardwood floors?
hardwood overall

15} If you could put one thing in a safe under your bed, what would it be?
my money? Oh wait I only have 5 bucks. My computer I guess.

16} What's your favorite condiment?
ketch-up. xD

17} Have you ever thrown up on someone (excluding when you were a child)?
I don't think so... Sometimes I want to throw up on my brothers, though. Jk.

18} What was the last thing that made you laugh?
Lynne and Peter having another fight over nothing.

19} Think fast...what's the first song that pops into your head?
Free to be Me -- Francesca Battistelli

oh happy day

2011-11-13T21:39:00.001-05:00

today was a good day. it was Abby and Steph's last day so it was a little sad, but we had fun playing games, and we all enjoyed our last few hours together. this afternoon after eating lunch, cleaning up, and messing around on the computer for a while, I went outside and took pictures/rode my bike.

and as Julia said, now the sun has gone to bed and so must I.

happy birthday, Kristi!

2011-11-12T21:23:00.001-05:00

Josh planned a surprise birthday party for Kristi, told her they were going out to dinner on the island, blindfolded her, and drove her over. We rushed around getting ready and yelled "surprise!" as soon as she walked in the door. Our side:

We had our first fire of the season!!

The whole fam + Ethan + Steph(who are basically like fam anyway) and - me and Ashlyn.

haha I have no idea what I was doing

cheesecake!! =D

one of our favorite pass-times is trying to cram as many people as possible on the couch.

more yummy cheesecake. =)

me + Tiff

Tay

Steph + Abby + Babe

Happy Birthday, Kristi!!

P.S. Josh and Kristi are officially getting married in May. o_O

photo shoot + update

2011-11-10T20:27:00.001-05:00

Its Winnie the Pooh!

Swatting gnats.

We climb a tree.

We un-climb a tree.

We had fun. :-)

update on life: we've been very busy with school and other stuff. This week we didn't have as much school. Abby and her friend are visiting right now so we're pretty much excited. :-D We had co-op today and cleaned house. We have a field trip coming on Saturday and a youth activity that night. I haven't been blogging much. This is probably why. Oh yeah and I know how to do CPR!

the adventures of my day[in a lot of photos and a couple words]

2011-11-02T22:18:00.002-04:00

(yesterday)

Entering the below photo here.

(today)

I woke up this morning and realized that Fall is finally here!! It was sorta chilly, and the trees looked like this:

I am so awe-some. (not)

My little Babe is so adorable. (btw, she's my sister)

She's so cute. I'm snapping pictures, and then, I look over and she's digging cheerios out of her jacket sleeve. She started with about one in her bowl, then moved to her sleeve. Look how many she has now!

I think someone stole a cheerio or two...

Okay, seriously, what's cuter than a little kid shoveling cheerios into their mouth?

My little sis is soo adorable.

pumpkin muffins

ingredients:

1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin
about 3/4 a cup apple sauce/juice(note: optional. just used to moisten batter)
1 bad mini chocolate chips(optional)

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix spice cake mix, pumpkin, and apple sauce until thoroughly blended(but don't let the pumpkin can fall in).

Add as many chocolate chips as desired. Scoop teaspoonfuls of batter into lightly greased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

While you're waiting for the muffins, lick the beater.

Then, when the timer dings, you'll have warm, beautiful, chocolatey, delicious, mouth-watering, wonderful muffins. (well, probably. I can't guarantee anything)

I took my honey to the marina after school. (her hair was supposed to be like that. Autumn breeze. Duh.)

I love her.

all about narnia

2011-10-30T14:26:00.003-04:00

I think its about time I made a post just about Narnia.

I have about a million pics to post, just so you know. Only 36 actually, but still.

Ever since we watched the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe like 3 months ago, we've been absolutely obsessed with Narnia. We now own the whole series. Yay us!

Edmund's definitely my favorite character, and then Lucy.

Then Peter, and Susan is last. I don't really like her cause she doesn't believe in Narnia in the end and everything.

I love how C.S. Lewis wrote the books like an allegory to the Bible. Aslan dying for Edmund and then rising again is like Jesus dying for us and resurrecting Himself.

(I like Aslan)

Okay, I'm just gonna post a million pictures.

Lucy is sooo cute.

"I think we did"

"Its been a year. How long does he expect us to wait?"

Awwwwweee. (I would post one of the kiss but I couldn't find one)

As I type this, Bethany is playing Narnia. I think she's pretending she's the White Witch killing Aslan.

Okay, these pictures make me laugh. (especially the first one)

"My name is Philip."

Who loves Reep? Meee.

Did I mention that we have like all the lines memorized? And we also went as--guess who?-- for the fall fest. costume contest at our church. :-D (Joe won 2nd for Caspian!!) pics:

Edmund(Luke), Peter(Chris), and Lucy(Bethany)

LWW Edmund(Matt), PC Edmund(Luke), LWW Lucy(Bethany), Peter(Chris), Caspian(Joe)

Peter and Caspian didn't exactly hit off.

Susan(Tiffany)

LWW Lucy(Bethany)

PC Edmund(Luke), LWW Lucy(Bethany), Peter(Chris), PC and older Lucy(me)

PC and Susan

Caspian

the 2 Lucys

Classic pose

Yeah, so next time we do it, we'll make sure to find somebody to be the White Witch. Any volunteers?

I shot Di, but she didn't die.

2011-10-28T21:32:00.003-04:00

Today Dianna came over and we had a ten minute photo shoot. Ten minute.

seventeen bottles of cranberry juice later...

2011-10-26T23:11:00.001-04:00

I'm alive!! I had a horrible cold, but I didn't die, so it couldn't be that bad.

(this is cranberry juice, btw. and i found it on pinterest)

So, I've basically just been lying around reading and stuff. And doing school. Somehow colds are the worst. Cause you feel awful, but not so bad you don't have to do school. Every afternoon this week, I've had a huge pile of tissues on one side of me, a huge stack of books on the other. 6 nicely sharpened pencils on my desk and 1 in my hand. An awesome book I've been dying to read three feet away from me. *sighs*

On a happier note, I got a chance to look through some of the photos I've taken in the past few days, and some of them I like a lot.

We went to this place on Friday. Like a corn maze/pumpkin patch type thing.

I officially love corn. :-D Yeah, I risked getting left behind by the others and lost in the corn to take a couple pics of it.

The others getting lost while I stood on the bridge and found the exit.

Oh yeah and on the hay ride, we got to stop and fed the cows our seats. How cool is that?!

Look at this poor little guy. :-( There was also a very sick horse, and a rabbit without one of its eyes or something. (if you can't tell, the little guy is missing a leg. :( )

I think you could officially say we had fun! (Even in the stocks)

Oh yeah, and I'm entering this super old photo(below) in Kelsey's photo challenge.

*update: i'm officially obsessed with Nonny Nonny by Chris Rice*

just because

2011-10-23T14:59:00.000-04:00

Because its been too long since I made a post. Right now precious Darrion is charging, but soon she'll be in my hands and we'll be having a blast. I love her so much. <333 Okay, that sounded lame. Everything I say does. I think I was trying to make it lame, though. I think I'm gonna do 365 next year. Its not called that but oh well. :-D I'm like getting hyper. Been eating too much sugar and hanging out with too many cray-zee people lately. qwerty is fun to type. Has anyone ever watched the Letter Factory? If not, you're totally missin' out. I went roller skating at a friend's birthday party and it was amazing. Once me otha' friend taught me how to skate. I had a blast. It was awesome. Truly fun. Okay, wow, I'm getting lamer as I go. Oh yeah, they had colored lights at the rink. BOKEH.

I was freaking out. I'm like obsessed with bokeh right now. Can't wait for Christmas. xD Soon I'll be going out for a photo shoot with a neighbor. Should be fun. :-) Darrion can't wait. Poor baby. She hates charging. Just like I hate sleeping. Seriously, its so boring. Unless you're tired... in 4 minutes, I'm gonna go find my neighbor. at 3. its 2:56. in the afternoon. I'm gonna stay up all night one night. Get a couple friends and do it! xD Did I mention that I'm obsessed with bokeh? Okay so this started as a lame post and its gonna end as one. BYE. Not. I have to make a promise first. I promise that if I get any good pics today, I'll post 'em. Okay? Okay. BYE!

*Note: This was meant to be a lame post.*

my photography lately

2011-10-17T13:04:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I took over 200 photos. O_o I've been more into photography than ever lately.

I'll take pictures of anything from a girl blowing bubbles with her gum to the spring on a trampoline. I'm finally figuring out my camera. My photos aren't the best, but they're getting better. The more photos I take, the more I want to take. And I love bokeh.

Does anybody know how to pronounce that? Bokeh I mean. I've been pronouncing it boh-kuh, but maybe its boh-kay? or maybe something crazy. Its supposed to be Japanese or something.

I like jump pictures. I'm entering the one below here. (click on the here) This picture makes me happy, mostly cause that day was fun, and also because it makes me think of fall, and they all look happy.

This little girl is cute, and she also makes me laugh.

I've been obsessed with eye photography.

And, well, basically anything. Does anybody think I should start a blog just for my photography? I know this was a sort of rambling post, but um that's what I'm best at? Now I have to go do school. Blah.

Fall is here!! EEK!

P.S. Its final. I'm gonna be a photographer when I grow up.

rain can be a good thing

2011-10-09T23:14:00.001-04:00

Do you ever wake up to a rainy day, groan, roll over, and go back to sleep? Do you ever notice that it seems to rain every time you're having a bad day? Do you ever make big plans and then realize they're ruined all because it rained? Do you ever sit inside bored while you watch the rain drizzling drearily on the other side of your window?

~~Well, I don't.~~ I'm gonna give you a few things you could do for next time it rains and spoils your plans, puts you in a bad mood, etc.

When you wake up and see the rain, don't just groan and roll over, get up, eat some fruit loops, and start singing The Call at the top of your lungs. When you've completely lost your voice, get ready to go to church, and leave with your sister. Of course, you want the radio on, so you turn the volume up and roll down the window. Obviously, you can't sing along, because you lost your voice earlier, but you nod when your favorite song comes on, and mouth the words.

At church, your stomach is growling because fruit loops aren't a very substantial breakfast, but you try to pay attention anyway. After you've arrived safely at home and washed your hands, you eat dinner. Yum!

Then, while you wait for your food to digest, you color!!! (after washing the dishes, of course)

When the rain slows down a bit, you bleach your moldy sand dollars.

Then take a few pictures of the pretty flowers before it starts raining again.

Run inside as it starts pouring and go play your favorite board game. When you're done, help your mom bake muffins or decorate the house for fall. By that time the rain should've slowed down a teeny bit, so you grab your sister and an umbrella and run outside for a quick photo shoot.

Then it will probably start raining when you're in the middle of your photo shoot on the other side of your street. That's when the umbrella comes in handy. Hide in there until the rain slows, and while you're waiting, have a little fun.

After that your little sister will probably want to go home, but the whole way there, she acts out Lucy and Mr. Tumnus. Here I think she was handing Mr. Tumnus one of his parcels.

When you get home, the muffins are ready, so you eat one, and have a photo shoot with another. That gets boring after a few minutes, so you decide to go get ready for church. Its about time anyway. You go to church and then stand out in the rain laughing your head off. When your mom finally says its time to go, you get in the van and read your favorite book.

When you get home again, your siblings ask if you want to play another board game. You get really excited cause its your favorite game, and play until you get a phone call. Then you go and sit in your closet for the next hour and talk to them. After you hang up, you eat a huge bowl of ice cream and hope it doesn't rain the next day, but if it does, you'll find some way to enjoy it.

Psalm 118:24
"This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."

P.S. Don't play this game... Listen to Lucy. =P

sunrise

2011-10-04T16:00:00.001-04:00

I'm entering this is Kelsey's unedited photo challenge

I'm one of those crazy people who usually sleeps in as late as possible, but will get up at an outrageous time for photographic opportunities. Or whatever. Which means I got up at 6:30 today when I usually sleep in till 10, just so I could leave at 7 to ride my bike down to "Sunset Park" and take pictures. Of course I took the golf course, so even though the sun doesn't rise over Sunset Park, I still got to see it rise.

And did I mention it was freezing? It was like 50 degrees, and I put on like 3 sweatshirts and a hoodie. We even had frost this morning! and I made foot prints!!

Oh yeah, and Luke went with me. In his Carolina Gamecock Hoodie. Go Gamecocks!!

and I wore boots! I soaked them, but it doesn't matter. Cause they're warmer, cuter, and a lot more photogenic than tennis shoes(btw, does anyone ever wonder why we call them tennis shoes? and sneakers? and Canadians call them runners. So I guess Canadians run a lot, and Americans play Tennis and sneak around?)

Darrion behaved today, and I got some good photos for once! Well, I was happy with them, anyway.

I think this bee was dead. He never moved. He died gathering pollen. How sad. (notice the random fly on the other petal)

This is my favorite(below). I can't stop looking at it.

So yeah. That's what I did this morning. Then I came home for a bowl of "toasted fruit holes" or "fruit cheerios" or "fruit loops." Whatever you wanna call them. And a mug of Pumpkin Spice Latte, and then I had to do school. But I'm done with it now. And I'm going to go read or something. Or run. I don't really feel like running, but I probably should. Anyhow, what motivates you to get up at sunrise?

i ain't that crazy

2011-09-29T16:58:00.002-04:00

The other day I had a photo shoot...with an apple. I think the cable guy thought I was a little messed up...

Me: *puts apple on steps and starts taking pictures* Joe: *stares

at me* me: "Yeah, I'm doing a photo shoot with an apple."

a few minutes later:
me: "do you think the cable guy thinks I'm a little touched in the

head? I mean since I'm having a photo shoot with an apple."

a few more minutes later:

me: *places apple in puddle and pulls out camera*

cable guy: "are u taking a picture of an apple floating in water?"

*stares at me like I'm insane*

Joe: "yeah she has photo shoots with random things."
*they walk away*

cable guy: "is this your entertainment around here? Taking

pictures of apples?"

Yeah. But the results weren't too shabby. I wish I could show that cable guy. You should have seen his face. It was hilarious. I should've taken a picture of that; then he would really think I was crazy.

(entering the above pic here)

I edited this on Picnik, and I love how it turned out! This is the original:

I also watermarked it. I think I'm gonna start doing that. Maybe. I might start editing my photos more, too. Idk.

before:

After:

My favorite is the first one by a lot. But I like the others okay. I think I'm gonna go have

another photo shoot now, but not with an apple this time. ;)

the rest of hilton head

2011-09-28T16:51:00.002-04:00

So I got tired of posting about Hilton Head. I mean living it is so much more fun than posting about it. But anyway, Luke turned 13.

And got the second best movie ever!

One day we went to the pool. Idk when. HAHA.

I think I already posted this picture, but I love it!

Me and Luke shared a snack on the beach and had a mini photo shoot. Of him eating his yogurt and a banana.

Peace and love. xD

I named every single one.

This is from our last day. The only good thing about leaving is you get to finish up all the ice cream.

This was our van. =P

This adorable little turtle came to say goodbye.

Me and Matt couldn't contain our emotion and started bawling in the parking lot. It was very sad. But on a happier note, this is a beautiful flower.

P.S. Here's a little video thingy I put together of our trip. xD

sunday afternoon

2011-09-19T12:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon was amazing! For one thing the weather was awesome. We finally are getting a break from the humidity. =D So after a little football game I came inside and tried to make bread for the first time.

Well, I didn't burn the house down, so that's a good sign.

And for my first time, I think it turned out pretty well. :-D Joe seemed to like it...

Then Luke and I rode our bikes to the marina and had a little photo shoot. He finally let me and he was finally wearing decent clothes.

Which one is your favorite? There were a lot more but I just chose a few cause I don't want to upload all of them, and I'm sure you don't want to look at all of them.

So we had fun and the day was pretty awesome until we got home and found out Josh has something like the flu. =P So we all took several vitamins and ate just bread for dinner. =P

Then we watched Robin Hood which was fun until it got boring. Until you got boring. Oh really? Splash splash. Had to be there. I need to get in bed, I'll post this tomorrow. Bye!! (I never say that)

just wondering

2011-09-17T13:22:00.001-04:00

Does anyone else ever want to go lie down on a golf course and just roll around in the grass?

via

Does anyone else ever act out what the books say the people are doing? Like if it said "Martha nodded and looked down at her feet" (yeah that was random) Then do you nod and look down at your feet?

Does anyone else smell every book before they read it?

Just wondering.

i got love bugs in my hair

2011-09-13T15:17:00.002-04:00

Is anyone else experiencing love bug season? This is what we saw when we came home today. They're flying in my mouth and getting in my hair. At least they don't bite. =P

hilton head 2011(part ii)

2011-09-09T14:41:00.001-04:00

Okay, wow. I forgot to post. Or maybe I was just too lazy. let's see. Tuesday we stayed home and played Quelf. Its the most awesome game evah. And we celebrated Luke's birthday(post coming about that later), and we went crab hunting and caught one tiny crab. So yeah. And we stayed up late and had tons of fun.

On Wednesday we went to the beach and found tons of sand dollars and then took jump pictures. Here are a few of them. funny ones, too.

I LOVE this picture!!

Then we went home and all took naps. On Thursday we went to the beach and me and Luke walked/ran for 2 hours.

Babe and Matt played in the sand.

Chris built Caspian's castle.

This is for Kendra.

That night we went to the Old Oyster Factory for dinner. It was okay, but the prices were outrageous. =P

It was pretty though and I had fun taking pictures of my drink and food.

And sibs and sunset.

Okay, just turn your head a little. :)

We went for a walk on the beach and got several good pictures, but I'm not going to post all of them. just a couple.

That's all for now. Soon I'll post about Luke's birthday and our last day(today). We're having fun, but I'm actually homesick. Not school-sick, though.

hilton head 2011 (part i)

2011-09-05T17:38:00.001-04:00

Saturday morning we packed up all this:

and this:

said goodbye to this:

and headed out.

Its only like a 2 hour drive so yeah. I read and wrote 2 sentences in a letter. =P

and took pictures.

As soon as we got into South Carolina, the van exploded with cheers.

When we reached our little cottage, we had to wait for Dad to get there with the key so we could get in, so we all explored. I got new shoes, and it was fun just walking around in them. ;)

Sunday morning, we woke up to rain. :( but around 12 it slowed and we ventured out to the beach.

Can't live without a picture of my feet!

I LOVE this picture!

My brothers are obsessed with making sand castles.

Okay, so I helped with this one. It was Cair Paravel, so I had to. The 4 thrones. xD

This is how tall it was. o_O

I also fit in some reading time and a nap and got stung by a jellyfish. :) Well, we think it was a jellyfish. Or a wasp. Its called a wasp. Not the bug, but a detached jellyfish tentacle. yeah I think it was a wasp. I just broke out a little, though, and Mom covered it in vinegar. Anyway, that night we went to Crazy Crab. :D I tried oyster and I almost regurgitated it.

*I'm too lazy to upload the pics at the moment(although, there aren't any of me regurgitating. MAN.)*

Today we went to the beach early cause it was sunny. YAY. But still only at like 11. we slept forever. So, we swam and the waves were awesomeness, and I slept and slept and slept. And finished a book. =D Now I have to get the next one. And ate skittles and played games and when we got home, Dad and the older boys and Tiffany had to go back to work and school, and Ashlyn and Bethany C had to go back to work. So now its just Mom and the Fantastic Five. And we're all chilling before we clean up the wreck of a house. :)

crab hunting

2011-09-03T20:47:00.000-04:00

Last night we went crab hunting. And no its not snipe hunting. ;) I think its one of the funnest things I've ever done. You have to go at night so we always wear lots of glow sticks.

above: a glow stick broke so I rubbed the oil on my cheek. xD
below: a dorky picture

Okay anyway, it was too dark for my camera, so you can't see anything, but you can hear what crab hunting is sort of like. For us.

Have you ever been crab hunting? What about snipe hunting? ;)

what georgia means to me

2011-09-02T08:17:00.004-04:00

What do you think of when you hear Georgia?

(all pictures were found on Pinterest and google images)

To some people Georgia means mountains or beaches or maybe just good place to visit, but to me Georgia means the Flint River washing over red Georgia dirt.

Georgia means small country towns, and fields full of cotton.

Georgia means peaches, pecans, and boiled peanuts.

(packing peanuts in this case! ;)

Georgia means humidity and gnats.

Georgia means cows chewing their cud.

Georgia means a country life-style, country cooking, and country people. That's what Georgia means to me.

What does it mean to you?

P.S. How do you like the new design? Want one like it? Click here.

in the past few days

2011-08-31T08:27:00.001-04:00

This is what life has been like lately:

We get up around 8am and eat breakfast. Then we hurry to start school.

(the pencil we use)

We work until 12 and then have lunch break. I try to use at least some of my time outside with my camera.

Then we finish up school, and if we have enough time, we go to the marina and play/photo shoot until sundown.

Which one of these do you like better? I can't decide.

Then when we get home, we go running. This is Tiffany stretching. =P

Then we have dinner, clean up, finish any other homework, and have free time.

Last Thursday, we started co-op back up.

We will start posting again at http://ourgardenoflight.blogspot.com/ if you want to hear more about that.

On Saturday, we're heading to Hilton Head again. We do that every year if you didn't know. Its about 2 hours from where we live now, and its like a home away from home. We have a timeshare on a little cottage and we love it. :D

Sunday, we went to the beach and just relaxed.

Luke is obsessed with this computer game, Stronghold Crusader. That's mostly what he does with his free time.

Look, she looked at the camera!! :D Sofi is so cute. Tiffany moved from Albany back here(if I didn't mention that already) so of course she brought Sofi. Yayyy!!

Anywhoo, this is sort of a rambling lame post. But oh well. I'm just making these mostly so I can see what my life {and photography} was like when I was 13/14 when I'm 20. :D And right now, I'm listening to my 4 favorite songs ever(or at the moment)

Someone worth dying for--Mikeschair
You are more--tenth avenue north
Hold my heart--tenth avenue north
I will follow--Chris Tomlin

Now I have to go start school. Yayyy... I have been making A's, though!!! =D =D =D

so tired i can't sleep

2011-08-21T22:23:00.000-04:00

Right now I'm stretched out on my bed with a bowl of ice cream. I'm so tired I can't even sleep, and I have to get up at 6 tomorrow.

Right now I'm tired of the heat and I want fall to come. Maybe its just cause I wanna wear boots again. Really bad.

Right now I'm reminiscing today when we took the 7-day-journey-in-one-day around the lake. When we pinned insects up and watched their guts gush out. When we dragged the trampoline to the pool and played pointless games.

Right now I'm thinking about school tomorrow. Half of me is excited for another week. Half of me is dreading it. Half of me just wants sleep.

Right now I'm staring at my bookshelf. The one with only 6 books on it. And thinking about how I need to expand my collection.

Right now I'm wishing I had never been taught Tom the Toad.

Right now I'm hoping I'll be done with school in time to practice my photography.

Right now I feel like making stupid faces at the camera.

Right now I need to go to bed. But I'm not going to. Cause I'm so tired, I can't sleep. =P

the winners of my first giveaway!!

2011-08-18T13:02:00.001-04:00

winner of the stationery - anna faith
winner of picture calender & photo print - tzel
winner of bracelet - hannah
winner of 30 address labels - miss mae
winner of set of notecards - gloria a.
winner of the blog button - honey and pappy
winner of earrings - grace
winner of set of three cards - heinzmom
~~winner of blog design - hannah grace~~
~~winner of hand sewn flower - chavonne shonwise~~
Update: I will be drawing new winners for the blog design & the hand sewn flower, since my friend forgot Chevy didn't live in the US. And Hannah Grace just re-designed her site.
winner of the blog design is Danielle
winner of hand sewn flower is Ashley

Winners, please comment on this post with your address. It will not be published. If you do not comment within ten days (august 27) I will draw another winner. Losers (I'm joking, those who didn't 'win' anything), leave a nice comment saying congrats to the winners. =)

some people are just weird

2011-08-16T22:14:00.000-04:00

We were tired and hyper. Then I attempted crossing my eyes.

Which didn't work, so it was replaced with silly grins.

And this.

Maddie looks like she wasn't being weird.

The only normal picture. We're crazy.

first day of school

2011-08-15T21:13:00.005-04:00

The first day of school is finally here! It seems like so long ago that this day began. I woke up at 6:15 to the sound of my alarm clock buzzing and Tiffany practicing her piano(yes, at 6:15 AYE EM).

I got up and read my Bible, then cleaned my room, and got dressed. Around 7:30, we all met downstairs for breakfast.

After breakfast, we did chores, and then met back at the breakfast table at 8:30 for family Bible.

At 9, we started school. It was just orientations and stuff today, so it was pretty simple.

After lunch break at 12:30pm, we were done(because it was just orientations) and I went upstairs and read this:

At like 4pm, Luke and I rode our bikes over to the marina to play merchant. We brought along some oranges so we had a feast. xD

We found an awesome spot for a house in the ditch and I started acting like Polly. From the Mandie books. That was fun. xD

This fly dude liked the oranges, too, so we were all happy. Until I tried to kill him... Anyway, I did kill the mosquito and Luke got a nice start to his bug collection.

At 6am or so we went back for dinner and then ran 2 miles. xD Now I'm sitting here in my room drinking water and making this blog post.

This is me the first day of school. (btw, that shiny stuff on my chin is orange juice, I'm not slobbering)

This is Luke. He was mad at me for taking his picture.

Today was great! And even though I barely remember what happened this morning and I'm about to fall asleep, I'm already excited for tomorrow. :D

no need to say goodbye

2011-08-13T22:18:00.002-04:00

Summer is almost over. We start school on Monday. This has been like the best summer ever.

I'm sad that its over, but I'm excited about the new school year, too. And using these:

I like love notebooks for some reason. Maybe it comes from my mom. Anyway, another reason I'm excited about summer leaving is because that means fall is coming. :D Which means cool weather. Perfect weather. And that means no snakes. And no bees. Which means we can tromp around the woods with no worries(yeah, we're a little snake-and-bee-a-phobic). And that means we can play Merchant! We found an awesome site for it at the marina.

And then we'd have real meat.

And unlimited water.

And somewhere to bathe. Okay, sorry, that was just wrong, but uhh...

Anyway, back to the point, summer is almost gone. And that means no more random trips to the marina. Cause I'll be doing homework instead. Math homework.

Yeah, I'll be making that face. And summer leaving means no more bowling every Wednesday.

But co-op will start. We had our back to school bash tonight. It rained, but it was awesome.

Emily's hair is so pretty! Well, Emily is so pretty but yeah. xD

Summer leaving means we no more beach. It means no more sleeping in till 11 like I did today.

{I'm entering this.

}

But it also means that the perfect weather is coming again. And then the leaves will turn beautiful colors. And in September we go to Hilton Head.

[isn't this gorgeous?! God is amazing!]

Then comes Christmas. And before I know it will be my birthday and then Spring again. But I'm off topic. That seems to happen a lot, doesn't it?

The worst thing about Summer Leaving is no more bare-feet. I love walking on the warm grass or dirt or pavement or whatever it is. I mean it feels so good.

[couldn't find pic I was looking for]

So I guess over-all I'm glad summer is gone. Cause I mean it will be back next year, right?

P.S. Don't you LOVE this picture?!

I do.

sunday afternoon

2011-08-08T11:06:00.000-04:00

I think Sunday is my favorite day of the week. As soon as I get up, I'm running around trying to be ready on time for church. We go and hear a message from Pastor David, and they are usually amazing.

When we get home, we try to hurry and get dinner on the table so Dad can fit in his nap. After clean-up, Mom usually makes pound cake or a pan of brownies, while the rest of us get on the computer, read a book, watch TV, or sleep.

Yesterday, I stuffed my Bible, the book I'm reading, paper and pencils, my camera, and a couple of water bottles into my backpack and hopped on my bike.

I love riding down to the marina. Its so beautiful there. And peaceful. Our house is kinda loud. =D I like to go there and have my quiet time if I don't get up in the mornings. There are only 3 peaceful times at our house. When no one is home, early morning, or late night. Anyways, that's what I did yesterday. And then I took my camera and asked this random little girl if she would let me take a few pictures of her. Here are a couple. She wasn't very photogenic, but it was still kinda fun. :D(It took me 5 minutes to realize the caps lock was on and that's why that smiley kept coming out like this ":d")

After that, I pulled my shoes off, rolled up my jeans, and stuck my feet in the water. It feels like SO good.

(I love these totally random pictures)

(I look like a dork. HA.)

Okay so barnacle is so much fun to photograph. Its like awesome. And this one is now on my bookshelf with my crab pincer, other random shells, and Ryans.

(notice the bokeh. Its fun, too)

Well, actually just about anything is fun. I want to do more people photography.

When I rode back, I watched a few minutes of Prince Caspian and then hurried to get ready for life groups. We watched Ed Newton and then played outside for a few minutes.

(Maddie's pretty even when she's trying to hide from the camera)

(I love this picture so I'm posting it randomly at the end. HAHA)

Anyways, yeah I think Sunday is my favorite day. What's yours? How do you spend it?

life lately

2011-07-28T23:33:00.000-04:00

Summer is flying by way too fast. And its sad when you have to waste some of it doing math. But we have been fitting in the fun stuff, too. Like eating ice cream.

Today(after sleeping in until 10), I took my new camera outside and messed around with it. Got to know it her. Her name is Darrion, BTW. She's just a point and shoot, but a step up from my last camera.

My friend came over and we went swimming. We rode our bikes back home, and had a snack.

After sitting around talking for a few minutes, we decided to make advertisement videos, which I'll probably(maybe) post later. They aren't even uploaded yet.

For dinner, we ate pizza, and then we had to leave for VBS.

Lately, we've been riding out to the marina a lot. Its like a 2-3 mile ride on our bikes. Its so pretty!

On Saturdays, Matt tries to earn a few dollars selling golf balls. He's made about 80 dollars so far, which is pretty good. :-D

I've been reading a lot. When we last went to the library, I was able to get the last 11 Left Behind books. I'm so excited to finish them! There are 40 books in all. I'm also reading Many Waters and soon I'll start Drummer Boy at Bull Run(part 1 of the Bonnets and Bugles series). I've been trying to read my Bible more, too. Jeremiah and Judges are hard, though.

Yesterday we went bowling with our home school group. Me and Luke decided to try bowling a new way. :-D

Surprisingly, we didn't get in trouble for that.

This week we've been doing VBS. We play a game like family feud or scattergories when we first get there and then we have an outside activity. We have a chance to get a snack or drink and then the last 45 minutes or so are spent singing, and listening to the lesson. (Some people like to doodle, though.)

Mr. Travis(our youth pastor) has been talking about why God created us. So far he's taught that we were created For God's Pleasure, For God's Family, and To Be Like Christ. Its been really good.

(song lyrics stuck in my head)

What have you been doing lately?

giveaway at cheeseslave

2011-07-26T17:09:00.000-04:00

You have a chance to win this adorable apron here!

bokeh

2011-07-24T22:03:00.001-04:00

I figured out Mom's camera!! YAY!! I can do bokeh now and get the macro to work. But the bad news is, just when I figure out Mom's camera, I get my new camera. Oh well. So I rode my bike to the marina again today. Just to practice my photography. On chalk and mushrooms and bokeh and pine cones. So uhh picture overload(all unedited, btw. I usually don't really edit mine. I mean maybe just to add some words... Or if I really like a picture and its too dark to see anything. HAHA)

Spanish moss. :-D

The marina never gets old...

and guess what I saw on the way home?!