Waterfalls are fun

Well, we got back from Tennessee yesterday evening and today we are just relaxing a bit. In Tennessee we filmed way too many OTRN videos. But we had quite a fun time, sliding down waterfalls, hiking, eating, sleeping and having a great time. :) There was a little waterfall at the place we were staying that you could slide down if you wanted, so obviously we did and it was really fun! One tip, wear shorts while sliding down, because it would really hurt without them. I wore shorts, but they got holes in them, so wear shorts you don't particularly like. We also hiked up Roan Mountain, and we got to this lookout point where (at this particular time) clouds were everywhere and you couldn't see anything in the valley. Plus the clouds were rushing up at a rapid speed, and it was very cold. It is rather interesting to be in a cloud. I enjoyed it though.

We also saw a bunch of rabbits (which I love). You're probably thinking why I like rabbits, but we don't have them here! It is quite sad, so I like seeing them (along with groundhogs and chipmunks) up North. Sadly, I didn't get to see any bears, but that was probably for the best. ;)

We had a wonderful time there visiting with family and enjoying the lovely weather, but I am glad to be back. :) I might try and post pictures soon if I get the chance. :)

Here is a quote for you to think about too.
"We Americans are the best informed people on earth as to the events of the last twenty-four hours; we are the not the best informed as the events of the last sixty centuries."- Will Durant


AO

Whew.

I know, I know. I've fallen way behind on my chronicling of the EOTYG, because we are going on yet another trip tomorrow! So, I will try to finish it all up in one post.

Saturday, my Mom and I got up early to go shopping in the Veritas Press warehouse. It is a treat to see so many wonderful books there stacked on shelves. I loved it. After that, we came back to the hotel for the Student Debate. The debated the topic of whether voting for one particular quality or not is a good thing. The students as usual did a great job, better than I could ever do! :) Well, maybe. I am taking Rhetoric next year... . :) Anyways, after that we(my family and I) went to a chocolate factory called Wilbur Chocolate Company. Oh boy. This company beats Hersheys any day. *in Mr.T voice, "I pity Hershey Chocolates"* This chocolate is magnificent! And I should know, I've practically been raised on chocolate (not really, but it is a loved food in our household). :P We bought so much chocolate, but it hardly lasted us the trip home. Then, we went to find lunch somewhere before the grueling field day. Just kidding, it wasn't that bad! I had to do some of the events twice though, because some adults in my group had knee injuries or something like that. I had to do the wheel-barrow race twice, and I can assure you I was feeling the pain from that for days after I was home. But I had a great time doing everything. :) After that, we went back to the hotel and went swimming, the everyone showered, the we went to the home of the family who started Veritas Press. Of course, their house wasn't big enough for people inside, so everyone was outdoors. But their yard is so big and green, it didn't really matter. :) We stayed here till after dark, and had a wonderful time.

Sunday, we got up, got dressed for church, packed our bags, loaded up the car and went to find breakfast. The church was nice, but it had no air conditioning, so the windows were open. Which means that it was rather tempting to fall asleep. After church, we went to the park for a farewell picnic, where everyone hugged, said goodbye, and repeated that about five hundred times. It was sad for it to be the last day, but it was definitely a great trip overall. After that, we visited with another family whose Dad was a teacher for a few hours, then started the 10-hour drive home.

Annddd, here we are, back in town, yet ready to go away again. Tomorrow we leave for a fun weekend with cousins in the mountains, where, Lord-willing we will be able to film a lot of that show everyone knows and loves, On the Run News. ;)

Till next time,
AO

Good Quotes

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. (C. S. Lewis)


Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home. (C. S. Lewis)

Don't forget your goggles!

It's summer time, it's scorching outside (at least here), and you want to cool off. You probably think, 'Hey, maybe I can go to the pool!', but then you start to wonder about it, because you lost your goggles last summer and don't want to go to Wal-Mart to buy another pair. I have an easy solution. If you own an old house (been occupied by other folk before you), go run upstairs and look in the attic. You just might have the privilege of owning a vintage pair of goggles! I have a lovely blue pair, that my stuffed animal Danny Dog was willing to model for you.

The house we bought a few months ago, happens to have quite a "collection" of old stuff, and I found these in a box of toys in the garage. Who knows how long the box was there or what has been in it... . I absolutely love coming across old things like this. At first, I thought these might've just been super-hero goggles or something, but then a few weeks ago my Dad gave me the idea they might be old swimming goggles! And, I just noticed this morning that they truly are.

Let me warn you though, I've tried on these goggles just for fun, and they certainly aren't the most comfortable pair ever. But if you're desperate... :) Who knows what you'll find in the attic (or garage).

AO

Pigs, music and friends

I know I haven't posted in a few days, but you know, sometimes you've got better things to do. Anywho, here I am now, ready to tell you about Friday of our vacation.

The group we were with, Veritas Press Scholars Academy, had a talent show Friday morning. It being a home school talent show, most of the talent there was piano. Not that piano is bad, it's just common amongst home schools. There were also a few vocal performers, a guitarist (who was very good), a magic show and I think that was all (other than piano).

After that, (because my Mom is a teacher for them), my family went to the teacher luncheon in the park. It was lots of fun, we played with the other little kids because the teachers didn't bring their older kids. But it was still lots of fun. We walked around in the park a lot and saw the ducks. :) After this, we took two of a teachers kids back to the hotel with us so they and my sister could swim in the pool. That is pretty much how we spent the afternoon until the barn dance.

The barn dance was awesome. We did one last year as well, but this year was more fun for me since I had more friends there. :) When we first got there, we just walked around the farm, and I met this wonderful pig.

Isn't it just adorable? OK, well I thought it was, so you can keep your thoughts to yourself (such as, 'wow, she's crazy'). And I got to pet him (or it, you couldn't tell, his flab was in the way). ;) There were a lot of other animals to pet there as well. They had a little bush maze, a slide, and a mining place where you could pan for rocks. Inside the barn (where we had the dance) it was very tight. There were more people than last year (same barn) but the dance floor was smaller. So when I was dancing with my friend, he and I kept bumping into the little kids because there were so many! And with that dance, my friend and I were just about to be the head couple then the music stopped. It was rather sad, but we had fun. The dancing we did is called 'contra dancing', and it pretty much is country dancing (similar to square dancing, but more fun). There actually is a group near where I live that meets every other Friday night and dances for hours. I've done it a few times, but I've been too busy lately. So I only danced a few times at the barn dance, but it was fun. :)

That was pretty much it for Friday, but boy, it was a fun day. I'm starting to forget the little details now, being it a week ago this all happened, but I'll try to remember as much as I can. :)

Next time I write: Saturday was the student debate, field day and a fun outdoor dinner. PLUS, an awesome trip to a candy factory.

So, till then-

AO

New Design

Blogger has made me happy by adding a new blog designer. So I changed this one around a bit, I like it better, but if you have any suggestions/comments, just let me know. :)

AO

Chocolate....

I obviously did not post yesterday, simply because I had no inspiration for writing. Even though I can have a topic, sometimes I just have nothing to write about. But now, I feel like writing quite a bit, so here goes.

Wednesday was New York City. Thursday, we went to Hershey Park. I must admit- when I first heard we were going to Hershey Park, I had no idea that it wasn't a place where you could get as many free samples of chocolate as you wanted, hence I was a bit disappointed to hear that it was more of a theme park than anything else. They had quite a few roller coasters, a huge waterpark and some shows here and there. And if you've ever been to a fair, they had little food stands that sold things like funnel cakes, popcorn, etc. so it kinda felt like a fair to me. I am not a fan of roller coasters. In fact, I rather dislike them. There were a few coasters there that were made of wood, so I though since they were wood, they wood be a little more trustworthy. I did not look around at the roller coaster first though, before I did it. Anywho, my Mom wanted to do it, and no one else did, so I went with her on it. This particular coaster had two different groups of car things (or whatever you call it), they both went at the same time but on different tracks, so it was a race between the two. My mom and I were in "Lightning" and thankfully "Lightning" won. But the ride was absolutely horrendous. I thought the drops on it were not going to be that steep because it was wood, but was I ever more wrong in my life? I do not know. To me it felt like we went straight down, which to me, is not a good feeling in the least. On coasters, I don't mind the speed or turns, it's the drops that kill me. I say drop, when most people say downhill turn because you literally are dropping... . All this to say how much these rides truly test your faith, because I literally was praying the whole, entire time. (but look on the bright side, I didn't scream at all!)

They had some water rides as well, where you hop in a little boat thing, go down steep drops, and everything without being secured at all in the boat. Fun, right? I actually didn't mind the Coal Cracker, there was only one drop but it was not near as bad as the Lightning drop. And we didn't get very wet (which was good considering I just had normal clothes on, no swimsuit).

I did another roller coaster that I loved! But it was more of the kiddy-coaster kind of ride. Figures. But it went rather fast, and had hardly any drops. Wonderful ride, I could've done it a few times. One side note: while on this ride, my friend was wearing a baseball hat. Don't do that. It flew off during the ride and for the next few hours he was worrying about whether it fell on the tracks and de-railed the next ride. It probably didn't do that, but still, to save yourself from worrying, no hats. ;)

The most intense ride I did, you'll never guess, was walking. The people at Hershey Park wanted to make you walk around so much they put in curvy sidewalks everywhere instead of a straight through path. Plus, Hershey has more hills than here in the flat lands, which made it worse for me. But, I survived.

That concludes my exciting, dramatic adventure at Hershey Park. Oh wait! I did the Ferris Wheel as well. That is a must-do anywhere and everywhere. But other than that, I think that's all we did. If I had to pay to go to Hershey Park again, I probably wouldn't go, but if someone gave me free tickets, I'd go. It's just one of those places that is more exciting for some than others.

Tomorrow (or whenever): No big events, just a talent show, teacher luncheon, and a very enjoyable barn dance.

AO

WOW

This past week was one of the most fun weeks of my entire life. I got to meet people I've known for at least two years, but never met face to face. I got to meet my teachers, and other people who have never been in any of my classes. Fun times... . We left last Tuesday, and the fun started Wednesday and went all the way till Sunday. We left Sunday afternoon and got back last night. Now is kind of a sad time, moment of silence almost, because we probably will not see our friends until next year. I am thankful for Skype though; it is a great way to keep in touch with those far-away friends. Another bit of sad news is that my Dad got a call from the boarding place our dogs were staying at, telling us our older dog Cami, had her tail cut in a door. This hit me hard, because I absolutely love my dogs. Cami's tail is one of those tails that is just skin and bone, so not much fat or anything to heal a wound. They said it was about a two-inch cut, but that they could also see some of her bone exposed, which is bad and could lead to an infection, which could lead to tail amputation. Right now, Cami is home with us, acting as normal as can be, but we are still praying her tail will heal well and quickly. So if you think about it, please pray for her, it would be very appreciated. :) I'm thankful though that the call from the vet was at the end of our trip, because if it were at the beginning, I would've been quite stressed and unable to have fun. God is good. :)

I'd love to tell you about my trip in one blog post, but I've already been talking to my friend via e-mail about it and my e-mails are much too long to put in one blog post. So I'll just highlight bits and pieces every now and again so it's easier for you to read, and fun for me to reminisce about.

The first day, Wednesday, we got up at 5:45am, to meet in the hotel lobby and board our buses, headed for the Big Apple. I've never been to New York City before, but it is a quite magnificent place. I would not want to live there for a lifetime, but I very much so would love to visit more. It is a very crazy city, from things you see, hear, taste, smell, feel; it overloads your senses. When we got there, we walked around a bit since we were too early for lunch, then we went to lunch at a place called Carmine's, which had yummy food, but served too much of it. After a while spent eating and talking, we walked over to the New Amsterdam Theatre, so that we could get in and find our seats to watch Mary Poppins. I have never seen a play as superb as this one. I truly loved the fact they had a live orchestra playing for them, and everything was real. The acting was outstanding, and the neat effects were quite entertaining. Movie actors need talent, but stage actors need everything. There is no stopping to re-film a scene. It is all live talent. God has given them such wonderful gifts, and they certainly are sharing them in a lovely way. The theatre itself was a wonder to behold. On this trip especially, I have found myself enjoying and desiring to learn more about architecture and design, so maybe I should start looking into that. Back to the show. The set was incredible. So much work goes into these plays. I am very thankful I was able to go to New York with my family this year. After the show, we hopped back into the bus and rode back to the hotel. We saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance, but not very clearly; and the Empire State building as well. It was such an enjoyable day. Here is one of my favorite pictures from NYC. It's just a sign I saw when we were on the bus, but it was rather hilarious, and I though I should share it with you. {apologies for it being cut off, but I was in a bus}




Tomorrow(or when I am able to post), I will write about our trip to Hershey Park! :)

AO