I have been fairly busy over the last several weeks, but one reason that I haven't posted anything is that I had asked my family to do some, since with my endless detail it would have taken me hours and hours to write about their trip to DC. I have also been working and studying for finals and I even went to a fun party at Georgetown with free caricatures and food and fun, anyway, I'm heading to my first of my final 2 finals, so I'll write more about everything later.
Good morning,
I look at Travis' blog, hoping to see more entries, but then I remember that some of us were going to write for him. Tues, May 3rd, is Travis' last two finals of the year, so he's been busy studying, as well as packing up to go home.
April 20th was the start of a fun family vacation. We flew to the Reagan airport and were met by Travis, Amy, Grandma, Grandpa and Josiah. Yay! Some of us had our first chance at the metro while we went into the city to get a rental car and the others headed out of town. We drove up towards Gettysburg and spent 2 nights with cousins (2nd cousins), Larry & Ruth Ann Wood. They have a beautiful and inviting home, and were so welcoming. They had even found enough mattresses for ALL of us. We had a great day touring Gettysburg on Thurs.
Maybe I'll just list the things we did. Then hopefully each of us will write a paragraph or so describing some favorite things.
Thursday
Gettysburg Visitor's Center / lunch from the trunks of the cars / car tour of the beautiful countryside / bedtime desserts at Wood's
Friday
Darcy goes to an early class with Travis / leave cars at Comm of Christ / lunch in Travis' school cafeteria / Capital tour / Library of Congress / retrieve & return rental car / card games
Saturday
Museum of Natural History / Art Museum / Eastern Market / birthday dinner at the Match Box / Air & Space Museum / IceBerry
Sunday
Easter Sunrise service at Arlington / walked past National Cathedral / Worship service at Community of Christ / walk thru Georgetown / another walk... to National Mall...Lincoln Memorial, Korean, WW1, WW2, Washington...
Monday
toured Georgetown U / frisbie on lawn / lunch again at American U / went to T's dorm room / went up in the Old Post Office Tower / Holocaust Museum / kids went to the Vietnam Wall on their walk home (some of us got on the closest metro)
Tuesday
pack & visit / Darcy & Brenda visited the International Justice Mission offices / then "hit the road" and "the skies"
Okay, family. You can tell I left out a few details! So maybe each of us could write a little to Travis (email or facebook or blog comments) and he could add them to the blog about the trip. Just think of something funny that happened or your favorite place or tell a couple stories. Thank you. I love you! Thank you, Travis and Amy for the wonderful vacation.
Brenda
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sue came to DC!
This week for the most part was a normal week, except during the week, I was buying more and more tickets for the Choir concert on Friday night, because more and more people kept wanting to come. The week consisted mostly of studying and the like, but on Friday, I went down to georgetown to meet Amy, and then we went to meet her mom at the Airport. The entire scooter ride down there, it was raining pretty hard, so I was completely drenched by the time I got there. I had noticed the large amounts of rain already, so I decided that it would be a good idea to bring some extra clothes to get out of the soon to be soaked ones. I brought some extra pants and changed when I got there.
We took a GUTS bus over to the Rosslyn metro station and from there I bought a little McDonalds food, since I hadn't eaten much before that. After that though, we got on the Metro and rode the 5 stops to the airport. We got a doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts and it was delicious! Her mom came, and they were sooo happy to see each other! It was nice to see Sue for me too. We then made our way back on the metro to her hotel near the Key Bridge, where we met Moira, Amy's cousin. (The one whose parents live in Charlottesville) We then all rode the metro back up to Tenleytown and they ate a a Thai restaurant, but I had to go get ready for my concert, so I scootered back and got my fancy suit on! This time, however, I had a bow tie, rather than a normal tie. I filled out the course evaluation and then waited for 45 minutes until our concert. It was a fun concert, and I think most people enjoyed it! Everyone said good job, but that isn't really a good measure, because they could just tell me that and the concert may have been bad, but I think the concert itself was good also! After that, they walked me back to my room, and I showed them my dorm room, but Wynn was sleeping (imagine that) and everyone had to be quiet. They gave me the leftover Thai food, which I gladly ate, and then they left.
On Saturday, I woke up early and finished some of my Physics readings and then met my business group to work on the project. This time though, Lenny was willing to work on everything earlier, so we met at 9:30 and then were done by 12:30. I rode my scooter down to M street to meet Amy and Sue, because they were walking around there. We then did a little shopping/looking around, and went to Urban Outfitters (the same store where I got my french fry wallet). I got a nice light weight sweater that was on sale, and almost got an extra small on accident, but it was a little too small. We then walked east on M even further until we got to a Metro stop and came to American. We got some drinks from the coffee shop here and sat in the School of International Service (SIS) building and read/talked for a while while waiting for dinner. TDR opens at 5 on the weekends rather than being open the whole time, so we were ready to eat by the time it was finally open. I swiped everyone in, and we had a nice dinner, with some ice cream to polish it off! After dinner, they left to go watch the play that Amy had tried out for earlier in the spring, while I went to my last concert of the year. I messed up several times this concert though:( I pronounced New Orleans like that instead of pronouncing it New Orlins, so I stuck out a little bit. I was trying to be a hot shot and not look at my music, which works for the notes and words, but the little notes in the scores are useless if I don't look at them. I worked on some more homework then and went to bed.
On Sunday, I woke up at 8 instead of 7, and got ready to go down to meet Amy and her mom. I thought that I would leave American at 9 to get there at 10 when I planned, but I left at nine and ended up getting there at 9:30, which was a little too early, so texted Amy and waited for her and Sue to get ready. We then hung out in their room a while and then made our way to Dupont Circle to search for some breakfast. It was a little late though, so we were only able to find a place for lunch, which was good! We ate a Cosi, an interesting place where you order everything in different areas. I had a barbecue chicken pizza that was quite interesting, but delicious! We then made our way over to the Spy Museum. We signed up for this thing called Operation Spy, and it was really fun:) It was a simulated mission, where we had to attempt to get a nuclear detonator so we could save the country or something. Anyway, there were several parts, involving, searching, breaking into safes, decoding messages, using "security cameras" from a building, and riding in the back of a van. They had van noises, and then the thing moved like those simulators, so it felt like you were moving. THen we were compromised and had to run to the roof to be rescued by the helicopters. THe things that you did actually played on how the thing would end up. We got an overall score of 4/5, because we found the detonator, but just couldn't quite get it in time. After that, we toured through the actual museum part, which was also cool. We saw lots of hidden weapons, learned about the carrier pigeons, the progressively smaller size of listening bugs, and the arts of ninja. It was an interesting museum, but like most museums, we were getting tired and ready to leave by the time we had made it mostly through the exhibits. After that, we made our way over to the National Gallery of art to see a painting that they have in their house, except the original. It is one of a little girl holding a watering pail near some flowers. It is really cute, and it was neat to see one that I recognized. We then sat in there for about as long as we walked, because we were getting tired. After walking all around the gallery, we made our way to the metro and eventually found the one we needed to get back to the Hotel. The Subway has never felt so good, except for possibly after the "Rally to restore sanity," but it was definitely up there. We got out at the Rosslyn stop and walked a little more over to the hotel and then just sat in their room/read/relaxed, until dinner. We then walked across the Key bridge and then down along the river to this seafood place right by the river. We could look right over the Potomac for the sunset, and it was beautiful! We had some hot crab spread stuff for bread, and then I got some jumbo shrimp, Amy got stuffed shrimp, and Sue got a lobster. I tried some of each thing and everything was excellent! The stuffed shrimp had spinach and some creamy thing, possibly cream cheese, and also pieces of crab in it. We also had a show, because there was a family that had some youngish children that were playing on the boardwalk next to the dining place. The boy had on roller blades and also tried to use them on a scooter. It worked, but we were fearful for his safety, because that just seemed like too many wheels! He also tried sitting on it, and using the roller blades, so it was just an overall entertaining experience. After the wonderful dinner, we walked back to their hotel, and just chilled their for a while and watched America's best dance crew, then Amy had to go back to do some homework, so we had to say goodbye:( Then, Amy and I walked over to Georgetown and we sat outside and talked a little before I scootered home. It was cloudy all day, but a nice temperature, about 68 probably.
Today, I did a lot of homework, attempting to get ahead so I can have more free time when my family is here, and then went down to visit Amy a little in the evening, because I needed a break and some exercise. I rode down there in 15 minutes and we sat and talked for a while and then I rode home, and it took me 25 minutes, for a total of only being gone 1:25. and I got to see Amy:) Now I finished this up and am going to bed.
We took a GUTS bus over to the Rosslyn metro station and from there I bought a little McDonalds food, since I hadn't eaten much before that. After that though, we got on the Metro and rode the 5 stops to the airport. We got a doughnut from Dunkin' Donuts and it was delicious! Her mom came, and they were sooo happy to see each other! It was nice to see Sue for me too. We then made our way back on the metro to her hotel near the Key Bridge, where we met Moira, Amy's cousin. (The one whose parents live in Charlottesville) We then all rode the metro back up to Tenleytown and they ate a a Thai restaurant, but I had to go get ready for my concert, so I scootered back and got my fancy suit on! This time, however, I had a bow tie, rather than a normal tie. I filled out the course evaluation and then waited for 45 minutes until our concert. It was a fun concert, and I think most people enjoyed it! Everyone said good job, but that isn't really a good measure, because they could just tell me that and the concert may have been bad, but I think the concert itself was good also! After that, they walked me back to my room, and I showed them my dorm room, but Wynn was sleeping (imagine that) and everyone had to be quiet. They gave me the leftover Thai food, which I gladly ate, and then they left.
On Saturday, I woke up early and finished some of my Physics readings and then met my business group to work on the project. This time though, Lenny was willing to work on everything earlier, so we met at 9:30 and then were done by 12:30. I rode my scooter down to M street to meet Amy and Sue, because they were walking around there. We then did a little shopping/looking around, and went to Urban Outfitters (the same store where I got my french fry wallet). I got a nice light weight sweater that was on sale, and almost got an extra small on accident, but it was a little too small. We then walked east on M even further until we got to a Metro stop and came to American. We got some drinks from the coffee shop here and sat in the School of International Service (SIS) building and read/talked for a while while waiting for dinner. TDR opens at 5 on the weekends rather than being open the whole time, so we were ready to eat by the time it was finally open. I swiped everyone in, and we had a nice dinner, with some ice cream to polish it off! After dinner, they left to go watch the play that Amy had tried out for earlier in the spring, while I went to my last concert of the year. I messed up several times this concert though:( I pronounced New Orleans like that instead of pronouncing it New Orlins, so I stuck out a little bit. I was trying to be a hot shot and not look at my music, which works for the notes and words, but the little notes in the scores are useless if I don't look at them. I worked on some more homework then and went to bed.
On Sunday, I woke up at 8 instead of 7, and got ready to go down to meet Amy and her mom. I thought that I would leave American at 9 to get there at 10 when I planned, but I left at nine and ended up getting there at 9:30, which was a little too early, so texted Amy and waited for her and Sue to get ready. We then hung out in their room a while and then made our way to Dupont Circle to search for some breakfast. It was a little late though, so we were only able to find a place for lunch, which was good! We ate a Cosi, an interesting place where you order everything in different areas. I had a barbecue chicken pizza that was quite interesting, but delicious! We then made our way over to the Spy Museum. We signed up for this thing called Operation Spy, and it was really fun:) It was a simulated mission, where we had to attempt to get a nuclear detonator so we could save the country or something. Anyway, there were several parts, involving, searching, breaking into safes, decoding messages, using "security cameras" from a building, and riding in the back of a van. They had van noises, and then the thing moved like those simulators, so it felt like you were moving. THen we were compromised and had to run to the roof to be rescued by the helicopters. THe things that you did actually played on how the thing would end up. We got an overall score of 4/5, because we found the detonator, but just couldn't quite get it in time. After that, we toured through the actual museum part, which was also cool. We saw lots of hidden weapons, learned about the carrier pigeons, the progressively smaller size of listening bugs, and the arts of ninja. It was an interesting museum, but like most museums, we were getting tired and ready to leave by the time we had made it mostly through the exhibits. After that, we made our way over to the National Gallery of art to see a painting that they have in their house, except the original. It is one of a little girl holding a watering pail near some flowers. It is really cute, and it was neat to see one that I recognized. We then sat in there for about as long as we walked, because we were getting tired. After walking all around the gallery, we made our way to the metro and eventually found the one we needed to get back to the Hotel. The Subway has never felt so good, except for possibly after the "Rally to restore sanity," but it was definitely up there. We got out at the Rosslyn stop and walked a little more over to the hotel and then just sat in their room/read/relaxed, until dinner. We then walked across the Key bridge and then down along the river to this seafood place right by the river. We could look right over the Potomac for the sunset, and it was beautiful! We had some hot crab spread stuff for bread, and then I got some jumbo shrimp, Amy got stuffed shrimp, and Sue got a lobster. I tried some of each thing and everything was excellent! The stuffed shrimp had spinach and some creamy thing, possibly cream cheese, and also pieces of crab in it. We also had a show, because there was a family that had some youngish children that were playing on the boardwalk next to the dining place. The boy had on roller blades and also tried to use them on a scooter. It worked, but we were fearful for his safety, because that just seemed like too many wheels! He also tried sitting on it, and using the roller blades, so it was just an overall entertaining experience. After the wonderful dinner, we walked back to their hotel, and just chilled their for a while and watched America's best dance crew, then Amy had to go back to do some homework, so we had to say goodbye:( Then, Amy and I walked over to Georgetown and we sat outside and talked a little before I scootered home. It was cloudy all day, but a nice temperature, about 68 probably.
Today, I did a lot of homework, attempting to get ahead so I can have more free time when my family is here, and then went down to visit Amy a little in the evening, because I needed a break and some exercise. I rode down there in 15 minutes and we sat and talked for a while and then I rode home, and it took me 25 minutes, for a total of only being gone 1:25. and I got to see Amy:) Now I finished this up and am going to bed.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Cherry Blossom Festival... : 0
This past week has been a good and productive week, and I have completed most of the assignments for this coming up week already, with a few exceptions, but overall, the homework has been good:) In history, we have to read Candide, which is by Voltaire, and it is really sarcastic and funny, sometimes mocking other Enlightenment thinkers, but sometimes supporting them. It was one of the first really entertaining books that I have read in the European history class. The other books were also good, but I liked Candide the best. In Calculus, we are determining whether or not series are divergent (have a finite sum), and have been using various tests to do that. In Physics, we are now dealing with electricity and circuits and are just starting magnetism, which is also fun. The main thing in business, is now not so much the class, but more so just working on the project each weekend. I had my part done already, but we had to type it as a group so that it would sound consistent, so we met on Saturday morning at 10:30, because that is as early as one of the members wanted to get up, when personally I wanted to get going as fast as possible, so I could go see the Cherry blossoms with Amy and her friends.
Woops, I missed Friday. On Friday, Amy and I just worked at our own Universities for most of the afternoon, so we would have more time with less stress for the Cherry blossoms, and would be able to have more free time! Anyway, she did, however come up to American after 8, and she brought some Chinese takeout food from Kitchen No. 1. It only has takeout, so it is cheaper than other Chinese food restaurants, and it is super greasy and delicious. The fried rice has lots of meat in it (pork, chicken, shrimp, and possibly beef) and it is really good. Amy also got General Tso's chicken which was also excellent! We ate the food and listened to music and looked up music videos/facebook news and relaxed. Then, she went home, so she could hopefully get a lot of sleep, because she was lacking over the course of the week.
On Saturday, We met at 10:30 as I already described. Then it took a long long time to get typing at a good rate. It was very frustrating, but we eventually got 1 page done by 12:30 (single spaced) and then had some lunch, and finished the paper (2 more pages) in only 3 hours more. It should be pretty good, I think, but you never really know with this professor:S We will see when we meet with him to discuss it sometime this week. After that was finally over, I just rode my scooter down to Georgetown, because since it was raining and not nice outside, Amy and her friends didn't stay there very long. We then did some homework and then went to an Acapella concert! It had 3 different groups from Georgetown, one from American, one from Yale, "Baker's Dozen," and one from University of Rochester. They were all pretty good, except we couldn't hear the AU guys very well, since the lead singer used the center mic, which wasn't working. The Yale guys were amazing though. The Yale guys dedn't even really use the mics except for the soloist, they just lined up like in this video. There were only 13 there though, this must have had all the alternates too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhmzUQNpXQ
Anyway, we then did some more homework and then I went home.
On Sunday, I got up fairly early and read a bit and then met Amy down at Georgetown to walk/scooter with to church (depending on the incline). The service was pretty short, and we had potluck afterwards that was really good, but as soon as choir practice after lunch was over, we went all the way down town to the CHerry blossom festival. It was pretty crowded since it was a nice day and its the peak of Cherry blossom time, so we had to walk after we got into the crowds enough. We were following a path next to the river, but we realized that we couldn't get to the right place that way, so after we had passed the Lincoln memorial, we had to go all the way back up around it and then down towards the Jefferson memorial where the trees are. We got there saw them. It was pretty cool to see so many trees flowering at once, but the really cool part for me was the smell of the millions of flowers. We walked around the very very crowded tidal basin and then made our way across the national mall and over to the National gallery of art. On our way, we passed this man playing buckets and barrels as a way to try to get some money. It was really cool. There always seems to be something like that going on down there. Amy is doing one of her term papers for history about how some artists in the 1800s were in reaction to the industrial revolution, and since the paintings were here in DC, we decided to take a look at them. We checked in our scooters, grabbed a map, and then found the right room. We found some pictures that would work, and then tried to interpret as much as we could from each of them. They are available online, but it is just more clear and large to see the actual ones that are probably 5 feet tall or so, and it is much cooler to see them in person. After that, we started our long scooter ride home. It is the same cross street as the Lady Gaga concert, way over in the middle of town, but it was a good scooter ride. We started at 7th NW and had to get to 37th NW. We were on E and had to eventually get up to M, but once on M, everything was familiar, because it is pretty close to Georgetown. Anyway, it was a really long ride, and we were very glad for the chairs when we got back to Georgetown! We ate some of the candy that Amy had picked up at a party thing the night before, and ever tried a monster energy drink. I think it has too much energy in it to be good for you, but anyway, that's that we did.
I then went home and worked on an outline for the essay I was doing for my History class.
For those that didn't see my facebook status, or don't use one, all in all, I scootered/walked 17.9 miles or 1,120,000 inches:)
Today, I have just been doing my homework, but think I will go sit outside for a while now, because it is 82 out there:) Spring is finally here, but I'm not sure how long it will stay this warm, because tomorrow it is supposed to be in the mid 50s again.
Thank you for reading.
Travis
Woops, I missed Friday. On Friday, Amy and I just worked at our own Universities for most of the afternoon, so we would have more time with less stress for the Cherry blossoms, and would be able to have more free time! Anyway, she did, however come up to American after 8, and she brought some Chinese takeout food from Kitchen No. 1. It only has takeout, so it is cheaper than other Chinese food restaurants, and it is super greasy and delicious. The fried rice has lots of meat in it (pork, chicken, shrimp, and possibly beef) and it is really good. Amy also got General Tso's chicken which was also excellent! We ate the food and listened to music and looked up music videos/facebook news and relaxed. Then, she went home, so she could hopefully get a lot of sleep, because she was lacking over the course of the week.
On Saturday, We met at 10:30 as I already described. Then it took a long long time to get typing at a good rate. It was very frustrating, but we eventually got 1 page done by 12:30 (single spaced) and then had some lunch, and finished the paper (2 more pages) in only 3 hours more. It should be pretty good, I think, but you never really know with this professor:S We will see when we meet with him to discuss it sometime this week. After that was finally over, I just rode my scooter down to Georgetown, because since it was raining and not nice outside, Amy and her friends didn't stay there very long. We then did some homework and then went to an Acapella concert! It had 3 different groups from Georgetown, one from American, one from Yale, "Baker's Dozen," and one from University of Rochester. They were all pretty good, except we couldn't hear the AU guys very well, since the lead singer used the center mic, which wasn't working. The Yale guys were amazing though. The Yale guys dedn't even really use the mics except for the soloist, they just lined up like in this video. There were only 13 there though, this must have had all the alternates too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhmzUQNpXQ
Anyway, we then did some more homework and then I went home.
On Sunday, I got up fairly early and read a bit and then met Amy down at Georgetown to walk/scooter with to church (depending on the incline). The service was pretty short, and we had potluck afterwards that was really good, but as soon as choir practice after lunch was over, we went all the way down town to the CHerry blossom festival. It was pretty crowded since it was a nice day and its the peak of Cherry blossom time, so we had to walk after we got into the crowds enough. We were following a path next to the river, but we realized that we couldn't get to the right place that way, so after we had passed the Lincoln memorial, we had to go all the way back up around it and then down towards the Jefferson memorial where the trees are. We got there saw them. It was pretty cool to see so many trees flowering at once, but the really cool part for me was the smell of the millions of flowers. We walked around the very very crowded tidal basin and then made our way across the national mall and over to the National gallery of art. On our way, we passed this man playing buckets and barrels as a way to try to get some money. It was really cool. There always seems to be something like that going on down there. Amy is doing one of her term papers for history about how some artists in the 1800s were in reaction to the industrial revolution, and since the paintings were here in DC, we decided to take a look at them. We checked in our scooters, grabbed a map, and then found the right room. We found some pictures that would work, and then tried to interpret as much as we could from each of them. They are available online, but it is just more clear and large to see the actual ones that are probably 5 feet tall or so, and it is much cooler to see them in person. After that, we started our long scooter ride home. It is the same cross street as the Lady Gaga concert, way over in the middle of town, but it was a good scooter ride. We started at 7th NW and had to get to 37th NW. We were on E and had to eventually get up to M, but once on M, everything was familiar, because it is pretty close to Georgetown. Anyway, it was a really long ride, and we were very glad for the chairs when we got back to Georgetown! We ate some of the candy that Amy had picked up at a party thing the night before, and ever tried a monster energy drink. I think it has too much energy in it to be good for you, but anyway, that's that we did.
I then went home and worked on an outline for the essay I was doing for my History class.
For those that didn't see my facebook status, or don't use one, all in all, I scootered/walked 17.9 miles or 1,120,000 inches:)
Today, I have just been doing my homework, but think I will go sit outside for a while now, because it is 82 out there:) Spring is finally here, but I'm not sure how long it will stay this warm, because tomorrow it is supposed to be in the mid 50s again.
Thank you for reading.
Travis
Monday, March 28, 2011
Jeff's Birthday party/ intense student Travis (and Amy)...
So, on Saturday, Jeff was having a birthday party, starting at 2. He said, "meet to play soccer at to, and dinner at 7," so for some reason I thought that it was going to be the entire time from 2 til after dinner... Anyway, because of that, and the lack of homework Amy and I did on Friday, we studied quite a bit in the morning on Saturday. Amy had even more homework than I did, plus, she has classes Monday, so she was going to come up to American a little later, after she had gone to one of the Cupcake places in Georgetown, to get him one. They are a really popular thing out here. Georgetown Cupcake is the most popular, and they even have a TV show about them, so the lines are always super long there! Like a block or two long! Anyway, there is another one that just opened called Sprinkles, and a little older one that is even further from Georgetown called Baked and Wired (because they serve coffee too). Anyway, in anticipating the long day of hanging out with Jeffs friends, got a grab and go box from the lunch room and filled it with baked goods, so everyone could have some food before dinner. Jeff had mentioned something about hanging out in the Katzen Arts center after people were tired of playing soccer. At 2, I brought his soccer ball that is in my room, over to the Library to meet him. There were 4 other people there when I arrived, and we headed down to the Soccer field to see if anyone was there. There were people practicing, and technically it is only for Varsity sports, but Jeff still tries to go there. Anyway, we then walked over a ways down Massachusetts Avenue and went to this other field, but it was also being used. We then went to the Quad and found a rectangular patch of grass. Some more people met us there, and we had 3 on 4 most of the time. It was really fun, and I wished that I could play more, but I didn't even have my soccer shoes on. Eventually everyone got tired and left, except for Jeff and I, so we just kicked it around a bit. After that, my feet were sufficiently tired so I had to stop. I then met Amy not long after, just after everyone had left... She had a cupcake, and a little of her homework and was wearing her cowboy boots that she got from her Aunt. She looked mighty-fine, for all of you that care, but the boots had given her rub spots, since she didn't have long enough socks. We ate some cookies and scones in Ward, and then headed over to the library. I then went back to my room, grabbed some homework and socks, and dropped off the Catch Phrase that she had brought to play in Katzen with everyone. We studied for 2 hours, which seemed to fly by, and then got waited for the shuttle to go to dinner.
I saw several of the people I recognized from soccer, and two more of Jeff's friends that are girls on the shuttle. We rode to Tenleytown and met up with everyone else. There were 10 of us in total, I think, and we all walked up Wisconsin Ave to a Japanese restaurant. There was a sushi happy hour, with sushi for only 1 dollar per piece, so many of them stocked up... I didn't however, and scavenged through the menu trying to find something that involved cooked meat. Amy and I shared some beef teriyaki, which was very excellent, but it seemed smaller that what everyone else had ordered... At least it was cooked! Anyway, our dish came about 10 minutes later than everyone else's, so Jeff and JT were having a not eating their food and waiting for us contest. Jeff won:) Anyway, it was a great meal overall, and they were some nice people to be around. Amy and I sat on the side of "Becky" and Yuan (pronounced UN as if slurred), both girls, and we enjoyed talking to them. It turns out that JT had family from Butte originally, so he had been there before. There was also Tory (not sure how its spelled) from Hawaii, but he spoke Japanese. It was a good dinner, and we even tried a bit of the native Japanese food, including some "sweet potato noodles" as UN called them. They did taste a little potato-y, but it might be different than ours. They were see-through and reminded me a little of lutefisk. He opened some of his presents and got several soccer things, a jersey and mini ball, and Amy's cupcake, and I gave him some magnets, but he didn't open them until he got home, so we couldn't watch. There is a tradition in China that on your birthday you are supposed to eat noodles for a "long" life:) Also egg, which symbolizes birth. After dinner, we took a long time figuring out the bill, and then walked back to the bus stop.
On Sunday, both Amy and I had things to do at Church. I read a scripture and Amy did a monologue. She did really good, and everyone was impressed. It was an adaption of the Lady at the well story and she was portraying the lady. I just read, which isn't special really, but I did get up there and do something. After church, we went to American and ate lunch and then I got read for my concert. I was supposed to be there at 2, so I got my Tux on at about 1:30. I dropped off my little video camera with Amy, and her ticket and then headed over to the Arts Center. We warmed up a little and then got off the stage so people could come in to the Recital hall. I found Amy just to tell her that I saw a sign that said no recording:( So, no one will be able to see me. It sounded really good in the recital hall, I think, but we really messed up on one song!
Afterwards, we went back to my room, I gave her my scooter, and she scootered home. We planned that we were going to be very on task, and she had to be, so that she could finish her book by Monday! I was thinking how nice it was to accomplish so much homework and I thought that I could be more productive more often, by not checking facebook just because my laptop is there, and not just browsing the internet. Anyway, both today and yesterday, I have gotten a Lot done. I have nearly finished all of my homework due before Friday, which is totally not fair, because Amy has much more homework than I, but still. I also got out of bed at 8 and went for a 2 mile run in the Fitness center and am getting up tomorrow to to the same, except at 7, because I have classes at 8:30.
That is all for now.
I saw several of the people I recognized from soccer, and two more of Jeff's friends that are girls on the shuttle. We rode to Tenleytown and met up with everyone else. There were 10 of us in total, I think, and we all walked up Wisconsin Ave to a Japanese restaurant. There was a sushi happy hour, with sushi for only 1 dollar per piece, so many of them stocked up... I didn't however, and scavenged through the menu trying to find something that involved cooked meat. Amy and I shared some beef teriyaki, which was very excellent, but it seemed smaller that what everyone else had ordered... At least it was cooked! Anyway, our dish came about 10 minutes later than everyone else's, so Jeff and JT were having a not eating their food and waiting for us contest. Jeff won:) Anyway, it was a great meal overall, and they were some nice people to be around. Amy and I sat on the side of "Becky" and Yuan (pronounced UN as if slurred), both girls, and we enjoyed talking to them. It turns out that JT had family from Butte originally, so he had been there before. There was also Tory (not sure how its spelled) from Hawaii, but he spoke Japanese. It was a good dinner, and we even tried a bit of the native Japanese food, including some "sweet potato noodles" as UN called them. They did taste a little potato-y, but it might be different than ours. They were see-through and reminded me a little of lutefisk. He opened some of his presents and got several soccer things, a jersey and mini ball, and Amy's cupcake, and I gave him some magnets, but he didn't open them until he got home, so we couldn't watch. There is a tradition in China that on your birthday you are supposed to eat noodles for a "long" life:) Also egg, which symbolizes birth. After dinner, we took a long time figuring out the bill, and then walked back to the bus stop.
On Sunday, both Amy and I had things to do at Church. I read a scripture and Amy did a monologue. She did really good, and everyone was impressed. It was an adaption of the Lady at the well story and she was portraying the lady. I just read, which isn't special really, but I did get up there and do something. After church, we went to American and ate lunch and then I got read for my concert. I was supposed to be there at 2, so I got my Tux on at about 1:30. I dropped off my little video camera with Amy, and her ticket and then headed over to the Arts Center. We warmed up a little and then got off the stage so people could come in to the Recital hall. I found Amy just to tell her that I saw a sign that said no recording:( So, no one will be able to see me. It sounded really good in the recital hall, I think, but we really messed up on one song!
Afterwards, we went back to my room, I gave her my scooter, and she scootered home. We planned that we were going to be very on task, and she had to be, so that she could finish her book by Monday! I was thinking how nice it was to accomplish so much homework and I thought that I could be more productive more often, by not checking facebook just because my laptop is there, and not just browsing the internet. Anyway, both today and yesterday, I have gotten a Lot done. I have nearly finished all of my homework due before Friday, which is totally not fair, because Amy has much more homework than I, but still. I also got out of bed at 8 and went for a 2 mile run in the Fitness center and am getting up tomorrow to to the same, except at 7, because I have classes at 8:30.
That is all for now.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Another 2 weeks
Last week, I got home and then worked for a long time on all of my homework and music things. I started to study for my tests the following week, mostly making study guides for a long time. On Friday, I went down to Georgetown, and we watched Tron:Legacy. It was an interesting movie, and kinda funny. It had some parts like in the movie Gladiator, except it was digital, so when the people or "programs" died, they just shattered into pixels. It was kinda gun, but not a very complex movie. On Saturday, Amy came up to American in the evening, we studied for a while, and then went to eat dinner with Jeff, so they could meet. I swiped them all in to TDR, and we had a good dinner(I over ate as usual). We talked about movies and China/Japan, where he is from. We also talked about his birthday party that is coming up
At church on Sunday, Ed Gleazer gave a speech he had been preparing on aging. IT was pretty interesting sermon, and I liked it a lot. I even have an audio recording if anyone wants it, just send me an email at tv1076a@student.american.edu and I'll send it to you.
On Monday, I practiced my instrument more and did a lot of Homework/studying, and played soccer a bit.
On Tuesday, I took my Physics test (I think I did pretty well) and then studied for the Business one. After calculus and History, Amy texted me about the weather. She said it was really nice, but I insisted that it was cold. She was like< "You need to go out the other side of the building." I then reassured her that it was cold even in the sun, because I thought she thought I was in the shadows. Then, I went over to get a grab and go, and as I was almost back to my dorm, she jumped on my back. I didn't see it coming at all, but it was really nice to see her. Since it was a nice day and she was caught up with her work, she got some exercise and scootered up to American to see me for an hour before she had to go back to Georgetown for ASK at 4. Amy then went to this debate between the PETA president and the Georgetown Debate team about the question, is eating meat ethical. It sounded pretty interesting!
On Wednesday, I took a business test, read a bit for Physics, now we are covering electricity and current/voltage/resistance... etc, and then went to Calculus. I scootered down to Georgetown after that and went to Chi Alpha and something else that I'm forgetting...
On Thursday, I did some homework in the library and then went over to Jeff's apartment for lunch. Lab was canceled today, because we had a test this week. He had something on the stove boiling, and was talking to his mom on Skype. Then, I noticed a smell of smoke and went over to the stove, but by that time it was too late. He was making some spaghetti for us, but the noodles were too burnt! I cleaned out the pan for him with a lot of scrubbing, and he then made some of the dumplings his aunt had given him. He left them in some water after they were cooked and them poured some soup mix on top, or maybe it was just seasoning. It had some flavorings and some seaweed and some very tiny shrimp in it. They were so small, only about 1/8th of an inch thick, and about 3/8ths on an inch long. I have already gotten used to seaweed, so it tasted pretty good:) Then, we played soccer for a while. Oh, and my computer was not connecting to the internet, or getting updates, or allowing other programs such as google earth to access the internet, so I took it to the help place, and a nice old Japanese guy helped me. I could have done most of it it seemed if I had only known what to try, but anyway, he reinstalled the internet access program for American University and then I ran Malwarebytes and it finally got rid of the block, so I can use google earth, and download DirectX for Skype:) In the afternoon, I went to the Arts building and worked for the Choir manager to fulfill my hours required to get full credit for Choir. Then I practiced my french horn one last time before the concert, which is this Sunday.
Today, I went to my first two classes, and then took my last test for the week, a European History one, covering the Spanish/Portuguese exploration, and also the English religious reformation starting with Henry VIII and then all the way through Charles I. I then went down to Georgetown, and studied in the library, while I ate another grab and go that I had brought with me. Then, this janitor rolled up a trash barrel to right next to my chair, and Amy pointed to it, suggesting I should throw away the trash from my meal. I did. Then, a little later, a man wheeled it over to another one and threw out the trash I had put in there. A minute later, a woman retrieved a roll of toilet paper from the trash can. It was a janitor supply thing I guess:S We felt embarrassed. Later, we watched the first half of SPaceballs in the ICC and then went to an Indian dance. They tried to teach us, but we couldn't last for too long, because the large amounts of spinning made us quite dizzy. They had some really good appetizers that were potatoes with what-seemed-hot to-us-spices wrapped in a kind of pie crust type thing. It was really good. Amy also got a henna tattoo, but after we took off the die, it was very faint. A henna tattoo is one that they make by squeezing die from a tube onto your skin and then letting it dry. After it dries, you take off the build up and are left with died skin, but this die was a little less potent than some I guess. After the dance, we finished Spaceballs and then I came home, talking to the Nilsens and my family a bit on my scooter ride back.
Too late to think any more... Good night!
At church on Sunday, Ed Gleazer gave a speech he had been preparing on aging. IT was pretty interesting sermon, and I liked it a lot. I even have an audio recording if anyone wants it, just send me an email at tv1076a@student.american.edu and I'll send it to you.
On Monday, I practiced my instrument more and did a lot of Homework/studying, and played soccer a bit.
On Tuesday, I took my Physics test (I think I did pretty well) and then studied for the Business one. After calculus and History, Amy texted me about the weather. She said it was really nice, but I insisted that it was cold. She was like< "You need to go out the other side of the building." I then reassured her that it was cold even in the sun, because I thought she thought I was in the shadows. Then, I went over to get a grab and go, and as I was almost back to my dorm, she jumped on my back. I didn't see it coming at all, but it was really nice to see her. Since it was a nice day and she was caught up with her work, she got some exercise and scootered up to American to see me for an hour before she had to go back to Georgetown for ASK at 4. Amy then went to this debate between the PETA president and the Georgetown Debate team about the question, is eating meat ethical. It sounded pretty interesting!
On Wednesday, I took a business test, read a bit for Physics, now we are covering electricity and current/voltage/resistance... etc, and then went to Calculus. I scootered down to Georgetown after that and went to Chi Alpha and something else that I'm forgetting...
On Thursday, I did some homework in the library and then went over to Jeff's apartment for lunch. Lab was canceled today, because we had a test this week. He had something on the stove boiling, and was talking to his mom on Skype. Then, I noticed a smell of smoke and went over to the stove, but by that time it was too late. He was making some spaghetti for us, but the noodles were too burnt! I cleaned out the pan for him with a lot of scrubbing, and he then made some of the dumplings his aunt had given him. He left them in some water after they were cooked and them poured some soup mix on top, or maybe it was just seasoning. It had some flavorings and some seaweed and some very tiny shrimp in it. They were so small, only about 1/8th of an inch thick, and about 3/8ths on an inch long. I have already gotten used to seaweed, so it tasted pretty good:) Then, we played soccer for a while. Oh, and my computer was not connecting to the internet, or getting updates, or allowing other programs such as google earth to access the internet, so I took it to the help place, and a nice old Japanese guy helped me. I could have done most of it it seemed if I had only known what to try, but anyway, he reinstalled the internet access program for American University and then I ran Malwarebytes and it finally got rid of the block, so I can use google earth, and download DirectX for Skype:) In the afternoon, I went to the Arts building and worked for the Choir manager to fulfill my hours required to get full credit for Choir. Then I practiced my french horn one last time before the concert, which is this Sunday.
Today, I went to my first two classes, and then took my last test for the week, a European History one, covering the Spanish/Portuguese exploration, and also the English religious reformation starting with Henry VIII and then all the way through Charles I. I then went down to Georgetown, and studied in the library, while I ate another grab and go that I had brought with me. Then, this janitor rolled up a trash barrel to right next to my chair, and Amy pointed to it, suggesting I should throw away the trash from my meal. I did. Then, a little later, a man wheeled it over to another one and threw out the trash I had put in there. A minute later, a woman retrieved a roll of toilet paper from the trash can. It was a janitor supply thing I guess:S We felt embarrassed. Later, we watched the first half of SPaceballs in the ICC and then went to an Indian dance. They tried to teach us, but we couldn't last for too long, because the large amounts of spinning made us quite dizzy. They had some really good appetizers that were potatoes with what-seemed-hot to-us-spices wrapped in a kind of pie crust type thing. It was really good. Amy also got a henna tattoo, but after we took off the die, it was very faint. A henna tattoo is one that they make by squeezing die from a tube onto your skin and then letting it dry. After it dries, you take off the build up and are left with died skin, but this die was a little less potent than some I guess. After the dance, we finished Spaceballs and then I came home, talking to the Nilsens and my family a bit on my scooter ride back.
Too late to think any more... Good night!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Beach and more!
So, for fear of getting even further behind, I will do a quickish sum of the things that I haven't posted yet. Amy and I were woken up fairly early by children noises since I woke up and then the girls came in Spencer's room where I was, and then they wrestled with me on the bed, squealing and all and woke up Amy, who was in the living room. We then played with them a while and Spencer left for school at 9, so we watched the kids while Terra drove him to school. After Terra got home, she printed off some directions so we could drive to Virginia beach. Then she offered us her GPS, and we were on our way. IT was a lot easier to get there with the GPS, and on our way home, all we had to do was hit home, and it calculated the directions back to Terra's house. We found some parking and then walked a ways to get to the beach. It was a pretty nice beach, but was pretty cold, though not unbearable. There were hotels lining the ocean front for more than a mile, and we walked more than a half of a mile down the coast, near the water towards a dock. We went a tiny bit into the water, just enough to get our feet wet, and that was enough, since it was really cold water. The sand was nice and we saw some cool little black things and some shells. It was a great walk along the beach. We made a little sculpture in the sand and talked a long time. Once we finally got to the dock, we realized that it was only some tourist thing and was private property, so we couldn't even walk out on it. Oh well. We then had a nice long walk back towards the car. Then, we went over to the McDonalds and got a little food to go along with the oranges Terra gave us and my birthday candy I had brought. We read in the car, since we knew that there would be little time for it after we got back to the Drakes house. We then drove back and played with the Girls some more. We drew some more pictures on the Sidewalk and bounced on the trampoline some more. While the children were getting ready for bed, Zach flosses each of them. We thought this was interesting, but it made sense since he is a dentist after all. After the children had gone to sleep, Amy and I watched How to Train Your Dragon. It was a pretty good and interestingly animated movie, so we were glad that we watched it.
On Wednesday, we got ready to leave and packed our things. We said good bye and drove the 3 hours back to Charlottesville. After we got home we just did some homework and went to bed early, since we were tired from getting up early 2 times with the children.
On Thursday, we went to Monticello, or most of the way anyway. First we looked up the directions on Google earth and loaded all of the necessary landscape and then brought the laptop just in case we got lost. It is in the mountains a little ways away, and the road getting up to it was pretty wine-dy, not windy, because that just looks like a weather term. We got up there and then went to the visitor center, because we didn't know what was going on. Apparently it costs $17 to get in, and we didn't really want to see it that badly, so we just did what you could for free. We watched the informational Video about Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, and then went to the museum. There were lots of cool models of his house, the first one, and then his second remodeled one. There were several neat contraptions that were in it, and there were some especially interesting double doors that were attached under the floor to each other in such a way that when you opened one door, the other would open also. IT was really cool and made me wish I had come up with something like that. After we had finished looking through the museum, we went back outside and noticed that it was raining really hard. We went under the overhang to as close as we could get to the parking lot, and then, after having forgot where the car was exactly and having been pointed in the right direction by Amy, I ran towards the parking lot. It was actually he wrong one, and I tried to open a car that looked similar, but realized the unlock button was doing nothing for it. Then I spotted the one with flashing lights in the parking lot above the one I was in. This whole ordeal probably only took about 15 seconds, but it was raining hard enough that that had gotten me sufficiently wet. I picked up Amy and then we drove home. The windy road seemed a lot worse on the way back, since the rain was coming down so hard that we could barely see even with the windshield wipers going their fastest. I was happy to see some real rain for a change, like the big storms in Michigan, so I liked it, though it was a bit scary to drive in. Anyway, we made it back to her Aunts house safely and watched another of the Horror movies that she had gotten for Christmas. IT was still pretty cheesy, but more scary than the last one. We did some homework too, as we tried to do every day and then went to bed.
On Friday, we did homework all morning, but then in the evening went on a Date to the Old Downtown Charlottesville. It is a cool pedestrian only mall and there was a good restaurant that she had eaten at with her family previously, so she wanted to take me to it. I forget the name of it exactly, but it had noodles and dumplings. They were relatively cheap and very delicious, so we had lots of the Dumplings. I also bought some hot and sour soup, but it actually was really gross and had tofu and weird flavors in it, but since it was cheap, I didn't feel too badly about throwing it away. Amy didn't like it either by the way. After dinner, we drove back home and watched the first Harry Potter movie. It was really good, but kinda funny to watch after having watched the most recent one recently. The children in the first movie were so small compared to the last movie. Anyway, it was really funny to watch Amy get all nostalgic about it, but it was very cute all the same. She had grown up reading the books and was about the same age as the main characters, so she was really into the books and movies. It brought back old memories for her, and quite often, she would quote something before it actually happened on the movie.
On Saturday, John got to Charlottesville for his spring break, so we all went into town to get him. We then went back to the downtown area and ate a Thai place. It was really good, but quite hot. I guess that was partially because I got 3 out of 5 for spiciness. IT was really good and had some good sauce over rice noodles with chicken and shrimp. Yummy! Sorry, it is getting late, and I just want to catch up and go to bed, so... We went home and went to bed after watching a Seinfeld episode in George and Mary's room with John. It was fun to be with John. He is going to NYU for acting by the way.
On sunday, we got up early and got ready to leave. We said good bye, got on the train, and were back in DC by 2. I played soccer with Jeff for a while, and them some more kids came down to the soccer field, so we scrimmaged with them a while, and that was fun! I can't wait for the soccer to start, but I'm already quite busy... What to do?
Goodnight!
On Wednesday, we got ready to leave and packed our things. We said good bye and drove the 3 hours back to Charlottesville. After we got home we just did some homework and went to bed early, since we were tired from getting up early 2 times with the children.
On Thursday, we went to Monticello, or most of the way anyway. First we looked up the directions on Google earth and loaded all of the necessary landscape and then brought the laptop just in case we got lost. It is in the mountains a little ways away, and the road getting up to it was pretty wine-dy, not windy, because that just looks like a weather term. We got up there and then went to the visitor center, because we didn't know what was going on. Apparently it costs $17 to get in, and we didn't really want to see it that badly, so we just did what you could for free. We watched the informational Video about Thomas Jefferson and Monticello, and then went to the museum. There were lots of cool models of his house, the first one, and then his second remodeled one. There were several neat contraptions that were in it, and there were some especially interesting double doors that were attached under the floor to each other in such a way that when you opened one door, the other would open also. IT was really cool and made me wish I had come up with something like that. After we had finished looking through the museum, we went back outside and noticed that it was raining really hard. We went under the overhang to as close as we could get to the parking lot, and then, after having forgot where the car was exactly and having been pointed in the right direction by Amy, I ran towards the parking lot. It was actually he wrong one, and I tried to open a car that looked similar, but realized the unlock button was doing nothing for it. Then I spotted the one with flashing lights in the parking lot above the one I was in. This whole ordeal probably only took about 15 seconds, but it was raining hard enough that that had gotten me sufficiently wet. I picked up Amy and then we drove home. The windy road seemed a lot worse on the way back, since the rain was coming down so hard that we could barely see even with the windshield wipers going their fastest. I was happy to see some real rain for a change, like the big storms in Michigan, so I liked it, though it was a bit scary to drive in. Anyway, we made it back to her Aunts house safely and watched another of the Horror movies that she had gotten for Christmas. IT was still pretty cheesy, but more scary than the last one. We did some homework too, as we tried to do every day and then went to bed.
On Friday, we did homework all morning, but then in the evening went on a Date to the Old Downtown Charlottesville. It is a cool pedestrian only mall and there was a good restaurant that she had eaten at with her family previously, so she wanted to take me to it. I forget the name of it exactly, but it had noodles and dumplings. They were relatively cheap and very delicious, so we had lots of the Dumplings. I also bought some hot and sour soup, but it actually was really gross and had tofu and weird flavors in it, but since it was cheap, I didn't feel too badly about throwing it away. Amy didn't like it either by the way. After dinner, we drove back home and watched the first Harry Potter movie. It was really good, but kinda funny to watch after having watched the most recent one recently. The children in the first movie were so small compared to the last movie. Anyway, it was really funny to watch Amy get all nostalgic about it, but it was very cute all the same. She had grown up reading the books and was about the same age as the main characters, so she was really into the books and movies. It brought back old memories for her, and quite often, she would quote something before it actually happened on the movie.
On Saturday, John got to Charlottesville for his spring break, so we all went into town to get him. We then went back to the downtown area and ate a Thai place. It was really good, but quite hot. I guess that was partially because I got 3 out of 5 for spiciness. IT was really good and had some good sauce over rice noodles with chicken and shrimp. Yummy! Sorry, it is getting late, and I just want to catch up and go to bed, so... We went home and went to bed after watching a Seinfeld episode in George and Mary's room with John. It was fun to be with John. He is going to NYU for acting by the way.
On sunday, we got up early and got ready to leave. We said good bye, got on the train, and were back in DC by 2. I played soccer with Jeff for a while, and them some more kids came down to the soccer field, so we scrimmaged with them a while, and that was fun! I can't wait for the soccer to start, but I'm already quite busy... What to do?
Goodnight!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Going to Norfolk
On Monday, I woke up at 7:10, and got ready. Amy and I had to get up earlyish, because we drove George into work on our way out of Charlottesville. He works in the rare books department of the University of Virginia, so he showed us some of the things that they have. He went into the vault to get some things to show us, because we were not allowed to go in the vault. He first showed us some religious text that was written before the invention of the printing press. It was published around 1450 and was all hand written on sheep or goat skin that had been pulled very tight and thin to dry, since they also didn't have paper where that text was published. There were light red lines marking the margins, and small clear text was displayed all over the pages. There were also very detailed pictures outside the margins. In some of the pictures, there was gold, thinly plastered in specific parts of the drawings/paintings. Then, he showed us one of the leafs of the original Guttenberg Bible. It was a huge page, so he said the Bible itself was also really big. I can't really remember the order of everything else he showed us, but he also showed us Shakespeare's play, King Lear, which was printed as a single work, as would have been used for a script, unlike the large collections usually printed. We also saw the original vote of succession for Virginia, it wasn't a blow out, by the way, 80 something to 50 something was the vote. Then he showed us some of Mark Twain's books. The Jumping Frog was one of them. So, apparently, Mark Twain really didn't like the French. They made a translation of his "The Jumping Frog," and then he retranslated it into English just to make fun of their crude translation. He then made a book which had the English and French versions side by side. The original text that was hand written, of the retranslated version was at the Library. They also had the only copy of Robert Frost's first publication. It was called Twilight. He had given one copy to his girl friend and had one for himself, but after a fight with his girlfriend, he ripped up his copy, so hers was the only remaining version. They also have many of Thomas Jefferson's architectural drawings and journals. He was the founder of the University, so many of his works were left to the University. We saw the architectural plans for the Rotunda, a large old building on campus. The graph paper was apparently hand made by some slaves or prisoners in Europe. We had a great time seeing all of the old things, but after he had to leave to a meeting, we left to drive to Norfolk.
The driving is a lot different where there are many cars. You just kind of get sucked with the flow, so I was speeding by 5 or 10 mph almost all the time, because everyone else was. Still though, I was only driving 75 or 80. At one point, I drove on a 6 laned interstate! We made it safely to Norfolk, after stopping at Taco Bell for my birthday:) It was a really delicious meal and I enjoyed it a lot! We then used google earth, which I had pre loaded on my computer, to get to their house. We unloaded our things and were greeted by Rachel and Anna. They are 5 year old twins and are very cute, along with everyone else in their family... We played Princess memory for a while, with the little flip over cards, and then played on the trampoline for a while. Also, when I arrived, they gave me a package that my mom had sent to their house, so I could have something to open on my Birthday. Monday was my birthday, by the way. Abigail and Adam woke up from their naps, and we played for a while outside drawing with sidewalk chalk. Abigail is 2, and can talk some, but seems pretty shy, and Adam is zero as his sisters said. Then, spencer got home from school, and we drew some more pictures on the sidewalk. Terra made me a cake, and I didn't see it until dinner, so the kids were keeping it a secret, what it was like. For dinner, we had some really good potato and bacon soup in bread bowls:) Afterwards, we did something they called Family Home Evening, where the children and Zach would lead different things and they would just be together. It was fun, and then, for one of the activities we had a birthday party for me:) We had some really delicious cake. There was a white cake with whip cream and strawberries and bananas in the three different layers. It was really good!
The Meal was Really good!
Ok, so after eating lots of cake and ice cream, I opened the box from my parents. I got some things to use with the children, like some more sidewalk chalk, and some candy and origami paper. I also got an "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" game book with an invisible ink pen and a BLUETOOTH HEADSET:) Now, I can talk while riding my scooter without a cord. I had been thinking of getting one of those for a while, so I was really glad when I got it:) After dinner, all of the little children got ready for bed, and I tried to do a little homework. Amy and I watched an NCIS episode with Terra and Zach on their computer after the kids had gone to bed. Then, I went to bed too.
Speaking of bed, I think I will head there now. I will finish my adventures tomorrow as a homework break:)
The driving is a lot different where there are many cars. You just kind of get sucked with the flow, so I was speeding by 5 or 10 mph almost all the time, because everyone else was. Still though, I was only driving 75 or 80. At one point, I drove on a 6 laned interstate! We made it safely to Norfolk, after stopping at Taco Bell for my birthday:) It was a really delicious meal and I enjoyed it a lot! We then used google earth, which I had pre loaded on my computer, to get to their house. We unloaded our things and were greeted by Rachel and Anna. They are 5 year old twins and are very cute, along with everyone else in their family... We played Princess memory for a while, with the little flip over cards, and then played on the trampoline for a while. Also, when I arrived, they gave me a package that my mom had sent to their house, so I could have something to open on my Birthday. Monday was my birthday, by the way. Abigail and Adam woke up from their naps, and we played for a while outside drawing with sidewalk chalk. Abigail is 2, and can talk some, but seems pretty shy, and Adam is zero as his sisters said. Then, spencer got home from school, and we drew some more pictures on the sidewalk. Terra made me a cake, and I didn't see it until dinner, so the kids were keeping it a secret, what it was like. For dinner, we had some really good potato and bacon soup in bread bowls:) Afterwards, we did something they called Family Home Evening, where the children and Zach would lead different things and they would just be together. It was fun, and then, for one of the activities we had a birthday party for me:) We had some really delicious cake. There was a white cake with whip cream and strawberries and bananas in the three different layers. It was really good!
The Meal was Really good!
Ok, so after eating lots of cake and ice cream, I opened the box from my parents. I got some things to use with the children, like some more sidewalk chalk, and some candy and origami paper. I also got an "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" game book with an invisible ink pen and a BLUETOOTH HEADSET:) Now, I can talk while riding my scooter without a cord. I had been thinking of getting one of those for a while, so I was really glad when I got it:) After dinner, all of the little children got ready for bed, and I tried to do a little homework. Amy and I watched an NCIS episode with Terra and Zach on their computer after the kids had gone to bed. Then, I went to bed too.
Speaking of bed, I think I will head there now. I will finish my adventures tomorrow as a homework break:)
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