Christmas is coming!

...or at least that's what it seems like when I go to the store and see all the aisles of stocking stuffers! So I decided to set up the lovely miniature nativity scene that Lizzy gave me last year in order to decorate my room a little in honor of the season. Thank you, Lizzy!

Shannon's Birthday!

We celebrated Shannon's birthday yesterday...
Presents!

Nicole knew what to do with all the good food Aunt Mary made!

The birthday girl and me!

Fruits and Veggies!!

Aunt Sharon's fruit and vegetable=themed party was this weekend, and it was tremendously fun! Everyone dressed up like a fruit or vegetable, we ate lots of veggies, and the kids put on a very hilarious vegetable show!

Lydia and I are two cool apples. I had a sign on my back that read, "Down with Doctors," because, after all, apples keep doctors away!
Austin, who won the prize for best costume, was a bunch of grapes!
Andrew's box of raisins was voted the most original costume.

And Katelynn was a very cute pumpkin!

Of course we can't forget Chum, the dog from outerspace. He was supposed to be a yellow banana but everyone thought he looked more like an alien than a banana!

Let's go on a Hayride!

Yesterday I got together with the rest of the Spoelies in the area and some of my friends from college for some fall fun: a hayride and bonfire at Uncle Dale's, accompanied by much food and laughter!

Nicole shows us how best to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.
Jeffrey, Seth, and Andrew hang out with their new friend Haggai (a.k.a. Hay Guy)

Oh, this was the rival hay wagon. Our enemies! Don't worry, as soon as the hay ride was over we were friends again.

I get the feeling that Andrew was enjoying the hay.

Friends!

Grandma's Applesauce

Many of you have read my book, and therefore you have heard of this wonderful applesauce (by the way, if you haven't read my book, you can still buy copies from me or my family). Today, several bushels of delicious Courtland apples were turned into the pink sauce that I love so much.

Just a few of the jars that Grandma made today...
Alisha was one of Grandma's helpers...I think her job was adding comic relief...

And here I am with another one of Grandma's little helpers. I, on the other hand, was not very helpful except for cranking the Squeezo a couple times, since I was in class most of the day.

Poor apples, little do they know the fate in store for them...

Sears Tower

I went to Chicago on Saturday, and got to go to the Skydeck at Sears Tower. It was pretty cool to stand on top of the city at night...

What have I been doing?

You may have wondered what all I've been up too since school started again...

Well, I've been going to Bible Bonanza (hurray!)....
Playing "Apples to Apples" with my friends...

Wondering how in the world I manage to aquire such negative adjectives over the course of one game...

Helping bring a "taste of Asia" to my college...

Diligently filling notebooks with Chinese characters...

Having fun with Mandi...

Hiding from Lexi....

Making zucchini bread with Nicole and her sisters....

And...

Trying to avoid studying as much as possible!

Hmmm...perhaps this is not the right attitude to have...

A Day with no Classes...

ought to be used wisely. For useful activities like catching up on homework. But sometimes there is a difference between what ought to be done and what is done. So on this lecture-free Tuesday, I got out my paintbrushes and decided to add a little color to a basket that's been in my room for a long time.

Okay, this basket sure wouldn't merit even a second glance in ArtPrize, but painting it was definitely more fun than reading about all those strange things Confucius said.

Isaac's Little Protégé

It seems to me that Isaac didn't waste any time in teaching Sarah to play video games on his gameboy! Aiyoh, kids these days...

Where did Summer go?

Now where on earth did my Summer go?
School got out just yesterday, I’ll swear
I was dancing and planning, ready to go…
Now Summer’s gone, and I want to know where!
I remember dancing out of class yesterday
I remember saying “See ya in a while!”
To all the friends that I had made
Can it be that the school I left with such a smile

Is so speedily opening its doors once again?
No it can’t, that’s too cruel, I won’t stand for this!
I know profs aren’t that smart, but even then,
Surely they know that summer exists!

What? It’s September? No, that can’t be!
I just arrived home, I was planning to play
With my sisters, go sit in a tree,
Eat snacks and watch movies, day after day!

This was going to be the best Summer of all!
We were going to have bonfires, fireworks, cake!
With my friends, I would roam, and go play some ball,
Hike up mountains, go swimming, even fish on the lake!

I feel I’ve been gypped, and I want to know who
Is the scoundrel that took my Summer away!
I’ll tar him and feather him, I’ll teach him to…
Hey, wait a minute, what’s that you say?

Of course I remember the day when we
Picnicked in the park, and I couldn’t forget
That time when we had the domino party
Which lasted till one AM and we still couldn’t get

Rid of our guests. (Or were we not trying?)
Yes, yes, I remember doing all of these
Things. They were certainly fun, I’m not lying,
But what is your point? It is not with ease

That I can see what you’re saying. Oh no.
Wait a minute. Stop right there. Now I get it.
You mean that Summer was here? Do you know
This for sure? That I did not miss it?

No low-down pickpocket stole it from me?
Well I must admit that this is quite a blow.
Why does Summer fly by so quickly?
Why does a school day go so slow?

Or perhaps no one can answer questions such as those.
Never mind, I will go back to school carefree and content,
I will do school work, and wear school clothes,
At least Summer came, though I don’t know where she went.

Besides, there’s always next year!

Back to School!

I'm a college kid once again! Classes started up again this last week, and at the moment, I'm still alive, so I consider that a good sign.

Definitely enjoying waking up at 5 a.m. once again do get ready and do homework before classes begin...
Oh yeah, I got to meet up with my good ol' faithful lunch buddies again after not seeing them for several months. They still remembered me!

Since it's the first week of the school year, all the clubs at my college have to advertise and try to convince the freshman to come join them. I did my best to convince them to come to Bible study...we'll see how many will turn up!