Mini Vacation: Branson

     Partly due to the trip my mother and I took to the Czech Republic, our family did not go on a family vacation this summer. So, we freed up a weekend in the middle of September to go have fun as a family. That just happened to be last weekend.

     We woke up deathly early (5 a.m. to be exact) Friday morning and hit the road at 6. We arrived at Silver Dollar City just in time for lunch. After eating we began to explore the amusement park. For some of the more wild rides, Mom and I stepped aside and let the boys have their fun. However, I did spark up the courage to ride Powder Keg at the very end of our trip.

     Something my mother was really looking forward to was seeing Marvel cave. I must say that it was quite marvelous. However, I have no pictures to record the event.

     The park closes at 6, but there is a free show to visitors after closing time. On a spur-of-the-moment decision, we ended up sitting in on half of the show before heading out to get supper. The show included dog tricks and multiple singing groups.

     The next day, instead of heading back to Silver Dollar City as originally planned, we ventured into the city of Branson. As we passed Silver Dollar City we were glad that we had made a change of plans; a long line of cars stretched out from the entrance!

     Our main goal in Branson was to visit the Titanic museum. At the beginning of the tour each person is given a 'boarding ticket' with the name and information of one of the people who were on board the Titanic. At the end of the museum you could see if your person had survived. I am pleased to say that all but one of our family lived!

     Unfortunately, I have no pictures. Due to copyright issues pictures are not allowed inside the museum.

     Despite all that, it was a very enjoyable weekend for our family!

Where I'm From

(Note of Explanation: This is a poem that I wrote for school. I am fairly proud of it, so I thought I would share it with you. It wasn't too hard to write because we used a template. Then again, that was what made it difficult as well. I hope you enjoy!)

I am from notebooks,
From tennis shoes and Microsoft.
I am from the stair rail banister
(brown, sturdy,
worn smooth from many hands)
I am from the rose bush,
The spruce tree,
Which tries to encompass the porch.

I am from signing grace and brown hair,
From Mary Beth and Ken.
I'm from the hard workers
And the domestic artists.
From Walk straight! and Sit down!
I'm from Amazing grace how sweet the sound of dusty piano keys.

I'm from Wichita and 213 Pine St.
Zwiebach and spaghetti.
From the cancer that took my grandmother's life, the hearing my brother lost when he was three.
My background is building the stage on which I live my life. From dust I came from and to dust I shall return, but during this spark in between I will live for the glory of my Creator.

Art Problems (instead of math problems)

     "What does it mean?" asked a professor walking by.
     I looked up from my sketch of a nearby sculpture.
     "That's what I am trying to figure out," I replied.

     I was working to complete an assignment - to draw 13 of the 70+ sculptures located on campus. In addition to drawing them from at least three angles, we also had to take notes on their formal qualities. Now, I am not talking about how the sculptures would look if we dressed them in a suit and tie (although that would be pretty funny!). Each artists takes certain factors into consideration when he (or she) is creating art. These factors are called Elements of Design. This includes things like line, shape, mass, texture, color, and scale. Think of these as the building blocks of design. How you implement these 'blocks' is through the Principles of Design (for example: balance, direction, harmony, proportion, and unity).

     By keeping these in mind the viewer (in this case me) can attempt to determine the meaning behind the artwork. Let me tell you, it is not always easy! However, this assignment gives us practice drawing and forces us to study the sculptures for long enough to get at least some idea of what they might be protraying.

Festivities

      I survived my first week of college! I feel so accomplished! Some of my worries have been refuted, which is nice, but I have the feeling that the worst is yet to come. So we shall see.

     Having recently completed another year of my life I feel obligated to relate to you some of the activities we did to celebrate. Unfortunately, I had to work on my birthday. So, instead of having the traditional birthday dinner we went out for lunch to a local diner that has been in the area since the 80's. After lunch was cake and presents, and then I relaxed before leaving for work.

     Another fun thing I did to celebrate was to have a couple friends over for a miniature party last night. Obviously, I wasn't able to celebrate on the exact date of my birthday because of work, but we got as close as we could. We finished off the rest of the cake and spent time talking and catching up. It was good to see them.

     One final item of importance to mention before I sign off: I sold my fish-tank! Well, I guess it is not THAT important. ;) But, it is an accomplishment, considering it has been sitting empty on my dresser for most of the summer. This accomplishment was mostly due to my wonderful father who took the time to clean it out and post an ad on Craigslist.

First Day of School

     Never having gone to college before I have nothing to compare the experience of my first day with. So my tale is totally one-sided.

     I did not have to leave the house until after I had eaten lunch, a big change from high school, or any school for that matter. All of my classes let out early because today was an introductory day where we only read the syllabus and introduced the class material.

     Unfortunately, instead of homework, I now have an extensive list of school supplies to purchase. Walmart is currently my best friend! (As well as all the people who helped me figure out what a T-square is. Thanks a bunch!)

Back to School

     The title of this post is 'Back to School,' but I still have a few more days before it happens to me. However, many of my friends and family have returned to their studies and have started a new school year. Being in college, school consumes a huge part of my life. It is the place where I have spent the most time over the course of my life.

     Think about it; aside from a few awkward years of learning to breathe, walk, and talk, and multiple summer vacations, winter breaks, and several sick days, I have spent every day in school. So, it makes sense that school would take up a lot of my thoughts, time and energy. It is also a major stress agent in my life.

     This year the biggest thing I am stressing over is whether or not I will be able to balance work and school. Originally I had not planned on work during the school year, but my job just kind of.... happened. So now, I'm stuck with balancing 20 hours of work and 15 credit hours of school per week. Yikes! It doesn't make sense to sacrifice my grades for more hours at a minimum-wage paying job, so if I feel the need to, I will ask for my hours to be reduced. I will do it if I have to, but getting to that point isn't going to be fun.

     So I hope it all turns out all right. I apologize for my rant, but there is something therapeutic about writing your anxieties down and then throwing them into the abyss that is the Internet. All that aside, I hope to post after my first day of school (which is this next Monday) to let you know how things went.

It's August!

     I apologize for not posting since we got back from the Czech Republic. To be honest, not much happened those first couple of days, so I didn't feel like there was anything to report. And after that nothing that I did seemed 'big enough' to be used for a blog post. So instead of a themed blog post I am going to give you a list (if you haven't figured it out by now, I like lists) to catch you up on what has been going on in my life.

1. The Olympics are going on!
     For my family, the Olympics are kind of a big deal. At least for me. :) Growing up we didn't watch much TV, but when the Olympics were on we were allowed to watch when we wanted. Not to worry, I am not wasting my days away in front of the TV, but my favorite events to watch are swimming, gymnastics, and diving.

2. I got a job!
     My job search has been going on all summer. I submitted the application at the end of May and I finally was able to start working! So far it is going well. It is my first time in retail, so there is a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming sometimes.

3. School starts soon.
     With the end of August approaching summer will soon be coming to an end. In preparation for school we have gone shopping for school supplies (which I enjoy) and I have started to order my books.

4. This year I am helping out with Sunday School.
    Yep. You heard me. If you know me (or rather, if you can read my mind) you will know just how weird this experience is. I like kids, I just don't know how to act around them. To help remedy this I think back to when I was a kid. I was pretty aware of the world around me. I mean, kids are just mini adults, right? Anyway, despite my weirdness over the subject I figured it was time to man up and contribute. And people kept asking me to do it. So I caved.

5. I voted!
     Personally, I think this is a great accomplishment no matter your age.

6. I am hoping to get a camera soon.
     I do have a camera already, but I would like a better one that I can use for school as well as my personal projects. I am still doing research on what make and model to get.

7. I went to Starbucks for the first time.
     Many will be surprised to learn that I have never been to Starbucks in all my time on this earth until this last week. It's not that weird, is it? Technically we did go a couple times in Prague, but one of them was in an airport. Either way, I am not counting them because they are not the 'quintessential white-girl Starbucks experience.'

8. I can't think of anything else...
     That is, unless you want to hear about the dead crayfish I found in my room upon returning from Prague. But I've told that story so many times everyone must be tired of hearing. Even though I still think it is pretty funny.