Cuteness!

Isn't that just too cute?!

Poll!

Please scroll down to the bottom of this page and vote in the poll! I'd really love to know how often you visit. Thanks!

Heartland Update!

Thanks to all of you who voted for Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue this summer! They were first in the state, so they won $1,000! Visit HGRR's site; the link is over under "Good Websites."

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Today, Evan and I made chocolate chip cookies for our church group tonight. They turned out great!

Evan

I would like to commend my brother on his excellent work in Latin over the summer! Although trying at times, Latin went really well this summer, and I am so proud of Evan's hard work in learning his Latin words! He took a quiz every day this week on all the words we've covered so far, and the lowest grade he got was a 98%! EXCELLENT WORK, Evan!!

Best Little Brother Ever!

Summer Craft Project!

Being the organized person that I am, I enjoy laying out my school clothes for the next day. So, Mom bought me a clothes rack, I painted it to match my room, and then Dad helped me hang it behind the door. It's really cute, and I like it a lot. A very cute, quick, and practical project.

Training II!

I've been working with Bono some more, and it's going great! Yesterday, every time I went in my room, he would come in with me and curl up in the crate. It's wonderful progress. More pictures of him in the crate are below:

Vacation pictures!

For those of you who didn't know, my family and I went on a trip to the Northeast, specifically Maine. We returned Thursday after a wonderful time with family. Some friends asked me to post pictures, so here goes! Here's a narrative of events first:

On Wednesday, we arrived in Portland and explored some lighthouses. We also went to an excellent restaurant, Espo's Trattoria. The food was great, the portions, HUGE! Thursday we saw my grandparents in Freeport and shared a meal. We also visited the famous L.L. Bean, which is incredibly impressive! :) On Friday, when the rain poured buckets, we drove to Beals Island, where we met my brother and sister-in-law. We spent three wonderful days with them! Saturday the six of us went to Jasper Beach. It's named Jasper Beach because of the rocks filled with jasper that make up the amazing stone beach. The weather was great! Sunny and cool, with a breeze. After spending most of the day there, we just managed to beat the fog back to Beals Island. Unfortunately, the fog stayed over the island for the remainder of our trip. That night, we did something neither Ev nor I had ever done before; we cooked lobsters. Dad and Kim were the only people who ate them, but to my credit, I did try some. Personally, I thought it was chewy and tasted kind of strange. Like my mom said, it's like eating rubber bands. But to each his own! Sunday we hiked 2 1/2 miles to a beach, but the fog lay over everything, so we just smelled the ocean smells and and stuck our hands in the cold water. We saw a whale's head, or what was left of it. Jer, Kim, Ev, and I went out later and threw bumpers for Jer and Kim's dogs. It was so much fun!! The dogs were usually right on target, so it was very fun to watch! Oh, and early the next morning, at about 4:30 am or 5:00 am, the lobster men went out and then the Coast Guard tested all their very loud equipment. I think fewer people slept well that night. Monday we parted ways with Jer and Kim and then drove down to Bar Harbor, the home of Acadia National Park. But the fog was settled over Acadia too, so we drove back to Freeport. Tuesday we explored Freeport, but Wednesday Dad, Ev, and I went skeet-shooting. My only comment: it's a little harder then it looks, and I'm not going to do it again. My shoulder is still recovering. Thursday was just flying home, which sounds easy, but wasn't. We were delayed about an hour and a half out of Portland, and the Atlanta airport was backed up due to heavy thunderstorms earlier in the day. We finally made it home at 8:00pm. Our checked bags, however, didn't make it to our house until Friday morning. Happily they are now in our possession! Vacation was great! I hope you enjoy the pictures! (I'm sorry, but they're not in chronological order.)

Ev skeet-shooting.

Me, also skeet-shooting.

Two boats coming in after a day at sea....

Portland Head Light: beautiful!

Dad and me, starting our hike back from the beach...in the fog!

Mom sitting on a rock at the beach.

The whale's head.

Dad and Kim...and the lobsters!

Jer putting the lobsters in the pot.

Ev holding a lobster.

Jasper Beach: gorgeous!

Ev and Jer examining some rocks.

Family picture!

Training!

Bono has a fear of loud noises, mainly fireworks and thunderstorms. After spending two nights comforting Bono, one of them at 2:00 a.m., my family and I were ready to try anything! Dad suggested getting out Bono's old crate, but I was dubious. Bono has bad crate memories, since he used to be destructive and was therefore always crated when we were out. But we got it out anyway, figuring it was worth a try. However, I was pleasantly surprised! Bono is really fine with it. He's gone in all the way and laid down a few times, and half-way in even more! I am going through lots of treats because every time I go in my room, I tell Bono "Crate!" and toss a treat in the crate. It's working great!

From lemons...

to lemonade! After going through countless lemonade recipes over the course of many years, Mom discovered one that is really good! To make, cut and squeeze 8 lemons (or approximately 1 cup of juice.) Then make sugar-water: one cup hot water, 3/4 of a cup of sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved, then add a full tray of ice. Mix together, and then add 6 cups of water. *You may want to use a full cup of sugar. We used 3/4 of a cup, along with 4 drops of stevia.* The recipe may need tweaking, depending on how you like your lemonade tart, sweet, etc.). Enjoy!

Book Reviews: "Born Again" & "Ryan White: My Own Story"

Having read my required reading for this summer (A Separate Peace by John Knowles), I have now moved on to the rest of the list. Here are my reviews of the two books I have enjoyed the most so far:

• Born Again by Charles "Chuck" Colson. This book is an interesting narrative tale told by Chuck Colson, the "hatchet man" for former President Nixon. It starts out by showing him before his conversion to Christ. He was a man who would do anything (and I do mean anything) to help his president. But then a friend of his gave him a book, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. After reading it, Colson completely surrendered his life to God, and then he discovered how many Christians there were in the Capitol! Some of his political enemies, men Colson had embarrassed, shamed, and hurt, became wonderful brothers in Christ. (That's all for this review, as I haven't yet finished the book. I'll give a more complete review later.)
• Ryan White: My Own Story by Ryan White. This is a touching story of a boy who has suffered all his life from hemophilia, a disease that makes one bleed at even the slightest fall or injury. At thirteen, he contracted AIDS from a contaiminated blood transfusion. After he got AIDS, everyone except a few turned against him. His school, his community, even his church, wanted nothing to do with him. I would recommend this book as an inspiring read. Written in the first person, Ryan White: My Own Story is well worth the time.

All for now! I'll be reading more books, so I'll post more reviews at a later time! Have a great week.

Heartland Reminder

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week so far! I would like to bring Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue to your attention again. They are now the first in the state of Tennessee, but they're not in the top 10 yet. Please keep voting once a day! For the link to vote, please go to the April 14, 2009 post, and if you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, please go to the April 14, 2009 post. Thanks!

Happy Independence Day (just a little late.)!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July yesterday! We went to the local parade, which was a lot of fun, and in the evening we went to over to our friends' house. We ate, played Capture the Flag, badminton, Apples to Apples, and then set off a whole variety of small fireworks. It was a wonderful day remembering the fight that was fought to gain our liberty.

Car Pics!

Yesterday we got a 2004 Volvo station wagon to replace our 1991 Camry! (See the post from Wednesday to find out why this was such perfect timing, and just so everyone knows, all that was wrong with the old Volvo was a distributor cap!) Here are some pictures:

Argh!!!

Today was slightly stressful. The day started out fine. I worked on the computer, and listened to some online books. We had a vet appointment scheduled for both dogs, just a yearly exam. But right before we were to leave, I discovered that Tallie had rolled in, well....poop. So Mom washed her front while I washed her collar. Then we were blow-drying her, and she still smelled awful! So we washed her again, and then she smelled better. A few minutes late, we were on our way. But then, when we were about to get on the interstate, the car started doing funny things, like it's done three other times this year! So Mom pulled off to the side of the road, and then we called the vet, Gram, Dad, and then Dad called the tow truck. As if that wasn't enough, a vagrant-looking hitchhiker came up right behind us! Thankfully, he turned around and walked away. Right then, I was so glad for the dogs!! Gram reached us, and then we had to carefully load everyone in the car. So, I was stuck between the two dogs, and Tallie was still wet, and she didn't smell like really great. That was the bad part of the day. The good part was the fact that we got a new car today! Mom and Dad bought it yesterday, so it came just in time. The car is wonderful! I'll try to post some pictures later....

Pray

Today, a dear member of the church body and a gifted worship leader here in Tennessee went to be with his Maker. Please be in prayer for his wife and their four children. He had been in a battle with cancer for almost a year, and the past little bit had been most difficult. He is now in a better place! But please been in prayer for his family during this painful time. Thank you.

In He who is our salvation,
Livvy

Cupcakes!

Last night, while Mom was teaching a class and Dad and Ev were at a Civil Air Patrol meeting, I was busy in the kitchen making cupcakes from our favorite cake recipe. They turned out really well, although after I frosted them and when I was transporting them from the table to the counter-top, five of them fell off, and I had to throw one away, because it landed right by the dog bowl.... They taste scrumptious!

Where does it go?

I just realized that today is June 23. You might ask why this is such a startling revelation. I have been out of school for a month, and yet I feel like I've gotten very little accomplished. True, I've tutored, petsat, cleaned, and gardened, but still.... Where is the time going?! There is only roughly a month and a half of vacation left!!!

Squash!

Today Mom and I picked some squash from our garden! We fried them with onions, and they tasted really wonderful. As you can see, one of the squash is actually two conjoined. I'd never seen such a thing happen with vegetables!

Fresh Organic Produce: Straight from the Backyard!

One of the big projects when we moved into this house ten years ago was a large garden, and for many summers, we've enjoyed fresh vegetables. This evening I went out and looked around, astonished by the beauty and amazed at how quickly everything is growing! This summer, Mom planted tomatoes, leeks, onions, peppers, zucchini, squash, lettuce, basil, thyme, rosemary, etc. Flowers too! Here are some pictures:


A black-eyed Susan....




Mild peppers.



Tomatoes that are getting larger every day!

Squash! It tastes great fried with onions.... YUM!

Hee hee II!

Well, the joke went well. I had one friend who believed me -she is only eight! I couldn't stop smiling/laughing though, so it wasn't the best joke I've ever played. My knee, thankfully, is doing much better, and today I was able to go swimming. :) Thanks for your animal suggestions; I appreciate them!

Hee hee!

As I hope you have noticed, in the "Welcome!" section of my blog, I tell you I'll try to get you to try new things, laugh, etc. This post falls in the "laugh" category, I hope!

Somehow, probably playing badminton on the front lawn, I pulled something across the back of my knee. After a few days of hobbling around and getting sympathetic looks from my family because of the noises I was making, I started putting ice on my knee, elevating it, and resting it. (RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation.) I also have wrapped it in an Ace bandage the last two days, and I have decided to play a slightly mean trick on some friends this evening. Our church group is meeting tonight, and when people ask me about my knee, I am going to say,
"I went to the zoo this week, and an elephant kicked me."
It is completely ridiculous, but I figure I'll try it! If you read this post this afternoon, please give me your animal ideas. Like "I went to the zoo this week, and a(n)_________ kicked me." Just put it in Comments. Thanks, and I'll let you know how it turns out!

~Movie Review - "Crossfire Trail"~

My mom recently joined Netflix, so we've been getting some interesting movies. We got one this week, Crossfire Trail, a western, which is about a man named Rafe Covington who promises his dying friend that he will watch over the dead man's ranch and his wife. What Rafe doesn't count on is that the town hotshot is also after the ranch and the wife. The movie ends in a showdown where the good guys ultimately win. After every book and movie I read/watch, I've been trying to assess/review them. I would give Crossfire Trail probably a 3-3.5 out of 5 stars. I think the main problem of the movie was the fact that they did not, in my opinion, develop the female lead enough, so it lacked some emotion. I would still recommend it as a good movie to anyone who enjoys relatively clean (we did need the "fast forward" button once.) westerns, where good triumphs over evil.

More Latin!

It's now been roughly three weeks since Ev and I started Latin, and since we are covering two chapters this week, I decided to make my own Concentration game. I ended up making two: one for his Chapter 5 words and one for his Chapter 14 words. We've had a lot of fun playing the games, although I've won every game, so Ev is not very happy about that. But he enjoys it more than flash cards, and it's the same basic principle! Tomorrow I am going to review everything he's learned so far before we move on. It is really nice to have a "student" with a brain like a sponge! I also encourage you; if you have a sibling that struggles in something you are good at, or if they just need a hand getting ready for next school year's classes, help them! It's a rewarding experience to watch someone you are helping get really good at something, even if you're just there to encourage them! (Here are some pictures of one of the Concentration games. I apologize for the blurriness.)

Grandma's Birthday Bash!

Yesterday my grandmother turned 74, and last night, we had a wonderful meal and a delicious cake. There were some interesting moments though, like when it started storming while the chicken was on the grill, then the food was almost ready, and she wasn't home yet (thankfully she made it home at the perfect time): things like that. But the cake was perfect. There is a traditional cake that has been made for four generations now: the cake is comprised of lady fingers, chocolate, eggs, and the usual pinch/dash of other ingredients. So Mom made that for Gram, and then I got out our nice dinner dishes. You know, the kind of dishes that have been passed down for years. It was a wonderful night, and "Happy Birthday, Gram!"

Improvements

As you have no doubt seen, there have been some major changes to my blog. If you notice anything that looks really horrible, or if you have any ideas on how I can make my blog better, please don't hesitate to tell me!

Puppy Baths!

Here it is! The promised picture of Tallie and Bono's bath time. Both washings were uneventful, with Dad holding each dog in turn while I vigorously scrubbed them from head to tail. After Big Boy was washed, he watched in fiendish amusement from his towel as Tallie submitted to being soaked, shampooed, and rinsed. Tallie was a lot more reluctant to be bathed, and I had to drag her along to the "wash stand."

~Tallie V~

I am sorry that I have been so remiss in updating you on Tallie's condition! Mea culpa! She is doing much, much better. She feels comfortable racing around, roughing with Bono, playing with toys, and taking walks. She is, however, still slower than she used to be on the steps. Some of that is probably her injury, and the rest, old age. So, that's the puppy update. More posts later, as today is.... Doggie Bath Day for Bono at least!

Remember Heartland Golden Rescue!

Hey, everyone! This is just a reminder to please keep voting for Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue! If you have no idea what I am talking about, just check my post for April 14, 2009 or go to the Heartland website link, located in my list of favorite sites. Thanks!

~Livvy

Summer Knitting

The yarn shop where my mom teaches classes has been doing a charity project this summer: preemie baby hats. It's actually a contest between this yarn shop and one in Alabama. At the end of the contest, the baby hats will be divided between UT and Alabama hospitals neonatal centers. So far, I've knit two hats, and I hope to make about four a week. If you're a knitter and would like to make some preemie hats, contact me in "Comments" and I'll give you the information. Below are some pictures of the hats I've knit so far:

Summer Languages

This summer I have been made tutor to my brother for Latin. On Saturday, we started, and thankfully, it all came back. After all, being the tutor, it's good to have a better understanding of the language than your student does! We read through the grammar, covered and copied all the vocabulary - 27 new words for Ev -, had a quiz -yeah, yeah, I'm a tough teacher -, and then he studied, studied, studied. We have 9 weeks to get through 12 lessons, including 3rd declension nouns: three chapters of them! I also am hoping to keep up with Spanish over the summer. Gulp!

Summer Vacation!

Hey, everyone! I am finally out of school!!!! It's wonderful to be free. :) Here are my some of my summer plans:

1. This summer, I'm tutoring my brother in Latin - the school where he is going next year teaches Latin, and I did the book I'll be teaching him last year, so hopefully it will all turn out okay-.
2. We're going to the Northeast in July, which is going to be soooo fun. We have family up there, and it just feels like home.
3. I'm also going to do a bake sale one weekend. Last time we did it, the sale was successful, but we had to split the money four ways, so it didn't amount to much.
4. Mom wants my brother and me to take computer classes, and both the library and the Apple store offer free lessons.

So, no really big plans. Of course, we'll go swimming! One of our friends lets us swim at her apartment pool, and there is rarely anyone swimming, so usually we have the pool to ourselves. What are you doing this summer? (Comments below this post.)

~Softball~

Well, last night we had our final game of the season. And, we actually won! 16-9. I was playing with a cold - well, congestion-, and before the game during warm-up, I jammed my thumb. It still hurts. So, the conditions weren't great going into the game. But the defense and offense just came together last night. :) We had our awards ceremony after the game, and I got the "Big Stick" award, in part to the grand slam I got a week ago. Then my coach asked if maybe I could be a co-coach with them next year! Anyway, softball was a lot of fun this year!

~Tallie IV~

Hi, everyone! I just wanted to let you know that Tallie is finally off the steroids and well on the road to recovery! She took the last of the steroids this evening. :) As I said, she's also improved majorly the past few days. I'll let you know when she's all better.

~Tallie III~

Hey, everyone! It has been a week and a half or so since I wrote about Tallie. The good news is that there is not much to report! Tallie is doing much better, and on her second week of steroids. She still negotiates stairs very carefully, but yesterday she she brought some balls over to Dad and me to play, and she did a full-body stretch and pounced like a cat on her toys! She'll be on the steroids one week from Tuesday and then she should be doing all better. I'll let you know how it all turns out!

Softball

So far in this softball season, we've had five games. We've also lost four of them. It's getting very demoralizing because we are only losing because we have a few really bad players that always manage to botch up the simplest plays. The only reason we won the one game was because we were missing almost all of our "bad" players. My friend also hit 2 homeruns in that game, and I hit one, so we got 4 runs from just those plays! (Yes, 4 runs - there was a player on base when I got mine.) We have three more games, so once they happen I'll let you know how they go!

Field Trip!

Today we went on a field trip with some friends to Treemont, a wildlife place in the mountains. We hiked on one of the trails, looked for and caught some salamanders, took pictures of wildflowers, stuck fingers in cold streams, and at our lunch spot, made war paint. To make this war paint, you find rocks (red works best), wet them slightly, and rub them on an even bigger rock. The end result is a war paint that is (usually) easily washable. So all in all, it was a really fun day!! Here are some pictures below:


My brother hunting for salamanders....

A absolutely gorgeous flower!

A very, very, very loud waterfall: beautiful!

~Tallie~ (continued)

Hey, everyone! This morning Mom took Tallie to the vet, and Dr. Bradbury thinks (after taking an x-ray) that Tallie ruptured a disc in her back - which would explain the loss of use in her back legs and her becoming incontinent. She'll be on doggie steroids and painkillers for three weeks, gradually being weaned off them. She appears to be doing better, but not great. I'll keep you posted! :)

~Tallie~

Hey, everyone! I've got some sad news. :( Yesterday Tallie was running to bark at another dog, and she hurt herself. I was in the kitchen when I heard her screaming. She'd lost the use of her back legs and she became incontinent. Dad took her to the vet at the emergency clinic, and the vet thinks she may have torn a ligament in her knee. Today Tallie is medicated, and tomorrow we'll have to take her to our regular vet where she'll be sedated and x-rayed. Please pray for her; she appears to be in some pain, and I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow! Thanks! :)

Sick

After avoiding a cold through all the winter months, I finally got one. While being sick is absolutely no fun, I've gotten to watch a couple of really good movies: Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda. Both are books by George Eliot, the pseudonym of a woman, now adapted into movies. One thing I greatly admire about both these movies is the fact that they've got the most perfect cast! If the character was supposed to be fawning, or studious, or creepy, or wonderful, then the actor was absolutely terrific in that particular role. It really is a talent to be able to combine actors in such a way that the whole story rings true! Both movies have made me think and think hard, because (one of) the main character in Middlemarch, Dorothea, and also Daniel in Daniel Deronda, deal with finding callings and passions. I've been thinking for quite a while now that it's time for me to branch out on my relationship with Christ more than just through my parents. I mean, I am a Christian, but I want to be a better one, who trusts Him more than I already do and witnesses to people! I want to be a better person, even with my own family, whether it's being nicer to my brother or doing the dishes without being asked! If you get the chance, watch these movies. They are good - and long! And if you do watch them, let me know how you like them!

Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue needs YOU!

Okay, everyone, I've got a request to make. Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue, the organization from which my family got both Bono and Tallie, needs your help! They are trying to win a $20,000 grant through a special contest, and the way they can win is so simple, but they need people to help them. All you have to do is go to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/. Once you get there, click on the purple "Click here to give -- it's free. From there, go to the top of the page and click on the red "Vote Now box". For the organization, enter "Heartland Golden Retriever Rescue" and they're based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Click the "Vote" button that will come up next to the search result, and then you'll have to identify an animal to confirm your vote. You can vote every day, once per computer until sometime in July. Please help Heartland!! Remember: Once a day per computer! Your vote will help and count! If these directions are unclear, or don't work, please leave me a comment, and I'll do my best to fix them. Thanks so much!!!!

Oh, one more thing: Please tell your family and friends to vote, too! Every single vote counts!

Easter!

Well, it is the day after Easter, and I hope everyone had a good day, going to church, seeing special productions, hunting for eggs, eating candy.... Anyway, I had a great day, although it started really early! See, my aunt and uncle stayed with us over the weekend, since they had to go to Nashville to pick up a dog. My uncle had gone out early to get a stake to put in the backyard so that Jake (the yellow lab) wouldn't be cooped up in the crate while we were at church. As soon as he got home though, Tallie flew into a barking rage which woke me up, and then our neighbors let their yippy little dog out, so my day began at 6:37 am. I made muffins for breakfast, went to church (which was really great!) and then the whole family went out for lunch after church, so that was nice. And then in the afternoon, I walked Jake, who by the way, is an adorable sweetheart! He was a little stressed out from travel, but all in all, seemed like a pretty laidback dog. Now, please let me know how your Easter went! "Comments" are right below this post..... :)

Just a few more weeks!

A few more weeks until what, you might ask. And the answer is....... 30 days until school is out for summer!!!!!! Yippee!! I mean, I may be a nerd, well an "intellectual" as my friend says, but who doesn't like summer vacation! Of course, I'll manage to stay insanely busy for the remaining 30 days; one of my teachers wants to cover roughly 100 more pages of a math book we've been working on. It's not that we couldn't do it - it'll just be a lot of work. Mom's promised us a field trip or two, which will be fun, and next week I have an entrance exam at the school I'll be attending next year. I'm excited about my courses: Apologetics & Logic, Spiritual Life, Composition & Literature, Algebra I, Physical Science, World Geography, Health, and Drama or Computer I.

Today is a welcome break: Good Friday, and I hope everyone has a good Easter and Easter weekend!

Dog Washing!

For weeks, Mom has been complaining about Bono's Stench - with a capital "S!" It was a perfect day for dog washing today, so I decided to bite the proverbial bullet and get it done. After fifteen minutes of trying to hook up the hose (don't ask me why it wouldn't work!), and assembling the necessary items - such as shampoo, towels, the hose, and a pair of disposable gloves (the need for which I leave to your imagination), I got Bono out of the house. Big mistake! For, at that exact moment, one Great Dane and one Chow scrambled across our neighbors' yard, and Bono decided to go play. Of course, I hollered for him to come back and ran across the street and finally got him back in our yard to begin the dog washing. Today was one of Bono's few-and-far-between ornery days. He would not stand still; he shook all over me, on purpose I think!; he tried to roll in the grass; he wouldn't stay long enough for me to turn the hose off; he knocked the shampoo bottle over; that's to name a few! Below are some pictures of Bono once he finally quit being ornery; after the bath was finished of course!

Mea Culpa!

My title is for the benefit of all my Latin scholar friends; for those who have not taken Latin, "mea culpa" means "I am guilty." And I am guilty of the sin of not posting very recently and so much has happened! Let's see; my last post was five days ago. Here's what has happened since then...

1. I had my softball practice on Friday night, with my first game on Saturday. Both went absolutely terribly. My coach has always said that if you practice well, you play well. The same can be said for practicing badly, and we did. Nothing went right; people goofed off, balls were missed, and this was just in practice. Game day was really no better. We got in some dynamite hits, but our defense was lousy. Consequently, we lost by 9 runs! 9 runs! It was utterly demoralizing. The good news is that we have eight games to redeem ourselves!
2. We had some great meetings with friends over the weekend. It was wonderful; I got to see some of my good friends twice in two days when I usually see them only once a week! All us kids invented a new game to be played on the trampoline; President and Assasin, in which one person is the president, one the assasin (who is on the ground - everyone else is on the trampoline-), and then everybody else is the president's bodyguards. It's like dodgeball on the trampoline with body guards. So that was a lot of fun!
3. My aunt and uncle are passing through this weekend, so it will be nice to see them. They are coming to pick up a dog a few hours away, but they'll spend a few days with us. I can't wait to see the dog; my uncle breeds purebred labs, and this is a new dog for breeding, so he must be something special!

That's the news from this neck of the woods! Have a great rest of the week, everybody!

Christy

I finished reading Christy by Catherine Marshall recently, and I would highly recommend it. The book is set in 1912 rugged Tennessee. Christy travels from her city home in Asheville, NC to be a school teacher in the Appalachian mountains. She is in a time of struggling to find out what she really believes in her heart, as well as who she really loves. The book portrays vivid characters and descriptive language, and if you like historical, biography type books, you would enjoy Christy. If you read it, please leave me a comment and tell me how you enjoyed it! It is a goal of mine to post ALL my favorite books on here to share with you and let you know about excellent literature! If you take the chance to read Christy, you won't regret it!