Logos...

Dad is starting a new company (you'll have to ask him about it) and looking for a logo.  He is currently working on a site that allows graphic artists to submit logos for his approval and then at the designated time Dad will chose his favorite and pay the winner.  The time will expire tonight for submissions and the race is getting heated.  The two top contenders keep tweeting their design and submitting it on different products to show it off.  One guy who is not a contender has submitted 13 different designs in horrible colors.  He just doesn't seem to get it!  He also keeps trying to rip off the other guys designs.  Funny, but he's not winning.  I have my favorite, and everyone else likes it too.  Now we just need the time to expire so we can declare the winner!

My Friend Alex...

Poor Alex is back at the Mac store resting.  Once again, he won't wake from sleep and is therefore on vacation.  He is awakened every 8 hours or so, worked on and put back to sleep.  One of these days my little Macbook, Alex, will be returned fixed and well rested.

At Last...

After a long week of finals, I am finally home with my family.  Unfortunately, as soon as I got home, I immediately caught a 24 hour bug, but thanks to Dad's diligence, I am over that.  Now Mom is seeing to it that I fully recover.  I've decided to take advantage of not being able to move without my head exploding.  I am catching up on my reading.  It's been a very long time since I've been able to just sit and read for fun, so that's what I'm doing.

RA

It's official!  I am the new RA of Weaver East!  Starting in January I will have two floors (30 residents) to make sure behave and have fun.  The application process was difficult, but worth it.  I can't wait to meet everyone.  Thus far, it sounds like the staff is going to be a blast to work with.  I've already met Brandon, my Hall Director and he's awesome!

Too Fast!

I'm not old enough for Bethany to look like this!  

Meet Alex...

Alex is a temperamental macbook.  I bought him before the beginning of the summer and we have become inseparable.  Alex likes to talk, he's quite chatty in the mornings.  He tells jokes, opens my programs and proofreads my papers.  When he gets bored and I'm across the room, he opens his favourite applications on his own.  His favourites are YouTube and CAPA.  Alex and my newest adventure is that his RAM was having issues.  There's the black, beeping screen of death and the silent, striped screen of torturous death.  Today at the Mac store he went to the striped screen and shocked all the Mac Gurus.  Ah Alex, life sure isn't boring with you around.  

Best Food at Mines...

The best food at Mines is Instant Ramen.

But Wait, There's More...

I recently finished up an intense week that involved 3.5 tests and 3 term papers.  I figured okay, now I can coast until Thanksgiving break right?  Oh no, this is Mines and what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.  We were just recently assigned five more projects.  In order to have a little bit of sanity over Thanksgiving break, four of them had to be done in four days.  Then I would have to only take home one.  One day is half over and one project is done.  If I could get another one done tonight, that would be awesome.  This is in addition to all my normal homework, by the way.  Fun huh?  Thankfully the semester is almost over.  Just a little while longer.  

Angel and Devil...

Callen and Ben recently accused Holly and I of being pranksters (as you know) and somehow it became an Angel and Devil type of team.  Therefore, Holly and I decided to play it up.  Holly had Callen's binder from his old Chemistry class, so we made a ransom note.  The deal was if the guys would go with us to see Twilight on Friday, Holly would give back the notebook.  In the meantime it's location was in the girls' bathroom.  Of course the guys already had their tickets for the movie and Holly already planned to return the notebook, but still we had fun dressing up, taking pictures and getting up at 3:00 in the morning to tape the note to their door.  By the way, we used a marker to draw a halo and horns on the picture.

Prank Wars...

Morgan 316 (Holly and I) is at war with Morgan 216 (Ben and Callen).  Whose knows how it started?  Recently I set Callen and Ben's helicopter alarm clock for three o'clock in the morning. They were in the room while I set it, so I didn't feel too bad when they complained about about getting up so early the next morning.  I do have to admit, I think Morgan 216 is getting the worst of it.  They deserve it though.  Holly and I have some new stuff up our sleeves to do this week.   Since it's my birthday today and I know Callen and Ben are scheming, I think they will get in the next strike.   There are no hard feelings between the two rooms, we are all going to a movie together Friday!

Newspaper...

This is what happens to our RA on her 21st birthday...

Chinese Cookout...

The CSM Bible study are church is about half Chinese graduate students.  Last night we decided to have a Chinese cookout.  I don't think anyone knew what we were getting into.  Na, the only girl in the group, Nguyen, and Song (Na's husband and my C++ TA), cooked for three hours.  The food was incredible.  They made 14 dishes, fed 20 people and never once used a recipe.  Impressive!

I'm Flying!

Yesterday Ben and I attended our first aerial dance class.  The Denver area is known for the aerials that are scattered throughout every performance.  Our instructors, Steve and Becky, are from the Mercury Cafe and teach our regular classes every week also.  This time they taught us four different aerials.  The first three weren't to difficult.  Simple lifts up and throws, not too bad.  the last one was the tough one.  It required Ben to pick me up and flip me over his arm backwards.  Sounds like fun huh?  It sure does look cool once you figure it out!  Today, Ben's doing all right, but I had a couple jarring landings, so I avoid steps and movement in general when possible.  It sure was worth it though.  

Boo!

I was about to leave the room last night to brush my teeth when I noticed a sign on Holly and my door.  We had been 'Booed"!  The sign said BOO in bright orange and had a cute little poem with it.  On either side of the door were two ghosts made out of paper towels and filled with candy.  The poem said to keep the candy and BOO someone else in the next night.  Holly and I made our own little ghosts and scanned in the sign.  We booed some girls down the hall.  I think we were about the fifth room to be booed so now several rooms have that sign on the door.  Here is a picture of the ghosts we made.  

Feast Night...

This weekend was parents weekend and we all enjoyed having our parents up here hanging out and meeting each other.  This also meant good food.  Tonight, since all the parents were gone and we didn't want to go to Slate, we decided to share the spoils.  There was so much food!  We had spaghetti and french bread and sandwiches and chocolate cake, just to name a few.  Totally awesome!

Experimenting with Scents...

It began as a simple Target run.  Holly (my roommate) and I made a detour to the dollar section to see if there were any neat little gadgets.  We found these tiny glass bottles of scented oil with little wooden sticks to put inside to diffuse the smell around the room.  We each bought one scented like pears and grabbed the last vanilla to hide in Ben and Callen's room.  Holly and I placed ours in our wardrobes and soon our clothes and room smelled wonderfully of pear.  Callen did not take too kindly of having vanilla smell in his room, but Ben loved it.  There was one problem, the little jars lasted a week.  Fall break found Holly and I once again searching for a scent for our room.  We found little devices that would work and I picked out several scents.  When we returned to the dorm, we found Ben waiting for us.  Fearful we would return from fall break with a girly scent like raspberry (his example, not mine) he had already picked out a scent.  Turns out he had found the same little device only his smelled like clean laundry.  Currently, Holly and I think we have found our perfect scent and our room smell lightly of vanilla.  

Tests and More Tests...

I know I haven't been writing in a while.  Sorry about that.  We just had a massive examine week.  I had only two tests (Programming and Differential Equations) and one quiz (Statics).  Some of my friends had up to four tests plus quizzes.  When we weren't studying for our own test, we were helping each other study for theirs.  Now it's fall break though and I'm enjoying the relaxing time!

Fun Night Out...

Last night Callen, Alec and I headed out to the Build-A-Bear to make a baby gift for someone at church.  Having not much else to do at that time of night, we wandered the mall and goofed off.   Afterward we headed to Alec's house for some fun.  We climbed into his cellar, found the water guns, and proceeded to ambush Ben who was arriving.  It was dark and cold outside, but everyone had a wonderful time!  When it was done, we were freezing and completely soaked!  We then decided to make some hot tea and have a movie night!

I Love My Job...

The last three days my job has been to borrow an expensive camera, get dressed up, attend fancy dinners and meetings and take a few hundred photos.  Rough job, right?  I had an absolutely wonderful time.  It was fun to see all the grad students dressed up and giving speeches.  The sponsors were all really nice and I liked meeting all the people whose names I had only ever heard.  I am now in the process of sort through all the pictures I took and retouching.  Unfortunately due to confidentiality agreements and such I cannot post the pictures, so you'll just have to take my word that I got some good ones!

Shall We Dance...

Last night a group of friends and I went to Denver and swing danced 'til midnight...

My Funny Phone...

My little purple phone finally died last time it was home, but that was okay 'cause it was due to be replaced.  This new little chocolate as it is called, has a bit of a mind of its own.  It has taken to assigning random ringtones to different people.  My phone will start ringing and I'll think it obviously isn't my phone ringing, I've never heard that song in my entire life.  Turns out my phone just assigned that song to someone.  Weird.  I'm starting to jump whenever I hear any phone ring, 'cause who knows? It could be mine.  Definitely keeps life interesting!

Slate?

I guess Slate Cafe finally got the hint.  Everyone at CSM loses weight when they come here rather than gain weight due to the awful food.  I assume as a result of all the complaints, Slate has added alternatives to the menu.  They now offer a wide variety of sandwiches, gyros, and salads.  For breakfast, muffins and decent oatmeal go with the powdered eggs.  It's nice, I actually don't mind going to meals now.  Vast improvement!

Hole in foot?

Callen and I went home to check on my family this weekend, mainly Amy who has not been doing well recently.  When we got back the guys of second floor were asking where we were and I explained the situation.  They wanted to see the pictures and now they keep walking around going "Dude, she has a hole in her foot!"  They would then drag their buddies over for them to see.   This happened for a while and now it's become the Morgan 2nd mantra.  "Dude, she has a hole in her foot!"

Cwazy Wussian...

This semester I've taken to hanging out on Morgan 2 a lot for some reason.  It might be because there are so many crazy characters down there that are absolutely hilarious to hang out with.  A good example of this is Dimitry, a cocky Russian.  I'll let you just see for yourself...  Follow this link.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlkGp57rxl .

Statics and Sprinklers...

We only get three homework problems per class in Statics for a reason.  Those three problems took my study group all weekend to do, to the point where the freshmen on the floor were offering the "Demoralized Statics students" candy as stress relief.  Other another member of the study group was doing Thermo and one freshman was downstairs with us looking for physics help.  Around 8 last night we said forget it and headed to Taco Bell followed by Cold Stone.  Afterward we decided to run around in the IM field where the sprinklers were on and just chase each other.  After everyone was throughly soaked, we all put on pj's, finished up homework and watched Monty Python.  It was both a productive and fun day.  

SWE...

I am now an official member of SWE, Society of Women Engineers!  Cool beans.

Dumpster Diving...

Dumpsters and I seem to get along.  I have some very fond memories of dumpster diving with my dad, looking for boxes when we were about to move in Alabama.  Every once in a while (as in not too often) dumpsters can be a treasure trove.  Say for instance, when they are outside of the library.  Last night a friend and I were walking home from an event at church.  He went to through something away in small dumpster/large bin outside the library and called me over.  The bin was full of old books with a little water damage.  Most of the books I either owned or wasn't interested in, but there were a few good ones.  Callen grabbed some classics and I found one for Amy.  It was fun, going through all the books.  Sometimes dumpsters have some treasures.

Old Friends Anew...

Today, the first official day of classes, everyone was around!  It was fun to arrive at class and see my friends from both last year, as well as my friends from summer again.  A good portion of my day was also spent at work and since everyone there has reports to turn in, that meant I was able to see absolutely everyone frequently throughout the day.  It's been weird, seeing some of these people again and the campus so busy.  At the same time, it is wonderful to catch up with old friends again.  I've even been to a capa party already!

I'm Back, Again...

Today I moved back to the dorm in crazy weather.  It was raining or misting all day.  The entire city of Golden is wrapped in a cloud.  The good thing about this?  I don't have to move in tomorrow which will be worse weather.  Well, I have to go unpack!

Crashing...

I'm home now for a week in between finals and the start of the next semester.  My goal while I'm home?  To only do mindless activities.  Thus far this has included the pool, loads of sleep, movies and late night hair and makeup experiments with my sisters.  Let the mindlessness continue!

Done With Round One!

Today was my first final of summer school and now I can officially say I am done with any class titled 'Calculus'!  Oh yeah...

Guys and Their Cookies...

I don't know what it is with guys this summer, if its living in an apartment or the large amount of pressure that gives them confidence or what but the guys this summer have a thing for cookies and inviting themselves over. 

• Case #1 ~ My neighbor was cooking when something happened to his last egg.  He was going from door to door looking for anyone who had an extra and I happen to be the first person he finds to give him one.  A week later Kory opens the door to find our neighbor saying thanks for the egg and with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies in his hand which he had just baked.  He's a talkative person and starts asking us a bunch of questions.  Cooking comes up and he informs us that he should probably come over sometime and sample our cooking.  As soon as he leaves, Kory and I look at each other and just shrug.  What's to say to that?
• Case #2 ~ Kory and I bought the ingredients to make cookies and were discussing when we should make them when a friend overheard.  He decided he should come make them with us.  Somehow, at his doing, it turned into dinner, cookies and hanging out afterward.  He decided he didn't want to be a burden, so I got roped into going to Safeway with him where he bought the stuff to make dinner.  We combined with my veggies and before we new it, he was making dinner for himself and the three of us girls in the apartment.  (Gotta say, it was actually pretty good.)  Afterward we all made cookies together and then took a late night walk to the park to play in the sprinklers.  When our friend left, Kory and I tried to figure out how all that just happened, but we have reached no conclusion on how a guy can invite himself over, cook, and hang out with three girls for five hours.   The fact that it happened at a school with such a distorted guy/girls ratio makes it all the stranger!

Stress Relief...

Tuesday night all of us in the apartment had such a stressful day (physics tests, getting the run-around for errands, etc.) that we decided to go get ice cream, dinner and watch the sunset.  The three of us headed to Red Rocks Amphitheater.  We did some hiking and got to head to the stage, which was open, and watch the sunset.  We looked like tourists, but hey, it was fun!

Elk...

Yeah, that is one big elk outside my apartment.  

That's Why I Go To School Here...

Yesterday was the perfect example of why I chose to go to Mines instead of a different engineering school.  After the school day had technically ended, about 15 students and two professors ordered pizza and had homemade cookies while working on homework.  Not only were we studying hard, but we were able to have a great time doing it.  After the studying was over, the two physics professors stayed to talk with Kory, Devyn and me about majors and what we can do with our life.  That lasted another 45 minutes or so.  Then Devyn and one professor left while the other stayed with Kory and I to continue our discussion.  Kory was really struggling to decide on a major, so he patiently answered her questions and told us about his own experiences for another hour and a half.  What other engineering school can you go to where the professors will do that?  My professors know me by first and last name, they stay after school to help the students for another 4 extra hours and they are willing to do whatever they can to help out.  It's absolutely wonderful!

Smoking Magnets...

When discussing magnets in physics today, our professor brought out a little demonstration.  It was a superconductor.  Most superconductors currently only work in cold temperatures, so this one was in dry ice.  Trust me, there was fog everywhere.  Above it he placed a small magnet which promptly began to levitate!  Very cool to see a magnet floating in mid-air.  Afterward we were creating electromagnets in studio.  The group beside me decided to crank up the voltage way past the recommended amount.  When they weren't looking, their connections began to smoke like crazy.  It was great fun to watch the panic on their faces!

Tag

Last night we played with a tiny baby bunny.  It was out in the center of the parking lot, so we (the girls in my apartment) sat in the parking lot and played with it.  It was a rather curious little thing and kept hopping up, touching my hand with its little nose and hopping away.  He let us pick him up and play with him for quite a while.  When we released him, all his siblings were out.  They wanted to play too!  All of them kept coming up to explore and be petted.  It was rather cool.  

A Physics Birthday...

This weekend a friend caught wind that it was our physics teacher's birthday, so several of us decided to celebrate.  The physics girls (Kory, Alex, Devyn and I) got him a card and present, which we gave to him before the test today.  The card sang 'We Will Rock You!' when opened, much to his surprise.  Dr. Kuo was totally blown away and it was a great way to celebrate before taking our painful physics test.  

Big Comfy Chairs...

This is a picture of what I call the Mural Room.  Its actually the end of a hallway on a balcony.  There are some comfortable chairs and a table in the area.  Very few people ever go there, so it's my favourite place to study.  To go to the physics studio for class, you have to pass this little alcove.  The day before my midterm, I decided to curl up in one of the chairs and take a nap.  I hadn't being sleeping well and was tired in between classes, so it made sense to me.  Two different physics professors happened to pass by as I was sleeping however, and haven't let up since.  Every time I see them now, they crack jokes about me sleeping in the hallway.  Hey, at least it was easier to pay attention in class and I did well on my midterm!

Because You Are Mines Students...

That's how the physics lab started today.  We were supposed to be building circuits to do some chemistry stuff (turns out the two subjects are related).  However, if you hook up the capacitor backwards, things go BOOM!  Our professor knew that Mines students do have a fascination will blowing things up in geeky ways.  Therefore, he decided to blow up a capacitor for us so we could see it and not have to satisfy our curiosity by doing it ourselves.  The funny thing was, he hooked it up backwards, put full current through it and it would not blow!  Our professor was incapable of blowing up  the capacitor.  While he went to the back room to get a different capacitor, our other physics professor went up to try.  He had no trouble whatsoever.  None of us were paying attention and expecting it though, so we all jumped a mile at the resultant BOOM!  

Hard Lessons to Learn When Bored Out of Skull...

I had a three day weekend with absolutely nothing to do this week.  As a result, I took the time to not think completely through my actions and try some experiments.  Here are the results...

• Cleaning the stove can't be that hard, can it?  I would guess around 6 tenants of this apartment have been here before me, cooked and never cleaned the stove.  Four hours of scrubbing later, I realized just how hard the stove can be.  
• How many equations does one really need to know for physics?  My bathroom mirror is now covered in equations I need to memorize before the test Monday.
• I decided to use Ramen noodles to make homemade mac and cheese.  Um yeah, I'll pick the box stuff over that experiment any day!
• No matter how bored you are, never watch a scary/intense movie like I Am Legend late at night alone, knowing you will be alone for the next couple days.  I didn't get much sleep that night, which left lots of extra time for calculus!
• The one thing worse then a scary movie alone at night?  Vitamins.  After years of debate with my Mom, she finally convinces me to take vitamins and they promptly make me ill.  Bad plan and I think next time I should win that debate.  Who ever said vitamins were good for you?  They were wrong!
• Ever tried cleaning out a vacuum by hand?  GROSS!

And the list just keeps going.  It's crazy what you will do with no one to talk to for three straight days and nothing to do!

Beauty of the Moment...

Asking For Words...

You never really know where GOD is going to pop into a conversation.  While chatting with a friend today, he randomly asked, "So what do you think about GOD?".  That is a huge, very open question.  I am very thankful that while I am prepared to answer that question, I don't have to be.  GOD promised to give us the words if we ask HIM, so that's what I prefer to do.  Cool, huh?  So next time you get a big question about GOD out of nowhere, ask HIM for the words.  Judging by my conversation with my friend this afternoon, it really works.  

GOD's Playful and Sleepy Creatures...

I love my dog, Annie, I really do.  But other than her, I am not an animal person.  It's not that I don't like them, its just that I don't adore them either.  However, they seem to like me.  This morning as I was walking along the scenic route to work, about 30 little white butterflies flew around me, escorting me on my way.  Then when I arrived at physics, there was Dr. Kuo's cat.  He was gone for several days until 5:00 this evening, so one of the TA's had been watching the little thing (Mia was her name).  Mia decided to curl up in my lab and sleep for 2 hours while I tried to work on my physics lab.  When Dr. Kuo finally arrived to get her, she refused to go to him and went back to sleep for another half hour in my lap.  Finally I had to dump her out of my lap into his arms.  After physics, on my home once again along the scenic route, there were a couple deer playing.  When they saw me, they stopped and one of them decided to come over and see who I was.  This one in the picture is about 8 feet away.  It walked with me for a bit.  Then when I stopped and called to it, it came over, danced around some, and wagged its little tail.  We played for a few minutes, and then it pranced away.  It was a very unusual day, but a lot of fun to see some of GOD's adorable creation up close.  

Clear Creek Flooding...

This patio that Bethany is standing on is supposed to be above water...

Relaxing Days...

Bethany has been visiting me the last few days.  After my physics test I had no homework so it was the perfect opportunity for us to just hang out and have a  good time.  We have toured the campus, walked through Golden, watched movies, cooked, toured Clear Creek and several other things.  Clear Creek is flooding somewhat so we played in the water a little bit.  After walking that many miles a day, we decided to watch older 'scary' movies, namely Ghostbusters and Men In Black.  It's been fun!

My First Repeated Cooking Lesson...

Tonight I learned how to make this delightful meal.  Kory taught me how to saute vegetables and fry eggs.  What you see in the picture is toast with cheese on top.  Then fried egg and small pieces of carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and sugar snap peas.  The trouble was timing the toast, egg and vegetables just right.  There was definitely some dashing around, burnt butter and annoyance on my part.  I'm not even going to tell you what happened with one egg, but Kory and I had never seen anything like it.  Yuck!  The meal that actually made it through the whole process was really good though!  Cool beans, I can kinda cook.  

A Typical Day...

Many of you have expressed an interest in knowing how I spend my time here at summer school.  It's really not that interesting since the same thing happens day after day, but here it goes...

• 6:15am ~ my alarm goes off.  The sun is always shining and its beautiful outside.
• 7:15 ~ I head out the door to walk to the school.  I take the scenic route, and stop and talk to the maintenance people who are out working sometimes.  Everyone is so friendly!
• 7:45 ~ The first place I go is to work.  I love my job!  Most often I am working on the website for the Steel Research Center. 
• 8:45 ~ I text as much as I can with my family.  This is one of the only times I can talk to them during the day, so I text between work and math.  
• 9:00 ~ I am in calculus class taking notes furiously.  There is so much to write in such a short time!
• 11:00 ~ I eat lunch while walking from calculus to my physics class.  During this time the physics teachers hold office hours.  That means I get a lot of homework done.  
• 1:00 ~ Physics lecture and studio.  That is a lot of physics and it's not done yet!
• 4:00 ~ Homework help for physics.  Excellent time to get more help on homework. 
• 6:00 ~ The physics studio is locked up, so we relocate to the lounge area and do all our calculus homework.  There is not nearly as much of that.  
• 7:00 ~ We walk back to the apartment.  Time for dinner (where something will of course go wrong), more physics homework, and a shower.  
• 10:00 ~ Time for some journaling and reading my Bible.  
• 10:30 ~ Lights out!  I'm generally asleep pretty instantly.

Yep, that's my entire day.  Most of it seems to be physics.  I eat, breath and dream physics at this point.  

Unexpected Bonuses...

• Discovering my favourite calculus teacher at CSM is my teacher this time (I had him as a sub once)...
• Having two Physics teachers who will stay 4-5 extra hours after class to answer questions...
• Kory teaching me how to cook (the baked potatoes were wonderful)...
• Finding a scenic route to school with less hills...
• Being able to go to bed early here (and actually sleep)...
• Beautiful neighborhoods and parks to walk in...
• Physics studio partner who has taken the class before...
• Having a half hour walk in the morning to wake me up...
• Two suite mates who are almost never here, but when they are, they're quite nice...
• A raise at work...
• Time to text with my family between classes...
• Scheduled time to read my Bible and journal daily...

Minor Difficulties...

• I stuck my finger in a hole on the bed frame while talking only to discover I couldn't get it out...
• Did you know there is a label on the bottom of a cooking pot?  Definitely nearly burnt the apartment down...
• Shin splints, its funny, I am never out of breath, it's just so many hills!
• Every time Kory walks somewhere, so gets blisters.
• Eating Raw potato skin (not recommended)
• Attempting to assembly Kory's chair

Hitting the Ground Running...

Today was my first official day of summer school.  Two hours of calculus, two hours of errands and three long hours of physics.  Thus far its not too bad.  I have excellent teachers.  However, I am exhausted, have a ton of homework, and need to cook dinner, so I'll catch you guys up later.  

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Today is Grandma's Birthday and we have family in town to celebrate.  Uncle Tom, Aunt Susan, Alivia and Andrea are visiting from Indiana.  Everyone is having a wonderful time hanging out and getting reacquainted.  Tonight we are doing soup and sundaes to celebrate!

Feel The Burn!

Oops!  Wrong kind.  My sisters, Mom and I went to the pool yesterday for for some time in the sun just hanging out.  We all took books and goofed off for a while.  Everyone thought we were being so careful by reapplying sunscreen frequently.  Yeah, guess we weren't that careful.  We are all aching from the sunburn.  Bad sunburn.  Ouch!

Grandpa's Unforgettable Birthday...

Grandpa has a thing for dogs.  He and Annie are completely inseparable, needing each other to survive.  This morning Grandpa and I couldn't find Bethany.  Mom and Amy were at the doctor getting injections in Amy's feet.  We found out that Bethany was helping some people try to find a fluffy white puppy.  These people were house sitting the puppy, but it had escaped.  We found Bet crossing Peterson Road limping.  Turns out, she had been running around barefoot for a while looking for this dog and had developed blisters.  We picked her up and it was my turn to look for the dog.  My feet are very calloused, so I didn't have any trouble until I ran across the intersection full of broken glass from a car accident the other night.  Now we have Amy with feet numbed by injections, Bet's blistered feet and my feet a little sore from glass.  I'm the only one walking well right now.  No dog, by the way.  We never could find the little puppy, so we are hoping someone else did.  It's definitely been an exciting birthday for grandpa, who was with us the whole time.  We planned to go get ice cream for his birthday tonight, but at this point I think will just have to bring some back for my two sisters who can't walk.  Crazy.  

Good For The Soul!

Daddy, Amy and I went to see 'Iron Man' tonight.  While they both had seen it at least once already, I had not even seen many previews of the movie.  It was an absolutely awesome movie.  We all agreed that what made the movie even better than expected was the man sitting behind us.  He had the most contagious laughter!  It was obvious that, like me, he had also not seen the movie previously.  At every funny and semi-funny part he would just crack up.  Everyone in the audience couldn't help it, we had to laugh with him!  It was not an obnoxious laugh, but a fun laugh that put us all in a good mood immediately.  Everyone was glad he was in the theater.  

Happy Birthday Amy!

I hope you have a wonderful birthday!  Seventeen, it's hard to imagine.  I definitely remember seeing you for the first time in the hospital, Ames Nickle!  Goodness, how you have grown since then.  

Pals...

When I first came home, Annie lay down with me on the floor and cried in my arms.  She was so happy I was home!  Since then she has been following me around like, well, a puppy dog!  We have always been pals.  Unfortunately she has not been feeling well recently, so she has been following anyone who is willing to hold her for a while.  However, not feeling well has not prevented Annie from coming to the kitchen where I am writing this and Mom is peeling chicken off the bone.  Funny how that works!  

Summer Plans...

On June 14 I will be heading back to CSM to take two summer classes.  Rather than take a really bad load (at least for me) next semester, I have decided to get Calculus 3 and Physics 2 out of the way now.  I am incredibly excited to head back to CSM, my work in the ASPPRC and especially my church.  Now I just have to get ready to go!

Race Day...

Once a year there comes an event so revered it stops my whole family in their tracks.  They prepare for days for the coming event - cooking, cleaning, deciding who has the best TV and seating arrangements, etc.  Finally Memorial Day weekend comes, bringing with it Race Day, the day of the Indianapolis 500.  The Indy 500 is no ordinary race.  It is watched all over the world by anyone with the most remote connection to Indiana.  With half of my family from Indiana, the race is a big deal around here.  Grandma, Mom, Dad, Amy, Bethany and TJ are all glued to the TV, watching avidly to see what will happen next.  There are only three sane beings around the house on Race Day - Grandpa, myself and the dog. Grandpa and Annie eventually get sucked into watching from boredom.  I know it is inevitable, eventually I too will cave in from sheer boredom and wanting to hang out with my family.  Currently I can hear the shouts of "Rookie mistake!" and "Oh no!" coming from the downstairs.  The nice part about Race Day?  The food.  Those of us not watching the race greatly benefit from the food.  

Baby Hats...

After knots, struggles and numerous restarts, I have finally finished croqueting my first baby hat.  Amy, Mom and I have taken to making these baby hats for the hospital.  The hospital sends each newborn home with one of the hats on its head to keep it warm.  For the most part, we make pink and blue hats, but some such as this one are also different colors.  We are making the baby's first item of clothing by hand with love.  Amy and I both croquet, but I think we both agree that Mom's cleverly knitted hats are the cutest.  Amy is starting to make them Mom's way now.  As for me, I plan to continue making these during dorm floor meetings at school!

Home At Last

It's been wonderful to be home with my family thus far.  It's only been a couple of weeks, but those weeks have made all the difference.  I have been thoroughly cleaning my room,  hanging out with my family and visiting friends.  For church I go with my grandparents to Village Seven.  I really enjoy the people there and the awesome preaching!  What's weird about being home is several of my Bible study friends from last year are graduating from high school.  Everyone is growing up!  Amy will be  a senior next year and Bet is graduating from middle school this year.  One of my favourite high school teachers is considering retirement!  Wow, so much happening in a school year!

Welcome Back!

Hey Everyone! It's good to be back with all the my readers, both new and experienced. Let's go through some preliminary stuff before we get started, shall we? First off, I apologize for any misspellings or grammar mistakes ahead of time. Most of my posts will be written late at night when I have time, so there are bound to be some mistakes. Second, I'll try to blog every few days or tell you if I'll be unavailable. Third, comments are greatly appreciated and often the highlight of my day, so keep them coming! Fourth, I'm going to try to make this blog more visually oriented, so there will hopefully be more pictures and perhaps less words. I hope it works.  I'm definitely ready to get started! Let's g0!