Ornaments and Updates

Check out our new ornament from the White House Historical Society!  It honors the state dinners that are held there, this one a representation of the plates used during the Reagan administration.  The other side is a representation of the Clinton administration.  These are always really nice ornaments each year.  Typically, they honor a different President each year as they move forward in the Presidential time line.  Last year was Jimmy Carter, so that being said, we'll see Ronald Reagan's ornament next year.  This one here could have really been Reagan's ornament though, couldn't it?  These come with booklets that do a great job explaining the history behind the ornament.  Usually, it's about a particular President, and usually what Christmas was like in the White House those years.  In this case, there's an interesting history of state dinners at the White House. 

Okay, moving on!  Today was a fall day, as seen by this leaf.  Okay, it's not falling.  It is actually suspended by this web that must have been made by a juro spider.  These webs are very strong, because the wind was blowing this leaf over the road at such a low angle from such a high place - it looked to be just floating there.

The view in the other direction?  Cars lined up early for the chicken food drive.  It's a big deal at Free Chapel. We've been giving away a lot of food lately, and the cars here have been numerous.

Speaking of food and Thanksgiving, I'm still plugging along on this virtual path, each day writing something I'm thankful for and occasionally passing markers that get these recipes or bits of facts about Thanksgiving.  I've got the ingredients to this cranberry sauce, and I'm looking forward to making it for a tasty snack!  

Kind of a quiet day today.  We've got a resurgence of birds on our back deck, including a return of the bluebirds, which delights Mom very much.  We've got all there too of course.  And at the front porch, we've got three cats now, neighborhood cats that think they'll get food from us or something.  Okay, one cat does.  The other cats we can't feed because their owner wants them to hunt rodents or something.  So we have to shrug our shoulders and say sorry!

As for the other lifeforms in the house, I have to say our sea monkeys are doing well!  Yes, they are still swimming about and they seem to be thriving.  They're certainly making more sea monkeys, although I'm not entirely sure why those other sea monkeys don't seem to grow up so much.  Part of me suspects that they're getting eaten, which is weird.  I feed these guys pretty well, right?  Don't eat your kids!  Especially on holidays!  Anyway, here we are over two years later, and that same initial package of eggs has spawned a few generations of descendants.

This morning was super, super foggy.  Dense fog alerts and big accidents out there.  We were out a little later, and that was good of course.  Later on tonight it was still a bit foggy as we went to taekwondo.  Maddie had fun helping out initially, and then going to her leadership class.  Afterwards we were watching more Christmas movies - it's been quite the marathon this year, with so many movies to see.  And of course there was reading "Hogfather" before bedtime, and then prayers.

It was a decent day today - we spent a lot of time working on January's theme and messages, and it should be a lot of fun.  It's going to be a really new and different series!  Okay, time to head to bed.  Crazy to think that Thanksgiving is in one week!

Goal Ball and Other Things

Thursday!  I was in the room as Camp FCY was coming together, and that's the big story for tomorrow for Maddie, who is super excited to hop on a charter bus and head north to her camp for the senior year.  It's going to be a great weekend!  We were working on minor things today related to KidPak as well, but the big story of the week is Camp FCY.  It's going to be fun.

Tonight Maddie did have a little homework, and of course there was taekwondo too.  She was in her leadership class, which happens to have three other students going to Camp FCY as well.  I helped get a few of them through registration, so Maddie's happy to have a few extra friends to go with.  She had a good night.  I got a few things done at taekwondo, looking on through the window as she was training younger students, and then going on to leadership to learn some new things.  This will be her last taekwondo until next Thursday, I believe.

While Maddie was doing homework afterwards, I was watching the Paralympics, particularly three events I was interested in:  firstly, swimming.  How inspiring was that girl from China who was swimming without any arms.  She was flying through the water faster than I could swim, and she has half the limbs that I do.  Amazing!  Another event enjoyed was Boccia, which I wasn't familiar with until now, but it actually looked fun.  It's like curling in a way, and I was blown away by the skills from an athlete from Colombia, Euclides Grisales.  

If I played against this guy, he would destroy me!  Wow - what a performance.  Maddie was watching a few of these matches and games over the kitchen table as she was working on a few homework assignments.  

Which brings me to the last game, "Goal Ball."  This looks like super fun, actually!  These folks are vision impaired, lined up in front of a goal, and they're basically taking turns trying to toss a ball into their opponents goal.  Fortunately there's a bell in that ball so you can hear it coming - and that's all you have to go on.  It was pretty awesome.

Anyway, moving on:  we got some circus tickets today for November.  Vernardo's Circus is coming back to Dawsonville, and we got some better tickets this time around.  We loved that small circus, the feeling of family there, and of course the actual talent.  It was a great circus, and we're happy to be able to head back there!  We've got all kinds of plans coming up - the calendar is getting full!  Hold on tight!

Tonight was a bit slower, the calm before Labor Day of course.  We continued our reading from the Kingdom Keepers before bed, although just a chapter this time.  We met the fabulous FGM and her pal Cinderella, and there are Villains Realm sections in every park that will be built.  Which actually would be pretty cool, come to think of it.  Of course, the actual villains hope to use these to develop a place where they can have a home base from which they can launch attacks on all that is good.  But otherwise, the idea is pretty cool.  It could be like the Isle of the Lost from Descendants or something like that.  Anyway, we'll keep reading and see what happens next.

Tonight we said our prayers, and the plush entourage was in bed on time for a good night's rest.  Tomorrow starts Labor Day, and a big weekend.  Also the end of August!  See you soon!

Mixed Emotions

I was delivering a message this morning, and because we were doing the "At the Movies" theme, the message was related to "Inside Out."  It went well, and we got to show all the different emotions, and some clips from the movie to help out.  It was a good service, certainly more quiet with the post-Summer Xtreme energy.  But it went well, and Maddie was unhand to take some pictures.

Afterwards, Mom wanted Chinese food, so we picked up some of that and got home for a nice feast at the table.  We were in the midst of eating when Maddie picked up the phone and read the news:  the President is not seeking reelection anymore.  

Wow.  This year has been so unusual.  We don't know who the replacement candidate is, and we're like three months away from the Presidential election.  Crazy! 

Otherwise, it was a restful day after that.  Maddie and I re-watched the latest "Descendants" movie again, and a few episodes of "Suite Life of Zack and Cody."  I tried a level of "Tropical Freeze," but gave up.  There are a few levels that get so challenging that they aren't fun anymore, so yeah, time to walk away from some of that for a bit. 

Anyway, it was a quiet afternoon.  I'm back on the treadmill, and we were celebrating National Nap Day a day late with a little afternoon nap.  Also it's National Ice Cream Day, so that of course was something to celebrate. 

Tonight we read from our short stories, a point of view story from one of the speeder bike pilots on Endor. It doesn't end well for him.  We said our prayers afterwards, and then it was time for everyone to get tucked in, and then get some sleep.  No alarm clock tomorrow morning!

Proofs and Shawarma

The Summer Xtreme week may be over, but there was still a busy day in store for us today, of course starting out with Team Edge practice.  We were over in Oakwood again at the studio, practicing for a few hours.  Or, at least Maddie was!  I was watching as she was working on rolls and flips, and a good bit of "the basics," pretty much starting at the ground roots for certain moves and weapon usage.  They're a good team though, and they learn quickly.  They also have birthdays this month, which meant cupcakes and cookies afterwards.  Yummy!

So we got home after that, and we rested after lunch, and then headed right back out again to go back to the photography studio.  Again, when Mom and I were younger, and pretty much when many adults were younger, senior pictures comprised of us going down to the library where there was a makeshift photo studio setup, where we'd slap on the same shoulder covering thing to make it look like we're in a full robe, and then we'd stand in front of a back drop after waiting in a line, and then we'd get our senior picture taken.  Now, you spend hundreds on a photographer, make-up, and hairstylist - all of this before actually paying for the pictures.  Today it was time to pay for the pictures, and the payment curve is steep.  You go from a few hundred for one picture with prints, to six hundred dollars for eight prints and a couple digital copies.  They steer you towards that $800 price to get those digital copies, because who hands out wallet print photos anymore?  Anyway, yep.  I did it.  Maddie really liked the pictures and they trap you there.  What a scam!  The pictures are good - but we basically pay the mortgage payment to get a few dozen photos.  All that said, Maddie is super happy with them, and they do look nice.  These pictures now belong to me, so here they are, presented to us on a fancy flash drive.  Also downloadable.  But the flash drive was nice. 

After taking all those pictures, it was time to get something to eat.  Maddie and I were really happy to get to stop at a place just down the road, the Jerusalem Bakery.  We were there to get shawarma, and this is our favorite shawarma place.  We both loved it.  We sat there for a while, and probably ate too much, but it was really good.  

We got home, and we were inspired by the recent viewing of that fourth Descendants movie, so we watched a movie we hadn't seen before, the 1997 version of "Cinderella."  It features the same Cinderella and Prince Charming that we just saw in this recent movie, only of course many, many years before.  The movie was wonderful - we actually really liked this one a lot!

Tomorrow we've got a KidPak service, and it should be good.  Time to get some sleep though.  We read tonight, finishing up a random story about Lando Calrissian, and then saying our prayers afterwards.  All the plush friends were tucked in, including Putnam, our green friend who had a cameo in Wednesday's skit on stage for Summer Xtreme.  All tucked in, it was time for bed.  One more morning to get up early!