Friday, December 23, 2011

First Day of Snow in December

Today it snowed for a little bit! We got about 3 inches. It's so pretty! We get to have a white Christmas! :D

Here are some pictures of the snow.




Today I have a 10 problem history quiz and a 50 problem history exam. I am also going to clean the church with Shannon, Abbey, Mom and Calvin, wrap some gifts, make rolls, lift some weights, maybe make some fudge, and then we're going caroling!

Tomorrow we are opening our gifts, and having a ham dinner with Aunt Debbie and the Leach family. :) Then go to Free Grace's Christmas Eve Service! It's going to be great! 

Thursday, December 22, 2011

A Wonderful Weekend with Nina and Kelsey!

Friday afternoon Shannon drove Corrie, Jessi, Jolie and I to the Portland Mall. On our way to the mall we stopped at Cumberland Farms to get some coffee. :)

When we got to the mall we met Nina by Longhorn and I put my sleepover stuff in Nina's van. Nina and I did some shopping until Kelsey called and said she was getting out of work early. Nina and I said good bye to Corrie, Jolie, Jessi and Shannon in Macy's and then we left the mall. We picked up Kelsey and then went to Walmart and Nina bought me some nice boots for a Christmas present. The link to those boots aren't the exact ones I got, mine don't have the studded trim. We went out to eat at McDonalds and then went to Nina's home.

Nina, Kelsey and I helped Mrs. Gaudreau put frosting and sprinkles on cupcakes. When we were done decorating the cupcakes I think we talked for awhile and then watched Pirates of the Caribbean 4.
 That was pretty good! :)

The next day we got ready to stack wood. Mr. Leifheit, Johnny, Stevie, and some people I hadn't met before came to help us stack wood. I met two lovely ladies named Jordana and Lauryn. :) After 2 or 3 hours of stacking wood we had a lunch break. :) We had yummy meatball subs!

After lunch we stacked wood for a little bit longer then we sort of stopped and fourwheeled down some muddy trails! I rode with Nina, then Jordana, then Kelsey. Jordana has awesome fourwheeling skills! We drove through the mud puddles really fast to get big splashes of mud. It was great! After my ride with Kelsey I attempted to drive the fourwheeler on the dirt road. :)

When the fourwheeling was almost over the Leifheits left. Jordana and Lauryn stayed and talked for awhile and then they left too.

Nina, Kelsey, Mr. Gaudreau and I had cheese pizza with some feta cheese added for supper. Nina, Kelsey and I went to a mall in New Hampshire to browse in Claire's, and K-mart. I bought Nina a cool ring and Kelsey a pair of earrings.

When we got back home Kelsey fell asleep pretty early so I tried showing Nina Return To Me on Youtube but it didn't really work.

Kelsey left for work the next day in the morning. Nina and I painted our nails and relaxed most of the morning. Before we painted our nails we helped Mr. Gaudreau stack some more wood.

That night Nina and I went to go pick up Nina's great grandmother and then go to her grandparents house for supper. That was really nice. :D

When Nina and I got back to her house we tried learning the Moonwalk but gave up. :P Then we watched part of Elf but the VCR player kind of stopped working.

The next day Kelsey came to Nina's house and we got ready to go to the mall to meet Dad, Shannon and Calvin. When we met up with them we hung out in the Apple Store for a little bit and then put my sleeping stuff in our car and then went to go pick up Abbey at the Portland airport.

Me, Kelsey and Nina! <3
After we picked Abbey up at the airport we shopped at Goodwill and the mall again then went home. :) I had SUCH a good time with Nina and Kelsey!



Thursday, December 15, 2011

Baking!

After school today I plan on baking a bunch! I plan on baking Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, Cowboy Hats, and Ginger Bread Cupcakes with Eggnog frosting.

I've made the Cowboy hats plenty of times! :) Some people call them Hershey Kiss Cookies. I like them because they're small and not too sweet. I've already made them twice this month, once for Home Group after church and another time just for my family. They get eaten FAST. Here is the recipe!

48 Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375. Unwrap kisses. Beat shortening and peanut butter. Add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Sift dry ingredients then beat into peanut butter mixture. Shape into 1 inch balls; roll in sugar. Bake 8-10 minutes on ungreased pan. Press kisses into baked cookies then remove from pan.

It's really quick and easy! Just make sure you don't press the Hershey kisses down to hard on the cookie or else the kiss might is squished. But don't press too lightly so that the Hershey kiss won't stay on the cookie. Enjoy!

I've made the Peanut Butter Fudge a couple times before. I usually only make it around Christmas time. It's REALLY sweet! Here's the recipe...

2 cups sugar
2/3 cups evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fluff
1 cup peanut butter
1 package (2 cups) chocolate chips
Butter sides of 2 quart saucepan. Heat sugar, milk, and vanilla over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves and mixture boils. Cook to soft ball stage (234 degrees - candy thermometer). Remove from heat and stir in fluff, peanut butter and chocolate chips.  Pour into 9x9x2 baking pan. Score with sharp knife while fudge is still warm to make it easier to cut later.

Now for the Ginger Bread Cupcakes with Eggnog frosting. I have not tried this recipe yet but it sounds delicious so I wanted to try. :) 

1/4 c shortening
1/4 c sugar
1 egg
1/2 c molasses
1 1/2 c flour
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/2 c hot water
Cream the shortening and sugar. Beat in the egg, then molasses. Sift the dry ingredients and add. Add the water and beat until smooth. Bake for 20 minutes at 375. 
Eggnog Cream Frosting:
1/2 c milk
3 T flour
1/4 c shortening
1/4 c margarine or butter
1/2 c sugar
1 t rum extract or 2 t rum
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 t nutmeg (or more to taste)
Cook the milk and flour in a saucepan until it thickens. Cool it thoroughly and then beat in the remaining ingredients until light and fluffy.


Enjoy! I'll let you know how they turn out in tomorrows blog post!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Christmas Shopping

Today Mom and I are going Christmas shopping while Dad, Shannon, and Billy workout at the gym. I'm excited! I don't have that much time to go Christmas shopping. I plan on baking tomorrow, packing Friday, visit Nina (a good friend of mine) from Friday-Monday, then hopefully Anna's birthday party on Tuesday. So, maybe I'll get another chance to go shopping Wednesday. On Friday I'm meeting Nina at the Portland Mall so that will give me a chance to shop there too.

Tomorrow I will share with you the recipes of what I'm baking which is Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge, Cowboy Hat Cookies, and Gingerbread muffins with Egg Nog Frosting.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Planet Fitness

Dad got a black card at Planet Fitness so he can bring a friend. Last night Billy and Dad invited me to come along. So, this morning we woke at 5:30am and left a little bit after 6am. Since it was my first time, I let Billy show me around. He was doing upper body workout so I decided to work my upper body too. The only annoying part about the gym was that after using each machine you have to wipe down the handle bars. I suppose it's a very good thing though! I also worked a little bit of my core and legs. I'm pretty sure I'll be sore tomorrow. :D

Man, do I need to go Christmas shopping! I still have to figure out what to get Shannon, Tim, Dad, and Angie...Once I get a gift for each of my family members I'll buy gifts for my friends.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Talent Show, Card Games, Yummy Food, Good Friends, Airsoft, Concerts, and Babysitting!

On Friday, after SMASH Corrie, Rebecca, Shannon and I went to Rebecca's rehearsal for a Christmas concert she was accompanying. When Rebecca was done Mrs. Richards drove us to A Christmas Talent Show put on by Petra. That was good! The Albee family sang Go Tell It On The Mountain. Petra and Evan sang Baby, It's Cold. There were also three girls that sang Happy by NevershoutNever! That was cool!

After the Talent Show Tucker, Billy and Pastor Sam arrived and we all hung out for a bit. Probably about an hour later we left. Pastor Sam played some Christmas songs that we all danced to for a bit. Ha! Then Tucker, Billy, Corrie, Pastor Sam, and I played Hearts and Spades. After Pastor Sam went upstairs Corrie, Billy, Tucker and I played President. Rebecca and Shannon made us Shirley Temples. Those were good! Shannon and Rebecca watched The Secret of Moonacre . Corrie and I watched the last part of the movie and then *I* went to bed. I thought  everyone else did too but apparently Corrie, Rebecca and Shannon went downstairs for a snack and talked for another hour.

The next day we had eggs, bacon, muffins and fruit for breakfast! :D After breakfast Pastor Sam, Tucker, Billy, Corrie and Shannon went to the Smith's to get two Christmas trees. Rebecca, Mrs. Richards and I prepared lunch and then met everyone else at the Smith's to help out. That was fun!

When we got back to the Richards' house we had lunch then Shannon and Rebecca practiced the songs Shannon had to sing Sunday. Corrie, Billy, Tucker, Noah, Lucas, and I played a short game of Airsoft. Noah and Lucas are the Richards' neighbors. Corrie and I had to get ready for Rebecca's concert (Billy and Tucker already were) so Billy, Tucker, Noah and Lucas continued to play Airsoft.

We couldn't stay for Rebecca's entire concert because Shannon and I had to babysit Gabe. Rebecca did a good job from what I could see/hear. So, after we got back to the Richards we packed up our sleepover stuff then we said our goodbyes and left.

Shannon and I dropped Billy off at our house and then we drove to Tim and Angie's house. After Tim, Angie, and Addie left Shannon went and bought supper while I read books to Gabe. After Supper we played with Gabe a little, watched part of MythBusters and then Home Alone 3. Gabe is so much fun, funny and SO adorable! <3

Friday, December 9, 2011

Colby College Christmas Chorale

Yesterday, after SMASH Shannon made homemade pizza for supper. Anna, Billy and I helped out a little. It was soooo good!

After supper we went to go see Colby College's Christmas Chorale do a Lessons and Carols service. It was SO cool! Nick and Joel were in the Chorale so that made it even cooler. Joel had a solo. :) I really enjoyed the whole service. It was very well done! They even read some Bible verses in French and Hebrew (and English, of course). Here is a video Dad took during the last song which was my favorite!

You can't see Nick from here, I don't think, but Joel is in the back row just to the left of the wreath. Alot of us SMASHer's came and supported Nick and Joel. We took up a looong row in the chapel. Jenna, Amanda, Amanda's friend Shea (not sure if that's spelled right), Amanda's little brother Ethan, Tucker, Rebecca, Pastor Sam, Seth, Colin, Libby, Jolie, Jessi, Brenna, Corrie, Sarah, Erica, Sarah and Erica's siblings (I can't remember their names), Mr. Stuart, Mr. and Mrs. Estes, Kenan, Linnea, Catherine, and Diana all came! It was awesome!

Tonight, after SMASH, Shannon, Billy and I are spending the night at the Richards. Also, tonight we're going to a Christmas Talent show that Petra planned at her church. I'm mainly going to watch Evan ad Petra sing Baby, It's Cold together. :D Their going to do great!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Service of Lessons and Carols

Today we have another SMASH rehearsal! Hopefully we'll get to Act 3 Scene 3 because that's my first scene. I think we just finished Act 2 Scene 2 last Friday. We're supposed to finish the play with both casts tomorrow...

Tonight, after SMASH, Anna, my family, and lots of other SMASHers are going to see Nick and Joel in a Lessons and Carols service type thing at Colby College. I'm really excited! Nick and Joel are in the chorale. It should be really good! :D

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Christmas Music

So, I'm trying to put together a good Christmas playlist. What are some of your favorite artists and songs? I like upbeat songs (that aren't too lovey dovey) or powerful, beautiful songs that are about Jesus' birth. Some of my favorite artists are Amy Grant, Bing Crosby, Celine Dion, Relient K, Tran-siberian Orchestra, Carrie Underwood and Barlow Girl.
I don't normally like Justin Bieber but he did a REALLY good version of Silent Night.


Barlow Girl did a really cool version of Carol of Bells.


Celine Dion did a beautiful job with the song O Holy Night.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Spartan Soccer Update

One of my new favorite games is Dutch Blitz! It's so much fun! I'm not too good at it but it's a fast card game which I like.

Last night I went to go watch Billy, Shannon, Pastor Per, Josh, Mark, and Pastor Tracey play soccer. I watched them with the eldest Tracey, Anna and with Jenna. Our team lost 4-0. It was an exciting game though! Except Josh got kneed in the eye. :/ I think Mark got hurt in the quad and ankle too. A good thing about the game was that Billy made an amazing save! There was a break away and Billy caught up with the guy but before he could stop the ball our goalie slide tackled the ball and stopped the guy on the other team but the ball kept going and the other guys were catching up but Billy like dove into the goal and kicked the ball away before it went over the goal line! :D

Monday, December 5, 2011

Wright Visit!

On Friday, before SMASH, I did a special hairdo on Anna that I sort of learned and sort of taught myself. It looked REALLY pretty on Anna. I wish I had a picture of it. I also put a silk flower that Anna made in her hair by her ear.

At SMASH I didn't get to do my scene but it was still funny. It was only our second rehearsal and we're doing really well with lines and such! It's going to be a REALLY good play for both casts!

After SMASH Anna, Shannon, Billy and I headed to Anna's house. On the way there we stopped at a Dunkin Donuts. Shannon and I got coffee coolattas, Anna got some hash browns and Vanilla Chai, and Billy got nothing.

We eventually got to Anna's house so she could grab her gigantic blanket because I don't think she has a sleeping bag.

After a few wrong turns we finally got to the Wrights. :D We got a tour of their ginormous house and then we all played a couple exciting games of foosball. When we were done playing Foosball we played Round Robin  Ping Pong. That was REALLY fun! I never won but I came in second once. We were all pretty evenly matched but I think Ben won the most. Shannon, Anna, and Maggie took a break so Billy, Ben, Josh and I played a little bit of doubles. It was Clarkes vs. Wrights... We didn't really keep score but the Ben and Josh obviously won. :)

For supper we had some delicious Lasagna and Garlic Bread! Mmmm! It was so good! During supper we talked about Much Ado About Nothing, roller coasters, and how thankful we are for having Christian parents. :D

After supper we drove to Dairy Queen because it was the last day it was open for the year. :) That was really good! I got a mini Midnight Truffle. It was sooo sweet with lots of fudge chunks.

When we got back and finished our ice cream we played Dutch Blitz! That game is SO much fun! I really stink at it but it was still lots of fun!

After Dutch Blitz we played President for awhile. At first, I was President and then Billy or Shannon took my "seat". Eventually, the Wrights and Anna caught on and were President, Vice President and on the higher end of the neutrals. I think when we stopped playing the game I was scum... :)

After President Ben, Billy, Shannon, Josh and I played Hearts. I'm pretty sure Ben or Josh won.

By the time us girls went to bed it was about 1:45am. :)

The next day we had delicious apple and cinnamon pancakes and bacon for breakfast! It was really yummy! After breakfast we went outside and played around with two frisbees and a soccer ball. That was pretty fun! Billy, Ben and Shannon were up on this cliff type thing while Anna, Josh and I threw the frisbees to them or kicked the soccer ball to them. Anna's knee was getting sore so she and Maggie sat down and watched. I had Anna use my camera to take some pictures.

Ben, Josh and Billy being all cool in plaid.

Josh.

Josh.

Me.

Uuhh, me.

Ben and Billy.

Shannon, Billy and Ben. I think this is right after I fell down trying to get the frisbee and quickly changing my mind and  going after the soccer ball instead. They all laughed at me as you can see.

Beautiful Maggie watching us.

We went inside and played Catchphrase for awhile. Even Mr. Wright played Catchphrase with us! At first it was girls vs. guys but when we had Mr. Wright join, we did Wrights vs. Clarkes and Anna. I think and the guys won once or twice and the girls won once and then I think the Wrights beat us once and then we beat the Wrights once. I can't quite remember.

We all played the "Hand Game" at the dinning room table. Maggie won and I came in second. I was surprised I did so well.

After the "Hand Game" we played Foosball again. Which ever team Josh was on would win. It just wasn't fair...Unless you were on his time. :P Ben had to leave for work while we were playing Foosball. :(

After Foosball we ate some delicious Apple pie baked by Corrie. We had to leave after that. :( So, we said our goodbyes and left. *sigh* We had SUCH a good time! I hope we can plan to do something like that again. Thank you Wright family for your wonderful hospitality! :D

Mr. Wright, Josh and Ben doing dishes (being hospitable).

Friday, December 2, 2011

Fun Weekend Coming Right Up!

Last night Anna slept over so she could come to SMASH today because she didn't have a ride. Last night we played Phase 10. Anna won! :) After Phase 10 we watched Super 8. That was a pretty good movie!

When the movie was over Anna, Billy and I went over our lines. This is going to be a GREAT play! Yesterday was our first rehearsal and it went really well! Most every had their lines down already!

Today we have another SMASH rehearsal. I'm not on until Act 3 Scene 3 so I'm not sure if I'll get to act today. I hope so! After SMASH Anna, Shannon, Billy and I are going to the Wright's house for a sleepover! I'm really excited! Hopefully on Monday I'll be posting pictures of our visit.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

SMASH Rehearsals Begin!

Today is our first SMASH rehearsal! I'm REALLY excited! It should be lots of fun! We are having both casts meet at Pastor Sam's house to figure out how things will work. I'm really curious to see how rehearsals will work with two casts practicing in two different locations with one Director... Maybe we'll all practice at the same location. We'll see!

Anna is sleeping over tonight after SMASH! :D I'm really excited for that! She's such a fantastic friend! <3

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

President!

Yesterday we had our last makeup SMASH class. Billy, Anna and I missed the classes in October because we had soccer. I think there were some other people who missed the classes but ended up dropping out of SMASH because they were too busy to do SMASH. Pastor Sam ended last night's class 20 minutes early so Anna, Tucker, Rebecca, Corrie, Brenna and I played President. Anna had to leave at 8pm. :( When Jolie arrived she joined in on the President game. I was president almost the entire time! :D Tucker was president probably about 4 times. Nobody else was able to take "my" seat as president.

Yesterday, I was researching colleges. I'm looking at becoming a Cosmetologist. It just looks likes SO MUCH fun! I REALLY enjoy doing hair and nails. I'm not too interested in learning about makeup but learning about skin sounds kind of interesting. I still want to do Photography but on the side. :)

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

My Weekend

Last Friday we cleaned the house in preparation for 18 guests! Shannon, Abbey and I made ALOT of home made chicken fingers. We also made mashed potatoes and corn. It was a very American meal. :P We had Mr. and Mrs. Estes, Nick, Joel, Kenan, Linnea, Catherine, Diana, Martin, Mr. Kidd, Mrs. Kidd, Kevin, Millie, Grace, Darby, Lilly, Rebecca and Tucker over. :)

First off, Nick and Joel arrived early. While Nick set up their projector for the movie Joel did some school work. Around 5pm the Kidd family arrived. :) About 45 minutes or so later the rest of the Estes family, Rebecca and Tucker arrived. After a few minutes when every got settled we had supper. Immediately after supper we started the movie. We watched the Star Trek movie. The younger kids (Linnea's age and down) watched The Parent Trap in my parent's room.

When the movie was over we all had dessert and then Tucker, Billy, Millie, Kevin, Grace, and Catherine played Hearts or President in Billy's room. Everyone else sang songs from musicals. My throat was beginning to hurt so I joined Linnea, Kenan and Darby and watched The Parent Trap II. We didn't get to finish it but it was really funny! After awhile the Kidds had to leave, then the younger Estes, then Nick, Joel, Rebecca and Tucker left. That was LOADS of fun!

On Saturday my family had a pretty laid back day. Except I didn't really have a laid back day. Mom and I went in town and cleaned our church ad got Mom's pay check at her work. When we got home I ate a quick lunch and then I went over to Ellayna's house for a few hours. We looked at senior portraits and played Just Dance on the Wii. I went home after that. Calvin was visiting us until Sunday so that was cool. We ate Mom's delicious Turkey pot pie and then I had to go babysit for the Hanscoms.

Miles played on the computer for a little bit while Maddie and I played Battleship. She just barely beat me at that. Miles wanted to watch a movie so we watched Evan Almighty. I don't recommend it... I didn't like it. It was about how God spoke to a congressmen to build an ark because a great flood was going to come. They make fun of the Bible story of Noah's Ark. Since Mrs. Hanscom wasn't getting home until 2am from her gig I decided to sleepover. Mom picked me up at 7am the next morning.

On Sunday we had church. Mr. Kidd preached. :) That was cool. After church Jenna, Calvin, Millie, Grace and Kevin came over for a visit. Millie, Kevin, Calvin and Billy played Hearts while Grace, Jenna, Shannon and I played President. After awhile we all got pretty hungry so we ate a snack. After the snack we all played spoons except Calvin. Calvin took a nap. We stopped right before 4pm and cleaned the house a little for home group. Mrs. Marston, her son Isaac, Jinny, Mr. Kidd, Mrs. Kidd, Darby, Lilly, and Shannon (not my sister) came to the home group.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving Day!

Billy is pretty much all better from his Strep Throat. Shannon is recovering from her cold too. I just recently got a cold with similar symptoms but not half as bad. I had a sore throat from Friday night to Sunday. Now my throat appears to be fine except a little cough but I have a stuffy/runny nose now. It's not too bad though. :)

Our Thanksgiving was SO much fun!! We went to Aunt Debbie and Cousin Ryan's house for Thanksgiving. We got to their house around 11am. We watched part of the Macy's Day parade on TV for a bit. We all played Apples to Apples. Dad doesn't normally play Apples to Apples but he said he'd play if Ryan played and Ryan played. :D Dad ended up winning with Ryan in second place... Funny how that works.

After Apples to Apples, I mashed potatoes for Aunt Debbie and then it was time to eat. Aunt Debbie did SO well at making the turkey dinner. It. Was. DELICIOUS! :D

After the turkey dinner us Clarke kids played Phase 10. We didn't finish the game because we decided to play Left Right Center with Mom and Aunt Debbie while Dad and Ryan napped. We played a couple rounds of that. I can't remember who won those rounds.

All except Ryan watched Willy Wonka on TV. Ryan left to go back to his apartment. After the movie was over we said our goodbyes to Aunt Debbie and drove home.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Friends, Laughter, Doctor Who, and Nasty Colds

Friday evening Shannon and I drove over to Corrie's for a sleepover. :D That was SO much fun! When we first got there we talked with Jolie, Brenna and Jessi for a bit while Corrie showered. After awhile we all sat around the living room and talked about movies. :) 

Once the DELICIOUS pizza that Jolie had made was ready, we ate it while we played Hand and Foot. We didn't finish the game but I think Shannon and I came in last. We also ate some chocolate and cookie dough ice cream. :D 

After Hand and Foot Brenna, Jessi, Jolie and Shannon went to bed. Corrie and I stay up and talked for a long time. :) I. Love. Corrie. She's so, so, so fantastic!

The next day Corrie and I woke up around 11am, had breakfast and then all of us girls (minus Jessi because she had to work) drank coffee or tea and talked until Shannon and I had to go home so Shannon and Billy could go pick up Sean in Rockland.

While Shannon and Billy were gone I helped Mom clean the house. It was kind of hard because the turkey in the oven was SO big that it was making something burn and smoke in the oven so the house was really smokey. :/ We got most of the smoke out of the house by keeping the front door open with a fan blowing the smoke out.

When Sean, Shannon and Billy got home we started making all the side dishes for a turkey dinner. Tim, Angie, Gabe, and Adeline showed up around 5:30pm. Supper wasn't going to be ready until 6:30pm so we got to play around with Gabe and take turns holding the adorable little Addie. :) The reason we had a turkey dinner was because the Leach's are going to Angie's family's house for Thanksgiving.

Having Sean over was lots of fun. He and Billy set up this box thing that connects our TV to Netflix, Pandora, Youtube, you name it! :) It's cool. Sean, Shannon, Billy and I didn't do much besides talk, laugh and watch Doctor Who because Shannon had to work, and Billy wasn't feeling well.

Speaking of Billy not feeling well... We think he as Pneumonia because he has a fever, cough, shortness of breath, sweating, shaking chills, chest pain, head ache, muscle pain, and fatigue. I looked up the symptoms online and asked Billy if that's how he felt and he said he has all of those symptoms.. :/ He's going to the Doctor's this evening. This is Billy's second time of getting Pneumonia. Poor guy. Prayers would be appreciated! :)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Soccer Banquet!

Last night was my soccer team's end of the season banquet. The Mom's planned it and made it really fancy! They had the captain of the boys varsity team (Nate) recruit some boys on the boys soccer team to go around serving random Mexican dishes. :) That was nice. They had milk chocolate and white chocolate fondue with strawberries, pretzels, and bananas available for us to dip in the chocolate. They had a huge variety of mexican foods for supper,  chocolate and mints at each table setting. They even had a little photobooth for parents and teammates to get their picture taken by a photographer. They had another photographer take team pictures.The coaches had speeches for each team member. That was really sweet. They had a "red carpet" for us to walk down when the coach gave us our certificates. :) I won a table center piece which was a little paper box with a fake, battery powered candle in it and green and silver sparkly tree things. It was a very well done banquet!
Kelly, the varsity goalie, who is only a sophmore was awarded a special, framed certifcate meaning she is one of the best goalies in western Maine. A couple of the girls on Varsity made it to the All-stars too.

Tonight Shannon and I are going to sleepover at the Donahue's! I'm really excited! I love the Donahue girls so much! <3

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Work Day with the Richards!

Yesterday morning Billy got picked up by Tucker and Mr. Frink to go to Bridgton. About ten or fifteen minutes later Mrs. Richards, Rebecca, and Corrie picked Shannon and I to go to Bridgton.

When us girls got there, Billy, Kevin and Tucker were trying to "break into" the garage because they didn't have the keys, Mrs. Richards did. :) Pastor Sam drove in soon after that and put us right to work. Malia, Shannon, Pastor Sam and I got a whole bunch of hoses connected into one long hose so we could reach where we were going to have the bonfires. Yes, bonfires. :D That's plural. All of us ladies and Pastor Sam started the first bonfire by getting lots of the wood we needed to burn. Malia, Corrie and I hand sawed some small trees into reasonable carrying sizes. After while, Mrs Richards watched the fire while Malia, Corrie and I went to go help Shannon, Rebecca sand a stairway that had been recently mudded. Once most of the hall was done Shannon, Rebecca, and Corrie went to go help Mrs. Richards with the bonfire. Malia finished off the ceiling while I touched up the walls and got behind the railing. Once I was done I went down to the bonfire and helped a little. Malia had to leave when she was done with the hall so we all said "good bye" to her. After a little while it was lunch time! Rebecca and Shannon volunteered to watch the bonfire while we ate. Just before we were about to pray for the food Mrs. Richards decided to let Shannon and Rebecca come up for lunch while she watched the fire.

Lunch was some sort of vegetable soup with kielbasa or something in it and an optional side of Quiche. I didn't try the Quiche but the soup was yummy and hit the spot! :D During lunch Daniele (a friend of Rebecca, Tucker's and mine) arrived! That was cool!

After lunch Daniele, Rebecca and I had Pastor Sam inspect the stairway to see if it was sanded enough. He had us sand the ceiling and one little section again. When we were done that I swept the stairway while Daniele and Rebecca went and played the piano for a little bit. The. Stairway. Was. SO. DUSTY! I swept from the top to the bottom of the stairs and by the time I was done my shoes and pants from my knees down were pure white! I had to carefully walk outside of the garage and then shake the dust of my legs. :D There was a cloud of dust behind me when I was done shaking it off. I swept it a second time and then Rebecca, Daniele and I let the dust settle a little while we check on the bonfire. Shannon and Corrie had started a whole other bonfire and the other one was almost down to it's coals.

Daniele and I painted the stairway a "pear glaze" color which is pretty much a creamy white. That was alot of fun! I used Billy's iPhone to play Tobymac, Phantom of the Opera and some other random songs. Painting seems so much easier when you listen to music. :)

When we were done Daniele went down to the fires and Mrs. Richards gave some hot chocolate for me and some for me to bring down to Daniele. Shannon, Corrie, Rebecca, Daniele and I roasted marshmellows and made a few s'mores. It started raining pretty steadily so Daniele and I went up to house and played airsoft with Billy and Tucker. We had the BEST battlefield ever. It was in a thick forest area with just TONS of pine trees about 5-7 or 8 feet tall! PERFECT for airsoft! But we didn't play in the woods for long because it got pretty dark so we couldn't see. We ended up having an open field with a view trees and other things as cover. Daniele and Tucker were on a team and Billy and I were on a team. Daniele and Tucker technically won because I ran out of amo sooner than I thought (I had clear shots on both Daniele and Tucker but I was blank firing...), Billy's gun jammed and Tucker shot me once. I don't think anyone else got hit.

It was raining pretty hard by the time we were done and it was dark out so we went inside and ate cookies, marshmellows, chocolate, bread pudding and drank water and hot chocolate. Mrs. Richards drove Rebecca, Billy, Shannon and I to our church so we could go to Bible Study. That was SO much fun! :D I was REALLY tired though.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Close Game!

Last night I watched Billy, Shannon, Calvin, Pastor Per, Josh, Mark, Pastor Tracey and the other Spartans play soccer. Jenna came to watch with me and Anna Tracey was there too! :D It was a very well played game. They lost 0-2 but the other team didn't score until the second half! It was very intense!

Tomorrow morning, Billy and I are going to go with the Richards to work in Bridgeton all day. I'm going to try and double up on school today so I don't have to do any school tomorrow.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Super Mini Deerwander Reunion

On Saturday we had a very small Deerwander Reunion at Jenny's house in Naples. That was SO much fun! Millie, Kevin, Shannon, Billy, Jenny, Tina and I played Catch Phrase. That was hilarious! Then we played Mad Gab. That was hard but really interesting.

Ben arrived soon after that. We all went outside and played pass with a mini frisbee then played Ninja for awhile. We all went inside, got hot chocolate or coffee, then played Apples to Apples. I won...both rounds. :) I can't remember all the green cards I won but some of them were "glorious", "Colleen", "patriotic", "dead", and "absurd".

After Apples to Apples Ben, Shannon, Billy, Millie and Kevin played Catan while Jenny and I played Mario Kart and Wii fit. When the Catan people were done we had supper.

Mrs. Ames made some delicious Ziti and garlic bread and for dessert apple pie, pumpkin spice cookies, something with coconut in it, vanilla ice cream and we brought no-bakes. :) After supper and dessert we went for a night walk to the lake. We couldn't get super close to the lake because it was fenced off but it was REALLY pretty. The stars were really bright and the moon was full. :D
Ben left after the walk. We got a group shot (minus Ben) and some goofy pictures. Billy, Kevin, Shannon, Millie and I left after that. We drove to the Morris' house for the end of game night with our church. We played pictionary with almost everybody there. Our team lost by like one point. We went home when the game was over. :)

Friday, November 11, 2011

Marble Nails

Last night Shannon and I ate supper at McDonalds while Billy, Calvin and Dad waited around for Mr. Estes, Kenan, Linnea, Catherine, and Diana to show up. When they got there Linnea, Catherine, and Diana got their supper and the guys left to go play Table Tennis (ping pong). Once the Estes girls finished their supper we went to the Lewiston Middle School to watch Cinderella performed by CLT. It was REALLY cute and well done! :D

Here's a picture of my friend Meredith and I. She was a couple small characters in Cinderella.


After the play we drove the girls back to our house where Mr. Estes, Kenan, and Calvin were hanging out with Mom, Dad and Billy. We all talked a bit and then the Estes brought Calvin home on their way home.

Yesterday, I painted my nails marbled. It's kind of like tie dying your nails, it's REALLY cool! Here's a picture of my left hand.

It's really easy to do too! Here's the video I learned it from. Mine doesn't look very marble-ish, it looks more like tie dye. I used bright orange, dark blue and darkish pink and somehow I got purple, light pink and light blue on my nails. The orange didn't really change much. :)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Cinderella

Tonight, Shannon, Linnea, Catherine, Diana and I are going to see Cinderella performed by Community Little Theater. Sarah and her Mom might come too. I can't wait! It's a musical which is awesome because I love musicals!!

Yesterday's seminar was pretty good. I thought they were going to talk more about pricing but it was more about how to promote your business and get more customers and such. I pretty much already had an idea how to do that stuff but not very well. It wasn't boring though! :)

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Indoor Soccer!

Last night I went to go watch Shannon, Billy, Calvin, Josh and the other Spartans play a game of indoor soccer. Calvin isn't officially a Spartan yet. But hopefully he can join the team. It was a pretty good game! The other team had about 2 or 3 subs and our team how zero subs. For having no subs, the Spartans did really well! They lost 4 or 5-0. The other team only got like one goal in the second half. :)

This after noon, Dad, Tucker and I are going to a Marketing seminar for small businesses. I'm pretty excited because I think there's a lot to learn from this seminar for me. :)

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I Am Number Four

Yesterday, after church we had Calvin come over for the day. For lunch we ate bratwursts. :D I loooove bratwursts! Then we played Hearts for a couple rounds. We didn't finish the game but Billy won.

We watched a movie called I Am Number Four which was REALLY cool! If you like action movies with aliens, you'll like this! There ARE a few swears but it's not too terribly bad.

Monday, November 7, 2011

The GREAT Teen Weekend!

Last Friday Shannon drove Billy and I to Camp Good News for the Great Teen Weekend. We got there right before the Cornerstone Baptist Church people got there. When they got there we put all our luggage into our assigned cabins.

When everyone got settled in we had supper. Mr. and Mrs. Field were the cooks for the weekend and they made DELICIOUS food! For supper we had chicken pot pie minus the crust part with freshly baked biscuits!

After supper I believe we had Club which is singing and a Bible study. But after the music and before the study we did funny, short games done by Mrs. Wright. The first game Mrs. Wright did was where she picked four people (two guys and two girls. Each guy partnered with one girl.) and they each had to hold a tall candle in their left hands and a squirt gun in their right hands. Mr and Mrs. Wright lit the four candles and then they had the get their partner's candle out by squirting water with the squirt gun. Their faces got pretty wet. :)

The study was about being a leader and what God looks for in a leader. He looks for humble people. :) Also, that we are leaders even if we don't know it. We lead by our example.

After the study I believe Anna and I played fooseball against Parker and Noel. We beat them once and they beat us twice. After fooseball we ate delicious brea sticks with pizza dip.

After snack we played Murder! :D That game is so much fun! Don't judge the title. :P How it usually goes is you get a small piece of paper for each person that's playing and depending on how many people are playing you either put in 1-4 murderers in the game by writing the letter "M" on however murderers you choose to have on the pieces of paper. For example, the first round we played we had two murderers and two detectives. Detectives try and figure out who the murderers are.  So, out of all the pieces of paper we had, we wrote the letter "M" on two and the letter "D" on two of them. To start the round we turn out the lights and Mr. Wright counts to ten so we can all spread out through out the building. They way the murderer kills is he or she whispers into some one's ear and says, "You're dead.", then the person who got whispered to has to wait ten seconds, scream, then fall over "dead". After 10 minutes or so the round is over and the lights are turned on. The dead people go into a corner where a couple coaches are and sit out a round. The next round they become zombies. Zombies get to leave ten seconds before the living people and find a place to stand. They can't move their feet when the next round starts but they can reach out with their arms and if you get touched by one then you die.  All the survivors go into the circle and "go to sleep" while the detectives accuse who they think the murderers are. If the dectives are right then the murderer dies. It's a REALLY fun game! Anna and I would pair up and run through the halls to avoid dying. :D

After Murder I think we went to our cabins to go to bed. Shannon was my cabin counselor. That was fun! We played some "get to know you" games, talked about the Bible study, went outside to look at the stars for a little bit, and then played telephone until about 1:30am. It was lots of fun. :)

The next day most of us slept in until about 8am, then we got ready for the day. For breakfast we had a yummy sausage egg casserole thing. It was really good! After breakfast we had Club. The game Mrs. Wright picked out was human bowling. She picked Shannon, and I to "bowl" Billy. I'm pretty sure our team lost. Heh! Oh well!
The guys and girls split off for the Bible study. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to share what we talked about on here so I won't. :)

After Club I believe we played Do You Love Your Neighbor. That was lots of fun! :D After that we played Whack A Friend. That game helps your learn people's names. How you play is you have some one start in the middle like Do You Love Your Neighbor but they have an "official whacker". Some one in the circle starts by saying,  "Their name, someone elses name". For example, if I started I'd say, "Colleen, Anna" and then the Whacker would try and whack Anna before Anna says, "Anna, Emily". You have to try and say your name and then some one else in the circle's name too. If you're too slow and you get whacked then you're the new Whacker and the Whacker takes your seat and you have to turn around and face the previous Whacker and they start the naming thing again. Once everyone got used to eachother's names Mr. Watson (the guy who made up the game) had us pick a fictional character and go by that name instead. That made things even harder.

After awhile we stopped, played some fooseball and then had lunch. For lunch we had these calzone type things. They were really good! :D

After Lunch we had to go to the outdoor Basketball courts and do this hard balancing and teamwork game. It was pretty hard! We had 3 big empty tomato sauce cans and two long boards about 6 inches wide, I think. We had to get across the basketball court without our feet touching the court or the boards touching the court. Our team almost tied in first with team 1. We were team 3. Team 2 lost.

After that we played Soccer. We had 3 different teams that were equally matched. The team I was on tied in first with the team Billy and Shannon were on. :D

After Soccer, we played Ultimate frisbee! That was a blast! We combined the three teams into just two teams. The team I was on won. I'm not sure what the score was though.

We went back to the main building and had homemade donuts! Mmmmmm good! After eating those delicious donuts we had Club. This time Kori picked the game and it was for Mr. Wright, Mrs. Wright, Shannon, and Scott to do since they are adults. (Mr. and Mrs. Watson were supposed do it instead of Shannona and Scott but they had to leave early) The game was to stick a popsicle stick in their mouths and they had to stack 5 die on top of the popsicle stick. It was tough but Mr. Wright got it. :)


That dice game.


After Club we played fooseball a bit more and then had supper, cleaned up after supper, took a group picture, packed up then said our goodbyes. :( It was such a
GREAT weekend!


One of the many games of fuseball.


Group Picture!

Friday, November 4, 2011

New Phones!

Last night we got our new phones in the mail. :D We got Wildfire Androids! They're really cool! Using a touch screen full keyboard is going to get some getting used to but I'm excited! I won't be able to call people as much but I'll have unlimited texting which I prefer. :D

Last night Billy had his soccer banquet. That was really good! Mrs. Mulherin made a really good video of pictures and videos from through out the season. The food was delicious and Coach Davis and Coach Juntura did a great job speaking for their team. :)

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Pictures of Beauties

Here are pictures of beautiful Adeline!


She. is. adorable!

Corrie's senior pictures were a success! She's so pretty! Here are a few of my favorite shots.
Sorry, this one is sideways.


Corrie had to incorporate drawing into her senior pictures.



My favorite one is the first one. She has beautiful eyes! There are alot more pictures but you'l have to ask Corrie to see those.
If you ever want to do your Senior pictures I highly recommend Vaughan Woods! It's beautiful!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Nail Art!

Last night I got to meet Adeline. She is beautiful! She is SO cute and has either dark brown or black hair with dark brown eyes. <3 I'll post pictures tomorrow. Angie's side of the family has to meet Addie face to face first.

Today I'm going to do Corrie's Senior pictures. We tried to do them last month but one of us was either busy or the weather wasn't good. It's supposed to only get to about 50 degrees today. I'm hoping it won't be too cold! I'm really excited to do her pictures.

Yesterday, I did a cool design on my nails that my friend Nina told me about. Here are some pictures of it.

This one says "Nina's happy" backwards. :)


It's really easy to do! All you do is paint your nails a light pink or grey, let them dry completely, dip your nails into rubbing alcohol for five seconds, then put the newspaper on the nail for 20 seconds, peel off, then paint a clear coat over the nail. Easy!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Major Excitment!

Yesterday evening Dad brought Gabe over to our house because Tim needed us to watch Gabe because it appeared that Angie was ready to have her daughter. :D Watching Gabe was lots of fun! He's such an adorable bundle of energy!

Turns out that Tim and Angie had their daughter last night at 9:54 pm. She weighs 5lbs, 9oz  and is 19.5 inches long. Her name is Adeline Jean Leach! I'M. SO. HAPPY! I can't wait to meet her!!

Monday, October 31, 2011

Daddy's Birthday!

Last Saturday was Dad's 50th birthday! Mom and I tried to plan a little surprise party but it was waaay too short notice. Only a couple people made it. Pastor Per, the Belanger's, and the Kidd's were the only people who made it. Pastor Per and the Belanger's came over and talked for a bit. Mrs. Belanger made Dad a chocolate cake with Hershey kisses on top! :) It was delicious! After awhile the Belanger's and Pastor Per left.

The kid Kidd's visited us for the rest of the day. :D Us girls raked our front yard while the boys put dirt on the end of our driveway because we have a pretty bad sink hole kind of thing there. Then we all raked Claire's yard. It got REALLY cold by the time we finished raking so we quickly went home and drank some hot chocolate.

Us girls went to the Richards' house to have supper with the Durocher family, the Estes family, and some other various people. The purpose of the supper, I believe, was to have the Durocher family meet other Christian families and to be made welcome. :) It was ALOT of fun! I got to know Lydia and meet Susan, Selathea, Melanie, and Austin. We played Apples to Apples, and talked quite a bit during supper. :) We had to leave during Apples to Apples but I think everyone stopped playing when we stopped. We gave hugs and on our way out we had a little snowball fight with Catherine, Linnea, and Kenan because it was SNOWING! :D The snow is only like 2 inches deep but it was still nice!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Movie Review on Courageous!

Courageous was really good! I didn't cry though. :) Which is a very good thing! I was sitting beside Kenan and he was laughing alot so that was probably what kept me from crying. I ALMOST cried during one scene but that was because I was laughing so hard. My favorite character was Javier! He was soooo funny! Oooh, it was such a good, well rounded movie. There were sad parts, happy parts and funny parts! I definitely recommend it.

This afternoon, I am going to go Pumpkin carving with Sarah, Shannon and Casey. It'll be real fun!

Tonight, I'm babysitting two kids until probably laaaate tonight.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Courageous!

Tonight, we are going to see Courageous with the Estes, Mr. Farris (and maybe his family), maybe the Belangers, and maybe the Richards too! I CAN'T WAIT! Courageous is supposed to be a REALLY good movie. I'm excited that we get to see it with some REALLY good friends! :D

Today, I'm going to try and start working out every other day. I want to get stronger for Softball in the Spring time and I don't want to get lazy during the wintertime. The next few days are supposed to be really cold!  In fact, tonight there's a 40% chance of snow! I can't wait for it to snow!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Someone Like You

Today, Jenna is coming over to visit! It's going to be fun!

Yesterday, Leavitt Girls Varsity Soccer had their play off game. They lost 0-1 with five minutes left in a fifteen minute overtime. It was really intense and frusterating.

One of my first blog posts I shared with you Rolling In The Deep by Adele. Well, she did another song called Someone Like You. It's kind of a sad song but I like her voice. :)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Fun Day!

On Sunday we went to church! I was blowing my nose all through out the church service because I have a cold. But, I believe the sermon was about God being in control.

After church the Kidd's invited us over to visit. First, we went to Hannaford to get some groceries. When we got the Kidd's house we ate lunch and watch a little kid movie called Jakers. That was cute. After the movie, Billy, Millie and Kevin played Risk while Shannon and I taught Gracie, Darby, and Lilly how to play President (the link to President isn't exactly how we play President but it's pretty close). Once Millie, Kevin and Billy finished Risk, they joined our game. We had President, Vice President, Positive Neutral, Negative Neutral, Vice Scum, and Scum. The Neutrals subbed in with the extra people we had so everyone could play. We played President until it was time to leave.

We were the first ones to arrive at the Richards' besides Malia. Eventually, Nick, Joel, Kenan, Mrs. Estes, Olivia, Evan, and Mr. Stuart showed up. We played Round Robin Ping Pong. I absolutely LOVE that game. You have two paddles in the game but anywhere from 3-10 or so people can play. Let's say we have 8 people playing, one person on each end and three people on each side of the Ping Pong table. One person on the end starts with the ball, serves it, and moves to the side of the table while the person to the server's left comes and takes their spot. You pretty much go in a circle around the Ping Pong table hitting the Ping Pong ball once and then you move away. If you miss the ball or hit the ball twice on your side of the table or hit it too hard and it completely misses the table then you're out. Once it's down to two people you just spin around after you hit the ball. You get pretty dizzy after awhile. It is SO much fun!

This is kind of a random video but it shows how Round Robin Ping Pong goes most of the time. I got a bruise on my hip from running into the corner of the Ping Pong table during one round. I think I came in second that round anyway. :)

After quite some time, people played Spoons, President, or actual games of Ping Pong, or just talked. Eventually we all played Ninja! I came in second like once and then I got out pretty fast in all the other rounds of Ninja. Billy, Tucker, Joel and sometimes Kenan would be the Ninjas that last the longest. I think Billy won the most. Before we left, we circled up, some people shared things they learned in church that day or that God taught them through out the week. We closed in prayer, then left. Thank you Richards' family for hosting it!

My cold is almost better already! :D

Monday, October 24, 2011

Tumbledown is Breath Taking!

Last Friday Corrie and Jolie were not able to pick me up for her Senior pictures. :/ But Around 5pm Mr. Estes and Mr. Cates picked Shannon and I up from our house. On our way to the Estes, Mr. Estes dropped Mr. Cates off in Augusta where his car was.

When we got to the Estes, we talked for awhile, ate mozzerella sticks, then Linnea, Catherine, Diana, Gretchen, Abby, Ellie, (Linnea's friends) Shannon, Kenan and I played Apples to Apples. We didn't get to finish the game because it was time to eat supper. I think Ellie had the most green cards though. We had homemade Mac and Cheese. Mmmm good! After supper we sang Happy Birthday to Linnea and had cake and ice cream.

Linnea blowing out the candles!

Linnea's cake

I believe we watched Singing in the Rain after that. I LOVE that movie! :D It's old but soo good! We only watched half of the movie because we had to go to bed and get up around 6am the next day.

The next morning we packed lunches, and bagels for breakfast on the road. When Mr. Estes, Mr. Stuart, Shannon, Ellie, Gretchen, Linnea Catherine, and I got to Tumbledown, we saw my friend Sarah's cousin (Aaron) who Rebecca knows from Tucker's soccer. That was kind of cool!

Tumbledown was AMAAAAZING! We got to squeeze through caves, admire God's beautiful creation, sing songs, and get to know one another better.

Us at the top. From left to right: Mr. Stuart, me, Mr. Estes, Catherine, Ellie, Rebecca, Shannon, Linnea, and Gretchen.


It was alot of fun as you can tell on our faces in the picture. :D

After the hike, we visited with the Estes until about 10pm. They are such an amazing family! We looked at cool and old pictures on their computer, shot rubber bands, talked about Fireproof and played Speed Scrabble.

Tomorrow I will blog about Sunday!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Yet Another Busy Weekend to Come

I was going to take a portrait of one of Dad's customers, and Senior pictures with Corrie but Dad had to go to Portland for most of the day so we had to cancel. If Corrie can pick me up, I'll still do her Senior pictures.

Around 4 or 5pm Mr. Estes will probably pick me up from the Donahue's to go to the Estes' house for Linnea's birthday party. A few of Linnea's friends that are her age, maybe Rebecca, Shannon and I are sleeping over and then going on a hike Saturday morning and afternoon. I wanted to go to Rebecca's concert tonight but it didn't work out.

After the hike, I'm going to babysit the Morrison's (Zack, Nikki, and Mitchell) until late Saturday night. I haven't seen them in awhile so I'm excited for that.

On Sunday, we're bringing Calvin to church again. We're just going to relax all day Sunday because it's like our only day off from being busy. :)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Pasta Dinner Fundraiser!

Tonight, my soccer team and I are hosting a pasta dinner as a fundraiser. It's $5 in advance (through me or one of my team members) and $6 at the door. It's at the Leavitt Area High School Cafeteria from 5:30-7pm. If you live close enough, you should come! It's going to be delicious! Mr. Bifulco, (one of the teachers at Leavitt) is Italian and was ever so kind to help us ALOT with making the dinner. It's more like we're helping him.

My niece still isn't born yet. Any day now! I'm SOO excited! You don't even know. The thing is, we're really busy this weekend so I hope she's born when we aren't busy. Haha!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Exciting and not so Exciting Soccer Games

Yesterday Sarah, Rebecca and I watched the Winthrop boys varsity soccer game. Sarah's cousin is on the team so that's why went to go watch it. They lost 6-0... We missed the first half but the other team scored most of their goals in the first half so it wasn't so bad after we got there. Heh!

Last night we also watched the Leavitt Girl's Varsity Senior Night under the lights. That was a very exciting and intense game!!! Leavitt was losing for most of or all of the first half (0-1) and then Desiree scored to tie the game! With about 5 minutes left of the game Tori scored the winning goal! It was SUCH an awesome game!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Senior Night

Today Sarah and I are going to her cousin's soccer game in Winthrop. Hopefully, Rebecca will be meeting us there. After that soccer game, Sarah and I are going to watch the Girls Leavitt Varsity's Senior night game!

Last Sunday was the due date for Tim and Angie's daughter to be born. She's not born yet but any day now she will! :D I. AM. SO. EXCITED! She'll be my first niece. <3

I'm considering doing Nordic Skiing this winter. Depends how much commitment the coach is asking for and how much commitment SMASH is asking for.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Strong Enough!

On Friday night Sarah, Mrs. Pare and I went to the Matthew West concert in Lewiston at the Vineyard Christian School. It. Was. Amazing!!! :D I had SO much fun! It was so cool! I didn't get to meet Matthew West but I was about four rows away from him at one point. One of my favorite songs that he played that night was Strong Enough.

I didn't get to buy any Matthew West CD's or anything because I didn't have enough money but I bought a guitar pick necklace that Jonny Diaz's (the guy who opened for Matthew West) wife hand made.  The guiter pick has "Stand For You" written on it.
I liked Jonny Diaz's song Beauty of the Cross.

On Saturday I had my last soccer game. The game was at Nokomis. We lost 1-0 but we played really well!

Saturday afternoon Millie and Grace came over for the night. :) We baked an apple pie, and an apple crisp. We also watched X-men: First Class. That was a very good movie!

On Sunday, Millie, Grace, my family and I went and picked up Calvin then we went to Church. The sermon was about "Paying Much Closer Attention" to God and not to drift away.

After church we went home for a bit. We played a little basketball, then we listened to a sermon from Saturday's Presbytery (which most of us missed because of soccer) thing. We wrote down points and illustrations from the sermon and at the end we had to summarize the sermon. When we were done that we got ready to go to the Donahue's for a bonfire.

We were the first to arrive at the Donahue house. We played pass with the soccer ball for awhile until we all went inside for a drink of water. We then played frisbee until the Richards' showed up. After they showed up, some people played ping pong, some played with the frisbee again. Eventually the Estes, Amanda, and Jenna showed up too. Kenan and I played Darts for a little while. We didn't really play an actual game we just tried hitting the bullseye and threw the darts from different angles and such.
Every one roasted their hotdogs over the fire. People roasted marshmallows afterwards too! We all talked around the campfire for quite awhile. Some of us went inside to hang out in the living room. Nick, Joel and sometimes Tucker entertained us with some talented piano playing and some singing. :D Most of us played Spoons for a bit until people had to leave.
Thanks Corrie and the rest of the Donahue family for planning such a fun night!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Matthew West Concert!

Today's Soccer game and practice was cancelled due to the rain. It's our last game too! It'll be rescheduled for tomorrow or Monday.

Last night Sarah texted me asking if I wanted to go to the Matthew West Concert tonight if our game was cancelled. :D I just hope the concert isn't sold out! Matthew West is one of my favorite artists! He has good lyrics and a good beat! I can't believe he's coming to Lewiston...TONIGHT! That's crazy awesome! So, if the concert isn't sold out by now, I'm there (with Sarah and her Mom, of course)!  My favorite songs by Matthew West are Something to Say, Life Inside You, and Stop the World. With his Fall Tour, I'm sure I'll come home with some new favorites. :)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Soccer Season is Coming to an End

Today is my last soccer practice of the season. It wasn't a very good season if you count how many games we lost but it was certainly a fun season. Soccer is a fantastic sport!

Last night we had a game at Camden Hills. We lost 5-0. The game ended early because it was so dark out. It was also REALLY cold! I could see my breath!

Tomorrow, I have my last game which is as Nokomis.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Fantastic Monday!

Monday morning my family and I cleaned the house. Later that morning Rebecca and Samantha dropped Calvin off for a visit. We ate lunch and then while Dad took a quick nap Calvin, Billy, Shannon and I played Hearts. We only got to play two rounds but, I had the lowest score so I won. :)

We went apple picking at Wallingfords. We only filled on big bag because we didn't have much time. While we waited for Dad to pick us up we took pictures of eachother in these wooden things where you stick your face through a whole in the wood and it makes you look like a cow, or a pig, or an apple.

An apple and I picked and polished.

Calvin, Billy, Abbey and Shannon at the apple orchard.

Those wooden things I was talking about.

The three kids in the tree aren't moved out of the house but Abbey is...

Naughty twins...

"Why so serious?" in Chinese.

"Colleen Clarke" in Chinese.



When we got home from Wallingfords, Shannon, Calvin and I baked an apple cake. Shannon, Calvin and I played Pig and Around the World with the basketball until the Estes came. Nick, Joel, Kenan and Linnea joined in on our game. Jenna, Corrie and Jolie showed up eventually. Nick and Calvin owned at Around the World! Shannon eventually quit and went and made Apple Crisp with Corrie, Jenna, Jolie and Linnea. I was about the same level as Joel and Kenan at Around the World. We eventually quit because the game was lasting forever. After a little while, we all got ready to drive to the local Soccer field to play Ultimate Frisbee.

We only played Ultimate for a little while because the Estes couldn't stay too long. Millie, Grace and Kevin showed up soon after we got to the field. The team I was on lost 3-5. Abbey, the Estes, Jenna, and Dad drove back home while everyone else walked back through the woods.

When we got home we started a fire in the fire pit. We cooked hotdogs, marshmallows, and apples over the fire. We made s'mores and ate freshly baked apple crisp and apple cake and we ate lots of Oreos! It was fantastic! While we were sitting around the campfire our friend Jenny from Deerwander stopped by with her mom and sister. That was a delightful surprise! After probably an hour or so of talking Jenny and her family left, and Dad took the Kidd's and Calvin back home. Jolie, Corrie, and Jenna hung around for a bit longer. We drew random things on each others arms. :)

Corrie drew this on my forearm.

And Corrie drew this on my tricep area. It wore off a little. :/