Evening of Laughs

Our sweet little Mandy has been in pain for a day or two. One of her toenails was growing into the skin, and she said it hurt. On Friday, Dad tried to cut it but could not. He's still not sure what it is, but it's hard for Mandy to walk or apply pressure to it.


Nothing much has happened this week. On Friday, Mandy and I were called last-minute to babysit Avalyn and Kiera's cousin Clayton. He is the sweetest boy with the cutest smile and laugh. We had a good time watching him. He liked to push us over gently, and he enjoyed us picking him up and then he would fall backwards again. This week, Mandy and Seth learned about the annual Geneva retreat. Instead of going to northern Georgia, they and the other students are going to Virginia, where they will be going to a farm for a week. I am envious about them going places, but I am reminded I took off ten days in my junior year to travel to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington DC. This means a week at home alone with Mom and Dad. It'll be much quieter, that's for sure, and Mom will get another break. She definitely needs one.

Tonight, we went to the Murphys' house for supper. We ate Little Caesars and enjoyed good conversation. Little Emma was adorable and squealed and laughed as Mandy played with her. The Murphys also introduced us to "The Office," a TV show about a boss and his workers. We had not laughed so hard in a long time, and we added the three seasons to our Netflix queue. We're looking forward to watching it.

The Busy Saturday

Well, I have ordered the bridesmaid's dress for Brittny's wedding. I am a bit freaked out because the size 8 was too tight in the back, so I will have to wear a size 10. Mom keeps telling me that dress sizes vary among the styles. But still, a size 10. Well, it's a gorgeous dress. I've been wondering how I will walk down the aisle with such a long dress and in heels. I am not a very graceful person, and I don't want to step on the dress. Oh, well. I've got a few months before I have to worry about that. The dress should come in late October, and then I will have it altered to fit me and my petite frame. I'll be sure to try it on and post a picture of it. In the meantime, here is what it looks like.

http://www.davidsbridal.com/bridesmaids_bycolor_detail.jsp?stid=2982&sid=15395&cfid=61

On Saturday, after I ordered the dress, Mom, Mandy, and I went shopping for several hours. We went to Old Navy, where Mandy wanted to buy some clothes. If I had had the cash, I would have gone shopping as well. She bought three cute shirts, and one is like a striped tunic with a hoodie that screams "Mandy" all over it. After Old Navy, we went to H Mart, an Asian food mart that sells the cheapest and freshest fruit. Mom loves buying her soy sauce from there, and she is especially excited since they are building an H Mart close to our house. Then, we went to Costco to buy supplies for Geneva/ church. It was hilarious to see us pushing this cart of cookies, crackers, gatorade, granola bars, and such. One can only wonder what people think about us. Our car was packed to the gills with stuff, and we had to warn Dad and Seth not to open the trunk.

In regards to our hot water heater, you can be assured that we now have hot water. We replaced the whole heater. Mr. Tripiano from church helped Dad put it in Friday and Saturday. It is nice to have hot water to be able to wash dishes and do the laundry. Speaking of hot, that is no longer what Georgia is right now. The past few days have been pleasantly cool, and the mornings are beginning to require sweaters. On Sunday, Dad, Mandy, and I went for a walk in the late afternoon, and we were not sweating at all. We are entering the fall stage. Well, at least we can be grateful that we no longer really need to have the fans on in the house. I think very soon it will be time to get down the sweaters and go shopping for fall clothes.

It Had to Happen

I spoke too soon yesterday when I said nothing interesting had happened. Well, something else did happen. Our hot water heater is out of service. Dad had suspected it a few days ago, but we were not aware of it. This morning when Dad got us up, he informed us that we had no hot water. It seems the cooling and heating parts of the house are conspiring against us after we have known them for almost twelve years. We joke around that we're going back to primative days. All we need is a log cabin in the middle of the woods, and we're good. Well, we have survived without air conditioning in muggy, hot Georgia. Surely we can survive without hot water.

What's Up?

Times have been busy for us Cunninghams. Mom had a biology test or quiz yesterday and scored a hundred. She's been working hard lately with cleaning the church and school, teaching classes everyday, attending college, and then caring for us. Because of her schedule, this means simpler meals such as grilled cheese and chicken caesar salad sometimes. Seth and Mandy are doing well in school. Every Wednesday, she babysits for another family from church. Seth is still mowing his lawns every other week.

College is going fine. Today I had an algebra test and a computer test. Thankfully, I had several hours between the classes to study. However, these breaks are often boring. Next semester, I will be sure to organize my classes better so that I do not have to go in every single day. I am applying for a job at the college library, and I hope I get it. For English, my class has begun a series of "blogs", more like message groups, that only students and teachers from GGC can read. It is divided into teams, each team defending a certain political issue. I am on a team with two other people, and we are responsible for commenting on other blogs, posting an essay once a week, and posting article links and their summaries. My team is slow. One of the members is not working at all, and the deadline for choosing a name has already passed. I get to write about how the Bush Administration has not helped matters in Iraq and that we need to change that. Exciting stuff. I've made a friend in college. She is in two of my classes, and her name is Blair. She is nice, and I enjoy talking to her. It's nice to be able to talk to someone as a friend when you are in a place full of complete strangers. Quite a big change from Geneva.

The weather is cooling down here. Nights are becoming cool, and the temperature during the day is going down as well. At college, some yellow leaves are beginning to fall sporadically. The house is no longer an oven, but we still turn on the large fan in the evening. The mosquitos are bad, and so are the ants. We have been plagued by the ants a few times these past few weeks. At college, they are especially bad. I like sitting outside in the sun because the buildings are cold and dreary. In the front of one of the buildings are several benches and such to sit down on. Most of the time, I sit down on a bench to read or study, and sometimes these ants will appear out of nowhere and begin to plague me, even when I am not eating. They seem to be attracted to my backpack for some reason, but I have no clue why. Speaking of which, my backpack is a pain. I have to climb up and down stairs a lot, and the backpack must weigh between twenty to thirty pounds with the laptop and a few large books inside. I tried using another backpack, but it only hurt my shoulders (without the laptop inside). Well, enough of my college ramblings.

Nothing much has happened in our family lately, and we are not expecting anything new to happen. Well, actually, I am going to get my bridesmaid's dress for Brittny Greer's wedding on Saturday. I'll be sure to post a picture of it soon.

For Cat Owners

Dad got this video from a coworker. It's hilarious, but only cat owners will really be able to appreciate it. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo

Labor Day

I'm still kicking myself since I forgot to bring the camera to the family get-together for Labor Day. I really need to start taking more pictures since the blog looks empty without them.

Well, we slept in on Monday. Dad went to go cut a few lawns that Seth usually does (since Seth didn't want to do them). He came home sweaty and dirty and told us about how he killed a snake with the lawnmower. Mom was cleaning the church to clean up because we had potluck on Sunday and because we had school the next day. We kids did our chores and worked on our homework. In the afternoon, Dad took Seth out driving, and he did pretty good considering he has never driven before. He wants to get his permit soon.

Around four o'clock, we left the house and stopped by the store to pick up some sodas. We ran into some traffic on the way but were not late. As usual, we were the first ones to arrive at Grandma Linda's house. Uncle Josh and his crew arrived next, with their dog Kona in a tow. Kona is a year old chocolate- colored dog. She used to be totally out of control but has calmed down somewhat. Uncle Josh brought her along to keep Tucker the puppy company. Tucker did come with Uncle Jason and his family. He has grown big in only a month. Tucker was curious about Kona and liked following her around. At one point, the two were wrestling in the yard. It was hilarious to see Kona flip Tucker over and then him get up and then get knocked over again.

Supper was lasgana, rolls, salad, and some fruit. Dessert was red velvet cake and ice cream. We have had three birthdays recently: Dad's, cousin Noah's, and Uncle Jason's wife Aunt Nancy. The older kids sat outside while the adults and younger kids sat inside most of the time. There were humorous stories. Grandma offered money to us kids if we could find and get rid of an annoying green frog that has been plaguing her. For example, it decided to hide in her patio umbrella and then leapt at her when she opened it up. She sprayed it with bug spray, and Mom said it was probably dead already. Aunt Nancy entertained us with stories of Tucker wrecking her house and expressed her anxieties as she wonders if she is expecting a boy or a girl.

Dad and his brothers went over to Uncle Jason's in-laws' house to move some furniture, and they took Tucker home so Aunt Nancy wouldn't have to worry about him. Seth, Gabe, and Noah played "Settlers of Catan," Seth's favorite game that he always wins. Mandy kept the little girls in line and played with them while I hung around with the adults.

Among the topics of discussions were upcoming family gatherings. We are still debating over who is hosting Thanksgiving. And, there was also talk of the big family trip down to Florida next summer. Because our family is huge, we can no longer squeeze everyone into six bedrooms. We are going to be looking for a house with seven bedrooms on the beach. We haven't been down to Florida for a couple of years, and I think we are all looking forward to this family trip. It will be a week of happy chaos, swimming, playing in the sand, tanning ourselves, and taking lots of pictures. I hope we can go.

We left Grandma's house around 8:30 and drove home through the backroads to avoid traffic. Mom did some work for her science classes, and we kids got ready for bed. And that was Labor Day.