Fall Invasion

The Cunningham house has been invaded! All men to their posts! No, literally, I mean it has been invaded. By the creepy, gross cockroaches. They seem to be popping up everywhere, especially in front of Mandy, lately. The reason is unexplainable since we have never had this many before. Perhaps they're tormenting Mandy for some unknown reason. She's been seeing the most.

But I have my own tale of fright to tell about these gross pests. Last weekend I had to shower before going to the church's annual Thanksgiving dinner. I got into the shower and screamed when a cockroach fell from the curtain and into the shower. Dad heard me and merely said that the roach was more afraid of me than I was of it. Well, that didn't stir me up to take up the weapons of war and fight. I turned on the water and pointed it at the roach, hoping to drown it. At first it seemed as if I had succeeded, but no. (Sadly, I learned the next day that roaches cannot be drowned). I did not know what to do. There were no shoes in the area, only some bottles of soap. I grabbed Mom's shampoo bottle and waited until the roach was confused by the water. SLAM! I hit it as hard as I could with the bottle. I had just about disembodied the pest, and it was still moving. So, I kept hitting it. Finally, it stopped moving. Permanently. Ugh.... creepy bugs.

Mandy's beloved Bubba Dubba had to go to the vet last week. It looked as if he had gotten into some fight, and something was sticking out of his eye. It was disgusting to look at. We took him to the vet and discovered that his third eyelid had been ripped. They did a little surgery, and Trouble was home the next day. He had to wear the dreaded Elizabethean color, which meant that we had to keep the yowling cat inside. But, Trouble looks much better. He's been taking to sleeping with me at night and snuggling with me after I wake up.

This year, we had two Thanksgiving feasts. First, last Saturday was the annual church turkey dinner. We enjoyed the beginnings of the feast and enjoying fellowship with our fellow believers. Then, on Thursday, we went to Grandpa Mike's house. The whole clan was there. We enjoyed mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, stuffing, ham, a turkey (which tasted and smelled divine), and much more. We stuffed ourselves, and it was hard not to go back for seconds or thirds. It was a fun time.

We Cunninghams only had two days of school this week: Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday in computer class, someone brought in a Wii game console. I enjoyed bowling and playing tennis with a few of my classmates. On Wednesday, we lounged around all day watching TV and playing on the computers. On Friday, we were busier since Mom and I cleaned the church and Mandy had (is having) two friends over. It's been nice to sleep in for a change. After this week, I'll only have two more weeks of classes and then a week of finals. I'm excited to be almost done with my first semester of college.

Some Pictures

Here are some pictures to enjoy.

First, here is the bridal party for Brittny. Only one bridesmaid is missing.

Second, here is me in the blue bridal dress.

And lastly, here is my new phone that Grandma Gail gave me. Thanks, Grandma!

Relaxing at Last

For the first time in weeks, we Cunninghams had a relaxing weekend without being expected to be somewhere. It was great!

But first, the week. Nothing memorable happened during the first half of the week. On Wednesday, it was a different story. Chubbs, one of Pooky's sisters, who is the sweetest, most lovable female cat we have, went to a new home. For a while, Dad has been trying to cut down on the cat population from eight to four. Well, we found a home for Chubbs with the MacCallum family from our church. She left Wednesday morning while I was at school. From what we heard, Chubbs has a new name and is doing splendidly with the MacCallums. It was sad to see her go, but we're happy she's adjusting well. And, it appears as if one of the other cats is gone. Oatmeal, Trouble's older brother and Boo's oldest surviving kitten, has been a wanderer for some time, wandering from the house and rarely venturing back. He had a hideout in the cul-de-sac behind our house, but we went there a week ago to find him with no success. We think he's moved to a new hiding place. He's been gone for almost a month, I estimate. This may mean that our cat population has dropped down to six. Now to get rid of Pooky, Claws, and Socks. Speaking of Pooky, yesterday (Sunday) he caught and killed a goldfinch. In Mom's mind, the cats can kill all the squirrels they want, as long as they leave the birds and chipmunks alone. Well, Pooky found the dead bird later and gobbled it up whole. Or from what I was told. Disgusting cat.

On Friday, the church's homeschool co-op had their quarterly performance, with a dinner this time. Seth and Mandy went to help out, so Dad, Mom, and I stayed home. We watched "Bourne Supremacy," and Dad brewed two types of beer. After Seth and Mandy came home, we decided to watch "Chronicles of Riddick" since Mandy wanted to see it before we returned it. We went to bed after midnight. This meant sleeping on in Saturday morning, which was wonderful.

On Saturday, Mom and Dad got up and took the van to the car shop. The stupid brakes had been acting screwy despite the fact we had just fixed them a few months earlier. They also did some errands. We kids got up late and did our chores and homework. After Mom and Dad came home and had lunch, it was fun time. Grandpa Mike, instead of buying presents for Christmas this year, gave each family some money. We kids got a hundred dollars each. For Mandy and myself, we both had clothes shopping on the brain. We got our money and eagerly waited to go shopping at Kohls. We spent a few hours over there. Mom found herself some pretty shirts, and Dad got himself a few shirts as well. Mandy found a black polka- dot top and some black pants. I found myself four pretty shirts. I had the hardest time finding jeans because they all were too skinny- legged, didn't have my size, or are the low- riding ones that I can't stand wearing because it feels as if they're about to fall off my hips. When we stopped by Wal-Mart later, I found a nice pair of jeans that fit me perfectly. I was ecstatic since I only had one pair of jeans that are looking peaked. We returned home, then Mom and Dad went to go get the car. Then Mom and I went to go clean the church for Sunday. We spent less than two hours cleaning, which was excellent. Then we went home and stayed there for the rest of the evening.

Sunday was hilarious. After church, we stayed and talked as we usually do. Well, Cliff Price accidentally got left behind by his mother. She was horrified when she found this out later. We took pity on Cliff and took him home with us. It was fun to have a guest over. Mom, Seth, Cliff, and Mandy played Settlers of Cataan. Then when Mom went to have her nap, we kids went outside. We were going to film a video but discovered the recorder did not work. So, we took a walk instead. We all had a deep conversation regarding teens in our church. We then went to night church, where Cliff went home with his family.

All in all, it was a relaxing weekend. Thanksgiving break is quickly approaching, and we're looking forward to a break from school. I've checked my calender, and after Thanksgiving I only have two more weeks of school and then a week of exams. I'm almost done with the first semester of college. Yea! This week I'll be registering for spring classes. Today, I should be picking up my altered bridesmaids dress. I'll be sure to post a picture of it. And also a picture of my new, blue cell phone/ music player/ camera that Grandma Gail gave me. It's a cool phone. Now to start downloading music for it.

Busy, Busy Weekend

We Cunninghams had a busy, busy weekend. Seth has recovered from his cold and is back to his old self. The weather has taken a turn for the colder side, but the strange thing is, not all the leaves have fallen despite the fact it's November. It looks more like October with a bitter chill in the air than early November.


On Friday, we had our sci-fi night. John and Cliff Price couldn't make it, so we just had the Abrahams over. The girls are so cute! Avalyn is quite the chatterbug, and Kiera has the cutest smile. We watched "Chronicles of Riddick" and ate burritos for dinner. Mandy, by the way, was not home that night. She was spending the night at Uncle Josh's with Sunny. Speaking of which, the Cunningham family is only getting larger. Uncle Josh and Aunt Sarah are expecting their fifth child next year. That means Grandpa Mike will have twelve grandchildren. I, the oldest, will be nineteen, and the new baby will have just been born. Scary.


On Saturday, Mom woke me up so we could go to Brittny's wedding shower. We drove up to the Houschton area. The house in which the shower was held was big and roomy with a gorgeous kitchen that makes all the ladies envious. After enjoying a brunch and opening the gifts, we got a few pictures of Brittny with her bridesmaids. It turned out good, except one of the bridesmaids was not there. It was funny because I'm the shortest bridesmaid of them all. I should get my finished dress by this weekend, and I'll be sure to post a picture of it.


After the wedding shower, Mom and I dropped Mandy off at home and then went back to the church to do our Sunday cleaning. It took us two hours, as usual. Dad met us at the church, and we drove back up to Jefferson, this time for the monthly family gathering at Grandma Linda's house. We had chili and hot dogs for supper, and we celebrated Granny Kline's birthday with a German Chocolate cake. The kids had fun playing Mafia, and I was always convicted of being the Mafia despite the fact I was innocent (except I was guilty once but got away with it). We also had the opportunity to see baby Audrey Mae, who still looks like her big sister Abigail. The adults also discussed Thanksgiving and Christmas. And now, I can participate in the adults' White Elephant/ Attic gift gag.


On Sunday, something hilarious happened. We were getting in the car to go to church when either Seth or Mandy said that there was a cat on top of the house. It turned out to be Claws, the biggest and fattest cat of our eight. She had climbed onto the roof using our van. We had to get going, so we tried to coax her down. We failed. Dad set up a ladder on our back deck in case Claws would get down that way. That was about nine twenty. We arrived home from church around two o'clock due to the church potluck after service. Mom and I arrived home first, and we saw Claws sitting on the roof. She meowed at us, and we managed to coax her down. She was certainly hungry after being on the roof for five hours. I would be too.

Halloween

Well, Halloween has come and gone. For the first time in seven years, Seth and Mandy went trick-or-treating. They went with the Strevel kids Christopher, Caroline, and Claire and with Cliff Price. They had a blast dressing up. Seth dressed up as an 80's punk, and Mandy wore Mom's bridesmaid's dress with my black Spanish shawl. The night was pleasant and not too cold. Mom had biology class at Perimeter, leaving Dad and me at home. We went to prayer meeting and then to the Strevel home to pick up Seth and Mandy. They had accumulated a lot of candy, and we are looking forward to enjoying it.

However, Seth has not fared as well. On Wednesday night, Cliff noted that he was looking a bit pale. Seth had trouble sleeping last night, and I could hear him shivering from my room. This morning, Mom felt his head and determined he had a fever and chills. She gave him some ibuprofen and let him go back to bed and sleep. Knowing Seth, he'll be fine when we get home this afternoon. Like Dad, he recovers quickly from illness.

Tomorrow will be busy. Seth and Mandy will dressing up for Friday in some form of uniform. I don't know what Mandy will be wearing, but I know what Seth is. It is frightening. He's wearing Dad's blue navy uniform, and it fits him perfectly. On Friday evening, it will be the sci-fi night with the Abrahams and John and Cliff Price. I'm not sure what we're watching yet, but Mom's planning dinner. Also, on Saturday, we have a wedding shower to go to, as well as the monthly family gathering.