Summer, Sun, and Hail

Sorry for being lazy lately on the blog, but there's either not something to post about or I think about posting and then forget about it.

Well, first things first. There is a new Cunningham in the family! Last Sunday, Ainsley Clementine Cunningham was born. For some pics, click the link for about sixteen of them (and if I'll stop being lazy, then I'll add more pics that I took last Saturday when we visited Uncle Josh's house to bring the family dinner). When we went to Uncle Josh's house, he showed us pictures of Rivers as a baby, and we realized that Rivers and Ainsley look almost alike. Only time will tell if their personalities will be the same ;)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24962&l=e8710&id=603748360

On Monday, we Cunninghams had a blast at Lake Lanier. At our last youth group, we had gone to an area next to Buford Dam to go swimming. However, that swimming excursion had been cut short because of time. Cliff Price decided to get some people together and have a swimming party of sorts at the same place. We had a nice crowd with the Price boys, Sarah and Michael Howland, Ben and Bethany Greer, Gabe and Noah Cunningham, and then Seth, Mandy, and myself. I didn't take that many pictures because I was swimming, and the ones that were taken were from great distances and are nothing spectacular. We spent about five hours at the lake. Dad came to pick up Seth and the boy cousins while Mandy and I went home with the Greers because we would be going shopping with them the next day. We had tacos for dinner and then the Greers took the Howland kids home. I slept in Bethany's bed while Mandy and Bethany slept in the living room. Ben had some pranks up his sleeve because he pulled them early Tuesday morning. He came into Bethany's room and put aluminum foil on my face (my response? I just threw it off and went back to sleep), and then he threw pillows at Mandy and Bethany. We woke up on Tuesday morning and had breakfast before leaving to go pick Brittny up and then drive to the Tangers Outlet in Commerce. We arrived there around ten and shopped for clothes in the smaller outlet center before going to the larger one. Mrs. Greer packed an excellent picnic lunch, and then we all scattered to various clothes and shoe stores. We finally met up around four o'clock and began the long, hot walk back to the car. Mandy and Bethany mainly bought school clothes (the dress code of blue or khaki bottoms and blue or white polo shirts has not changed in like three, four years). I bought myself a cute blue dress, some black gauchos, two pairs of socks, and a cute gray and green striped shirt (I was trying to shop for more fall-esque clothing and not do the usual summer shopping for tank tops). After our shopping was completed, Mrs. Greer drove me and Mandy home.

Now begins the third exciting event of Monday and Tuesday. While at Commerce, I had noticed large cumulus clouds developing, a sign of thunderstorms later in the afternoon. My prediction was correct when around six thirty it began to grow darker outside and thunder began to rumble. The rain began to fall, and small hail began falling as well. Usually a heavy rain makes out internet connection go down, so we prepared in case the Internet should die on us. What happened next was unexpected: our power went completely out. A few minutes later, a huge branch from the top of a dead pine tree near the house fell on the yard (providentally, no one had been outside at the time, but it could have killed someone), and the yard was a mess (Seth and I cleaned it up about an hour ago, and it is still a mess). The storm began to calm, but our power still did not come back on. Dad went to Uncle Josh's to return his truck that he had borrowed, and he came back and said that some of the houses down the street had power, but the rest did not. Mom had to study for a computer final (which she is taking today), but there was no light, so we went to Boarders. Around ten o'clock, we left because they were closing the store. We returned home, but the power had not come back on. It was dark, and the house was stuffy because of the humidity. We began to worry about all the meat in the freezer, so we decided not to open the fridge or the freezer. We then decided to go to bed because there is little you can do in the dark. Then suddenly, our power came back on after being off for four hours. Dad told us to go to bed and not stay up (except for Mom who studied).

Nothing else much is going on. Mandy is off babysitting the Abraham kids, Seth is doing his school reading, and I am preparing to continue writing my book (I'm almost at halfway point, though the chapter numbers are constantly changing and are not reliable). Mom has a computer final, as I mentioned. Oh, before I forget, we Cunninghams are going to Arizona in a few weeks! We're driving out to Arizona to visit Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom and then on our way back stop to visit Uncle Cal and Aunt Susie. We'll be gone for a little over a week, and we're planning on bringing our laptops (which'll be funny especially since we'll be bringing back a fourth laptop for Mom; this is making Mandy a bit jealous, especially since Seth bought his own laptop a few weeks ago). Well, gotta go. My story is calling my name, not to mention hungry stomach.