Memorial Day

Well, Seth and Mandy are done with school for the year! Last Friday, we went to the church/school for the awards ceremony. I didn't have my camera with me, so there are no pictures. However, I can give an account of what happened. This year was different since there were no seniors. Instead, some of the classes either did little presentations or had little boards with writing, sample papers, and the like set up in the back of the room. I did a slideshow of the school's recent trip to the aquarium and had it run constantly on my computer for about an hour after the awards. During the awards, there were several things to replace the usual senior speeches. The Spanish class did a little skit about going to the doctor, Mrs. Boyd's class did a discussion of a poem, and Pastor Chris's Bible class read their final papers on various topics. After that, the awards were given out. Mandy received the award for Most Improved Student because she did such good work the spring semester, and she received an English award along with three of her classmates. She was also a nominee for the Latin award, but she was beat out by her younger classmate Micah who did well the entire year. We were very proud of her. After the awards, we got together to enjoy the food and some fellowship. Mandy spent the night with her classmate Megan, and the rest of us went home. We decided to celebrate the end of the school year and stay up late to watch "Underworld", though Mom fell asleep ten minutes into it.

Saturday was busy. Mom and I cleaned the church for almost two hours. Then we went to Target to find a black dress for Mandy, who needed it for a costume party that evening. It took as a while to find it. While we were looking, a storm came in, and I mean a big one. It was coming down in sheets, and I couldn't see the parking lot because it was so thick. After we went to Target, we went to a few other places and then home. Ben and Bethany Greer, Cliff Price, and Christopher Strevel came to our house for dinner since they were going to the party as well. We enjoyed fried rice and part of a movie before they left. The costume party went great, but I have no pictures of it. I do know that it was like a 20's mystery/murder party where all the guests had a part to play in the story.

Today was the annual Memorial Day picnic at the Howlands' farm. We arrived there around 11:30 or so and left closer to 5 PM. We had a blast. There were various activities to do like wiffle ball, a hay ride, boat rides, conversation with friends, volleyball, and other stuff. I took over two hundred pictures, but I could only add 60 to a Facebook photo album. To give you a taste of today's festivities, check out the the link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20709&l=a0220&id=603748360

We're going camping between Wednesday and Saturday, so I'll make sure to post more pictures and more of the happenings of the Cunninghams.

Some pictures

I've got some pictures that I've taken lately.

Trip to the Aquarium:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18592&l=45a69&id=603748360

A recent family gathering:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=18888&l=72c31&id=603748360

Random pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19434&l=33737&id=603748360

I've finished my first year of college. I have two A's and a B, and I'm waiting for my English research paper grade. Seth and Mandy have their last full week of school this week and then three days of finals next week. My first week off from college was nothing spectacular, although I did go shopping with Brittny on Thursday. I had a good time, and I got some new PJs, some tank tops, a new skirt, and some body wash. Mother's Day today started out as dark and cloudy because of severe thunderstorms last night. It later turned sunny and was breezy though pleasant. Right now the wind is still blowing hard, and it's getting to get cooler tonight. Happy Mother's Day!

Funny Incident

Here's something funny I'll post before I forget. I was asleep on Thursday morning (since I didn't have classes) when Seth and Mandy got up. Mandy was still in dreamland and decided she wanted to bring pizza for lunch. Instead of putting it in a container, she put it in the microwave and began heating it up. Seth asked her what she was doing, and she answered that she was bringing pizza for lunch. He then asked her why she was heating it up, and then Mandy realized what she was doing. But by the time she stopped the microwave, the pizza was piping hot. Funny, to say the least.

Oh, and keep an eye on the blog. We took a trip to the aquarium with some friends last week, and I'm editing a slideshow on it. I'll be posting it here soon.

Recently

Sorry for not being more diligent with posting. It's been busy around here lately with college winding down for the summer and other events. I hope to post more regularly over the summer.
For me, this is my last week of the 2008 spring semester. I turned in my English research paper a few weeks ago, which meant I am done with English. Digital media's last real class was on Friday, and yesterday was a brief review for the final on Wednesday. Geography is over too, and my final is open-book on Friday. I've already given thought to what I'm going to take in the Fall, and for now I'm taking the following: English 3 (which is actually literature this time), Spanish 2, Music, Physical Science, Physical Science Lab, and American History 1. Last week, I received an email saying that I had made the Presidents' List for Fall 2007; this basically means that I had a 4.0 during the Fall. I attended a boring and un-inspirational breakfast with other fellow schoolmates on the list yesterday morning.

Friday was fun for us girls and our daddy. The Baileys up in Winder hosted the second Father-Daughter campout. We drove up there and had fun camping out with our friends. It was nice weather, and I walked barefoot the entire time (which I now regret because I have bites all over my arms and legs). The next morning, we enjoyed pancakes for breakfast and some of the girls returned to the Baileys' large backyard pool. On our way home, we stopped by Grandma Linda's house to say hello.

The weather has been fickle for us. It seemed to be warming up, even into the 80's during the day and the 60's at night, but Sunday, Monday, and today have been cooler than usual. We've been getting lots of rain with thunderstorms on Fridays and Saturdays (which seems to be happening every single week, no kidding). Our grass is looking gorgeous, tall, and green, and the flowers have bloomed everywhere. Our trees have lost their flowers, sadly, as they never last long. Mom's begun planting her spring backyard deck plants, and Dad has moved his hops plants to the side of the house. Dad's been using controlled fires to burn out the weeds and poison ivy in the backyard, and he's also been slowly working on putting up a tall, wooden fence in the backyard to replace the metal one that was placed upside down by whoever put it there. It is nice to have warmer weather, and I've been sitting outside to get a tan, which hasn't happened yet.

School is winding down for Mom and the siblings too. Mom has her final on Thursday, and she's already finished her biology lab final. Seth and Mandy have a few weeks left of school. Seth might be returning to work at Radiant this summer, and Mandy's going to get a part-time job working at a hair salon run by one of the men at our church. I'm looking for a job as well, something close to home that doesn't involve working at fast food or a gas station.

And now to talk about the cats. Pooky, the big fat gray girly idiot of a cat, has become a big bully around here. He loves instigating fights with Claws and Oatmeal especially. He doesn't suck on necks as much as he used to, but he still kneads and sucks on us. He's no longer the sweet, poor cat; I'm so ready to get rid of him. Oatmeal has undergone a huge change in personality ever since Mom has forcibly kept him in the house since he had a tendency to wander. He used to be so quiet and didn't really have a personality. However, ever since he's been in the house, he's changed a lot. For one thing, he has become so playful. There is a small brown rope from one of Mandy's hoodies that he loves chasing around like he's a kitten. He's also become more loveable and loves rubbing on us. When he purrs loudly, he sometimes grunts, which we take as a sign he is very happy.

Well, I've gotta dash. I got a final tomorrow to study for. I'll try to post again soon!

Bobby's Bad Day

I had a digital media project due on Friday, and the project was to make a 3 minute movie. I didn't know what I was going to do until Mom said that since some of the boys were coming over to learn how to brew beer that I should just film a movie with them. Cliff was gracious enough to write the screenplay and the story, so I had no clue what we were filming until fifteen minutes before we even started.

Instead of filming the whole thing at once, and following my friend Blair's method, I filmed several little pieces and then made a whole. It was funny. However, things changed quickly when the local neighborhood punks ranging between ages seven and ten showed up and started asking stupid questions and bothered us. Cliff got one wet with a water balloon, and the kid didn't seem to care. However, later, his father approached us and sternly told us not to touch his son even though we hadn't.

Busy times

Sorry for not posting for a few weeks, but it's been pretty busy around here. I've been working on an English paper (which I've finally finished) for two weeks, and I've got two digital media projects to turn in next week. Typical end-of-the-school-year stuff.

It seems spring is finally here! The weather has been warmer, and it's certainly been raining. Two of the trees in the front yard bloomed beautifully, but they've lost their flowers. The cloud-9 dogwood has white flowers, and it's beautiful. The lawn is nice and green, and it's not as sparse as it has been.


Seth celebrated his 16th birthday last week. We bought him a frisbee and a croquet set, just like he asked, and he's partially paying for a new computer for himself since he wants a faster one so he can play games on it. On Monday night, Mom made Focacia sandwiches and went off to her college class. We were expecting Dad to be home to celebrate Seth's birthday with us, but he was forced to stay at work until 2 AM, which has never happened before. We were bummed that he didn't get home until late, but we made up for it the next day. On Tuesday morning, Mom made apple and cheese muffins (which were excellent) and bacon, and we all sat around the table for breakfast. Then, later that night, we went to Five Guys for dinner, as that was Seth's dinner choice.


Last week was spring break for Mom, Seth, and Mandy. They definately been enjoyed their time off. Mon was busy, but none of it had to do with school. She was sick earlier that week, but at least it was that week and not during a school week. On Wednesday, Mandy suggested that we do something fun over spring break besides stay at home and do nothing. So, last Friday they planned to go on a picnic at the park with the Greers, but it was too cold and misty to go, so they didn't.


Last Tuesday was a big day for Mandy. After breakfast with Dad, Mom took her to the orthodontist, and she got braces on her top teeth. Mandy was excited about it, but now it's far from glamorous. Her teeth hurt her all week, and a wire was sticking out and poking her cheek. It's been hard for her to eat. It was humorous on Tuesday night at Five Guys. Mandy was slowly chewing her food in a manner much like that of a cow. It was funny to watch her. Because the wire was poking her cheek bad, she went to the orthodontist on Thursday to get it cut. The woman merely pulled the wire, and now I believe it's poking Mandy's other cheek. She's bummed out she can't eat certain things, and I feel her pain, although I don't remember them being that strict with me about forbidden foods.

Events of This Week

The big event for this week was Mom's 40th birthday. On Monday night while Mom was at classes, Dad, Mandy, and I went to get her birthday presents. Dad couldn't find her a birdhouse at Home Depot, but Mandy and I found the CD "Raising Sands" that Mom wanted. When we got home, Mom was already there, so we had to hide the CD in my pajama drawer. On Tuesday morning, Dad went early to Wild Birds Unlimited, Mom's bird store, and picked up a bluebird house for her since she's been wanting one. He also delivered a dozen red roses to her at school, and they are sitting in a vase on her desk, adding further color and life to the classroom. After Dad got home, we gave Mom her CD and her birdhouse, then we went to Zaxby's for dinner. We then went to Blockbuster and picked up a few movies. We all watched "Dan in Real Life," a cute movie we all enjoyed, and Mom and Mandy watched "The Mist," which neither of them liked.

This week has also been the week of sickness. On Monday night, Bethany Abraham called and asked if I could watch Kiera the next day while she took Avalyn, who was coughing, to the doctor. On Tuesday morning and early afternoon, I watched Kiera, who is almost two and is such a cutie. On Tuesday night, I had a bit of a sore throat but didn't think about it. On Wednesday, I didn't feel so well, and I have a bit of a cough and a runny nose.

Tuesday, besides being Mom's birthday, also meant two dentist appointments for Dad and me, as both us were getting crowns. Dad got his permanent on, and I got a temporary. It was an agonizing experience. The dentist kept shoving bad-tasting cement in my mouth and told me to "open wider!" No mercy for a small-mouthed person. The numbing effect didn't seem to want to work, as I had to get two shots to feel numb, but the numbness lasted less than an hour after my appointment, so I was not feeling great afterwards. Thankfully, the pain died away in time for dinner at Zaxby's. It is weird to have something new in my mouth and also to chew on the right side and not the left. On April 10th, I go back to get the permanent crown. Oh, and I don't want to forget that next week, over Geneva's spring break, Mandy is getting braces. I'll be sure to get pictures of her mouth.

And, much to my happiness and relief, I found my battery charger for my camera! It was under the hutch, where the stupid cats most likely pushed it under there. But, now I have some pictures of the new beds. Speaking of the beds, we are not the only ones ejoying them. The cats have been loving the new mattresses. Sometimes, at night, I get three cats on my bed and during the day, the cats love sleeping on Mom and Dad's new bed.