I'm Back

So, I finally realized how to sign back in to my blog account! I apologize to everyone (especially my sisters) for being a lazy girl.

This semester has been a whirlwind already!  This is my last semester of college, and it is a weird sensation to almost be finished.  I am reluctantly back at college after a sweet time with my family while visiting Elizabeth and Mary Claire at their college.  Elizabeth was in Sing for Chi Omega and she performed like an angel.  We loved being able to support her.

Sweet sisters at Sing

My favorite part of the weekend was the impromptu meet and greet with friends of Mary Claire and Elizabeth.  We all went to ice cream and met some of the most fun and kindest people in the whole town.  I loved being able to put faces and personalities with the stories I have heard.  I was so proud to see the friends that the girls had made!

I am plunging into the great unknown after this semester.  I am hoping to do a discipleship program for a year at Pine Cove Camps called The Forge.  This program will provide me with an opportunity to grow closer to the Lord in a unique and wonderful environment.  I am mid-interview process with this, so any prayers would be appreciated!

Any other plans are completely up in the air.  I am trying to remaining calm in the midst of the transition, but I am comforted by the knowledge that the Lord has helped me thus far and that He will continue to guide my steps.  Luckily, all of my friends are going through this transition at the same time, and we are able to comfort and provide advice to each other and still have the time of our lives in our last semester!

Enjoy today!

Gatherings

Well hello friends!  Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?  Somehow in the whirlwind that has been my second semester of college we four sisters found ourselves back at home.  All of us, at the same time.  I will never take that for granted again!  It was such a relief just to be with all of my family members.  I come to learn more and more how priceless the encouragement of family is.

We were home for Easter weekend and I know I enjoyed every minute of it!  We had lunch with our extended family and had our traditional Easter egg hunt, which the younger three sisters still participate in.  After a rousing game of Dirty Easter Bunny (we've just recently started playing the gift-stealing game at our holiday gatherings) we waved our extended family goodbye and dyed eggs with just us 6.

I love the smell of vinegar, I think it's because I love dying Easter eggs so much! 

We combined efforts this year and had a joint carton, which worked a lot better for those of us who are a little more meticulous about our egg art. (yours truly)

We went to our Easter Sunday service and then returned home to open our Easter baskets, which were especially well-stocked this year!  I even got a Starburst jelly bean dispenser, which is the best Easter present I have ever received!!  We looked through our baskets on our stairs, which, other than the front porch, is our traditional spot for some reason.  Don't ask me why. 

We had lunch with my dad's side of the family and then had a photo shoot, 

because it seems like I can never find a good picture of us four.  Here you go, with a special thanks to M and D, our faithful photographers!

Of course we had to get Tucker in one, which is easier said than done.  She was camera-shy that day.  

The time at home for Easter was short and sweet, and was the perfect interruption for a busy semester.

Sarah and I were extra busy this semester because we spent most of it preparing for Variety Show, our school's dancing/acting/singing competition.  We practiced almost every day from February to April and I loved it.  It felt great to get back into the swing of learning choreography and figuring out costumes and characters.  Our sorority's theme was The Lion King and Sarah and I got to be lions.  We had so much fun dancing together, and our hard work paid off when our sorority won!   Dad even came up to watch us which was so wonderful.  Here are some pictures of our crazy costumes, hair, and makeup!

 We did each others' makeup, which looked especially scary mid-application!

 Finished!

Here's a close-up of our lion group during the show!

The morning after the show Sarah, Daddy, Karl, and I drove back home to see Mary Claire perform in Hello, Dolly at our high school.  Anna came, too!  Even now I still have songs stuck in my head from it; it was incredible!  I was SO proud of Mary Claire, she was a beautiful Ms. Irene Malloy.  She acted and sang her part perfectly.  

Only a few more weeks are left of school and I can't believe it.  I'm focusing on finishing strong and then speeding home to spend some summer days with my family!  Here's to more memories and blog posts! :)

-E

The Big Apple

After some prompting from this sister, our family decided to take a trip to N.Y.C. over Thanksgiving. Why did you want to go to New York, you ask? I'll be honest with you, it was all to see a guy. I'll give you a hint: boy wizard. Yep, we made a special trip to New York all so that I could see Daniel Radcliffe in his musical, "How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying." I am not ashamed; I am a big fan. And I figured, why not? Our family loves musicals so I figured this was the opportunity of a lifetime to see a musical in New York featuring my favorite actor. And so our Thanksgiving New York trip was born.

We flew in Wednesday evening and our first stop was the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade early Thursday morning.

It was not as cold as it could have been, and it was worth the wait. We loved seeing the floats and balloons and couldn't believe we were actually there!
We toured New York and Central Park, my favorite spot.  I loved the little pocket of natural beauty contrasted with the harsh lines of the city.

For Thanksgiving dinner we went to a family-style Italian restaurant called Carmine's. It was delicious and a very fun atmosphere.

After dinner we went to see the Rockettes. We all enjoyed watching their tap-dancing and kicks and it got us in the Christmas spirit!

Friday morning was shopping time.  Black Friday in New York was a busy adventure but we braved it in search of deals and steals.  After our shopping we headed back to the hotel room to recuperate and watch the ill-fated Razorback game.  As much as we loved being in the city, our relaxing time together in the hotel room was one of our favorite parts of the trip.

The whole week led up to Friday night... the night we would see Harry Potter IN PERSON.  Can you feel the excitement?  We went to eat with our Uncle Robert at a slightly less-than-par pizza joint.  It was so fun to see the city with a "local." :)

And then....

The show was better than we expected!  Daniel was a star and I was so proud!  The whole family loved the play... it was clever, upbeat, and fun.  Afterwards we rushed to the stage exit and waited for an hour and a half to catch a glimpse of Mr. Radcliffe on his way out.  And we got it!  Due to both my and his short stature the picture is only of the back of his head, but it's something!  (The little one in front of the security guard is Daniel!)

We were exhausted by the end of this wonderful trip, but the days away did us good.  We enjoyed our time together and loved N.Y.C.!  

Elizabeth