North Carolina Trip- Days One, Two, Three, and Four

As I write this, we're driving down Highway 485. We just left our friend's house, where we had an awesome time eating, talking, and playing 'Settlers of Catan.' It's also my younger brother's 11^th birthday, so he got sung to at their house. (They stuck candles in a few pieces of sheet cake from the wedding. Creative, right?) Anyway, the reason I didn't write every night was because I was way too busy to post anything at night- or any other time- as you'll see in the following post.


Day One

This day went a lot like the first day of our trip to Florida about two weeks ago, except we were traveling north, not south. My younger brother and I babysat for the same Bible study kids and had a lot of fun. (By the way, never ever let two-year-olds eat those little pastry things filled with creme. Not a good idea!) About an hour after getting back from that, we were packed and ready to go. Dad and my younger brother had to get a haircut, so us girls- and my other little brother- went to Target. (See the similarities?) Actually, my little brother and I stayed in the car. I attempted to work on something I was writing while he took a nap, but I couldn't concentrate. It was too hot! By the time we picked up my dad and younger brother at the hair-cutting place, it was about 3:30, and you know what time that is... rush hour time! It took us an hour and a half to get about thirty minutes into and back out of Atlanta. My younger brother and I watched a movie in the car, sharing headphones. It was pretty awesome, and I remembered something about the movie I'd forgotten. My name was listed in the orchestra that preformed the music- same spelling and everything! Not only was I in the violin section, but the firsts! (Well, I'm not that good, but I'll be in the firsts if you really want me to!) That was really cool. So we didn't actually get to our friend's house until about 10:30 that night. When we got there, this awaited us.

Pretty cool, huh? My younger brother was so excited! After we partied for a little bit, we watched Jullian Smith videos on YouTube, then clips from Apostles of Comedy. Then, we played Dumkoph, which was a lot of fun, especially since I hadn't played it in forever. At about midnight, our parents said we had to go to bed. Uh, that didn't actually mean we had to sleep, did it? Good, 'cause my friend and I needed to catch up. We talked about anything and everything that popped into our heads! My two sisters fell asleep long before we did, which was funny. Wanna guess just how late we stayed up? 3:45 am! No kidding! It was probably one of my favorite parts of the entire weekend. (Later, my friend and I referred to it as out 'Deep, Theological Discussion.' It sort of was... but not really.)

Day Two

My friend and I slept in, which means we were downstairs eating breakfast by 8:30. TeenPact really messed me up! I can't sleep in any more! (Seriously, can't I get up on time on a school day when I'm supposed to be up around that time?!) Anyway, we had French toast that my friend's mom made with bread that I'd made the previous Monday. I didn't have any, but I've been told it was good. After that, we walked around outside by their creek and played Follow the Judge to Court. After that, we played Pit, which I'd never played before. Sadly, only about forty-five minutes after that, we were out of their house and off to our friend's house. (It was their daughter/sister/niece/granddaughter that got married.) We had a blast!! We ate a little bit (at The Immature Table!), but that was all the sit-down time we wanted. What we were really there for was to play a practical joke on the groom.

Awesome, right? It was upside-down, so we had to fix it. But then the groom made us un-fix it. (Like, literally, made someone.) Anyway, after that, we went outside and took random pictures of leaves and flowers near The Fort (did we ever actually name it?), then Arwen gave the bride and groom a gift- matching pajamas! The bride got to try hers on and we all agreed the nightgown looked really cute on her! After parting, we visited our old house to check on our renters there. It was my first time meeting them and they all seemed really nice! They really liked the house, neighborhood, community, and their church, so that was good! We visited another family that lives in that neighborhood and it was good to see them again. We then picked up a pizza and took it to our hotel. It was yummy! Then, we watched a movie that I'd never seen before- Megamind. It was so funny! Sure, there was a little bit of the typical Dreamworks potty humor that wasn't even funny and a small bit of language, but, overall, it was a good movie. We went to sleep probably a little past midnight and had a great night of sleep, which was good, because we were going to have a big day the next day... Wedding Day!!

Day Three

We got up at about 8:30 again (well, technically, I got up at about nine), took showers, threw on our clothes, fixed up some makeup (ew), and were on our way with some friends to the reception place by about 10:45. It took us a good hour and a half to set up everything the bride wanted there, but it was worth it!


The Candy Bar- YUM!!

The Beautiful Bride!

I remembered why I didn't like high-heels at the set-up for the reception... Ouch! They were like that for most of the reception and banquet- not on my feet. : )

After finishing up there, we walked across the street to where the actual wedding was going to take place. See, the best thing about weddings is the fact that all of the out-of-town people get to see all of their friends that still lived in town. That was awesome! I got to see so many people that I wouldn't have otherwise been able to see.

Then there was the wedding. I have to say, it was probably the funnest wedding I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot. The bride just could not stand still! The groom wasn't quite as bad, but almost. We all laughed several times throughout the ceremony. The music was so gorgeous! The bride was a cellist, so she had about five other cellos and a piano play all of her music. I'm not a cello fan (probably because Arwen plays), but let me tell you what... it was so pretty, I think I'm going to have a half a dozen cellos play at my wedding!

The Happy Couple

Fast-forward a few minutes later to the reception. The bride came up with the wonderful idea of having a Candy Bar, which was a huge hit! But guess who got to serve? Me, Arwen, and my younger sister! That's right. It was a ton of fun, but my back was so sore by the time about eighty kids (and a few adults!) went through, I could hardly walk around at the actual reception! I did manage to take a few pictures, though. Have a look!

After the bride and groom left, most everyone followed suit. But not us! We had to tear down and set back up at the banquet place! It was actually better this time, because tearing down is easier than setting up and the people at the place where the banquet was at did most of the work. (Yes!) A few friends and I got to mess around a little bit, too.

Since everything was mostly set up at the banquet place, we mainly just goofed off and stood around, waiting for people to get to the banquet. After everyone got there, we mainly just had fun. There are way too many stories to tell them all, though, so I'll just say that we had a blast. We ate, danced, goofed off some more, and lit up sparklers for when the bride and groom left for the second time- not to return this time until after the Honeymoon. My family stayed afterwards for about an hour just talking to people, then we crashed at our hotel. The day had gone by so well (except for that few minutes after someone knocked over a picture of the bride- the glass shattered!), and we were all so happy for the bride and groom.

Day Four

(Wow, was that all really just a few days ago? And what I'm going to write was just this morning? Time flies by way too fast when you're having fun!) So, this morning, we all packed up our stuff that had accumulated in our hotel room and drove down to Waxhaw to visit our church. It was so good seeing everyone again, because everyone knows that if you haven't seen anyone in a while, you can just talk to them for forever. The sermon was really good and the time of prayer we had afterwards was equally so. (Oh, how I missed it!) After church, we stood around and talked to people. It was fun, because they hadn't seen my little brother in a few months, and he's really sprouted up. He can say quite a few words now, and is very particular about who he wants to hold him! He wouldn't let me take him away from someone until I told him who we were visiting next- the same person we'd seen all weekend. Then, after a few sad goodbyes, we drove a little bit down the road to the bride's family's house. We ate more food, played 'Settlers of Catan,' and just talked and caught up. It was a lot of fun!

All in all, the weekend was a huge success and a lot of fun for everyone. Here are a few random pictures that didn't fit anywhere else.

Ah, yes.... While we were all eating at our crazy table, a friend and I started feeling bad about the groom's licence plate still being upside-down. My younger brother (somehow) located a screwdriver, and we fixed it. We all feel better now.

Our crazy table at the banquet (minus one, because he was leaning back too far)

Okay, so after the bride and groom left, I glanced around, and this is what I saw...

I was like, Kodak moment!!

Concentrating on the game Friday morning...

Oh... I said it could go On The Blog, so here it is, my friend! : )

We are Settlers of Catan!

Until my next random post...

~Eowyn~

Florida Trip- Day Four

Day Four was great, even though it was the last day. We woke up late (about 8:45) and were checked-out of our hotel by ten. After a hearty breakfast (eggs, big pieces of ham, and biscuits!) with our grandparents, we drove back to Savannah and ate a big lunch at Denny's with another one of Mom's friends. Then, we stopped at Target. My younger brother and sister have gotten almost addicted to this Pirates game with their friends and apparently the company has gone out of business, so they wanted to buy all the packs of the games they could find. Since they already cleaned out our Target, they wanted to see if a few Florida and Southern Georgia Targets did. Throughout the entire trip, we stopped at 3 different Targets and they found four packs. Rolling my eyes, I split a tall Java Chip from Starbucks with Mom. For future reference, don't get the tall, get the vente size. It's nearly double the tall and only a dollar more. : )

After a very uneventful five hours, we made it back to my other grandparents house. Grandma was watching the 25th Anniversary edition of her all-time favorite musical, Les Miserables, so we watched about an hour of it while we half-ate our dinner. (It was so awesome!!) Then, we packed up our dog and drove back home.

Our trip is officially over! Now a break, then next week we're off to NC for a friend's wedding!

~Eowyn~

Florida Trip- Day Three

Today- whew! We did SO much... or maybe it just feels like that. : ) This morning, I woke up, looked over to where Arwen was supposed to be and was staring at a snoring Sherriff Potbelly. (My adorable little brother in his Woody pajamas.) No clue how he got there! After a wonderful breakfast at our hotel, we drove the few minutes to the house my grandparents are renting while my grandfather gets treatment for his prostate cancer. After spending about an hour just talking, we headed off to the zoo. Wow! They had SO much there- so much, in fact, that I took nearly 150 pictures. (Don't worry, I spared you guys a lot of time and selected the best.) I seriously deleted almost every fourth one because I was worried I wouldn't have enough space. (Arwen kept on saying, "We're here to see the animals! Stop taking pictures of the flowers!" Sorry, I couldn't help it. Those flowers were just so beautiful... Spring might just be my favorite season!) The baby zebra was so cute!


A zookeeper was at the elephant exibit and he had a bucket of 'treats' for the elephants. Every few minutes, he'd get an elephant to do a trick like sitting or waving! It was so cool!

This elephant would wave her snout at you. My little brother loved it!

Speaking of the little guy, he basically enjoyed the entire zoo.

Here are some of my favorite flower pictures.

And probably my absolute favorite flower picture... a beautiful flowering tree with Spanish moss hanging on it! I nearly fainted when I saw it! (Well, not really, but it was pretty enough!)
About halfway through the zoo, we all were about to pass out. It wasn't hot or anything, but we were all so tired! We all wanted to copy my little brother.

Right now, Granny, Mom, Arwen, and my two younger brothers are out shopping somewhere. We ate an early dinner and are planning to watch an old Jimmy Stewart movie tonight- The Shop Around the Corner. I haven't seen it yet but am really looking forward to it!

I actually forgot to post about something that happened the first day, so I'll end today's post with a funny thing that happened. We usually don't get comments like this very often, so when we do, we like to share it! Day one, when Dad was at his meeting and we were all at Target, I was pushing my little brother in the cart by this little African-America boy that couldn't have been four years old. He took one look at me and the cutie pie in the cart and said to his mom, "They got the wrong baby!" Ha, ha!!Wouldn't give up my 'wrong' little brother for anything!

~Eowyn~

(P.S. I took a break writing this post to watch the movie, The Shop Around the Corner. Wow... it was SO good. Loved it!! You'll like it too, if you like classics that don't have anything objectionable in them except romance- though it was the clean, 1930s Hollywood-style romance. This movie was also the inspiration for the more modern movie, You've Got Mail.)

Florida Trip- Day Two

“If you're on holiday,” a British announcer says, “the only place to stay is Holiday Inn. And not just any Holiday Inn- the Holiday Inn Express. You might have to go down an exit, but it will be worth it! We're conveniently located right off the exit. The only thing that should hinder your speedy arrival in your room is the fact that it's located right in the middle of about eighteen other hotels. That's right! And if you miss the entrance to the hotel, don't worry! There isn't any other entrance, but you'll be able to spend a few minutes traveling a scenic route while you find somewhere to turn around.”

I should be a commercial writer... : ) (The above actually happened, by the way. I was just too tired to write it out last night.) This morning, after a yummy breakfast and a few minutes of a really dumb television show, we headed off to visit Savannah! (Yes, I actually know where we are now! Or rather, where we were.) We ate at a delicious restaurant called Spanky's with an old friend of Mom's.

After traversing River Street and not only window-shopping but actually buying something from a candy store, we visited a small park-like area where Spanish moss covered the trees. Gorgeous!

A few minutes after I finished taking my fill of pictures, we left to visit another one of Mom's friends. We had a very interesting conversation! Also, Mom's friend's dad had a great quote that I really like that he made up. He always used to say 'When women start losing their charm, they show their nakedness.' What do you readers think about that? (Comment!)

While everyone was showing Mom's friend pictures of our little brother (after telling the story for the third time in two days, I'm like, “You know, this is an awesome story and I love it, but it's getting a tad boring!”), I ducked outside into her little patio and took a few pictures of flowers. Aren't they beautiful? I just love Savannah, especially when the azaleas are blooming!

I spent my time in the car ride from Savannah to our grandparent's apartment working on a short story I had promised a few friends. This time, an Airhead was my incentive to get a lot done. Delicious! I didn't get much done, but I did get past a huge hurdle in the plot. It should be easier for me to get some done next time. : )

When we finally got past the Florida state line, it was already about 6:30. We met our grandparents at a really yummy pizza place. (By the way, never try to watch a movie you've never seen before that you've wanted to see at a restaurant. Especially if it's, say, Journey to the Center of the Earth and has an amazingly complicated plot line. There was no sound! So Arwen and I were watching it and we were like, “Oh, I think that was a good thing. See? They're smiling! Uh, oh. That wasn't good. What's his name? It's something with a long A or O in it. What is that guy's relation to the little guy? How old is the girl? What's going on?!” Just trust me on this one- it's not a good idea.) Now we're at our hotel room and everyone is watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives- one of Arwen's favorite Food Network shows.

See you tomorrow!

~Eowyn~

Florida Trip- Day One

Greetings from Somewhere, Georgia! : ) I really don't know where we are- I didn't know much about this trip until yesterday.

This morning, after a fun babysitting job, we all headed off to visit our grandparents in Florida. We drove for a few hours, dropped our dog off at our (other) grandparent's house, and stopped somewhere so that Dad could do something with his job. There were a lot of really interesting-looking buildings nearby.

We window-shopped at Target while Dad was in his meeting and then headed off to our destination- here in Somewhere, Georgia.

The trip itself was actually pretty nice! I literally spent the entire time working over one of my books I'm writing. There were a few parts that I needed to fix, then I read the entire thing (all 60 pages), all the while going through and changing little things.

The above was my workspace for the ride down. This, plus a Dr. Pepper and the Awakening CD... sheer bliss. Especially after not having time to write for so long! The David Crowder song How He Loves brought back many awesome TeenPact memories...

Fast-forward to I don't even know how many hours later. (Time sure does fly when you're having fun!) We stopped at Zaxby's for dinner, then another two hours later we stopped and visited some friends that we hadn't seen in quite a few years. Now, we're at our hotel and I can't wait to get some much-needed sleep! (Speaking of hotels, you would not believe how many hotels there were on this exit! I could count nearly a dozen before we had gotten about a half a mile off the highway! Crazy, right?)

I think I'll post tomorrow... if I don't forget. : )

~Eowyn~