Recently...

Short update- pictures to come later (perhaps much later because none are on my camera)

Ben and Will did a camp at Kenrick Glennon Seminary.

We were in St. Louis this weekend. We celebrated Ben's birthday a week early with Grandma, Papa, Trish, and "Uncle Sparky". :) BEN GOT AN iPOD! AND iPOD NANO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Sunday we went to the Shaeffer company picnic. Everyone was really really nice! It was at the Shaeffer's (Dad's boss') farm/lakehouse and I went on a four wheeler for the first time in my life! It was alot of fun. My first time on it I hit a tree. :P We also went swimming in the lake, fishing and paddleboat in the other lake, and all sorts of other stuff. Adelynn make some friends. She and Shay (or Shea?) really hit it off! Shay thought it was funny that my name is Shaylynn.

It is raining.

The Hunt for Gollum

So I finally got around to watching this!

The Hunt for Gollum is a fanfilm based on the Lord of the Rings. It is set between Bilbo's birthday party and Frodo leaving the Shire. Gandalf was worried that Sauron might have knowledge of the Ring, and Aragorn was sent to find the creature Gollum.

Overall, I was pretty impressed. The script was good, the actors resembled the actors in the real movies, and the CG was amazing! All of the landscape shots were CGI (computer-generated images, CG for short). And the music, costumes, and props were wonderful.

The fight scenes left some to be desired. Maybe its just my personal taste, but I thought that the choreography could be better, and the gore could be less. :)

And this was my favorite bit- SUBTITLES! Yup! It had subtitles! Which makes it much easier to follow. (not that the sound quality was't good- it was great- but its easier for me to understand stuff visually)

You can watch it here. Make sure you have time- its forty minutes long. There is supposed to be another one coming out!

Tennis!

I've been going to the high school's tennis camp (actually, this was the second day) and its lots of fun! I really like tennis. :) I've done Optmist tennis in the past, and didn't learn nearly as much as I am now. Most of the other kids there are on the high school team, but there are two other beginners, so I don't feel quite so out of place. :)
The coach asked if I was interested in tennis next year and what other sports I play (conflicting seasons). Of course, I can't, because we are moving and homeschoolers can't be on school teams anyway. (Grrr!)
He said that I should do jumprope because it strengthens the muscles you need for both tennis and volleyball and helps your reflexes. So, all you awesome Rolla Royal players out there, pull out your jumpropes! :)
On that count, I think I might go to the open gym on Monday, say hi to people. I'm going to miss ya, Royals.

Why oh why must the tennis camp be only for an hour?! *pouts*

The Lord of the Rings!

We got new books- hardcover!

The old ones next to the new ones

Such big, shiny pages!

The only bad thing about it is that The Hobbit did not come in that hardback pack.

Long Overdue Pictures of Nick's First Communion

Sorry it took so long! These are just the pictures that I got.
Beforehand, Nick wanted a "photo shoot". This is the first time he has ever asked me to take a picture of him!

Don't ask me why he chose to do it on the patio...

All the boys lined up before going into church

Michelle and two of her friends

It was very hard to get pictures during Mass, and I used Dad's camera. Which, of course, means that the pictures are not downloaded yet. :) I'll see if I can get them later.

Fr. Basil, giving Nick his certificate.

Nick and Addie

Nick opening gifts. This one was a picture I calligraphied for him.

A statue of St. Nicholas. Nick got his jacket scrunched up behind him. :P

Oh, the Gieslers came down. They are Nick's godparents. Heres aunt Angie and Nick.

Inkheart

The library finally got Inkheart! I'm still reading it, but I just had to share my favorite line out of the book:

Meggie smiled. "It's elvish writing!" she whispered. "Mo and I have been using it as our secret writing ever since I read The Lord of the Rings."

YAY!!!!!!!!!! Elvish writing rocks! If you would like to learn what I know about it, click here.

Also, sort of random, while on the topic of languages, I am teaching myself sign language! We found a sign language dictionary at a garage sale two days ago. I already have the alphabet down pat, and I can say "Hello", "What is your name?" "My name is ____" "How are you?" and "I am fine."

Up!

We went to see Up! today. Man, do I love Pixar. I think I want to be a Pixar animator when I grow up. :) Boy, can they tell a story.
Up! is really more of an emotional story- no on-your-seat action scenes. I don't want to spoil the movie for you, so I won't say much about it. Be content with the fact that I, a picky movie watcher, loved it and thought it was awesome.
I am amazed at how well the animators at Pixar can tell a story. This one is truly heart-tugging, and Mom cried. :)
I'll write more later- I have to go!

Neat arrangement

Love Story by Taylor Swift meets Viva la Vida by Coldplay. Its really neat!

Smile!

Did you know that it is impossible to be a pessimist? No? Allow me to demonstrate.


Optimists can be described as "cup half full" people- those who look on the bright side of things. Pessimists, however, are described as "cup half empty" people.

Now, take a moment to thing about this. Optimists are "cup half full", in other words, they can be described as Cup = 1/2 x Full. Allow Full to equal one, and you see that the optimists' cup has half as much as it can hold.

Pessimists are "cup half empty": Cup = 1/2 x Empty. Now, empty is obviously equivalent to zero, correct? And any number times 0 is 0. Therefore, a pessimists outlook on life is Cup=0.
That's like saying that the "cup" (outlook on life) doesn't even exist! But all humans exist, or else they would not be alive. And in order to be the living, rational creatures that humans are, you must have some sort of outlook on life.

Therefore, it is mathematically impossible to be a pessimist!

Silver Dollar City

We went to Silver Dollar City on Friday and Saturday! I had so much fun! Adelynn was tall enough to go on most of the rides- she is so cute! On Thunderation, I rode backwards with her, and she held up her arms the entire time, screaming bloody murder, and then laughing when she got off and begging to go on it again. Mom and Dad took pictures on their phones. I'll figure out how their phones work and post the pictures.

I am finally able to walk properly again. :) All but two of my blisters are gone, and my little toes have returned to their normal size. I discovered that what I thought were bruises were actually blood blisters. :P So, while we were in Branson we went shoe shopping.

GUESS WHAT I DISCOVERED?

Shoes that do not pinch my feet, cause blisters, or cause cramps really do exist! Men's size 8 Wide 4E. So, yeah, I am wearing men's tennis shoes. :P And some men's shoes look just like womens'. The extra-wideness is only the tiniest bit less wide than my feet. I wore the shoes all day at Silver Dollar City, on all those hills, and did not get a single cramp or blister. I think we solved my shoe problem!

Now, if only I could get dress shoes in men's extra wide...