Atkins

Hey people.=) Sorry for not keeping up with my blog at all.....=\

So Becky, Mom, and I decided to do the Atkins diet. I think it's good that we're all doing it together. I know a lot of people say Atkins is bad or dangerous, but my mom has done it before and it's really helped her. If you do what they tell you to do and everything it's all good.=) Anyways, we started yesterday so we'll see how this goes.=) The first 2 weeks are called Induction and we're only allowed to eat 20 net carbs a day, so if I happen to be eating with you and my plate isn't completely filled like it usually is, that's the reason.=) So don't freak out or anything.;) Oh yeah, I'm not doing this diet because I think I'm fat or because I'm trying to lose a ton of weight or anything. Yeah, I'll probably lose weight, but it'll be the weight that I don't need. I know I'm not fat, but I definitely have fat that I don't need, and I'd just like to get into a healthier eating style. After the first 2 weeks or so we'll start adding fruit and stuff back in and we'll be allowed to have more carbs. The first day went well and I'm looking forward to having more energy. I also started running again a few weeks ago and was doing really good with running every day I was supposed to with the schedule I have, then it started raining, and Mom and Dad were gone for the weekend so I slept in and basically, I was lazy and didn't run for a few days.=( But I ran this morning with my daddy on the trails and had a good time, so I think that was enough to motivate me to keep at it.=) I love running.=D TTFN!

~Abby

Seussical the Musical!

Hey guys! Wow. It's been a really really long time.....It would take way too long to completely update y'all ;) on everything that's gone on since my last post, but I can tell you what I'm up to right now.=) For me (and Zeke and Mom), this is show season. And this spring's show is Seussical the Musical! It's an awesome show and I hope most of you have been able to make it or buy tickets for this weekend. I'm pretty sure there are only a few tickets left. Big surprise going into the second week and all.=) Anyways, I am having a ton of fun being in the show and hanging out with all the people involved.=) The first weekend was a big success, with a full house for every show. We'll probably sell out the second weekend too.=) After Seussical's over =( I suppose I'll finish up all that school I've been putting off and help Dad coach Zeke's soccer team and do a million other things that I've involved myself in.....*sigh*. Sometimes, I wish I wasn't involved in anything and just stayed home all the time reading or riding. But what fun would there be in that? Honestly, that would get very boring pretty quickly. Sure it'd be nice for awhile not to have anything I had to do or places I had to go, but I would definitely miss people. I would find a way to get involved again, just as much as I am now.=) I've pretty much come to grips with that. And then I think again and marvel at those people who are even more involved than I am. Just Think! Ok, my mind is going....I need to sleep. (As my mother so sweetly reminds me.) Goodnight.

It's a Ball!

The Jovial Beggars are hosting an Autumn Ball on October 30th! I'm really excited.=) It's in Salem in the City Hall(I hear the hall has a really nice wood floor and a balcony above the dance floor where you can watch) The ball starts at 6:30 p.m. and the cost is $7. There are also workshops beforehand that cover piano, other musical instruments, calling, and dancing(imagine that)! Some of the workshops cost a little as well, but I know the dance workshop is free. I know it's going to be super fun, and you all should definitely come if you can!=) It is a ball, so you should wear something a bit fancier, even period dress if you have it. I'll be wearing a dress I made last year from the French Revolution era(or whatever). ;) I can't wait to see all of you!=D

~Abby

Soccer

I think most of you know that Zeke plays soccer right? Anyways, Dad's the coach, Zeke's on the team, and I go to the practices and games when I can.=) The team is really good this year apparently, because we are undefeated!!=D Isn't that exciting? We have a lot of good players, but they actually work together most of the time. It's pretty awesome. I just wish I wasn't too old to be on the team.=(

Jorge

Becky has a fish. His name is Jorge (I was wrong, but I corrected it). He's supposedly hard to kill. Becky left him here this week. I guess we shall see if this theory holds true or not.;}

Testing

I'm testing something I just discovered about Word. Apparently you can blog directly from Word. I guess we'll know if it worked or not!=)

Sweet 16, Finally!

My birthday is Thursday!=) I'm really excited. Mainly because that means I can get my license Friday.=)

(This is for Mrs. Q)
I love driving. There's something about being in control of something so powerful and going so fast(comparatively) but still being under control. It's kind of like riding a horse, but you're never afraid of falling off, just going off the road maybe. If you think about it though, that's not as scary. There's just something about falling that seems to be scarier than almost anything else. Another thing I love about driving is the opportunity it provides to go much longer distances to visit friends and family. Friendships can become much stronger when you get to see your friend multiple times a week instead of maybe twice a month. Plus we can live farther apart, so if we wanted to, we wouldn't have to see each other very often. (Getting a bit off subject, sorry...) Anyways, driving is pretty much awesome for a bunch of different reasons.=)

Abby

Horse Stuff

Hello.

Romeo had this weird thing going with his mane, so I decided to look it up. Basically, there's this one spot on his mane that looks like really bad dandruff and has lost a little bit of hair. Fortunately, it's not a very big spot. Anyways, I looked it up and I think it's either dandruff or something else that I can't remember the name for. Either way, both happen because of lack of care! Well, at least lack of grooming and stuff. Apparently I need to brush/wash his mane more often...=\ Maybe it's not dandruff. Maybe it's some super rare disease that no one's ever heard of and I'll get to name it something super random and weird(I wouldn't name it after myself, that'd just be boring.)! Of course, I should probably just wash both of the horses manes and tails regularly and brush them whenever I ride and see if it goes away.....

Oh. We don't have Bourbon anymore. We decided not to buy him, and I think his actual owners may have found someone else to buy him. I'm not sure how I actually feel about this. We parted on good terms though. In some ways, it's really nice just to have 2 horses(and those 2 be the R team), but then of course only 2 people can ride at a time. And Bourbon was really smooth. But he was stubborn and old... oh well. Just thought you should know. Not sure why.....

Goodbye.

Painting Pictures

Before we painted it was all just white. So, I figured it wouldn't be that hard to picture, so I didn't take any pictures of that. I just took pictures before and after we moved the furniture. Let me know if you like it!=)

Painting!

So, with all this extra time that I have now I've decided to fill it as quickly as possible!=) I recently got a couple babysitting jobs and will start my other one soon. And since Isaac was going to be gone(he'll be home Friday) Mom suggested that now would be a good time to paint the kids' room(I&E share). So for the last 3 days(in between babysitting jobs) Mom and I(and Zeke and Andy too) have been painting away!=) I've been wanting to paint that room for awhile because I knew it'd be fun and it was very boring and white.

Mom let me decide what all the walls would look like(what colors and such) and I think that'll be pretty apparent when you see pictures.=) The wall with the door and closet we painted blue. the other 3 walls we painted white to be added to later. Then on the wall with the window, Andy painted a thick green stripe and thinner white and blue stripes at the top of the wall(like a border). The other 2 walls were adjoining, and on those(this took the longest, the other stuff we got done the first day) Mom and I painted diagonal stripes!=) The green stripes are the biggest, the blue stripes are a little smaller, and the white stripes are a little smaller than the blue. Every other stripe is white, and the other every other alternates between green and blue. It looks really cool(if I do say so myself). Oh yeah! We painted the door frame, closet door frame, and window frame green.=)

Isaac dosen't know about it and neither does Becky. Becky's coming home tonight, I'm excited!=) I have to go take the tape off now. I will get pictures of before and after we put the furniture back. TTFN!

So this is what life is like!

Well Annie is over now and it was a lot of fun.=) Of course, I couldn't really do much besides Annie for almost a month, but it was fun.=) It's so strange now, being able to do things. Like I get to ride my horses almost every day now.=) And all other sorts of other possibilities open up as well.

Have I mentioned that Zeke was playing baseball this summer? It's over now. They had a good last game though! Zeke pitched well(he's one of their main pitchers), and there were some really good plays. They played the 1st place team(they were 3rd or something) but were ahead most of the game. The last inning we kinda fell apart, but, on the whole, I'd say it was a good game. Plus, friends came to watch, which always makes everything more fun!=)

Annie

Annie performances are coming up! For those of you who didn't know, I'm in OAT's summer production of Annie. I'm lots of different people, mainly Cecille the maid. It's been fun for the most part, though it is harder to memorize all the songs and the choreography in such a short time space, but it's good for me.=) Anyways, you should totally come and see at least one of the performances! Performance dates and times are as follows:

Thursday, July 8 - 7:00 pm

Friday, July 9 - 2:00 pm matinee & 8:00 pm

Saturday, July 10 - 2:00 pm matinee & 8:00 pm

Sunday, July 11 - 2:00 pm matinee

Thursday, July 15 - 7:00 pm

Friday, July 16 - 2:00 pm matinee & 8:00 pm

Saturday, July 17 - 8:00 pm

Sunday, July 18 - 2:00 pm matinee

Hope you can make it!

Well all 3 horses are getting along fine for the most part. There is a tiny bit of competition between the guys for the girl(of course), but nothing really bad. Kels & I went bareback riding sometime around 2 this afternoon. She rode Romeo and I rode Rylee first then Bourbon. Rylee is not very comfortable. It's not bad when you're just walking, but trotting kinda hurts.=) Bourbon is much more comfortable, but much more likely to try something(like bucking or just running off, or something like that). Romeo was great according to Kelsey. He didn't freak out or anything when Rylee was left behind and Rylee was fine while we were riding but did freak out a little when we left her alone in the pasture. Nothing bad, just running around and calling after the boys. Bourbon freaked out a little less than Rylee when he was alone in the pasture, but he also was calling back when I was riding him. We all survived though and it was a lot of fun.=) I haven't ridden bareback very much though, so I didn't want to canter yet. Maybe next time...=)

This evening, Becky and I rode(with saddles) a bit then went back for Romeo so Dad could join us. Becky is happy ridding Bourbon, though after Dad joined us and we rode w/ me on Romeo, Dad on Rylee(he hadn't ridden her yet) and Becky on B. we switched it up and Becky rode Rylee, Dad rode Romeo, & I rode Bourbon. She(Becky) did fine on Ry, though I think she got pretty bounced around when we cantered.=) Bourbon is actually really smooth, trotting and cantering(when he gets going). I can't imagine what his gallop would be like...of course, I probably wouldn't be able to get him to gallop, he's kinda old-ish.Oh well...I would like to gallop on Romeo though, I bet that guy's got some speed. Anyways, I guess I've been rambling on quite enough.=) I should go now. Oh, I think Mom took a picture of Rylee right before Kels and I rode.....yup! Here it is.=)

Ok, here's a few pictures of the horses. I will try to take more sometime so you can see Rylee too.

This is Romeo. He's "Dad's horse."

He's really pretty in real life.

 Romeo and Bourbon(This is before the girl came).

 Pretending to be best friends.

Rylee

I was over at a friend's house for a couple nights last weekend and Dad decided to surprise me!I had previously been bugging Dad to call our friends that owned Rylee to tell them we were still interested. So, while I was gone, w/out telling me, he did call them! He said he wanted to have her here when I got home, but it ended up that they brought her on Tuesday. I was so excited!!! When I got home I asked him if he'd called them and he said "Yeah." "Well, what'd they say?" "They said they could bring her over on Tuesday." "!!!!!!!!!" Then I gave him the big hug he deserved.=) Sometimes I like being surprised, and sometimes, my Daddy's a pretty cool guy.=)

I'll end there. I will tell you more later though. Sometime.

~A very happy girl.

Andy

Well Andy's home for the summer. It's kinda funny how he got all excited about riding the horses.=) I always forget, but I think out of the 4 older kids he's the one that likes animals the most(after me of course). We went riding for 3 days in a row, so I decided since the horses aren't quite in shape, we should give them a day's rest.=) They're doing pretty well though. Bourbon enjoys being a brat about the bit though. I'm working on it, but it's pretty frustrating. Did you know that horses are really strong?

Romeo

For those of you who haven't heard, we actually bought a horse! His name is Romeo but he's a gelding. As Daddy puts it, "His 'Romeo' days are over." Anyways, he's super big(16hh for those of you who care) and really pretty. He's a bay(my favorite color-brown w/ a black mane & tail) and he's pretty easy-going. He's about 15 years old and is much more eager to go than say, Bourbon. Dad and I went on a ride yesterday I think and we came to the conclusion that both horses work a lot better when another horse is there. Oh, as of now we're still keeping Bourbon but haven't quite come to a final decision about him. He gets along fine w/ Romeo, so that's not really a problem, but we're not sure how B. will react if we bring a mare on the scene. I'm 85% sure Romeo wouldn't do a thing, but B. is another story. Oh, did I mention that we got Romeo mainly for Dad? So yeah, I still don't have a horse for me yet. Wow. That sounded really selfish. I guess I'm just kinda confused at why Dad still wants to keep Bourbon. He doesn't need 2 horses and while I don't mind riding B. once in awhile, he's definitely not going to be my horse. The horse that I would love to get is a mare and she's really sweet. Plus, we know the people who own her and they don't want to just sell her, they want to make sure the right person buys her. Sorry to ramble on. I'll try to keep y'all(I love typing that=]) a little more up-to-date than I have been. I've really been slacking for a few months.....sorry.=( Oh, and I'll try to get some pictures of Romeo sometime.

~Abby

Zeke's Blog

Hey guys! Just thought I'd mention that Zeke started a blog. It's called:

The Nameless Blog

He changed the name. I guess someone w/ authority thought it was too gross.

Goin' Good

Well, Pride and Prejudice has been going well so far- we've sold out 2 shows so far and expect to sell out at least a few more if not all the rest.=) All of our audiences(big and small) have been great and that always helps.=) I hope that all of you who weren't able to come this past weekend can come this coming weekend! But you'd better get your tickets quick.

Ecuador Part Something

Sorry, this is really old. This is from Ecuador.

Some of the kids decided to color. Andy just couldn't miss such an opportunity to show off his superior coloring skills.

Andy w/ the picture he colored all by himself!
Max.

Zach.

Jared.

Maddie.

Nate.

Isaac!

Zeke.

Mr. Rogers and a monkey in the zoo. He said if you get too close they sometimes take your glasses.

A taper in the zoo. No fences around it. It was just sittin' there...

The monument "at" the equator. It's not exactly right, but it's close enough!=)
Becky doing a cartwheel over the equator!
Andy.
Guinea pig, yum, yum!
A guy at the equator finger painting. Yes, he did all that w/ his fingers, nail,or palm!Ben.
Nick. He likes pink.

Part of Quito.
Looking down from the cable car in Quito.

Me and Ben in the bus.

A feather that I bought for my Aunt Feather who loves horses and likes to paint(especially birds)

The resort.

The awesome view on the way up the mountain while riding the Peruvian Pasos (horsies). This is one of the few times we were going slow enough to take pictures.

An Iguana in the tree outside my hotel room window in Guayaquil.

Flying out of Quito on the way home.

The "gross" pictures.
Angel and her momma.