Gettysburg

The history class Anna and I are in is studying the Civil War this year. Last Friday we took a field trip to Gettysburg. I had been there just once before for a parade, but I'd never gone to all the sites. Our class is pretty huge this year. We have somewhere around 50 kids from 8th grade to 12th.

The history there is just incredible. Dr. Franz, who originally started this class years ago but had moved to Florida, flew up just to give us the tour. He was really great. All eight seats of our car were filled...here are the 5 of us girls.

Mumsie and us :)

Dr. Franz had us do these mock-battles at different places throughout the day. Here we are at the end of the Union line, preparing for Chamberlain's bayonet charge. It was Seniors and Freshmen against the Juniors and Sophomores.

It still amazes me how soon it gets dark, but there was a sweet sunset near the end.

At one of our last stops, racing against the sun.

Elaine had made this cool flag to take with us. It's going to be our class flag from now on.

End of the day.

A bunch of us went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday after the tour. We had a good time at our table, if you can't tell. :D

It was a good day.

PHC Drama Camp

Two weeks ago I went to a week-long summer camp at Patrick Henry College. The night I got there all 32 of us who were involved in the drama camp performed our monologues, did a couple cold read-throughs and then left the three directors to cast us all before morning. I really did not envy their job at all. (above) 5 of the 8 girls in my wing: Hannah M, Sarah, Dana, me, and Hannah S. (Emma and Olivia joined us below)

There were 5 Hannah's at camp, and 3 of them were in my wing, one in each room. It was crazy! There was also another Abigail, which never happens. I've never met another Abigail that was around my age. Ever. They've all been like 3.

Oh, and not to self: don't fall asleep during rehearsal...strange things happen to those who do.

The counselors were all crazy. In a good way of course. :) Here they are all singing "Love Story" by Taylor Swift. Natasha, Alan, Jensen, Brooke, Aiden, Matt, (some dude who wasn't a counselor), Tia, Rachel, and Brodie. (James was hiding somewhere)

On Wednesday, they hosted the Mancopancowsouryogurtsuperstar Contest. Don't ask me what it means, because I don't know. But it was their rendition of American Idol. Complete with Paula, Simon, Ryan Seacrest, and some other guy who was definitely not Randy. Each team (there were 5, each comprised of 2-3 wings) had to perform at least one song. Ours, the Wild Lost Dixie Things, sang "Be A Man" from Mulan. We only had about 15 minutes of practice because our schedule was so ridiculously crazy. I'm not sure if it was awesome, or just a complete failure, but at least it was something. And no, we didn't win. :P Thursday was field trip day. We took a bus to Washington DC, all clad in our matching PHC t-shirts. It felt very much like a day care. We so rocked it out though. Sarah and I with our shades (and the ever-present name tags, which we wore all week long).

We went to a theater, got a tour, then spent the rest of our time at the Museum of Natural History. We found these ugly specimens of our ancestors: We were so tired, most of us slept on the bus ride back...or at least tried to. Friday was the play, and I'll post those pics next.

Maine

It's a place we've always wanted to go. A place we'd never been. And so we decided to go camping. In Maine. We hung out by the fire. Smelled like smoke. Sang campfire songs. Made friends with fellow campers. And went trespassing.

We climbed Cadillac Mountain. Enjoyed the view of the islands. And dripped with sweat beneath a blazing sun.

We walked, ran, and jumped off of rocks. Just because we were on vacation and it seemed like a good thing to do.

We laid out at the beach. Froze in the arctic water. And made words out of dried seaweed.

We rode in the car. A lot. Listened to music. Stared out the windows. And took pictures.

We gazed out to sea just before dusk. And even though Thunder Cove didn't thunder, it was pretty just the same.

We ate ice cream. Saw 4th of July fireworks. Walked to a lighthouse. And stood on top of cliffs.

We came back loving Maine.

Boston in June

At the beginning of this year, Teresa moved to Boston to pursue movie-makingness out there. Last weekend Mom, Anna, and I drove down to visit her for the first time. Mom, being ever the planner of the family, decided we'd see historical sights while we were there to make use of every minute of our time. She's such a homeschooler. The day Teresa worked, we took the bus to the train and the train to Boston (T lives in Cambridge). From there we followed the Freedom Trail which took us to various places such as the Boston Commons, cemeteries where famous men were buried, Old South Meeting House (where the Boston massacre happened), and Paul Revere's house.

This dashing soldier stood outside the Green Dragon, where the Patriots (not the football team) used to meet.

Back at the Commons, after we had walked our legs off, we saw this statue. Mom kept trying to find a plaque where it explained what this woman was representing. She kept walking around, looking closer, and then...she moved. The statue. It was totally a person.

Later we walked around Harvard. Here's Anna at the top of the library's steps.

"What Is Man That Thou Art Mindful Of Him" right on a Harvard building.

They even had a stone table. Not saying I'd want to sleep there, but it was nice.

The next day we spent at the beach. It was lovely.

It was fun walking around Boston and Cambridge. It was a great thing to do in June.

Myrtle Beach Trip

The car ride was so long going down there, it took us 16 hours and 2 days! This was largely due to construction and pulling the pop-up. We camped overnight at a KOA and woke up to the lovely sound of rain. We packed up in record time (30 minutes) and ate at Shoney's, a breakfast buffet they only have down south. It was SO good.

Saturday we celebrated my Grandma's 85th birthday at a banquet at her church. 6 of her 10 kids were there to help her celebrate, and 6 of her 33 grandkids. And the kids:

We went to the beach after church on Sunday. It was the most perfect day! It took all my self-control from running into the ocean, clothes and all. I just ran in knee deep water and splashed myself. Good thing we had a towel in the car.

I loved this pier. It was so cool.

A cute couple under the pier.

Cape Cod: Day 6/7

The lobster is the only picture we have from Friday, obviously we didn't do much. We had planned to leave Saturday, but then decided to stay. It was good that we did, it was such a nice day! We started it off by going out to breakfast by the bay.

Then we had to go to the beach again.

Later in the day Teresa and I were sitting on a bench in a park and were looking at this view:

That night we had a campfire on Coast Guard Beach. When we got there it was FREEZING! The sand was cold, the air was cold, and it was so windy. But we survived. Teresa, Anna, and I were standing by the water when we first got there when we saw a bunch of seals. It was so amazing. I sprinted up the sand dune where we were parked, grabbed the camera, and raced back down. By that time the seals had left, and Teresa thought they had gone to the left, so we all raced down the beach. Chasing down seals doesn't really work. My lungs felt like bursting, I didn't get a picture, but we did see more when it got darker.

Miriam and Emily watching the fire being built.

Playing frisbee on the beach.

Marina (Mr. Wells daughter), Anna, Sarah, and Emily.

This is the only pic with the whole family in it from our whole vacation. :)

The sunset was pretty cool.

All in all, it was the best family vacation we've ever had...we took a poll in the car on the way home.

It was so relaxing and fun...and BEawesome!!!