Travel Dreams

I love looking through my Mom's old pictures. Today, I spent time scanning some of them into the computer. My Mom has traveled everywhere...

Rome

Greece

Israel

Spain


France

Austria

Venice

Florence

And she has the best stories. They always make me want to travel.

Anyone want to run away to Europe with me?

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There And Back Again

The cool night air slowly enveloped me, the leaves rustled in the distance. Madelaine stopped talking for a moment to ask, "Is it just me or is the sky getting... lighter?"

I looked up. We haven't talked that much, I thought and ignored the sky.

Then the stars started disappearing. We had talked through the night. I still can't believe we did that - but it was so wonderful! When the sun came out, we shared cups of tea, then started the day.

(We paid for it with glossy eyes and not-so-alert dispositions that day, but it was definitely worth it.)

My family had never visited our dear friends before, and so, it was our family road trip/vacation. The days were too short, but the time we spent together was unbelievably sweet and unforgettable. Here are some pictures of our time together...

The original W/SN duo, my best friend and sister, M

Duo number 2

Duo number 3

And there was one more duo, but apparently we didn't catch them on camera. But! Friendship didn't only grow between the individual twosomes, but between our families. Mealtimes were absolutely the best, likewise with the movie-watching.

Working together to make Scottish shortbread

+

= Lykkelig

We spent the day at the river.

Rafting!

Isn't *beautiful*?

Mommy asked me while we made the 8-hour drive back home, "Was it worth it?"

(Due to the weather change, I had a rather horrid break-out of both eczema/arthritis.)

Yes, yes, a thousand times, YES.

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Because Life Doesn't Slow Down

I've lost count on how many times I have told myself, "After [insert event] happens, I'll start blogging again." So, here's a picture summary of the month of June.

Schola Summer Academy 2008

Four days with the most amazing group in the world, Schola people :)
Church History, poetry, dancing, music, and lots and *lots* of laughter.


Schola Great Books Class of 2008

Four years of online-classes together, and now we all meet in *person*. And it's an experience that defies words. The Summer Academy ended, but our GB-IV group drove 10 hours together down to the wonderful state of Texas. We had a few more days of absolutely wonderful time together. We invaded Wal-Mart, went ice-skating, danced (everything from jazz routines , fairy reels, and cha-cha!). And star-gazing... so many memories, I couldn't possibly write them all down.

In short, some of the best days of my life. I miss them all, a *lot*.

Some of the best people in then *entire* world, my adopted sisters and brothers :-D


Back at home, family visits took over the schedule.




And then! Another very good online friend, Joy, came down and spent the week here. Again, an absolutely amazing time. We adopted her - can't you see the family resemblance? ;-)


We miss you, Joy. =)

Also within the same week, we had our end of the year recital with our piano/voice teacher. In a program of around 15 students, 6 of them were SNs. 'Twas fun.

After the recital

I spent the rest of the month reading, constantly looking back at the numerous pictures from OK/TX/Joy's visit, and actually (gasp!) talking on the phone to very dear friends. I miss them all; the transition from smiling faces to typed words isn't all that easy, but I'm ever so thankful for both.

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