Thankful, Day 26

I'm thankful to have a wonderful friend named Sam who is joining me to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in a few weeks! What? You don't know who the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is? They play classical-metal music. I know, kinda interesting, huh? Here's a snippet of some of their holiday work:

Thankful, Days 17-21

Day 17 - I'm thankful for my roommate, Melyssa, with whom I saw a 1 AM showing of Twilight's Breaking Dawn, Part 1. We had a great time together!

Day 18 - I'm thankful for Friday. Not a bad week, but glad to see the weekend. Also got to have dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings with my good friend, Sam!

Day 19 - I'm thankful for all of my Orlando friends who joined me at my 3rd annual dinner party!

Day 20 - I'm thankful for my dog park friend, Chuck, who was kind enough to share his afternoon with me and Heidi to take some photos with the Avalon Park Christmas Tree for a Christmas Card photo!

Day 21 - I'm thankful for lunch breaks. I'm using mine today to restore my iPhone (hopefully it resolves my synchronization issues) and take Heidi for an afternoon stroll.

Labor Day Weekend

I've never been so excited to have a

weekend. Why? Well, this year I am driving home with one of my best friends, Sam,

and my baby girl, Heidi,

to do some serious camping!

Today I vacuumed, washed, waxed and organized my car in preparation for the trip.

It's gonna be a long haul from Florida to Indiana!

We'll probably make it in about 18 hours. We will have CD books, MadLibs and snacks to make this  

a ton of fun. We're pretty excited. This will be Sam's first visit to the great Midwest!

We'll be passing through Atlanta, Georgia,

Chattanooga, Tennessee,

and Knoxville, Tennessee.

Then we'll brush past Cincinnati, Ohio,

before entering

AKA:

Something I've missed out on for a couple years is Sno-Castle! We're gonna have to get some on our way to the camp site.

Then, while camping, I'll spend some time near the camp fire cooking the perfect s'more,

enjoy some boating,

and play some Euchre!

Oh, I can hardly wait! T-minus 3 days!

Lately

Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk at Lake Eola, downtown Orlando, FL
Last week's walk was a blast! I was happy to raise $150 to support the Alzheimer's Association. Heidi and I ended up missing the puppy costume contest due to lack of event organization, but it was still great fun. I really enjoyed letting people say hello to Heidi, who did super well - even with the little ones, and the older ones who likely suffered from some degree of Alzheimer's. Saturday was for you, Grandma.

Halloween at Wall Street, downtown, Orlando, FL
I dressed up as a black cat and went out with Jessica, her friend, Heather and her boyfriend. It was great fun to check out all the costumes. Typical Halloween, minus all the drinking.

Completed October Challenge with a 100% Success Rate
So proud of myself! Thanks to all who supported me!

New Nike+ Challenge
I'm doing a the Walt Disney World Half Marathon on 8 January 2011. I start my training (a Nike+ plan) this week. I'm cross-training with yoga and cycling.

Devoting Time to Etsy Shop: amara | 86
Ramping up for the holiday season. Christmas tree skirts, Christmas stocking sets, and the best-selling 13" MacBook sleeve. Let me know if you have a need; I am accepting custom orders.

Finished The Hunger Games Trilogy
Loved it. The new Harry Potter?

Family News
          Mom - also training for the half marathon in January; we're running it together! Hoping to beat 2 hours!
          Dad -keeping busy; went to do some target practice with Grandpa tonight.
          Chucky - he's never been happier! He's LOVING BUD/S! Pray for him as Hell Week approaches.
          Sam - he's never been happier, either! He LOVES college life and his new wrestling family!
          Heidi - just a few weeks shy of her first birthday. I'm having a party for her at the dog park this Sunday. She's hit that obstinate "teenager" phase with some destruction, but overall she's doing great!
          Ashes - surviving Heidi and being super affectionate when I read in bed at night.

Chucky is a Sailor

Daddy, Chucky, Mom & Sam

Over the weekend my brother, Chucky, graduated Navy BASIC and is now a Navy Sailor! He is our family's second generation Sailor. We're all quite proud of him! Although, I am really sulky that I wasn't able to join the family for the ceremony and weekend visit. As I looked through the photos I almost started crying. Anyway, Chucky leaves for NAVY Pre-BUDS next week. I can't wait to recieve another letter from him! Congratulations, Chuggy!

My beautiful parents

Grandma & Grandpa with the boys

February 2010

I always say, "wow, that was a busy month," but when I say "wow, February was a busy month," I mean it in a way that surpasses any way I've ever said it before. Note: life + owning puppy = life on fast-forward! Here's the run-down for what I trouble I was getting into back in February:

Heidi 72-hour vet check - healthy pup minus the minor ear infection that cleared up in a week's time

Volunteer with BC - first time to volunteer as an adult; it was good.

Euchre Night with BC - first time to host a card night; much fun and more Euchre Nights to come!

Phone Dates with Kristin - started having a weekly phone date with Kristin to work through our devotionals

Bonfire at Joel's - even with the Florida Hospital Lady Track Shack 5K the next morning I still went to Joel's, hung out, met some folks and enjoyed the perfect s'more!

BC Movie Night (I Am Legend) - a favorite movie of mine (also partial inspiration for getting a German Shepherd Dog), and lovely company

Super Bowl Party with Matt - my plans fell through but Matt and company provided for a great group of people with whom to celebrate the event. Sad that the Colts lost but at least a Boilermaker took the championship!

Avatar + Pizza with Matt - loved the movie, discovered a cool pizza joint, great friend with whom to enjoy both

Paws in the Park Walk with Matt - Heidi's first socialization opportunity; Matt joined us for the fun (despite the cold weather!)

The Bling Thing with BC - downtown night! First time to the underground bar (can't think of the name of the place). Loved hanging out in the red, Clue room!

Puppy Valentine's Day Party at Joel's - adorable! Cooked out and made several new puppy friends!

2-week vet check - all healthy!!!

Sunshine movie with Matt - I was right on in knowing that Matt would love that movie! Nice evening and discovered my new favorite white wine!

Sam's Senior State Wrestling Tournament - amazing weekend with family and friends to celebrate Sam's big victory!

Chucky's 21st birthday celebration - belated but brilliant! Can't wait to go out with him again!

Puppy Class 1/8 - so much fun! Heidi loves playing with the other pups, and we both love learning!

Waffles with Matt - we decided my Belgian waffle maker needed to be put to good use. Matt brought fresh strawberries! Yum!

Dinner with Darin - Darin was in town! He got to meet Heidi, see my place, and then he treated me to dinner at Amigo's! I love hanging out with Darin; we always have nice conversation!

Pie & Away We Go movie with Matt - another nice evening in with Matt; we both loved the movie, and I made him a pumpkin pie for helping me get to and from the airport the previous weekend.

BC Movie Night (I Am Legend) - even though I watched the movie recently, it was lovely to host another book club movie night!

Church - finally settled into a schedule with Heidi and figured out how to escape the house for a couple hours to get my spiritual fill

Bonfire at Matt's - wrapped up the month with a great evening at Matt's bonfire! I brought Heidi! Everyone loved her and the cucumber salad I brought. S'mores were amazing!

The Bubba Roll

Just a quick blurb about the remainder of Sam's visit back in August (for a quick link to the first part, click here).

After a great weekend at the beach and Busch Gardens we settled into a work-week sort of routine. I, of course, went to work as I normally do, while Sam, of course, managed to mix up his days and nights by staying up to ungodly hours of the night (well, morning, really) playing his beloved X-Box. I'm really happy I had an HDTV for him on which he could play his video games.

Through the week we hit the gym a couple times. Sam seemed to like my gym, but he wasn't as blown away as Mom was, haha. Anyway, he was glad to get a couple workouts into his visit. Aside from the gym we saw a movie: The Collector, which neither of us were impressed with. Sam was a little mislead by the preview, apparently. The movie was by the same director as the Saw movies, just to give you an idea of what the film entailed. If it had attended to a small bit of the plot towards the end it would have at least been a decent movie, despite the blood, guts and gore. Oh, well.

The other big event during the week was my taking Sam out for sushi for the first time. I'm happy to report that I've converted yet another person to enjoy sushi. One of my colleagues, Jesse Henderson III, was in town from Maryland, and whenever Jesse visits, a group of us go to Wine Down Wednesdays at Urban Flats, then we have sushi at Fuji Sushi. Sam and I skipped Wine Down and went straight for the sushi. Given that we were with Jesse, it was a fun time; always a riot! Sam and Jesse almost instantly clicked and had a couple moments that I'll chuck under "bonding," haha. Sam's favorite roll was The Bubba Roll; he didn't care at all for my spicy tuna roll, haha. Anyway, the food was delicious and we had a good night.


myself, Sam, Jesse, et. al. at Fuji Sushi


I really enjoyed Sam's company for the week that he visited. I'm so glad we've reached that point in our relationship where we can start to relate and be friends as well as siblings. (The four year age gap made that difficult until recently.) Thanks for a fun visit, Sam! Love you!

Amanda

Mom's Summer Visit

As you can see, I'm very behind in my blogging as of late. I'm catching up, so forgive the lack of stories, detail, etc. Hopefully that's okay because you're getting a straight feed of photos and captions - I think that's what folks like to see most. = )


Mom making us a delicious breakfast



At Cocoa Beach, PRE-thunderstorm, haha; here Mom is just before she transformed into the Sand Monster



Mom helped me give Raven a bath



Mom & I at The Lodge, downtown, for the 80s Bar Crawl; we had a rickshaw ride and met Yum Yum, haha!



Mom enjoying the porch for a little patio picnic we had one afternoon



Lounging around; she helped me furnish my apartment, yet again, with some throw pillows



Mom & I at Paradise Beach; it was a PERFECT beach day; we had so much fun in the waves!



Mom, Aunt Joan and I with a gorgeous, fire-y orange sunset after a lovely home-cooked meal in Melbourne



During Mom's visit Sam was in Fargo, ND for a wrestling tournament. Dad snapped this amazing photo of Sam perfectly executing a suplex!


-Amanda

He Doesn't Like Tea

Sam's visit so far has been quite a good time! It's been lovely having him as a guest in my home and city and state. = )

He got in Thursday evening, and professed that he was starving and craving some Chinese food. We stumbled upon a tasty buffet that proved to be perfectly satiating. We got back to my apartment, I gave him the grand tour, he exclaimed how he loved it. It was a fun surprise for him that I had recently invested in an HDTV that could be used for his Xbox gaming antics. The only thing was Ashes' reaction to Sam, haha. The cat went into hiding immediately and would hiss at Sam when we tried to get Ashes out from under the beds. I'd never seen my beloved feline act in such a way, but whatever behavior that was seems to have gone. It was bizarre, I tell you, but all is well now between the two males. (Silly males...)

After Sam got settled into his quarters we went to see The Hangover. Absolutely hilarious! I loved Allen the best, haha! We were laughing throughout the entire film. Loved it. Sam and I were quoting it the rest of the night!

Friday I went to work and had a really dull time at the dentist in the afternoon. Sam slept until 1 or 2 and gamed the rest of the evening. That evening I decided I would purchase a Blu Ray DVD player to take full advantage of my HDTV. Naturally I had to buy my first Blu Ray DVD: Batman Begins. So Sam got to partake in the breaking in of my latest piece of technology and see an awesome movie (how he hadn't seen the entire movie before, I do not know). We stayed up until 3 AM, haha.

Saturday morning we hit Paradise Beach. The weather couldn't have been more perfect, and the waves were absolutely enormous! I'd never seen them so huge. We played in them for a good while before we tuckered out and retired to layout and relax. Neither of us were burnt; quite happy about that.



Sam & I at Paradise Beach, Melbourne




yours, truly


After the beach we stopped by our Aunt Joan's house so I could work on her computer (dead hard drive). While there I shared Aunt Joan's Ice Cream Sandwiches treat with Sam (it would have been wrong of me not to). Upon returning to Orlando we had some Taco Bell that we had at my apartment complex's poolside. Turns out some of my friends from work who recently moved into my complex were hanging out at the pool. Sam and I enjoyed their company, and I proved myself in a little freestyle race, hehe. I tried to warn Jeremy that I was a bit experience in the great sport of swimming. = P Afterwards Sam and I hung out at the apartment and I got some good reading in for my first book club Meetup. I'm about half-way through Fahrenheit 451 now. I really like it, but more on that later.

Today the two of us spent our day at Busch Gardens, Tampa. Boy, was it fun! It had been a few years since I'd been to a theme park, and who better to spend a roller coaster day with than my baby brother!



Sam & I on the tram to the entrance of Busch Gardens, Tampa


I think SheiKra was our favorite; we rode it twice we liked it so much! It's a short ride, but totally awesome because of the straight-down drops!



The Big Drop on SheiKra


Busch Gardens is a great park because there is more than just roller coasters and miscellaneous rides (the Flight of the Phoenix was my second favorite, by the way - think Kings' Island's Viking Ship but one that goes all the way upside down and in full circle!). Anyway, Busch Gardens is also a zoo! I was like a little kid when we passed by the safari animals on the train ride! Elephants, rhinos, ostrich, giraffe (my favorite this time - usually it's tigers/lions but we only saw one tiger), zebra, an ant eater, and, of course, crocs and gators! I really liked the flamingos, too!



me with the flamingos


Everywhere you looked there were topiaries! I liked the tiger and the lion the best.




Me with the terrifying tiger topiary




Sam & I at the end of the day, next to the majestic lion topiary


Amanda

PS - in case you're wondering what the title of this entry has to do with anything, Sam and I had a candid conversation where he stated how he didn't like any type of tea. The way in which he stated it was very funny because it was exactly like Bubba explaining all the types of shrimp meals his momma could cook up. = ) Tea has become a bit of a running joke for me and Sam.

Schtuff

After a few weeks of uber hot weather (warmer than usual for this time of year), the wet season has begun. I was bummed when my sand volleyball game and practice were canceled this week. Hopefully they don't get rained out again next week!

Mom sent me the photo below. Don't my parents look fantastic?!



Mom, Dad and I after the Indianapolis Mini 500 Half-Marathon


Mom also sent me the photo below of my brother taking care of prom business. Isn't he a stud?!



Sam trying out his prom suit


25 May is the next OCC meeting. I'm excited because Bill Fortney is the guest speaker. I checked out his website and found that he has some amazing work! He also has some good quotes posted throughout his website. Here's one that stuck out to me:



good advice from photographer Bill Fortney's website

I'm in love with The Time Traveler's Wife!!! I can feel that it's going to wind up as one of my very favorite books!

Training at worked concluded today. Turns out that I got a pretty darned good SE education at Purdue during my freshmen and sophomore years. Yay! Who knew I'd wind up using my IS knowledge when I went with the NET side of the house?

After work I went to the gym for a 3 mile run and 25 minutes of cycling. After that I picked up tickets for Tiffany and I to see Angels & Demons tomorrow night. I'm a little nervous about seeing the film because of my recent revelation in my Faith... as far as books and movies go, though, it's probably going to be very good. The book, regardless of my beliefs, was done extremely well and remains a favorite (at least until I reread it, if ever with my huge list of books I want to read for the first time). Anyway, I'm excited to hang out with Tiffany tomorrow.

Saturday I'm running at Baldwin Park with Brandie. I'm hoping to put in 7.5 miles. We'll see. No set plans for Saturday night yet.

-Amanda

Indiana Visit

It was so wonderful to see my family! I missed them SO much! Dad picked me up from the airport, so we caught up on the ride home. He was happy to hear that I'd been getting involved with the OCC. That night I survived the barrage of questions fired by my folks (mostly Mom, hehe) about how life was going for me down in Orlando. I assured them that all was well, and we called it a night. Cali is still her rambunctious self, and Creasy has a new hair-do which, as everyone agrees, suits him better.

Friday I slept in, which was unintentional but awesome. I got my hair cut for 50% of the price (yippie!), picked up movie tickets for the group for X-Men, and stopped by the mall and picked up a cool grey and cream striped scarf. It reminded me of Australia.

After being rowdy with Chucky and leaving Dad a hilarious voicemail, haha, Mom, Dad, Chucky & I went to dinner at Fazoli's to load up on carbs for the big race the next morning. I actually drank half a cup of Cherry Coke. I dunno why. After dinner we went to the movies.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was an action-packed movie! Of the comic book films, X-Men is my favorite, so, naturally, I really enjoyed the flick. Hugh Jackman is a favorite actor of mine, which promoted me to enjoy the film that much more. The story line was pretty decent, and I liked learning about the story behind Wolverine. I didn't care too much for Ryan Reynold's character, but whatever. The film was still quite entertaining.


X-Men Origins: Wolverine



Saturday was the Indianapolis Mini 500 half-marathon; see the post devoted to that event. That evening I headed up to Purdue after soaking in the hot tub and napping a bit - I miss the hot tub!

I had a great visit at Purdue. The most overwhelming feeling was the nostalgia of the last 4.5 years of my life. It was really really strange at times. Part of it is due to the fact that the most recent and best year of my stay at Purdue involved Adam, and we're not the same anymore, so when I was at Purdue it was as if part of it was missing. But upon digging back into the years, back to the days of Earhart and parties at Roy's and Jason/Jared/Josh's, and movie nights at Steve's and the Triathlon Club and NROTC and - I enjoyed remembering my whole Purdue experience. But it was still so bizarre being back as a graduate, haha.

Anyway, I met up for dinner at NIBS with Feras, Alex, Devin, the Sees, Pratt, Roy and Jordan. We had a great time catching up and having a few drinks, then we headed to Brother's for a few more rounds. Being at Brother's reminded me of some good times at Breakfast Club. Afterwards a few of us hit The Hookah, which was definitely not the same, but enjoyed nonetheless. The next day I had lunch with Toni; it was great to catch up with her! We talked about this that and the other, and she gave me a parting gift of a beautiful hand-made necklace! After lunch I met up with Jordan to catch up with him one-on-one before we headed out of Purdue Country. Man, how I'd missed him! I hope he visits me soon here in Orlando!


Jordan and I outside of Grey House


After meeting up with Jordan, I had to make a stop at Von's Bookstore. It's one of my favorite bookstores. I ended up picking up a book recommended to me by a dear friend, Inga. I've heard great things about the book and am currently being blown away while only 1 chapter into the novel.


The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffeneggar


When I got back to Anderson it was time for the cookout at Grandma & Grandpa's for Mom's birthday celebration. The food was spot on, the company couldn't be beat, and Sam even kicked off the Birthday Song - a priceless memory! = P Mom liked her gift, a cute jewelry rack, and we all enjoyed had a nice evening. Here are some photos:


Mom and I reaching for a hug



Grandma, Grandpa & I



my two baby brothers and I just before I hopped in the hot tub that night


-Amanda

Random Blurb

Exciting news: Tamara is planning a visit in July! I can't wait to see her beautiful, Australian face! Mom just booked her flight for a visit in July while Dad and the boys are at Sam's wrestling tournament in Fargo! I can't wait to see my Momma again! And! Sam is due for a visit in August! I'm so excited to hang out with my kid brother!

Raven is heading back to the shop tomorrow. Hopefully they'll patch her up properly so she looks like the 5-month-old car she is.

Mom and Dad head out to the Grand Canyon this Friday! I am so happy for them and their big 25th Anniversary celebration! They deserve such an amazing trip like this! I'm also very excited to give them a gift from myself and my brothers. Mom and Dad are going to LOVE it!

I finished 1984 and am now reading The Time Traveler's Wife. I'll post separately on them later.

Sounds like I'll be seeing Angels & Demons with Tiffany & Co. (hehe, I love that) this weekend. It's one of my favorite books, and Tom Hanks can do no wrong. And, speaking of movies, Star Trek was great. The Twitter #annoyatrekkie was hilarious, too, haha. And The Onion's video about how it was actually entertaining was quite funny.

My weekend was fabulous! Friday night Jared and I had dinner at Amigo's - delicious and a step above Maria Bonita's. It was his treat because I was dropping him off and picking him up from the airport on Saturday and Sunday while he was flying home for a surprise Mother's Day visit (he's such a sweet son, isn't he?). After dinner we saw Star Trek, then called it a night. Saturday I took Jared to the airport, had an okay run with the OWR (went out too hard during the first 3 miles then sucked wind the last 3... still finished 2nd, though). Made friends with Brandie, the chick who finished the 6-miler in front of me, hehe, and we're planning a weekend run at Baldwin Park together. She's into some distance running, so I'm really happy we chatted; I'd been wanting a distance running buddy. After the run I met up with Tiffany & Matt at the pool for some basking. After showering up I headed downtown for a photography field trip with the OCC. We did a lot of shots of the city's architecture. The sunset on the skyline wasn't the greatest, but I still got a few nice shots. I'll post about that trip later. After photography fun I met up with Tiffany & Co. at Ember. We had a fabulous night! I'll post about that later, too. Sunday involved a nice sermon at Discovery Church (man, I love that church!), lunch at Crispers, some journaling, a movie (Closer; thoroughly unimpressive in my opinion - downright wretched behavior of the characters, actually), then I picked Jared up from the airport and went to bed. Overall, another excellent weekend!

The OCC meeting Monday was really cool. It was contest night, and while I didn't submit a photo, I did come away with some great news, but I can't share on here until I tell my Daddy about it. Regardless, the contest night was really cool: the judges provided feedback on the submitted entries for the open themed contest as the club president, Anna, went through the photos in a slide show. There were some really beautiful shots. Next month's theme is curves, and I'm definitely submitting. I have a few cool shots in mind...

I'm taking a training course at work this week (today through Thrusday). It's been a good brush-up on some classes I took during my freshmen and sophomore years at Purdue (the information systems side of the C&IT house). I really like the guy who's teaching, and it's a nice change in pace for a few days. It makes for a long day, but a good one, nonetheless.

By the way, it's been freaking HOT down here. Mid-90s since last week. Thankfully the rain arrived as of yesterday! Showers are expected throughout the week. I hope it is blue skies and heat on Saturday, though, because I'd love to be found soaking up rays at the pool!

Picked up some CDs from the library. Time to make an awesome running playlist and hit the gym for a bit.

-Amanda

Defining December

Define: to state meaning and identify essential qualities.

December 2008 was a very critical month in my life. It was the hardest month, no doubt. The long story made short: I broke up with the man I loved for God. Still, there were many other things happening in December, and it is of those things I will write.

I was asked to be in some photos for a women initiative lead by Alka Harriger. The program is called SPIRIT, and I'm excited to see its efforts results in C&IT at Purdue.

Adam and I celebrated Ed's birthday and saw the Nutcracker together. It was a beautiful ballet performance.

Late on 6 December I broke up with Adam, and our lives were drastically altered from where we thought they were heading.

Dead Week at Purdue had never been so true to its name. I managed, and busied myself with my forensic research paper due at the end of the week, which I received a high mark for. Through the week I met with several students bound for Australia come the spring semester. It was really fun to chat about Australia after having not so much for several months. I wish them all the best! I ended up moving home to Anderson at the end of Dead Week.

Sam did really well at the Pendleton 6-Way wrestling meet. I taught my grandma, brother, dad and mom how to play backgammon that weekend. During the same weekend my family celebrated my great-grandmother's 88th birthday. She seems to be enjoying her new living arrangements at Crown Pointe.

Mom and I spent a lot of time shopping up until Christmas. It was a nice way to spend time with her before my two finals. Mid-week of Finals Week I went up and stayed with Alex. Adam and I met up and had a lovely dinner at La Scala, then we hung out with Alex and Feras. The next evening Alex and I went to Vienna to see a Chicago photo exhibition of a friend of his, played backgammon and enjoyed some tea. The following day Alex, Feras and I caught the Colts' game at Hunter's Pub - I really like that bar. Friday I had lunch with Toni, and we had really great conversation. I'm going to miss Toni! That afternoon I met up with Roy for tea. It was so nice to catch up with him; it had been a couple of years. That night I met up with some friends to celebrate Christmas. We had lots of junk food and played Robo Rally, which happens to be a very fun, if not nerdy, game!

Over the weekend I celebrated Christmas with my mom's side of the family, the next morning I graduated, took a day off, then went skiing with Chucky, Christmas Eve party at Grandma's, Christmas Day festivities, and Christmas dinner at my Grandma's. That weekend Sam performed very well at the Ben Davis Invitational wrestling meet. He is still undefeated this season! That Sunday was my Open House. Monday Mom and I hit up several post-Christmas deals and made plans for New Year's Eve.

For New Year's Eve we all went to my Uncle David's for drinks, food and family time.

Many thanks to the friends and family who've helped me along through such a hard month. I couldn't have done it without you.

-Amanda

Sam at Ben Davis

The weekend after Christmas I had the pleasure of supporting Sam at the Ben Davis Wrestling Invitational. I'm happy to share that he went undefeated and took first place! In fact, he's undefeated this season! Here he is whooping fanny:



Mom and I at the mat side:



Mom, Nick and Chucky watching Sam:



Ben Davis (University) is huge. On the walls heading towards the gymnasium there are paintings of a world map. I couldn't resist a shot with Australia!



-Amanda