"Wednesday, May 13
Only three more days until you know what!

Monday, JUNE 1, 1998
Today is the first day of our cousins' Vacation
Bible School. I LOVE Vacation Bible School! It
is SO fun! You get to have snacks and you have
recess and you have Arts + Crafts and song time
and you get to have closing and a Bible story.
Today we made a bracelet.
P.A.W.S. stands for Please Ask Who's my
Savior.
Bekah was going to come, but she decided
not to go.

July 5 9198
YestrDay We Went to the
Cousins. We ate Dinr at ter
hows. We ate hot Dogs
I almost frgt YesterDay
it was the 4fs July.

July 6 9198
I almost frgt We got a noo
Kittin.

July 7 9198
YestrDay DaDDy and mommy
Went to giv blad. DaDDy Went
frst.

July 9 9198
YestrDay We Plad With legows.
and I cleenD up mi Barbies.

July 10 9198
YestrD the Coofols Cameover.
We ate Dinr With them.they
had two littlgirls. Their names were
Christina and Rebekah.

July 14 9198
YestrDay We Went on Vacashan.
We had So mach fan."


First off, I apologise for not posting in almost two months. I've been busy. See, normally I have no life, and have all the time in the world to do things like read fan fiction and post on blogs, but recently I've actually had what some might call a life, and that scares me.
Our vacation in May to visit grandparents was lots of fun. My aunt got married, and we all had a great time at the reception. I'm sure Rachel can find you some pictures from that.
In June, I auditioned for StageStruck's summer show, Li'l Abner, and was cast as Senator Jack S. Phogbound. I had a lot of fun with that. It ended a week ago, and I'm all sad 'cause now I don't have much of a life. I liked having a life. I got to see lots of people from Bye Bye Birdie, and met some new people too. I'll have to audition for Charlotte's Webb this fall.
We are leaving for the For You conference in Asheville tomorrow morning really early. I can't wait!!! Rachel had so much fun at The Feast last summer, and she told us all about it, and she just made it sound like the best thing ever! I really should be packing instead of posting on my blog, but this is just so much more fun.
Also, I should have my journal entries from this month posted in the next week or so.

"Friday, May 8, 1998
My toads died, but not too long until my birthday!
I'll tell you how many days...8 days is how many.
I can't wait!! I'll have cake and ice cream. I'll
get presents. I'm sure they'll be fun. Oh... how
I can't wait! I'm so excited!

I watched my first hockey game today. It was
on tv. The Sabres won. That's who I was
rooting for. I felt so happy that I had to jump up and down.

In only two days it is Mother's Day. Rachel asked
me what I should make. She said I could use
her Highlights.

Sat. May 9 Tonight Daddy found a FROG. It is very
small. I've found toads this small. This frog
has sticky feet. Mommy thinks he's a tree frog.
Daddy found the frog in the basement.
I found a Box turtle today! It was pretty.
he had yellow and red stripes on his head. He
has long toenails and fingernails. Daddy filled
the pool for the Box turtle with a little bit of water.
Daddy also put a big, flat rock in the pool.
My birthday is in only a week."

I loved those toads. I was so sad that I accidentally squeezed them to death. Whenever I think about that, I feel guilty. I was only six, and didn't know any better, but I feel bad all the same. I loved them a little too much, I guess.
I remember that turtle. We've found many a read-eared box turtle since then. I recall, Mom had just called us to come in and get ready for bed. We all came running to the house. As I was running, I ran past what turned out to be a large turtle, just sitting on our lawn!
We leave for vacation tomorrow night. I really hate the day we leave on vacation. I just have to keep thinking about getting there, and having a jolly good time, wot?
Sorry. I do that too much. :)
I ran out of yarn for my current crochet project. It's really worrying me that I won't be able to finish it before we leave. It really is almost done, but I wanted it to be all finished before we left so's I could impress Grandma Sue with how nice it looks.
Please pray for the people of Greensburg, KS. I know you all have been hearing about it a lot on the news. When we lived in Larned, KS, Dad served a vacancy in Greensburg. We made some wonderful friends there. I spent my 10th birthday with those great people. So far as we know at the moment, no one we knew died, but many of them lost everything. It is still hard to believe that the church, the park next door, the water tower, everything is gone!

"Monday, May 4, 1998
Two days ago or maybe three Jojo found a toad.
Bekah picked it up. Mommy got a coffee can and
we put the toad in the can. We looked in the
"Pets In A Jar" book and we found out that the toad
eats earthworms and caterpillars and grasshoppers
and crickets. We also found out that a gallon jar was
what we should put him in. We put dirt in the can
so he could dig and we pit a little bit of water
so he would not die from the sun. I named him
Hoppy.
He went behind the Barbie house. Once he went
and got stuck in the vetrinarian cage! Mommy took
it apart and got him out. She called me and I got
him out."

That incident was rather frightening. We had a little toy pet cage that we used for dolls, and I had put the toad inside of it, though I don't know why I did that. Hoppy had found a way to get himself stuck in the plastic wall of the cage! To this day, I still don't know how he did it. Mom had to take the cage apart with a screwdriver to get my toad out. We found another toad a few days latter, who I named Jumpy. I loved those toads. No, I couldn't write so well at six years old. I was dictating to Mom, who was nice enough to write all of that down for me.

"Monday, April 27, 1998
TodaY it raind. MommY
think's that"

Well, I guess I once again got sidetracked in the middle of writing. I don't remember what Mom thought, but it's really not important now, is it?
I've spent most of yesterday and today working on my crochet project. It's coming very well. I'll get pictures of it when it's finished up here within the next month. Speaking of crocheting, I crocheted a purce for Bekah for her birthday last week. She's thirteen now.
My piano teacher wants me to play organ for Peace the first Sunday in May.

"April 25 9198 SaturDaY
TodaY it was Windee"

I don't know why I wanted to remember, forever and always, that it was windy that day nine years ago. I think I just wanted to write, but couldn't think of anything more important to write about.
I meant to write, last time, that Mom signed me up to take driver ed the week after Easter, but I forgot. The class was really really boring. There was this one guy siting next to me who would not shut up! He was really driving me crazy. I did see a girl there that I knew from StageStruck. That was unexpected, but fun.
I started driving the cheese car this week. I have the same driving instructor that Rachel had, Mr. Rogers. I was really scared at first, and I still am gripping the wheel too tightly, but I'm getting better. I got to use cruise control today on highway 70. Mom was really impressed when I told her.
Back on the thirteenth, my last day of Drivers Ed class, Bekah fell rollerblading, and fractured her wrist. She had to get a cast. She's the first one in our family to break a bone. Her cast will come off right before we leave on vacation.
We leave for vacation two weeks from tomorrow. Mom is really worried. I know it will all be better once we leave. Until then, however, things are kinda hectic around here. I have to finish my current crochet project before we leave. I'll probably do that tomorrow afternoon.

Okay, I've been meaning to post here all week, but I haven't been on the computer since Monday! I know, I shouldn't make you all grieve with me.
I really haven't been doing much of anything these past three weeks. We all got a cold that makes our limbs ache, which is so very fun. Holy Week starts tomorrow, which means we better stop being sick pretty quick here.
My current crocheting project isn't coming as fast as I had hoped it would. I started it back on Holy Saturday last year, and had hoped it would be done by the end of next week, but it's looking like it may take me a while yet.
I'm really missing all the great people I met a StageStruck. I know I'll see most of them in June, but it seems like so long! I think what I liked best about doing this play was that I wasn't 'Rachel's little sister' or 'pastor's daughter'. I was just me! I wasn't in anyone's shadow, and it felt pretty good.

Mom took Rachel, Bekah and I shopping today to get dresses for Auntie Faith's wedding. We spent eight hours shopping! It was a lot of fun, though it was sort of rough before lunch, all of us getting on each other's nerves. We did end up getting all of us dresses. Though they don't match like we wanted, I really think they are all great.
I'm kinda depressed that Bye Bye Birdie is over. I had hoped it would last longer. I guess I'll just have to audition for Lil Abner in June. If anybody knows anything about Lil Abner, please fill me in, because I really have no idea what it's all about.
Also, please watch The Early Show on CBS this Tuesday. My friend, Madeline Edwards, won this contest, Living Room Live, and she gets to be on TV!

We had our first Bye Bye Birdie performance last night, which I thought went well. We had the school performance this morning, which my family went to. I thought that one went pretty well, too. Afterwards, I went to the cast party, at the StageStruck building. I got lots of people to sign my poster, and signed a few myself. It was really fun. They gave all the cast members cups of candy, which probably means I'll be on a sugar high for tonight's performance.

"February 19' 1998
YesterdaY I Got A Letr
it was from rachele!
this is"

I suppose I'll have to explain this. When I lost my first tooth, I wrote Rachel E a letter to tell her all about it. She wrote me back and sent me a sticker! I remember being so excited about it. I was going to copy the letter down in my journal. I don't know why I stopped writing in the middle like that.
Auntie Faith, my dad's youngest sister, is getting married three months from today. I've been counting the days since last May. It's only eighty-nine days away! It's really exciting. She wants Rachel, Rebekah and I to sing at her wedding with our cousins. We all want to have matching dresses, though we don't know if things will work out that way.
The choreographer was back yesterday. I had to be at the college from one 'till eight-thirty, with only five to six for dinner! It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, but it really is a lot of fun. They're having a play this summer, Li'l Abner, and I think I'll audition for it.
Mom wants me to get off and go to bed. So, I guess I will.

Lots of stuff going on. The Superbowl party was lots of fun. There was food, which makes everything better.
I had piano lessons yesterday, which I predictably had not practiced for once. I need to really do that every day.
Today was heart day, which is always fun. Mom made a big heart shaped cake with frosting! She also gave us all bags of candy, which I intend to save, but will no doubt eat by the end of the week.
We started rehearsing Bye Bye Birdie at the college on Sunday. We have a dress rehearsal tomorrow night, though they said that it's going to be a long, boring night.

Snow!! We had snow on Thursday morning! We had no snow last winter. So, this was great, even if it did melt by that evening. I never did like snow, but this is the kind I like, the kind that only is there for a day. Bekah and Joe tried to make a snowman, but they couldn't lift the body without it breaking. Because of the snow, we had no rehearsal on Thursday night.
We had rehearsal this morning. I had to be there at nine thirty to be fitted for character shoes. They're gonna be $33. I feel really guilty about that, though Mom tells me not to.
We have to clean the house today. Dad invited three families to come over tomorrow, for a superbowl party thing. It's gonna be great, but the house is a real mess.

"1998 JANUARy 29
I had a great chrisMis.
LAST Niet Aftre Dinner MOM
Sent Me into Mi ROOM
And She TOld Me I Cant
Cam Out Until the
Barbee's Wr cleend UP
And I Finnisht This
Morning."

I remember this. Mom had grounded me because my floor was covered in barbie dolls. It actually happened twice. The barbie I'm holding in the pic is a Rapunzel doll that I got for Christmas. Mom is saying "GOOD JOB", if you can't read that.
I had rehearsal this evening. We got our tee shirts! They're bright green. I have rehearsal again tomorrow night, Wed night, and Thu night! We don't have the schedule for after that.
I have piano lessons tomorrow. I'm really good at forgetting to practice. It's my special talent!
My current crochet project is coming extremely well. I'm almost done!

I'm having a very busy week. I have to rehearse at Stage Struck(the place where we have all our rehearsals)every night this week, except Tuesday. I have to be there today from five 'till nine. I'm gonna be tired tonight.
Aside from rehearsing, not much has been going on.
Did I forget to mention that we got highspeed? I'm always forgetting to mention things like that. It's great.

I had rehearsal for Bye Bye Birdie on Monday and Thursday. We're practicing the songs so we know them before the choreographer comes next week. I have rehearsal all tomorrow afternoon. It's really lots of fun. I think I forgot to write when the play will be. There will be six performances, March first through fourth. It will be busy, but that's not for almost two months.
Joe is yelling at me to play with him. We have a play-time every Friday and Saturday at three-thirty. I don't know why. It gets annoying. I'm not saying that I don't like to play with my brother. It's just that he's ten, and he knows how to drive me crazy, and does so. He also sleeps on the extra bed in my room every Sunday night. Again, don't ask me why.

Happy Epiphany!
I had meant to post on here last night, but Rachel and Bekah were on, and they wouldn't get off. I waited for two hours!
I had my first Bye Bye Birdie rehearsal on Wednesday night, and then another on Thursday night. It was great. I thought it all went well. I have rehearsals all next week. I'm looking forward to it.
James learned a new word. Seeing as how we got Mom so much candy for Christmas, it's only normal for him to learn the word 'candy'. He thinks it's funny to learn a word, and never say that word. He said it to me once, when I had some candy, and he hasn't said it since. That's James for you. He really does have quite the sense of humor. Like, he knows that Mom is 'mama', but he always calls her 'dada', and when you ask him to say 'mama', he smiles and mouths the word 'dada'.