Category: Illinois

School, Fat Man Squeeze, and Glowing Eyed Deer

11/17/2010

Today was another fun day. We got a lot of schoolwork done this morning, and my mom was able to visit her friend for lunch. She came back at about 2:00, we had lunch (after another late breakfast) and then we headed for the hills – in other words, we went hiking. :-) They have some great trails here, and we went on one that had what was called the ‘Fat Man Squeeze’ on it. We reached a small opening between two huge rocks (we figured that was the Fat Man Squeeze), snapped some pictures, and then trudged on. The sunset was beautiful – everything was gorgeous! Eventually Dad, Nicholas and Noah went the short way back while Mom, Nathan and I continued the whole way around. Oh, and we heard some owls calling. That was cool. Then Dad called Mom on her cell phone to check where we were (we were almost there), and as she was closing her cell phone, she heard him whisper, “OK, they’re on their way.” We figured they were going to try to scare us, and sure enough, we make it to the top of a hill and see Noah coming up. As he was trying to smother a grin he said, “Hey, um, I lost Dad and Nicholas. [giggles] C’mon, they – um, they’re this way – I mean, I think they’re this way – I think that’s where I last saw them.” We were thinking, “Yeah, right,” but we went with him anyway. Eventually we told him, “Noah, you’re so obvious! We know they’re going to try and scare us.” But he didn’t give up – Dad did. When we passed them he thought we saw him, so he came out with Nicholas without scaring us. Basically, the whole thing was a flop. :-) Mom, Nathan and I enjoyed it though. :-) We played some four-square until it got way too dark (and our fingers were about to fall off because it was so cold), and on the way home in the car we saw some deer. Mom tried to get a picture with my camera, but...well...tell me what you think:

We all busted out laughing when we saw that. :-) It’s pretty cool, I think. Here are two more pictures from today:

Well, we’re about to have dinner, so I better go (it’s grilled cheese – yum!). God bless!!

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Wonderful Birthday!!

11/16/2010

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Today was an amazing birthday! Mrsgrammy, I will definitely remember this birthday as ‘different’. J Kiefer family, how in the world did you do that?? That thing is so cool - thanks!! Annabelle and Rachel, thanks so much for wishing me a happy birthday! Even though my birthday was great, I still miss all my friends!! Oh, and Rachel, I was actually going to delete that page a while ago until my mom and I actually had the time to sit down and do it, but she said to keep it up so it’ll be a reminder. :)

I am so blessed to have such an amazing family – today has been great. And the way this day turned out, I think God wanted to us to have a great celebration for our birthday, too. This morning my parents took us to breakfast at Denny’s. (Nathan, um, he has story to tell about that. J I’ll see if I can talk him into posting it on his blog.) It turned out all three of us were free because it was our birthday!! Then we went to this archery place...but it turned out that they had gone under in March. That was a bummer. But then we visited two houses that my mom had lived in elementary school, and that was pretty cool. She told us the story of when she was walking back from school, and the blacktop got so hot that it bubbled. So she sat down on the side of the road and started popping the bubbles with a stick. Her mom – my grandma – was freaked out; she was looking around all over for her and finally found her by the side of the road, contentedly poking at bubbles. J

Then we went by Southern Illinois University and looked around a bit. Mom showed us one part of the building where it had once been the elementary school that she attended, kindergarten through third grade. That was pretty cool. Then, after looking around the town a little bit, we ended up going to the movie MegaMind, which we found to be great! From the previews I wasn’t exactly sure if it was going to have a good moral (the bad guy was the main character, right?), so I didn’t know how that was going to turn out. But we all agreed that it was a very, very good movie. Oh, and we all got in free because we had some gift thingies from a long time ago. And evidently we all got free popcorn, too. But I didn’t eat any because I was still full from breakfast. J So, guess what we did next? There just happened to be a ‘family fun center’ next door – that had Lazer Tag! The whole building was pirate themed – Mom said that was because they stole your money. J It was kind of expensive, but we had a lot of fun. On the way home Nicholas and Dad went into Kroger’s to get lasagna and some other things. They came out with a large white box, like a cake box, and Nicholas told us it had donuts in it. Well, after our delicious, it turned out that it was a cake!! It even had our names on it. The people in Kroger’s were really quick with the cake. It was really good, too – we were all pretty full, but Noah had a small piece, and Nathan and I split an ‘itsy-bitsy’ piece, as Nathan said. Here are some pictures from today (I was having some problems with loading the pictures and everything, and I don't think that there's any captions - sorry):

You see that last picture? Pay close attention to the headlights on the car – they have a tiny ‘windshield’ wiper for each one. Is that hilarious or what?! At least, we thought that was a funny picture. J Oh, and speaking of funny pictures, here’s some ‘captured candids’ of my parents snitching candy from our trick-or-treat candy bag yesterday (I think the one of my dad is the best – does he look guilty or what?):

All in all, it’s been a great birthday – and I’m officially a teenager – 13!!! Awesome. J God bless!!

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Awesome Little Church!!

11/14/2010

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We parked in Camp Wally last night (Wal-Mart) and the RV was completely level! ☺ That was nice. And my mom’s childhood friend came over after dinner and they talked while we watched the movie Hotel for Dogs. We’re going to meet her and her family for dinner tonight! By the way, this morning we had waffles, sausages, and orange juice. Yum! After that we had little church, which we all agreed was one of the best ever. We had decided last week that we wouldn’t use computers during little church anymore; we usually used them for songs. So I wrote down the lyrics to my song by hand on a piece of paper and the rest of the songs we sang from memory – including ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…’. :-) Anyway, that seemed to make it a little better, along with the awesome ‘coincidence’ that Nicholas and I picked the same passage apart from each other (Matthew 5:13-16)…and Mom and Dad picked the same passage apart from each other (Isaiah 58:11-14)!! Amazing, huh? :-) It was a great time of worship and fellowship (hey, you can have fellowship within your own family, right?).

Before lunch we drove the RV around a campground and were met with the discouraging fact that all the sites were either unlevel or reserved. So we are now, after eating lunch, parking in a different campground next to a lake (but it doesn’t have heated bathrooms!!). I hope you have had as…interesting a day as ours. Then again, all our days are interesting - some bad, some good, some in between. So far, I think this has been a pretty good day. :-) God bless!!

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie and....the Gateway Arch!!

11/13/2010

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Yesterday was wonderful!! We spent the two thirds of the day at the Gateway Arch (well, driving there, waiting in line, riding in the pod/tram to the top, and then spending time 630 feet up in the air in the Arch!!) in St. Louis, which was a LOT of fun!! Here’s some pictures that I took (remember to click on the pictures for captions, especially for the first pic!):

It was really cool. Oh, and then, after lunch, we went to the Old Courthouse (where the Dred Scott case took place) and hung out there for a while. I loved looking at the paintings all along the walls (they were dazzling – so detailed and creative!), and the boys enjoyed standing in the center of the building which acted as a microphone because of the acoustics. That was pretty cool, too. After that we drove over to a park and played on the cool playground there. Mom and one of her friends had arranged to meet each other there, and so we did! Mom’s friend has an eight-year-old daughter, and she tagged along. We had a lot of fun talking with them, and then we treated them to dinner at Burger King. And then she treated us to dessert – yum!! We all had a slice of chocolate chip cookie dough pie. Delicious!!

Oh! I forgot to say, though, yesterday morning the boys and I were being silly and I tripped and banged my big toe really, really, really hard on something. I couldn’t put pressure on it at all and could barely move it, so I had some trouble getting out to the car. I did, though, along with a handy dandy ice pack. By the time we got to St. Louis (it took about an hour) it felt a little better, and I could walk on it – carefully. Today I can almost walk normally, which is really good, because yesterday morning we were afraid I might have actually broke it. Anyway, it’s OK now. ☺ I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! God bless y’all!! ♥♥♥

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☺ Ladybugs and Family ☺

11/10/2010

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We’re being invaded by ladybugs!! Seriously, every time we open the door to the RV, ladybugs fly in. They’re like the love bugs we get down in Florida – annoying. J

It has been a great couple of days hanging out with our great-aunt and her husband. We just call them Aunt Deb and Uncle Jeff – they’re both in great shape, and it doesn’t seem like they’re old enough to actually be our great-aunt and uncle. Anyway, they own a yoga studio and the part that they live in is on the third floor – the first floor is some other rooms that business’ rent. It’s actually very roomy – the kitchen is very large, as is the living room which overlooks the street in the front. There’s a hallway with pictures on the walls of their families, our great-grandparents and even our great-great-grandmother!! They have a spacious bedroom that Uncle Jeff renovated himself, and the bathroom in the hallway is sizeable – I should know; I took a shower in there just two or three hours ago. J Oh, and this building was built in 1888!! Cool, huh?

Anyway, it’s been wonderful to get to know them, and tonight we’re going to visit another yoga studio that they own. I hope everyone has had a great week so far! God bless!

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‘Hang Out’ Day

11/6/2010

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Hello, everyone who may or may not be reading this!! J I’ve had a pretty good day today so far - I had an especially great day last Thursday, but today isn’t so bad, either. J Last Thursday Mom and Dad announced to us that we were going to have a set schedule for schoolwork now. I was so relieved!! They said that we were going to do schoolwork on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and they explained the exact routine. So we tried it out yesterday, and it went pretty well. It was a bit complicated with all our school books crammed in between us and all over the car, but we made it work.

The Museum of Science and Industry was great - like my mom said, we thought that it was going to be like MOSI, but at least a little better ’cause it’s in Chicago. We were totally wrong! It was amazing. There was so much hands-on stuff to do, and it was all so interesting. We saw a baby chicken hatch!! It was SO cool. The poor thing worked and pecked and worked and pecked until it was finally free of its egg! Then it just laid there catching its breath. J We also went to this thing where you could find out how to see a strand of your DNA. Three people did it, including 25-year-old Kate who was living at the museum for a month! That thought is cool and freaky at the same time. J Anyway, the guy said that one teeny-tiny strand of DNA is actually - if you could stretch it out all the way - 6 feet tall!! We had a lot of fun there. Oh, and yesterday my parents’ anniversary was yesterday - 22 years!! They went out to dinner while we kids stayed here and watched Astro Boy and Toy Story 3. We’re still kids. J

So far today we’ve just hung out here - ate a late breakfast of delicious pancakes made by my Dad, did our chores, went to the exercise room here at the campground, etc. Today’s our ‘hang out’ day. J God bless!!

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Last few days and pictures!

11/4/2010

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Yesterday was another wonderful day!! We had fun just hanging out here at this awesome campground, and then after lunch we drove over to Wheaton Bible Church to meet a guy that AMFM (Association of Marriage and Family Ministries) hooked us up with. He is married and has six kids, but we didn't get to meet his wife or children. He said that his oldest was a 13 year-old boy, and his youngest was a little baby boy. He has three girls and three boys. Anyway, my parents had a great time talking to him, and while they gabbed away, we kids hung out in another room with tubes and slides and stuff that the boys played on. I sat nearby with my MP3, Bible passages memory cards, and a Bible. We all had a pretty good time there...

After that we had a slightly rough drive home (went to Hungry Howies, discovered it was out of business, every other pizza store was twice the price, so we picked up some pizza and other groceries at Wal-Mart on the way back), and so it took us about an hour and a half to get home, not just one hour. Yeah, our campground isn't exactly close to anything around here, but it's the best we could get. Oh, and here's some pictures (be sure to click on them for the captions!):

Two days ago, while the boys toured the Children’s Museum for a while longer after lunch, my mom and I walked down to Water Tower Place. There we walked around the American Girl Store a bit, but quickly got bored. So we went up and down the elevators, from the 1st floor to the 7th floor. Yippee!! :) There were windows all around the elevators, so you could see practically the whole building while you were going up and down. Hey, don't blame me - it was my mom's idea.

Speaking of my mom's ideas, she was struck by an ingenious plan while we were walking to the Water Tower Place. We passed by two men just as one was saying, "So I went back, and I was determined to marry that girl!" Mom and I looked at each other and laughed.

"But I wanted to hear the rest of the story!" Mom said. "Oh, you know what we should do? We can be walking by someone, and then we could say something really intriguing, like that guy just did."

"OK," I agreed. "Ummm..." We saw a man standing next to a building up ahead. Mom urged me to think of something. As we were passing him, I hastily asked Mom, "So, uh, where do you think we should go after London?"

Mom, holding back laughter, replied, "I think we should go to South Africa. That's where Dad and I went for our honeymoon, and we got that diamond."

"Oh, really?" I said. So we were done, right? Nope. The guy that was standing there by the building decided he had to go where we were going...so he started walking right behind us!! We had to continue our conversation. "Isn't that where you bought that purse as well?" I asked.

"Yeah, that's right," Mom said. We were both trying to muffle our laughter, trying desperately to think of the next line. Unfortunately, we discovered that laughing sometimes blocks your brain from functioning properly...such as trying to talk. Eventually we stopped walking to decide where to go, and thankfully the man passed us and started walking up some steps to a higher street. Unthankfully, at that moment it dawned on us that we had to go up those steps, too. Still laughing hysterically, we followed the man up the steps, where he could hear our conversation even better. I don't exactly know what happened then, but when we reached the top there was a massive crowd. So we slunk away with our tails between our legs, laughing over our miserably failed attempt.

Maybe God was trying to tell us something. You decide...but we're already plotting next attack on some unsuspecting victim. This time, though, we'll make sure that they're actually walking in the opposite direction!

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Hey, peoples! :) I'm glad you found my blog - now I'm going to tell you to go to another blog! ;) This is my old blog (hence the post to the left over there), so you can go to my new blog (with Blogger) with this link: *Forgiven Mess*

A Lot about Me,
Nicole Gregory:

I am your untypical 13-year-old girl (well, I like to think of myself that way). :) I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and I try my best to obey my awesome God. I like writing and enjoy reading even more. My favorite Christian author is Nancy Rue. My two favorite colors are teal and fuchsia. I love animals, especially dolphins, dogs, cats, and horses. My favorite Christian radio stations are JoyFM and K-Love, and some of my favorite Christian singers and bands are Francesca Battistelli, Britt Nicole, Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, J.J.Heller, Mandisa, MercyMe, Casting Crowns, Sidewalk Prophets...the list goes on and on and on. I am home-schooled and I love it! I lovespending time with the wonderful friends God has blessed me with! I love my family who I always thank God for. :) By the way, I am a TRIPLET, with three brothers, Nathan, Noah, and the youngest by a year and a half, Nicholas. God has blessed me abundantly, and I can't wait to see what He has in store! God bless!!

Awesome pic I took of Nicholas at the beach!

Here are some places that I posted from while we were on our road trip

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School, Fat Man Squeeze, and Glowing Eyed Deer

Wonderful Birthday!!

Awesome Little Church!!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie and....the Gateway Arch!!

☺ Ladybugs and Family ☺

‘Hang Out’ Day

Last few days and pictures!

A Lot about Me,Nicole Gregory:

Awesome pic I took of Nicholas at the beach!

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Here are some places that I posted from while we were on our road trip

A Lot about Me,
Nicole Gregory: