"Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that..."

I make lists a lot when I write. In emails and things. Mari likes to tease me for it... =]
And I have a list of random updates, tidbits, and pictures for you today. Yay for lists.

1. Our cousin, C, just this week left for the Navy. We went out for ice cream to say goodbye, and he managed to give us a summer cold before leaving =P (which were are all passing around to each other). We appreciate everyone who will be praying for him there!

2. We like to read. This isn't really news, but we have a bunch of poor quality pictures (for some reason...) with us reading from the last month or so. Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

3. We also like hiking. We went on a nice hike just last weekend.

4. We may not be posting for a little while. Mari (our main poster) will be enjoying classes that will transform her into a CNA (certified nurses assistant)! Yay for Mari. And I will be a counselor at a camp (will post about it) pretty soon. It's a sad excuse for not posting since the camp itself is only three days, but any "vacation type thing" pretty much puts me in a lazy mood for a good week afterwards so I wouldn't expect any more updates until late August.

Sorry (but hey, this post is so long, it should tide you over for a while.).


On that note, goodbye!
Sam

Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh!

Yay! The day we've been anticipating, waiting for with such excitement! Okay, truthfully, you all probably did what I did and almost completely forgot about it!

Well our winners are . . . .


*drum roll*






*drum roll crescendos*




*silence*






Duh, duh, duh, Duuuuuhhh!




Second Place award goes to Sarah and Lady L! We had a tie!

And First Place prize to theliane!

Thank you all for playing and entering. I had fun and I hope you all did too!

"Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!"

Happy Independence Day!

My siblings and I put on a play this afternoon, called The Vote. It was a lot of fun to do and interactive play, and I must say, Goldilocks played John Witherspoon and she memorized all of her lines perfectly!

Fun Fact about the Fourth: Did you know that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, both of whom had not only signed the Declaration of Independence but went on to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on July 4th, 1826. Another Founding Father who became President, James Monroe, died on July 4, 1831 becoming the third President in a row to die on Independence Day.

I hope you all have a blessed and joyous Fourth of July! In honour of this day, guess what I've got for you! A game! Who thinks they know some history? If you're up to it you can play, and earn a point for our giveaway. (To check out the prizes read this post.) This will be everyone's last chance to earn some more points and then we will announce our three winners! I'm very excited!
The giveaway will close July 10th! The winners will be announced Thurs, the 11th!

Okay, rules:
Pick any ONE question you'd like to that hasn't been answered and comment with your best guess! For example, if you like question 6 and no one in the comments has answered it yet, then you can comment with both the question number (6) and the answer letter (a, b, c, or d,).

1.Who was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence?
a) Benjamin Franklin
b) George Washington
c) Thomas Jefferson
d) John Adams

2.Which of the following was not one of the thirteen original colonies?
a) Georgia
b) Virginia
c) Vermont
d) Massachusetts

3.Which of the following did not sign the Declaration of Independence?
a) Samuel Adams
b) Benjamin Franklin
c) John Hancock
d) George Washington

4.Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?
a) John Philip Sousa
b) Francis Scott Key
c) Katharine Lee Bates
d) Samuel Francis Smith

5.The Second Continental Congress met in which city to draft The Declaration of Independence?
a) Boston, MA
b) New York, NY
c) Baltimore, MD
d) Philadelphia, PA

6. Which of the following European powers did not fight on the side of the colonists in the Revolutionary War?
a) Spain
b) France
c) The Netherlands
d) Germany

The title is a quote from the last verse of our national anthem.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

From all of us to you: 

"Independence now, Independence for ever!" (John Adams)