I Am a No-Nonsense-Type Individual

   "Do you like homeschooling?  I mean, don't you have any friends?"

   The dental-hygienist seemed quite concerned for my social life as she handed me some fluoride and told me to swish.  I wanted to answer her question before beginning that rather awkward silence where I attempt to not swish too loudly and avoid making eye-contact by gazing at the ceiling, into the empty paper cup, out the window, at the clock shaped like a tooth ... anywhere, really. 
   May I take a moment to ask why in the world dentists feel compelled to interrogate you whilst shoving multiple sharp instruments into your mouth?
   I smiled and told her how much I LOVE being homeschooled and what I was doing over the weekend.  I had to restrain myself from answering with something along the lines of, "Oh, well you know, I know one or two people and get out of the house about twice every couple of months." But ... that would not have been very nice and she probably would have taken me seriously ....
 
   That afternoon I went to the gym with Isaac.  He was going to shoot some hoops while I used the aerobics room to dance. This is my 'get-back-in-shape-without-going-to-classes-because-I-have-still-not-been-able-to-find-a-school-that-fits-my-schedule/budget' plan, since my bedroom is just not working out and I am tired of feeling my muscles shrink back to their original size.  I had visited the gym the week before to ask if I could use the room and I got to see it.  It is HUGE (okay, not huge, but compared to my bedroom ...), full of natural light (which I love, much, much better than fluorescent lights), and the mirrors and barres are really nice.  Unfortunately, there was a class being held in the aerobics room when Isaac and I got there (a class that was not on the schedule, mind you ... ) so I decided to spend my hour and a half watching Isaac, taking pictures, and playing a game full of illegal defensive moves and traveling.

   After that, it was off to the bowling alley!  Which, because I am the easily distracted, forgetful person that I am, I have absolutely no pictures from. *sigh*  We were there to raise money for the Boy Scout troop and Venture Crew.  Honestly, it was the most fun that I've ever had while bowling .... Because, well, since we're being honest ...... I ..... amnotverygoodatbowling.  There.  I said it.  And I'm sure that you are very suprised.  Stunned, even.  But that is the sad, sad truth.  Fortunately, I was bowling with a bunch of people who like to make fun of me.  (You may be wondering why that is 'fortunate'... I will explain.  See, I am already so used to being made fun of, that one more embarrassing moment couldn't hurt? Right? Right.)  Yes.  That evening, full of high-fives, gross bowling-alley hotdogs, cold french fries, one... or two...or three sodas, strikes (or a lack-there-of on my part), exploding volcanos, Donald Duck and Micky Mouse arguments .... I could list many, many things that made that evening so much fun.  And, to top it off, we made money! Yay!

Then, after spending the night at my friend's house, we went to Hohenfel's homecoming football game.  Actually, two football games and a cross-country meet. 

We had a lot of fun.  Taking lots of photos.  Cheering till our voices were pretty much gone.  Eating junk food.  Sounding like a broken record player whilst singing along with the one snippet of a song that was played over and over and over again.  Laughing ... at nothing in particular. 

Oh.  We watched some football, too.

Yes.  I am a homeschooler.  I have friends (a few...).  I get out of the house (sometimes).  I have been told that I am fun to hang out with (when I come out of the corner and talk).  And I am straight-forward and completely serious (Completely sarcastic? Yeah, that's what I meant...).

~RM

Juggling: Socially Risky Behavior

 Slowly, but surely, I am getting back into the swing of things.  Each day has its schedule, although 'normal' cannot be used to describe my school week.  Or life in general.  What is normal?  There always seems to be a last second change.  A new event needing to be scheduled, things needing to be pushed around to make everything work.  But flexibility is one of the perks of being homeschooled.  And blogging is finally inching its way to the top of the priorities list. :)

Afternoons have, until just recently, consisted of walks to the park with Mom and the two little ones.  While Bear arranges his stick garden or guides Mom into his imaginary house (through the back door, because the front is locked, obviously), I spend our last warm outings differently.  Laying on my back in the grass, watching the blue sky, feeling the light breeze brush my face, ignoring the tingling feeling on my ankle telling me that some curious insect or another is striking out over the unknown and watching trees shed golden leaves.  If not for the leaves, I could have sworn that it was still late August. 

Summer has gone and fall has officially set in.  And I can't say that I am sad to see it go.  I have enjoyed the bright, sunny, warm days, yes, but there is something about fall that I have missed.  The bursts of color, brisk winds, and those cloudy days where the best thing to do is throw on sweats and a jacket, make some hot cocoa and sit back for an afternoon of online classes.

Bingo, Latin style.
(With edible, sugary, delicious playing pieces. Best kind of bingo if you ask me.)

I am enjoying school quite a bit this year.  The stress of the first year of highschool is gone and I have been able to relax after getting used to new online class times and homework due-dates.  And so, on top of online classes four afternoons of the week, and babysitting three mornings a week, there are those super important extra-curricular activities such as football games, helping out with Awana, afternoons spent bowling, and Venture Crew events to fit in as well. 

While I do not claim to have the art of juggling events mastered, I haven't dropped a ball (completely, anyways, there have been near misses) yet.  Hopefully I won't ever.  But that is highly unlikely.

~RM



Last Days of Summer...

Mainz, Germany is a very busy place on 'market day'.  Umbrella stand after brightly-colored umbrella stand, filled with fruits, veggies, flowers, fish, and fresh bread crowd the old-town square.  Many different smells surround me.  The smell of the watermelon which was just dropped by that lady (accompanied by the sounds of embarrassed laughter); of freshly baked bread; of basket upon basket of bright sunflowers; of the light breeze collecting all of the smells and mixing them into one single, delightful scent that states quite clearly, "Last days of summer".

My family and I visited Mainz (along with Rothenburg and Ramstein Air Force Base) with my Mimi while she was visiting.  While in Mainz, we stopped by the Gutenberg museum and learned a lot about how the printing press has developed and how it is used .... even though we don't speak German.  We also visited the Mainzer Dom cathedral ^.

 My dad captured some pretty amazing photos with his pretty amazing camera.  Mr. Temperamental-Little-Point-and-Shoot would not have done the lighting justice.

SchlossSchonburg was our 'pit-stop' on the way home.  As the GPS guided us along the Rhein, we saw castle after castle after castle.  So, finally, we had to stop, walk around, take pictures, buy a wooden shield, you know, all those things that tourists are compelled to do.  

And then, once these important tasks were completed, we piled back into the van and reset the GPS to a not-so-scenic, but much quicker route home.

~RM 

A Rainy Day and a Bike Race

While my family was in France we witnessed a few stages of le Tour de France (which is italicized so as to be said in a heavy French accent :P).  We camped road-side for about three hours outside of the town of Moydans.  Rain came and went and it was, over-all, a dreary looking day.  But!  That did not kill the "race-goer" spirit! No, it most definitely did not.  And what, you may ask, did we do to occupy ourselves for that seemingly-never-ending wait?  We did what anyone would have done ....

We played soccer.

Well, most of us played soccer, some of us had to watch from the van and criticize her siblings' awful technique.

Nearing the arrival of the racers, the caravan came by.  The caravan a.k.a.: car after car after car that throw food, candy, hats, and many types of cheap advertisements at you at high speeds. 

It was at this point in the excitement that we all learned ...

What death by sugar means.

A moment of silence was observed for this poor victim...

Among other exciting news: Bear met Eeyore.  He didn't quite trust him enough to look at the camera, though.  That would be inviting an attack.

And, finally, the big finale!  The fantastic finish! The moment that we had all been waiting for!

... That literally lasted a minute (or less) ...

But! It was worth the experience and lots of fun! :)

~RM

Playing Catch-Up

  My summer started out quite slowly.  I didn't do much at all the month of June after our friends left.  'Not much' meaning: summer school, doctor appointments, babysitting, and preparing for the craziness that would be my life, come July.  The last week of June/ first week of July was spent filling out paperwork for a $400 "campership" (yes, "campership") and emailing the information to my wonderful crew advisers who just happened to be on vacation at the time.  And, once that was figured out, I packed my bags for Garmisch, Germany.  Two of my fellow Venture-ers and myself spent a week at Camp Bayern with seven other scouts going through the Kodiak high-adventure leadership course. That week was full of new experiences!  Each day we completed a different commission which included: 'The Effective Team, Values and Vision, Communication, Decision Making and Planning'.  And, after completing each of these commissions, we each received a bear claw, some of which we had to carve/sand down in order to make it look real(ish).

  Our first day at camp was spent setting up our campsite (yes, I can now say that I have helped, actually helped set up an eight-man tent), getting to know each other, digging a firepit, eating chili, and enjoying a nice fire before the rain started.  Ah yes, the rain.  Each and every single day liquid sun-shine blessed us with it's presence.  But, it wasn't really all that bad, because it didn't rain too much in the mornings when we did our activities, our tent only leaked a little bit, and my psychic grandma sent me water-resistant-pants-that-saved-my-life three weeks before I left.

Sunday was spent in Austria at the Kletterwald (i.e. [in English] ropes course).  We had a ton of fun!  I completed three of the eight or nine different courses and would have attempted some of the others if we hadn't run out of time (the thunderstorm may have had something to do with it as well).

  Day numero tres was the gorge hike.  Now, when I asked how long this hike was, I was told eight miles.  Whether that meant 'eight miles up, eight miles back' or 'eight miles round-trip', I don't know.  All I know is it was long and very much up-hill and I was quite tired when we finished. But, it was gorgeous (harhar, very punny :P), the gorge water was amazingly delicious and refreshing, and over all, it was very much worth the effort.

  Tuesday.  The day I almost died.  The day we hiked the Kramer (a.k.a. The mountain of eternal pain < insert dramatic dun-dun-DUN music here > ).  Most of our group made it up and back just fine, though two of the girls had to go back to camp due to knee problems/ heat exhaustion. Sadly, we did not make it to the very top. We had six liters of water left between the ten of us, 300 meters left to go of tough climbing, and not very much shade on a very hot afternoon. So, as a group, we made the decision to head back down. Not many of us were disappointed ...

View from a little over halfway up Kramer.

  Day number 5, Wednesday, was cable-skiing.   Which, I must admit, I have not in any way, shape, or form mastered.  Though, wipe-outs, long-walks-on-gravel-paths-while-barefoot, and wetsuit complications aside, I had a blast and want to do it again with my family sometime.

  Then Thursday was the last day of high-adventure activities (and, in my opinion, they saved the best for last).  White water rafting! Yup!  In Austria.  Level 3 rapids (on a scale from 1[easy] - 6[impossible]).  I.  Loved.  Every.  Second.  Our German instructor (guide? captain? admiral?...) was quite entertaining as he led us in our 'river warfare' (which my raft won, just saying...).  One of his insults to another raft being, "You look like a millipede! With only 999 legs!!" .... How I love Germans :)

  And, sadly, it all had to come to an end sometime.  Friday was dedicated to packing-out and heading home.  Which was a very bittersweet experience.  I loved the camp atmosphere, the people, and the super exciting adventures we got to have, but home, family, and my own bed were calling and I was glad to be back ... for about four hours before heading to France (another post is on the way, I promise!).

~RM 

A Summertime Photoshoot

Of my dear Belle.

~RM

A Story Long Belated...

Last month, our home was blessed by the visit of some good friends from Hawaii.

Which meant that we got to 'show them around' ... Though, that can be kinda difficult when it's your first time visiting some of those tourist-y sites as well.  We had a ton of fun, though.

The Astronomical clock in Prague.

One of the places we visited for the day was Prague.  A beautiful city.  Once you get out of the subway station.  We have been quite spoiled by the cleanliness of Germany. 

For some strange reason I had a strong urge (that I supressed, of course) to poke him.  Or say something so amazingly clever and funny that he just HAD to laugh.

That would probably have got him fired though .... He must enjoy his job so much.

Oh yes.  This is my:

'WOAH!-I-think-I-just-may-have-zoned-out-for-the-first-half-of-your-sentence-please-repeat' look.

And the reason this lovely expression was caught on camera is because my father doesn't love me.

I am so mistreated and unloved.

And I am not even going to mention the photo that happened when my dad said, "Hey Micaiah!  You've got something on your nose."

Gullible?  Who, me? Nooooooo.

One of my favourite outings was the Nurnburg Zoo.  And I think it was one of Bear's too. :)

Ah, the joys of the petting zoo.  Little boys crying hysterically while running from some poor, misunderstood animal who only wants to be loved.  Attempting to feed one goat (are they goats? I don't even know...) while another, obviously pregnant and hormonal, keeps butting you in the leg.  An unholy stench. 

Yes, there is no place to equal it. 

And yet another individual that is obviously overjoyed with their situation in life.

I pity the fellow.

The dolphin show was tons of fun.  Besides the fact that we couldn't understand a single word that the trainers were saying.

Well, I take that back.  We understood the "Ja!" and "Nein" and "Danke" portion, but other than that, they could have been encouraging the audience to "Be sure and try this at home in your swimming pool!" or "Try this with your goldfish!  They aren't nearly as smart as these dolphins, but with the help of a low-watt taser they should be accomplishing these tricks in NO time."

Overall, it was a joy to host our friends here in Germany! (And we wouldn't mind a second visit *hint-hint*).

~RM

Campfires, Minor Internal Bleeding, Group-hugs and Simple Math.

This weekend was Crew 303's first camp-out.  Which happened to be my very first camp-out as well.  

And I am alive and (mostly) unharmed!!

Amazing, I know.

We camped at Camp Freedom in Ansbach, which is about two hours from Lupburg.  The weather was quite chilly both Friday and Saturday (it didn't rain, thank heaven) while Sunday was beautiful, warm and sunny.

  By the end of the weekend I had:  Learned how to tie a bowline knot and a few different hitches and lashings (which I can still tie almost a week later :D).  I 'helped' set up and strike a tent (depending on how much interaction is needed in order to be considered 'help').  Minor internal bleeding and a small concussion were the results of a very exciting campfire skit.  I was given both my Totin' Chip and Fireman's Chit (meaning I am now licensed to carry and use a knife, saw, and/or ax and start a fire .... kinda scary ;P).  I completed both IOLS and ILSC training.  We stumbled upon the fact that an aluminuim-foil ball and a campstool can be very entertaining.

AND, to round it all off, I made some new friends.

Ansbach Crew 97 + Hohenfels Crew 303 = The Big Cheese Crew 400. 

A.k.a.: Pure Awesomeness.

I had an amazing time and learned so many new things and I would gladly do it all again!!

~RM

It's Just One of Those Days....

When I want to curl up with a good book, a blanket, and some warm peanut-butter cookies ........ Instead of studying for finals.

~RM

This is the Title of my Amazingly Creative Blog Post.

Today I found that, suddenly, after my span of writer's block, I have so much to say.  So, here I sit, typing till my fingers are numb, thumbing through our thesaurus for acceptable adjectives, editing and uploading pictures, spinning in my desk chair and racking my brain attempting to fit the word "discombobulated" into my post somehow.  Yes, blogging world, I am back.

Over the past few weeks nothing very exciting has happened. Besides our trip to Italy.  So that is the purpose of this post.  To "sum up" our trip to Italia.

Day #1 was spent driving through the Alps.  It was about a six hour drive that took us around a bazillion (or seven) and a half hours.

Day #2 was spent touring Venice both on foot and in a gondola. It is a beautiful city, but both my mother and I agreed that if all the crowds would just disappear, then it would be even more wonderful.

Day #3 we didn't do anything big.  Just shopped at the market in Citadella (I bought some snazzy sunglasses that look VERY european *cough* :P).

And then there was "Cooking with Giancarlo".  My dad had arranged with Francesca (the owner of our rental) for Giancarlo to come over and teach us how to cook some real Italian food.  I learned how to skin a tomato. :P

Day #4 we went to Verona and visited Juliet's balcony.

Day #5 (our final day in Italy) was spent puttering around some of the smaller cities near Citadella.

Every three years there is a huge festival held in this town in September.  Everyone dresses up in medieval costumes and one of the many activities is the "human chess game" that they play here in the square.

^My Italian sunglasses :P^

Saying goodbye to (in Bear's words) "Italy's house".

Day #6 was our drive home with a little detour to Salzburg, Austria.  We got to visit several of the 'Sound of Music' sights while we were there.

This is a photo taken at the 'trick fountains' of Hellbrunn castle.  The trick fountains can be summed up as a 400 year old water park.  Abi was brave enough to volunteer for this activity and was rewarded with a shower.  See the holes in the benches?  Water shoots out of those holes when a certain switch is flipped by our all too willing tour-guide.

This is the music theater which is operated by water.  In the words of our tour-guide, "No pumps! No power! Only water pressure!!"

And then the last stop before home.  The "I am sixteen, going on seventeen" pavilion from The Sound of Music.  Unfortunately, they had the doors locked.  If that had not been the case I would have been jumping from bench to bench singing at the top of my lungs. ..... Maybe it was a good thing the doors were locked ....

~RM

Photo credits to my dad :)