Larkwhisper Is Still A Cool Name

Mom had a bad day Sunday.
so we went to Red Lobster, just the two of us, and then to Barnes and Noble. (What's better than crab meat and books? hmm? the answer is pretty much nothing, except cake. maybe.)
okay. soooooooooo...
i bought two things. due to my current obsession with birds, it comes with the territory of writing a story with a main character named Larkwhisper (inspired by yours truly!), i bought myself this cute little notebook.
isn't it cute? i love it. it's blank inside, perfect for writing. =]
anyway, the other thing i bought was a book called Hawksong.
i have this bad habit of not paying attention to the authors, which can sometimes get me into a little trouble. (Like accidentally picking up a book by Stephanie Meyer, for example. oh, fateful day. just teasing, i knew who she was, i just can't not finish a series. but other authors, that i should know are crazy feminists/serial killers/the leader of communist Russia/whatnot. not really to that extreme, but generally just authors that i didn't like something else by them, and wouldn't have picked up their book if i had realized who they were.)
well, i picked up Hawksong. now, i got home, and as i was reading, i thought to myself, "Hey. this writing style feels so familiar. wow... it feels like..." -checks book cover- "Oh, yeah it is. Amelia Atwater-Rhodes."
which i'm totally okay with. i'm rather fond of her, in a big sister/little sister way. (Depending on what thing i'm talking about.) for example, when i read her book, which is, by the way, rather simplistic in writing style, with large, often hard to pronounce fantasy names and things like that, i feel like an incredibly proud older sister. like, i read In The Forests of the Night, and i was like, "Wow. for a 15 year old girl, this is pretty stellar." and now i just keep reading stuff by her, and i'm watching her writing style grow and blossom and she's so much more accomplished now... and yet it still has an almost childlike quality about it. it makes me think of me, kind of. but different. we write differently. but it's the essence that's the same.
anyway. i also feel like a little sister. because, well, i wish i could get my book published. i wish i could be just like her, and have someone read my book and be like, "Hey, isn't that awesome!" and publish it for me. but that's not going to happen.
i'm not forward enough.
also, i think a little of the joy will be taken out of it for me.
Ben's sending his children's book to a publisher.

[this is where i'm going to whine a little bit. (Sorry, guys, i've been in a bad mood.)
i've written two full length novels. (Granted, they're not amazing. but they don't suck, and i like them, and other people like them, and i've worked hard on them.)
Ben wrote a children's novel. yes, it's awesome.
Mom read it and got all excited and helped him find a publisher and won't shut up about it.
she hasn't even read either of mine.
i even offered to let her. i gave her my first one, in a nice, bound copy, and said she should read it.
four months later, i finally asked if she had finished it, because i really needed to get it to the girl who had offered to help me edit it.
she had read, like, a page, and then set it down and hadn't even looked at it again. it was in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. she had to look for it.
that really, really, really hurt my feelings. so i know i'm not going to get any help from her. i'd like to get it published, but i don't think i'd be able to deal if my conversation goes like this.
Me: OMG I'M GETTING MY BOOK PUBLISHED AND AAAAAAH!
Mom: that's nice, sweetie. did you hear what Ben did? he got his children's book published. it was so amazing, and he even drew his own pictures. isn't he awesome?
Me: ... uh... yeah... i guess so...
Mom: Yes, he's perfect.
Me: i'm going to go now.
Mom: okay. oh, yeah, good job.
or this.
Me: i didn't get my book published. they didn't like it.
Mom: i'm sorry, sweetie. Ben got his children's book published. it was so amazing, and he even drew his own pictures. isn't he awesome?
Me: -bursts into tears-
Mom: OMG WHY ARE YOU CRYING? -confused face-

so, yeah. both of those sound pretty sucky. so i figure it'd be better just to not do it. (or not tell my mother, and publish under a different name. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!)]

Anyway. i went to a funeral yesterday. it. was. awkward. see, it was my aunt, so my mother was really, really, really upset. but, see, the last time we'd seen her was when she came to our house to give me a christening gown. (Yes, i'm serious. it's been, like, 17 years.) so i didn't know her. and it was a lot of meeting cousins i didn't know, and an uncle i've never met... not fun. Dad took us out to lunch, and then we came home.

Finale was last night. interestingly enough, Finale is also tomorrow. (who knew you could have more than one Finale? =])

also, Paige and Elliot broke up. Elliot and i have plans to watch Moulin Rouge! and eat ice cream. super fun. =] (Not that they broke up, that we're going to hang out.)

Later, kids. =]

Really Quick...

First order of business! This is a shout out to Josh, who apparently got bored and sat on his couch and read the past, like, sixth months of my blogs. That makes him my very own blog stalker! (apparently, he misses having a class with me. i used to write him short stories about people we knew, like Evan, that were pretty much hilarious. we really got no work done--but we laughed a lot.) JOSH, IF YOU READ THIS, I LOVE YOU! =]

Next order of business--my brother is in band. the middle school band left this morning, all weekend, for St. Louis. by the transitive property, you can see that MY LITTLE BROTHER IS IN ST. LOUIS ALL WEEKEND! PARTAY! (par-taaaaaaaay!) I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH HIM! ALL! WEEKEND! -bursts into giggles-

I did not blog yesterday. (don't roll your eyes at me, i state the obvious often.) anyway, i meant to. but i got home, and went into my room, only to hear a knock on my door. so i jumped off my bed, opened the door, and there was my daddy.
Daddy: oh, hey, you're home, good.
Me: hi, Daddy, how was your day?
Daddy: good, good... i'm going fishing. you can come if you want.
Me: YAAAAAAAAY!
so we went fishing, and had pizza. my daddy is the best.

then i had practice, which was totally awesome. i don't know if i've told you, but i'm dancing at Calvary for their youth Sunday. it's a skit. i'm pretty excited.

i'm gonna go now. later, kids. =]

Prom, State, and Various and Sundry Other Things

Saturday was a rather important day, all around.First off, a soccer game. it was FREEZING. the wind was practically blowing my small children off the field. heck, it caught me and threw me around a few times. it was RIDICULOUS. i ended, like, five, ten minutes early, simply because my children were little soccer playing popsicles, and i couldn't stand the wind anymore. but they were pretty good sports about the whole thing--they played really hard, even though their poor little hands were FREEZING. at half time, they all piled on top of me for warmth. (Oh, so you know. Brock is creeping into my "favorite team member" place. But i still love all my kids. =])
anyway. Saturday was also State and Prom. so i got back from soccer, cleaned my room, grabbed a shower, and started getting ready. i painted my toenails, but not my fingernails, because of State. i live by the hard and fast rule of not having painted nails on stage. but my toes were pretty.anywho. (Hey, look, the corner of The Vile Village! That's what i read while my toes dried.) okay, seriously, moving on. i fixed my hair and went to State. we maybe a little bit were pretty much amazing. Cum Sancto was awfully pretty, Spring was stunning, John the Revelator... well, that one was shaky at best. (whew. it was scary.) but all in all, we did quite well. we placed third. YAY US! i'm really proud of us. Goshen was first, Heritage Christian was second. anyway. i went back home and Danielle and i got dressed for prom.

There we are. yay us. anyway, we put out food and set the table and got drinks and let our parents take pictures and all that, and by the time we were done, our boys had arrived. (Well, Cole was exceptionally late. but i'll still put up a picture of the four of us.)

Aren't we awesome? look how short i am. i'm wearing heels. -frowny face- oh well.
anyway, we went to prom, and had an awesome time, and danced and had fun and whatnot. After that, we all piled into the car. Now, while we were eating, Cole had said that he was a terrible driver. so, Ray was like, all right, "i'll drive down there, since Caitie will need to navigate, but you can drive home, that'll be easy." well, we got out to his truck, and we realized that he wasn't even parked on the curb. he was sort of veered towards the curb. anyway, Ray drove us down without a hitch. but then, when we got in the car on the way back, Cole was going to drive. he handed me his Tomtom, and i asked what i needed to do with it. he said, "hit the screen, then navigate to, then home."
turns out, someone had programmed that thing to take us to Mooresville. but Cole wouldn't believe us that we were going the wrong way. also, he was a terrible driver, and he tried to kill us four times. seriously. like, once, he was messing with the radio, and the road curved, and Cole didn't, and almost hit one of those big concrete dividers when Ray and i yelled at him and punched him. anyway, we got totally lost, and discovered how we all took that. Ray and i got antsy and focused and things weren't funny. we wanted to get home and we immediately made plans to accomplish just that, along with back up plans in case the plan failed.
Cole and Danielle, on the other hand, would have just wandered aimlessly for a ridiculously long time, and thought it was awesome. they kept saying things like "Isn't this a fun adventure?"
NO! NO IT'S NOT! WE'RE LOST! IT'S TIME TO FIX IT!
so, at the end of the drive, it was decided that we were NEVER going to let Cole drive again. Ray is the driver, i am the navigator, and Danielle and Cole need to sit in the back and shut up. all in a Christian loving way, of course. i'd just rather not die.
anyway. we stayed at Cole's house until after four, came home, and then Danielle wanted to chat. she had fallen asleep at Cole's house. anyway, she wanted to chat, so i fell asleep at, like, 5. then i got up early. (Mother's Day.) we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. then i slept. it was a great weekend. =]

I'm A Words Person, Not A Numbers Person

Math or blog?
oh, come on, that's easy. i'm blogging, not doing math.
i hate math. i dislike numbers. which is odd, because i like order, and rules, and a set way to do things. (i love geometry. i hate calculus. don't ask for an explanation, that's all i've got.)
So, Sunday, i was at Calvary, singing. (YAY! i love those guys.)
Well, my dear friend Kelsey came. (i haven't seen her in a while. she's one of the few people that i actually honestly miss when i don't see her for a while. so i was super excited when she showed up and handed me a donut. she's the best.) anyway, since we hadn't seen each other in a while, we decided to go out to lunch. After all, we were both going to the Jesus Christ Superstar script read through. (by read through, i mean movie watch. =] ) that meant that we both needed a dessert, so we decided to go out to Applebee's and then make a cake. it was totally fun. we chatted through lunch, ate dessert, went home and made a cake, practically passed out from too much food, watched My Name is Earl... it was fun. Ray came over at one point and chilled with us. then we went to the movie, which continues to be amazing, just saying, and ate pizza, and then we had youth group.

we played this game called Bigger and Better at youth group. each team started with a paperclip, and then we had to get lots of stuff. we managed to get a broken tv, a large stuffed bear, a chair, a cd, and a bar of soap. it was really fun. my group was Elliot, Kelsey, me, and Ray.

Then, Monday morning, i was woken up by Mr. Braun. see, the engineering club was going to race the Supermileage car. (it's not really a race, it's a competition. but whatever.) and he wanted me to come. so i rolled out of bed, grabbed my keys, and met them at the park. it was freezing! SO COLD! but i hung out with two sophomores and a freshman all day. we did lap count and ate food and checked out cars, and i took pictures. totally awesome.

Tuesday, i had to go to school. (bummer.) then i had soccer, because it was Tuesday. my kids were fun, but rowdy. we practiced throw ins, but i tossed the ball to Jake just as his dad walked up, and i totally smacked him in the face with it. -facepalm-
fortunately, that cracked his dad up, and Jake ran up and gave me a big hug, so we're totally good.

Wednesday... School, then Awana. i help, or rather forced, Garrison do his Bible verses. he's a cute kid--pretty fun. =]

Yesterday... okay, i want you to remember that i love my Mommy. but when i was picking out my prom dress, she was like, "hey! why don't we make one!" and i was like, AWESOME!
so i picked out the fabric--purple satin, and rainbow netting over the skirt. i picked out the pattern--a vintage pattern that kind of looks like Marilyn Monroe's dress in Seven Year Itch, but has a high back. i got home yesterday and found out that she hasn't even started it.
look, it bothers me to not be ready for stuff. Prom is NEXT WEEK, people! so i was freaking out a little. i couldn't say anything to Mom. she said i was "bothering" her. (wow. thanks) anyway, she'd also get all upset about how i "don't trust her" or something.
so i talked to Alison. i went over to her house, and i told her my problem. i was like, "i could wear last year's dress, but it's gold, and Ray already got a purple vest and tie to match me." and she was like, "oh, purple?" so then we went up to Joelle's room, and Alison went in her closet and pulled out her old prom dresses. one of which was gorgeous and TOTALLY. PURPLE. thanks, Jesus. Thanks, Joelle. Thanks, Alison. i love you all.

anyway. today i'm going to see Guys and Dolls at Danielle's school. (yaaaay.) Danville productions are... interesting. but whatever. i'll grit and bear it, as Danielle is ALWAYS AMAZING.
oh! and Tim got the score for JCS, so we worked on that today. i love it. i love it sooooooo much. =]
later, gators. off to math.

Dad's Painting, Which Makes Him Grumpy, So I'm Blogging!

A couple stories, today.
one involves... well... my stories.
so i went out to dinner (Chinese food!) with Maggie and Tom and Stephen. (that's two choir kids, two band kids. we sat on opposite sides of the table and threatened each other for a little while. =])
and we somehow got onto the subject of how i tell stories. and Tom said basically this. keep in mind that he adopted a slightly higher pitched voice, flicked his hair a lot, and was practically jumping all over the place, flailing his hands.

Tom: you always come into study hall with all these adventurous stories to tell. but, if i were telling the same story, i mean... they're not even adventures. i mean, i'd say, "i made a hot dog." you'd say, "OMG, so i decided that i wanted a hot dog, right? and i went to the fridge, and i opened the fridge, and i grabbed the package of hot dogs, but the package was sticky, so then i had to go wash my hands, and then i got the hot dog out and put it in the microwave, and the microwave got all warm inside and the hot dog ALMOST EXPLODED, but it didn't, and then i ALMOST BURNED THE HOUSE DOWN, but i didn't, and then the microwave was done, so i opened the door and grabbed the hot dog, but i SEARED MY HAND and it fell on the floor, and i couldn't eat that, so instead i had to make another hot dog.

i am inclined to agree with him. :D

All right... soccer was this morning. so, i have ten kids(four girls, SIX boys! holyohmystars, boys are crazy. awesome, but wiiiild. :D), right? (quick side note. two of them, Brock and Lane, are identical. Lane just got a haircut. thank you, Jesus.) anyway. i try to make sure that all my kids get a goal, you know? it makes them happy, and i like that. so today, i focused on Anya.
oh my stars, is she adorable. little round face, big eyes, red hair, freckles, the works. so cute. anyway, Anya and Jake and Lucas were all on the field. and when the ball went out right next to our goal, kicked by the other team, i was like, "awesome. chance for Anya to get a goal." so i had Jake get ready to kick the ball, and i put Anya right next to the goal, and Jake kicked it to her...
and one of the other team grabbed it and ran away. well, i'd told Lucas, who is an amazing player, especially for five years old, what i was doing. get this. he takes off down the field, gets the ball, runs it back, waits for Anya to catch up, passes it to her RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE GOAL. she scored. i don't know which made me happier. the fact that Luke is AWESOME, or her big grin. it was the sweetest thing i saw all day. it was ABSOLUTELY adorable.

also in the soccer vein, the kids have all decided they like me. (Except Izzy. she pretends to not like me. i come up and tease her, and she grins, and then i say, "Ah, you're smiling! is that a smile?" and, still grinning, she shakes her head frantically and says, "no!" she's such a cutie.) and at half time, we go and have a devotional. (SonShine Soccer is a non-competitive league out of Hope Community Church, by the way. it's awesome.) so we pretended to cars and raced to the field where we have devotionals. and then i sat down, spreading my rain jacket so there would be a dry space. not that i needed it. as soon as i sat down, all six of my boys were suddenly in my lap, on top of each other. (poor Max, the smallest, had reached me first, and was being crushed.) so i threw them off me, saved Maxie, got piled on top of again, saved myself, and ended up with Brock and Lane on my knees, Jake sitting on my shoe, Max standing behind me with his arms around my neck, Brayden kneeling on my coat, leaning against my side, and Lucas trying to shove the twins apart to sit in my lap. he ended up just kind of hovering over my shoe. all of this happened so fast, that my four girls were just standing there, staring at me, completely confused as to what had just happened. they kind of formed a cluster and hovered over my shoulder, by Max. it was pretty funny.

OH! and at the end of the game, i was trying to get them to line up to give the other team high fives. they all got in line behind me, but when i put up my right hand to get them to hold out their right hands, they all freaked out because my sleeve slipped back and they saw my Batman bracelet. we immediately had to have an intense superhero conversation, and Jake had to show me his Spiderman hat. (That kid also wears gloves with HOCKEY on them, and a penguin with crossed sticks.) it was tons of fun, and it didn't rain! YAY! Dad is painting, which makes him grumpy, and i'm too short to be of much help. -sighs- so i'm staying out of the way. :D

Lost As A Candle Lit At Noon, Lost As A Snowflake In The Sea

Hi, sorry for the second post today. this'll be super quick.
Zennon has decided that some of us need to sing I Am Not Yours, from last year. (Remember in my post about Spring, i said that Mr. Shank (TAKE THAT, GOOGLE ALERTS!) had used Sara Teasdale poetry, and if could you say I Am Not Yours? yeah. we're singing that. epic excitement. it's so pretty. that's all. until later, gators.

Courage and Valor (And All Things Cute)

Information time!The Ray Downey Courage and Valor medal is a medal awarded to fireman who have shown... you guessed it, courage and valor. the firemen (and sometimes their families) do an annual run, the Courage and Valor 5K Walk/Run, to raise money for the fireman who is awarded the medal. (The stories are really neat. http://www.courageandvalor.com/ has the last few years.)
My Daddy is a fireman.

(in case you missed it, at some point.)

So, yesterday, i got home from school and found out that Dad was going to go do the Courage and Valor 5K. and my mother was going too. (She's trying to lose weight, and her Weight Watcher group has decided that they each have to do a 5K within ten weeks.)
so she was like, Caitie, your father won't walk with me. he wants to run it. will you come?
So i did. Dad was disappointed. apparently, he wanted to recruit me to run with him so he'd have someone to run with. this is the part of the story where i inform you of some stuff.
1) Dad's on a new kick, where he wants to train me to run with him, since neither of the boys will.
2) a few years ago, i damaged my knee. if i run too much, my kneecap hits the bone underneath it and bruises it. this is mildly painful, and really annoying. i don't run too much, but i miss it, i'd like to get back to it.
3) i haven't gone running in a while.
4) Dad has decided, now, that i am going to run a 5K with him in June. a night run.
5) i'm always up for a challenge.

Guess who's going running tonight? i'd rather not embarrass myself too badly. Dad's good at keeping me motivated, but still. i'd like to be KIND of in better shape. so i'm going to take a run tonight, just around the neighborhood. i'll take my music. it'll be exciting. also, i got a shirt. it's huge. i'm going to have to figure out what to do with it. (i think i'll wear it with leggings. i have a red belt somewhere, so that'll work nicely. i'm wearing it today with capris, but it's just so big, i'm swimming. Ray's only comment was "You have bad luck with t-shirts", so i tied it up with a hairband. i like it a little better now. but it just looks so darn cool! Here's a pic of the front.) (Nifty, right? i like it a lot. sorry, i took it with my nifty little laptop cam thing, so the picture sucks. =])

back to the Courage and Valor Walk/Run. This is the part of the blog where i shamelessly stroke my ego. sorry, guys. so, on the way there, Dad informs me that he has only one rule for this.
No talking to any of the firemen except him.
Me: -blinks- what?
Mom: you're too cute.
Dad: firemen are bad. (i'm paraphrasing, here)
Me: you guys are ridiculous.
so, we get there and start, and Mom and i are keeping up a nice pace in the back. (By nice pace, i do mean that i didn't sweat too much and desperately wanted to catch up with my Daddy.)
Right behind us were the guys in their turnouts. As we started, one of the guys said, "We better get going." and they started shuffle running. and then one looks at the other and goes, "We get to cut corners, right? we should totally cut corners."
i laughed a lot. firemen are the best. =]
anyway. Dad was up ahead, running with some people. they asked who he was there with, and he goes, "My wife and daughter." and described/pointed us out.
their response? (this is the shameless part, i shouldn't tell you.)
"Wait, the redhead belongs to you? She's cuuuuuuute."
and they weren't kidding. =]
i know, i know, i should stop, but come on, guys. how often am i really narcissistic? not often. and it's my blog. so shh.
i texted Jo and told her.
her response? "Well, duh, you're adorable. But they can't have you, because Ray and I have a hard enough time sharing you just between two of us."
i want to know when they've been having a hard time. she's been in Kentucky.

all right. so, tonight, Maggie and Tom and i are going out. (PARTAY!) actually, China's Best and a movie, i think.
Ray has a game tomorrow, though. at least one. it's away. i might skip the movie to go hang out with him, instead, tonight, since i won't get to see him tomorrow. i'm still deciding.
then, soccer game tomorrow. i'll take pictures of my kids, they're so freaking cute. then... hopefully, i won't have to mow. (HAAAAAAAATE)
Sunday, GLORY is singing, so i won't be at church. correction, i won't be at Hope, i'll be with the crazy Methodists. (i love me some Methodists.)
and then... Jesus Christ Superstar starts. -giggles ridiculously-
I'M SO EXCITED.
sorry, sorry, i'm cool, i'm cool.
We're doing a read through. if you're a music person, you're scratching your head right now. Yes, i know it's a rock opera. Alison is CALLING it a read through. really, we're watching the movie.
and i got my script yesterday. holyohmystars, i'm so happy.
i still honestly can't really believe i'm Mary.
holy. oh. my. stars.
i'm Mary. =]
(Logan is Jesus, by the way. Ray is Peter, which means he and i get to sing a duet. :D)
okay, i'll stop freaking out now. i'm just really excited. I'm Mary Magdalene. holyohmystars.
i'm sorry, i'll stop. really. :D