An Eventful Weekend (Pictures coming soon!)

So, this whole weekly blog posting thing is embarassing, and I apologize for the lack of updates. I'll attempt to get you back up to speed.
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At work, I've mainly been working on the puppet show with the kids and keeping the technology and website in order. We've lost a few members of the puppet show due to scheduling conflicts, and I really hope more of them show up, because they've been working really hard and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I also participated in our weekly play that the "Library Players" puts on for the kids: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. I was an offstage part, so I just shouted things from behind the curtain as Goldilocks's mother (yes, her mother). I also got to accompany Cathy's daughter as she sang a modified version of "Big and Loud," the song that I transcribed from the music.
My main side project has been working on the Habitat for Humanity of Marion website. We finally got clearance to move ahead with the project by the board, and the financials fell into place fairly quickly. So, if you'd like, you can check out the Habitat website by going to
http://www.habitatforhumanitymarionsc.org. It's still under construction, but it's fully functional for everything that's currently uploaded. I am now just working with Gordon and Wanda of Habitat to get it to their liking. So, that's been fun, but I am a little sad that there's not more to do. Of course, I'll be updating it for them throughout the year as well, so that'll keep me busy.
This weekend was quite a packed and awesome couple of days though. On Thursday, Lindsey and Kathryn came down from Duke and had dinner with us. We had a good talk telling them about our internships and what we had been up to. We went to a movie with them; that new Gangster movie. I was very confused for most of it, but everyone else seemed to enjoy it. Regardless, I liked being in everyone's company, so it was good to get away for a little while. Nevertheless, this visit required that I miss play practice at the library, which I was kind of torn about. I hope I can still make up what I missed and still make the "Superheroes Save Summer Reading" play be great. Maybe I'll get to wear my superman costume this week!
ANYWHO, so on Friday, we got up early and drove to Carowinds, all packed into the Rav. It was quite an epic journey. When we got there, it was hot and bustling with people. We spent the day there, riding the rollercoasters, relaxing at the waterpark, and even seeing an impressive ice show - all of this for $25. Hooray special-priced admission for July 4th weekend! We were there for almost 8 hours, so by the time we left, I was a little motion sick and exhausted. I cleared up later though. Then, we had dinner at iHop. Unlimited pancakes were my choice, and boy, were they the right one. I left rather stuffed. My favorite part of the weekend was when we got to Brandon's house for the night (who so graciously let us stay there). After we were all cleaned up and relaxed, we all sat in Brandon's living room, as R&B slow jams played from his father's ipod and the sweet smells of vanilla and apple pie filled the air. No, I'm not making this up. We were sitting in what were quite possibly the comfiest chairs ever. When an Alicia Keys song came on, I knew that this was meant to be. Relaxation. We dozed off and had a great time just sleeping late in the morning.
We got up and Brandon's mom fixed us breakfast. It was a great way for us to start off our day, as we departed for our next destination: IKEA! For those of you who haven't been to IKEA, it is an amazing furniture warehouse filled with things that make you want to completely redesign your home. It was quite an exhausting trip, but we enjoyed browsing and getting ideas for stuff there. Next, we departed Charlotte for Columbia, to eat dinner and watch fireworks over Lake Murray. At the suggestion of my friend Paulina, we ate at Liberty, which was great. We left there and drove to Lake Murray to watch the fireworks; however, we realized we should have gotten there hours before. Parking was madness, and traffic was insane. So, we watched the fireworks as traffic slowed to a stop; people had nowhere to park, so they just stopped in the middle of the road, which was fine with us, albeit a little scary. After that, we headed back home for the night. We all bonded a lot that weekend, and I'm glad we were able to spend the 4th together.

Only 2 weeks left! :( It's going by fast....