Domostria

*Frowns* "Seuss is officially over." ~ Jacob

*Grins* "Don't think of it as 'over', Jacob, think of it as 'accomplished.'" ~ Mr. Cole

Good morning reader,

The rest of my family is in bed, but I cannot sleep! I lay in my bed, trying to catch a wink, but I just couldn't... Friday evening, Friday morning, and all of Saturday were all being replayed in my mind.

It is a bit late to be writing, yet here I am.

Have you ever found that when you have something to say, something bottled up inside, it feels better to get it out by some means? For me, I like to write.

So, without further adieu, I shall proceed to recall the more interesting events which took place over the past thirty six (or so) hours, beginning with PRIM

(As a side note, I will be posting pictures from Prim on Gmail, or Facebook, or something similar. Hopefully I may post a few on blogger as well).

Isaac O. and Reuben P. arrived at our home at 4:30 P.M.. We said our hellos, get dressed up, and took pictures inside and outside (for the weather was decent enough for photographs). After that, we drove over to The Princess (which was the name of the boat that we dinned and danced at). The four of us, including my brother, brought special black sunglasses to wear specifically for our arrival. We hopped out of our vehicle, put on our sunglasses, and walked over to the boat.

According to us, we looked pretty "snazzy."

Next we visited with everyone for a bit, took about a million pictures for the yearbook, ate dinner (ribs and/or BBQ chicken, corn, cornbread, potato salad, salad bar, baked beans, etc.), and danced.

The dancing in my opinion was the highlight of the night. We learned three different dances, the swing, the cha-cha, and a version of the waltz. As a side note, I discovered that it is quite a challenge to attempt carrying on a conversation with your partner while dancing. Thankfully there were no injured toes! Only the occasional "lost rhythm" resulting in temporal step confusion.

The Princess was an absolute pleasure to ride on. After dancing, a few of us ventured to the third level of the boat. From the top, we could see the river stretch for quite a ways. There was a slight breeze which was relieving after our hour and a half (+) of dancing. Not to mention the sunset, which was breathtaking to say the least.

At around 10:00 P.M. it was time for us to depart from The Princess. We formed into groups and shuttled over to the YMCA, located only a few miles from the boat. Isaac, Reuben, Justin, (my brother) and I did not stay for the whole overnight portion of the event. After swimming, water sliding, rock climbing, rollerblading, playing basketball and volleyball, and visiting with friends, it was time for us to leave the "Y."

The four of us may have left the "Y" early to get a good night's rest, but it didn't end up happening. We ended up being young rebells staying up until 5:00 A.M., looking through my Mother's pictures of PRIM and Seussical. We took a couple pictures and recorded a few videos ourselves while up early. I shall try to post the photos and videos we took. Be warned, the pictures of us are utterly horrendous...

Sleeping in until noon felt fantastic! The entirety of Saturday afternoon was spent in anticipation of the cast party (for Seussical) that evening.

Yesterday, we arrived at Faith Bible about an hour before the party was set to begin. With that time, we cleaned a bit and set up.

Everyone started arriving on time at 6:00 P.M.. I was VERY excited to see all my friends in the HPA Lansing Cast! The party included dinner, a slideshow presentation put together by Mr. Doerr, and (you guessed it!) dancing later on.

To my surprise, I found I really enjoyed the celtic square dancing! I envisioned it being more of a western style square dance, with minor tweaking, but it turned out to be a style of dancing in and of itself. I had the pleasure of dancing with Libby, Grace, Abby, and Elizabeth, four of the sweetest, most talented young women I've ever met. Each were very enjoyable to partner with!

All too soon, however, it was time for the cast to go our separate ways and say our goodbyes.

Many of the cast members I will be seeing on a regular basis, but some I won't be seeing until next year, if not this upcoming summer. Even so, I made my rounds and said goodbye to anyone and everyone I could catch.

It was wonderful to share one more night with the cast members, directors, and crew I've been so blessed to have become part of my life. I pray blessings upon all of them and thank God once more for the incredible opportunity I've had this year to be a part of something spectacular.

When walking towards the door was when I voiced, "Seuss is officially over." To which Mr. Cole replied with a smile, "Don't think of it as 'over', Jacob, think of it as 'accomplished.'" I found his response to be not only true, but comforting in a sense... Once again reminding me that this isn't the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. Soon there will be another chapter to write, another step to be taken, and another opportunity for us to shine our brightest, for His glory.

On that note, I need my rest. Before I forget though! Here are the pictures and videos from yesterday morning. Enjoy!

My expression is basically the same in all of these.