Friday night I headed home – to Athens – to attend my cousin’s baby shower – shoot a wedding on Saturday – and hang out with my family. Jared stayed in Mansfield b/c his company had their summer picnic on Saturday – which I was bummed to miss out on. When I got to my parents house on Friday night – I noticed two bunnies in a cage – turns out my mom’s friend found a tame bunny on her way home one night – ‘cus people always drop off animals on farms in the country – and she took it home with her. It was pregnant – with eight babies. So my mom and dad took two of them home. Smokey and the Bandit.

Bandit – she loves to run around the living room and try to sneak under the couch.

Smokey – he loves to chew – and hates going back in his cage.

Smokey – he would have ate my shoe if I had let him.

Labyrinth is one of my favorite 80’s movies – * not FAVORITE movie* – but favorite 80’s movie – completely different things. I can’t argue with the fact that it is probably one of the cheesiest movies of all time – but I love it nonetheless.

The movie is about this over-dramatic teenage girl Sarah who has to babysit her baby brother Toby while her father and step-mother go out for the night. She is tired of her little brother and begins quoting her favorite book – The Labyrinth – in doing the Goblin King comes and takes her baby brother away to the Goblin City. She must find her way through the Labyrinth in 13 hours – or Toby becomes a Goblin himself.

Jennifer Connelly plays Sarah and David Bowie plays Jareth – so of course he sings.

The Labyrinth might be a cheesy movie – but the special effects – for 1986 are pretty cool and fun and there are quite a few good messages.

1. Be careful what you wish for – it might come true.

2. (and I have to thank Aunt L for this one) – There are people in your life who want to keep you in the past – who want to make you forget and leave your treasures behind while you focus on the trash that sounds so appealing. When I was a freshman in college in Phillie – I was very homesick- Aunt L wrote me a letter in which she described a charachter in Labyrinth. At one point in the movie Sarah is given a peach that makes her forget what she is doing – saving Toby – and she wakes up in a junkyard where a woman leads her to a room – Sarah’s bedroom – with all her stuffed animals and jewelry and storybooks are waiting for her. This woman is bent over and has PILES of trash on her back – things that she has picked up and thinks she needs and adds to the pile – things that drag her down – things from her past that help her with grudges and selfishness – things that she will never need but cannot let go of. She tells Sarah that she is fine here with all her things – everything she has ever wanted – is right here – in her room. Sarah starts a ballerina jewelry box and begins to remember the masquerade ball with the Goblin King and that Toby is gone and she has to save him – she leaves all that she thought she needed behind to save him. Aunt L wrote to me about that woman with all the trash on her back and how she is so weighed down by the past and the trash that she carries with her. I will have to look for that letter and post what she wrote to me – her exact words flow much better – they always do.

3. All throughout the movie Sarah says – That’s not fair. At one point she says it to Jareth and he replies with – “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?” One of the best movie lines ever. That’s not fair – at PK on Wednesday nights I hear it quite a bit – so much so that we resorted to playing games that I named “Danielle Ball” instead of the correct game – because Danielle makes up the rules as we go. That’s not fair – she kicked it too hard – he bunted – she didn’t raise her hand that time – and yet every time “that’s not fair” is uttered – almost without skipping a beat – that same kid is doing the same “unfair” thing. I love that Sarah whines unfairness and Jareth just looks at her and says – you say that so often – i wonder what your basis for comparison is. So true – what is our basis for comparison. I find as the oldest of 3 children – things were never “fair”. Samm and Derek had different rules than I did – different times called for different measures. I remember when I went to college – my dad had moved into a better paying job – and the first time I came home my brother had a really nice leather jacket and I looked at my mom and said – that’s not fair – she said – we didn’t have that money when you were here – or we would have bought you things like that – I realized then that it wasn’t that they loved him more – but it was a different time – a different situation. When you say things aren’t fair – or when you think things aren’t fair – what is your basis for comparison?

If you haven’t gotten a chance to see this movie – check it out – don’t expect an Oscar worthy film by any means – just a fun 80’s movie.

We have sleepovers for PK once or twice a year. Friday night was one of those nights. Usually we have about 5 girls and 5 boys – tonight we had 1 girl and 2 boys. Thursday night I didn’t get much sleep b/c the street sweeper in Mansfield comes by our house at 4:00 AM in the middle of the month and Thursday night was THE night. So I had been up since 4 and worked 7 to 5 and then picked the kids up at 6. We took the 2 we had at the moment out to Papa V’s for pizza and wings. We brought back pizza for the one who was at soccer practice till later. We came back to the house and played Rock Band and I helped *H* with some bead necklaces. We had plans to go outside and play capture the flag but since we had 3 kids – we scratched that.

PM was bringing some RAY kids to crash the party and silly string us – but since we weren’t outside – it wasn’t nearly the right atmosphere. But it still HAD to happen so she silly stringed us in the house – and then brought ice cream to make up for it. We ate ice cream and watched Phelps win another gold – barely. We put *H* upstairs in the spare room with the boys sleeping downstairs in their sleeping bags – or so I thought. When I came down in the morning – the boys were each sleeping in a chair – in what I thought was not a comfortable position – but I forget that they are kids and nothing much phases them. I ran to Wal*Mart to pick up breakfast – tractor wheels – MMM good. The kids were all out by 10 and Jared and I were on the road to Ithaca to celebrate KT’s graduation from college – (for those of you who don’t know – KT is a friend who is attending MU and she lived with us for the fall semester last year – 2007).

We had been to her house before but at least 2 years ago or more – and neither of us drove that time so we weren’t too sure where we were going – although we had directions. The drive to someplace you haven’t been to is always longer than the drive back from that place. We got there at 1 and stayed till 4. It was nice to meet all her family and friends. I took some family photos while I was there with my new camera.

Her brother reminds me so much of mine.

Thanks again KT for having us.

I LOVE my new camera.

Then Jared and I went to Ritz to buy a new memory card for me – 4G – double YAY – and we stopped at Kohl’s to shop a little – but I still cannot find any non-jean pants that are long enough for me and nice enough to wear to weddings. We went on a date to the Outback – Jared’s favorite restaurant and had one of the worst onions EVER. We got back to Mnsfld and PM came over to watch Phelps win his last gold.

Sunday we went to church – went to PM’s for lunch –

– and then came home to chill and try to back up some of my pictures on DVD – which doesn’t work on my computer and makes me very mad – but at least Jared can do it from his machine. We met Laura and Krista for ice cream to say goodbye to Laura before she leaves for college again – last year was the summer of Laura but this year we only got to see a handful of times – not only does the weekend fly by but this summer sped by at record speed.

Still I will say –

Blessed be the name of the Lord – Blessed be Your name.

I have a kindred spirit. I have written about her before. She is a strong, Godly woman whom I admire and respect greatly. She is one of my biggest supporters with my photography and life in general. She is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a child of God, a soon-to-be grandmother … She is my Aunt L. She is one of the smartest women I know and love.

You know those personality quirks that we all have – and some drive others crazy – even ourselves crazy?

Mine is sympathy – or the lack thereof.

Empathy is identifying with or experiencing the feelings of another.

Sympathy is sharing the feeling of others.

I find empathy to be MUCH easier than sympathy.

The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I think sympathy is a fruit of the spirit that God is molding in me. I know that most of the reason I am at the job I am in now – not the photography – but the secretary portion- is to teach me sympathy. Working with the public requires lots of sympathy. I also deal with sympathy struggles outside of work – the lack of responsibility for people’s actions – AMAZES me.

God amazes me with His approach to teaching us the things that we need to shape us into the men and women He wants us to be.

Every year our church has a picnic in August – and of course I took my camera along this year.

The kids collected apples and then I arranged them in stacked piles – mostly because I LOVE organization. One of the deacons in the church and I got into a conversation about geocaching – something that I didn’t know existed.

This baby bird was at the base of a tree by then pond – I thought at first he was injured but as soon as I took the lens off him the first time – he jumped up and stumbled off toward the water. I don’t think he liked having his picture taken.

At Tanglewood – they have a pavilion with an old fridge and stove in the back – I LOVE the old appliances.

Every year at the Troy Fair and Tioga County Fair – NCA has a booth with peach shortcake – and LUCKILY there were leftovers. Make sure to get to one of the fairs next summer and have some shortcake – SO GOOD.

Another beautiful sky …

Friday night we went to the Tioga County Fair with PM and Clarice. The demolition derby was the event of the night and we thought – why not – it’ll be fun. And of course – I had to take my camera. Usually I enter pictures in the Troy Fair and the Tioga County Fair – but this year we were on vacation both Saturdays for drop off and pick up for the Troy Fair – and then I had a wedding both drop off and pick up days for the Tioga County Fair – and seeing as how I am digital now and took over 25,000 pictures the first year I had my camera – I couldn’t pick just a few to enter.

This baby goat was so sweet – and so soft.

PM and Clarice – excited for the derby.

It was a fun night – other than inhaling about 2 packs of secondhand smoke – and the sky was AMAZING at the end of the evening.

my best friend.