church christmas banquet

A couple of weeks ago our church had the annual Christmas banquet. I love getting to help prepare for these banquets. Most of the youth in our church get together on that day to decorate and make the food.

Titus, the dish washer, getting all the dishes ready.

Strawberries before...

...they were made sweet. Aren't they beautiful?

   

One of the MANY pies.  This one appears to be blueberry.

We had an awesome meal which included brisket and everything that goes with it.

Thousands (literally) of awesome-tasting Pfeffernüsse  were made for a snack bar. It felt like we were chopping them up all evening. :)  But they taste was worth it!!

Someone was good enough to bring all of us Starbucks while we were at work. It was a greatly wanted (and needed) treat.

People at work cutting out stars for a game we were going to play.

Sorry, but we didn't really take any photos during the banquet. You're going to have to be satisfied with the preparation part of it.
This is what the decorations on the table looked like. We mixed coffee beans with cranberries and then set a candle in the middle.

I thought these photos were very interesting. I didn't know this was going on outside until I looked at the camera that night. A guy was in charge of putting up a great, big, lit-up star on the roof. Meanwhile someone was having fun with the shadow effects from the sun.

The banquet turned our successfully, at least I thought so. Everyone who helped went home tired and happy.

So, did you go to a Christmas banquet/dinner this year? If you did I'd love to hear about it.


~Susanna

happy birthday titus!!

Happy 15th Birthday Titus!!

Stopping at OrangeLeaf before seeing Courageous

The older you get the more fun you are to be with. 

Thanks for being my brother!!

~Susanna

thankful five

 This year  I'm very Thankful for...

1) My whole family.

  

   This picture was taken a year ago, but it is the only one that has all of us.

...and then later on came Yoanna!!

She has changed a lot.

2) Shyann. The BEST dog in the whole world!!

We've had her for at least 3 years.

3) My awesome flute teacher!!  No, I don't have a picture of her. I been taking from this new teacher for over a year now and have felt very, very blessed with all I'm learning from her.  

4) Starbucks or you could say coffee in general. :)

5) All my great friends. I don't what I'd do without them. You guys are great. There are a lot more I just can't fit them all in here.

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!

~Susanna

belated trip post...

So, a couple of weeks ago my family took a trip out east. Our destinations were North Carolina and Pennsylvania. One of my brothers lives in N.C. and we were going to a conference there anyway, so of course we had to see him. Then married sister and her family lives in P.A. Most of us hadn't seen where she lived and we hadn't seen Yoanna in a LONG time.

I had this problem on the trip with making these freak out faces. I think Addy and I were getting bored waiting for everyone else to load up.  Yes, we have awesome trips!!

 

When we got to the conference center in Ashville, N.C. I dropped off the guys because they had a luncheon to go too. Charis, Addy, and I went on a hunt to find a Starbucks. Thankfully, right before the trip my Dad bought "Roada."  Yep, even our GPS got a name thanks to him.

The conference was awesome and I learned a lot. It seemed to just fly by way to fast. I met so many new people and then had to catch up with all the ones from the year before.  If you'd like to learn more about the conference click here.

The conference center was so pretty. Some of us took a hike in the beautiful mountain behind it. This was on the way back. We decided to stay on the road instead of the trails. 

October is the best time of year to take a road trip across the US.

btw, Charis would want credit for this photo. :)

 Charis, Isaac, and I

After the conference we went to go see where my brother Isaac is living. A couple of days later we headed to P.A. with him along. We stopped at Fredericksburg, V.A. to see the battlefield. Since we had watched Gods & Generals it was very interesting to where the battle happened. 

 One of the houses, that is still standing, was full of bullet holes. It would have been creepy to there during the war.  The picture had to be taken from the window because the doors were locked.

Picture time again. (feels like we're always taking photos.) l. to r. Isaac, me , Titus, Addy, and Charis. This one turned out pretty good. Just felt a little weird getting your picture in a cemetery...

 Once we were done with the battlefield we took a walk downtown. I love downtowns and this one was really cute and old. Also, some of us had to stop at the local coffee shop. :)

Next stop is P.A., but it still 5 hours away. We had too say goodbye to Isaac because he had to go back to N.C.

Seeing my sister Kelsey again was so much fun. I spent an afternoon alone with her and that was when Yoanna warmed up. I don't think she liked everyone sticking their face or camera in hers.  The scenery in P.A. is very pretty...and different from Kansas. Some of us went rock/mountain climbing. At one point there was a rock slide on the side of the mountain which makes you able to see for a long ways.

There are rocks as big as you up there. 

They're also very, very beautiful.

Yoanna and I got some photos before I had to go home. Sad to see her go. I couldn't tell if she was.

 

Can't wait to see her again someday.

On the way home we stopped at Gettysburg. I'm standing on one or their lookouts. I told her to stop...

I never realized how much there is to see at Gettysburg. We only had about an hour and a half. Still, we only got through two of the stops on their tour. Either that means we're slow or just a lot of stuff to see. 

Addy and I in the same lookout.

Titus, me, and Addy in other memorial. This one had a tight spiral staircase built in 1907. 

I'm surprised they still let people go up in it.

Here, I found a picture on the web of what it looks like from the outside. Right underneath the dome where the square shape ends is where they let you go out on top. There are more memorials like it that we didn't get to see. 

After that they dropped me off at the airport. You see, I had to fly home earlier because of some things I had going on. The rest of them didn't want to leave yet that way I got to fly!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE FLYING!!!!!!!! I got stuck in Atlanta for 2 extra hours, which was great.  Do you like to fly? Or have you ever flown before?

Well, I've gotta stop now and get busy. Hoped you enjoy it.

~Susanna

Kansas State Fair!

The fair has always been a tradition (a very fun one) for my family. So, of course, we had to go this year. On Monday the fair lets everybody in for a dollar or free if 

they have a Dillion's card.

I actually rode the Farris Wheel this year. Usually I don't waste my money on rides. For some reason Charis, Addy, and I decided that was something we needed to do. I really thought it could have gone a lot faster. Maybe if I would of paid more the guy would have made that happen...

But, when you're stuck at the top you sure can see a long ways.

A view don't get from just anywhere.

Walking through all the farm equipment can make you want something you don't need.

This is Titus...dreaming. It would be a ton of fun to have lots of 4-wheelers

For the pass couple of years, Turkey Hill has given out free ice cream. They happened to be giving mint away today. Cheers!!

Walmart was giving out smoothie samples, except you had to work for them. The blender was hooked up to a bike. Thanks to my Dad for the smoothies.

I didn't realize someone was taking my picture. :) I think I was telling her to not take my picture. My siblings and I had so much fun at the Nascar Simulator, which was very addicting. The only thing that kept us from staying was the line. And yes, I did win my share amount of times.

We love to go through all the building and collect the free stuff. You end up throwing a lot of it away. :) My family used to work at the Kansas Honey Booth. This year we didn't because our church had a booth and we helped with that.

Titus and Isaac found the National Guard booth to their liking. I think this is harder than it looks.

Since it is "Dollar Day" you see about everyone you know.  Addy and I are with some friends that come every year like us.

You can get about any type of pictures here. Of anything and anybody. Charis took most of these.

The train used to be fun until your legs get to long. It is kinda tight.

Here is our church booth. My Dad and a friend, Caleb, are working it at the moment. This booth has a replica of Noah's Ark set to the HO scale. In the front is a ramp with animals walking up. We even had dinosaurs.  You can draw so many conversations with this thing.  We also gave out a ton of materials.

This one gives more detail.

 For supper I had a Gyro, which are awesome. It's grilled garlic chicken on a pita with stir fried veggies and sauce. Very, very good. You really should try one.

Isaac and I decided to try fried oreos. I know, it sounds awful and gross, but it's not everyday that you get a chance to try things like this. Only don't watch the people make them, unless you don't plan on eating any. The oreos turned out a lot better than I thought they would. They actually tasted really good. I could only eat one though. 

If you can't tell by now, I really like going to the fair year after year. I guess I looked older this time, because I didn't get any of the collage offers like I did last year. hmm...

Do you go to your State Fair or do you like stuff like that?

~Susanna

3rd of July (with pictures)

Yeah, I know it isn't the 4th. But who said that it had to be?

Ok, in the afternoon we had my Dad's side of the family over. We had the usual hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, potato salad, watermelon, cookies, ice cream, and my Grandma's pie that is usually gone before supper. :) 

I'm kidding, no one is allow to cut into it until after supper and then it is gone in ten seconds. Thankfully, I don't like pie so I don't have to worry about it.

After supper you either went out to fish in our pond, played v-ball, or sat inside and talked.

Our international friend was the only person who caught anything that night.

My cousin, Anna, found our dog, Shyann, and seemed to like her.

I think they're both cute.

The colors are pretty at this time of day.

Once it out dark we started blowing things up, or at least we tried.

After the second fountain I'm tired of them, but everyone else likes it.

 

And who doesn't want to do sparklers?

 Yes, I used them to write people's names in the sky...

Well, after all the artillery shells, roman candles, fountains, etc. were cleaned up my cousins Josh and Sarah, my brother Titus, and I went for a raft ride in our pond. Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't the best idea since it was dark and you couldn't see very well. Anyway, we had a lot of fun trying to find the glow sticks we had thrown into the water.

 It was almost 11 o'clock when everybody left. I guess you could say it was bedtime...

~Susanna