Today was amazing! =) There's nothing that quite beats a good two hours of hard work followed by a bowl of peppermint ice cream! My dad, brother, and I spent the morning/early afternoon trimming the bushes all around the house. While it doesn't sound like a big deal, the job was rather extensive. It's been quite a while since we did any hedge trimming! This was followed by the aforementioned ice cream. Then we got the fun of hanging Christmas lights.... Thankfully this year we had a minimum of burned-out bulbs. ;)

All afternoon as we were working, I kept being amazed by my brother. Something he's always struggled with has been sticking to a job until it's done. Especially when it might not be the most pleasant job in the world (like moving poky holly branches!). But he's been attending ALERT for the last year, and it has definitely made a change in his work ethic. Today I got to see him tackle the task before him with vigor and enthusiasm. It was definitely fun to witness!

Oh, here's a random extra you get today. I was playing volleyball last night, and a sudden and disturbing thought struck me. When playing volleyball, you don't actually score. The other team makes all your points, and you make all theirs. Think about it... it's when YOU mess up that the other team gets a point. Yes, their good playing may have helped, but still. This revelation totally caught me off guard, and made me laugh the rest of the night. (And today!) I know that you are now a much better person for having learned that, so please try not to laugh too hard! =)