Final Week of Summer Programs...

Well, summer is winding down. This is the final week of summer programs at the library, and it is going to be a busy one. Along with our usual story hours and art programs, we also had a puppet show on Monday, and we have a art day at the park Wednesday afternoon and night. This means a 40+ hour week for me. I am probably going to be pretty tired by the weekend.

But it is great seeing the kids enjoy all of the activities we put on. They had a great time at the puppet show on Monday night (and I must say it cracked me up a bit too). We served ice cream after the puppet show, then, to reward the kids for all of their hard work reading throughout June and July.

On Wednesday, South Dakota is having "The Great Day of Play" for kids. Here in Yankton, there are free swim times at the pool, and the library will have crafts in the shelter house at Memorial Park. I get to help the kids make masks. Then when we run out of masks, we will switch and make sand paintings, and if we run out of sand painting supplies too, we will start doing worm painting (not with real worms, of course).

It looks to be a busy rest of the week that will probably leave me looking for a nice place to sit down and relax for the weekend! Until next time,

Erica

Oh and by the way, if you are wondering how my car turned out, we had an estimate done on the damage from the hail and they estimated $2000 in damages. Yikes! Dad is thinking maybe we won't fix it. He was planning on giving that car to my sister for a school car this next year anyway, and it won't hurt her to drive it like that! -- It may not hurt her, but I am sure she will make a pretty big fuss about it.

Heading home for the weekend

Well, Mom and Dad are missing me again :). Since I went to Omaha last weekend, they haven't seen me in two weeks, and they are bugging me to come home again. I need to go home and swap cars anyway. I am leaving my car so we can have an estimate done on the hail damage from last week. That means I get to drive my mom's Durango for a week. (I'm not too disappointed.)

It will be nice to go home this weekend, though. Mom and Dad finally go the pool up so I plan on relaxing in there for most of Saturday. Also, some of their friends and their families are pulling their campers out to our house. They normally park them in a little circle on a big patch of grass across from our house. Dad has a firepit set up over there with a grate for cooking on, and one of his friends put in a bunch of electrical outlets. We kind of have our own little campground. So, I suppose I will have to have a couple smores Saturday night too. I am hoping that I can talk Dad into getting our horse Sugar out too, so I can do a little riding. It's been so long since I've been able to ride, and I think it would be really fun to do this weekend. I am sure all of my parents' friends' kids would enjoy it too.

Well, hopefully my weekend is as good as it sounds like it will be! Until next time,

Erica

My sisters' visit... One they'll never forget

Two of my younger sisters came to visit this on Tuesday. They are staying till Friday. Tuesday night we had a nice little night. We ate supper together and I showed them around Yankton. Wednesday, they came to the library so my youngest sister, Megan, could participate in our Take Part in Art program. Then they spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach with my roommates.
Last night I took them out for pizza at Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut always has those games sitting on the tables, so while we waited, my sisters, my roommates, and I, we played "What's Yours Like." It was a funny game. Everyone got to see the word except one person for example, the word "signature." Then everyone would get a chance to describe their signature to the person who didn't see the word. The point is to give a description that will not allow that person to guess the word. Megan didn't really understand this and kept giving the words away. For example, for the word signature, her description was, "Mine is my name."
The rest of the night we just hung around the apartment and played Uno. This morning, we were woken up by some loud pounding noises. I thought it was probably just the boys in the apartment above us being loud. But the longer it went on, the more I started to realize that it wasn't them. I got up and looked out the window and it was hailing! I woke my sisters up and we turned on the news. Then before it the sirens started going off. In my rush to get downstairs, I ran into my little coffee table and cut my knee open. Then my roommate, Ashley, called to inform me that those were only severe weather sirens and we didn't need to go downstairs yet. So I cleaned up my knee and the storm eventually passed. Both my sister and I ended up with a bunch of little dents all over our cars, but from what I have heard, it was far worse in other parts of town, so we are pretty lucky.
With all of the action we've had since my sisters arrived, I think that this will become a visit to Yankton they will never forget!

Until Next Time,

Erica

Fun Weekend!

Well, the end of the week went by quickly just as I had hoped. My family had planned on camping this weekend earlier in the week, but decided not to in the end. So Friday night I went to my little sister's softball game. The game didn't go too well, but it was nice to get to watch her play. After the game, we went back home, had a bonfire, and made smores.
On Saturday, I went with my mom to get groceries, we ate lunch, and then I spent the rest of the day with my dad. He just bought a convertible (he's wanted one forever), and we cruised around in it from 1:30 to 5:30. It was a nice relaxing afternoon, but I ended up with a pretty mean sunburn. After that day in the sun, we ended up staying home and resting all night. My youngest sister decided we would have a High School Musical Marathon, so we watched number 1, 2, and 3.
On Sunday, we all got up and went to church. My sister caught for me so I could get a workout in, and then Grandma took us all out to Texas Roadhouse for Father's Day just as she had promised. The place was a zoo, but the food was great.
Now it's back to work for the week. I worked 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. yesterday. The rest of the week should go by pretty quickly again with tutoring and the library summer programs.

Until next time,

Erica

Ready for the Weekend

It's kind of been a long week. I've been getting up at 6:15 and lifting and running before work the last few days. It's a nice start to the day, and I feel like I have a lot more energy while I am at work. But when I get home from work I am TIRED. Lately I have been in bed by 10 or 10:30. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have pitching workouts. When I get home from those, I shower and sit down and rest for the night.
Needless to say, I am ready for a weekend of rest and relaxation. This weekend I am going home to go camping with the family. The gameplan is to hang out and float on the water all day Saturday. Then on Sunday, Grandma is taking Grandpa, my dad and mom, and all four of us girls to Texas Roadhouse for supper. She has been telling me and my sister to make sure we can come for weeks now.
Hopefully these next two days go by quickly so I can kick back and relax.

Until next time,
Erica

First Few Weeks of Summer

Well Summer vacation has begun. I decided to stay in Yankton and get a job this Summer rather than go home. So I am working at the Yankton Community Library for now. I spend part of my time tutoring kids and the other part I spend helping out with the Summer programs such as story hours and craft sessions. I am really enjoying working with all of the little kids as well as the staff at the library.
When I am not working, I am working out. Our fall ball season is just around the corner for softball so I am spending the off-season doing velocity drills so I can pitch faster next year. Along with the velocity drills, we have lifting, sprinting, and jogging that we have to do each week. Between those workouts and working at the library, I am staying pretty busy.
I don't work weekends, however, so I try to get all of my workouts done so I can go home on the weekends and spend time with my family. That was the agreement I made with my parents when the agreed to me staying in Yankton: I would still come home and see them most weekends. The first weekend of vacation we had my sister's graduation. The second weekend we went camping in Correctionville, Iowa, and this past weekend, we went camping in LeMars, Iowa. It's always nice spending the day out in the sun and sitting by the campfire at night.
Until next time,
Erica

Busy Busy Busy...

It has been quite the month. With softball and school the past few weeks, I was having a hard time telling if I was coming or going. We had games and practices and it seemed like I had some sort of project or paper due in each of my classes! Needless to say, I was looking forward to Easter break.
For my break, however, I didn't get to relax as much as I thought I would. Thursday and Friday, my family and I helped some family friends move. Saturday, I took my two youngest sisters and two of their friends to see the Hannah Montana Movie, and that night, I helped out with a fundraiser my parents and their friends had for my sister and some other students from my high school who are going to California for a DECA competition. Then Sunday, of course, was Easter. We spent the morning and had dinner with my mom's side of the family, went home, took naps, and then spent the evening and had supper with my dad's side of the family.
Thankfully, Sunday night we got home early enough for me to do some schoolwork and get a little ahead in that. For softball, we have eight double-headers between today and April 27th. That will keep me busy so I like to try to stay ahead in my schoolwork so I can still get a decent amount of sleep at night!

Until next time,

Erica

Spring Break

SPRING BREAK!!! Wow, it feels great to have a break. I headed home on Friday night to spend the first part of break with my family. Our house is a mess! My parents are having our kitchen redone, so everything from our kitchen is stacked somewhere in our living room, dining room, or bathroom on our main floor. They were a little sick of the clutter and mess, so last night they decided we needed to get away. So, we went to LeMars to stay in a hotel for the night.
Today we'll head back to the clutter. I will probably spend the day doing homework before our softball team heads to TUSCON!!!
I plan on driving back to the Mount on Monday. Tuesday, early morning, we'll load up, head to Omaha, and fly to Tuscon! We'll play eight games, take a trip to the mall, and go see and University of Arizona baseball game. It should be a pretty fun trip! I can't wait!!

Until next time,

Erica

Yay for a break!

Well, after homecoming week, I think everyone was a little worn out and in need of a break. Which is why it was nice to have a three day weekend this last weekend. I stayed Friday night to watch the last home basketball games of the season on Saturday. Both teams played close games that both went into overtime!
After the games, I headed home to see my family. I hadn't been home since Christmas Break, and my youngest sister, Megan, was dying to see me. When I got home, she met me at the door and helped me carry all of my laundry in (Mom loves that I don't do laundry when I know I am going home soon). After I got all of my stuff put away, Megan ran up to me with a gift. She had put together a special Valentine for me. I opened it to find a whole bunch of Valentine's Day candy and later found out that it was all the candy she had received at school and didn't like :). But it's the thought that counts, right?
On Sunday, Mom and I got up and went to church, and then took my sister to her AAU volleyball tournament in Hinton, Iowa. The girls played well, but couldn't quite pull it off in the end. They ended up getting 2nd, which qualified them for the Gold Tournament in Indianola, Iowa for the second time. (They got first in a tournament a couple of weeks ago, so they were already qualified.)
By the time Mom and I got home, it was about 7:30. We made supper, and I did laundry. Before I knew it, my weekend was over and I was heading back to the Mount again!
Until Next Time,
Erica

Busy Week!

HOMECOMING WEEK!!! Yay! But it's a busy week. I had two tests on Monday...boo, but they are over with now, and I think they actually went pretty well. Then we had softball practice last night at 9 and I had another test for my 1:00 class today. But that was the last of my tests for the week, so now I can just enjoy all the fun stuff they have planned for homecoming.
Last night they had free ice skating, but since we had softball practice, I didn't go. I heard it was a pretty good time from my friends who did go, though. Tonight they will have inflatable games like boxing and an obstacle course set up. Tomorrow night, they are offering a bus to take people to the games in Sioux City at Briar Cliff (we have softball again, so I won't be able to make it). Then Thursday is the 4th Annual Dodgeball Tournament and $3 Movie Night. If I have all my homework done for Friday, I will probably go to both of those. Then Friday is our Homecoming Dinner with Open Mic Night during supper, Coronation, and a Hypnotist (which always goes over well). Then Saturday is the Homecoming basketball game vs. Nebraska Wesleyan GO LANCERS!, and the Homecoming Formal.
Like I said, it's a busy week, but it's a lot of fun!!! Until next time,

Erica

Back to Work!

Well, Christmas break is over, which means it's time to get back to work. This is going to be a busy semester for me. I have a full class schedule and we are beginning our traditional softball season (which I am VERY excited for!). It was tough getting back into the habit of doing homework after 4 weeks off, but I did it, and it has become routine once again.
Last week I participated in the Admissions Phoneathon. My roommate and I went down and helped out. It was a very interesting experience. I have never really liked the idea of talking to people I don't know on the phone. I've always said I have a phobia of phone conversations. When I was younger I never answered the home phone unless I absolutely had to. So, this was a definite growth experience for me. It went well. (Most of the people I called didn't even answer :) so I didn't have to actually talk to many people.) It really wasn't so bad. We get to use a script so the whole conversation isn't off the top of our heads. One person I called, though, wasn't a high school senior. She was only a sophomore. So, when I asked her how her senior year was going, she got really confused and said, "I'm only a sophomore." I paniced for a few short seconds (the look on my face must have been pretty funny because my roommate laughed hysterically watching the whole thing) and then quickly told her that we would just contact her in a couple of years then.
Other than that, I have just been going to class, studying, and going to softball practice. Homecoming is coming up in a couple of weeks, though. That will be a busy week, so I am trying to get way ahead now! Until next time,

Erica Loutsch