Delray Beach pt 3

We had enough decent weather for Esther and I to film our latest movie from Van Tuyl Productions, "The Hunt". (For other movies from Van Tuyl Productions, click here).

6/9/16

We had a few days where it was lovely weather for ducks, and whaddya know but one did show up and start swimming around the pool. At first, it looked like he only had one leg, but it turned out he actually had the usual two.

Fun and Games at the Beach

Hello, folks! This is the second post about our recent trip to Delray Beach (first post here). I'm shore you'll want to sea some pictures of the ocean, so here you go (goodness, wasn't this pun-ishing to read?).

6/2/16

Things That Go on in a Thousand Mile Car Trip

     Greetings, fellow Earth-dwellers. You've probably been wondering what I've been up to since my last post (was it really back in November that I last posted...?). Well, one thing my family and I did recently was to take a vacation to Delray Beach, Florida! 

     Our new minivan was much easier to pack than our old car had been. (I had a lot more stuff than you see here when my parents picked me up from college earlier this month though.)

Yes, that's a lot of stuff... 5/31/16

Adventures (and bruises) on Ice

After the skating. All photo credits: my mom ('cause I was too busy falling down to take pictures)

Yesterday, I went ice skating for the first time ever, and I am left wondering... How in the world do figure skaters manage to go around on one ice skate all the time? I certainly had enough trouble staying up on my two feet. At least I don't have a peg leg like a pirate. I can't imagine what peg-legged pirates do when they go ice skating.

Food at Liberty

Today, I will discuss a deep, dark secret...the food Liberty University serves in its dining hall. Oh, I love all the many different kinds of food found in the Reber-Thomas Dining Hall here on campus, though many times I am quite unsure exactly what I’m eating. And even though I’ve immensely enjoyed most of the food here so far, that one dinner I ate last week was admittedly not the most delicious thing I’ve ever digested. It had the flavor of a raw onion and the texture of an old shoe. Now I’m not saying you shouldn’t try this particular dish, whatever it may have been. I’m just saying I wouldn’t advise it unless you’re particularly fond of eating onion-flavored shoes.

Welcome Week at Liberty: A Freshman's Perspective

Hello everyone! As most of you probably know, I've been at college ever since Thursday. Since so many of you have been pestering me for a blog entry (*cough cough*), here it is, written as a daily account of my adventures here at Liberty University.

Red Toyotas and Blue Buicks

     We got a new car. And that might not sound so special to some of you, but when it's the first car your family's gotten in a dozen years, it's kind of a big deal! Here's a photo I took of some of my family members next to it a couple weeks ago:

Fun and Games at the Beach

1,000 Things to Do on a 1,000 Mile Car Trip

     My family and I just got back from a two-week vacation to Delray Beach, Florida! We had so much fun there, this is going to be the first of several posts about our time there.

     It's a 1,000 miles from here to Delray, and as many of you know, we drive it in two days. So what do Esther and I do for a thousand miles in the backseat? 

     Read on to find out.

What Happens When You Ask Rachel to Bake a Giant Cake

     I baked a cake yesterday. Not just any cake, but my graduation cake. And not just any graduation cake, but a 12x18 cake, the biggest thing I've ever baked in my life!  (12x18 inches that is, not feet. I got covered in enough batter just from this one!)
     When one is baking a foot and a half long cake, proper greasing of the pan beforehand is vital. It is equally important to cover the pan well with a fine layer of flour. As a side note, when I had finished, I too was well-greased and covered with a fine layer of flour.

This is what happens when you give the camera to your sister and tell her to take some nice photos.

Next, the eggs. All ten of them. Cracking two eggs at a time certainly helps it go faster. As an added benefit, it also adds that nice crunch to the cake, so important for one's daily calcium intake.

 How do you mix up three boxes of cake mix at once?
Just like this! I hope you like cake batter, because when you do this, you're certainly going to get a lot all over the place.



The biggest bowl of cake batter I've ever seen for the biggest cake I've ever baked...

When you mix up three boxes of cake mix my way, you end up splatting the batter on yourself and the counters (but mostly on yourself).

Licking off the spatula just a little bit too eagerly. I get excited about cake batter, ok?

I told her to look normal and pretend I wasn't even taking pictures.

The sad thing is, this is normal...

 After gallons of batter all over the kitchen, you may be wondering how the cake turned out. Well, see for yourself!

Yes, this is actually the only good picture I have of the cake. It was late at night...

It's amazing how hilarious baking a giant cake can be. Of course, when you've had as much sugar as Esther and I did, everything seems hilarious!