The Month of August

Well, August went by so fast. We started out the month by taking a little road trip to escape for a couple days. It was our 2 year anniversary on August 1st, so we wanted to just get away and relax. Byron found a drive-thru safari park called The Wilds, near Zanesville. So we enjoyed a day riding around seeing all the beautiful animals and country scenery. The camels came right up to our bus, and the giraffes, cheetahs and zebras were breathtaking. We had a great time taking LOTS of pictures...



We found a wonderful Bed & Breakfast called Whispering Hills in Dresden, Ohio. Dresden is the home of the Longaberger basket factory. The town is overflowing with baskets... but that's not why we went there. When we found the B&B online, it was perfect because it was a private cabin by a pond. It was also on a farm filled with exotic animals- that we took lots more pictures of. For breakfast, we just went to the main house and the hostess served us in her "Breakfast Nook."It was really nice because we were able to catch up on some resting & reading. We sat on the rocking chairs on the porch of the cabin each night to read. It was romantical. We did venture into Dresden to check out what all the hype is about those expensive baskets. There were shrines to baskets everywhere, including the World's Largest Basket and a Disneyworld-like area(complete with a giant basket of apples) beside the factory where people come from all over to buy... baskets. It wasn't the most exciting trip, but it was definitely relaxing. Plus, we learned about basket weaving!




When we returned from our little vacation, we jumped right into the 24 Hour Theatre. For 3 years now, Byron and I along with our friends Ben and Sonja, have organized the event. To sum it up- we create a complete show within 24 hours. Everyone meets on Friday night, determine what actors, directors and writers are on which team... then the writers stay all night to write 10 minute plays- actors and directors come in the morning, rehearse all day- then the curtain goes up at 8 that evening. It's so much fun!! We enjoy planning and organizing it, and this year it went really well. We had a lot more actors show up to participate. Byron was one of the directors. Hollie was on a writing team. It turned out that Byron ended up directing the play that Hollie's team wrote. All of the teams did a great job this year in performing and writing. It was close competition, but our play won People's Choice for the best play. Ben's play usually wins, so it was nice to beat him for once. We still love you Ben!!



Byron has decided to work for Flixster full-time for now. It is nice to work from home and make his own schedule. Plus, it is great since gas is so expensive. The best part is that we see each other every evening for dinner now. He quit Regal, so no more late nights at the movie theater- unless we go to see a movie! Yay! He also wants to get involved in community theatre, so he auditioned for a play. He wasn't chosen for the part, but he's made some contacts.

Check out www.flixster.com



We've also decided to start working out and joined our local recreation center. It's a Natatorium including a gymnasium, weight room, cardio circuit, running track, racquetball courts, 3 swimming pools, water slide (indoor), spa, saunas, kids workout center, and best of all a Subway restaurant inside. Byron just wanted to have unlimited access to the water slide. Hollie actually exercises... or tries to. Ha Ha!