Tovin's Journal

June 30, 2018 New Job 
Today I work up, and it was time to head to work... at Country Kitchen! I got in the van and took off towards Detroit Lakes, but then ran into construction... I waited almost 10 minutes, kinda freaking out, and then they finally let me go through. I got to Country Kitchen, and then they gave me a bunch of paperwork to fill out before giving me a shirt and having me start work. I learned how to roll silverware, clean tables, and all sorts of other cool stuff, working with two other girls around my age. We got off around 2 after I learned how to clean the bathrooms, and then I found out that we got $8 credit per shift, so I had a Oreo Milkshake before I drove over to Grandpa and Nana's. I hung out there, and then Jevin and I went over to our house so I could get some stuff, and then we went back over to Grandpa and Nana's where we hung out till dinner, and then Veronica and I doubled skiied after dinner. After skiing, I treked down the shore trying to find …

June 29, 2018 Veronica and Sarah Arrived 
Today Mom and I took off to Fergus Falls to get carpet at the Home Depot. We got some carpet, then we came home and started laying it down. Jevin came over to help, and then we finished getting my bedroom setup. We went over to Grandpa and Nana's to film a little more while Mom went to pick up the girls from camp. Then I went to work and it felt like the longest shift I'd ever had. There was a dead mouse somewhere in the ceiling, and so Manson and I spent a little time looking for it. Finally I got done with work, and I went back over to Grandpa and Nana's where Veronica and Sarah had gotten there. Grandpa made me some dinner, and then I watched some of the pictures from Sarah and Veronica's most recent trip before heading home. I then went to bed.

June 28, 2018 Normal Thursday
Today was just a regular day- I work up and went for a run, and then Mom and I went into town to the Menards in Detroit Lakes to try and get carpet... long story short, we didn't get any and Mom wanted to strangle something. We finished getting what we needed, then went home and cleaned for awhile before I went over to Grandpa and Nana's to hang out with Jevin. We did a little more filming, and then I had to take off to work. Work was normal, but a little boring, and then after work I went over to Grandpa and Nana's and Dad took me waterskiing for awhile and I dropped a ski for the first time! Then we went home and I went to sleep. 

June 27, 2018 Trip to Fargo 
Mom was working today, so I slept in, and then went over to Grandpa and Nana's house. I had some breakfast with Jevin and Grandpa, and then we got in the van and took off to Fargo. We had to go to the church first to drop off a flute and pick up my tripod, but as we were going through Frazee, we saw some construction vehicles in the lake so we went back and looked at them. Then we went up to the church, and then our next stop was Schmitt Music in Fargo, where we hung out for awhile, and I got the three packs of guitar strings that I needed. After we left there, we went and cruised down Broadway, and then stopped for Sandy's Donuts, where we each got two big donuts. We walked around for a little bit while Jevin used the bathroom, then went over to Scheels to get Noodles & Company. I had the Mac & Cheese which I attempted to eat with chopsticks... I found that I sometimes have anger issues when using chopsticks. After we finished eating, we we…

June 26, 2018 Geese Everywhere! 
Today I didn't have an alarm because Mom and Dad had turned off the WiFi last night (some conspiracy theory about aliens using our WiFi) and so I slept in a little. I got up eventually and Mom got back from camp, and then Jevin and Grandpa showed up and joined us for a little chapel before going back to their house. Mom had to go for a walk with a friend, so I did a little more cleaning in the basement and then got a paint can (took me 20 minutes to open) and found a paintbrush and did some touchup painting in the basement. After I finished that, Mom was back, and so I told her I was gonna take off over to Grandpa and Nana's, which I did. Grandpa, Jevin, and I all went over by Perham to see if we could find a Western Village because we wanted to film a short movie, but the Western Village over there had been destroyed so we went back to Grandpa and Nana's. Elmer and Miriam came over with Isak. We talked with them for awhile, and then I clean…

June 25, 2018 Monday  Cleaning
Today I woke up and the house was empty, which was super nice. I got up and went for a run, and then I came back and stretched and took a shower. Mom got back from camp where she had been doing something down there, and then we started cleaning in the basement. I had almost 5 boxes of different cords and cables, and so we sorted through those and then did some vacuuming and made everything nice down there. I had some lunch, and then I went over to Grandpa and Nana's on the scooter and we just messed around before deciding to watch The Greatest Showman which Jevin had brought with from Wisconsin. We watched the entire movie, with one break to go get the mail for Nana, and when we finished it, I decided that it is my new favorite movie. 10/10 recommend because it was so good. After the movie, we had some dinner, and then Mom and Dad came over and we talked with them for awhile before heading home, as I was super tired from a long day combined with a col…

June 24, 2018 Camp Again... without me 
Today Mom made me get up early again so that I could finish the powerpoint for church, and then we went and practiced at the church. We had breakfast and then worship went well, but we had to leave really early after church because Jana, Tevia, Enavi, and Maggie were all going to camp! We had a quick lunch at our house, then went down to camp and got the girls all registered. I went back to Grandpa and Nana's house with Jen, and said hi to Hazel who happened to be at their house. Jen and Davin took off for the cities to catch their plane, and I hung out with Jevin before having a dinner of hamburgers that Grandpa made. Mom came over, and then we went and dropped off Enavi's toothbrush at camp, and then went into Frazee to drop off my schedule at work before going home and resting until morning.

June 23, 2018 Everything is Normal...
I woke up this morning at 7am, and got ready for work. I was super exhausted, and realized that I probably should have taken off the day right after camp. Mom gave me a ride to work, and then I worked until 2pm, having only a chocolate milk for lunch. Mom gave me a ride home, and then I worked on the computer until people started showing up to our house that evening. Jen and Davin were up and so they joined us for dinner, and then we had music afterwards before going over to Grandpa and Nana's for a quick swim and to watch my camp video. Then came home and went to bed.

June 22, 2018 Camp Day 6 
Today we woke up for the last time, as it was the last day of camp. We went down for breakfast, which was oatmeal and sausage, and then we had a perhaps over the top end of week flag raising ceremony which included fancy formations and running into the pond screaming about non-existent bee's. After our Morning watch, Dude let us quick shower and then we had our last Bible-X before heading off to Activity 1 (yes, it was waterskiing for me). We came back for tuck & pack, which was basically get any last things from the tuck shop and pack/clean our stuff. After cleaning, we had lunch, which was corndogs again, and then it was time for our very last Built Session. We basically talked about what our goals were for the rest of the year and some possible times we could meet up. Then it was back down to the dining hall for the closing ceremony. After the ceremony, we did worship and then it was goodbye time. Mom had come to pick me up with Dawson, Steven, Jana…

June 21, 2018 Camp Day 5 
I woke up this morning and almost everyone was already gone. I got dressed, then took off down to the dining hall where we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. After breakfast, a few of us did the flag-raising again, and then we had morning watch. After morning watch, I found Bolt's cabin, and led their Bible-X which went very well (I think). Then we cleaned the cabin before first activity (again, waterskiing). We skiied for awhile before going back to the camp for leftover day, which is basically a meal with leftovers of all the meals so far. After lunch and music, we had rest hour, during which I actually slept the entire time (almost). We had our Built session, and then on my way down to the tuck shop, I saw that the slip-and-slide was being set up. I kind of ignored it until Rob said that the first one down would get a free soda. Needless to say, I was the first one down. After going on the slip-and-slide for awhile, I played 9-square and then it was …

June 20, 2018 Camp Day 4 
I woke up this morning on the island with the sun just starting to try and get over the trees. It was still very early however, so I went back to sleep. A few hours later, I was woken up, this time around 6:30; we cleaned up the campsite, then made our way back in the canoes. We got everything put away, took showers, and were back in our cabin with a half-hour before we were supposed to wake up. We went down for breakfast, which was egg bake and weird juice. After breakfast and morning watch, we had Bible-X with Dude, and then cleaned up the cabin before heading to the waterfront for our first activity. As soon as we got in the boat, I got to ski for awhile, and then right when it was finally Bolt's turn, the boat stopped working. We eventually got it working again after a prayer and a little time, and then we went back for lunch. For lunch, I was trading places with Bolt since the Built had to sit at their shadow cabin's table for lunch that day. We h…

June 19, 2018 Camp Day 3 
We woke up again this morning to Rob yelling at us with the megaphone. We got out of bed and trudged down to the dining hall where we had fruit and egg/sausage/cheese sandwiches for breakfast. After breakfast, there was the flag-raising and morning watch, and then I went to Bible-X with Bolt's cabin. I was simply there to observe as on Thursday, I would be leading their Bible-X. After that was over, I went back to my cabin where we cleaned, and then my first activity was waterskiing. We were out in the boat for awhile, then came back to the camp for a lunch of chicken tenders, Mac & Cheese, and rice crispie bars. Our cabin recited Parca, earning us all a soda for the cookout. Then, after we did music with Jammin, we went to our cabin for rest hour. Rest hour was uneventful as usual, and then it was time for our Built session, during which we had to make an outline for the Bible-X class that we would be teaching. Free-time came, and Kieler and I were th…

June 18, 2018 Camp Day 2 
We woke up this morning to Rob shouting in our door with a megaphone telling us to get up. We laid our bunks a little longer before getting up and making our way to the dining hall for breakfast, which was french toast and bacon. After breakfast, while the rest of the camp sang some songs, 5 of us went out front and practiced for the morning flag-raising color-gaurd ceremony. It went smoothly, and then after grabbing my Bible and notebook, I found the kid, named Matthew, who I was assigned to do morning watch devotions with. We went through the devotion book, and then it was time to head back to the White House for our cabin's own group devotions (Bible-X or Bible Exploration). Right after Bible-X, it was time to clean our cabin (we won the Golden Broom for cleanest cabin that morning) and then it was already time for first activity. I rode down to the waterfront in the bus, and then found out that because the camp boat had broken, we were using our boat. …

June 17, 2018 Camp Day 1 
I got up this morning for church at 7:30, and we got to the church for practice pretty early. Worship and church went well and then we went home so I could pack for camp, as I hadn't done that yet... heh. I got packed up and then we went down there and got me all checked in, and then I got taken to my cabin. I hung out there for awhile meeting my cabin-mates, and then there was a meeting in the main room of the cabin just for laying down some ground rules and what was expected from us this week. After that, we went down to the main dining hall for another welcome meeting. As soon as that was over, we had our first activity, which in my case was waterskiing. We got on the bus and went to the waterfront, and then went out in the boat, and did some waterskiing (there was 7 people in my activity group). Then, we came back to the camp. We had our first Built 1 (Built = Boys Under Intense Leadership Training) meeting which we had to start with 25 pushups, then i…

June 16, 2018 Veronica's Graduation Party 
Today as soon as I woke up, we had to leave for the twin cities, because it was Veronica's graduation party day. We got there around 11:45 with a few stops for bathrooms and drinks, and they had tacos and cake and good food. Lots of people were there, including Jen & Davin and Co. and Veronica and Chris and Sarah obviously. We stayed for awhile, then left shortly after Grandpa did. I decided I wanted to drive, and so I drove all the way from their house in the cities to some gas station just pass the big prison. We got home eventually after a stop at Central Market (formerly known as Deans in Perham) and got some groceries, and then Mom and I practiced music for tomorrow morning for awhile. Then I worked on my computer for awhile before packing for camp (starts tomorrow) and then going to bed. Long day with almost 8 hours in the car! 

June 15, 2018 Mowing Lawns and Relief Sale Prep Today was beautiful wonderful Friday, but sadly I didn't get to do a whole lot of relaxing. I slept in for awhile, then took the truck over to Grandpa and Nana's to get the trailer (it wasn't there, but ended up being at the farm). After picking up the trailer, I went home and loaded the mowers on it, and then Jana and I went over to the elderly couple's house and got to work on their lawn. We mowed till about noon when she brought us pizza and pepsi. We had some lunch, then finished the lawn and took off. We got home and I took a shower, and then it was time to leave again for the church. We got to Ben's house around 4:31, and then we took the church van up to pick up Gabby and Emma in Wolf Lake. Then we came back to the church, and then headed up to the Muff farm in Strawberry Lake for the relief sale prep. We got everything nice and setup for the sale tomorrow, and then we had a bonfire worship service with Karri do…

June 14, 2018 Working  I got up at 6:30 today like I do on most days that I work, and took off to work on the scooter so that I was there around 7:45. I started the morning routine, and then the truck arrived. While they were unloading the truck, they had accidentally stacked one of the pallets too high, and so it tipped over and BOOM there were groceries everywhere. Anyway, I finished my shift, and then during work, I had met an older lady who needed her lawn mowed, as her hand was hurt, and her husband had just cracked avertebrae, so I went over and looked at how big their lawn was, before heading home. I got home and just hung around until bed time, then went to sleep, completely exhausted.

June 13, 2018 Smiling is Lying
I slept in a little this morning, but was soon woken up by Dad barging into my room to open my window and the like. I made my way downstairs, and then we tried to decide what to do for the rest of the day. Dad wanted me to take the car in to get an oil change, but he also needed to take Jana to the doctor, so that ended up trumping the oil change and I worked on computer stuff at home instead. At noon, Nana came over and picked me up so that we could go have our yearly birthday lunch. We went into town and decided on the Mexican restaurant where the Dairy Queen used to be, called Don Pablos. We ordered our food, and it came super fast and was like huge amounts and tasted amazing. Then we shared a fried ice cream for desert which was also like super awesome. Afterwards we went over to JCPenny's and got me two really nice new shirts that I'll be able to wear to church, and then went to the candy store. Nana dropped me off at home, and I cleaned unt…

June 12, 2018 Music in the Park 
Today started as any other wonderfully amazing school-free summer day might, with sleeping in and waking up to the sound of the animals outside. I laid in bed for awhile, then got up and had some breakfast, before playing around on my computer a bit. Around noon, Jana and I went over to Grandpa and Nana's, but neither of them were there so we sat around for awhile then came home. For the rest of the afternoon, I worked on choosing music for Wednesday and Friday's youth groups, and then I also worked on a mobile app so that I always have my chords and lyrics with me. Mom got home early, and then Jana, Tevia, and I went over to Grandpa and Nana's (again), where we then proceeded to go into Detroit Lakes for the music in the park. We had hamburgers at the pavilion, and then they had a bluegrass band which was good, but could have used a click-track running through in-ear monitors as their rhythm fell apart every time they had an instrumental. O…

June 11, 2018 Finally Driving
I slept in for awhile today, then got up and got ready to go into town. Why you ask? Because I was taking my road test to get my driver's license at 9am. Dad and I got to the DMV, and we went in and let them know we were here. She told us to go take a seat in the lobby, so I went out there and waited. And waited some more. Finally I was the last person in the lobby and went out to our car (I decided to use the Sienna) with the instructor at 10:30am. I almost failed the parallel parking, but everything else went well (except apparently I was driving "too slow"). Anyway, I ended up getting my driver's license and I was like super hyped, but Dad and I had to run around and get some stuff in town. Then we went home, and Jana, Tevia, and I drove over to Grandpa and Nana's house, without an adult and it felt so amazingly weird. Grandpa wasn't home, so we had lunch with Nana, then came home, and I took a shower and got ready for my Count…

June 10, 2018 Church Day 
Mom woke me up this morning, but I didn't feel like getting up and she was going to church early, so I stayed in bed, and then almost made us late by oversleeping. In the end however, it was Dad who made us late. We got to church and had breakfast there, and then we had our worship service, and I tried using a A major pad but it was really hard because they had to be controlled from the back. The rest of church was fun, and then afterwards we swung by Jeremy and Sherri's place on the way home, where they had gotten another dog and like a bunch of pet rats and stuff. We continued to our house, and then after awhile we went over to Grandpa and Nana's where we hung out and had dinner. We came home at 7pm, and I messed around on my computer for awhile after going for a walk to see the cows, and then I read for awhile before going to bed.

June 09, 2018 Back to Normal 
I hate my alarm clock. I woke up almost 20 minutes before it went off, and then accidentally reset it, and so I ended up being out of bed almost an hour earlier than needed. I worked from 8-2, so I went in and stopped by Sophia's cupcake stand to say hi, and then worked for what felt like forever. When I finally got off, I went home and had some lunch, then played around on my computer and cleaned until Thaddeus showed up for our Saturday night deal. We had spaghetti for dinner with him and Darwin, and then the Kratzki's came over as well to sing. Once everyone left, I did my journal and got ready for bed because wow was I tired.

June 08, 2018 Apparently it's my Birthday 
Last night was rather late, so I was a bit exhausted and decided to sleep in. When I finally did wake up, I was 16. I went downstairs and true to my wishes, there were no birthday decorations put up, just as I had asked. I worked on VBS stuff for awhile, mostly getting a webpage setup for all the videos (click here) and that took a little bit of the afternoon, and then I practiced for Sunday with Mom. After making a few loaves of bread (best joke ever: Jesus was really bad at math. To him, 5 + 2 = 5000 R12), Mom and I went to town where we got groceries, then came home and I messed around with some backing pads for worship on Sunday, and then we went over to Grandpa and Nana's. Grandpa had made hamburgers, and Mom made some of the other stuff, and then Jeremy and Sherri came over for dinner with Dawson too, and so we had a really fun time and then afterwards, we went home and Jeremy gave me a haircut as my hair was getting really long.…

June 07, 2018 Program Day
When I woke up this morning, it was only Matthew and I, as Ben had already left for work. We stayed in our beds/chairs and watched Netflix for a little while, before getting to work. We needed to make brownies for the VBS program tonight, hang up Ben's laundry, and bury a natural gas line in his back yard, all of which we did within a few hours. As soon as we finished, we went over to the church, where Brock and Jesse were already at, mowing the lawn and making everything look nice. Somehow one of the windows had fallen out and broken, so I cleaned that up, and then we started doing some light cleaning inside for the program. Before we knew it, the kids had shown up and then all the parents started arriving. The program went really well, and then we served Taco in a Bag afterwards for dinner. Once everyone started to leave, we started the cleanup process. A bunch of people from another church had shown up, as they were sharing all the VBS equipment with us…

June 06, 2018 Wild Wednesday 
Today I woke up at a normal time for summer vacation (I'm still so happy that it is summer vacation!!!) and I made my way downstairs. Dad wasn't around, so I had some breakfast, then I went and got started on my computer stuff downstairs. I came upstairs to shower and shave, and then Dad came and said hi. Everyone took off to their various places, and so I was left at home, all alone. I worked more on computer stuff, cleaned a tiny bit, played piano and guitar, ate homemade fried cheese curds, and read stuff, until about 3:30 when everyone got back. We got ready for VBS, and then we took off, and got there just in time. VBS has been crazy awesome, but I can't say that I'll be sorry when it's over. We had another skit today and it went almost better than all the others I think (I'll upload it later) and then the 4th day was over... only tomorrow left. We had a meeting before everyone left, and then I helped clean up and went home wit…

June 05, 2018 Taco Tuesday 
Today I woke up at 8am, but only because I remembered to set an alarm this time. I got up and finished some stuff on the computer, and then we mowed the lawn at our house. After finishing our lawn, we went down to the camp, and Jana and I used the zero turn mowers and mowed almost the entire camp area. We got back to our house, and then I went into Detroit Lakes with Janessa (Tevia came too) and we went and got food at Taco John's, and then ate it in the park. After we finished our late lunch, we picked up Bradly and Jordan from the high school since they were doing driver's ed, and then we went to the boys and girls thrift store, and then to Central Market to grab some stuffs. We made our way out to the church and got busy preparing for VBS day 3. Soon all the kids started arriving, and everything seemed to go very well. The only downside is I have to wear a wig because I'm a crazy scientist, and it's like 400 degrees under there. After VBS,…

June 04, 2018 Melon Monday 
Today I woke up with Dad telling me I should get up. Needless to say, I ignored him and accidentally ended up sleeping in till almost 1pm. I got up and did some stuff on my computer, and then Ben picked me up and we went into town, and then went to the church to setup for VBS day 2. The kids started arriving and everything was mental but also going quite well. The drama went off without a problem, and then we finally were done again for the night. I needed to stay and practice, so I did so, and then Rhonda and Jesse gave me a ride home. I was so exhausted from the long day, that I took a shower, went to bed and fell asleep right away.

June 03, 2018 Sunday Funday 
I woke up this morning around 4 am with a bit of a queasy gut, but once that went away I was able to fall back asleep and slept until almost 9, when Ben and Matthew starting being really loud. I got up, and then Matthew and I ran over to the church, trying to race Ben. Needless to say, he beat us in the car by a little bit. We got stuff set up for church, and then we waited for everyone to show up. Eventually, everyone did, and the service went really well, with me leading the music, but doing the VBS songs. After church, I helped Rhonda make some tacos, and then we all had tacos for lunch. We watched some of Cars 3 before practice, and then got to work, making everything perfect for VBS. At one point I accidentally broke a VGA to HDMI cable, so Ben and I ran into Detroit Lakes to get a new one at Walmart, and then also got some baby chicks for Bryant at Fleet Farm. We got back and practiced more, and then the kids started arriving around 5:30. VBS went rea…

June 02, 2018 VBS Prep
I was able to sleep in this morning, and it was the nicest thing in the world to not have anything to do but to be able to sleep in. I made myself get up eventually, and then I messed around for awhile. We left for a graduation party near Fergus Falls, and we had lunch there. After we finished at the graduation party, we went to Ben Franklin craft store and while the girls shopped I watched a guy snort some sort of paint outside. We came home and I practiced the VBS songs until I had to go to work. Work went fast, and I was working with Manson. Right before we closed, we had some people come in who were acting weird, and then we found out that they had a stolen card, but we couldn't do anything. As soon as I got done, Dad picked me up and I packed as soon as we got home and then Ben picked me up, and we went to the church, with a pit stop at All-in-All. Then we went to the church and met Matthew, where we had some fun with lights before going back to Ben'…

June 01, 2018 Last Day of School!
Today was finally it! The last day of school, and also my last day as a homeschooler! I only had 1 assignment left for the year, so I did it, and then I was done! Karri and Shanda had asked me to design the registration form for camp, so I did that, and then finished the website so now people can register. Around lunch time, I realized that I should work on memorizing the script for later tonight, as we have VBS practice, so I did that as much as I could. It's been a crazy week and next week is going to be pure mental, but it'll be awesome. I memorized lines until about 4, when I got ready to go to MYF and practice. Grandpa picked me up at 4:30, and we went up to Wolf Lake where we picked up Chloe, Gabby, and a friend of Gabby's named Allie, and then we went to the church. I practiced with the VBS drama team until 7, and then we had MYF and we played games and ate food and had a bonfire and had worship and had devotions and it was super awe…