thoughts of close-up

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Since the girls and I are on summer break, Andrew got some time off so we could take a family trip to the East Coast. We spent a few days in New York, and are currently enjoying the sites and history of Washington DC.

We've been to a few of the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial, to name a few. Our time in DC has made me think of Cindy, and what it was like for her when she took a school trip to DC as part of the "Close Up" program (during her eighth grade year, I think).

Although all my sisters and I had the option to participate in Close Up when it was our turn, Cindy was the only one of the five of us who did it. I admire her for her sense of adventure, willingness to try new things, and visit new places. It's also endearing to think that as our family takes photos at different landmarks, Cindy was doing the same thing not too long ago.

thoughts of word cookies

shared by Marlo R. Beall, her sister

Cindy loved board games, brain teasers, puzzles, and any opportunity to solve a problem. I'm proud to say that our family maintains that interest, and often enjoys a fun puzzle, sudoku, word jumble, or other type of game on a regular basis.

We only have a few games on our family's iPad, but one game that Ava and I play all the time is "Word Cookies". The game asks you to make different words out of a set of given letters. Cyn Cyn and Andrew join us occasionally too. We also have the game "Spell Tower" on our iPad; Andrew has it on his phone too. 

One of Cindy's favorite games was Boggle. We still have her original Boggle set, and usually bring it out during family game nights. Word Cookies and Spell Tower share a lot in common with Boggle; and all three remind me of Cindy.