Nostalgia/Amnesia

A friend I knew when I was 4 whom I haven't seen since she last visited when we were 7 was passing through our town.

You know what happened next.

We scheduled a visit.

We both were happy to see each other again and were chatting like best friends in about 30 seconds.  It was a lot of fun. I'm glad that she and her family could come over.

Guess who those two are.

Running like I know what in the world I'm doing

I just ran a 5K with my little brother.  He came in about 33 minutes and I came in 3 minutes after. (You do the math.) I think this is pretty good considering that he was training 3 mornings a week all summer while I was curled up on the couch with a notebook and earbuds 24/7.

Anyway, you probably want a picture. Fine. Here it is.

Okay, you know what to do. Comment away!

Naturally...

This summer we (my siblings and I) did workbooks that are supposed to prepare you for the next grade. (I know, I know. Hold your peace.) Of course, there was a motive.

$20 each.

Now, these books are supposed to take the whole summer to complete. So, naturally, I finished mine in under a month. So, naturally, my dad made a deal with me.

If I finished that book and a math textbook for the next grade by the 26th of July, He would pay me $40. If I did not finish both, he would only pay me $15. Ouch.

So, naturally, I took up the challenge.

And, naturally, I finished before the due date.

I finished today.

Naturally, I'm feeling rather excited about this.

Yes, I know I sound like a nerd. Question my summer activities all you want, I still have my $40.  :)

Happy Be-lated Fourth!

I know that this is a little late, but I still feel like less of an American citizen if I neglect to blog about the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, whatever you call it.

This is my littlest brother at the Fourth of July get-together at a family friend's house. I think he had a lot of fun, and so did everyone else. I love firework shows! This picture was taken after he participated in a pie-eating contest. He didn't eat the pie so much as wear it.

The Fourth of July was a great experience. Happy Independence Day!

Hobbies

I love to read. Books are my best friends. If you like to read too, here are some great authors:

-Shannon Hale (author of The Books of Bayern)

-Rick Riordan (author of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series)

-Margaret Peterson Haddix (author of Double Identity, Among the Hidden, Game Changer, etc.)

-William Shakespeare (Yes, the William Shakespeare. I read Romeo and Juliet about 2 years ago and I am now working on Hamlet. No, this is not for school. Yes, I know I sound like a nerd.)

-Angie Sage (author of the Septimus Heap series)

I enjoy fantasy/adventure books, but I don't mind a little romance thrown into the mix as well when I'm reading. If your interests match mine you'll love these authors.

The Great Knot Race

This year at camp was the year of our first annual "knot race." We competed at tying knots and lashings in our levels, then the team that had the most "knotting" points competed in the finals for the trophy on the last day of camp. Here's our winning team.

They competed in the finals and won the trophy for our level. These guys are awesome!

This is the trophy that will stand by our level's campsite until it  is won from us. If it is won from us.
Our level was the only one at the "Olympics" as we called them with organized cheers. I guess cheering really does help your team.

Camp!

This last week I had the opportunity to spend five days 100 miles from home with only girls from my church. We had no end of fun in the 110 degree weather. But I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Okay, I've got to add a caption for this one.
This is the skit that I "directed."
I had about 1 1/2 hours total to get everyone organized, and I thought it all up. The song was made by a group of girls in our year, I think it's pretty cool. This skit celebrates 100 years of camp. I think we all did pretty good.
And no, we weren't allowed to bring our color TVs.

Now more pictures:

This is of our "counselors" (we call them Youth Camp Leaders or YCLs) showing off our level's 100 acts of service. This was also in honor of a century of camp.

Our level and YCLs. I'm on the right in braids and a red bandanna.

Me with a bunch of girls at camp.

The 5-mile hike. At one point I was sure we were going the wrong way...

(Click to see picture better.)
The challenge course had a rock wall, a zipline, a tightrope, and a catwalk.
I was in heaven.

This is us creeking. We snacked on mulberries the whole way down the river. Thank you survival class!

This is me on the rock wall. Everyone says I made it look easy and was up extremely fast. What do you think? I'm not afraid of heights, in fact I love being up high, and I've rock climbed before, so I'm not exactly superwoman. Don't think I did this as a scared beginner.

I had a lot of fun at camp. This was an amazing experience and I made lots of great friends. Thank you to all who made this possible.