Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (does that look weird?) About cousins and Iron Men (and women)!

Hi melloni nin! NOTE: Longer post today, have to give you a lot before you go!
Well, I'm here enjoying the beautiful Coeur d'Alene weather (upper 80's, lower 90's) after a great afternoon of kayaking and swimming with my cousin! It was sooooo fun!
I envy you so much, Eowyn, MJ. You are so close with your cousins. I seriously haven't seen this on since Mother's Day. And Christmas before that. Seriously, I like never see my cousins, and because of that we aren't very close. It's like, you know your parents' friends' kids, that you're only friends with 'cause your parents are friends? It's kind of like that, only closer because we've known each other our whole lives. Sometimes I wonder if I'd be friends with them if they weren't my cousins. I don't know. I mean, they're really good kids and all (mostly anyway :P ), but I just don't know if we'd be friends in general. We all get along though. I sometimes see other people with cousins (esp. Eowyn and MJ) and wish it could be that way, but I know it can't because we all live so far apart and just hardly ever see each other. The only nice thing is that we NEVER fight. It's really weird though. I'm so glad I get to spend time with my cousin this week, because we have a little more in common (we used to live closer, then she moved, but she's still in the country, so she's like not girly, but not all tomboy, kinda like me :) I hope that makes sense lol)! We're really getting to know a little more about each other already, and it's easier to talk to each other than it used to be. It's se weird being all of us together, because 8 of us grew up together, and have known each other forever. Then there are like 6 more who are results of second marraiges of my aunts (like step-cousins, sort of), and it's not that I don't like them or anything, it's just that I hardly know them at all, so they're not even like cousins to me. Just barely aquaintances. I don't know...does anybody know how I feel? *shouts to the world* "is anybody listening?!? Can you offer me advice?!? Hellooooooooooo!"
So, on to happier topics. Today is the Iron Man festival here in Coeur d'Alene. It's so crazy, 'cause like everyone from Spokane is here too! For those who don't know what the Iron Man festival is (like me 'til today) let me enlighten you...
"The Iron Man triathlon festival is an annual event that takes place in the heart of the beautiful, peaceful city of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. More than 2,400 contestants usually enter, at least 100 from the city itself. There are three events: swimming, cycling and running. Contestants start the day bright and early at 7:00 AM in the chilly lake Coeur d'Alene, but they aren't chilly for long! 2.4 miles of swimming across the lake warms them up in a hurry! If the contestants finish the swimming event within 2 hours, they are allowed to continue onto the cycling event. The cyclers ride up and down the streets of Coeur d'Alene and in surrounding areas - 112 miles altogether! After that you can imagine that they would be in prime shape for a 26.2 mile jog around town. Dozens of people line each street (several of whom are family members or friends), cheering contestants on through each part of the triathlon. The first 80 contestants to finish qualify to compete in Iron Man Hawaii, while the first place contestant wins the big prize - $50,000! It is a great family day in the town and a wonderful heart-warming experience."
Believe it or not, I made that up. I learned all about it today from my aunt and an article she let me read about it...and I'm still trying to figure out what kind of sick person (pardon me...idiot) thought this up! I get worn out just watching them all, but it was really cool to watch them for a little bit.
So, I'm in the kitchen on Mom's laptop. My aunt and my Dad are making enchiladas for dinner (yes, we eat late here) and I'm trying to figure out if I should sleep inside or in the teepee tonight. My cousin won't sleep outside, and I don't really want to sleep with the boys, I don't think my Dad would go out with me, but I really want to sleep out there. See, my great grandpa made the teepee like forever ago, from a book that taught how to make teepees the way the Native Americans really made them! It's been in the family for a long time, and my aunt and uncle have it now, they set it up in the summer and sleep in it like every night. I'm still debating if it's worth it...any suggestions?
So, Dad and I are going to go throw the ball soon. If any of you didn't know yet, I'm like a baseball fanatic, and I like to play a little softball, though I'm not very good. If you don't like the Mariners, don't say anything if you value your life! Seriously though, please don't say anything, 'cause I'll defend them to death, and I don't want to fight with any of you.
What else was I gonna say? Oh well, I can't remember. I'm gonna go now, so...talk to you all soon!
Namarie!
P.S.
I remembered! Ok, so here's the deal: I want to be able to write my lessons down like Legolas is doing, so I can remember it better because you always learn better when you teach. Problem is, the only people who would go there is you guys, and you already go to Lego's. I don't want to "steal Lego's business" lol, but I don't know what I should do. Should I just write it down anyway, even if nobody looks at it? I'm way open to suggestions...what do you guys think?
P.P.S.
I'm still going to post while you guys are at Camp Hope, because Vani will still be here, and I just want to keep writing, since this is kind of like my journal. Vani you can email me too...
So yeah, that's it. You guys can all post and comment when you get back...and tell me all about camp too!!! Please post before you go - I'm gonna miss you all!!!