it's a cool place/and they say it gets colder/you're bundled up now/wait til you get older

anyway I'm in an all star mood today :) how is everyone? where is everyone? I have high-speed!!! well...my grandparents do anyway......

Random question of the day: who's your favorite author and why/what is their style like, etc.?

did everyone go to Sarah's blog and see the Camp Pope video yet?!?!?!??!! It's amazing...and it's got All Star!!!!! and lots of cute pictures/videos.

oh yeah. i was gonna tell you about fair. I got first place in fitting and showing!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!! only I had to do round robin, which is when all the winners of fitting and showing in Dogs, Cats, Rabbits, Cavies, Chickens, and Pigeons have to show each others animals. umm....can't pick up a chicken or rabbit sorry ;) I pretty much got last place, but it was cool. Comet tried to bite someone so we brought a different cat in (thank you Ashley!!!). Comet will not be participating in round robin in the future. so yeah - Comet got fifth in her breed class; not great but still not too bad. I got first in our Written Test, second in Judging (which is like multiple choices and you have to rank things from best to worst, and identify some breeds and stuff), and third in Knowlege (which is another type of written test...this year SUPER-HARD with anatomy and breeds. the breeds saved me from getting crushed, because I pretty much sucked at anatomy, but I think I got the most breeds of anyone)!

so it rained all weekend at fair, and we made this one dude cookies who was standing there in the rain running one of the game booth places. he kept thanking us every time we walked by, lol. we are the only animal project in 4-H without a permanent building, so we had this tent that sort of....leaked.

;)

Saw the hypnotist about five times, ha-ha, and took lots of pictures and videos that I might put up sometime. not at home though *is sad*

*is happy again* I wish I had my dad's laptop here so I could post some, but it will have to wait. *sigh* I really need this vacation. I haven't really had summer yet, so I will be reading, writing, - and what else...? whatever I feel like. can't wait to be on a boat again!!! what is everyone up to this week?

there's not really anything else to say....lalala! I plan to finish Les Mis this week, and then start David Copperfield. and work on my book.

and I'm talking an awful lot about me, sowwy. have we found any traces of mnm or sam or mj or Legolas yet?

I should be on later...my grandpa's bringing his laptop and he has this cool handy-dandy little internet card thingamy (no, it doesn't work at our house).

til then!

Guess what I just heard on the radio?

The official camp pope song!!!

I said yep, what a concept/I could use a little feul myself/and we could all use a little change
All the glitters is gold *Sam tries desperately to reach the too-high note*

You know deep down, you wanna get bolder
A little voice says wait til you get older
But the Spirit of God gives you power
He is by your side, every minute, every hour
You're not too young to start livin' for Him
The water is warm so you might as well swim
My heart's on fire, how 'bout yours?
Does everyone know that you love the Lord?



well, I'm leaving in the morning. yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! actually I'm helping pack in the morning, and we don't get to leave until about one. *sadface* but I'm going boatin!!! Our ship's name is the Kaizen, and she's very pretty. Later I'll post pics. I should have some access to internet during the week - not sure how much yet.

I'll post again before I leave. I still want to tell you about Fair!!!

Happy Friday the 13th!!!

I saw a falling star last night
It fell to earth with a dying light
And in its last cry I thought I heard
A single tear whispered without a word

I saw a man sitting on the street
His clothes were as worn as the shoes on his feet
A guitar in his hand and his hat on the ground
Completely ignored by the people around

I saw a young girl leaning over a stone
On it face was her lover's name - now he was gone
And she weeps as she wishes that he was here
But he's gone, and she's living a life in fear



I saw a man climbing up a hill
The blood on his back made my heart stand still
The people around all mocked at him
But He kept on going by his love for them




Wow. That's the first peotry I've actually written and been happy with in probably over a year! I got so discouraged today - I'm not entering a poem or a short story at the Fair, because it just wouldn't come together. I haven't been content with anything I've written, and it just wasn't working. This makes me feel better. The first two lines came into my head...and the rest kept coming... I just feel like my heart hasn't been coming into it like it used to. Maybe, now, I'm over the mountain.

Okay. Camp Hope, my trip, and everything else! To start off with, I am finally done with Driver's Ed!!!! I had my final drive today, thank goodness not in the rain (we had a thunderstorm this morning) and passed, thanking my lucky stars that I didn't hit anything during the parallel parking or backing around a corner, both of which need a ton of work still. But then, I have til January to practice and get ready, so I think by then I ought to be a lot better.

I'm going to a Mariner's game on Monday!!!! One of the people my dad works with got some extra tickets, so she gave them to us!!! I'm sooo happy!!!!!!!!!!!! can'twaitcan'twaitcan'twaitcan'twait

There's not really anything else to post about our trip to Oregon. We ate at the Black Bear Diner on the way home (did I already say that?) and I drove most of the way to Portland, then Dad took over. We've been fairly busy this week, went to the lake once and then to some friends' with a pool! Also, our house is on a well, and sometimes stuff from the ground makes the water smell like rotten eggs and look dirty (it's still safe, but very inconvenient) so we have to "shock" the well by pouring bleach into it. This is also inconvenient, because we can't use the water for about two days. The toilets still work, but showering in bleached water isn't the best idea, and so we have to take water out beforehand and keep it in tupperware and stuff so we can brush our teeth and have drinking water and stuff. We're just at the tail end of this now, and I can take a shower tonight!!! (feels like Camp Hope) Mom's been quizzing me on my 4-H stuff, getting ready for Fair, etc. It's actually supposed to be cool this year instead of over 100 every day during Fair!!! hopefully true, but you know those weathermen...always wrong, right?

I wonder if there was cookie dough in the garden of Eden? I'm inclined to think yes.

Ooohh oohh! We get Golf Digest magazine, and in the last issue there was this awesome picture of my favorite golfer Zach Johnson (who is a Christian and not afraid to say it on national TV!) right after he won the Masters, and it says "The Power of Dreams" on it. Dad cut it out for me and it's on my bulliten board!

This week has just been really cool with the little things. It was so nice to see my cats again on Monday, and yesterday morning I got to go golfing for the second time in a week (that's not such a little thing, actually) because my dad was going and they had a person who couldn't go! I hit one stroke over my best score, but that wasn't so bad, because I really wasn't golfing that well. Making cookie dough, the candle party last night and seeing lots of people from our old church...that was fun!

On the flip-side of my poetry troubles, I've been working on my book a little more, don't you just love thesaureses?! Also, I've had a little more time for Les Mis, and hope to finish it up during my boating vacation when I'll actually have time to do nothing. then comes: David Copperfield. again. well...the first half again, and the second half for the first time.



Some sad news too: the house we really liked and wanted is gone now, someone bought it. :'( But then, if we continue to be patient and trust in God, we are excited to see if He has something even more wonderful in store for us! Meanwhile, I am happy to stay here and enjoy my last summer in this home. The only downside is that half of our stuff is packed...but hey, Christmas all over again right?!



AND NOW: (drumroll, please) THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR - IT'S THE CAMP HOPE RECAP!!!!!!!!!! *applause*

I can't thank you peoples enough for getting me to Camp Hope this year!!! I had an absolute blast, especially getting to know you better and getting to know God better. I really enjoyed the chapels - although most of it wasn't new to me, the way it was presented made it seem new, just like I'd never realized it before. Making new friends with the same beliefs and values as me, and sharing things, praying together, learning Irish Dancing (!), Snow White (Lost) and the Seven Grammarians, getting Lucy and Lindy talked into blogging, doing Winnie the Pooh during exercises, climbing up (and falling down) "glaciers," doing snow angels with Anna, finding landjagger (totally spelled wrong, sorry) in my backpack and passing it around the cabin, singing Disney and Veggie Tales all the way to Goat's Peak with seven girls and - Jacob, ha-ha! (poor boy), assigning parts of speech to everyone and being and interjection all week, watching Sam play piano, figuring out the chords to In Christ Alone and singing it over and over and over..., pretending to play spoons but honestly just laughing on a high from sugar and friends, getting melted chocolate from my "perfect" s'more on my pants, the ride there...and back again.

Being at negative 312 feet back at Juanita according to Jacob's watch, pretending I had a clue about Les Mis, playing soccer and actually kicking the ball 3 times, all the right way! Playing capture the flag, and trying to get caught, and getting to the jail/shade just in time for jailbreak, doing a scavenger hunt with our luggage, silly songs, just being at a camp again for the first time in a few years...no electronics, dodgeball (especially when I WON!!!!!), making Sam feel bad because he got me out (honestly, no logic there Sam....lol), journaling, water fights, pretending to rap, learning the bus stop, quoting our entire skit to my parents on the way home and making my mom laugh more than if she'd actually seen it, getting the whole camp to do our hi-ho stomp, volleyball in the dark.

"Swish swish, clang clang!"

"And there I saw it, in a dark corner - nothing!"

"Let the crime fit the punishment."

"Let's do snow angels!" (on the freezing cold wet ice)

"Stop! collaborate and listen..."

"I am the Disney Prince: tall, blonde and handsome."

"For some of you this may be fun, for others of you it may just be stuff."

"We could set the dining hall on fire, and put it out with water! Wait, wait - we like the cooks. Yeah, that would be kinda awkward...burn toast and all that in the morning."

"Cut two three four five six seven."

"If I write the first three letters and then just a dot-dot-dot, that means I don't know how to spell the word."




Okay, are you happy now?

Guess what? Anna's home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and she has to post on pain of death before she leaves again. hear that Anna?????

Namarie melloni nin,
Verya

sing, my angel of music!

posting on vacation - it always seems like there's a ton more to post about than when you're, well, not on vacation. maybe because, well, there is.

I'm in Bend, OR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or, to be more specific, Sunriver. I have not been here since I was six years old, so I only remember the most random of things (such as the chain lock on the door that I couldn't reach then, learning what a yield sign meant for the first time, the playground, etc.) been here since yesterday at about, oh....three o'clock. I drove down from Goldendale, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Friday night we got home, I showered, then unpacked all my dirty clothes, and repacked after the laundry was done. Saturday morning we left about ten o'clock. Dad drove to Roslyn, where we had our first stop for this Washington State history trip. We went to this little neat museum, kinda cluttered but they are trying to raise money for more space. We were also recommended to this great meat shop with really good beef jerky! We went to one of Roslyn's 25 adjoining cemeteries covering 15 acres and tried to find the one with the oldest birth date on it, and came up with 1819. After about an hour, we decided it was hot enough and we could go to our campsite, in the Pasco area near Tricities. I took over driving here, and had a new high speed: 70ish. It's not too scary as long as there isn't wind!

About three hours later saw us at our campsite, a really nice Army Corps of Engineers place with lush grass, nice freezing swimming area, and fairly clean restrooms. We have a new tent with 2 "rooms" so that was pretty nice, having my own room. Except for the two year old kid who we discovered (at 6:15 in the morning) didn't have a Snooze Button, it went pretty well. We made s'mores and started a movie (Horatio Hornblower) on Mom's laptop, but went to sleep before we finished it.

The next day we went to Tricities, which had CREHST museum, very neat if you're ever in the area. however, I think they had more on Hanford and the atomic bomb then I ever wished to know! JK. They had a Renaissance Faire going on, but it cost a fortune to get in so we just walked around the outside and looked at the stuff. During this whole trip, we were listening to Ring for Jeeves, a P.G. Wodehouse book on tape (and if you haven't heard P.G. Wodehouse, I advise your closest library and can give you a list of books that are fantastic and hilarious!) We finished it yesterday :(

The afternoons were mostly spent at the campsite trying to cool down, reading very little, and practicing my Irish Dancing very poorly (stupid switch foot thingy! jk Beth, I think I got it)! We only went swimming once, as the water was VERY cold. We finished Horatio Hornblower and played some cribbage and Phase 10 (I won!).

Monday we went to Walla Walla, which has another neat museum complex, absolutely huge!!! They have five buildings of museum stuff, and then a whole bunch of settler cabins and schools and train stations, etc. our feet got really tired but it was neat. also saw the Whitman Mission, which was cool but very HOT, like everything on the eastern side of the state. (tell me again why they call it Evergreen...the only thing over here is tumbleweed!) We got some ice cream stuff in town and two bags of cherries (my father's favorite fruit) and found someone with high-speed, so I finally got to check e-mail after over a week without!!! *goes through withdrawls* JK ;)

Tuesday was Goldendal, another three-hour drive, but well worth it since we got to see the Stonehenge replica and a super-cool mansion!!! I'll try and post pics if I can.......the replica and mansion were both built by Sam Hill, who also built the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA at the US-Canada border.

We stayed overnight in Goldendale and ran through about twenty sprinklers, then went swimming in the Columbia (as if we weren't already soaked!), which btw isn't that great of an idea if you're already cold. ;) made some more s'mores, and woke up feeling like I was in a sauna in the tent. needless to say, we packed up and moved out quickly. I drove most of the way to Bend, but let dad take over as we got into unknown city driving! My mom's former employer and his wife live here, and they have a vacation house too that they rent out but are letting us stay in for a few days - because they like us, lol. We had dinner with them last night, and then watched a firework display that turned into a mini forest-fire on a butte from their church parking lot. as the butte is uninhabited, I think everything was fine.

Today we slept in and woke up in real beds to hot, clean showers and a nice, home-cooked breakfast! Thankfully there is some form of high-speed here (some obliging neighbor) so I thought I'd make a post to let you all know what's been happening! Dad and I are golfing tomorrow at three thirtyish (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) which should be a lot of fun, and we're hoping it cools down as the evening progresses with our golf game. It has been steadily in the nineties since we got here, and isn't supposed to get much better. The house is air-conditioned, and today we went to some lava caves in Bend about a mile long one way and 42 degrees!!! That felt really good. Dad and I had to go back as far as possible, or course, which involved getting practically on our stomachs and getting our pants rather, no, VERY dirty. his were worse. and Dad took a video in the pitch dark of us laughing and being weird. umm....yeah.

Later we went on a bike ride, and now we're "watching" the Mariner's game (which, btw, we're beating Oakland 2-1), and you can actually see the score on this TV! Lots of plans for this week...tomorrow (of course golf) we're going to write to our two sponsored girls as a family, and maybe go for a bike ride. Saturday we're gonna try and hook up again with Mom's old boss and his wife for dinner or something again, and (get this) go see Pirates 3 again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yep-yep, that just about made my week! (besides everything else that has already done that, ha-ha). Sunday morning we're heading home, but we're going to stop in at Black Bear Diner for lunch on the way out. then of course, there's reading - Les Mis! and other....shtuff.....

well, I should go. I'll post more later after I have some more stuff to talk about!

~Verya