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