SWIMMING!!!!! ACTUALLY SWIMMING!!!!

For those of you who don't know, I can't swim in a swimming pool *shudder* because of a bacteria commonly found in still water. When I am in a treated swimming pool, I break out from head to toe in a horrible itchy rash. At least, I think that's what it is....the doctors we've gone to aren't quite sure what causes it.  In an untreated river or lake or the ocean, I can swim! Getting to go swimming with all my cousins was a highlight.of the week!

 

Isn't it pretty? It's called the Michel J Kirwin Reservoir. So, apparently, people will DRINK that water.... hmmmm. There was more clam collecting and more clam deaths.

My cousin chasing sea gulls

Swimming also involves dancing apparently! :)

A real post about driving, with pictures!

 Actually, the whole drive wasn't that bad. Howard Shore fixes everything!

On the way, we saw some very cool vehicles, like this Volkswagen. How many times have you seen a car with curtains? We also saw some army vehicles (which in my opinion look like they got squished).

 

And of course, the SECRET TUNNEL!!!!!

 

As we all shrieked at the top of our lungs, "SECRET TUNNEL!!! SECRET TUNNEL!!! THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!!!! SECRET SECRET SECRET SECRET TUNNEL!!!" 

 Johnny-Boy was very tired, despite two naps.  And how wonderfully glorious those naps were!
 

The capital building in Charleston, WV

 

The beautiful Ohio river

So we left South Carolina at 5am, went through North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and FINALLY Ohio. We made it by 3pm. That's the fastest we've every gone! We are back in the good ol' south now! There was not much to say about the trip back, except that we sang the "GO BANANAS" song, and the "I Just Want to be a Sheep Song"  many times.  Like over and over and over.  All this because it kept a very cranky baby from crying.

Road Trip! We're on a road trip....

      If the title needs some explaining, it's a road trip song that I wrote. I love writing songs. Mommy hates me writing songs because they get stuck in her head and she has to walk around all day singing songs like this one, "If there was a cow, dancing in the street, would you make it into bacon? Yes I would, because cows make very yummy bacon!!" Yes, I really did write that.
       But, now to skip to the point.... Most of you are probably wondering, "Why hasn't she been posting lately? Why can't I contact her? Is she dead? Why is she listing questions I might ask?" Well, first of all, reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. :)  And second of all, I am in a small town in the state of Ohio. We are visiting Mommy's side of the family. We've been very busy this last week. The car trip consisted of very loud brothers, creating pipe cleaner art, chowing down trail mix, listening to Howard Shore on my MP3 player (HOWARD SHORE ROCKS!!!), and singing of the "Secret Tunnel Song." But we all survived! Johnny -Boy actually did very good.
      We've been visiting cousins, teaching them the "Secret Tunnel Song", miniature golfing, jumping on the trampoline, hanging out with my grandparents, playing piano, going to the park, and reading books. ( I forgot to mention MORE HOWARD SHORE!!!!!!) The weather up here sure beats the south this time of year!
      Sadly, next week I'm going to camp, so I don't have access to a computer for the whole week. :( So enjoy me this week people!

Happy 4th of July!

"The finest rockets ever seen
Burst in stars of blue and green
Or after thunder, silver showers
Came falling like a rain of flowers" 


Ah, Tolkien is a genius! Well, Samwise is too!

The grand Finale

E-man couldn't use sparklers without making some scientific observation...... sigh

Mr.  D actually used them right!

Sending Lego Men to a Swift and Untimely Demise

The chopping block

The guillotine

The burning stake

We love medieval history!!

Frying an egg on the Sidewalk

Yep! It's possible in 110* F. weather. I hate SC summers. 

We started with a frying pan set out on the sidewalk while we were eating lunch. It got REALLY hot. We cracked an egg onto it. In a couple of minutes, it looked like this:

 The yolk melted!(sort of)

About half an hour later, it looked like this with little hard crisps. 

 After three hours and fifteen minutes, it was really burnt. Mr. D tried to eat it until we told him that it was burnt and gross. And after that, he still wanted to eat it!

The Taste of Summer

Our haul!

Oh, the wonderful blueberry field! Oh, the pretty bird calls! Oh, the bright blue berries! Oh, the shouting of my brothers yelling, "AAAAAA! A BLUEBERRY FELL DOWN MY SHIRT!!!!!!" Oh, the soreness of eating too many blueberries. Oh, the bright hot sun. But before you get sick, the berries are really yummy. I have no desire to eat blueberries for a long time. A long, long, long time. Perhaps until next year!

We all had a lot of guilt to atone to. :) Lots of guilt. Painful guilt.  But we all had TONS of fun! Johnny-Boy stayed at our cousins house, and E-man, Mr. D, Mommy, and I went to the field. We picked 3 gallons of blueberries, and we bought a bushel of peaches. The berry patch had some foreign chickens! But I couldn't talk to them. :( I should learn more chicken languages besides Speckled Sussex and Americana.