In Illinois

**WARNING** VERY BORING(yet again)

I've arrived safe and sound in IL. Got here some time shortly before supper on Wednesday. But to back-track a bit, Wednesday morning I woke up and got ready to run as usual, only to find that it was raining outside.=( But since it wasn't raining very hard and I'd be running in the woods most of the time, I decided to run anyways.=) Besides, running in the rain is FUN! It was the first time I'd been in the woods w/out AF, but I figured I could remember the trail well enough not to get lost.......thinking back I probably should have gone the same direction we'd gone the day before(on the scavenger hunt) but I didn't remember there being that many forks in the path. It went OK for the first half, but then I chose a wrong fork, and while I was going the right direction I kept running into houses(not literally). I finally decided to make my own path and I found a road. I figured out where I was on the lake and found my way back, but I was totally soaked. O well, it was fun, though my tennis shoes are still wet. Anyways, I'll try to stop rambling now..... We had a big breakfast of pancakes, sausage and eggs, then we packed up and were on the road by 9:58 a.m. We got to the farm and I quickly(for me) transferred my clothes to my suitcase adding all the other clothes, stopped by Melissa's to get the shoes I'd left in her car and went to meet Mrs. Q at a gas station. The ride down was uneventful, we didn't stop and listened to Odyssey tapes the whole way. Oh, Malachi had a really bad headache, not sure if he's ok now....he did sleep part of the way though.........We met G-ma and went to pick up my cousins(from Dubai) then went out to eat at an Itallian restaraunt called.....Biaggies. I was complemented for my great posture then we went to G-ma's house and set up a game she'd bought that called itself "ladderball"(otherwise known as "hillbilly golf"). I soundly trounced both my cousins Ben & Nick.=) Also played some euchre.=) G-ma & I vs. Ben & Nick. We won the fist game 10-8, lost the 2nd 2-10, won the finals 10-3.=) Got them while they were still confused(jet-lag). I'm tired, good night.

mICHIGAN 5

wELL THE b&m AND THE GIRLS GOT UP HERE 2 NIGHTS AGO IN TIME TO ENJOY THE CAMPFIRE i MENTIONED IN THE LAST POST. tHE NEXT MORNING IT GOT REALLY COLD! iT WENT FROM BEING REALLY HOT BACK AT THE FARM(AND UP HERE) LIKE 90S, TO BEING REALLY COLD WHILE WE'RE UP HERE(50S&60S!). iT RAINED ALL DAY YESTERDAY, SO WE WENT TO THE LITTLE MOVIE SHOP IN A TOWN NEAR THE LAKE AND PICKED UP 3 MOVIES. wE WATCHED 2 OF THEM WHEN WE GOT HOME AND SAVED THE LAST ONE FOR TODAY. wE WATCHED bEVERLY hILLS cHIHUAHUA(NOT AS BAD AS i THOUGHT IT'D BE BUT........ WE ALSO WATCHED dUMA, A MOVIE ABOUT A CHEETAH. tHAT ONE WAS PRETTY GOOD. tHIS MORNING i DIDN'T GET UP TILL 11:00! wE ATE BREAKFAST THEN WENT SHOPPING. i DIDN'T GET ANYTHING BUT GUM, BUT i THINK A COUPLE OF THE GIRLS GOT JACKETS....... WHEN WE GOT BACK WE WATCHED aIR bUD sPIKES bACK. cUTE AND FUN TO WATCH THE VOLLEYBALL PART AT LEAST. iT WAS A BIT CORNY THOUGH.=) aFTER THAT WE HAD DINNER(HAMBURGERS) THEN WENT KAYAKING. tHAT WAS FUN. kARLEE AND i WENT ALL THE WAY AROUND THE LAKE SINGING SONGS FROM bEAUTY & THE bEAST AND TALKING ABOUT RANDOM THINGS.=) wHEN WE GOT BACK THEY HAD STARTED A CAMPFIRE SO i SAT AROUND THE FIRE A BIT THEN i CAME INSIDE TO BLOG.=)

oN THE WAY TO cADILLAC(WHERE WE WENT SHOPPING), WE SAW THIS CAR W/ A HILLBILLY TRAILER ON IT. tHOUGHT WE'D ADD IT TO THE LIST OF "yOU MIGHT BE A hILLBILLY iF..."

i ALSO HAVE SOME PICTURES OF THE CAMPFIRE AND SUCH, BUT i'LL LEAVE THOSE FOR MY NEXT POST, IT'S GETTING KINDA LATE.... i'M GOING HOME(OR TO il)TOMORROW! wELL, GOOD NIGHT!!

Michigan 4

Well, now I'm here at the cottage looking out on the lake, and it's a very pretty site.=) We were going to come up Friday, but our plans changed and we came up Saturday instead. Like I said before, it has been really hot up here, at least at the farm. When we finally got here after 3 stops at 3 different 'Menard's' to pick up tile stuff(they're re-doing the bunk-house bathroom) we arrived an d found that it was about 10 degrees cooler up here than at the farm. Not unusual, but disappointing none the less. It is warmer then last time we were up here though, and that's nice. Also we'll be staying for a few days this time and B & M and the girls are coming up this evening. Most of the rest will be boring so you can stop reading if you'd like.=) This is mostly to help me remember what I got to do while I was up here. Sat. before we came up, we went to the Middleville 4th of July parade. It was definitely a small town parade, but fun anyways.=) Then we packed up the horse trailer and the back of the truck w/ all the stuff UD and Burk would need to remodel the bathroom. That included 38 or so bags of cement, a cement mixer, 12 some boxes of large tile and 16 little tile packages. We got most of the tile and all of the cement at the first Menard's we stopped at, but they didn't have all the little tiles we needed, so we had to stop at 2 others along the way. At one of the stops we stopped for food(either lunch or din din, I think lunch) and I got a salad and an oreo shake thing. Mmmm.... When we got to the cottage, AF and I helped UD unload the truck then we went swimming. It wasn't really warm, but the air was warm enough and the water cool enough to feel really good after sitting in the car for two hours and standing in a store for the other 1 or 2 hours of the trip.=) This morning I got up and had a few pieces of toast forgetting that I can't run after eating. So I read for awhile and mowed the lawn, giving my stomach time to digest, then went on a 2mi run. Well actually I had to walk a lot of it because my silly lungs decided to give me a hard time. Hate it when that happens. Kinda hard to run when you're wheezing and gasping for breath.=) I made it back alive though and went on a Seadoo ride w/ AF. She took the little one and I took the big one. After a bit she went back in but I stayed out a while longer and had a lot of fun!! Since it's the weekend there were more boats out, but since it was, is cold there weren't too many out to make it no fun. One thing fun about other boats is the waves they make!=) I had so much fun jumping the wakes of other boats(not too close of course)! Since it was pretty cool and the wind was cold, I wore a wetsuit which I'd never done before. On land it was pretty annoying and restrictive, but in the water it was really nice! I think I would have frozen to death w/out it!=) After the Seadoo ride I lay down on the grass in the sun and read for awhile then we ate dinner-chicken(really good!), salad, potato salad, and green beans. Sometime during the day we had a lunch of PB&J, a typical lunch w/ AF & UD.=) I don't mind at all, because I love PB&J! I've sometimes been known to eat several sandwiches at once, but I've been limiting myself to 1 or 2(usually 2). Hey Becky, remember that time on our trip to NY that I ate 5 PB&Js at once?? You were so disgusted! That was fun.....=) Btw, I do miss all you guys back in Rolla(and everywhere else), even though I'm having such a great time here.=) I've had a lot of time to just relax and read while I'm here and that's been really nice.=) I finished all the Agatha Christie books I brought( I think I brought around 5), and the 2 books that were really 4 books each(that'd be 8, or rather, 13 (counting the AC books) for those of you who are mathematically challenged=D), so all I have left is the Odyssey and my Bible. But I also brought along some leftover school that I've got some of done. Things like copying each lesson verse and point to remember from Purpose Driven Life so I can stick them in a scrapbook. I think I brought some other stuff to but........the copying will take awhile cause I'm writing it in calligraphy. Anyways, while the girls are here I most likely won't have much time for reading, seems like they never run out of energy!=) Some of y'all might think that's shocking coming from me but compared to them I'm just an old lady(who happens to be able to pin them and buck them and push them into the water, and managing to escape the same fate). Wow! I just looked back on what I've written and realize that I've been babbling on for a really looong time! Oops, sorry to bore you so terribly, but I did warn you I suppose.=) Well I'm going to go outside and enjoy a nice pinecone campfire w/ AF. TTFN!(ta ta for now!)

Michigan 3

**WARNING** VERY BORING!

On Father's Day we went over to Melissa's parents', swam, had dinner, and went for a pontoon ride(they live on the same lake Burk & Melissa live on-Duncan lake I think). As a result of all the rain they've been having up here, the lake was super high, but it was pretty. Since then I've done all sorts of stuff and I will try to sum it up for you.=) Aunt Feather(AF) and I have gone riding a lot, though the horses aren't used to being ridden quite so often so we can't ride them every day. I've helped w/ the garden and meals a little, and also mowing. The pasture was getting kinda high in some places so I mowed the tops off, but I had to go over some of it 4 times because it was so so thick/tall! It's been really hot up here and humid too. AF & UD(Uncle Dick) aren't used to such hot weather and AF especially doesn't like it!=) There was one day when it was like 95 degrees and really humid w/ absolutely no breeze. That was the day AF decided to catch up on some paper-work(inside!) and I read pretty much all day. That was fun, but I felt very lazy. We actually rode on one of the really hot days and UD said that I was the only person who could get AF to ride when it was this hot!=) AF & UD are awesome and we all get along really well. We're making jokes all the time and UD is continually teasing me. I spent the night at B & M's and the girls were very excited about that.=) We played in the water a lot since they live on the lake. Their neighbors have this raft thing that's basically a square of white styrofoam. They let the girls use it and we had fun w/ that, all 4 of us can just barely fit on, though as soon as I get on the whole thing sinks about a foot. Which also means I'm the main one that has to keep it balanced- which is not the best job for me to have as you probably know.=) It was ok, though one time it tipped and one of the girls' head's happened to collide w/ my nose. It bled a little, but I kept playing and eventually it stopped. I was more careful though.=) Right now I'm sitting in AF & UD's kitchen trying desprately to remember everything I've done in the past few days.=) AF & I went on a short ride this evening and it was pretty nice. The weather has cooled down a little and Burk helped UD install an attic fan a couple days ago(no AC in the farmhouse) and that has helped a lot. On the ride we saw a little racoon(which was very cute) and 3 deer. We also took some pictures!=)

This is one of their fields of wheat which I thought was very pretty.

The horse AF is riding is Rocky(he's a Quarter Horse(QH). The horse I rode is Empress who is half Arabian, half QH. All the pics of me on Empress are on AF's camera so I'll post those when she gets them loaded on her computer.=)

This is me right before we rode trying on the hat I wore.

Michigan 2

The Barbershop Chorus/Quartets were awesome! Everyone harmonized so well and they had some funny songs too. Most of the guys were old but there were a few college students and 4 of them have been singing together for a year That quartet was pretty good for the guys being so "young".=) Right after the concert, it started raining pretty hard, though according to the radar, the worst of it missed us. Anyways, we lost power after being home about 1/2 hour. I went to bed after reading by candlelight.=) Sat. we were still out of power and Uncle Dick couldn't get the generator working, but the neighbors invited us over for breakfast(they got their generator working). So while Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick drove over after their morning walk, I(they'd let me sleep in) ran to their house and back after breakfast. As I was just running up the driveway to the farm, Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick's son pulled up. His family got here around 11:30 p.m. Friday night.... He has 3 daughters(which I might have mentioned before) the oldest being 12 I think. We get along pretty well and they came over a bit before dinner to play. Uncle Dick's birthday was a week or so ago, so they took us out for a birthday dinner to a mexican place. The food was good and they sang for the birthday boy and made him wear a sombrero.=) 'Twas fun.=) Then we all went back to the farm and us girls had a bunch of fun rolling down a pretty steep hill and wrestling/fighting. The youngest, Britta, wasn't as much into the fighting so she played w/ their mini Pincher, Chico(not sure how they spell it). He's so cute! Anyways, when Britta left, instead of 3 against 1 it was 2 against 1. Kyra & Karlee against me. Those girls are pretty small and super skinny, so it wasn't too hard.=) Then I almost scratched one of them w/my ring, so I took my ring and necklace off so I could be a better "Bull"(they were trying to ride me at the same time and because they're so light it was indeed possible!). Then Karlee stole my jewelry and I had to fight her for it. We ended up on the deck w/ her sitting on my lap not being able to get away.=) She finally gave it back though.=) Then I read for awhile and went to bed. Sunday is my "day of rest" so I don't run, but I still had to get up moderately early because AF & UD's church service starts at 8:30. Since I've come for 3 summers so far I'm kinda getting to know some of the people and it's kinda fun to see who remembers me and how many people I don't remember.=) Anyways, right now we're sitting in the house talking about what we're gonna have for lunch, or if we should just have a snack. We're going to go to the girl's other grandparents for a father's day get-together. I think AF and I will go riding again today, probably after lunch. Well, I think I've bored you enough w/ my "doings" here in MI, I'm pretty much terrible w/ summaries. I do think that is the worst part of English in school, summaries! oh, well.........I'll try to get some pictures for y'all......

Here Am I

Well, here I am in Michigan.=) I arrived safe and sound Wednesday evening, had pizza w/ Aunt Feather & Uncle Dick, then we watched a movie. Thursday, I went running in the morning then Aunt Feather and I went riding on their trails for about 2 1/2 hours. It was fun and I only fell off once!=) I'm fine btw.=) Then we ate lunch, packed an overnight bag and came up here to their cottage on Rose lake where we are presently. We got here about 4 and I rode around the lake on one of their jet skis, a couple times w/ Aunt Feather to get me used to the lake then a whole bunch of times by myself. It was really fun!! The water's a bit cool, but it's not really bad.=) I also swam to "the point"(it's not very far) and back, then, I took the paddle boat out and back. After that we had dinner(hamburgers), and a campfire w/ marshmallows. The mosquitoes aren't too bad yet, but I did get a couple bites..... Anyways, today I'm going to go running, then maybe take the Seadoo(jet ski) out for awhile....we're going back to the farm this afternoon and we're going to go see some barbershop which will be fun as I've never seen barbershop live.=) Well, I'm off to run! Hopefully I can find some time later to post some more.=)