Yosemite trip 2012

So since I suck at sticking to 30 day Photography challenges, I've decided to make up for it with an account of  our latest adventure: our overnight trip to Yosemite. :)

Yosemite has to be the most spectacular  place that I've ever been to. It truly is a wonder of the world. But you must already know that. ;) We only stayed overnight; any longer and that and the little kids would explode. Not a pretty picture. Trust me. But the kids did AMAZING this trip. They were fine throughout the long car trip. We were amazed and VERY happy that they did so well.

So we left early Wednesday morning, and with only SLIGHT confusion about which direction the correct path lay, we made it to Yosemite in the early afternoon (I won the Alphabet Game 3 times in a row on the way there. Dang Qs were hiding from me though.)

Yosemite is like a hidden treasure; we drove through the foothills surrounding the Yosemite Valley, which looks like any other set of foothills, and then you drive around the bend and....and IT'S there. The most amazing view I've ever seen. The cliffs climb so high it seems like they may never end, and when they do, the sky is so blue it looks like a painting. In fact, all of Yosemite looks like a painting; it's so beautiful.

The mountains right across from our hotel were BRIGHT orange, covered in poppies. Loads and loads of poppies. It was amazing! I've never seen that many poppies before!
So anyway we reached our hotel, unpacked, snacked, and then set out again to explore. Thane spotted our first waterfall. A beautiful, loud, misty waterfall, which we marveled at for a bit before continuing. I was in complete awe as we drove around (and totally speechless) We saw these HUGE boulders that over time have been split by ice and water, until they fall apart in a spectacular way.

We reached the Visitor's center and walked around for the rest of the afternoon, marveling at the beauty of the place. I was looking up most of the time there, just trying to soak it all in as fast as I could. That's a place where you could sit for hours, staring at the cliffs and not ever get bored. It takes hours to actually soak it in.

We walked around the museum for a bit; there was a room about the rocks and glaciers, a room for Native American clothes, and baskets, (which were gorgeous) and a man playing a lovely flute. Then we walked around, where they had the wooden houses, and a amazing underground sweat lodge (Which is still in use, to this day).  There were signs placed around, talking about the different plants and such, but since the little kids wanted to run around, we ended up taking pictures of the signs to read later. Haha!

It was so nice to just walk around. The air there is so delightful to breathe, it just fills your soul and heart.
Dad left to go get the car (so we could go find dinner) and we walked around the Yosemtie Cemetery. It's a lovely little cemetery, with a few graves. What a lovely place to rest. There was one headstone for a girl who drowned in the rapids and on her head stone it said "Oh, that beauteous head. If it did go down, It carried sunshine into the rapids". So sweet and sad.  I swear Anne Shirley would love Yosemite. There are so many romantic stories to be told, and only Anne could hear them and retell them.

We had dinner at the Mountain Room, a very fancy restaurant. Mom and I had fish, Dad and Thane had hamburgers, and Em and Gwyn had ice cream. Then we drove back to our hotel for the night.

The next morning was a heavenly morning. The sky was clear, the sun shining, the mountains looked like a painting. I walked outside and the mountains looked so majestic and pretty. We ate breakfast, from the large amount of food we brought along, and then set out to go on a hike up to the waterfall before we left that afternoon. As we were driving around, we saw Fern Spring; a incredible natural spring that's been there for hundreds of years. The water tastes like... like heaven in liquid form. ;) It tastes amazing. It's REAL water.

We all got out and took a drink before we continued on to Tunnel View, which if you've ever googled pictures of Yosemite you've probably seen this view though there is NOTHING like seeing it in person. It's a captivating view of the whole valley. It really is a magical experience, standing there in the morning looking out over the whole valley, the early morning mist, the waterfall flowing, the cliffs standing tall and proud. You can just see the glacier that carved the valley. That has to be my favorite part of the whole trip.
Then we drove down to the little village, and Dad got coffee before we went on a walk to the bottom of Yosemite falls. It's a nice little walk, up to a bridge right in front of the waterfall. Right before you reach the bridge you start to feel mist on your face, which adds to the excitement. When you're on the bridge that waterfall is so loud. It just sounds powerful. . Again, I could have stayed there for a long time, but not too long for I would be completely soaked pretty soon from the wet breeze that was coming from the waterfall.
It was a nice quiet walk back to the car. Emrys got tired so he got a piggyback ride from me.

Then sadly it was time to go. I really didn't want to leave. I could have stayed there forever. We stocked up on junk food from the little grocery store there (potato chips, Pepsi, lunch meats, goat cheese) and then headed back home.

I don't remember half the trip back because I was listening to The Winter Sea by Susana Kearsley. AMAZING book. Loved it. My Mom and I are new Susanna Kearsley fans. I'm now listening to Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison-Allen (which is really good too) and I'm planning on re-listening to Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. I listed to Book of a 1,000 Days by her as well, and that was a really good retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale, "Maid Maleen." And I intend to listen to the Hunger Games soon. I've gotten a few different reviews from different people. My mom and a few of my friends LOVED the series, and some of my other friends don't like them as much. I'm very curious to hear the stories and decide for myself. I've found listening to books very handy  for me. I haven't had much time to sit down a read, but I've gone through a lot more books listening than I have actually reading. I also get a LOT more done (around the house) when I'm listening.

Well THAT was long. It feels good to write a long post. I haven't done so in a while. :)
~Rhanna

Day 7. Favorite Color.

So my favorite color is purple. 

Dark purple, light purple...well I like dark purple better than light purple, but I'm not too picky. 

The nail polish I used was given to me by my friend for my 15th Birthday. 

It's very sparkly! 

And another friend of mine, helped me edit the photo (Thank you again Rowie <3)

I rather like how it came out.

Did you know, that it is incredibly fun to type with sparkly nails?

I'll try to catch up on the days I've missed...tomorrow 

Tomorrow I plan on cleaning! and Baking! Yay!

Goodnight~

Day 4. Morning Sky

Sunrise on the Winter Solstice.

This photo was not taken by me.
This photo was not taken today.

This photo was not taken this year.

Or even last year.

Or the year before that. 

Or the year before that.

Or the year before that. 

It was taken in 2007 by my Mom on Yule, when we watched the newly born sun rise.

I am not an early riser.

Goodnight~

Day 4. Leaves

Leaves 

So I didn't take this today, because it was cloudy all day. 

I don't have much so say about leaves.

Would you even call these leaves?

I'm not sure.

But I still like the picture.

Goodnight everyone~

Day 3. Happiness

My Guitar.

This is my Guitar. 

I call her, MyBaby (No other names fit.).

It brings me so much joy when I play. (Last night I got up out of bed, and played guitar in my PJs. It was AWESOME.)

I bought her in September 2011 and I've learned a lot since then. I've learned to play Carol of the Bells, Other Side of the World (KT Tunstall), and Comin' back to me (Jefferson Airplane) and lots of other little melodies, that my AMAZING guitar teacher has taught me. 

My goal is to play Spanish style guitar. My guitar heroes are John Clarke and Rodrigo y Gabriela. It is so inspiring to watch them play. 

Lately I've only been listening to Spanish guitar Pandora stations and I can feel my heart soar when I listen to that music. I can not WAIT until I can play like that.

and AGAIN I'm cutting it close on time. ;)

Goodnight~   

Day 2. Smile

My Little Sister.

This is Gwynnie. My ADORABLE little sister.

She likes pretty clothes. 

She also likes to wear my scarves (but that's ok. She looks cuter in them)

She also LOVES to model for me. 

And I LOVE to photograph her.

We make a good match. :)

Also sorry for today's being late, AGAIN. I'll try to do better tomorrow. :)

Goodnight <3 

Day 1. Favorite Food.

Honey-Lemon Chicken, with Rice and Broccoli.

This is one of my favorite dinners to make. It's quite scrumptious. 

I meant to find a good quote about food, but I forgot to find one.

Also, only one hour till Day 1 ends. Cuttin' close eh? ;) This is going to be an *interesting* 30 days.

Goodnight <3

30 Day Photography Challenge 2012

I Got the photography challenge from Craftgossip.com :)

Yep! That's right! I'm going to do another 30 day Photography Challenge! Yay!

Here's the list:

Day 1. Favorite Food.

Day 2. Smile.

Day 3. Happiness

Day 4. Leaves

Day 5. Morning Sky

Day 6. Books

Day 7. Something funny

Day 8. Favorite Color

Day 9. Inspiring person

Day 10. Nature. 

Day 11. Something old.

Day 12. Hands.

Day 13. Written Words.

Day 14. Movement.

Day 15. Technology. 

Day 16. Animals.

Day 17. Memories.

Day 18. Something New

Day 19. Best friend. 

Day 20. Seasonal. 

Day 21. Where you sleep.

Day 22. Clothing

Day 23. In your Closet

Day 24. Gratitude 

Day 25. Artwork

Day 26. Transportation

Day 27. Daily Routine

Day 28. Nighttime.

Day 29. Light.

Day 30. Self Portrait. 

  

I'll start tomorrow! Yippe!

Goodnight. <3

Words.

(My copy of Bulfinch's Mythology)

I love words.
Words are funny things.

A series of lines and shapes that, when put together correctly, create magic.
A story.
A message.
The words you're reading right now.

Words are everywhere.
Inside.
 Outside.
Up and Down.
Left and Right.
The words in books can take you to places all over the world, and out of this world.
The words in letters and messages help you meet the most interesting and amazing people you might have never met otherwise. (HI Elle, Rowena, Ali, Billie, Plaxy, Angelica, Mica, Jam, Jake, Spring, and everyone else!! *Waves*)

Words are a very big part of my life.
I love words.

Humbling

         Recently we received two large boxes full of old photographs and old letters and papers from my Great-Grandmother. It has been an AMAZING adventure going through it all and discovering our family's past. 

We've made some fantastic finds from letters asking for a daughter's hand in marriage, letters from the Civil War, photos from a family road trip, and the diary of a great-great-great grandmother of mine and her story as she traveled in a covered wagon, just like Little house on the Prairie.   

It has been a very interesting experience looking at all this history and realizing that *I'M* a part of it. It's also a very interesting sensation looking at the photos of people from when they were babies, to when they are middle aged, to when they are elderly and frail. It's a humbling feeling to see these people's lives go by in what seems a short amount of time. And seeing so many people, seeing photos of them living their lives, having their families, getting old, and passing away. It makes me feel insignificant and significant at the same time. 

Looking at my family tree has definitely humbled me in a way.

It's also EXTREMELY awesome looking at all these old objects. So much history! It's like a treasure. It's like a mystery (I'm still holding out hope that there's some mystery, or farmland that might belong to us somehow. ;) ) 

Snow

This is our backyard in January 2005.

"The smell of snow...

It was ridiculous to talk about the smell of snow. It was just pure frozen water. But Tiffany always knew, when she woke up, if it had snowed in the night. Snow had the smell like the taste of tin. Tin did have a taste, although admittedly it tasted like the smell of snow."

The Wee Free Men.

Not Back To School Camp 2011, Day 5.

Day 5 of Not Back To School Camp

I woke up that morning...wait a minute. I've used the "I woke up" beginning for these last few posts, way too often...I'll try a new opening this time. Alright let me think. Something more creative...

I arose that morning (haha!) feeling rather tired and achy with a sore throat. I was greatly in need of a shower that day, so I jumped in the freezing shower right as the breakfast bell rang. I took a very fast shower then ran to breakfast while brushing the tangles out of my hair. I didn't eat much breakfast that morning since I wasn't feeling too well, then went over to the art cabin and made a fancy-sparkly-happy poster for my Fairy God Child and had Ian take it to his cabin.

We had Check-in and morning meeting (Check-In, by the way, happens in the morning and at night. They check in all the campers to make sure everyone is still here and safe and not being attacked by lions or something like that. ;-) ) Then we had Advisee meeting and we played this game. I can't remember what it's called, but it's like a mix of Pictionary and Telephone.  One person writes a short sentence and then they pass it to the person next to them and that person draws a picture of what the sentence says. Then they fold over what the first person wrote and pass it to the next person who looks at the picture and writes a sentence about what they think the picture is, and it goes on. So when we played I wrote "A fish in a cup with a spoon" and by the end it was "an alien escaping in a watering can". Hahaha but it was really funny but lots of fun.

Then I ran around camp and I got ready to go on Blake's hike. He had found a new trail that morning that lead to a cool place in the forest where you could see very far and he was taking some people out there to have lunch. I started to go, but I didn't realize how steep and long the hike was going to be so I turned around and went back to camp. I figured that I got poison oak on the bottom of my jeans since there was so much of it when I was walking around that when I got back a carefully changed clothes and put my jeans into a bag. I didn't get poison oak though, don't worry.

The Pool

I went over to the pool where everyone else was, and they were playing pool volleyball. It was lots of fun to watch them. I sat on the side and watched for a while, but it looked like so much fun that I ran and put my swimsuit on and joined them. It was SO much fun, and it turns out I'm not too bad at serving. At some point I made at least 5 points in a row with my serves. It was so much fun. I was on the underdog team, if you will. We had three players on the deeper end, and the other side had five players on the shallow end. So it would seem that the team with more players would easily be winning. Right? Nope.  We were winning for more than half the game. It's all thanks to Abbi. She was on the other side, but she kept talking and forgetting that we were playing so we kept getting loads of points because she kept missing. It was really really funny. We were all laughing so hard, even Abbi. I'd call it one of the best games of Volleyball ever.

After getting changed into my pink dress, there was a workshop slot so I went to Danielle's French workshop and learned a bit of French. It was very interesting and she did a great job teaching us. From then on whenever I say Emily (who was at the workshop too) I'd greet her in French. I'd yell "Salut!(hello) Cava?(how's it going)" to her across the room and she would yell back "Salut! Oui(yes)! Et vous(and you)?" and I'd yell "Oui" then "Revoir(goodbye)" and leave the room. Or when I started getting my cold, when she asked me how I was doing I'd say "comme ci, comme ça(eh so so). It was so much fun! 

We went down and ate lunch, then we were hanging out at the swings for a bit and I talked with Matt about books for a while. Then I saw Danielle and ran up to her and we talked for a bit. I told her about the silk flowers that I had brought so I ran up to my cabin to go get one, and when I came back Serena was talking with Danielle and she had a gift from my Fairy-God Parent. It was a feather necklace and I had Serena braid it into my hair. It looked lovely :) Matt also had Panda dye his hair blue, which looked more purple than blue.

You can't see the feather, but this
is how I braided my hair. :)

Then we had our first Women's Meeting, which was very interesting. Then we had dinner and I had my first night of babysitting Yared. He's so cute! We had enchiladas for dinner. Jake, Sage, Garret, Panda, and Arden had dinner with me and Yared and we had a lovely talk about weird laws while we ate. After we finished eating he got to eat his cough drop. Apparently, Yared loves cough drops. He took me to his cabin and got his "hippie bus" then we went and played the piano for a bit until it was time for Nighttime meeting. So Yared and I walked over to Uncle Dell's and sat down in the back until Grace came and took over watching him.

Next was Trust Circle. It was intense. So what happens is everyone gets three beads and stands in a circle. Then one person walks into the center of the room puts their bead into a basket and makes a statement. Then anyone else who agrees with that statement can step forward. So I could say "I'm Rhanna, and I like cookies" and everyone else who likes cookies steps forward. Except it was much darker and sadder than just liking cookies. At then end I think most people were crying (including myself). After a bit of crying and hugging,  most of us went over to the Lodge to have tea and brownies, and of course chocolate brownies helps everyone feel better. I got "Bedtime tea" in my clothes-pin mail that day so I drank that while I had my brownie.

The couches in the Lodge
that are very comfy!

 Then I went over to sit on the couch where Josh and Joel were playing music and I wrote about the day. Matt and Jake sat down next to me, and we drank our tea, talked and listened to music. It was fantastic and so relaxing, I could do it every night. I stayed up talking and listening to music till about 12:20 then I got ready for bed, and went to sleep.

and THAT was day 5.
~Rhanna xx

Not Back To School Camp 2011, Day 4.

Back to write about day four:

I woke up a bit later than the last few days because I stayed up late the night before. I woke up around 8:20am, made some tea and went to go read for a bit. I read a bit of Tamora Pierce's "Tortall and other Lands."  Quite a good book so far.

  Ben and Robert came and said hello then went over and joined Abbi who was doing early morning yoga. More people woke up and we all went and had breakfast. French toast, sausage, fruit, oatmeal, and cereal.  I had the GF french toast and sausage.

We went over to hang out in front of Uncle Dell's and Matt and I tried to play Ping pong but I was terrible so Jake went after me and I watched. I ran up to my cabin real quick and got some of my cold medicine because my throat was starting to hurt. Then we went in for morning meeting and I sat in one of the stacked chairs and I had a GREAT view of the room. Had a regular morning meeting and it was announced that Assassin and Fairy God Parent/Child were starting today. I went and took my cold stuff then went and picked my Fairy God Child. I decided not to play Assassin this time.

Assassin, for those of you who don't know, is a game. Everyone who wants to play Assassin puts their name into a bowl and the next day everyone picks a name. So let's say that I'm playing Assassin. I'll pick a name and I have to go up to that person and tell them "you're dead" but I can't whisper it and no one else can hear me say it. If I successfully do that, then I get that person's piece of paper with the name of the person that they were trying to get and I take the paper and try to go get that next person and the game continues until there are only two players left who have each other's name. So then it's only them trying to get each other and who ever "kills" the other person first wins the game.

Fairy God Parent/Child is another, much nicer, less deadly game. It starts out the same as Assassin. Everyone who wants to play puts their name into a bowl and the next day everyone picks a name. So, again I'll use myself as an example. After choosing a name, I secretly do nice things to my "fairy god child" like make a poster saying "have a nice day" and have someone go put it up in their cabin or another place where that person will see it. Or send them gifts through other people, or give them nice letters in their mail, or just send people to go hug them. And you usually keep everything a secret from that person. 

So after morning meeting I went with Jules and Arden and finished moving the wood chips into place and then we went to Advisee group where I taught them to sing the song 'Robin Redbreast' by Music Together and we sang a few other songs and did check in.

I had my workshop that day. I was teaching how to make Needle-felt Pumpkins. While I walked up to my cabin to get my stuff Matt followed me so that no one could get him at Assassin. He followed me around or had me stick close to him pretty much all day, which was really funny.

At one point, one of the campers Ben all of the sudden started running down the hill with his hands over his ears, yelling and screaming and all of us were like "what just happened." Turns out he was running away from the person who was trying to kill him in Assassin. Then once we got why he was running and yelling we all started laughing. It was hilarious! It also seemed like a lot of the people playing Assassin had bodyguards, and I was used to protect a few people. one camper would run up to me and throw her arm around my shoulders and have me walk her to where she was going so nobody could get her.  It almost felt like I was playing the game. hahaha!

While I was up at my cabin I grabbed the bottle of bubbles that I brought and I grabbed my bag of supplies for my workshop. I gave the bubbles to Yared (Grace's son. he's 3 and super cute) and then I went into the Library where I was holding my workshop. Danielle, Matt, and Kione came to my workshop, and I think it went very well! I told a little history about Needle-felting and how it works. Matt decided to make a planet with his wool, but Danielle and Kione made cute pumpkins. It was lots of fun!

After I finished I ran up and put my stuff away, and went and helped a tiny bit with some work-trade until lunch. We had chili for lunch and it was VERY good and had a lovely conversation with the people at my table. Then I hung out on the really comfy sofa in the Lodge, talking and stuff like that until Siesta and then I called Mom. I was really missing her that day. 

I was supposed to  have my first day of Babysitting Yared, but he slept through the whole time that I was supposed to watch him. Dad came by and we took a hike up to the Watering hole, which was really nice, and I told him all about camp and everything that had happened. When we got back they had started the Teen-to-Adult panel that I voted for us to have earlier that morning, and Dad and I listened to it. They were talking about what it's like moving out and living with other people and stuff like that. 

Dad left and I had a lovely dinner of Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Soy-free Lasagna and garlic bread with GF carrot cake for dessert. and I had a lovely conversation during dinner though what it was about I can't remember. 

We went to nighttime meeting, and while we were waiting for Grace and the rest of the Staff to come a few girls started doing this hilarious dance and when the Look-out ran in saying Grace was coming, we all broke out into Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Then we were all laughing really hard.

 After meeting we had some more workshops. I went to Retta's Israeli dance workshop and it was awesome! I left half-way through because I was feeling very tired that night, but I went back and they had just finished learning this really cool dance, so I jumped in and learned the next one which was amazingly fun. I call it the Kiss Kiss dance. We did that until it was time for the 2nd Talent Show which was being held in the Lodge with Sage as MC (Mistress of Ceremonies).

Robert played his wonderful Native American flute, Roxy showed us her fashion design drawings which were great, Serena sang a song and played guitar, Matt S. and Abbi told hilarious stories for Moth Radio, and Ben did an amazing improv dance to a song. At the end of his dance everyone was standing up and clapping and cheering. Then we walked down to the fire-pit and watched Daniel do Poi. That's the fire spinning. It was incredible. 

After the Talent show I went to Uncle Dell's to write a bit, but it was too crowded in there for me the really think so I walked back over the Lodge and it was much more quiet there so I sat down and wrote about the day. Danielle came and we wrote and talked a bit before I went to bed. I said goodnight to everyone, and told Matt to go to bed (he said he had been feeling like he was catching a cold earlier that day) and I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I was so tired and I was really missing Mom that night so I was very happy to go to sleep.

and THAT is day four. Day 5 will be coming shortly :)

~Rhanna xxx

(P.S. sorry there are no captions for the pictures. Blogger wouldn't let me put any without messing up the rest of what I had already written. So I'll put them here. The first picture is the cover of the book I was reading, Then 2nd is me in front of my cabin, and the last one is a view that I took from the hike up to the watering hole. So lush! and the fourth one is Daniel doing poi.)

Not Back To School Camp 2011, Day 3

Day 3 of Not Back To School Camp:

I woke up early again because I was starving. Got dressed, very quietly, and went down to the Lodge and made a cuppa tea. Matt S. was up listening to the recordings he took last night during the jam. I sat next to him and listened for a bit, then took my tea and went and sat outside and wrote about last night.

The Lodge where we eat Breakfast, Lunch,
and Dinner. 

Then went and took a very fast shower. I walked back up to my cabin and grabbed my cloak because I was freezing after getting out of the shower. I did a bit more of drawing and I was joined by Serena and we talked a bit before breakfast. It was kind of fun watching everyone slowly wake up and tiredly walk over to the Lodge and get ready for breakfast. Blake came over and joined us and he and Serena talked about back-packing. I learned that Blake LOVES mac-and-cheese while he's hiking. lol!

We circled up before breakfast, and quite a few people liked my cloak. I ate breakfast with Matt, Sage, Danielle, and Panda and we had a lovely time talking over breakfast though I can't remember what we talked about.

The bell. They rang this
when it was time for any
sort of meeting.

After breakfast we went over and hung out at the swings for a bit until Advisee group.We each had three minutes to do what ever we wanted. I asked if we could play Ye-Haw again. And, I think it was Sydney, who had us sit in silence listening to the forest, which was really relaxing. I almost fell asleep.

When advisee meeting was over I went to do work-trade with Arden, Jules, and Macy. We were moving wood chips under a play area so it would be more safe.   I saw Dad's car parked and I knew that he must be somewhere, but we were further out and I knew he'd never find us. So I stared doing our family whistle. It's a special whistle that whenever one of us hears it we know another person in our family is calling us. So I'm whistling like mad. Cupping my hands around my mouth as I whistle, and Arden is like "what are you doing?" So I told him I was trying to call my Dad and he tried whistling along with me. Then Jules was whistling too. So all three of us were whistling, and STILL Dad didn't hear us. So I ran over and found him talking to Matt who was learning how to walk on the Slack line. I gave Dad a big hug and we walked over to where we were working and I showed him what we were doing, then he left and we finished our work.

I went to Abbi's Bookworms Unite! workshop, which was great! We all got to give a little reviews about books that we liked. It was so much fun, and we all agreed that we could have done it for hours.

We went and had lunch and then we finished work-trade. I called Mom during Siesta and then went to hang out at the swings with Matt and Sage. Matt was playing on the Slack line and I met Jake who was watching. I tried the Slack line with help, which was lots of fun. Sage, Matt, Jake and I all went swimming in the pool for a while. Sage didn't want to jump in at first, but when Garret started walking towards her, she jumped in. I grabbed a bunch of  noodles and floated around. It was so relaxing. Then the lifeguard on duty blew his whistle (very loudly) and we left and got dressed.

Then Matt, Sage, Jake, Galen, and I all hung out at the swings for a while, while most people went to a panel/talk with the staff that we weren't interested in. I don't know how it happened but everything that we talked about ended up being about food. Everything! We'd be talking about anything. At one point Galen said sticks. Sticks lead to fire, which leads to cooking, which leads to a conversation about steak. It was hilarious. After the meeting a few other people came out and joined us and we all hung out and talked until dinner.

The clothes pin mail. Everyone
has a clothes pin with their
name on it and you
can give that person
mail.

After dinner we went to Uncle Dell's for the nighttime meeting and the first talent show. There were some great acts! Jules did a trick with his Japanese Yo-yo, and Josh sang a song that he wrote. It was amazing! Then we all went to the Lodge and watched Galen do an awesome dance. We hung out at the Lodge and Matt and I gave lots of people mail on their clothes-lines.

Then is was time for Bonding night. Bonding night is AMAZING!
We started by circling up in front of Uncle Dell's and held hands and sang this song "Under the full moonlight we dance. Spirits dance, we dance. Joining hands we dance. Joining souls rejoice" and we did a Spiral dance into the room. It was amazing. Then we split up into groups of 5 people and did Appreciation circle. That's where 5 people sit down and they take a minute to tell one person what they like about them. It felt really nice having people say such wonderful things to me, and I liked telling other people what I liked about them.

Next was Eye Contact. We all stood up and closed our eyes and we were paired up with another person and we had to hold eye contact with them for a whole minute then we answered a question at the end of the minute. That one was some what tricky.

Then the last thing we did was Unconditional Love. That's where we are split up into two groups. One group stands with their eyes closed, and the other half walks around giving everyone a hug. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever done. Standing there with your eyes closed and having someone walk up, tap you on the shoulder, and give you a long tight hug. It fills your heart right up! After the first hug, I think I smiled through the whole thing. It just felt amazing. Then we switched around, and it was still so much fun giving everyone else hugs. You could see the smiles on their faces. After every hug I gave everyone's hand a quick squeeze. I think I hugged everyone at least twice.

I loved Bonding Night. If you ever go to Not Back To School Camp I highly recommend that you go to Bonding Night.

We then hung out in Uncle Dell's for a while. We did the laying-on-someone-else-while-having-someone-lay-on-you thing, and did another massage train, then I sat down to write about the day. While I was writing I saw a few people dancing, so I jumped up and learned how to dance with a partner. Arden taught me how, then I tried to teach Matt. It was loads of fun! I learned how to spin, and I tried to do a dip. But It was lots of fun dancing.
I stayed up until midnight I think, then I went to bed and slept like a rock. Again, another AMAZING day!

To be continued.... (sorry! couldn't resist saying that. lol)
~Rhanna xx

Not Back To School Camp 2011, Day 2

Hello! Back again, with more stories about Not Back To School Camp:

My Bed for the week.

I woke up early the next morning. Like really early. Like 6:30 in the morning (that's really early for me ;) ). I laid in bed until 7:00 but I had to get up because I was really hungry, so I quietly got dressed and tried to leave the cabin as quiet as I could. I kinda failed. I had my arms full with my backpack and jacket that the door slipped and before I could catch it the door banged closed. Opps!

It was so quiet in the forest it felt like no one else was around.  And It was beautiful with the sunlight coming in through the trees.  I sat down in one of the many circles of chairs (there were chairs all over camp) and had a little snack. I didn't have much appetite because I was really missing Mom and Dad. The first night and morning were the times that I missed them the most.
I started to do a bit of drawing since there wasn't anything else to do. A little while later Ben came whistling over and he joined me. We said good morning and talked a bit ("Good morning" "Good morning" "How'd you sleep" "Pretty good. you?" "Pretty good, thanks" "What do you think of camp so far?" "It's great! I love it" "Good. Me too"). Arden came over and he joined us. Then Ben asked if he could borrow my pencil because he had some writing he had to do. Danielle came over and we checked in with each other ((read above)).

Then I went and took a freeeeezing shower. The water was warm but it was very cold when I got out into the cold morning air with wet hair. Brrr!

We then circled up and had breakfast outside the lodge and did the Yum prayer. It goes "Yummmmmmmmmmm". Then we all go inside and get breakfast (they had it set up like a Buffet, with Gluten-free and Vegan foods on the counter.)
 All of us new campers and sat outside and the older campers talked about Camp and what happens and stuff like that. It was nice to hear and talk to the other campers.
 I didn't have much appetite that morning, because I missed Mom and Dad so much. I had grabbed two hard boiled eggs because I thought I'd eat lots, but I stopped after eating half of one and then I placed my plate on the ground and three yellow jackets started eating it. I let them have it.

Then after the meeting I saw Dad walking around looking for me, so I jumped up, ran over and gave him a huge hug. I was so happy to see him that I teared up. Dad brought me some cookies that I had baked before the trip to have a snacks and after seeing him I regained some of my appetite so I ate a few. Grace came over and she gave me a hug.

We had a little time to before Advisee meeting so I  hung out at the swings fora bit then headed over to where my Advisee group meets. I got there ahead of everyone else so I put sunblock on, and did a bit of writing before we started. Everyone slowly came over and when Jasmine came we started. We had Highs and Lows, and we talked more and got to know each other a bit better. We played a few games. One we played that I like is called YE-HAW!

This is where our Advisee group met up

In the game you pass the sound "ye-haw" with a arm movement...this may be VERY hard to explain and there is a very good chance that what I say will make NO sense whatsoever, but I shall try. Okay, so you pass the sound "Ye-haw" to the person sitting next to you and then they pass it to the person sitting next to them. Then if you want the sound to jump/skip a person you shout "Pitchfork" and make a movement like you're throwing hay with a pitchfork. And if you yell "Hay-barn" and put your hands up over your head like a roof, then the sound turns around and starts going the other way. If you do "Get Down Little Doggy" you try to give the sound to someone sitting across from you. If that person doesn't want it they say "ping" and do a silly movement, and it comes back to you or they can accept the sound and they start is going again. Then there is "Four Shifter Gear Box! 1 2 3 4!" and the person who last accepted the sound when we did "Get Down Little Doggy" starts the "yehaw" again. and if you mess up you can start shouting random things trying to mess the other players up. "Pitchfork!" "Hay barn!" "1 2 3 4!"  It's lots of  fun to play.

The little sweat-lodge. There are about 17
people inside there

Then we also played "Hot seat". One person sits in the middle and everyone asks them questions. That was fun too. We asked questions like "Can you speak another language?" and "If you could live anywhere in the world where would you live" and stuff like that. I enjoyed it. After Advisee meeting we went and had a very yummy lunch of tacos. I wolfed down a taco rather quickly. I hadn't eaten much since I got there (because of the excitement and nerves).
Then I talked with Matt S. and the other work-traders and together we worked out a schedule for when we'd do our work-trade. Who wanted to do what workshop when and when we could all be free to work.

Then we all went on Tilke's Magic Trail Tour, and she showed us around all of camp. She showed us the beginnings of trails, A lovely river, the sweat-lodge (which we fit 17 people inside all at once. It was hilarious!) Then we crossed this huge tree that had fallen. It was so cool, and really wobbly. Someone started making it swing which was really freaky! I jumped off (and when I jumped off the tree, by backpack swung and landed on my back rather hard. ouch!) we walked a bit more, and we saw the Labyrinth. It was so cool! It's lots of stones stacked to make a Labyrinth and as soon as we saw it a lot of us started to walk around.
We all walked back and I was super hot from the walk (Still being in my morning cloths. T-shirt, Jeans, and sweatshirt) so I ran up to my cabin and changed into something cooler. (tank top, skirt, knees socks, Ugg boots, backpack...I wore that backpack everywhere, but for the last two days I started to just leave it in the Lodge and go get it when I needed it. Too heavy!).

Crossing the fallen tree

After I got changed  I ran into Panda (Very lovely girl! ;) ) asked me if I wanted to try to play Tether Ball with her. We were terrible but it was so much fun and we laughed lots. Matthew came by and said that he and a few other campers were going up to the watering hole, and asked if we wanted to come - I said yes. As I was walking up I ran into Sage and we talked for a bit. Sage is lots of fun to hang out with!   She wasn't going on the hike. She was in the middle of this book and she really wanted to finish it (which I can understand). So we talked, while Matthew went and got changed, then when he came back we left with Margie and Garret.

The waterfall/water slide
at the watering hole.

 It's an amazing hike up to the watering hole. I'd say it's about a mile long hike, but it's so lush and green there and we could hear the river from far away. For a while we thought we had taken the wrong trail. We were joking around about how we would get lost and all the bad things that could happen. There was this HUGE tree(with a smaller tree next to it) that had fallen down across the road. It looked like it would keep sliding down the hill at any moment. We all quietly tip-toed under it, and kept walking.
It got more more lush.
 We got there and some other campers and staff were already there. I climbed over on the rocks and watched as Garret, then Matthew, then Margie all jumped in. And I watched them all come up out of the water with shocked faces because the water was freezing. It was so funny. I didn't go swimming that day, but I did put my feet in and I agree it was very cold water. We stayed there for less than 10 minutes and then hiked all the way back. Matthew didn't put his shoes on the whole hike back because he didn't want to make us wait, so he kept saying "Ow" the whole walk back. Once we got back into camp we ran and told Sage all about it.

Me up at the watering hole

We went to Uncle Dell's for a meeting and everyone who was holding a workshop did a quick demo. I did one for Needle-felted Pumpkins. And everyone else did theirs. It was great and I went to a few workshops later in the week.
I went and had a nice dinner and then went to the swings and hung out there for a bit. When the bell rang we all went Uncle Dell's for the nighttime meeting and Staff Talent Show. I then remember that I hadn't called Mom or Dad yet, so I ran and called them both. Then I ran back to Uncle Dell's for the end of the Talent show. It was great.

Then we all headed over to the Lodge, and out in front they were having a music jam! It. Was. AMAZING! They played amazing music, and Matthew, Danielle, Adli, and I were all dancing around together. It was so much fun. I was writing down notes about the day during the slow songs, and dancing with the fast ones.

The swings in the daytime.
They were a great place
to hang out.

Danielle went to bed (i gave her a big hug) and when the music ended  Matthew and I went out to the swings and were swinging in the dark which was super cool. The stars were amazingly bright and it was so quiet. Then we went and sat by the tepee in the moonlight with Dandy (Dandy is the "night owl" he stays up late and makes sure everyone is safely in bed). It was so peaceful and relaxing. Then I went to my cabin and went to sleep.


And THAT ends day 2 of Not Back To School Camp!

Not Back To School Camp 2011.

Hello Everyone!

A cool wood arch that you
see as soon as you walk into
camp, with a nice sign.

I just got back from my first session of Not Back To School Camp, at Camp Latgawa in Oregon. . It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever done in my life. I had SO much fun, and I met so many interesting people (I have now added pretty much all of them on Facebook ). I came back feeling so inspired. Seeing so many other awesome unschoolers/homeschoolers doing such amazing things has made me want to start doing more, interesting things with my life.
I was taking notes the whole time so I could write about it when I got back home and tell all my friends who couldn't come about it. And since SO much happened, I think I'll split up all the days into different posts. Each and everyday was packed full of excitement. I was smiling pretty much the whole time and I laughed so hard all week. So I'll start when Dad and I left...

I woke up at 7 in the morning, feeling very excited and nervous. We gave my Mom and and my siblings a teary good-bye and Dad and I left. Now I won't bore you with the very boring details of the car ride. Because trust me nothing much happened, though I was texting Mom the whole time.

The concrete bridge
that we had to cross
to get into camp

We got to Sacramento, got some coffee and met Danielle who was driving up with us. I was so excited to meet her, and we talked pretty much the rest of the way there. About the Harry Potter movie, Nancy Drew games,  traveling and lots more. We stopped twice. Both times it was because we needed more gas for the car. At the first stop a fly got into the car and we couldn't shoo him out so we named Zamora the Fly him after the exit (I think he made it all the way to Oregon too.). I also pulled out my 'surprise' there. Before we left Dad bought a box of See's lollipops, so I had a few of those in my bag, and I offered them to Danielle and Dad. It was nice to have a sweet treat on such a long drive. Our other stop was at another gas station, and there we picked up BBQ chips, nuts, and some drinks and kept going. For the last little big of the drive Danielle and I read for a bit and when we got to the dirt road that leads to camp we got very excited! We opened up the windows and it smelled so nice. The fresh forest air! I lost my reception as soon as we hit the dirt road, so I couldn't text mom anymore. We had been driving for a while when we thought "Oh great! We missed it! We're lost" So we decided to turn around, read the directions and start again. So we drove back to the beginning and started again.  We kept going and went past where we turned around the first time and found "concrete bridge" and then we found camp! It was beautiful. The sun was streaming in through the trees and it was so quiet. I was super excited!

View of the Cabins

We got out and started walking around and we didn't see ANYONE. After walking around for a bit we found Roxy watching Yared (Yared is Grace's son) and she lead us to the Staff's cabin (good place to look right? ;) ) where we found all the staff hanging out and waiting for the campers to arrive. They were a little surprised, I think, to see us arrive so early. They showed us our cabins, which were super cute. They each had four bunk-beds. I choose the top bunk in the back corner and then we went and looked at Danielle's cabin. After she put her stuff down we went and took a little tour of the place. We looked at the names on all the cabins. They all had Greek names, I think. One was called "Athens" and one was called "Corinth"  and there were lots more fancy names. So after we walked down the hill away from the cabins we saw: The swing set (which I spent most of my week on), the tether ball, the pool (it was 2 feet to 9 feet deep.), the Lodge, Uncle Dell's, the ping pong table, lots of chairs (there were chair circles set up everywhere), the art cabin (called Jerusalem), then we walked down a bit to the Teepee, and fire pit area (They had archery targets set up which I was really excited about, but we couldn't do any archery while we were there.) We saw this tiny little sweat-lodge. It was made of mud and sticks (it looked like) and you'd put hot stones in the middle and pour water over them. So it's like a mini sauna. It was really cool! We went behind the mini sauna and found a little creek. It looked so magical, like the only thing missing was fairies sitting there drinking tea. Really.

The Swings of AWESOMENESS!

We walked back over to the lodge and all the sudden kids with lots of luggage started streaming in. It was a little weird at first. Danielle and I watched, and waved to the campers as they walked up. It kind of felt a little awkward at first since there were a lot of new campers who didn't know each other. Some of the older campers were VERY excited to see their old friends (and I'm sure next year I'll be that way). There were some introductions, then Tilke led us on a tour of the camp, and showed us some places that Danielle, Dad, and I hadn't seen. Once all the campers had arrived we all walked down to the Teepee area and we made a big circle. Grace walked into the middle holding Yared and introduced  herself and the staff and talked a bit about camp. Then Tilke told us how to play an introduction game. So I turned to the person standing next to me (Sage) Tilke asked the whole group a questions. Then I told Sage my name and what my answer was to Tilke's question and she did the same. Then we walked over to another pair and did the same thing (Tilke had a new question) and we kept doing that until we were two big groups, then one big group. It was pretty cool. We played ultimate Ro-sham-bo.

 Then we met our Advisee Groups. That's a group of about 7 campers, and an Adviser and we meet up everyday to do check in and play games and talk. Jasmine was our adviser. We met at a quiet little place with LOTS of mosquitoes. I got eaten alive by the bugs at our first meeting but besides that it was a good first meeting. We only had a little time before dinner so we went to the lodge to have dinner. Greg and Eva who run Camp Latgawa, did an amazing job with the food. They had Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free,and Soy-free food all week. I didn't get sick once. Thank you so much Greg and Eva!!!!

The Lodge where we eat, and
sometimes meet up.

All of the Advisee groups sat together during dinner. Afterwards we walked over to Uncle Dell's and had our first meeting.
 We met most of the staff, and  they talked a bit about camp and the schedule and  Evan read a quote.  Then they taught us a song (I can't remember what song we sang). I was a little nervous at first to sing, but it got more and more fun.

Then we headed back to the Lodge to hang out for a bit and Matt S. told us Work-traders what kind of things we'd do in the week.
 I used the phone and called Mom and Dad. I cried a bit during both phone calls, because I missed them. A lot. After I called them I walked out of the kitchen (where the phone was) and saw that most everyone else were playing games. I watched them play for a while, and met Panda who was too shy to join in, then joined in myself. We played a game called Bird on a Perch. That's where you partner up with someone and  you walk around like a bird making goofy sounds until one of the staff yells "birdie on a perch" and you have to find you partner and one person has to hold the other person so they aren't touching the ground. It's pretty fun and everyone was laughing. And then they played what I like to call the Yahoo! game (I'll explain later).

While I was walking out of the Lodge I said something about being Gluten-free to someone, and that is how I met Matthew. He's gluten-free too! We walked back down to Uncle Dell's together where Brenna was holding a relaxing-quiet time-massage thing.

The doors that lead into Uncle Joe's
(I call it Uncle Dell's though)

We did a massage train (which felt reeeeally good. I should have had more people rub me while I was there.).
Then we did this thing where one person lays down and then another person lays with their head on the first person's belly, then another person lays on that person. It's like a people chain. We did that and  I don't know how it started but we couldn't stop laughing. And when we'd finally stop laughing someone would make a funny sound and we'd started laughing all over again. I was laying on Matthew's stomach, and Blake (one of the advisers) was laying on mine. We laid there for about 20 minutes I think. We were laughing so hard. I had tears in my eyes from laughing so much. And every time I laughed, it made Blake's head bounce which when that happened his just got this annoyed look like I was disturbing him. Then he's grin and laugh a little too. It was H I L A R I O U S.

Afterward we did something which I heard someone call Whale Watch. It's where one person lays down and 4 or 5 other people rub them for a few minutes. We did that and it was really funny too because as soon as we finished rubbing someone then the next person would leap into the middle.
Then I went and got my note book and jotted down a few notes about the day and talked a bit longer. I was really tired so I said good night to everyone else in Uncle Dell's and went back to my cabin.

 I went into my cabin and turned the light on and started finding my P.J.s when I realized that people were sleeping, so I quickly tip-toed over and turned the light off and finished getting ready for bed. Whoops! I felt like I had a hard time sleeping. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and it felt like I'd been awake the whole time even though I knew that I had been sleeping. It was kinda weird.

And that was Day 1 of NBTSC. Amazing and the start of an amazing week! Hoped you enjoyed! :)
~Rhanna xx

Mother's day!

Happy Mother's day(or as my 3 year old cousin would say, "Happy Muddah's day" ;-D )! 

Wow it's been a while since I've last been on here. I'm reading 'The Last Enchantment" by Mary Stewart. It's book three in a series all about Merlin and his whole life. It's are really good! I love how it is are written. It's so easy to read, and to imagine all the places that Merlin describes :-)  I've also read the two books that came before this one, "The Crystal Cave" and "The Hollow Hills". but besides that, I haven't done too much reading lately. :)

So for my mom, today, we went to Big Sur State Park for a lovely lunch of goat cheese, lunch meat, crackers, and cookies. It was BEAUTIFUL there today! Sunny, warm, with a little breeze! We had such a nice time there. I love driving down the coast to Big Sur, because I really feel like I am on the very edge of a continent! It's the coolest feeling! Seeing the ocean, and how it just goes on forever...So cool! :-D We had to get gas for the car first, and while Dad was washing the front window I said "I love watching squeegees" which made everyone else in the car laugh a lot. it was kind of funny ;-)

Half-way there, mom asked me if i remembered to bring knives and a cutting board. (I forgot to bring any!) but thanks to my trusty purse i HAD two plastic butter knives and we were saved! haha! I felt so smug, when i pulled out those two knives ;-D

Our favorite place to go is Pfeiffer State Park, in Big Sur. it's the most beautiful place in all of Big Sur, I think. There are huge, old redwoods everywhere. the Sycamore trees and the river make the whole place smell amazing.I wish I could bottle it...;-) Every time we get to Big Sur, we always roll down all the windows and breathe in the fresh air! 

It was strange. There was no one there, where we went and had our picnic. Only the blue jays and the chipmunks, which seemed to be stalking us, waiting for us to drop a crumb for them to eat. It was really funny to watch them hop around! One time we walked over a bit to take a quick picture, and in two seconds the birds had flown over and were sitting on the benches making cheese and cracker sandwiches, drinking our iced tea, eating the middles out of our chocolate sandwich cookies and talking about the high-rise in bird taxes. ;-) Hahahaha! 

After our picnic, we took a walk to our favorite place to throw rocks into the river. I took a lot of pictures of everyone and the sunlight streaming through the trees. I can't believe how nice it was yesterday. We threw rocks into the river for a bit, then when we walked back, I carried Gwynnie on my back for a little while, which made her happy, because I was bouncing around and making silly nosies. 

Oh and I pet a lizard! When we were waiting for Dad to get the car, there was a cute little lizard on the stump I was standing by, and s/he(?) crawled out of a hole in the stump. and I reached down slowly and petted his(her) back, then s/he ran away. it was really cool though, and Gwyn loved seeing the lizard! It was so cute! :-)

On the way back everyone fell asleep. Mom, Gwyn, Thane, and Emrys. Dad and I were the only ones who stayed awake. When we got back, Mom and Gwyn went in the bedroom and slept some more, Thane drew, Em and I play solitaire for a little bit. Then dad and I worked on a VERY fancy dinner of, (AMAZING) steak, mashed potatoes, grilled corn, artichokes, asparagus, and sparkling apples cider. It was SO good! and then I made GF brownies, and mint-chip ice cream(dairy-free) for dessert, and we watched the Amazing Race finale! 

I think that we all had a fun day! I think going to Big Sur for lunch is my favorite thing to go out and do.

Gwyn had a lot of sand in her cloths that she just dumped on the floor...I think today will be clean the floors day ;-) lol!

Peace out and Happy readings! 

~Rhanna~

Happy Valentines Day ♥

Happy Valentines Day Everyone! (I've discovered how to change the color of the text. And who knows what I'll do next. Haha! :-D )

I hope you're all having a lovely day! I've caught a cold and it's at it's worse today. :P Not much fun. I was planning to make a pink breakfast but I was too tired this morning. Oh well. So I thought I'd do some writing. It's a perfect day to write when you have a cold. It's gray and windy outside and I have my Artemis mug full of Jasmine tea, I've got a warm sweatshirt on and I have my music on. :) I almost feel like a real writer. Haha! the only thing that would make this more perfect is if I had a heater on under my feet. Brr!

I was looking at the Map I have on this site, that shows all the people who have looked at this blog. WOWIE! I can't believe so many people all over the world have looked at this blog. It's so exciting! Hello to everybody all over the world!!! ((Jumps up and down and waves)) It's super cool! :)

I wonder how people celebrate Valentines day around the world...We've never done too much for it. My mom makes pink food (pink pancakes, pink tuna sandwiches, pink mashed potatoes, etc.) And sometimes my dad will surprise us in the morning with chocolate. This year my grandmother sent all of us kids cards.
I was planning on making pink pancakes, pink hash browns, and bacon (which is kind of pink) for breakfast, but I woke up very tired and stuffed up. I'm feeling much better so I'm going to make dinner. We're going to have roast beef (pink in the middle) pink mashed potatoes (I'll cook a beet in with the potatoes and when I mash them together it'll be pink) and red Swiss chard. YUMMY! I think that will be good. :)

What do you, my lovely readers, like to do on Vday? What are your traditions?

I'm going to go eat some lunch for now. Goat cheese, lunch meat, and GF crackers. Mmm! Happy Valentine's day everyone! :) I'll write more later.
See you later people! :-D
~Rhanna~