September 13-30

As soon as mom stopped working we got a lot busier. Instead of wandering around the house all day we actually go out and do things like hiking. Larissa and I went to our last open studios and finished up our pieces, which came out really well, though maybe not exactly how we had imagined them. All the same our last couple of days (or what we thought were our last couple of days) in Driggs were really nice because the weather was great and we had fun. On the very last day we went to the hairdressers and I chopped 10 inches off my hair, so now it's really short. I hadn't originally imagined it quite this short, but it'll grow, and I still like it, so everything's ok.

Because of the continuing changes in plan, we ended up staying down in Boulder from September 16 to September 30. We were supposed to leave from there straight to Guatemala, but due to yet another change in plan, we're now back in Idaho until October 6. Hopefully this plan will not change, but you never know. Boulder was fun, except that I was sick for the whole week that I would have had time to spend with my friends, so that was really annoying, but life isn't perfect. Luckily I didn't get pneumonia or bronchitis, but I still have a chest cough that won't go away.

While down in Boulder I went on the NJHS retreat, which was lots of fun. We were originally supposed to stay for 2 nights, but we ended up only staying for one. At first everyone was really disappointed, but by the time we left, we were all exhausted and definitley ready to go home. Mostly we did leadership and bonding exercises, but it was really fun. Some people really came out of the shells they're in at school, and that was really nice to see. The food wasn't even that bad! And though most people wouln't agree with me, I didn't think the beds were that uncomfortable either. Overall, it was a really fun and successul trip!

The last couple of days I spent in Boulder Mom, Larissa and I stayed the the Twinkies house. They were adorable as usual, and we went to a farm with them, where they had lots of fun playing in the tree house, on the trakters, and around the hay maze. It was a hot day though, and by the time we left the kids were grumpy and we were all sweaty and tired. From there we visited Allison for about an hour and drove straight on to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. We stayed in Fort Collins two nights, and helped Grandma and Grandpa re-paint their closets, clean their sky-lights, and finish trimming in the bath room.

We drove back to Idaho and it's amazing the difference one hour of the trip makes. It felt so much shorter than when we drive from Boulder. Now we are all packed and nobody can find anything they need, but we also don't want to unpack since we're leaving again so soon. It's a bit of a mess, but it'll sort itself out I think. At least one whole bag will be full of books, which is a little bit of a scar thought, but we'll have lots of fun down there.