Barnstable County Fair

 A billion little crabs...

These are some pictures of Rowan and me last Wednesday at Sampson's Island. We had the whole island to ourselves! We saw a billion little fiddler  crabs and it was so amazing to see them move so quickly into the beach grass. They were really loud, too.  We had a blast together.  

Last Thursday Dad, Dave, Josh, Caleb, Sarah, Sarah MacDonald, and I went to the Barnstable County Fair!  We saw a bunch of different animals and Sarah and I rode a camel!  It rocked back and forth with every step. : ) 

Here's pictures of all the animals we saw. 

 Kangaroos

 Cows

 Box Turtles

Sheep

 Bob Cat

Baby goat

 Beautiful horse with lamas.

 Funny monkey.

 I think this is a goat.  Dave and Sarah were feeding it.

400 hundred pound piggy. 

  It's a crocodile.

And some parrots.  Looking at the animals was a lot of fun and you could feed some of them but I would never do that.  You don't know what kind of germs and diseases they spread.  

We arrived at the fair at around 6 and left at 10:30.  After looking at the animal's pens we went to get some fried dough, which is very, very unhealthy, but delicious, food.  : )

 I also bought a dress made in India and some earrings from one of the vender's tents.  

 This is the dress. For some reason the picture is side ways...  When my mom saw this picture, she thought I had been raptured!!  LOL

And these are the earrings I bought.  

After eating, we headed to the midway aka where all the rides are. 

There were lines for every ride, so we had to wait 5 to 10 minutes every time.  Sarah and Dave went on the first ride, the Polar Express, which is a very loud ride!  The second ride Josh, Sarah, and I went on which was the Sizzler.  Sarah and I crushed Josh on that one, because he took the out side seat and we were thrown to the out side, therefore banging into Josh's side.  I always go on that ride, every year!

 Sarah McD and I on the Orbiter

Behind them is the Orbiter.  It rises in the air and spins you really fast.

Josh, Caleb and I.  Caleb not feeling too good about the ride, ( Pharaoh's Fury.)  That one was funny because Caleb was told that the ride doesn't give you the "sinking feeling" well, ha-ha it kinda does.  As soon as the ride started going up higher and higher he started freaking out and was having seizures.  He ended up passing out sometime in the middle of the ride.  He was fine as soon as he got off though.  ; )

Those are all the pictures!

Last week Dave and I went golfing.  It was my first time ever on a real golf course.  My first few swings, I missed the golf ball entirely.  I was just hitting up wads of dirt and moss.   It took me a while to get the hang of it.  We played an 18 hole game.  I really enjoyed it and would love to continue the sport.  Last night, ( Friday night) Caleb, Dave, Sarah MacDonald, and I went to the movies to see Cowboys and Aliens.  I loved it!  I'm pretty sure I jumped out of my seat for a couple of suspenseful scenes, and for some unexpected scenes, too.  : )

Some random photos...

Sarah snoozing..

That's just about it.  Nothing else to write about.

~ Lydia 

I was catapulted into the water, I eulogize about my nook, and um other things.

I was out in the back yard watching Sarah swim in the pool when the next thing I knew I was being lifted and thrown into the pool!  Clothes and all.  My dad thought it was the funniest thing ever.  Ha--ha.  I need to think up something good to get him back....   I just finished reading my literature book and I learned that Washington Irving was known as the first American author of creative stories and sketches; James Fenimore Cooper was considered our first novelist; and William Cullen Bryant was our first eminent poet.  All three were great writers.  I have read a couple of books by James Cooper and Washington Irving, but I don't think I've read any by William Bryant.... I'll have to check out some of his poems.  They're mostly about nature .
My mom recently printed up a couple of lists of high school/college books that everyone should read, and I'm determined to read them all before I finish high school.  I've started with The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot.  It should take me a good year to get through all the books on the list.  There are about 250 books in all!  I'm going to put most of them on my nook, and since all of them are considered  to be classics,  I'll be able to get them for free at Barnes & Nobles and download them directly to my nook.  It'll be a lot easier reading them on the nook, because when I come across a word in a book I'm not familiar with  I can just put my finger on the word and it will immediately look up the definition in the dictionary.  Amazing right?!!  So much easier too, rather then taking the time to write it out on paper and then having to look them up later in the dictionary.

I am so looking forward to Wednesday morning!!  My amazing friend Rowan is coming over and we're going to go to Samson's Island.  We're going early in the morning because I'm hoping it'll be empty of people.  : )

These are some pictures of me in the morning with Phinneas.

He is so fun to play with.  : )

And these are some photos of Sarah and I at the beach.  Oh, and two more pictures of the sunset that I took as we were leaving the beach.

Well, I've got to go finish up some school and we're leaving soon to take Mom to work.

~ Lyddie 

Long, long drive, Caleb singing,and icicles forming in the back yard pool.

It was a long drive but it was fun.  Dad and I left at 5 am and drove back up to Shiloh to pick Caleb up from the summer camp he was at.  We got home at 4 pm.   While he was at camp I mailed him a letter because I heard that when you're at camp and you get mail you have to sing a song before you can get your letters!!  And it was true!  Caleb did have to sing for his mail.  Wondering what he was told to sing?  Ha-ha everyone voted that he sing a Taylor Swift song.  I wonder how he knew the lyrics so well... While Caleb was at camp he broke his toe, so his foot's in a special "boot thing."  He looks funny walking around.... : )  It was a nice drive with my dad.  We drove for around 12 hours.  On the way home from Shiloh, we came upon a long, long, long traffic jam in Boston.  The traffic started at Boston and didn't let up till we got to the Sagamore Bridge!!

The family's at the Cotuit fireworks tonight.  I stayed home because I just wasn't feeling up to going, so it's just Phinneas and me.  For the 4th we're having the regular family cook-out.  I'm hoping the swimming pool won't be as cold as it is right now.  We haven't gotten a heater for it yet.  Now I know you want the water to be cold so you can cool off on a hot day but I'm talking zero degrees kinda cold!  Ya turn blue as soon as you stick your toe in.  Sarah braved up and went for a dip this afternoon.  She called me a coward for sticking my foot in the water and then jumping back as if I had an electric shock and then I screamed and made a run for the house before Sarah could get out of the pool and haul me in with her.  Yes, it's that cold...

Last Tuesday I went to a camping trip to Shawnee State Forest in Sandwich for one night with the GEMS and Cadets from the Presbyterian Church.  I had a lot of fun and we played some really fun games.  I took pictures but none of them are worthy of being put on my blog.  : )  Here is a picture that is worthy though!  Dad, Caleb, and Dave went mini golfing in New Hampshire and they took this amazing picture of them sitting in an elephantine of a chair!! I use the word "elephantine" because an elephant could sit in it.   It's so cool!!

Isn't that the most amazing chair you've ever seen?  Oh, and here are some beautiful pictures Caleb took while at camp.  He was staying in the mountains, by the way.

Beautiful

And beautiful...

That's about it I think.  Have a good July 4th!!

In the love of Christ,
~ Lydia
P.S. Ah one more thing! It just came to me.  : )  On Thursday night Dad, Mom, Sarah and I went to the drive-in movies in Wellfleet to see Cars 2.  It was really funny.  I thought it was going to be the worst movie ever but I was surprised by how well made it actually was.

P.S.S They just got home and I'm putting up the pictures that Caleb took of the fireworks.

Those are cool!