Saryndippity

Jumping on Trampolines

I went with Andy to Corn Days in Marion a few weekends ago. And while that was an interesting experience, the drive from Marion to his mom’s in Clintonville was more interesting. As we were driving we passed an Amish farm. The kids were out playing. All the girls were playing volleyball and the boys were jumping on a trampoline. Then a few miles down the road, we passed another Amish farm. Again all the kids were out playing. There was volleyball, buggy rides, and trampoline jumping!

I’m not sure why Amish jumping on trampolines pleases me so much…. It may be becasue it sounds like a good band name, or maybe because trampoline jumping just makes me giddy…. But no matter what, it still puts a smile on my face. :)

Jenna, Family Reunion, and Irish Fest

My sister Jenna left for her year abroad at the begining of July, going first to Turkey for 3 months and then to Austria until next July. We were all very excited for her, but would miss her just the same. Jenna knew that calling while in Turkey would be difficult and she wasn’t sure if she would have internet access. But, when she first arrived she managed to send us all an email saying she was safe and sound. For awhile after that we were getting fairly regular email updates and she even posted in her blog a few times. And then it all stopped. As days went by we started to get worried and hopped everything was still going okay. And soon it was a month later and on one had heard from her.  And her birthday was on;y days away.  Well,two days before her birthday she called!  It turns out that everything is lovely, she just didn’t have reliable access to the internet.  And then, then she called again on her birthday.  So in the space of 3 days, we got to talk to her twice!  It was lovely.

The family reunion was also lovely.  Almost everyone was able to make it.  The day was filled with laughing, talking, playing, eating and Uncle Jon serrinated us on his mandolin at one point.  It was lovely.  My friend Manda joined us at the reunion and she stayed at Uncle Jon and Aunt Mary’s with my dad, Aimee and I.  (Mom was in Colorado for her brothers 50th birthday.)  I was really glad that we stayed with Uncle Jon and Aunt Mary, it gave me a chance to get to know my cousins, Zach, Ben and Noah, better.  They are really neat boys and are growing into really neat guys.  My family may be a bit strange, but they rock!

On Sunday Manda and I spent the day at Irish Fest.  We stumbled on lots of very good music.  And I once again thought that I need to have more Irish music in my collection.  The coolest part of the day was when we wandered into a tent set up like an Irish pub.  There were between 100 and 150 people sitting at the tables, a bar in the back, a stage up front (complete with a singer) and a “fireplace” off to the side.  And most everyone was singing along to the song.  It was so neat.  It felt very intamate.  I loved it.  If all bars were like that, perhaps I would go out more often. . .

Illusion

Push me, touch me, slip me, slide me.

Pull me, close and whisper to me.

Grip me, grab me, hold me, stroke me.

Realize you can’t be without me.

Feel me, dig me, need me, crave me.

Go with it you know you want me.

Turn me on and light me up.

(Print add for the LG Chocolate)

Tourist Traps

As a rule I really don’t like tourist traps. I would much rather spend my time exploring the untrampled path. I’ve found that it is there that you find some of the neatest thngs. It is there that you can see the veiws, meet the people, eat the food, and have it all be real. Have it challenge your sensibilities and take you outside of your comfortable box in which you live to experiance something you never had before. And you still have room to breathe.

Tourist traps on the other hand are sufocating. Sure there may be thrill rides and other excitement to have. But, you have to fight the crowd. Because everyone wants to be there. Everyone wants to be first in line. And so we swarm to these places like ants. And then we wait in line for at least twice as long as the fun. And when we’re done we can easily find the a smaller, more expensive version of our favorite resturaunt.

And yet…

And yet I have found myself at two tourist traps this summer. Noah’s Ark in Wisconsin Dells and 6 Flags Great America.  I had fun at both, but I know that I will not feel the need to go back to either anytime soon.

Noah’s Ark was much more fun than I thought it was going to be.  I went with my parents and youngest sister.  And am pleased to say we all had a fun time.  Even though we were there on one of the hottest days of the summer, the crowds and lines weren’t bad.  And that fact that we spent the day in and out of the water made the heat bearable, almost comfortable.  One of the nicest things about the park is that it is self contained.  You can forget that you are in Wisconsin Dells.  For me that was a good thing.

6 Flags…  I have been craving 6 Flags for the past 2 summers, but something has always prevented me from going, but not this summer. Three of my friends and I went on a Saturday.  The weather was beautiful for most of the day and the lines were incredibly long.  I don’t think we waited in line for less than an hour.  And, they are tricky about the lines.  You walk up to the start and think, “Oh, this doesn’t look too long.”  But then you pass the pretty back drop and see that the line stretches on and on and on.  Still you wait in line because you know the ride will be amazing.  Which they are, but I think next time I’ll go on a weekday and get to ride more rides and less line rides.

Meet Abby Cadabby

A new muppet is joining Sesame Street.  Her name is Abby Cadabby, she’s 3, and a fairy, and has a magic wand, and dragonfly wings.  And she’s a girly-girl.