What Happens When Zinni and Rhodo Hang Out

I'm not the type of girl who sits at home in super tight skinny jeans texting the day (and dollars funded to her ever-growing cellular device bill) away. Instead, I'm outside, enjoying the summer sun whith my fellow blogging cohort, Rhodo. In a 1 1/2 hour time period, I have:

• Chased after and fed three chickens
• Jumped radically high on a trampoline
• Explored the mild green yonder of Rhodo's backyard (which, coincidentally, has LOTS of foliage)
• Ate delicious, homemade pizza and drank from a "big girl cup" (i.e. normal person cup), as Rhodo calls it
• Screamed "ECHO" off into the distance
• Climbed on ropes to get into a treehouse
• Said YOLO
• Rode on one of those plastic tricycles
• Wrote "Zinni" on Rhodo's driveway with wet chalk
• Did a recap of my camp adventures
• And, to top it all off, had a scrumpious slice of banana cake with cream cheese frosting

Summer is meant to be enjoyed, right? Oh, and to add to my little list of exciting endeavors, I sung the MUFFIN SHOP SONG! Which, is pretty much now my favorite song. I'm starting to think my summer is taking a turn from just "great" to "amazing." Summer bucket list item, here I come. And, until the fateful first day of school, September 5th, you'll find me chasing the sun (a little music reference there).

And, of course, may the odds be ever in your favor,

Zinni

CAMP

There is something special about spending a week out of your regular routine; being absolutely wild, getting a tan from dust and dirt, and screaming as loud as you can for no apparent reason at all. It's even more special knowing that everyone else came to do the same thing you did, that hardly anyone else has showered, and that you're not the only one whose hair feels gross and like a giant knot. I came home today from a quick three days away from the world's pressure, warm showers, (and because no warm- no showers at all) and those of the male gender. I went to girl's camp this week- a both spiritual and fun experience. Being a young woman in the LDS church, I have recently had the opportunity to not only go and have fun at camp- but to meet a bunch of new friends that believe the same things I do regarding my religion. Together, we walked around blindfolded, cried happy tears, sent out sky lanterns, and dressed up our longhouse "supermodel" as a gazelle. Everyone and everything there was AWESOME. (Yes, even the polar dip, which requires getting up at seven o'clock, changing into a swimsuit and jumping into the lake.) At this time, I am also going to state very plainly, that I was not in the little handful of half-mile finishers. Much as I would have liked to finish, I didn't. I got in the freezing lake, swam eight laps, (the half-mile is nineteen) and got out for a little break planning to get back in. I never got back in. Not back in that cold green water, probably home of many dead mosquitoes and who knows what else.

My older brother went to Boy Scout camp this week as well, and in comparison here is a list of things we women do and the Boy Scouts don't do:

• Have "female bonding".
• Do hair (or- I certainly hope not)
• Eat really good food
• Scream at the top of their lungs almost every time they clap
• Give secret sister gifts
• Sing the "Mormon Boy's Rap"
• Try to keep their longhouse clean so that they can earn the "attractive stick"- last year it was a yardstick with Justin Bieber on it.
• Paint nails
• Make lace bracelets and beautiful necklaces at the craft table

... And much, much more

I also learned to tie dye at camp too! I thought I had failed my socks, but when I took the rubber bands off, they actually looked cooler that I had thought.

Hey Zinni! We sing the muffin song too! Except, a little different than you do.

Bye for now, Rhodo

Thou Shalt...Have A Fire Drill In The Middle Of SUMMER?!

In exactly six days, it will be the one month mark of Rhodo and my own not-being-elementary-school-kids-anymore. Am I sad about it? Hardly. I'm uber-excited! And along with summer, I have some wacky stories to tell.

So, today I was at our local YMCA pool, and then, guess what? There was a fire drill! Yes, you have me right. I thought I escaped those for a good two months once the final dismissal bell rang? But, no, of course not. I was there with Banana Nut Muffin (see earlier posts for more details on her), and we both were stuck sitting at a table outside in front of the Y for about five minutes singing camp songs to ourselves. I asked one of the workers there if we could sing the most amazing song ever that we learned at camp, but she just looked at us with that classic, no-way-pal-I-don't-think-so/ha-such-funny-kids-with-their-little-shenanigans look. But, hey! Now I can put it up on the blog! If you know it, just, um....sing to your computer screen!

There were three little muffins in the muffin shop
You know the kind with the honey and the nuts on top (at that part, your voice gets really high)
Along came a girl with a penny to spare
She bought that muffin, ran away from there!

There were two little muffins in the muffin shop
You know the kind with the honey and the nuts on top
Along came a girl with a penny to spare
She bought that muffin, ran away from there (forgot to mention: at this part, it starts to kinda sound like a crazy chant)

(all sad-like) There was one little muffin in the muffin shop
You know the kind....with the honey...and the nuts on top
Along came a girl.....with a...penny to spare
She saw that there were no muffins
SO INSTEAD SHE BOUGHT SOME BUBBLE GUM, BAZOOKA, ZOOKA, BUBBLE GUM!

And now that I'm done with my little song about muffin shops and Bazooka bubble gum, I can move on with my story. We were released back into the pool and promptly ran to the lazy river to go and sing the muffin shop song to our fellow swimmers.

May the odds be ever in their favor (that muffin shop song gets stuck in your head and stays there),

Zinni

Summer Summer Summer

"Hello? What would you like today?"

"A butterfly."

"What two colors would you like your butterfly?"

"Red and blue."

"Okay…Here you are…Would you like any sparkles?

"Yes"

"What color?"

"Pink."

…

"There you are!"

"Hello? What would you like today?"

"A butterfly."

"What two colors would you like your butterfly?"

"Blue and red."

"Okay…Here you are…Would you like any sparkles?

"Yes"

"What color?"

"Purple."

…

"There you are!"

"Hello? What would you like today?"

"A butterfly."

You get the idea. That was how my conversations went for what seemed like a decade (well, not really, but it's a writing technique called a hyperbole) until the boys came along and did the same thing. At least they had two popular wants, instead of a butterfly with sparkles it was crocodiles and alligators. This happened the other day while doing a face-painting job at a neighbor's summer party. I didn't plan any of this- and it fit right along with my Summer Bucket List. I think, however, I only painted one single (of MANY) perfect* butterfly. It was blue and pink, if I remember right, with orange sparkles that shone brightly in the sun. The lady that did magic tricks showed me how to smudge the colors together and the blue flowed right into the pink. It really is too bad that she went right inside and washed the butterfly off less than ten minutes after the magic happened. I got pretty fast at butterflies and nobody else washed off their glamorous butterflies (I think).

I also sewed a hat this week at a little sewing camp thing a 4-H group does. My sister wanted a hat like they have in the musical, "Newsies" (probably so she could throw it up into the air or sing about how she is the king of New York in it). Over the camp, I made an octopus lunch bag, (very stylish for next year) a vest, a kite, and two Frisbees. (Sadly, one of them is on the roof).

 I went down to water my strawberries (because it's sunny enough to water) and guess what? They're GROWING! Yeah, that's right. I see little green strawberries that will (hopefully) grow happily into red ripe strawberries.

 I'm going to camp on TUESDAY. That's only FOUR more days! Let's hope the weather's good for swimming- I don't know...

*Perfection is a term used by many people in different ways. By a "perfect butterfly", I meant that it was the best job I could do under the circumstances I had.  

~POSTED BY RHODO~

My Amazing Adventures At Summer Camp and Just In the Summer In General So Far!

Where, oh, where has Zinni been? The answer to your question, at summer camp for a week. I'm back home with stories to tell and Summer Bucket List items completed.

My first item completed: Eat frozen yogurt three times. On the day I got back from camp, I went and got the most tantalizing vanilla fro yo with a bazillion toppings. Yum! At camp, I had hit a bulls-eye with an arrow. It was during the time for our cabin activity, and I channeled my inner Katniss Everdeen. I pulled that bowstring back and-KAZAM!-I hit a bulls-eye. Back at home, I slid down the THREE LANE Slip N' Slide that my neighbors have. I was a tad cold, but I had lots of fun. But wait, there's more! I played Party Rock Anthem extremely loud in the car. If you haven't remembered, that's number 21 on the SBL (Summer Bucket List). I got the opportunity to swim in an outdoor pool, so I was freakishly excited. The thoughts of bucket list item, bucket list item, bucket list item. HECK YEAH! ran through my head.

So, in this quite short summer time, I have completed 5 bucket list items. Still more to go.

My mom gave me the 2012-2013 school calendar for my school district and apparently, our last day of school is June 18th. I don't know about you, Rhodo, but I think that's much better than June 25th, this previous school year's last day.

Now, I'm just trying to make the most of summer. After all, in the wise words of Helen Keller, life is either a daring adventure or nothing. I choose daring adventure.


May the odds be ever in your favor this summer,

Zinni

3.14159265... Pie Time!

Here's my pie posing for it's picture!
Yes. I completed a portion of my bucket list over the last little while- and making a pie takes a long time. Apparently I was obsessed, but we only found one pit! We discovered that our family of seven is probably a "two pie" family. I made it the night before and I had to race in the morning to get a picture of a piece. It was gone before breakfast. The crust wasn't super flaky- but it was my first pie I made by myself too! I feel very accomplished.
And fist-pumping Zinni? Awesome.

-Rhodo