Johanna Speaks

So last Friday, our family went camping in Chester! Chester is up in the mountains about an hour and a half away from our house, maybe longer, depending on who's driving.

So my mom, Sophie, and I went to Chester in the white car together, and my dad and Ezra went

in the van. The white car has AC, but the van doesn't. So they just put the windows down to feel cool air even though it's super hot. At least in Chester, it only gets to the 90s. 

When we got to Chester, we stopped at a beautiful green park and had lunch with Nicholas, Caleb, Risa, Simeon, Ezra, Dad, Mom, Sophie, and me. We didn't go straight to the campground because it hadn't opened yet for people to come in. It opens at 2:00 PM, I think. So we had lunch, talked, and then went to the campground to set up our stuff. The rest of our family wasn't coming until way later that day.

There were about four people next to us on a different campsite. But I am so glad I didn't bring Ria with us because guess how many dogs the people had? Four yapping dogs! And by yapping dogs, I mean super small dogs, like a pug's size. 

Noelle and Cameron arrived around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon. By then, we had already swam a bit and were chilling in the hammocks we had set up. Then my mom made us some Italian sodas! She had bought everything for them and brought them with her. The Italian sodas tasted good! Then we had some dinner. I have forgotten what we had for dinner; sorry. 

We had almost the whole family with us except Gideon and Jonathan. Gideon was supposed to come that day all the way from the State of Alabama, but his flight was canceled. They said it would arrive early the next morning. And Jonathan, my oldest brother, said he would probably be here at 11:30 PM because I think he was busy with work. 

Julia (Jonathan's girlfriend ) also came at around 6:00 PM and had dinner with us. We all played Bang! together. Bang! is a really fun card game. I won't explain everything because that would be super hard. But you can go look up the rules on Google. If I tried to explain it, nobody would understand me. 😂

We played about two games of that. For somebody to win, each game would take about an hour or more. So we stopped playing at about 10:30 PM. The campground has a quiet time that starts at 10:00 PM. That means everybody in the campground has to be quiet because other people are probably sleeping. 

I took a video and pics of us playing Bang! at night. 

Here they are:

Nick is looking super sus! 

We all have cowboy hats, too!😁

The next morning, we heard that Gideon's flight had been canceled again, so he would probably get there tomorrow or late at night. The next day, we were going to go back home, so we really hoped we would be able to see Gideon!

Jonathan came late at night and slept in a hammock. So now we had everybody there except my brother Gideon. 

That morning, my sister Noelle made a delicious breakfast! It was cooked potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and chopped bacon! It tasted super good! After that, we got out some kayaks and kayaked a bit. Then Noelle had a huge raft, so we put it in the water and went on it. But first, we had some lunch. 

The lunch was what Nick had made. I forgot what it was called, but it tasted super good! It had chicken and cheese inside a corn tortilla. Then, after that, we went on the raft. We were on it for about three hours! And by then, it was almost 4:00 in the afternoon. 

I walked to the bathroom, and on my way back, a van was behind me, so I moved out of the way. When it passed me, I looked at the guy driving, and it was Gideon!! He was just smiling at me. I walked with him back to the campsite. 

So now we had everybody with us. This also included our friend James too who came to visit for the day all the way from our neighborhood! We all hung out on the hammocks and chairs, and Gideon told us about his flights and other interesting stories. By then, it was dinner time. And we also played even more Bang!

Then, after dinner, we sat back in our chairs and talked. Then Caleb and Risa (my sister-in-law) said they had to go home, so right before they left, we all took a family picture and had the water in the background. 

Then Nicholas, Cameron (my brother-in-law), and I started playing some music Nick had picked. And James was our music stand.🤣

After that, we all sat by the fire, roasted marshmallows, and talked some more. Then we were all tired, so we went to bed. The next day, we started cleaning up our campsite because we were going back home that day. After everything was packed up, we went to church in Chester. It was Sunday. 

After church we went to a coffee shop nearby and had some coffee and ate a bit of lunch, which was leftovers from the past few days. Then we said goodbye to Gideon and Simeon and drove back home. 

I couldn't wait to see our dog Ria again! She was super happy to see us when we were finally made it home. 

Here are some pics and vids:

I'm so happy and excited to go camping in two weeks! We will stay at Lake Almanor from July 19th to July 21st. 

Lake Almanor is by the town of Chester in the California mountains. It's about an hour and a half drive from where we live. We go there every year because the water is super nice and cold and the area is much cooler than where we live down in the valley. 

I can't wait to go swimming, thrift store shopping, play our instruments around the fire, and be together as a family! And by being together as a family, I mean Sophie, Ezra, Simeon, Gideon (who is flying from Tennessee), Nicholas, Noelle, Cameron, Caleb, Risa, Jonathan, Julia, Mom, Dad, and Me. So yeah, I mean all the family is coming!! It's going to be amazing.

I won't be able to bring my dog Ria with me.😞 It would be difficult to have her with me while we go camping, visit stores, and see new people. I want her to get that socializing part, but it will be difficult because she goes crazy over dogs and anything that moves fast. I can't take her to thrift stores, and she's still terrified of my brother Ezra. There are probably many more reasons why I can't take her, sadly. But maybe next year I can take her. I will miss her, though. 

My friends will take care of Ria for me while we go camping. I think I already explained that and provided all the details in my other blog post. I just need my friends to come over sometime to learn how to feed, crate, and put the leash on her/harness. And to play with her. 

During the camping trip, Nicholas, Cameron, Risa, and I want to play our instruments around the fire at night and have everybody sing along. We just need to get good folk music. But I think we have that covered because Risa ( my sister-in-law) knows a lot of songs already. Hopefully, everything will go great for that!

So, last Saturday, we had the Fourth of July fireworks at the lake club! A ton of people came to watch them! And that day, around 5:00 in the afternoon, my friends ( the Garza girls ) came over, and we got to hang out together! They were also going to stay the night that night and watch the fireworks with us!! Then, the next morning, my parents would drop them off at the park and ride. 

Here's what we did from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. 

When the Garza girls came, Ria was in her crate in the house because it was very hot ( 117 Fahrenheit ), so I opened it and let her out. At first, she wouldn't come out all the way, but she did after a few minutes. Surprisingly, she was fine with the girls, which was amazing! She would let them pet her, too! After petting Ria, my mom said that it was time for dinner.

 The dinner was hot dogs and chips. She also showed us how to make Italian soda because she had bought everything for it. I thought it would taste gross because it has half-and-half cream with soda water. But it tasted pretty good when I had tasted it. But it was weird at the same time. But after taking more and more sips, it tasted good. My mom also put whipping cream on top! 

After dinner, we talked and went outside for a bit. Annie got Ria a pup cup ( whipping cream in a cup ) because Ria had never had one before. And Ria liked it!  She kept sniffing and looking for more food afterward. We made her "speak," too, which is always super cute to see Ria do because her bark is so high-pitched, and sometimes she can't even bark!😂 And she lunges forward when she tries to bark! Which is scary if you are right in front of her.

After that, we started getting ready to go. We all got into our swimsuits and put a shirt over them for afterward. We wanted to bring our rollerblades, but my mom said, "You guys probably won't want to rollerblade in this heat. So don't take them down." So when we got down to the lake club, it was, I think, already 7:30 PM or something. So we swam for a bit and then got out. We didn't have anything to do, and we still wanted to go rollerblading. So my mom said she would go back to get them if we wanted to do it. We went back with her to get them, then got them, drove back down to the lake club, and started rollerblading in the tennis courts. We did that for about an hour, and it was getting pretty dark, so we headed to where our parents were and started looking for a spot to enjoy the fireworks. We found a spot right next to the water with a full sky view! It was perfect! Our parents were somewhere else because they had already found a spot. My friends and I just wanted an even better spot! 😊 We stuck our feet in the water and waited and talked until the fireworks would go off! And finally, they did! 

The fireworks were amazing!! The ending was the best, as always! 

Here are the videos and pics of the fireworks I got on camera! 

After the fireworks, we went home, blew up the air mattresses, got blankets and pillows, and headed to bed. We probably fell asleep by 11:30 p.m. 

The next morning, we woke up at 6:30 and went outside, hung out with Ria, and had breakfast. Then we got ready, and I left to go to church early for music practice while the other girls and Sophie stayed home. My parents dropped the girls off at the Park-and-Ride on their way to their church because the Garza girl's church starts earlier than ours. 

Our community does the fireworks the weekend after the 4th of July because it's cheaper. 

I loved everything about last Saturday. 

I can't believe the Fourth of July is already in a few days! I hope they will have the fireworks because they might decide not to have them because it might be too windy and hot, so it would be dangerous. But you know, hopefully not. 

I can't wait to watch them go off! It's going to be super pretty!! 

My parents, this time, aren't going to be doing a whole setup thing like we usually do with our family, but instead, grab a few chairs, sit down, and watch the fireworks. Usually, we would bring a lot of food and have a whole dinner there, as well as drinks and stuff, and have a bunch of our friends and family come. I think Simeon will definitely be coming, but I forgot who else is coming. I know Noelle and Cameron won't be able to come because they have a lot of plans going on. 

I hope the Garza girls will be coming too. ( hi, Abby or Annie, who is reading this). I hope you guys can come because we could go to the pool next to the lake club and swim a lot together! 😊

I wanted to bring Ria with me, but my mom said that would be too much for her because of all the loud noises and people. She's probably right, but maybe next year, when she's a lot more people-friendly and is okay with super loud noises, we can go. 

So my uncle David and his girlfriend stayed the night for about four days and three nights! His girlfriend's name is Trudy. I like her a lot! And she's super sweet and nice! I can always remember her name because of Monk, and Monk's wife was named Trudy in the show. She probably gets that a lot. 😊 

So Trudy slept in Ezra's room, and Uncle David slept on an air mattress in our living room. Ezra went over to Noelle's house and stayed the night there while Uncle David and Trudy were here.

They came last Friday at around 6:00 p.m. and had delicious meat for dinner and drinks at our house! I asked my uncle if he could get me something chocolaty on his way here because I had been craving it, so guess what he got me? A whole bag of different kinds of chocolate bars!! 😃I was so happy!! He usually spoils us a lot! And that night, I ate a lot of chocolate while watching my favorite show and the adults were at the lake club having drinks. 

The next day, my mom, Sophie, Trudy, and I all went to a thrift store because we all love going thrift store shopping! Then, after we had finished shopping, we headed to the next! And we met up with my sister Noelle. So she got to meet Trudy, and after we were done shopping there, we went to Panda for some lunch. Then, from there, we went back home. By then, it was about two or three a clock. We were all pretty tired, so we rested. Then, we went to the lake club while Sophie swam in the pool. We played some card games and had a few drinks. There was also karaoke going on, so we listened to it while we drank our drinks. The karaoke was ok. Some of the singers were.😑 

Then we went back home. The next day was Sunday, so we went to church, and I played in church with my brother as usual. Then afterward, we went to Noelle's house for lunch! And Jonathan Moreton, Jonny, Nicholas, Cameron, Julia, Noelle, Trudy, Uncle David, Ezra, Mom, Dad, and I were all there. I hope I listed everybody! If I didn't, sorry. 

Then, after that, we went home and rested. Then everybody went to the pool and my mom and I walked down to the lake club with my dog Ria. It was also Ria's first time seeing horses! As soon as she saw them she started to pull towards them. At some point one of the horses took another step towards Ria, and Ria jumped back super fast but was totally fine. She was just scared of the movement. 

When we got to the pool, I walked Ria around the pool gate ( because dogs are obviously not allowed in the pool ), and the Ramirezes were there, so they started petting Ria through the gate. Then they had a lot of dog hair on their hands because they were wet! 😂 But they didn't care. Ria was totally fine with the Ramirezes cousins petting her!! She had never met them before, either! So that was a good socializing exercise!

After that, we took Ria back, but this time in a car since it was already getting dark. And Ria loves to go in a car, so that was good. 

The next day, I got up early, harnessed Ria, hooked her to my bike, and rode her on our street. Then, after that, it was time to go with our uncle, Trudy, Sophie, and me to a coffee shop where my parents and Ezra were going to meet us to say goodbye to Uncle David and Trudy because that day, they were leaving to go back home in Portland, Oregon. But first, my uncle told us, let's grab some breakfast at a restaurant! So we went to Black Bear Diner. It was my first time ever being there! The food was very good there. Then, we were on our way to the coffee shop when Uncle David said, let's go to Turtle Bay Bridge! So we went there, and some people were setting up something, so my uncle asked them what they were doing, and they said that it's going to be the 28th anniversary of Turtle Bay Bridge and they were going to have people doing some ariels and be doing flips while harnessed to the rope! I forgot what they called it, sorry. But I thought it looked super cool! We saw the people all the way at the top of Turtle Bay Bridge, which is super high!! And you know what my uncle said to the people way up there?? He said while opening his arms, "I'll catch you! " 🤣🤣 Trudy and I were embarrassed and were trying to pull him away and start walking back to the car. We were also laughing. 😂

We finally got to the car and drove to the coffee shop. We all had coffees and chatted until Uncle David and Trudy had to go home.

So we all said good bye and they left.😞

But we had a great time together while they were here!