Grandpa Bill taught the girls this chicken song one summer. They sang it all summer long, often as quickly as they could.
A few nights ago, many family members joined together to sing songs at Grandpa’s bedside, and someone started the chicken song. Bill, who had been speaking very little that day, suddenly burst forward with the chicken song at breakneck speed, to everyone’s surprise and delight.
Grandpa passed away Thursday morning. We shot this video of the girls singing it as a tribute to him.
Last summer (2010) we went out to our Uncle Gary and Aunt Kim’s farm. There was a photographer on the farm for Organic Valley, so we went out there with Grandma and Grandpa. The photographer was really nice. He took lots of pictures of the piggies and the cowies. We didn’t get a picture of the cows, but here is one he took of the pigs.
Piggies on the Farm
While the photographer was busy taking pictures of the pigs, Ellie, Greta, Ana and I got our picture taken on the fence in front of the manure pile. It smelled really bad but the picture turned out good.
Hanging Out by the Manure Pile
Dad says they use the manure to fertilize the crops. It’s gross! I didn’t know that all the carrots I’ve been eating are planted in stinky poop! But Dad says all the best vegetables are planted in poop.
We arrived in Iowa exactly a week ago! It’s so different from Atlanta- yet I like it. School is nice; not nearly as big as Shamrock/Druid Hills. The middle school has less than a quarter of the people at Shamrock/Druid Hills, but my school here is middle AND high school. There are also trimesters here instead of semesters. Some of my new friends are Alanna, Rylee, Naomi, Emily, Erin, Nicole, and Sydney. But don’t worry, Atlanta friends, you’re not being replaced! I miss y’all a lot. (sob)
It was the end of the trimester on Thursday, so we celebrated by watching Secretariat and having popcorn and soda. My Granddad is in that movie, and so everyone around me was asking me to point him out. It was a good day.
On Friday, we did a little schoolwork, and I thought of a good survey question for all you blog readers:
Which comes first: the chicken or the egg?
Jean thought I should write something in Spanish for the blog, so soon, I will figure out how to say that phrase. As for which one you think, just leave your answer as a comment under this post, and the results will be posted in a week.
Here is what a few people I’m hanging out with right now think about this question:
Ana: the chicken
Dad: the egg
me: I think the egg just fell from space, and it hatched the first chicken.
Stella: the egg
Ellie: the egg, “since the chicken HAD to come from an egg”
Jean: the chicken
Aunt Janice: the chicken
Aunt Mary: the chicken
Grandpa, who’s sleeping, would probably say something like, “the cow.”
Miss you all. Bye!!!
Thursday was first day of school in Lansing, IA. There were some girls in my class I already knew from our summers here and from the swim team. But I met lots of new friends, too. Since my teacher (my Aunt Lisa!) wasn’t there on Thursday, we had two substitutes and I didn’t know their names.
My friends had to help me through the day. They helped me open my locker. I’ve never had a locker before. And they helped me with my lunch tray at lunch. I had never bought a school lunch before. It was kind of scary. They went really fast through the lunch line and I didn’t know my lunch number so Ms. Mary told me that she would give it to me later.
We played a division game and my table won.
At recess, my old friends and new friends invited me to play jumprope, four square, and volleyball. I had fun. Jumprope was my favorite. After recess, we went back to the classroom and got to read a book.
Then we went to the gym to watch a movie called Secretariat. I was excited because my grandad had a small part in the movie. I pointed out to my friends where my grandad was in the movie. They thought it was so cool. But other people in my class told me the movie was just a dumb horse movie and it kind of hurt my feelings. There were a few boys that were picking on me.
When I went into the school, I saw a drawing by another student of Taylor Swift. It was posted in the hallway. I thought I could draw one, too. So, yesterday Greta and I went to the library and got a magazine with a picture of her on the front. I want you to know I did not trace it. I drew it. This is my drawing…
Yesterday was my first day of school in Iowa. My school is in New Albin, Iowa. We have to take a bus to get there and get back at the end of the day. Me and Ellie’s friend, Nell, takes us to the bus in the morning and the afternoon. Sometimes we might get confused and get on the wrong bus. That’s why she helps us on the first two days.
Lansing and New Albin are towns on the Mississippi River. The river is frozen right now and our camper is winterized since it is so cold and there is lots of snow.
The Frozen Mississippi River
I got to buy lunch in the cafeteria at school. I have never bought lunch before. The lunch is better than the lunch in Atlanta. The lunch in Atlanta was like hot dogs and fries, but the school lunch here is better than hot dogs and french fries at my old school because hot dogs and french fries are bad for you. We have lettuce and french salad dressing and we have hamburger thingys that were kind of like hamburgers but they were not hamburgers. At our Iowa school we get to go for seconds.
I met a friend named Regan. My teacher is very very nice. She lets us get up and get a tissue if we want or do something else. We do some work that is just right for me.
On Thursday (today) school was delayed because it was really foggy outside.
Lots of Fog on the River Today
I was sort of glad that school was delayed so we would have half a day, so soon it would be lunch time. I like lunch time.
This last summer, my uncle Mike took me, Ana, Stella, and Greta tubing on the Mississippi River, right in front of Lansing, IA. It was really exciting.
Me, Ana, and Stella tubing on the Mississippi River
The day was warm and the water was freezing. Stella fell off the tube. It was super fun to watch Stella fall off the tube. But I felt bad for Stella because I always think catfish are going to bite off my toes.
Me and Ana tubing
You can tell from me and Ana’s faces that we are having a blast tubing on the Mississippi.
Every summer we go visit Uncle Gary and Aunt Kim’s family farm. Last summer we went to help them in the garden. We helped dig up radishes. I like to help them; it makes me feel like a farmgirl.
We’ll probably be up in Lansing for a couple of weeks, so we will be posting some photos and other things from past vacations and adventures.
So, speaking of us being up in Iowa, we had lots of fun sledding this past winter, December 2010. This is a video of Ana sledding in her cute little blue sled.
We thought it was pretty dang funny when it happened.
There may be more sledding videos coming, so keep your eye out! š
On Saturday, we left Ocean Springs, MississippiĀ to go to Lansing, Iowa. We got a phone call fromĀ Jean’s parents saying that Grandpa (Jean’s dad) wasn’t doing very well, so we decided to come visit. On Saturday morning, we went to a place in Jackson, MS, where we could winterize our RV, (it’s too cold; our pipes would freeze up. Unfortunately, we had just de-winterized two days earlier) and then we continued our journey.
Entertaining ourselves along the drive
A monkey face
We drove all day Saturday and slept in Troy, Missouri, in another Walmart parking lot.
Sunset along the road in Arkansas
We stopped at two Subways to eat, then, around 2:00, we finally arrived.
Bluffs along the Mississippi River
Lots of family members are here, and it’s a really nice place to be. My sisters and I might start attending school here.
On Friday we received news it was time to come home to Iowa to be with Jean’s dad, Bill. So Saturday morning we pointed the ship north and made a beeline up the Mississippi river.
