Well, as I haven't written in like, a month, I've decided to break my silence and tell you all about my Labor Day adventures up in Small Town USA. haha.

  I'm not sure if I told you that I got my permit this summer (yes, a permit at sixteen. I know, I know, my parents were kinda slow on the uptake there;)...) Which has DEFINETLY been a bit of an adventure. So if you ever come drving around "Bubble Bubble Burg" you'd better watch out! Lyssa's on the road and moving fast! haha.

  This summer has been crazy. I know I left it on kind of a depressing, selfish note with the last post and all, but really, my summer was AWESOME. While it lasted at least. I started junior year two weeks ago, and it's really been nose to the grindstone ever since. Thankfully, today I got off cuz of the holiday. Guess what IIIIII diiiiid????? HA! I drove over a HUNDRED and THIRTY miles along the highway! Not one way, lol, to and from, but still. I got three hours of driving over with and got to see a frikkin sweet ghost town while I was out and about as well! My mom took me. And actually, except for one incident where I didn't turn hard enough and ended up almost in a ditch, and one incident with a trucker trying to pass me, I did very well. Was rather proud of myself, actually. I want to do it again, driving's soooo much fun!  

  Well. In other (definetly less exciting) news, I got to see an Indian Pow-Wow in town on Saturday, which rocked. There were tourists everywhere, which didn't rock. Our town is built around a main highway through the Rocky Mountains, and people come in from all over for holdiays and weekends. Tell me... if it's called Tourist Season, why are we not allowed to shoot them? lol. Sorry. Some mountain humor for you there. Everyone up here think's it's hilarious.. you're missing out:).

  Anyway. Pow-Wow. There were all these dancers and people on the drums doing their chanting thing, and all these artists from the reservations. Oh, there was this one woman from the Apache tribe- she was drop-dead GORGEOUS. High cheekbones, proud nose, full lips, smooth black hair, and a itty-bitty waist. It was awesome. She was holding a baby on her lap, both dressed in full costume, and the baby was playing with this ornament at the end of her hair. A photographer lady I know got some amazing pictures that I wish I could show you. It was awesome. 

 Yesterday I went down into the big city for my Grandma's 80th birthday party. My mom stayed home with our dog, who doesn't do well on car trips and is kinda sick, so my boyfriend Jadon came along. Yeah, the whole trip was really quiet and generally not so awesome. Our family's very quiet and reserved. We talk about history and civil war battles and the latest article in Times magazine and my Gran's memories of her life growing up on a farm in Canada as we properly eat our (very good!) roast pork and mashed potatoes and salad on the good dishes. Then my uncle washes the dishes as my dad plays the piano and everyone else settles down to read in the living room.

  Jadon's family, however, is BIG and LOUD and just all together crazy- his uncles swap stories (one does engineer stuff for the army, the other's a policeman in San Diego, Cali), his five little brothers and sisters run all around the house, the women all bring out the casseroles and paper platesand get in each other's way in the kitchen- just a rollicking good time. So sitting with my family was definetly an experience. It is anyway. haha. We ate until we were fit to burst, then all slept in the car on the way back. Well. Excepting my dad, of course, who was driving. haha.

Sigh. Okay. It's kinda late. And as my father keeps (insistently) pointing out, I have school in the morning, and I need to go to sleep. YES, dad, I KNOW what time it is. lol

  I'll try and be better at keeping up, K? Have a great week, you guys!!

~Lyssa~