Summer at last!

Hey everybody! Sorry I haven't posted for so long - I've been really busy at school, what with studying for finals and cleaning out lockers and saying goodbye to friends. We finally got out of school last Monday, and ever since, I've been looking forward to the long, exciting summer that's ahead!

After a few days of utterly vegging out, Mom told us that we absolutely had to get away from the computer screens and out into the gorgeous summer that was waiting for us outside. So, grumbling about the injustice of it all, we packed a backpack with a snack and a Frisbee, grabbed a picnic blanket, and hopped on our bikes, bound for the cove.

We left our bikes in the bushes at the entrance to the trail and began to climb the little rise that led to the water. As soon as we reached the top, the ocean appeared spread out beneath us, the sunlight glistening and dancing across its surface. Lobster boats chugged back and forth beyond the island, and the piercing cries of gulls mingled with the sound of the salt water splashing up against the rocks. We were immediately struck with a deliciously cool ocean breeze that swept back our hair and dried the sweat from our faces. I breathed it in deeply, no longer resentful that Mom had made us leave our computer screens behind.

We clambered down the rise, eager to reach the water.

We turned left as soon as we had reached flat ground, and soon found a sandy area where we could divest ourselves of our blanket and backpack.

Once we had done so, we set off to explore.

"Zoe! Look!" I cried, as a small yellow butterfly alighted on the rock near to my fingers.

I reached out carefully, hoping to coax the butterfly to land in my palm. But, frightened by my boldness, he was away in a flash before my fingertips could even brush one of his wings. Disappointed, I sighed and continued along after my sister.

We clambered through the long sea-grasses and across the jagged boulders covered in seagull poop and clam shells, until we reached the edge of the peninsula. Here, the water was shallow enough that we could easily splash our feet in it without getting too wet. I climbed down the rocks to investigate.

Though the water itself looked cool and inviting, the mud at the bottom did not. It looked slick and slimy, and emitted a salty, tangy stench of decay. Besides, the only way to reach it was to cross an equally smelly, slippery heap of seaweed. I settled myself back on the rocks, and watched as Zoe - as ever, not concerned about getting covered in mud - climbed over the seaweed and splashed into the water.

I closed my eyes for a while, reveling in the feeling of the summer sun on my cheeks. I was half-asleep when I heard Zoe say: "Hey, Charlotte?"

"What?"

"Open your eyes." Puzzled, I cracked one eyelid open, then let out a shriek and scrambled to stand upright. Zoe was standing above me with a mischievous grin on her face, holding several strands of seaweed in her hand.

She started to laugh hysterically at the look on my face. Furious, I reached out to push her off the rocks and back into the water, but she was too quick. She hopped out of the way and threw the seaweed in my direction. Trailing several of the long, yellow-brown tendrils, I chased her all the way back to where we had left our bag.

Out of breath and laughing uncontrollably, we collapsed on the blanket. Once our breathing had returned to normal, I reached behind me for the backpack and started to distribute the food I had brought.

Each of us had three slices of pizza wrapped in tinfoil, an apple, and a bunch of grapes. Zoe had a cherry soda, and for myself, I had just brought a water bottle.

For dessert, I pulled out a bag of saltwater taffy from the front pocket of the backpack.

I packed away the plastic bag, taffy wrappers, tinfoil, grape stems, and bottles into the backpack as Zoe leaned back against the rocks and closed her eyes. I gazed around at the sandy patch we were sitting in and decided that I might try to build a sand castle. I picked myself up off the blanket and plopped down in the sand.

I scraped together some of the nearby sand until I had created a little mound.

The sand didn't stick together very well, and I soon discovered that it was impossible to build any sort of complicated sand castle. So I decided to spice up the little mound by adding some scraggly pink flowers and clam shells to the top.

I laughed as I realized how tiny and pathetic it looked. Zoe opened her eyes and turned to look at my creation.

"What is that - some type of cake?" she asked.

"Well, it was supposed to be a sand castle, but the sand won't stick together," I said good-naturedly. "Want to give me a hand?"

"Sure," she replied, and we both stood up and brushed the sand off our shorts. It's a time-honored Tate tradition to destroy our sand castles after we've finished building them. I always used to hate leaving the beach after having built a sand castle, knowing that the ocean would destroy it after the tide came in. So ever since, Zoe and I have preferred to destroy our castles ourselves, on our own terms.

We extracted the clam shells from the mound and tossed them in the water, then began crazily kicking and stomping at the sand. Soon, my "castle" was reduced to a pile of loose sand, and Zoe and I were covered in the dust that had been sent airborne by our feet. We turned to look at each other, and upon realizing how ridiculous the other looked, we dissolved into hysterical giggles.

After thoroughly brushing ourselves off and shaking the sand from our hair - we knew Mom would go ballistic if we came into the house carrying half the beach - I finished packing up our bag, and Zoe folded up the picnic blanket.

I left these in the bushes at the base of the rise as Zoe pulled out our Frisbee from the backpack. We spread out along a grassy area, and began to toss it back and forth.

Our arms grew tired as the shadows grew longer, and at last we decided that it was time for us to head home. We retrieved our bag and blanket from the bushes and climbed back up the little rise.

Once at the top, we raced to the bushes where we had left our bikes and headed back down our dirt road towards home.

I am really looking forward to the long, hopefully exciting, summer ahead! Though I do have some summer homework this year, there's certainly a lot less of it than we have during the school year, which means that I'll be posting a lot more in the months to come! Are you excited for summer? What are you looking forward to the most this year?

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

One-year Blogiversary!

Hey guys! Happy, well, 2-day-late Memorial Day! Thank you to everyone who has and still does serve our country! What did you do for the holiday?

Like always, our parents took us to see the parade in town. I think my favorite part was watching the marching band, and I was even more excited when Mom told me that they were from our town's high school. That means that in just a few more years, I'll get to wear one of those snazzy outfits and march in the parade, too!

After the parade, we went to a friend's house for a barbecue, then headed home later that afternoon. It was such a gorgeous day that Zoe and I decided to take a blanket, the dogs, and some food into the backyard for a picnic.

Before going inside, we decided that we'd do something to honor the fact that - however hard it is to believe - today is the one-year anniversary of our blog! So much has happened in the past year - we started middle school, we made some new friends, we lost our dog, got a new one, and then found the first one again, and discovered some interesting things about our past - but it seems like it was just yesterday that I was clicking the Publish button for our very first post. It's been a great year, and I hope that the coming one will be as well!

So, just for fun, we decided to imitate the first picture that we ever published on this blog. It didn't turn out exactly the same, but it was pretty close!

Before I sign off, I want to say thank you to everyone - followers, commenters, and readers alike - that likes and supports our blog! We love getting feedback and comments, and love knowing that our blog is being read and enjoyed.  Feel free to comment with any questions or feedback that you may have!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Our 12th Birthday!

Hey everyone! Zoe's and my birthday was last Tuesday, but we've been really busy this week with school, so I haven't had time to post pictures until today.

Now that we're in middle school, there's not much time in the mornings before we have to leave for school. As a result, Zoe and I have to suffer through the whole day before we can open presents. Consequently, we burst through the door the minute we got home and immediately began to pester Mom into letting us do so. Eventually, after making us finish our homework and our chores, she laughingly agreed.

Mom isn't one for wrapping things, so she had just put everything into one big box.

The box on top was addressed to Zoe.

The first things she pulled out were a pair of shorts, tights, a long-sleeved green t-shirt, and a pair of blue sneakers with purple laces. Underneath all that, though, was something that Zoe liked even better.

A brand-new skateboard! She doesn't know how to ride one yet, but she's wanted to try for ages.

The box underneath the first was addressed to me.

Inside the box was a pretty pair of pink shoes and a soft brown dress with a pink flower attached at the collar. I couldn't wait to try it on!

The next box was for both of us, but Zoe let me open it.

Cute! A flower-patterned long-sleeved t-shirt, a white vest, a pair of capris and some strappy purple sandals. Zoe and I both loved them.

There was one more box that was just mine - the rest were for both of us.

The box was too small to hold clothes - could it be a book? A game?

IT WAS A JOSEFINA DOLL! I couldn't believe Mom had gotten her for me! She was perfect - I loved her at first sight.

Zoe took the next box, and I took the one under that, and we set to opening them.

Cool! Zoe pulled a new backpack out of her box, and in mine, I found an American Girl magazine, a Snooze-a-Palooza! book, and an Apples-to-Apples game!

Mom had also gotten us a couple of pairs of shoes. Green Crocs for Zoe, purple fuzzy ones for me, and bunny slippers for both of us!

I promptly stuck the slippers on my hands and started waving them around.

After opening the shoes, there was only one box left. It was long and skinny, and I was completely puzzled as to what it held. I reached my hand inside and started to pull out something smooth and square.

HOLY GUACAMOLE! IT WAS A MACBOOK! Zoe and I were beyond excited. Mom told us warningly that she had bought it intending that we would share it, and if there was ever any disagreement about that, she had no qualms whatsoever about taking it away. Neither of us cared. Having a shared laptop was way better than having none at all!

We set to packing away all the empty boxes and tissue paper into the one big box, then brought it inside. Once there, Mom told Zoe that she had one last present for her, something that was too big to wrap. She pointed to the corner, and Zoe let out a squeal when she saw what was standing there.

Paintbrushes, tubes of paint, a sketch pad, an art portfolio, and a painting easel! Zoe was really excited.

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good birthday, especially when Mom brought out a lemon and a chocolate cake after dinner.

What do you do for your birthday? What's your favorite part?

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Happy Earth Day!

Hey everyone! Happy Earth Day!

Like most roads, the dirt road that we live along is flanked by a line of telephone poles. This in itself is not a problem; the problem arises when, every few years, a bunch of guys armed with chainsaws and clippers come down our road. They attack the saplings and other plant life growing under the wires until hardly anything green is left, to prevent the trees from growing tall enough to interfere with the wires. I know that this is being done for a very sensible reason, but I still find it sad that they're killing all those pretty young saplings. So, a few years ago, I proposed that we should rescue some.

So now, every Earth Day, Zoe and I head out along the road with a wheelbarrow and a shovel, and dig up a handful of saplings, which we later transplant into the forest around our house.

Today, we set off down the road like always, and came back an hour or so later with a wheelbarrow full of saplings. Most of them were full and healthy, and these we planted in a clump a little ways into the forest. Then we came to the last tree. Unlike its companions, it was far from being full and healthy. It was so small that I could easily hold it my arms, and a few of its needles had turned orange. It was a pitiful, Charlie-Brown-type tree, but had looked so small and helpless on the side of the road that I had felt the need to pick it up and bring it home. We decided to plant it all by itself at the back of my mom's hosta garden.

We first had to clear away all the leaf litter and debris so there was a clear patch of dirt where we could begin digging. 

When the patch was sufficiently large enough, Zoe picked up the shovel and started to dig the hole where the tree would rest.

She stood back to admire her work after she had carved out a hole just large enough for the sapling.

Seeing that the hole was ready, I picked up the little tree in my arms and brought it over to where Zoe was standing.

I placed it in the hollow, stood it upright, and held it steady as Zoe again picked up her shovel and started to fill the hole with dirt, pouring the soil gently around the tree's roots.

We packed the soil down firmly so the tree could stand upright on its own. I ran to fetch a watering can and drizzled some water around its roots. We stepped back to admire our handiwork as soon as I had emptied the can.

Does your family have any traditions for Earth Day? Aren't you glad it's spring?

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!