Entries from my paper journal while I was on the weekend trip with Porter and his dad...

08-12-04 12:37am

Don't worry, I've still been keepin a journal, but it's an online journal...Later this morning Porter and his dad and I are going up to Greer, AZ for a weekend getaway. I'm looking forward to it! Woo hoo! We're leaving at 5:00am so I'm gonna get up around 4:30 or so to shower and finish packing up. Just dug this out because I know I'm going to have some experiences that I'm sure I'm going to want to write down while there.

08-12-04 11:50am

Tony Shumway will heretofore be known forever as "dad." I don't think that's disrespectful to my own dad because really, I've never had a dad. Well, clearly I did or I wouldn't be here, but he was killed when I was just seven months old. Now that I'm married...I ahve a dad finally! So to avoid weirdness I'm just committing to "dad."

<---HERE (which you can't see my little D-Land friends I'm sorry) is a giant mosquito from our cabin in Greer, AZ! It's nice here and cool and we're right on the little Colorado River or something like that. It's noon and I'm NOT SWEATING and the windows are open - no air conditioning anywhere in site!! K, I'm super tired so I'm gonna take a nap and listen to the Black Eyed Peas.

08-13-04 4:00pm

We (me, dad, Porter) were "fishing" and we just got back. Dad caught two and Porter got A BITE but no catches. I don't have a fishing liscense so I didn't even try...not to mention I have ZERO desire for that sort of activity. I loaded up my back pack with my CD Player, Anna Karenina, and my scriptures. I thought that I'd find a nice big rock to sit on and reflect while they fished. no such luck for me. There wasn't a good place for me to stop and there was a HUGE storm rumbling in. They kept going down the river so I grabbed my walking stick and kept chuggin' right along with 'em. I actually really enjoied myself.

Random, right now I'm sitting at the window on the couch in the cabin. It's pouring rain, the fireplace is going and Nora Jones is on the CD Player. This is straight out of a movie or something. PS - It totally started hailing like a moe foe so we called it a day and that's why we're back here. The scenery here is breathtaking! I've not seen anything this gorgeous since the last time I was at my family's cabin in Minocqua, WI. WOW!

Porter is having anal troubles this trip. He's pooped at least four times, maybe five per day. Big poos that smell awefully horrible. Something in him is slowly rotting itself out. Dad has horrible gas too! HAHAHA! It must be somethin to do with camping I guess.

Yesterday was a great day. We got in around noonish, wandered about 80 feet to the creek that's right off our porch. It started raining so I turned in, but the guys kept pluggin' at the fish - no luck. We played dominos. I actually learned there was a game involved. This whole time I just thought you made cool designs and then knocked them all down. HA! I actually won the 2 out of 3 game and then later only won 1 out of 3. I even got suckered in to playing Boggle. I HATE that game so much but I played. A few rounds anyway. I scored 10, 7, 4, 4, then...33! Yeah, it's true, 33 points in one game. Here were my words:

rock, rack, cradle, cradles, cradler, crest, card, cars, care, cares, carer, corn, mite, mites, miter, miter, sores!!

WOW!! I promptly quit right then and there because I knew it wouldn't be getting any better for me - might as well go out on a high note. What else? Oh, we watched "Meet the Parents." I've never seen it yet and I fell dead asleep in the first five seconds of it. I woke up to Porter and dad laughing really really loudly - it scared me - HA! So I went into my room and fell asleep and woke up just as the movie was ended and then we left for dinner. We went to a little resort type place which was also a steak house and way overpriced. $36 dollars later!! That was only 1/2 the bill too! Porter and I split it and payed for dad because he had paid for everything else so far: gas, groceries, lodging...so we thought it was cool.

I've been having so much fun. I wanna go home and tell Al but she won't be back until Monday night! Anyway, my ice cream is melting so I'm gonna go now.

08-14-04 3:35pm (right now)

The trip went really well. This morning there was a tiny incident between Porter and I. Dad was in the shower and Porter got a freezing cold glass of water and dumped it on him and came out laughing. I made some off the cuff remark about how, "That's why I lock the door..." and called him a dick or an asshole or something. (Editors note: I don't remember calling him an asshole or a dick, but when Porter confronted me on it later that's what he said I said, and seeing as how I use those words, I believe him even though I doubt it.) So I apologized and then proceeded not to speak to him for the rest of the morning, nor he to I. Finally we started packing up everything and I did the dishes and then things were just fine - he went outside with his dad and they had a little chat so I'm sure he got it off his chest or whatnot and then when they came back in it was all fine. I honestly felt bad. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings, but it sucks getting called out on it. I really should be more careful. I mean, he does drive me nuts sometimes, but I love him and he's a great guy - a really great guy and he would do anything for me. Sometimes I just don't think - I merely react instead. Sucks! But, like I said things are fine now, and all is well. My neck and back are killing me, and I think I wanna go to the chiropractor like really soon! Like, Monday!

My mom is back home right now seeing the new baby. My brother got his girl finally, and I named her Hope. She was born end of May and so my mom is back visiting and such. I wish it were me. Julie's coming to babysit me tonight. We're gonna hang out today and she's gonna sleep over and then we'll play tomorrow too. I'm looking forward to some sister time. She's fun and so weird all at the same time - I love her! I wouldn't trade her for the world. None of my family! They're all so weird because NONE of them are anything like me - I'm a freakshow! But, that's what's so cool about family (immediate and extended included), you can't pick 'em, ya just learn how to deal with 'em. Good times, noodle salad.

Until next time...

Written by Jere at 3:13 p.m.