Rachel returned from Camp Barney last Thursday. Major points of interest include unit cheers (“Two four six eight…” stuff), the Bog (a mud pit), and crafts. I have also heard about “Fun With Noah”, pottery, swimming, and horseback riding. She tells me the camp day was broken into seven periods during which activities were held. Food was not a high point: Rachel tells me that the lack of ranch salad dressing was disappointing.

I got pictures all during camp, thanks to Camp Barney’s participation in a photo sharing site (called Bunk1). The photos are the property of Bunk1 and may not be reprinted or sold without their permission. View pictures of Rachel at Camp Barney.

She chose a trip to Dave & Buster’s (one of a string of fancy arcades) as her back-from-camp treat.

No sooner was she home then we went to Lake Oconee for the July 4 weekend. Rachel was thrilled to take along crafts she’d learned at Barney. She can now make a lizard keychain fob out of plastic beads and string as well as braid necklaces out of hemp.

Her next adventure is a month at Dad’s in the Washington DC area. Fortunately, she has a short break before heading out again.

I posted some pictures of Rachel and her friend performing in the school’s talent show last week.

She did a great comedy skit as a waitress serving a customer with a fly in her soup.

“Waitress, waitress! There’s a fly in my soup.”

She had great timing and spoke very clearly. For several days, she practiced her lines with friends at school. I never helped her. On the big day, she took the stage in front of an audience of at least 50 parents as if she’d been doing it her whole life.

Way to go, Rachel!

If you haven’t heard about Cucumberland, you may want to read that story first.

This past weekend, we made up names for other locations in town that might be misheard or misread. The best: Alphabet instead of the North Metro city of Alpharetta.

Rachel’s spelling list this week includes circumference, cinema, traitor, barometer and juicy. For the record, she spelled circumference right the first try!

Thank you very much, Granny Hilda, for sending Rachel a subscription to Nickelodeon Magazine. This is issue #2 she’s received. Here’s a picture of Rachel reading her copy: