We are safely at our Grandparents house in Florida. It's pretty fun here. I know that playing with a bow-and-arrow, knives, and a crossbow sounds like stupid boy sports, but it's kept us busy and can, in fact, be fun when you actually hit the target. So far we have lost a few arrows and a throwing knife. My�grandpa said it was O.K. and that our dad would just buy him some new ones (he was just kidding...I think)
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Anyway, I took a jog alone on a jogging path right next to their house. My grandparents said that they went down it every once in a while, so I went alone. The path was totally deserted. It was the hardest run I think I have EVER done. No, there weren't any hills. Nope, I didn't have a bad leg cramp. But boy was it HOT and the humidity was horrible. I had to walk most of the time and my clothes were sweat-drenched, stuck to my body.�

I think I saw every species of tropical spiders that exists, hanging from giant webs strung above the path. "Don't look up...don't look up," I repeated in a rhythm that matched my pace. It was dense tropical jungle I was jogging through, not a pleasant walking path. I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair (which was in a pony tail) and then I felt a bump. I touched it again. It made a loud buzzing noise and flew away. I am terrified of bugs so I was screaming, flailing my arms and tossing my hair wildly. If there actually was someone on the path they probably would think I was having a seizer.

20 minutes after I came back to the house and dragged myself inside the kitchen for water, I started to notice big pink welts on my body. Well, turns out that my mom didn't put enough bug-off spray on me and the mosquitoes had a feast. My skin had also turned red because I didn't bring any water and was dehydrated. Well, my fear of bugs hasn't ceased and I don't think I'm going jogging for a while...

We went to our Grandparents church service today. They are Episcopalian and I was surprised how different they are from Baptists like us. Since they branched off from the Catholics they still are very traditional and sing hymns. Their church leader, Father Tony, wore this white robe and some�sort of fabric around his neck and down his robe. Our Grandparents (who are actively involved in the church) were up on the stage and were also in white robes. They read out of these prayer books and this guy kept ringing a loud bell (It was part of the service.)

After that we went to second service. Casey and I went to youth group, my dad went to the men's bible study that my Grandpa leads, and my mom went to a class with my Grandma. I walked in the room with my sister and saw five mismatched sofas in a square shape. There was a curly haired kid sitting on the couch on the left, next to a girl who looked like she had sat in the sun with out sun block for her entire life. She had the reddest sun burn I have EVER seen. We introduced ourselves and told them who we were related to and that we live on a boat. They'd say in their Florida accents (really fast like an auctioneer), "A bay-ote? Cheryl did ya'll hear that they live on a bay-ote!" It was interesting to see their reactions. Anyway, more and more people filled the room and each stopped and stared at the sunburned girl named Sara who was a senior in high school, but looked half her age. They'd said "Good Lord, Sara! You got a sunburn!" and "Gracious Sara, you're skin's gonna PEEL!" I felt bad for her.

Finally the teacher walked in, she was a small woman with straight hair and pronounced bangs. "Mornin' y'all. Ah, we have new-comers!!" She looked at us. We told her our story. "A bay-ote??" We moved on. She told the class she was going to France soon to visit her son who lived there. "Oh, pack me in your suitcase. I'm a-comin' with you!" said the sunburned girl. "She can't go with you!" said another girl on the corner couch to the teacher. "The bag-checker�people will get your suitcase and smell somethin' burnin'!"

We studied the book of Ruth in the first chapter. One of the teachers (there were two) attempted to "set the stage" of how Ruth felt as she went with her mother-in-law to a new country..."O.K. Imagine you are in Mexico, left all your family and friends, deprived of all comfort, people around you don't speak your language, and you don't get any foods you are familiar with." "Story of my life," I said laughing at the irony. "Fine," she said, "Pretend you live in AFRICA..." After church we went and got burgers. It was a full day.