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The sky was clear when we left the house. The beach was empty when we arrived. We splashed and played and hunted shells. 

The skies grew darker and darker. Finally thunder was heard and we called it a day! Walking quickly, in the water while distracted by shells, to the car. We got in the car just as a monsoon hit!

I attended a Forestry Camp at Brooker Creek this week. It was called Teens for Trees.We learned about urban forestry, insects, diseases, the value of a tree and so much more. We got to plant a tree at Brooker to replace the one struck by lightning.  We learned how to properly clean up a tree and trim it. Urban Forestry came out and gave a wonderful demonstration on proper techniques. We learned about run off and how certain fertilizers can pollute the waterways in addition to oils and gasoline.This was an AMAZING camp and I hope they do it again in the future and more kids attend.

We didn’t do much for there4th. Grandma came down for lunch. We built some Lego sets. E made a really cool cake! All in all it was a very quiet holiday, just like me like them! We treated the cats with some new catnip infused beds. They loved them!

We got to the class a wee but early and had time to kill. I passed the time making Mom take stupid selfies. We were eager to learn all about CPR and how to help save lives if we ever needed too. We got to practice on these dummies, small baby sized dummies and even got to use the AED. The babies were digital and the lights on the diaper would blink green if you were going it correctly. Staying alive staying alive…ah…ahhh. ahhh. ahhh. We learned the rhythm and the song to help us remember. 

Mom, E and I are all not CPR certified. Hopefully we never have to use it but it was an excellent experience. They also gave a crash course in Narcam and drug overdoses, that was scary stuff!

We went back to bug camp for the second year. I absolutely love this place. We were happy to see Dr. Baldwin again. Mom volunteered and was dubbed “Camp Mom”.  We had a lot of fun sharing our knowledge and gaining more. I wasn’t really into the bug store this year but then saw that there were baby mantids. Then I was all about the bug store until I had enough to get my mantid. The river is always a highlight. I brought home a ridiculous amount of insects and other arthropods.  I made some new friends! 🙂 Part of what was in the motorhome. I really enjoyed touring the labs the most. I loved to see what other people were working on and just love the urban pest labs. We learned all about fleas! Such knowledge to share! We saw a mini tractor pull! We got to hold the roaches. They were so fun. We ate buggy snacks. Mom even tried everything! The guest speakers were awesome and today we got to dissect grasshoppers. It was super stinky but I think I did a great job.  Night hunting was amazing at the Santa Fe River. The caddis flies were out in mass numbers and quickly coated the collection sheets. Touring the entomology collection was epic. I was amazed at the depth and breadth of the collection that they have. The specimens are remarkable!  Final day awards and good-byes. I won best collection for my age group. I really worked hard on it.