Coors Bay, Colorado~

Dear Journal~

Hello!  This is your friend, Summer Parkingham, writing; hope this finds you well!  As for me, I couldn't be better; in fact, I'm doing fantastic!

We are on vacation as I write this; vacation finds us in Colorado, where we are staying with my aunt Stevie, her husband Tyler, and their four (rambunctious) kids, Ash Tegan (6), River Hamilton (8), Briar Rose (11), and Stone Tyler (14).  They are all wonderful people, and we are having fun playing with our cousins. 

The weather is so much nicer here in the mountains than it is back home:  crisp, cool, clean air, unlike the smog-congested, humid, hot air of Nashville, Tennessee, our home!  If I could, I'd try to sweet-talk my parents into letting us move to Colorado!  :)

Ramey is doing better at her walking.  She still wears the braces on her legs and uses a cane (or a crutch), but she's ditched the walker and is getting around with little difficulty.  We are proud as to how far she's come since having her stroke; the progress she's made has been nothing short of astonishing!

We are working hard at trying to get along better; after all, in a way, I still feel responsible for what's happened to my little sister.  I don't want her to experience anything like that ever again; it was horrible; I still have nightmares about it, even after all these months later!

Ramey still can't move her one hand; she's since learned to do everything with her opposite hand.  She must be doing good because her writing no longer looks like chickenscratch, and the other day she threw a bar of soap at me, and it hit me square right between the eyes:  clocked me good!  LOL

Don't ever tell her she can't do anything:  she'll prove you wrong, every time!  :)

We've been in Colorado for nearly one week; it will be a week tomorrow.  We are staying for several more weeks, then head on back, where we then start school.  For now, however, I mustn't think of that; I must concentrate on having fun, doing whatever I want, with no time constraints or problems nagging at me!

So far since we've been here, I've been doing a lot of swimming, hiking, rock climbing, and looking at the animals we've seen scurrying about.  It's wonderful!!

I hope one time we can come here for Christmas; I bet Uncle Ty's condo is pretty that time of year!  And I can get some serious snow skiing in!  I absolutely love to ski!!  I know Colorado has some awesome powder snow; I'd love to try to ski in that!

Well, hell's bells, I gotta go.  Stupid Ash just peed the bed; I found it.  I laid on the wet spot!  Gross!  Now I gotta wake up his parents and tell them their youngest had an accident!  I will write in here again, probably one day next week or at least when I get back  home to Tennessee!  Until then, this is Summer Parkingham saying peace out!  God bless and talk to you again soon!  Loves ya!

~Summer P.  :)

Stupid brat cousins!  I'm gonna murderlize Ash Teagan Parkingham!!  GRRR!!!!  >:(