My parents came to visit me on the island for two days. The left yesterday morning. I cried the minute I saw them, I cried the minute they left.

I showed them pretty much the entire island in one day. In a little Kia Spectra, to boot!

Something my father said while they were here that I will never forget:

“I was just thinking about the perfect vacuum cleaner.  There really isn’t one.”

I’ll let you guess how many beers ice cream cones my father enjoyed before making that priceless comment.

Last week my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dennis came to visit me for the afternoon, and what a time we had!  I’ve never hit up so many bars ice cream shops in my life.

This visit was great for many reasons.  One, because I really was in need of a relaxing afternoon.  Two, because I had yet to really take advantage of finally being 21 years old.  But the best part of the visit?  I found out who my father really is, via a nickname I had never heard of before.  And I won’t reveal the story behind the nickname, but if you know my dad and if you see him around, just call him B.C.M.S.  I would really appreciate it.

As you should know, Phelps won his 8th gold, beat Mark Spitz’s 36-year-old record and proved to the world that he has bionic limbs and can shoot lasers out of his eyes. He is like a much smaller version of Godzilla. He also eats 12,000 calories a day. Your mission for this week is to top his number, eating 13,000 a day. By the end of this week, you will have either died, or you will become the next Michael Phelps. You decide.

On Monday, I went for a serious bike ride. I was dead serious until I hit this dip:

I got scared and turned around.

But today?  Today I did it.  Look Ma, no hands!

Things I am currently unhappy about:

• the storm that woke me up during my last hour of sleep a few nights ago
• my broken CD/DVD drive on my computer
• the one textbook I am going to have to purchase for my one class this fall

Things I am currently happy about:

• my new camera
• my new camera
• my new camera