Here I am, in West Virginia!

Hello future readers!

Why do I feel like I wanna break into a John  Denver song? *giggle* Yep, I arrived today in Falling Waters. Mrs. Walton met me at the airport with a big hug and a chocolate bar for the long ride to their house.

But Vivienne wasn't with her. Mrs. Walton said that Vivienne hadn't quite finished cleaning up her room, so she stayed home so she could get it done. I still had fun on the drive, though. I ate my chocolate bar (how did she know Nestle's Crunch bars are my favorite?), and rapped about school and Springfield and my mom, and stuff. We also sang along with the radio, and played a game to see how many red cars we could spot in 10 minutes. Before I knew it, we were pulling into the Walton's driveway. Vivienne ran outta the house to meet me!

I was so happy to see her! It seems like forever since we got to be together, (even though it was in March, but when you're 9, that's forever!). Her mom asked if she finished cleaning her room, and she said she did. Mrs. Walton pulled out her camera and took some snapshots of us.

Vivienne couldn't wait to show me her room. It had been re-decorated since my last visit. So we walked up to the house and we went up to her room.

I love the way Vivienne's room looks now. Her wallpaper is so groovy! And she has a trundle bed now, so we each get our own beds! Outta site!

                                                            "Ahh...nice and comfy!"

We sat on her bed and rapped a while. She kept saying how much fun we were gonna have at Camp Falling Waters. She and the other kids had already been going there for 2 weeks, and they were having such a groovy time that she just knew I was gonna love it!

Then we heard a voice calling "Hey everybody! I'm home!" It was Vivienne's dad! I've really missed him. He's a super nice guy! We ran downstairs to the living room. Mr. Walton picked Vivienne up and swung her around, and said, "How's my little girl?" Vivienne giggled and said, "Fine, Daddy". Then he picked me up and swung me around and said "How's my other little girl?"  I giggled too, and said "I'm fine, Mr. Walton. How are you?" He said that he had a hard day and was happy to be home with his family. I really love how Vivienne's parents make me feel like I'm family. And if Vivienne's my pretend sister, it'll be nice to have a pretend father, even if it's just for a week. Then Mrs. Walton sent us to go wash up, 'cos dinner was ready. Oh boy! I really like Mrs. Walton's cooking, and I was pretty hungry. That chocolate bar didn't go very far. We had chicken, salad, corn, watermelon, fresh baked bread, lemonade and yellow cake with chocolate frosting for dessert. Yummy!

Man, what a meal! I think Mrs. Walton is the greatest cook in the whole world (next to my mom, of course). Then Vivienne wanted to toast my first day in West Virginia with lemonade. I could feel myself blushing when everyone said "To Julie", but it made me feel special, too.

After dinner, Vivienne wanted to play outside. Since it's summer, it's light outside until almost 9 o'clock. We changed our clothes and headed out. Vivienne's house is on an acre of land, so there's lotsa room to play. I almost felt like Laura in Little House On The Prairie, playing in the woods! We climbed trees and chased each other and played hide and seek!

Then Vivienne showed me her playhouse.  A playhouse? Wow! Is she ever lucky! I wish I had a playhouse. I'd make up my own club and have parties, and play with my dolls in it, and maybe I'd even sleep in it sometimes!

It didn't have any furniture in it, but it had a loft! It was like Little House on the Prairie! I asked Vivienne If she ever pretended she was Laura Ingalls in her Pa'a cabin. She said she didn't really like to play in it that much 'cos spiders like to hide in there. I didn't care, I still wanted to climb up to the loft.

Ha! I made it! It sure is high! I'm gonna have to talk Vivienne into playing in here sometimes. Well, it was starting to get dark, so we had to go back to the house. And I was getting kinda tired anyway. I've had a super busy day! After we put on our jammies and brushed our teeth, we sat and talked for a while. She asked about all my friends in Springfield, even the boys. I told her everyone likes her and really misses her.

When I started to yawn, Vivienne offered me her bed and she'd sleep in the trundle. Awww, that was really sweet of her.

                                                         Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

                                                             "Julie? Are you asleep yet?"
                                                               "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

                                    "Oh well, I'm sure she won't mind that I climbed in here
                                                                  with her. G'night Julie."


*yawn* Until next time future readers,
Your friend,
Julie Newman