Daily Chat: Lil Survivors Week 6 Ocono Tribe

From Colleen, can you believe it is week 6 already? Welcome to the new hidden location! The heavenly choirs wake you early with their sweet resounding voices and a frech breeze blows in from the west filling your camp with the smell of tropical blooms!

09:55
May 20, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy awakens to the daylight and not only are birds singing, but those beautiful choral voices are singing as well. She smiles. She loves to hear them sing on Sundays. She wakes up kind of homesick. She misses her Mom and Dad and little sister and older sister. Her mother is a ballet dancer and loves to teach Mandy how to dance. Mandy stands up and does a few ballet steps in the sand. She thinks about them real hard, hoping that they are thinking about her too.

To shake her homesickness, she decides to look around for nature things that she can make something out of. She has to keep busy today...too much thinking equals too much homesickness!

09:56
May 20, 2001

Lola awakens to the sound of the choirs, which makes her smile. It reminds her of the choir back home at church. She wonders if her older sister is singing in church today. She is often asked to sing solos. Lola gets up and stretches and heads for the water to wash up. She hopes the weather isn't so warm and sticky today.

10:08
May 20, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Wakes up to the sound of the music too, it reminds her of home too. she wonders what her mean ole big brother Galen is up to. she misses him in her own way but not too much as he is a bully and they fight a lot. She sees that mandy and Lola are already up so she thwops roxie in the head with her pillow again and gets up and runs for the potty spot in the woods, to start her day off right, then decides it is time to go and take a nice bath in the ocean, what the heck, it is sunday and they cannot do too much else but play and have a good time, still have a few days to worry about challenges, gosh, she sure hopes they can win again, right now it would be so hard to have to send anybody home.

11:48
May 20, 2001

From Colleen

The wind has completely died down, no breeze, but the sun is hiding in the clouds today! It's only 77 degrees with continuing light rain all day and night. put any open barrels or pots out to catch some rainwater if you can, and if you want to take a nice shower, you could do it by finding a nice spot with a solid runoff of water. Have fun!

15:27
May 20, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy jumps up and down in the rain. It feels so good. It is too hot, since the breeze died down. She unpins her hair and shakes it around in the rain. "Look, everyone! I'm having a rainwater shower for my hair!" she giggles. The girls have been playing all day. It is fun on Sunday because you can't cook, so you can play and really enjoy the day. "Does anyone want to play horseshoes?"

16:23
May 20, 2001

Roxie

It's a wonderful day! I'm going to strip down and take a soapy shower! Then let's play in the rain. Horseshoes, tag, chase each other, whatever...

Aren't you happy girls?

17:39
May 20, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Yes, Roxie, this is a happy day!" says Mandy as she continues to dance in the rain. "Lyda Ruth and Lola, do you want to play a game of chase or a game of horseshoes?" "I would love to play either one!"

19:05
May 20, 2001

Lola laughs, dancing around in the rain. "I think it would be more fun to chase each other. Or maybe play keepaway. Do we have anything we could toss?"

19:24
May 20, 2001

Roxie

OK Lola,let's chase each other! We can use the immunity idol to play keep away? This warm rain feels so good. Lyda Ruth, come on....Mandy, do you want to start the game?

Runs around the camp, laughing and singing...

20:36
May 20, 2001

Lola catches the idol from Roxie and tosses it to Mandy. "You're it, Lyda Ruth," she giggles.

21:23
May 20, 2001

Lyda Ruth

While the other girls are frolicking in the rain, Lyda has been chasing fiddler crabs up and down the beach. They are quick little fellas and run sideways as fast as they can and disappear into their holes. but suddenly there is a big orange one who stops and just stares at Lyda, she inches closer and closer and still he sits and stares. She slowly reaches out her hands to him and he crawls up her fingers and rests on her palm!!!

"Hey girls," she calls excitedly, "come look what I found, or should I say what found me!!! He is as tame as can be, I think I will keep him for a pet like cobra did. but I will not lock him up in a container, if he wants to leave he can, but I think he wants to stay with me, I will call him Clyde"

21:25
May 20, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy plays keep away with the others until Lyda Ruth calls them all over to see her new pet. "Oh, cool!" says Mandy. "He is really cute!" Mandy pokes a finger at him and he just stares at her. "What do you suppose he eats?" she asks.

Mandy thinks it is pretty neat that they have such a cute new friend in the group.

22:12
May 20, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Unfortunately, it is getting dark and since they can't have a campfire, there's not much they can do once it gets dark. Mandy walks down to the ocean and washes her face. She then goes to the potty area before it gets so dark that it is scary to go there.

She comes back to camp, gets a drink of water, and then walks over to where the other girls are sitting. "Good night. I'm getting sleepy and since it is getting dark, I think I'll just head to bed. Lyda, I love Clyde! He is really going to be a cute pet. Have you discovered what he likes to eat yet? Well, I need to sleep. Good night!" Mandy goes over to the shelter and crawls under the beach blanket. She is soon asleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

22:27
May 20, 2001

Lola gives Clyde the once-over and nods her approval. "He is very cute, Lyda Ruth. I wonder if he likes taro. What do crabs eat anyway?"

23:03
May 20, 2001

Lola yawns. "I'm getting sleepy too, Mandy. I think I will go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow the weather will be nice and we can go hunt for some more food." She settles down on Roxie's pillow. "Good night, everybody!" Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

23:04
May 20, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Tells the girls, "I think crabs are scavengers and eat what they can find, I just gave him a bit of cooked taro and he loved it!! I'm gonna set him over here in the corner of the shelter where we won't roll over on him, if he is still here in the morning I bet he wants to stay with us. Goodnight Mandy, Lola and Roxie, we sure had a great day running around in the rain and playing. I am a rainy day person, I love to be in the rain and hear the wind blow, it is just so peaceful somehow, know what I mean?"" Settles in on top of her ducky rain coat and pulls her blanket up to her chin, nudges Roxie over a bit so she can share the pillow, that they have all 4 taken up using as a community pillow, and whispers goodnight over to Clyde, then nods off while she is wating for that ever elusive sandman to make his appearance.

00:07
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy awakens and looks around the shelter. "Wow, there's Clyde! He's still here!" She crawls over to him and pokes her finger in his face. He just wiggles his claws around a little, but doesn't try to pinch her. Mandy smiles and gets up to dress. Yesterday was a totally stress free and fun day. Today, though, they have work to do! Mandy grabs the water bottles and heads down to the stream. She puts the bottles in the sand and then runs downstream for a refreshing bath. She splashes around in the shallow water for quite some time. Finally, she climbs back out of the stream and dresses. She goes back upstream and fills the water bottles. Once back in camp, she stokes up the fire and starts to boil the water.

Mandy looks over at the shelter. Everyone is still asleep, even Roxie! "Hmmmmm, I must be up really early!" she thinks. She quietly grabs a rubber glove and a container and goes out Taro hunting. Today is a good day! She finds about 10 Taro roots and even ends up finding 3 limes! She brings them all back to camp and places them on the table. She then takes the water off the fire and pours it into the water tank. She's getting hungry! "I hope the others wake up soon so we can make something to eat!"

07:24
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy can't stand it any longer...she's too hungry. She goes over to the sleeping girls, yanks the pillow out from under Roxie's head and starts another pillow fight. Thunk!

10:25
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy throws the pillow at the girls and quickly runs away before they can hit her back. She is giggling and laughing and having a great time! She feels very silly today!

10:39
May 21, 2001

Lola awakens with a start as her head hits the ground. She hears Mandy giggling and sees Lyda Ruth and Roxie looking as stunned as she is. Lola jumps up, chasing Mandy, giggling all the while. It looks like they are going to have another fun day. Lola goes down to the water to wash up and decides to take a quick swim before breakfast.

11:46
May 21, 2001

Lyda Ruth

After watching the girls chasing each other for a bit she remembers her new pet and looks around for him, and there he is!!!! she holds her hand out and he crawls right up into her palm and waves his pincher back and forth like he is saying hello. "Good morning clyde, did you sleep well?" she asks him, and then gets up and wanders over to their kitchen area to find him a bit of food.

11:54
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Oh, can I help feed Clyde, Lyda Ruth?" says Mandy as she runs back to camp. "I played with him this morning. He is so friendly!"

Mandy helps Lyda Ruth look for some food for him. "What should we have for breakfast? I'm awfully hungry today!" says Mandy. "Do you think we should make oatmeal for breakfast?"

12:38
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Roxie, what do you want to eat for breakfast?"

13:29
May 21, 2001

Roxie

"Yes, let's have oatmeal for breakfast! That will fill our tummies and start our day off right. Hi Clyde! You're a cutie. Lyda Ruth, how did you get him to be so tame? He's adorable. Lola and Mandy, how did you sleep? I had a dream that someone pulled my pillow out from under my head and then I woke up...hahaha...It seemed so real. She laughs out loud. Mandy, you stinker!"

Starts chasing Mandy around and tickles her when she gets to her. "That'll teach you to wake up up that way! You sure are sneaky!"

13:35
May 21, 2001

Lyda Ruth

"Yeah, let's have oatmeal for breakfast, I think Clyde will like it just fine too. I also think we should cut down some more leaves for our beds and hunt for some more food, let's keep busy before the next challenge, maybe if we don't spend a lot of time worrying about it we will be more relaxed and winning will come easy, cause we just have to win!!!"

14:14
May 21, 2001

Lola agrees. "I think we need to concentrate on working today. Why don't we go off in pairs after breakfast?" She pets Clyde, amazed at how tame he is. "Lyda Ruth, Clyde is so cute. He makes me miss my pets at home."

14:39
May 21, 2001

Roxie

"OK, who wants to go with me? I'd like to look for fruit and get more water. Or do you have any suggestions? It's a little hot today but at least there is a breeze. Lyda Ruth....you really are an animal lover. I would like to have one of these exotic birds for a pet. But they like the wild better. I would love to have a parrot! Wouldn't that be neat!!!! I've always been fond of big birds."

Looks to the others to see if they are paying attention to her.

17:28
May 21, 2001

All 4 girls

Worked long and hard all day, cutting branches and dragging them back to camp, stoking the fire, bringing home kindling. Lola caught some crabs for dinner, this rainy weather has really brought them out, they keep Clyde up in the shelter so he does not see what they are having for dinner. After cleaning up their supper mess, they clean themsleves up and settle down in front of the fire for a little story telling. Lyda has Clyde snuggled in her hands, he is gently waving his pincher back and forth enjoying being petted on. Roxie is in a quiet mood, they are mainly just sitting and relaxing and telling each other stories about their families and pets, school and other things back home that they like.

21:29
May 21, 2001

Lola agrees. "I'll go with you, Mandy. Lyda and Roxie can get some leaves for our beds and we can get food and water. Come on." The girls race off into the woods.

21:50
May 21, 2001

Lola settles down between Roxie and Lyda at the campfire. "Okay, do you want to tell ghost stories, sing like last night, or talk about our families?"

22:15
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"We could talk about our families. Did I tell you that I have two sisters? Their names are Sarah and Kayly. Sarah is older. She is in the 5th grade in school. Kayly is only two, but she is funny. She likes to jump on her bed." Mandy laughs while thinking about that. "Mom teaches ballet and Dad is a photographer. I sure do miss them..."

Mandy pulls at some grass on the ground as she shares her family story...

23:03
May 21, 2001

Lola listens to Mandy, then tells about her own family. "My dad's a dentist. He would have a fit if he knew we aren't brushing our teeth here." She giggles. "My mom used to be a reporter, but now she stays home and takes care of my three sisters. Lee is the oldest. She can be really bossy sometimes. Then there's Marti. She tells really good bedtime stories. And Rosie is just a baby."

23:47
May 21, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy listens intently to Lola as she tells about her family. "Oh, you have all sisters too!" says Mandy.

"What types of stories did your Mom used to report?" she asks, very curious now...

00:20
May 22, 2001

from colleen

as the fire dims down just a little before someone stokes it up or adds firewood there is a rustling sound up in the trees, then a whoosh and a whirr and suddenly there is something dark and furry flapping around under the shelter roof! A bat seems to have gotten lost in there.

00:39
May 22, 2001

Lola ducks down and covers her head. She remembers her mom warning her about protecting her hair. As soon as she sees the bat has passed, she looks at her friends, a bit shaken. "Maybe we should go to bed. I don't like bats."

00:58
May 22, 2001

The girls head for bed, huddling a little closer on Roxie's pillow and under Lyda's raincoat. As Lola drifts off to sleep, she has dreams about watching Dark Shadows on Sci-Fi with her dad and cuddling on his lap during the scary parts. She sure hopes that bat isn't Barnabas.

01:16
May 22, 2001

From Angie

As you settle down to sleep, you feel things brushing against your legs and arms. There seem to be a lot of them, and Lyda Ruth feels a sharp yank on her hair...it feels like it has been pulled out by its roots! You can all see little shadows moving in the moonlight. Your sleeping space has been invaded by little crabs...and they are busily eating anything dropped or left out.

They all leave after you all stir a bit and scare them off. Even Clyde has high tailed it out of there with his buddies....they did the old dine and dash routine.

01:26
May 22, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy comes out from under the covers when it is daylight and safe to come out. She looks around the camp and sees a lot of crab tracks in the sand. She looks around for Clyde..."Lyda Ruth, wake up!" Mandy taps her friend on the shoulder as she says this. "I don't see Clyde anywhere!"

08:07
May 22, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy starts to cry. "I thought we finally had a nice pet!" she wails, covering her face. She tries to regain her composure for her friend's sake...

08:09
May 22, 2001

From Colleen

Good Morning Islanders! It's a nice day with a strong breeze from the east-northeast, mostly cloudy but no sign of rain (yet anyway). There is a strong heat index warning!!!! no strenuous activity today, if you are out in the sun it is almost exhausting in the humid hot air. Hopefully that will cool off later. It's 86 degrees with a heat index of 96.

10:44
May 22, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Jumps up from her sleeping spot, dashes out to the beach frantically searching for Clyde, Mandy and the others run behind her looking and calling for him. Finally Lyda spots a familiar looking pincher waving from a hole in the sand. she crawls over to the hole and whispers Clyde's name. Slowly he comes creeping out and crawls into her hand, "Hey you stinker, why did you run away??? Were you the one who pulled my hair last night?" On closer inspection she notices a few strands of dark hair caught in his smaller pincher, and gently pulls them free. "I bet your friends came for you last night and you wanted to warn me that they were gonna make you go away with them, that is why you pulled my hair, but that is ok, you are back with me where you belong and I will find you somewhere to sleep at night where they can't force you to leave with them again if you don't want!!!" the girls then head back to camp to straighten up their area and fix breakfast. Lyda tells them about her family back home. Her dad, Larry, is a used car salesman, her mom works for a flavor testing company. she has 2 older brothers Glen and Galen, and they have a dog named Scamper and an iguana named Iggy. she goes to John F. Dumont elementary school in Madeira OH and lives on a street called Osceola. Her best friends at school are Susan, Barbie, Patty, Monica and Debbie. they love to play with liddle kiddle dolls at recess, and have a corner of the playground where they hang out they call the little corner. they have a straw that they pretend can grow and a pet worm they call Rormy. they have a make believe friend they call George who stays behind their bedroom dressers and peeks out over the top at night when they are in bed and looks at them, he is funny. Lyda is in the Brownies, and goes to church at the New Apostolic church in Springdale where her best friend is named Holly Jean. there are 5 brothers there named Tim, John, David, Peter and Andrew Bell and Lyda has a crush on John, and Holly Jean has a crush on David. Their favorite preacher is Priest Haag, he is plump and jolly. Evangeslist Sonny is a bit stricter but nice too. Lyda begins to miss home, as she tells her friends about her life.

11:15
May 22, 2001

From Colleen

sorry gals, I truly hate to disillusion you, but there is no way you'd be able to find the same crab. You can certainly find A crab, but not THE crab...no strands of hair in its pinchers...

14:01
May 22, 2001

From Colleen, also I need to mention this one persitant habit of crabs, they do pinch, a lot, and are not exactly tameable.

14:02
May 22, 2001

Lola dons her swimsuit, deciding to take advantage of the hot weather and go for a swim. She checks Mandy's fish trap while she is there and sees one small fish has been caught. She decides to leave it there and check back before she returns to camp, just in case any more are caught. She wants some time alone because all this talk of Clyde and home reminds her of her dog Buddy who ran away.

15:54
May 22, 2001

From Lyda Ruth's Mom

As this is a fantasy play, I believe crabs can become good pets to 4 and 5 year old girls stranded on an island, catching food, building fires etc....over the years I myself had had several different kinds of crabs for pets, including hermit tree crabs, and fiddler crabs. I have also been to Cape Hatteras and chased the big crabs all over the beach at night and caught a few. While of course Clyde is fictional, he does fit the profile of what these crabs look like and act like, and he keeps the kids entertained, besides Lyda is gonna bring him home with her and he will be her pet for always. Just having a little fun here, the kids have to have something to do with their time.

16:22
May 22, 2001

From Colleen, I can't/won't stop the girls from keeping this guy as a pet, but he is a pet that pinches and does scramble away if given the chance and not kept captive, and he does not answer to his name, smile back at them or such things. keeping him as a pet in a container is certainly doable, expecting him to ACT like a pet is not. enjoy the game!

16:31
May 22, 2001

Roxie

"Hi girls! I tried to go for a little walk, but it is too hot and humid! I think it's a good day to sit in the shade and talk some more. Shall I tell you a little about myself? I live with my Mom in upstate NY. The place on my bio is incorrect. My father is deceased and I never really knew him. I'm an only child but have a close friend named Danny. We play together most every day and go surfing at every opportunity. He likes to work out like I do and is really fit. I have a cockatiel named Tootoo. She is really cool. I mentioned before that it would be neat to have a colorful parrot like on this island. My Mom is a secretary at our church and knows all the church gossip. I go up and help her once in a while. I want to take classes to become a personal trainer when I'm old enough. I really like helping people to exercise and get in shape. I have an addiction to my down pillows which is why I brought one for my luxury item. I find it hard to sleep without it."

"What else would you like to know about me?"

19:42
May 22, 2001

from Colleen per Angie, no parrots on Kosrae, other colorful lovely birds, but no parrots... :)

19:45
May 22, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Roxie, it sounds like you have a lot of fun with your friend Danny." says Mandy as she listens intently. "I would love to see your Cockatiel sometime!"

20:25
May 22, 2001

Roxie

"Yes, I have fun with Danny. I guess I'm kinda a tomboy! I never had girls close to me until you all! I love having girlfriends!"

20:28
May 22, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"I like having friends like all of you too!" says Mandy as she smiles at her friends. She pokes her fingers at Clyde, but he is not interested in being disturbed right now. Maybe he is asleep. It is so hot and humid out today. The girls aren't able to do much more than sit around and talk...

20:36
May 22, 2001

Lola agrees. "I like having you guys for friends too. It reminds me of home because there are so many girls around. Between my sisters and our friends, our house is always full of girls."

22:58
May 22, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy is getting very sleepy. She pokes her finger at Clyde and he tries to grab her finger. "Hey, don't pinch me! I'm your friend!" She then puts a piece of banana next to him. She then gets ready to sleep and goes to the shelter to snuggle under the beach blanket. She needs lots of rest for tomorrow's rewards! "Good night all!"

23:08
May 22, 2001

The other girls head for bed.

23:30
May 22, 2001

Lola settles down beside her friends. "Good night, girls. Rest up for the challenge tomorrow."

23:30
May 22, 2001

Roxie

"Goodnight Lola,Mandy and Lyda Ruth! Sweet dreams!"

00:08
May 23, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy awakens with the sunrise once again. She is anxious for the Reward challenge today and hopes she will be able to win some things for the tribe. She dresses quickly in pants and the Ocono shirt and heads to the stream with the water bottles. She once again decides that a refreshing bath is in store, so she goes along downstream and jumps in. It is very warm today, even for morning, so the water feels especially good. She dunks her head under water and splashes around for quite awhile.

After her bath, she fills the water bottles up stream and comes back to camp to boil the water. As usual, the fires are still slightly burning from yesterday. The girls take great steps to protect the fire overnight. They put extra kindling on before bed and try to shelter the flames from any rain. It is a lot of work, but it is worth it not to have to relight the fire daily. They have enough trouble relighting it on Mondays! Mandy stokes up the fire again and boils the water. She then checks the trap for fish...

07:22
May 23, 2001

Roxie

"Hey Mandy, there you go doing all the work again! I know you're just trying to be efficient, but you should wake me up to help you! I don't want you to wear yourself out!Hahaha....you are really a good tribe mate. What would we do without you? I wonder what the weather will be like today? I'd like to go and take a bath this morning and I'll come back and help with camp. So give me a hug and I'll hurry back."

Hugs Mandy and then walks toward the stream, breaking into a light jog as she leaves the camp...

11:26
May 23, 2001

From Colleen Good Morning Kosrae! It's a calm cloudy day, 78 degrees and no sign of rain! Not too hot and perfect for a day of fun in the sun...

12:36
May 23, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Sleeps in as she had a bad night for some reason she did not sleep well, she checks on clyde and sees he is sleeping iin his container, he still has some banana to eat, so she goes to the water and jumps in to wake herself up. then readies herself to go and pig out at the luau.

14:42
May 23, 2001

Lola races back to camp for a minute. "Hey girls, I've been to the luau. You won't believe all the food there is. And guess what! I won a box of Hohos. Come on, lets go back and fill up. We are sure to have tummyaches tomorrow, but boy are we going to have fun today."

14:53
May 23, 2001

From Colleen, slight correction, hahah!!! it's a box of Yodels (just like hohos) full of 8 yodels.

15:19
May 23, 2001

From Colleen: the 4 postcards are on bright colorful cards:

The first is from Lwillo: "Hey Li'l Survivors---You all have been very strong, brave and creative! Don't give up; it's just a little more time to go =) All your mommies miss you very much and are preparing lots of treats and fun surprises when you get home. "

"Love, Cousin Laurel =)"

23:28
May 23, 2001

From Colleen: the 2nd card has a postmark from overseas!

"Hi guys, Here's a short note from your Auntie Yke from a sunny Amsterdam. I hope you are all having a blast and we all keep our fingers crossed for you! keep up the good work! Miss you!"

"Love, Auntie Yke"

23:29
May 23, 2001

From Colleen: the 3rd card also has a postmark from overseas!

"My Dear Little Ones! Just a short notice to let you know we are fine up here and think about you every day. We got snow here last night so the ground is all white. Don't know where the spring went. I hope you have better weather conditions down there :-) "

"Love & Big hugs to you from Cousin Kat :-)" (Katarina)

23:30
May 23, 2001

From Colleen: the 4th card is on a lovely flowery postcard,

"Hello! This is Auntie Loanne. It's been quite awhile since I've seen you and miss you terribly. Everyone here are cheering for you and hope your group succeeds. You've done a tremendous job so far. Keep at it! Your family and I are rooting for you!"

"Love, Auntie Loanne"

23:31
May 23, 2001

From Colleen, as the players start to walk back from the luau, and as the shadows grow darker as the night creeps in you start hearing crunching noises under your feet! bugs? leaves? you shine a torch down to see the ground and it looks like a positive carpet of tiny crabs! They are marching en masse towards the sandy beaches by your camp. They are small things, but as you approach some seem to charge, pinchers raised in the air and waving you off! It is stupid to be intimidated by something so small in relation to a person, but they look really scary!

There is a positive horde of them and as you get closer to camp they are everywhere, you hear them rustling in the underbrush, you see clumps of them on your backpacks, in the shadows, on the logs and everywhere.

00:15
May 24, 2001

From Colleen: The tiny crabs are everywhere, some walking right over your feet as they head to the ocean to mate and lay eggs. It's pretty creepy hearing them move around, and seeing the hundreds of them shifting in the corner of your eye. It's going to be a long night!

00:27
May 24, 2001

Lola eyes the crabs which seem to be everywhere. She tries to be brave. "Okay, there may be more of them than there are of us, but we are bigger. Right? Let's try to get some sleep. I will keep my book handy, just in case they start crawling on us and we need to swat them." She huddles close to her friends on Roxie's pillow, hoping that if they stick together, the crabs won't get them. She falls asleep quickly, her tummy truly full for the first time she's been on Kosrae. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

01:13
May 24, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy woke up frightened. She kept dreaming about those crabs. She dreamed that they were chasing her all over the island and that they wanted to eat her in a Luau! "Boy am I glad it is morning!" thought Mandy to herself.

"Roxie, are you awake?" she asks quietly. Roxie stirs a little, but she looks so peaceful that Mandy doesn't have the heart to wake her up. The crabs are still all over the place. Mandy starts to think they would make a good supper, so she starts picking them up and putting them into an empty oatmeal barrel. They will keep like that as long as they are alive...Mandy gathers up about 20 of the crabs and the barrel is full. She puts the lid on tight and places a rock on top to keep them inside. "Oh, they are going to be angry when we do try to take them out!" she thinks. She then dresses for today's challenge in her Ocono Shorts and wrap around top. Today's challenge is going to be fun! She then heads to the stream for water...

07:41
May 24, 2001

Roxie

Yawn..."Hi Lola, did you sleep well? I guess Mandy is already gone to get water? I just can't seem to wake up as early as she does. I like my sleep! I guess I'll go for a walk and then take a bath......hey! We have shampoo and toothbrushes! Let's all get cleaned up!!!! This is such a happy day! We had such a nice luau yesterday. I'm glad I went." Sees Lyda Ruth stirring..."Lyda, are you feeling better today? It's a shame you couldn't try the games yesterday. They were challenging! We even won some prizes!"

"Lyda, are you awake???"

11:06
May 24, 2001

Lola wakes up groggily, feeling a little nauseated. She gets up for some water and takes one of the Alka-Seltzer, wondering if it was too much food or just the weird combinations that have her tummy jumping. "Hi Roxie. Hi Mandy. Wake up, Lyda Ruth!" She sees Roxie washing her hair and decides that's a good idea, as her hair is getting pretty disgusting by now. She joins Roxie in the water. "I had the weirdest dream last night. It must have been the combination of food and all those crabs. I had a dream that the crabs carried us all off to a castle. And there was this king crab - and it was Clyde! And he talked!" She giggles.

11:17
May 24, 2001

From colleen: It's a hot hot day and as the sun vomes out the crabs seem to shift away. Hopefully the next full moon it won't be such a surprise. It is a little breezy, and the sky is cloudy with white puffy clouds. The temperature is only 87, but the heat index is 95, so you might actually be looking forward to the waterballoons to cool you off! Except a hit means a point which means 1 step closer to tribal council tomorrow. there was one short shower very early in the mornig, but it doesn't look like more showers anytime soon.

either email me or post on the challenge beach page when you want to take your challenge!!! Good luck everyone!

13:12
May 24, 2001

Lola decides to get the challenge over with early. She goes to challenge beach to take it and races back to camp, deleriously happy. "Girls, girls, I got two points! I hit Pierre twice and he missed me!" She giggles. "I am sure glad I've had a lot of experience throwing water balloons at home."

14:45
May 24, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Has been quiet and under the weather for the last 2 days. Comes groggily out of her sleeping area and stumbles down to the water to shampoo her hair too, that will at least make her feel better. she is sorry she missed the activities yesterday but after royally stuffing herself at the luau she was so stuffed and full she came back to camp and fell asleep and missed the whole thing. Next time she will know better than to be such a glutton. Hopefully she will do ok tonight when she takes the water balloon challenge, voting somebody else off would be too hard right now.

20:11
May 24, 2001

All 4 girls

After a long and exciting day of challenges they come back to the camp and relax, or try to, waiting for news on if the tie will be broken, as there is one kid who hadn't gone yet, they are nervous but hopeful that it will remian a tie and they will not lose!

23:36
May 24, 2001

Lola says, "Okay, who do you think should take the challenge if there is a tie?"

23:39
May 24, 2001

Mandy

"I'd be willing to throw a couple of them!" "I'd love to get some of them back!" Mandy giggles.

23:42
May 24, 2001

Lola nods. "Do you want to throw them all?"

23:43
May 24, 2001

Mandy

"After all," Mandy continues, "it is way too hot out today!" "I think they need to be cooled off a bit more!"

She laughs out loud at her own joke!

23:44
May 24, 2001

Lola joins her laughter. "Yes, we'd be doing them a favor to cool them off."

23:45
May 24, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Lola, I don't want to take all the fun away from the rest of you!" "If you would like to throw some, we can take turns." "Whichever way you want to do it."

23:46
May 24, 2001

Lola looks at Roxie. "What do you think? Do you want to throw any?"

23:46
May 24, 2001

Lola shrugs. "I don't care. I don't know if I could be lucky enough to hit anyone again."

23:47
May 24, 2001

From colleen

Gia is waiting at challenge ebach for any players who can play ina tie-breaker. Only 1 player is needed from each team, but more are welcome...

23:52
May 24, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"I think it is only fair if we take turns." says Mandy to her friends.

23:56
May 24, 2001

The kids return from the tie breaker, exhausted. They go straight to bed, hoping tomorrow's tie breaker will be less stressful.

00:37
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Good night all! It was fun, but I'm exhausted!" Mandy says with a yawn. She stumbles into the shelter and is snoring quietly almost immediately...Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

00:48
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy wakes up to a new day...an uncertain day. She is so terribly tired, having spent last night trying to beat those Nicarongs. "They sure are hard to beat!" she thinks to herself. Mandy looks at where she's been marking off the days...this is day 39 on the island. "Wow!" she thinks. She wonders what Gia has in store for them today as far as a tie breaker is concerned. She dresses quickly and goes down to the stream with the water bottles and shampoo. She is going to wash her hair and take a nice long bath!

08:20
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy finishes her bath and skips up the beach to fill the water bottles. She then returns to camp and starts the water boiling. Mandy noticed a new tree on her way back with the water, so she goes to investigate...

She runs back to the tree and realizes that it is an orange tree! They can have oranges and vitamin C! She quickly plucks off four of the ripest ones and returns to camp to surprise the girls for breakfast!

09:32
May 25, 2001

Roxie

Wow Mandy! Oranges??? That's great! We need the vitamin C and the fiber and the juice! Good job finding it! I guess I'll do my routine of power walking and then take a bath and wash my hair. First, I want to brush my teeth!

Smiles and walks over to the water supply

09:40
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Thanks for reminding me, Roxie! I almost forgot to brush my teeth!" Mandy giggles...

10:00
May 25, 2001

Lola wakes up after a restless night's sleep. She wonders if they have had any word yet about the tie breaker. She heads for the water to brush her teeth and wash her hair, then meets the girls back at camp. When she spies the oranges, her mouth drops open. "Wow, Mandy, you are a good finder!" She sits down to eat and discuss strategy for the challenge. She sure hopes they don't have to vote anyone else off.

10:52
May 25, 2001

From Colleen, it's an overcast day, with light sporadic showers. You don't need balloons to get wet today! It's 84 degrees with a fairly strong wind from the northeast.

I am doing another tie-breaker 5 more balloons for each team. All I need is one player from each team meet me at challenge beach. Good luck!

12:29
May 25, 2001

From Colleen, Nicarong has done their tie-breaker and scored 1 point, as soon as Ocono can go we will have a result.

13:38
May 25, 2001

From colleen: Roxie has taken her tie-breaker turn and it's official! you folks are trying to drive me crazy! check out the challenge beach page for results..."

15:49
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Oh, no...another tie?" Mandy cries. When will the suspense end? I can't stand it!"

She goes over to where the other girls are sitting and plops herself down on the ground. "Gee Whiz! This is so scary!"

16:15
May 25, 2001

From Colleen: Gia looks VERY tired now so she hopes we can resolve this soon! the tribal council will obviously take place tomorrow, and go on as long as it takes to get all votes in. since it is a holiday weekend, I may be slower to reply to emails but I'll check as often as I can. HERE is how the FINAL tiebreak will work. I am going to pick a square in the grid and NOT move around. The tribes will alternate throwing at me, ANY member can post here that they throw, just yell the square you are throwing at. WHOEVER hits me first wins immunity. I repeat, I will NOT be moving and will stay in the same square until hit. Sorry if this sounds all or nothing, but we have to to finish this one way or another. I am randomly rolling a dice to see who goes first...Nicarong goes first! if more than one person from a team posts I will take the first posted throw. Good luck!

16:24
May 25, 2001

From Colleen: the FINAL tiebreaker is over and Ocono has won immunity!

16:55
May 25, 2001

Lola jumps up and down and hugs each of her friends. "Yay! We can stay together another week!"

17:45
May 25, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Jumping up and down happily, "Roxie, you did it for us, twice now, the last tie and now the win, you go girl!!!" Runs over to check on Clyde, even he seems happy that their tribe will remain together, altho this could be wishful thinking on Lyda's part. "they are down to 6 now, and we are 4, I guess we will have to merge now, oh no, I wonder how that will go, if they will rub us out one at t time or what, will we still stick together as a tribe or what? We have to if we hope to survive a little longer!!!"

18:51
May 25, 2001

Lola dances around. "It's a holiday weekend. Let's celebrate! Why don't we get our work done early tomorrow, including getting lots of water for Sunday, and then we can have fun the rest of the weekend?"

22:22
May 25, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy stretches and yawns. It has been a very exhausting day. "Good night everyone!" We'll have fun tomorrow!

Mandy snuggles under the blanket.

00:16
May 26, 2001

The girls agree that they should have fun this weekend and head for bed. They tell each other good night and settle down to sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzz

00:21
May 26, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy wakes up very happy. Her friends are all still here and don't have to be voted off. Tomorrow is Sunday and play day. Life is good. Mandy is looking forward to playing all the games they now have...Monopoly, horseshoes, cards, soccer...they can play hide and seek or tag...what fun!

Mandy dresses and runs to the stream with the water bottles. They have a lot of boiling to do today to prepare for tomorrow. Mandy sees that some more oranges look ready to pick. She'll have to grab those on another trip. Busy, busy, busy...she smiles up at the birds in the trees and whistles as she skips along the path...

08:20
May 26, 2001

Lyda Ruth

Gets up and runs to the water to take a morning bath and wash her hair, she then plans on helping Mandy with the water and getting everything ready for tomorrow. She gives clyde a handful of oatmeal to nibble on and goes about her daily chores.

12:31
May 26, 2001

From Colleen: it's a cloudy windy day! ligtht showers but not for a long time, just off and on. It's only 86 butwith the heat index it feels like 96! The rain seems to be cooling things off and that strong wind from the west sure helps cool you off!

14:53
May 26, 2001

Roxie

"Anyone want to play a game? We haven't done much all day..."

16:51
May 26, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Roxie, do you want to play horseshoes?" "I really like this game!" exclaims Mandy. She and the others have worked hard all day and they have plenty of boiled water for tomorrow. Since the oranges are ripening, they can enjoy oranges tomorrow.

18:07
May 26, 2001

Roxie

"Sure, let's play horseshoes! That's a fun game. Maybe before dark, we can play a game of cards too?"

19:17
May 26, 2001

Lyda Ruth

"I'm up for a game of horse shoes now that the sun is going down a little and it isn't so hot. Maybe later we can sit around the fire and tell scary stories, especially since tomorrow we can't have a fire, I just love wood fires, don't you guys?"

21:17
May 26, 2001

Lola returns from checking Mandy's fish trap, where she has found two small fish. "Hey girls, look what we can have for dinner! Maybe we can make some banana taro cookies too." She notices the horseshoe game set up. "I'll clean the fish while you are playing, then someone else can cook them and I'll play."

21:39
May 26, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

"Fair enough, Lola. You clean the fish and I'll cook them." Mandy says. "Lyda Ruth, why don't you play a game against Roxie and I'll make some Taro banana cookies. I'll make extra ones for tomorrow too!"

Mandy gets busy cooking and then mashing the taro. She mixes in bananas...Later, the sweet smell of cookies frying in a pan can be enjoyed all around the camp...

23:31
May 26, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Later..."Boy were those good fish! I'm so glad you noticed they were in the trap, Lola." Mandy smiles as she says this. Thanks again for cleaning them. That is one job I really hate!"

"We sure had fun today. Sorry we didn't get to play cards. Tomorrow we will play cards. We can rest and play all day!"

00:11
May 27, 2001

Lyda Ruth

"Hey guys, let's get our blankets and sit around the campfire before we go to bed!!! We can sleep in tomorrow since we can't light a fire anyway, I want to enjoy the one we have tonight. I've been thinking of some ghost stories, but they seem too scary right now in the dark haha. Let's tell about our animals, ok? when I was real young I had a cat named Alexander, then he died and I got a cat named Morris. I have had a lot of cats, right now we have 3, named Maulken, Miss Kitty and jettymae. We had the best cat in the world named Shadrach, but he had to go to heaven without us, but we will see him again someday, along with all our other pets and family members. Isn't that a lovely idea? I think it is. did I tell you much about my brothers? My oldest brother is named Glen and he is really nice, my other brother is named Galen and he is not very nice most of the time. We fight a lot, he can be a bad boy. My Dad always takes up for me tho, he calls me Rootie Toot, my dad is the best. My Mom seems to take up for Galen, I think she likes having boys. Well anyway, you guys tell me more about your families before we go to bed, ok??"

00:39
May 27, 2001

Mandy, Lola, Lyda Ruth and Roxie

Sit snuggled under their blankets around the dying campfire and share stories about home and family and friends. they nibble on a few of their taro banana cookies and watch the flames grow smaller and smaller until they are just glowing embers. Slowly they each start to get very droopy around the eyes and the shelter is sounding good to them so they trundle off to bed, looking forward to another glorious Sunday on Kosrae, and another week of being together and having fun and learning.

01:10
May 27, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy wakes up and realizes that today is "Play Day"! She can't wait for the others to awaken so she can play games!

Mandy takes her clothes and some shampoo and walks to the stream for a bath and to wash her hair. It is already really warm...

09:40
May 27, 2001

Lola wakens to the sound of the choir and breaks into a smile. She heads for the water to wash up, then munches a taro and banana cookie for breakfast. "Hi Mandy! You're up early. Lyda and Roxie sure are lazybones today." She giggles.

21:03
May 27, 2001

Mandy, Lyda Ruth, Roxie, and Lola

The girls all happily pass the day playing cards, throwing horseshoes, playing tag, and even getting in a game of Monopoly. They continue the conversation started yesterday about pets...

22:20
May 27, 2001

Mandy Estelleita

Mandy chimes in about pets..."Well, let's see...my earliest memory of pets was a big collie named Duke. He was a very good dog. However, his previous owner had teens who teased him. So, when teens would cut across our yard, he would remember and bite them. Mom and Dad had to put him to sleep," Mandy says sadly. "We also used to have a lot of stray cats that lived in and out of our garage when I was little. I've had a lot of cats since then that mostly lived in the house...Rama (a siamese male...really mean), Snicklefritz and Gingersnap, Fluffy, Tipsy, Tiny, Samantha, and the ones we now have: Phoebe, Spook, and Nutmeg. I also had a collie for awhile named Mocha." "I really love pets!" says Mandy. "We had hampsters for a brief time, but they multiplied too quickly and had to be given back to the petshop." "They were also too good at getting out of their habitrail!" laughs Mandy. "We had fish, a parakeet named Skeeter, and a hermit crab also was a pet once." "Gee, sounds like a zoo, doesn't it?"

22:27
May 27, 2001

All this talk of pets has reminded Lola of her dog Buddy who ran away. She doesn't want her friends to see her cry so she fakes a yawn and stretches. "I'm so tired. I think I'm going to go to sleep. I want to get up early tomorrow and look for some more bananas and limes. Good night, girls." She hurries off to the shelter and settles down on the pillow, hoping they can't hear her crying.

22:51
May 27, 2001

Lyda Ruth

After Mandy goes off to bed Lyda decides she is quite tired too, they sure did have fun playing today!!! Sundays are nice in a way as it is God's day and a time for rest and reflection and worship. The worst part is no fire, and Lyda does so love a good camp fire, tho sometimes it is the very devil to light , and they have gone days without, but all in all they have adapted well to living on an island. They say children adapt quickly to anything. Clyde appears to be sound asleep in his container, the oatmeal crumbs are all eaten, so Lyda knows he is also adapting to his new life as a pet. She wonders if he is dreaming of life on the beach with the other crabs. They found a dead crab on the beach today and other crabs were eating it, so Lyda thinks Clyde is better off with them safe in his container, at least he will not be eaten by other crabs and the girls will surely not eat him and they have grown very fond of him, even tho he does still pinch on occasion. Lola and Roxie come to the shelter after going behind the trees and washing up for bed, then Lyda goes and gets ready and they all snuggle down in the shelter. Mandy seems to be sniffling a bit and Roxie asks her if she has a cold, but she answers no and seems to be ok, so they all tell each other good night and fall sound asleep, not even trying to catch the sandman this time.

00:41
May 28, 2001