Rocking Around the House

On Saturday night we went for a drive to see Christmas lights. Our neighborhood had more lights compared to everything else we saw. It seems like this year nobody is celebrating Christmas; or if they are, they are celebrating it for the wrong reasons.  I think everybody forgets what Christmas is really about: the birth of Christ.

There was one particular house that we saw that was unbelievable. The owners had their own radio station and the lights on the house would coordinate with the music. The music was classical with some rock edge to it, which I loved, and there lights would blink on and off according to the music. My favorite part of it was the little snowman and shark that were in the grass. The snowman had a chunk of his butt that was bitten off as he was trying to swim away from the shark that had bitten him. It was pretty hilarious. There was also a Santa Claus that was swinging in a hammock.

We also put our lights up yesterday, but it did not look as cool as that house. We have some blinking stars and a string of LED lights around the house, which looks really cool! It finally felt like we were in the holiday spirit yesterday from putting the lights up and the tree to all the baking we are doing.

'Tis the Season to be........

I love you Scooby Doo!

Ready! As the holidays are coming up, I have one thing to not look forward to during my two weeks of Christmas break. I get to study for my earth science exam!!! (<-*sarcasm*) Anybody who knows me, knows I do not like science at all. However, I have decided that I am going to study hard so I can ace that test!

As I was trying to finish up my lesson for health yesterday, I was hearing Shelby complain about how she has to go through one more test. She should feel so lucky! I would have rather finished up my finals and then take a break, instead of having to study through my break and take my finals afterwards.

As the end of the year is nearing, it feels like things are changing big time. Mom is going to be a full-time student-teacher right after Christmas break, which means that she’ll be waking me up at 7 every morning!!! That’s okay though, I get more things done in the mornings. Although, Wednesday I was very stubborn and did not want to get up! Mom had to literally pull me out of my bed and drag me out the door. Unfortunately because I was stubborn, karma decided to catch up with me. Because Mom had to drag me out of bed, I got a rug burn. Not fun!

The only thing that gets me in the holiday spirit is decorating cookies! We could decorate the house, inside and out, but I still will act like a scrooge. I don’t know what it is with decorating cookies, but it makes me happy! Choosing our favorite cookie cutters, rolling out the dough, and smelling them bake has to be the best part!

Merry Christmas! 

Sites I've stumbled across...

This week I have stumbled across a couple of sites that I love going to.

The first one I read all the time! LoveGivesMeHope is a site that has very short love stories on there, and I have read every single post in my spare time.





The second site I got from a friend. This site allows students to submit their own stories and to see if they make the showcase. Inscriptions: Aspiring Writers is a great site, and the first showcase I read was really good!

These sites are on my good list, and I will probably still go to these sites every week. LoveGivesMeHope is my favorite site of all time. Especially when I'm not in a good mood; it definitely cheers you up!

Journalism

This year I am taking a class in journalism, and it is my favorite subject by far! I was so excited to see a 100.45 as the course average this week. Of course, that doesn't always stay the same. :( But, it hasn't dipped that far, which I am very grateful for.
Both my journalism teacher and my English teacher are so impressed by my writing. Since I do want to be a writer when I grow up, that is something I love to hear. My journalism teacher says I'm doing so well in journalism that he has decided to let me observe the yearbook class, and next year or next semester he would really encourage me to take the yearbook class. I am the only person to be in yearbook that I know about, and that is really something that I would love to do.
Observing the yearbook classes have been so much fun. I get to see all of the processes and decisions that are being made by the students and teacher. I also got to participate in some voting for the theme of the yearbook. This year's theme is: Our Journey. It's going to be really awesome. We have the cover of the page in the school color: purple, and the writing is silver. It will say "Our Journey..." and in the next page it will say "...begins here" with a picture that Jacob, a student, created. Jacob is very creative so he created a purple picture with different shades of a pathway, because of our theme. It was a great picture! Jacob and I are the only ones in the journalism class that have been asked to participate in the yearbook classes. And we are very excited to be involved! And very surprised that our teacher asked us to join!

The BSU Game and Halloween

A couple of weeks ago, Megan, Shelby, Dad, and I went to our first BSU football game. It was so much fun! The only annoying thing about the game was one annoying guy who would yell at the refs whenever BSU got a penalty. This was actually the first game that I have ever watched the whole way through. My favorite part of the game was when BSU would get a first down. Everytime they would get a first down, the announcer would say, “…And that’s another BSU…” and the crowd would yell, “FIRST DOWN!” That was way cool! While we were at the game, Mom and Whitney went to see Toy Story 3 and said it was very good!

This Halloween, we didn’t go trick-or-treating (again). Instead we went to a movie. We saw The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, and it was so good! Although I have liked every movie they have made, Eclipse is my favorite. It’s my favorite because of the rivalry between Edward and Jacob. My favorite character in there was Emmett, though. He definitely had some good lines! Overall, it was a good Halloween, and we got to spend it with each other. Megan and Shelby were home, Dad wasn’t working, and Mom wasn’t in class! J

Slowly, But Surely

A few weeks ago, I took a unit test in Earth Science. Let’s just say that I should’ve taken more notes; I don’t call a D passing. After I took that test I had a 76.9 as an average score. After that whole ‘incident’, I had to do a lab in the next unit. Luckily I am so good at the graded assignments by the teachers that I got a one hundred percent on that one. A couple of quizzes later, I am up to an 80.7! It is slowly getting there, but that is the last time I take a test with no notes if I don’t have the answer! And I will be sure to study for the next exam. I really hate when Mom’s always right! I don’t like admitting it either.

On a happy note, all of my other classes have really great grades! Math is a high B, English is a low A, History is a high B, Journalism is a low A, and Skills for Health is a mid A.

This week in Journalism I have a 250-word news story due by Wednesday. This assignment will be the biggest assignments so far. The assignment gives the details of the story, but we have to illuminate some of the details that we feel aren’t necessary in the story. We also have to follow a concept called the ‘inverted triangle.’ The inverted triangle is just a concept that we will follow while writing that puts the most important information in the beginning and the less information at the end. It’ll definitely be hard to try to organize it since I don’t like to organize anything I write. I just write! 

Midnight's Eventful Day

Midnight has had a very interesting two years. Two years ago we introduced two kittens to her, and she hasn't forgiven us for it. She's also has fur that is dried, dandruff, and pretty gross. I have tried to brush it out with a dog brush, but to no avail.

Today, my mom decided that she needed a bath. We had already given Calvin a bath last month or so, and that went pretty well. Midnight, was a different story. She tried to bite me, scratch me, and push herself through my body. The good news is, she's all clean-smelling! The bad news is that the fur didn't come clean, so now we are back to brushing.

Grandpa Ernest

On September 11, 2001, America went through a great tragedy. Everybody knows what it is, so I’m not going to go through it. This year, on the anniversary of 9/11, my family went through a different hardship. Our beloved grandfather/father/husband/brother died after battling kidney failure.

Although we did not want him to go, we know it’s for the best. We know he was struggling and couldn’t see. He was 77.

Ernest was my grandfather, along with my sisters, and my mom’s dad. He was a huge Idaho Vandals fan and loved to wear his Vandal hat when dad was around, just because dad didn’t like the Vandals.

One memory I remember is Grandpa taking me into Grandma’s sewing room and going into the closet, and getting his Vandals hat, putting it on his head, and walking around the house with it. Dad would shake his head every time he saw him.

There are so many memories with Grandpa; it’s hard to choose which one is my favorite. I’m glad I have photos of him and me together, though. I will never forgot Grandpa, his legacy will live on. When people see me eating noodles, they say that I eat it the same way Grandpa did. I put it above my head, put the noodles in my mouth, twirl the fork, and chew. It’s a very weird way of eating noodles, but it’s the way I’ve always eaten noodles. I know that Grandpa will be watching over us and going through everything with us; when Megan and Shelby finally get married, when I graduate high school, when Whitney begins her first few years of teenage-hood, and when Cousin Amelia begins school and starts chatting up a storm. He’ll be there when Mom graduates from college and when everybody goes through life challenges.

First Month of High School!

I have finished my first month of high school! I am taking six classes; Algebra 1, Literary Analysis and Composition, Journalism, Skills for Health, Earth Science, and Modern World Studies. My favorites are Modern World Studies and Journalism. 
Since it's an online school, I attend the online lectures and then do the work. I absolutely love my school, Idaho Virtual Academy, and I really hope I can stay through my entire years of high school. Both Megan and Shelby have switched schools at the same grade level, but I would really love to not switch schools.
I finally got to be in charge of somebody this week! It was definitely the highlight of the week. Although high school is very tough, I absolutely love it! I love being busy with school and meeting so many teachers and interesting people. These four years of high school are going to be a blast(I hope)!

What The Cats Have Been Doing All Summer…

We have very interesting cats in this household. Midnight is a, ahem, bit overweight, black, 8-year old cat. She loves to leave me little “surprises” outside of dads door in the morning to clean up. She likes her attention at eleven o’clock at night, and she can’t wait for a few hours to go to the bathroom, she MUST go at four o’clock in the morning. She’s very picky about who holds her. Now, she won’t let anybody but me hold her. Apparently, nobody else does it right. 

 Calvin is the next kitty on the list. He’s a white, active, one-year old kitty cat. He loves his bouncy balls to play with. When he loses his ball though, you better be there to get it for him! He likes to help you get them, too. Like Midnight, Whitney is the only one that can hold him correctly. Whitney has had a preference for Calvin since they went to Grandma Gayle’s to get the troublemakers. If she gives Calvin too much attention, he will follow her around ALL day! 

Hobbes is the last cat. Of course, you can’t have a Calvin without a Hobbes. Hobbes is the talkative one. He will talk to you all day, if he stayed up long enough. Hobbes and Midnight have one thing in common, they are both lazy! They wouldn’t mind if you put their food in front of them while they slept, with the litter box right next to the bed. When Calvin and Hobbes go outside for the night, Calvin chases bugs, while Hobbes climbs the Oak tree, that is taller than the two-story house, all the way up. I joke that Calvin is the tamest, Hobbes is the craziest, and Midnight is average.

These cats are just plain weird!

Welcome To My World

This year I’m starting high school, finally being left home by myself, and learning to start being more mature. This is going to be a big load this year, but I know at the end of the year I will be proud of myself, if I can keep everything up.

      Mom is in her student teaching this year. She is almost done, and can’t wait to be done with driving in to town every day.

      Megan is finishing her associates year at the community college, then she’ll be off to the big college. She’s not very thrilled for all the forty minute drives.

      Shelby is starting college at a local school. It’s very hard to believe she’s old enough to go to college. I still picture her when she was going to Driver’s Ed.

      Whitney is going into fifth grade this year. She isn’t very thrilled that I only have four textbooks and a couple of reading books this year, while she has two box-full’s of textbooks and worksheets.

      The hardest part of staying home, by myself, is going to be one, little blue-eyed wonder: Demon. So far he’s been doing pretty good and not getting into a lot of things. But, he did rip apart a pillow today. I just hope that he’ll be good for me and not try to run away.

      I can hardly wait until Monday when I start school! I know that sounds weird, coming from a 9^th grader, but I love doing my schoolwork. I am especially looking forwards to seeing what teachers I’ll be getting, and (cross your fingers) I don’t get the swine flu this year!!!