Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! We actually left from home on Wednesday relatively on time, around 6:30 AM. The drive was okay; it rained in Indianapolis, but other than that (and a few arguments) it was pretty good. We finally arrived here at 4 PM. So far we've pretty much done nothing but play Wii, read, and just hang out; which is fine with me. Yesterday, Christmas Eve, everyone here at my Aunt's house (my grandparents, 2 aunts, 2 uncles, aunt's fiance, cousin, and brother), except for my sister and parents, went to 5:00 mass, and it was crowded. When church ended, the parking lot was CRAZY. There were people going out the entrance, parking in the wrong place, and general pandemonium (that's a slight exaggeration). I guess people wanted to get home on Christmas Eve! We waited a few minutes for the parking lot to clear out, and then drove back to my aunt's house, listening to the Glee soundtrack at full volume. My Grandpa Fran and his girlfriend, Lauretta, were there when we got back, and soon we commenced eating. My dad had made salmon, and there was quinoa, couscous, rolls, and a few other things. For dessert, we had pumpkin angel food cake, blueberry pie, and ice cream (not all of it at the same time). It is actually a White Christmas today, which makes the day even better. Actually, the news anchors were arguing what qualified as a 'White Christmas', saying that there needed to be at least 1 inch covering the ground, but I disagree. The weathermen predicted that there would only be flurries, but I would say that this is definitely more than flurries. Not that it matters, but I think there's about an inch out there. Now all we have to do is open gifts, though I already got all the gifts I'm going to get from my parents; we're waiting for my cousin to get back from here dad's house, where she stayed on Christmas Eve. Merry Christmas!!

Packing Time

Tomorrow we leave for Missouri, finally. The ten hour drive should be fun!! Actually, it isn't that bad; I read, work on my laptop, sleep, etc. Though it is kind of sad that on the first day of winter break, I will be waking up at 5 AM, or there abouts. Most of my friends will be sleeping in late. I guess I can console myself with the fact that they'll be staying home, while I get to actually go somewhere. I can still sleep in the car, also. We're trying to leave by 6 AM, but I expect it won't be until at least 6:30 AM. On average, we leave an hour behind schedule. We're going to have breakfast on the road at Panera Bread, which should be delicious. I just finished packing my clothing, but there's still more to do- electronics, books, and a ton of other things we have to pack. I'm pretty busy getting everything ready for the trip, so goodbye, for now.

Christmas Woes

I've already forgotten my promise to write at least one blog a week. Sorry! Last week was pretty hectic. Anyway, we opened gifts yesterday night, so we wouldn't have to take them on vacation. I got a bunch of books (one in french), some socks, pj bottoms, a t-shirt, itunes gift card, etc. I liked all of the gifts, especially my "Don't Mess with the Mitten" t-shirt (the picture by the way, is some random person wearing it, I found online). I made my mom a scrapbook of our trip this summer, which took all day Saturday and Sunday, and which she loved, of course. Unfortunately, today and tomorrow we have school. In my humble opinion (and many of my peer's), we should have gotten off on Friday. Heck, even my agenda thinks we should be on break by now (it has smaller daily entries for the Christmas week).Except for two test today, we aren't really doing anything in school, these days are basically pointless. Though, I did have a Christmas Party in French class. We celebrated by eating Bouche de Noel, which is kind of like a Yule Log (I think), and drinking Orangina and Sprite. Tomorrow, our schedule is sooo crazy. Our first of the day is actually 6th hour, and it goes backwards from there, with 30 minute classes to 2nd hour. We then have 30 minutes or so of 1st hour, a Holiday assembly, lunch, and lastly a 2 hour block of 1st hour. So basically, we will be watching movies and other pointless stuff all day. It would have been so much better if we were on vacation.

Kingsley meets Santa

Kingsley got his picture taken with Santa today. It was really nice; we went down to this dog boutique in downtown, and Kingsley sat with Santa and they took a bunch of pictures. The two kids who are the elves in the picture don't look too happy in the picture, and that's the most smiley they get. I guess I wouldn't be smiling if I had been taking pictures with dogs all day. But still, they could have given some effort. All this morning was taken up with Science Olympiad practices, so we had to wait a while until we could go out. I only had one at 10 AM, but they dragged on until 4 PM. So, in the meantime, I took 2 walks, one with Kingsley and one without. It actually warmed up into the 30's, so it was quite pleasant. Anyway, there's only a week and 2 days until Christmas vacation! It's kind of stupid because we don't get out until Wednesday, December 23- the day before Christmas Eve! So, we'll be spending the whole day before Christmas Eve driving, instead of relaxing and spending time with family. Oh well.

Snow

One of my readers pointed out to me that I did not post anything last week. It is probably because I either forgot, or thought nothing interesting was happening that day. From now on, I will try to post at least one per week. Anyway, it's supposed to snow tonight, but the brunt of the storm is supposed to be west of us, so we'll probably only get an inch or so. I'm glad because it just doesn't feel like December right now. I don't know why, but maybe the snow will help. There were some kids at school were hoping for a snow day, but I'm not betting on it. Only two eventful things happened today: 1. French Club and 2. Anatomy practice. French Club was after school; we're practicing French Christmas Carols because we're caroling at a retirement home this Thursday. I'll be singing O Holy Night in French as a solo, which should be interesting. Then I got picked up and driven to Anatomy practice (for Science Olympiad). Two people were missing, but it was still interesting... to say the least. That's pretty much it for tonight; I don't really have any homework, so I still have time to do whatever.

Tree Decorating

Finally, a day with nothing planned! I can do whatever I feel like doing or not doing!! Yesterday was fun, though. Our family friends, Mark and Kathy came over for our annual decorating-the-Christmas-tree-visit. Each year we go to their house or they come to ours (it switches each year) to visit and decorate the Christmas tree. So, in preparation for the visit, we had to clean all day, and put up our Christmas trees, garlands, etc. It wasn't that bad, it was even kind of fun. An hour before they were set to come, we went to Zingerman's Delicatessen and pick up all the food we ordered for dinner- corned beef, potato salad, Russian dressing, coleslaw, etc- everything needed to make a Ruben and more! We arrived at home, just as they got here. The rest of the evening we talked, ate, and put the ornaments on our Christmas tree. It was really fun, but tiring- and now we have all this leftover food from last night and Thanksgiving. It was a great start to the Christmas Season.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!! Isn't Thanksgiving a wonderful holiday; you get to eat tons of good food, all for the sake of giving thanks. Yesterday, my family went on our annual day before Thanksgiving tradition. We bought our turkey from this organic turkey farm, then went to REI and ate lunch at Papa Vino's. It was fun, as always. For lunch I ordered an Italian beef sandwich, which was good, but they forgot to take off the spicy pepper sauce I asked to be removed. I still ate it... it was just a little spicier than I would have liked. The complimentary bread was delicious, as always. And at dinner, we watched Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Today, we've been cooking all day. This morning, I watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV, which was fun. My dad made a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin chiffon pie in the morning, but the turkey has been cooking for the rest of the day. I've taken two long walks today, just to balance out all the food I will be eating soon. There's also mashed potatoes, dressing, spiced pecans, throwed rolls, etc. I can't wait to eat it all!! If find it so funny that we cook all day, and then it's all eaten in 30 minutes. Well, that's life. We also put up Christmas decorations outside, thankfully not until today. Some people in my neighborhood put them up after Halloween! Tragic, I know. We probably would have waited a little longer, except our friends are coming here tomorrow to put up our Christmas tree. Happy Turkey Day!!!

Twilight Rant

I can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving!! It seems like I just went trick-or-treating. I love November because there's soo many days off of school. There's only one full week, the rest have 1, 2, and 3 days off. All this extra sleep is good for me. Before you read the following opinion, here's a disclaimer: I've never read any of the Twilight books, and don't plan to any time soon. Stating that, I can't believe that there's so much talk about it! For one, the actors aren't good at acting, and the script is poorly written (I guess that's because it's based off the books, but still). I don't even think Robert Pattinson is even that good-looking, he just looks gross. They don't really deserve to make so much money and get so much notoriety for bad acting. People (teenage girls, mainly) are still going to go, and it's still going to make tons of money, even if it's not even that good. The only attraction to seeing, is all the shirtlessness (which I'm sure there's plenty). That's my anti-Twilight rant, that probably won't make a difference to all those die-hard fans out there.

A Long Week

Wow, I haven't blogged for a while. Well, some pretty interesting stuff happened in the meantime. For one, we got a new computer. Somehow the old one broke and wouldn't turn on. So we bought a new one, which is much nicer and larger. As you know, yesterday was Friday the 13th, and I did actually have some bad luck, interestingly enough. The first was that our bus was 20 minutes late. It apparently broke down, so we were waiting in the freezing cold wondering if the bus would ever come, or if for some reason school had been canceled. It eventually came, though I was late for my first hour class, which was excused. The second bad luck, that wasn't that bad was that I got my H1N1 vaccination from school. It was free, so my parents figured that we might as well get one. That in itself wasn't bad, but I got called down during gym, and we're doing a swimming unit. I can't exactly go down in my swimsuit and towel. I waited until they called the final call, which fortunately was at the end of the hour. For all my troubles, all I got was a boring brown band-aid. I also forgot to study for two quizzes, but overall, I guess the day was okay. Though, by the end of the day, I was tired- it was a long week; the only full one in November. In the next two weeks, we have a combined total of 5 days, 2 off next week, 3 the one after that. And finally today, was half filled with Science Olympiad practices. That's everything interesting (or not) that I could think of.

Halloween and More

Happy November! It's so annyoing, as soon as Halloween is over, they put up Christmas stuff in stores!! It's so stupid. Anyway, some very interesting things happened during the lull in my blogging. For one, My Aunt "Rose" and Uncle Dave came up on Tuesday and left today. It was nice to see them again. And to clear up some discrepancy, I love when they come up- I wasn't complaining about their visits, only wondering. They surprised us by giving us their silver HHR. My sister hasn't been very good with getting in her driving hours, so they figured that if she had a separate car to drive herself, she would be more driven (no pun intended). Thanks a lot!!! Obviously, yesterday was Halloween. We went out to eat for lunch, and got these huge pumpkins at the farmer's market, for only 4 dollars each!! We only had time to carve one, though. My sister went over to her friend's house to go trick-or-treating, and my friend came over to come with me. I was dressed up as a lady from the Renaissance era, and my friend was Harley Quinn (I'm not sure if that's spelled right) from Batman. After it got dark, it was sooo cold! It was in the 40's, but the wind was blowing really hard, so it felt like it was in the 30's. Surprisingly, there weren't that many people out. It seems that less and less people go each year, as the kids in my subdivision get older. My friend and I were out for around 2 hours, and got a ton of candy, around 160 pieces. After trick-or-treating, we came back to my house and ate steak and potatoes and white chocolate chiffon cake (which my mom made). Soooo tasty.

Shakespeare and Science

Last night, my family went to the Shakespeare play Love Labour Lost in Ann Arbor. It was really funny and well acted; they were from the Shakespeare Globe Theater, I think. My mom had gotten the tickets late, so she had to separate us; 3 on the floor, and 2 on the balcony. My sister, mom and I sat on the floor. We were so close, just a few rows away from the stage! Actors came down through the audience, which was pretty cool. The only problem was that it was really long, and had started at 8 PM, so we didn't leave until 11 PM, and by the time we got home, it was almost midnight. But other than that, It was extremely enjoyable. This morning, I slept in late. We were going to have Science Olympiad (which my mom runs) practices today, but my mom canceled them because she wasn't feeling good. So, I get another free day to do nothing or anything I choose. Fun!

Cold and Flu

I guess it's officially cold and flu season. There's a bunch of kids absent from school, and my friend has swine flu and has been out for a few days. On Friday, I started feeling bad; my throat was hurting, and I was coughing, which is apparently going around. This morning, I had a fever and felt horrible. Now, I feel much better, but I still have a runny nose and a cough. I hope I feel better by Monday, because I don't want the huge amount of homework, for just missing one day, that I'll be bound to get. On the bright side, Michigan University had a huge win over Delaware State. Something like 63 to 6, according to my brother. Also, yesterday, by parents bought the Proposal, and we watched it. I saw it in the movies; it's just hysterical. Especially the grandma, who is a stitch. I'm going to cross my fingers for a quick recovery.

Homecoming

Homecoming weekend was pretty fun. On Friday, my whole family, minus my mom, went to the game. I sat with my friend and dad. It was cold, but luckily, it stopped raining until the very end of the game. Unfortunately, our team lost miserably, 0 to 14. We had so many fumbles and interceptions, it's not even funny. Other than that though, it was okay. The other team had white jerseys, but by the end of the game, they were more brown than white. Saturday was the Homecoming Dance. I went over to my friends house at 4:30, ate dinner, and got ready. Most of my friends were there, so it was a lot of fun. Before we left, all the parents came over and took soooo many pictures. Even though it was expected, it still dragged on for a long time. When we finally got to the dance, it was a lot of fun. We all ditched our shoes in the beginning and walked around barefoot. That night, I probably got more complements than in my whole life. By the end of the dance, I was almost (key word almost) tired of hearing how they loved my dress. All and all, even with some very interesting occurrences, it was a ton of fun. And to top it off, everyone got this huge lollipop as a favor. Yum!

Spirit Week

This week has been veeerry interesting. Tomorrow's Homecoming, which I'm going to, so it's been Spirit Week all week. Monday was color day, Tuesday was farmville day, Wednesday was boat day, today was Disney day, and tomorrow is black and orange day. There were quite a few cross dressers at school today; boys dressing up in dresses pretending to be Disney princesses. As I said, interesting. This week has seemed to go by sooo fast, in two days, it's the homecoming dance! I'm excited. All my friends are getting together at one house before the dance. It should be a blast. I'm pumped!

Tasty Food Day

Michigan lost :( . I can't believe it, they made a comeback in the 4th quarter, and were this close to winning or at least tying in overtime!!!! Anyway, for breakfast this morning, my dad and siblings went out and got some donuts. It was sooo tasty. I don't remember the last time I had donuts. At least a few months. Other than walking my dog twice and watching part of the Michigan vs. Michigan State game, the rest of the day has been pretty uneventful. For dinner my parents are making turkey pot pie, with frozen turkey from Thanksgiving (I know nearly, a year old, but still good). They have only made it a few times but it is sooo good. I can already taste it and it's not even near to being done. Ahh, I love food.

Happy October!

It's October, if you didn't realize. I wore one of my Halloween shirts to commemorate the day. It's has the Peanuts comic trick-or-treating. I'm now almost 100% sure that I'm going to wear the dress we bought. The other one is really pretty, but I can wear it for something else. My Aunt "Rose" called and we now know that they are coming up the last week of October. Unfortunately, not in time for homecoming or pumpkin picking. But, it's still great to see them (again). It's kind of weird that we go from no one coming up to Michigan for years to my Aunt "Rose" coming up for the third time. Nothing exciting happened today, except that my sister and I missed the bus. Our bus driver never waits for us, she waits for other people, but never us. So, as soon as I almost reach the bus, she pulls away! Kind of inconvenient for my parents, but dad took us. Next week is spirit week at school, so each day is a different theme. I hear that the week is a blast. We'll see. I'll probably participate in the less obnoxious themes.

My Busy Weekend

This weekend has been very busy. On Friday, I had my birthday party. 3 friends, my sister, and I all went to see Fame. The music/singing/dancing was wonderful, well sung, etc, but the plot was almost nonexistent. It took place throughout the four years of high school, and sometimes didn't finish up things. But, it was still fun to watch. We ate soooo much candy that we were all stuffed, and didn't eat much for dinner and dessert. Then, on Saturday, my family had to get up early and go to my brother's cross country meet. His team was 2nd, and he places 131st out of 400 or so. That's pretty good! Also, on Saturday, my 2 friends, my sister, one of my friend's mother, the other's grandmother, and her grandmother's friend all went dress shopping. It was fun, though my sister didn't really enjoy it. I guess when you don't try on any dresses, it is kind of boring. We went to Kohl's, JC Penny's, Deb, and Claire's. We saw some friends at JC Penny's, and kind of tried on dresses with them. At Deb, I tried on this long black dress with layers of lace on, kind of as a joke, and I loved it! So, my dad took me back and we bought it. Now I have to decide which dress I will wear, since I was going to wear this vintage one we already have. Both are really pretty, but the dress we bought is called a cupcake dress, so it was like it was meant to be!!! It was like it was fate in the form of my sister (who found the dress). Today, I had piano lessons and our neighbors are making a racket by using an earth mover to redo their backyard. See, very busy.

No Homework

If you can believe it, I have no homework, tests, anything to do today!! The only worksheet that might have been homework, I finished in another class after I finished a test. This is the first day, since school started, that I have nothing. I don have a book report, but I we just got it yesterday, and I haven't decided which book I'm going to read. So that doesn't count. On Saturday, I go homecoming dress shopping with some of my friends. I already have my dress, a vintage dress that used to belong to my mom, but I still want to have the experience. That should be fun! My friend's dad has VOLUNTEERED to chauffeur us girls around. That should be so much fun for him. Now, I'm just going to relax and enjoy my very rare one day without homework.

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday to me!! Two of my friends gave me cards today, and my mom put a very yummy cupcake in my lunch, which was a pleasent suprise. I also got sang to in two different classes, and of course, I turned bright red. I still had homework, though. My brother had his first cross country meet today until 6:00 PM, or something like that, and then, my parents had to go to a parent's night at school, so we didn't have much time to do anything. Inbetween, we had a not-very-special-birthday-meal, and I opened gifts. I love everything I got, which includes: sheet music, some books, a cotton bag, 2 shirts, a board game, and a promise of an Ipod!! I also got a Charlie Brown card that made the noise of the adults in the cartoon, which was funny. When my parents get back, we'll munch on the very tasty white chocolate chiffon cake and ice cream. Yum, yum, yum!!! Farewell, for now.

The First Weekend

Ah!! The first weekend of the school year. I couldn't wait to sleep in and stay up late. Ha! A week into school and I'm already tired. Luckily, I haven't gotten lost at school... yet. We tore out the old carpeting yesterday and are now putting in the new, well it's mostly my dad, but I did help tear it out. It's really soft and the brown color goes well with the light blue walls. To put in the carpet, we had to take everything out of the room, so our mattresses are in the dining room, stacked up, and everything else is in boxes in my parent's room. My sister and I had to sleep on the couch last night, which isn't that fun. I hope the carpet will be in by tonight, so we can sleep in our own room. That's pretty much it.

More School

The second full day of school, and it's still going okay. Yesterday, my locker got jammed, so I had to go to the office to get it fixed. By the time I got to my next class, I found out that my lunch had been changed, so I had to go back to my locker and get my lunch box. That's pretty much the extent of my hardships. I already have two test tomorrow; English and French. This morning, while running to the bus stop, I got pine sap all over the inside of my elbow, so it was sticking together for a while. While on the topic of buses, the bus driver told us today that we have to be to the stop 5 minutes earlier than what we already have!!! That means we have to be there by 6:25!!! Apparently, we have to be to school 18 minutes before it starts and we're "late" by the time we get there. It's going to be a tough morning.

The First Day of School

Today was the first day of school. Getting up at 5:45 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it still wasn't fun. It's been raining all day; it's like some premonition about the year, or something. We got driven to school really early because my sister had to get her schedule, so I had 30 or so minutes before school started where I had nothing to do. Each class was shortened to around 30 minutes or so, and obviously, there wasn't any lunch (it was a half day). I also got homework from English (of course). Mrs. C., if you're reading this, it's criminal to give homework on the first day... even if the assignment isn't that hard, and I already know what I'm writing about. But still. After picking up my brother and his friend from school, we all went to Panera Bread for lunch. According to my parents, my brother's school was like a zoo in the morning; people driving the wrong way, tons of people, etc., and all because of the combining of schools. That's pretty much it for today, not too exciting.

MP3s and Piano

Good news! My sister finally finished her summer reading. More interestingly, my dad got this free MP3 player from Staples, and since I don't have and Ipod (shocking, I know), I decided that it was mine. Unfortunately, all my CDs I downloaded on my computer are in Itunes, which is in a format incompatible with the player, so I have to make a playlist with all the songs I wanted and copy all of them in a MP3 format. It's a quite lengthy process. Anyway, today was my mom's first piano lesson. After my sister quit because of school, my mom decided that she didn't have enough time to go grocery shopping, and signed up for lessons in the place of my sister. She can read music already, and is of to a good start. Afterwards, we we to Whole Foods for our groceries. At my latest yearly doctor's physical, she recommended getting exfoliating moisturizer for this skin problem I have, and we spent soooo long picking out a lotion. I get home and find out that my dad and brother went out to Great Escape, this go-cart racing place!! They have been going to mini golf, driving ranges, and eating lunch out, this summer, while I'm stuck at home or grocery shopping. Unfair, I know. School's getting closer as I type, and I can't stop thinking about how hard it will to wake up so early. Just 1 more day left of summer vacation (not including today).

Physicals Before School

Only 4 more days until school starts. Michigan law requires that public schools start the day after Labor Day. I'm trying to do everything summery in the last few days left. I convinced my parents to take a bike ride in a park nearby, which we haven't done all summer. Usually, we go on a bunch, but with the vacation, it was kind of put on the back burner. I'm also typing this outside because it's such a beautiful day, and I have plenty of time to be stuck inside later. Yesterday, I had my yearly physical. According to the doctor, my sister and younger brother are taller than me, a 1/2 in and 1/4 in respectively. That doesn't make sense, because I generally thought I was the taller sister, and was just as tall as my brother. I also got a regular flu shot, so my arm is still kind of sore. Now, hopefully, nothing will get between me, the sun, fun, and freedom of summer.

One Last Registration

Today was my brother's registration. I may have already said this, but, to save money my school district closed the kindergarten (and put them in the elementary school), put 5th and 6th graders in the other middle school, and 7th and 8th graders in the middle school I went to. Because they have all the 7th and 8th graders in the district, the school is short lockers, so people are going to have to share. Apparently, not enough people have volunteered to share (I mean, who would?), even with larger lockers, so students, including my brother, won't get their locker and combination until the first week of school. That is going to be hectic!!!
I also learned today that the schedule 'mix-up', with new teachers after a semester, isn't a mix up at all! It's another poorly-thought-through-money-saving-techniques. Instead of having a bunch of teachers that only teach for part of the day, they moved students around, so that all the teachers there work for the whole day, and laid off some others. As usual, the board didn't think of the educational consequences. That's enough of rambling on about stuff I can't fix.

Carpet-picking-out-ing

Today we picked out carpeting out for my sister and my room. We still have the faded rose colored carpeting that we've had forever. Ever since we redid our room, we said that we'd get new carpeting, and now we finally have. The whole family went out this afternoon, and went to Home Depot. The carpet we picked out is eco-friendly (of course), really soft, and is a shade of brown. My sister and dad are still out buying the right amount. Our subdivision is having it's yearly party, and we, of course, didn't go. My family never does any subdivision-y things, as least as far as I can remember. Because of the party, the streets near the park, where it's being held, are packed with cars. That's pretty much the extent of what happened today. Wasn't it exciting!!

Regritration Day

Today was school registration. We had to wait in a long line just to get our schedules, and take picture, etc. When we finally got everything. I found out that my schedule is messed up. Apparently everyone has a schedule that is messed up. What happens, is that for most of my core classes, I have a certain period and teacher for each class, but for the second semester, you change the hour and the teacher!! How stupid is that? You'd think that someone could work a computer in this day and age. I mean, it's been working for the past how many years, and now it doesn't? So, halfway through the year, I have a new teacher, with a different teaching style, and everyone is in a different part of the book. What genius thought that was okay? And to cap it off, I'm going to have to get up at 5:45. Also, I only have 1 semester class with a friend. That's it, except for lunch. Oh well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it.

Trip to the Dentist

After my sister's registration, we all went to the dentist. Unfortunately, the only book I brought, I had already finished. As soon as I opened the book, I realized my mistake. So for the whole time while waiting for my turn, and afterwards, I read old magazines and worked on some puzzles I brought, which weren't as good as a book would be. Anyway, my sister's schedule is all messed up. For 3 of her classes, she has different hours and teachers for each semesters. But the lazy people who put them together, can't or won't undo the mistake. Apparently, the whole grade is messed up. I'm crossing my fingers that my schedule is normal, and I have some friends in class. Also, the time for the morning bus pick up is 6:29 AM!!!!!!!!!!!! That's like torture!! My sister and I have already decided that my dad will drive us in each morning, unless he has morning conference calls. My brother is freaking out about the estimate about deaths of the swine flu. I think we'll be okay, but whatever.

Pianos and Laptops

The picture is of my first day outfit. Everything is new, from shopping and from the trip. Kingsley looked cute, so I put him in, as well. I also went through my pencil case and threw out used up pens, and sharpen pencils. Exciting!! We (my sister and I) went to piano lessons today, as well. My sister is only doing a few more lessons before schools starts, after which she is quitting. My mom decided today that she'll take my sister's place, because she always wanted to learn. Anyway... my dad has been using my computer all day! My brother broke his, so they're using mine to fix it. But, now he tells me that the file he downloaded to fix my brother's laptop doesn't even work! It was all for nothing! Kingsley's getting a bath today, finally. He's stinking up the house and is more a grayish tint than white. I don't even remember how long ago his last bath was. That's pretty much it.

Another Day for Which I Have no Creative Name For

This is a wordle that I made from this blog. I thought it would be cool to make one to post. Today, we went shopping because my Aunt "Rose" gave us a 10$ off coupon to Kohl's and JC Penny. I got a pair of shorts and a scarf. Thanks Aunt "Rose"!!! We then went to Costco to get salmon and a few other things, but my mom got so annoyed about the long check out lines among other things, that we just left. All the while, my brother and dad went to Laingsburg Middle School in Laingsburg, MI, where there was a Science Olympiad seminar thing about one of the events. My mom and I also went through the ceder closet in our basement for me to try on her old blazers and skirts, some of which were vintage. I liked most of them, and would like to include them in my wardrobe. My sister thinks the waist is "too high" and length "too long", but that's how they're supposed to be and how I like them. That's pretty much it. I got to go eat dinner.

The Dwindling Summer

I know I haven't posted for a few days, but I haven't done anything worth noting. Today the whole family (including Kingsley) went down to get the CSA (community supported agriculture) at Tantre Farms. We watched Christmas Vacation on the way there and back. I couldn't hear it very well, but I generally thought it was funny. My sister is staying at a friend's house for an overnight. I also finished Night, and just have to finish the summary for the write up for English. This is the second time I read Night, and it was just as moving and sad. Anyone who hasn't read it should. Oh yeah, my dad put in a stronger Internet signal and secured it, so this is the first time I have used the Internet in my room, which is where I am writing this. Other than that, I haven't really done anything. Just getting ready for school :( .That's pretty much it.

Let's Go Shopping!

Today I actually did something!!! My mom, sister and I all went back-to-school shopping! Surprisingly, I wasn't bored the whole time while shopping. It was even sort of fun. Anyway, we first went to Pac Sun to get a dress that I tried on and liked in Oregon. Unfortunately, the store we went to didn't have it. Next we went to American Eagle, where I got a plaid tunic, and Aeropostle, where my mom got my dad and brother shorts. It was getting on in the afternoon, so we ate lunch at Panera Bread. We went over the round-a-bout to Khol's, where I got 2 tee shirts, and a couple unmentionables. To speed things up, by the time we got home, I had 4 shirts, 1 cardigan, and 1 pair of jeans. We'll probably be good for a while. While we spent the whole day shopping, my dad put up the long awaited wooden molding around the doors and window, which had been empty since we redid my sister and my rooms. That's pretty much it... also, the FINAL COUNT of CORVETTES for the trip is (drum roll please)... 290.

This and That

Today I'm hoping that my family can go see the the Dream Cruise in Detroit. My Dad's co-worker lives a few streets away from Woodward Avenue, and invited people to come to her house for the cruise. We probably won't because my mom and sister probably don't want to. The only excitement since the last post, was going down to Tantre Farms, an organic farm, where we have a CSA (community shared agriculture) share. You get a certain amount of crops every week, and I went with my mom and Kingsley to get it. I also went swimming in the lake in our neighborhood, even though we weren't sure if we were allowed to or not. Every summer, right in the middle, they use chemicals to clean it, at which time we aren't allowed to swim for a while. There was a sign up informing about it, but it didn't say you couldn't swim. Next week is Registration Day for school. My summer is dwindling! I have to start reading Night, for school, soon. I read it a while back, and enjoyed it, but for some reason I don't feel like reading. It's short, so it won't take long, but that's not the problem. I should probably just start reading and get all the summer homework (a definite oxymoron, but still true) done.
Corvettes: 4 (I'll keep on counting, even though the trip is over.)

Just Another Summer Day

Thank God for air conditioning! A guy came out to our house on Tuesday, and fixed the air conditioning. Apparently, there was a dead earwig between the contact and the contact plate that prevented them from connecting. Or something like that. Tomorrow supposed to be around 90 F, so I'm soooo glad it's fixed. For today's news, it's my grandma's birthday. We're still trying to get back to our normal summer routine, after the vacation. Today's probably going to be just a regular day, nothing too interesting. We're probably going to be stuck in the house ironing or washing clothes all day. Yeah! Until my next post, then!

Back Home

(The picture is a map that I drew the approximate route we took.)

After 6929 miles, 498.4 gallons of gas, and 13 states, I'm finally home. We ate breakfast at Java Joe's in St. Ignace (which is the best!!!), and then took off on the 5 hour drive home. We arrived home at around 3:47 PM Eastern Time. Unfortunately, the air conditioning isn't working, so inside the house is almost as warm as outside, which is hot and humid :(. Kingsley was a little tired and lonely on the drive home, since he was with 3 other dogs for 2 weeks! One thing I forgot to add yesterday, is that my stupid brother stuck his head out the window to spit, while the car was moving, and lost his hat in the road. Fortunately, we were able to turn around and get it (it hadn't been run over). Now that we're home, we have this huge pile of dirty clothing built up from the past couple of days. I'm kind of glad to be home and to sleep in my own bed, the trip was soooo fun. I should thank my parents (especially my mom), who planned the whole trip- every minute detail, who without, there would be no trip. I only have less than one month before school starts, so I'm going to spend the rest of the summer wisely.

Corvettes: 9

The Last Night

You don't know how hard it was to get on this Internet, so you had better enjoy it. Tonight is the last night away from home. We're in St. Ignace, MI, which is 5 hour away from where I live. We usually stay in another hotel, but it wasn't dog-friendly. Yesterday was very interesting. When got to the Roseville, MN hotel, my uncle and Aunt "Rose" were there to meet us with the 4 dogs. It was so good to see Kingsley after 3 weeks! They were staying at my uncle's brother's house with the dogs, who had invited us to eat dinner with them. We went swimming in their pool, which felt really good. It had rained recently and was soooo humid. Apparently, Kingsley had tried to walk on the pool before the cover was taken off. After a dinner of hot dogs and hamburgers, the area got a tornado warning! Yeah! Everyone went down into the basement for about 30 minutes or so until it passed over. Luckily, there wasn't tornadoes near us. This morning, we had to re-pack into our Suburban from the conversion van, and then ate breakfast at Panera Bread. We ate lunch in Menominee, which is right inside the border of Michigan, at 3 different places. Most of the family ate at Culver's, my brother ate in Taco Bell, and I ate at this pasty store. For those who don't know, a pasty is like a dry pot pie, that looks like a turnover. It's a UP specialty. It's kind of sad that tomorrow is our last drive of the trip, but I'll be glad to be home. For those who are wondering, I will keep on posting after the vacation ends.
Corvettes: 8

The Longest Drive

(The English Room)
Today was a veeery long drive. 11 hours, the majority in Montana, to get to Dickinson, North Dakota. Let me tell you, driving across Montana is no easy task. There's not a lot of variation of to the landscape, and it is a lot of miles to cover. Luckily, we got to watch Season 2 of Burn Notice to pass the time. The bed and breakfast, Hartfiel Inn, where we're staying at is nice. My sister and I are sharing the English Room, and we have 2 other rooms. We get breakfast, and the whole place is beautifully decorated. The people who run the B&B have traveled the world, and have different things from the places they went. There is this picture in the downstairs area of the inn keeper's dad, and he looks almost identical to my dad!! Coincidence, I think not! For dinner, we ate at Elk Lodge, and I got broiled chicken breast, which was tasty. Tomorrow, we're driving to Roseville, Minnesota, where we'll meet up with my uncle, Aunt "Rose", and all the dogs!! I've missed Kingsley (my westie), and will be glad to see him.

Corvettes: 1!!!

Glacier National Park

Yesterday we drove to Montana, where we are staying at North Forty Resort. We have our own cabin, and it's pretty nice. We got here late, and I didn't feel like blogging. The next few days are going to be long driving days, so the post might be spotty. Today, we went to Glacier National Park. It's really beautiful. We drove the Going to the Sun Road, which goes up to the Continental Divide (which we have passed 5 or 6 times on this trip), and then back down again. The views of the valley are spectacular. We had to wait for about 5 minutes in traffic, so we all got out and took pictures. In total, we hiked 5.4 miles in the park, the longest being in Logan Pass, where we hiked 3 miles (round trip) to Hidden Lake. It's name is definitely appropriate. We saw a bunch of animals, including big horn sheep, mountain goats, ground squirrel, etc. After leaving the park, we ate lunch/dinner at the 2 sisters Near Babb, Montana. I got this huge chili cheeseburger, which I didn't finish. They had some interesting decorations inside, including a Gay Pride Flag. We also got some pie, which we'll eat later. To get back to the cabin, we drove the long way around the bottom of the NP, and went into Whitefish, MT to get some ice cream. Uncle "Frank" didn't get to read his USA Today, today, which he buys and reads daily. Tomorrow we'll be driving to Dickinson, ND.

Corvettes: 18 (it's cumulative of a few days)

1st Day of Leaving

Today marks the first day of returning home. I'm happy (I'm glad to finally get home), but sad (I've enjoyed my time on this trip). Last night, we stayed in my relatives' home in Hillsboro, Oregon. We got in late, an I didn't feel like blogging. Yesterday, was my cousin's birthday. She got the Twilight DVD, and some other Twilight paraphernalia. We also stopped at a bookstore in Gold Beach, and she got a few books. After that, we drove all the way to the Oregon Sand Dunes, or a name similar to that. After running up and down, we went to Florence (Oregon) and ate lunch at this restaurant in town. I had a cup of clam chowder and a piece of cake. Later we got ice cream and saltwater taffy. They were all good. We watched Twilight for the rest of the drive and commented on the bad acting in it. The other van was stopped by the Oregon Highway Patrol because the light over the license plate wasn't working. Made the trip interesting. We're leaving soon, so I'll update later.

Gold Beach and Redwoods

(Since the clock is 3 hours ahead, the date is actually the 3rd)

Let's backtrack a little. Last night's play, Much Ado About Nothing, was wonderful, as expected. Very amusing. Anyway, for today's events. We checked out of the Ashland House at about 10 AM, and started driving to our next stop. We took a detour into California to see the redwood forest, where we took a mile long walk through to see. I knew that they were big, but you don't realize how massive until you're right next to them. There were a few that were hollow, and quite a few people can fit into them. It was cool to see. We also ate a picnic lunch near this beautiful scenic overlook of the Pacific Ocean. Today was the first time I saw it (Pacific Ocean, that is)!! We then looped back into Oregon, and to Gold Beach, which is where we are staying. My family and Uncle "Frank" are staying in a condo, and the other 6 vacationers are in another rooms because of the dog policy. It was 40 F cooler than it was the first day in Ashland, 98 F to 58 F. Tomorrow is my cousin's 13th birthday, so we'll celebrate it at midnight. It's also the day that we set off to Hillsboro, Oregon, which is where my cousins, Uncle Joe, and Aunt Linda live.

Bunches of Plays

In our time in Ashland, I'll see 3 plays, Don Quixote, All's Well That Ends Well, and Much Ado About Nothing. So far, I've seen the first two. Yesterday's rendition of Don Quixote was rainy, it was delayed by 30 minutes or so. It was entertaining, but I didn't really understand the big picture of the story. They recycled some materials, using a bunch of socks for sheep, etc., which was really cool. This morning, we went on this tour of the different theaters and back stages. I learned a lot of interesting stuff about how the play is ran backstage. In the New Theater, the smallest, my dad, sister, and I, went to see All's Well That Ends Well, while everyone else saw Macbeth in another larger theater. AWTEW was really funny, and fun to watch. There was one actor that played 5 or so characters, servant, messenger, tramp, army guy, and more. Everyone was laughing out loud. MAAN, which is in the Elizabethan Theater, which is outdoors, is what some of us are going to see. I've seen the movie with Emma Thompson, and enjoy the story, but this one is set during WW2. Should be good! Next stop, is Gold Beach, Oregon.

Ashland, Oregon

Hey, from Ashland, Oregon! Sorry, but Crater Lake Lodge doesn't have any Internet access. So, I'll recap the 2 days you miss, as well as today. Well, on July 30th (the days on the blog title, for the most part, are a day forward because of the time change), we drove to Crater National Park. My cousin came in the conversion van, and she, my sister, and I all played a game of Connections, which is where you say one word and the next person says something connected to it. When we pulled over at the scenic overlook, we saw the first view of Crater Lake. It is beautiful; the water is this azure blue that looks like a painting. When we got to the lodge, all we did was hang out and ate dinner at the lodge restaurant. My Uncle Joe had to stay in a tent for the night with their dog, because there is a No Dog Policy at Crater Lake Lodge.

On July 31st, we actually did something. My mom and Uncle "Frank" got up early to get sunrise pictures , and then decided to get tickets to a 2 hour boat tour in Crater Lake for 11:00 AM. To get down to the boat dock, you had to walk down this 700 ft hill on a 1.1 mile trail. The walk down was okay. When we got to the bottom, they said all kids 12 and under have to wear a life jacket. My cousin, who was 13 in 4 days, didn't want to wear one, but her brother made such a big fuss that she had to wear one and everyone was annoyed. The main thing I remember of the boat tour was this vertical floating log, called the 'Old Man', which has been floating around for 100 years or so. It was really hot and sunny, so after the tour, I went swimming in Crater Lake, in all my clothing. It felt really good, especially during the grueling hike up the cliff. My dad, cousin, and I all had to share a half a water bottle, and we were exhausted by the time we finished. My dad wanted me to mention this Raoul who was diving off a 20 ft cliff into Crater Lake. That is pretty much the extent of that days events.

Today, we drove to Ashland. All 4 girls (my sister, 2 cousins, and I) were in the conversion van, and we played a bunch of word/acting games, which were fun for the short drive. The house we are renting, which is huge (4 bedrooms and bathrooms, and more!), wasn't ready for us when we arrived, so we walked downtown and ate lunch. Man is it hot and relatively humid outside, 95 F!! Luckily, this house has air conditioning, unlike the Bend rental. Tonight, we are going to see Don Quixote in an outdoor theater, which should be fun. Until tomorrow!

Day 14

Today's main event was white water rafting. Even though it seemed shorter than an hour and a half, man was it fun!! I got soaked, but that was the fun part. The big group of rapids was called the 'Big Eddie', which was where most of the soaking took place. After the rafting, we drove home, and then walked to this restaurant for lunch. It was hot outside today, 90's or somewhere in that region, and of course, there was nowhere to cool off. The house was and still is hot (with no air conditioning), and there is no lake or pool to swim in nearby. Most of us then went to the strip mall, after which we went to eat ice cream at Goody's in downtown Bend. When we arrived, the other part of the group, my parents, cousin, and Uncle "Frank", were there as well. If it hadn't been for me insisting that we didn't eat at Coldstone Creamery (which I don't particularly like, and is overpriced), this coincidence wouldn't have happened! I got a delicious Oreo milkshake that doubled as dinner. Yum! Tomorrow we head on out.
Corvettes: 3

Day 13

Basically, everyone is going to sleep, so I'll make the day's events brief. This morning was not hectic at all, even with only one bathroom. In fact, we had an extra hour before the van picked us up to take us to the cave. So, my dad and I took a walk around town. When we got to the cave, the entrance is this square yard fenced in staircase. This cave was much more climbing through passageways and over rocks than Jewel Cave. It was fun. After eating lunch at Flatbread Community Oven (which was awesome!), Uncle Joe, Aunt Linda, Uncle "Frank", my mom, sister, 2 cousins, and I walked around downtown. I was pretty exhausted by the time I got back to the house, and took a nap. Later we decided to go to this observatory near by, but we didn't have any directions! When we finally got there, it was pretty awesome. There was a bunch of telescopes trained on different cosmic objects. To point out constellations, they had this very powerful laser pointer, and it was really cool. Now I am going to get some rest for tomorrow's white water raft trip.

Corvettes: 0

1st Day in Bend

Yesterday was a long day. We drove from Teton Village, Wyoming, all the way across Idaho, and half way across Oregon to Bend. That drive was somewhere between 12 to 14 hours long. On the way there, we stopped at Craters of the Moon National Monument. It's this place in the Snake River Basin, Idaho were there's a bunch of old lava flows. There was this cinder cone hill there that Uncle "Frank", my parents, and I climbed. Luckily, it was only 79 F, so we weren't totally hot and tired at the top. I was so tired by the time I got to the Bend house we are renting, that I didn't feel like blogging. There, we met up with Uncle Joe, Aunt Linda, dog, and 4 out of their 5 children (the 5th child is at a summer camp at Harvard). That makes 12 people in a house with only 1 shower. At 8:45 AM, Pacific Time, we're going to be picked up by a van that will take us to a 2 hour lava tube tour. Tomorrow is our white water rafting trip down the Deschutes River. After the lava tube tour, it will be a day of relaxation.

Corvettes: 3

Day 11

Today wasn't very interesting. My mom and Uncle "Frank" went to church this morning. After they came back, we went into Jackson, Wyoming. My dad and brother went to this Ripley's (of Ripley's Believe it or not) Museum in town. The rest of us went around town to a few different stores. Lunch was a picnic in Grand Teton National Park. While waiting at the Visitor's Center, I finished Cold Sassy Tree, the 3rd out of 4 books I have to read for English. I enjoyed it, but the ending was horrible!! But, I won't spoil it. After that, we went back to the lodge, and the adults went to get a massage. We swam while they were gone, and had pizza and ice cream for dinner. Tomorrow, we leave for Bend, Oregon.

The Sites of Yellowstone

Day 10

Hello from Teton Village, again! Today we spent the whole day in Yellowstone National Park. We had to get up early; around 5:30 AM. To get to the south entrance of Yellowstone, we drove through Grand Tetons National Park. Picturesque. We drove through there relatively quickly, even though there was supposed to be construction.We saw all the main spots in Yellowstone, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Fishing Bridge (where we couldn't see any fish), Lower Falls, Norris Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, etc. We ate lunch at a picnic site, and while there, the TV in the conversion van fell off. I guess my dad's going to have to fix something on vacation! It was an exhausting day, but I loved being there.
My favorite was the Lower Falls. We could see it from the Artist's Point, which is where an artist on one of the first explorations painted it from. We also saw it from a point almost right over the edge of the waterfall. I got wonderful pictures from both places. Old Faithful was also pretty cool. Earlier in the day I found a penny. I guess my penny luck worked. When we got there, it was supposed to have erupted 2 minutes ago, but was 4 minutes late, which was just enough to get there. The water streamed up way farther than I expected.
When driving back, we got stuck in what seemed a traffic jam caused by construction. In actuality, 5 bison were crossing the road, and were holding up traffic!! They were just taking their grand ole time. When we finally got back to the Teton Mountain Lodge, it was 9 PM! My parents, Uncle "Frank", and I ate dinner at the restaurant in the lodge, which was good. For dessert, I got this chocolate cake thingy, that had chocolate ganache (I don't know if that is spelled right) in the center, and ice cream on the side. Boy was it good!!
PS Aunt "Penelope", I don't have any stuffed animals, so you're out of luck with the pictures.
Corvettes: 7

Some Pics

The Badlands, Crazy Horse, and Mount Rushmore.