Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving; a time where you get together, eat delicious meals, and verify what you're thankful for. I love Thanksgiving. It's a time where we get to travel to Utah. We went to Utah on Tuesday night (I got to miss school on Wednesday. Yes!!!). We do this every year so my dad's side of the family can get together for a huge dinner. I got to sit at the teenager and college student table. 3 lucky people got birthday presents, too. Those people are my cousin, Brooke, who was going to turn 7 years old, my brother, Parker, who was going to turn 24 years old, and me, Abby, who is going to turn 10 years old. We have the dinner the night before Thanksgiving. I don't know why, but I don't mind. Before the dinner, we went to a place called Body Worlds. It's a museum where they show models of real human bodies that died. We saw a glass case of all the nerves (they were real); they were so cool! We went on an escalator that had a screen that showed blood cells going down a body. It felt like you were going down with it! It was so cool. Thanksgiving Day was Parker and Brooke's birthday. Parker's birthday present was a drive home back to Boise for the weekend. His girlfriend, Meegan Small, came home with us. About an hour after getting home, we went to a movie. I saw Twilight!!! Oh my gosh, that movie was so good! The author of Twilight, Stephanie Meyer, was in the movie. Robert Pattinson who plays Edward Cullen the vampire is so cute!!! I can't get over his hotness! I saw it for a second time last night. Now I'm reading the book. I'm telling you, go see Twilight! Dang, I wish I could upload his picture on here. Robert Pattinson also plays Cedric Diggery in Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire. I love you, Robert!

The Winter Performance

I felt I should write another post. I have so much to tell! In an earlier post, I mentioned that I got this solo part. This is how the song goes:

"I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue thinkin' about you. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, (pause) oh if you're not here with me. I'll have a (two-beat pause) oh-del-oh-del, yoh-del-oh-del-alley! Oh-del-oh-del, yoh-del-oh-del-alley! (long pause) You'll be doin' alright with your Christmas of white, but I'll have a blue, blue Christmas."

There's a background choir behind me singing stuff. It's a slow song, so it's much longer than what it seems. I still need to think of some dance moves, but choreography will come later. See you at the show in a month, Meredith!

Happiness All Over

This week has been one of the happiest ever. I learned that Hailey the dog is staying, Twilight the movie came on Friday, BYU plays University of Utah, snow fell here in Boise, and on Thursday my birthday was going to be exactly two weeks away! It's less than two weeks now! It's less than a week for my brother. Today is my Webkinz' birthday! She turned two years old! It's crazy! Cooper is now officially married to Hailey. This is how Hailey got to stay: OK, so Hailey was going to belong to the owner's son until the son's son came in. The owner's son already had two dogs; a yellow lab and a dachsund. The dachsund was very wild, so the owner's son wanted to give it to his neighbor. The owner's son's son (the owner's name is Marsha) didn't want to give the dachsund away so he cried and cried and begged and begged for the dachsund to stay. When I learned this, I wanted the boy to keep crying. My wish came true! Marsha's son finally got tired of his son's whining, so he let Hailey stay!!! He didn't want to take three dogs, either. If I ever see that little boy, I'm going to thank him so dearly. I'm going to say this: "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He might be confused, but oh well! At least Hailey stays! I hope Marsha wasn't mad about having Hailey stay, and if she ever wants to give her up, I'm going to beg and beg and beg to bring Hailey home with us. I don't want her taken to the Humane Society. I call that place "The Nasty Pound." I wish I could bring every dog home with me. My friend loves animals, too, so she said that if she became president, she would build a huge animal care place where killing animals and animals being put to sleep is forbidden. It would have lots of water, food, and play toys. The building would be so big that every animal in need could have lots of personal space. I hate hearing about animals being abused or neglected. I especially hate watching animal cops or animal hospitals (not like a vet clinic, but like serious injuries). Animals look so beat up. I'm so glad dog fighting became illegal. I heard a really good football player got arrested for doing that. If your dog loses the fight, it will be so beat up you have to put it to sleep. It gives me the shivers thinking about it. Happiness has come all over me. I love life the way it is.

Thanksgiving = Traveling and Performances

I love Thanksgiving, and that's why I post more in the fall than any other season. Fall is my favorite season. I don't even care that school starts in fall (actually, it's summer when you start school, but who cares?). When I think of Thanksgiving, I know it's time to travel! Every single Thanksgiving, my family and I drive down to Utah to celebrate. This year, Thanksgiving is on my brother Parker's birthday! He turns 24! It might sound awkward that I actually have a single brother who's turning 24, and I'm only 9 1/2 (my birthday is exactly a week after Thanksgiving. I'll be turning 10!). In Utah, we stay at my Grandma's house (my dad's mom). She has a huge house, so there's plenty of room! Her house is a 3-storey house! When my cousins from Las Vegas come to visit my Grandma, too, my family has to sleep in the basement while my cousins are being pampered two stories up. I sigh at that fact. The basement is warm, though, except it's loud in there. The attic is there, and the washing machine stays in the attic, which keeps me up for an hour until finally I get used to the sound and I fall asleep. I'm skipping a day of school to go to Utah (yippee!). I have lots of performances that have to do with Thanksgiving. I'm constantly practicing parts, trying to memorize them (my mom makes me). I love being able to see family on Thanksgiving, and I'm glad to have a holiday where you can be thankful for what you have. There's a place past Salt Lake City called Thanksgiving Point, and to be able to enter, you have to say something you're thankful for. I've never been in, but Parker has. He's a happy camper in Utah! We're going to stay in Utah for two days, and then we'll take the 4 1/2 hour trip back home. On Thursday, December 4th, my birthday comes! Lots of girls my age love this topic, but others don't. I'm going to Build-A-Bear Workshop! We've already booked the party, and I'm going to prepare invitations soon! I'm very excited! Anyway, have a happy Thanksgiving! I'll try to post soon!

The Sniffing Adventures of Cooper Almighty

This is a post dedicated to my dog, Cooper, in honor of how he sniffs his way through life:

Once, there was a clever black labrador mix named Cooper. He knew everything about impressing girls. He was known as "Tough Luck." Cooper was a secret agent for a spy network. He was given disguises, privileges, and a real personality. One day, as Cooper was driving in his black convertible, a lady dog stopped him. "What's up?" Cooper smiled. "Can I join you, handsome?" the lady dog asked trying to be as romantic as she could be. "If I can get to know your name, yes," Cooper replied impatiently. "My name's Connie Bonebreaker," she said. Cooper nodded and let her in. They drove off. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a huge green slimy monster came! "I WANT DOGGIES!" the monster yelled. "I WANT SOME DOGGIES FOR DINNER!" "I'll stop him!" Cooper said. He got a monster-blasting shooting ray set up, but before he knew it, Connie was trapped by the monster! Cooper shot his ray at the monster but only a tiny hole appeared in the monster's stomach. "Aw, shucks!" Cooper said. He got a bigger ray set up and shot that ray at the monster. A bigger hole appeared. Then Cooper knew what to do. He had to find the biggest monster-shooting ray possible! Cooper found tools and built a huge ray. He shot it at the monster. The monster vanished! Connie fell but Cooper was quick enough to catch her in his arms. "My hero," Connie said. She kissed Cooper. They climbed in the car and drove away, ready for more dangers to come.

That's the end! I hope you enjoyed it. Keep living gracefully, Cooper!

Saddened, but Happy

Yesterday, my dad told me that my neighbor's dog who I walk was moving to the owner's son's house. I was saddened, but also happy. The dog's name is Hailey, and she moved to her owner's son's house where another dog is. They're going to be best friends, but I lost a customer in dog walking and Hailey was one of my good friends. It's going to be sad having to move on. I've never been so sad in my life about a dog. My sister tells me I'm more likely to see Hailey again and that it's cool how a dog can make you so happy. It's like a person's best friend! I felt better, but not completely. The neighbors are very nice, and Hailey made it nicer. I can't get over it, and I never will. I'll have to move on. It's my only choice. BUT, if only I could see Hailey for one last time, I would be ever so grateful. If I do see Hailey again, I'm going to kiss all over her face (let's hope my dog, Cooper, doesn't think I'm cheating on him because I won't). Hailey and Cooper were best friends. I felt like there was a connection between them, even though Hailey's much older than Cooper. I have a feeling Cooper's going to miss her, too. They went on walks together every so often. My friend and I would go walking through the park. My friend would hold Hailey's leash and I would hold Cooper's. Hailey is a Chocolate Lab, and she's a little overweight, but I don't care. I like her by the way she is. I'm going to miss Hailey so dearly; oh my goodness, I'm about to cry! Well, that brings an end to this post. I will try to write more happy posts; sorry if I'm trying to make you cry, but I'm not. Goodbye, readers. Goodbye, Hailey, I will miss you oh so dearly. You're the one (including Cooper) who makes me want to walk dogs more than anything else. You make my day (along with Cooper). OK, I'm crying. Goodbye everyone.

Election Day

It's only two days before Election Day! Election Day isn't so much a holiday, but you can call it a holiday if you'd like! It happens every four years, like Leap Day, so...I guess so! My family is voting for John McCain in the Republican party. The polls say that Barack Obama's winning (pooey). On this website called www.aol.com (go there), it once said that there was this commercial that might hurt Barack Obama's plans (thank you, whichever commercial you are!). My mom told me that the good thing about Democrats are that they take care of the environment. I love plants, but I'd rather have lower taxes. My mom said that if Barack Obama wins, my family will struggle in taxes (oh no)! So, because of that, I have some ideas that will make our bills lower than before.
Tip #1: Turn off the computer when you're done using it (that helps save electricity bills)
Tip #2: Turn off the light when you leave a room (that's been a problem with my brothers)
Tip #3: Turn off the TV when you're done watching it (another problem with my brothers)
Tip #4: Don't leave the faucet running when you finish washing your hands or washing the dishes (that helps save water bills)
Tip #5: Buy a house that's cheap (you won't have to pay so many housing bills!)
Those are my ideas! On the last idea, we bought a pretty expensive house so we're having to pay like $1,000 a month! Maybe more! And a Republican president is in the White House! My mom said that it would take a while for the taxes to go up if Barack wins (phew!). Anyway, vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin! It's the only way! You want low taxes, so vote for the Republican Party! Vote now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (but for John McCain)

Holidays Galore!

To me, I feel like there's a holiday every week! It actually is true. From birthdays to Labor Day, Halloween to Thanksgiving, Christmas to New Year's Day! In my family, there's not quite a celebration every week, but we have a lot! First, we have eight birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Labor days, and lots more!!! I haven't posted for a while, and I apologize for that. Yesterday was Halloween, and I had the best time! I was a witch! It was a last minute costume. I was going to be an M&M until we couldn't find the costume! When I was standing with my friends at a door waiting for the door to open, these people with creepy costumes came towards us. I looked at them, and the guy with the pink monster face lifted the face and...GUESS WHO IT WAS?! It was Blake Ulrickson!!! My friends started freaking out; they were astonished! I laughed and said, "Blake? Is that you?" He didn't want to be embarrassed by his brother, who was with him. He said, "I don't know those girls." I laughed again and said, "Yes you do!" He followed me for the next few houses until me and my friends lost them! "Where'd Blake go?" I asked my friend Courtney and her twin sister, Candace. They shrugged and said, "I don't know! It's strange they'd disappear, though!" I nodded and we went on. A couple days before Halloween was Cooper the dog's birthday! He turned two years old! In human years he's 14 years old. I'm sad to be the youngest again, but Cooper's a man now! He's a teenager! Anyway, back to Halloween. When we finished Trick-or-Treating, we walked back to my friend Sophia Connaughton's house and counted our candy! Sophia, Candace, and Courtney had been to a Trick-or-Treat thing at their church so they had way more than me (Sophia, Candace and Courtney go to the same church, and they're Presbytarian...if that's how you spell it). I had 91 candies, Sophia had 109, Candace had 117, Courtney had 170, and Sophia's little sister Grace had 105. The person with the most candy got more candy because the losers had to give her one candy (when I told you how much candy people had, I took out the candies we had to give to Courtney, who was the winner). Anyway, when we finished counting, the doorbell rang. We ran to go get it. WHO WAS THERE?! Jake Mendiola was there!!! He was dressed up as Elvis Presley. Grace, who had never met him before, said, "You have a funny wig!" My friends and I laughed and Jake laughed too. We gave him candy and he left still giggling (at least that's what I heard). I'm sorry that I keep going back and forth with Halloween, but I just remember things and I go back to that scene. This scene I'm going to talk about was when my friends and I were Trick-or-Treating. There was this house that was covered in Halloween decorations! There were skeleton people (they weren't real, though) and one witch person was pretending to spin a spoon in her cauldron. She could talk and when I turned, I saw a human (a real one) standing there talking into a mini microphone. She was saying the same words the fake witch was saying. When we reached the doorstep, there was this smoke that made me feel dizzy. We had to grab the candy from a casket that had a fake skeleton body in there. There was this bowl next to it, which had the candy in it. When you tried to reach for a candy, a hand sitting in the middle of the bowl would grab you. I was quick and picked up two candies before the hand could get me (it wasn't a real hand). Anyway, now that it's November, stop acting spooky and get Turkey ready! Thanksgiving is coming up (and it's on my brother Parker's birthday). I can't wait! See you soon!

P.S. That picture is a picture of Cooper, in honor of his birthday! Happy birthday, Cooper!