Normally Normal Again

I'm back to the old routine: school, homework, free time, bed. I wish Spring Break lasted forever. Trips from time to time, and all the time I need to spend with Cooper, the dog who came back from a place that kept him up all night today. Why do I need nine months of learning, anyway? Why can't there be three months? We kids can't stuff all that math, reading, social studies, etc. in our brains. They'll explode!

On Wednesday was the drive to Utah. We got there at about 9:45 and went to bed a couple hours later (we're a family of night owls). I got to sleep in my own room, my Aunt Missy's old room (her real name is Melissa, but we call her Missy). I couldn't sleep, since I had slept in the car before we got there. I sneaked into my parents' room, and quietly tried to get a place on the bed. It wasn't such a smart idea, because my mom woke up and said, "Go somewhere else. We're trying to sleep, and we won't be able to if we're all squished." So, I found a place in the basement, where my brothers were sleeping. I slept better in there, although I was cold.

On Thursday we headed for Provo, Utah at about noon to visit my brother Parker and his girlfriend, Meegan. Before we went to the indoor stadium to watch Parker's football practice, my mom just HAD to go to Nordstrom to buy a white shirt for my dad with the $50.00 gift card our friends gave to her. We went and enjoyed gourmet ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. It was delish (short for delicious). We went to Parker's practice. All the coaches respected my brothers since they had been at football camps three years in a row. I felt invisible. Then, Meegan showed up, and we watched with her. I discovered there was a little putting course for golf over in the corner, so I kicked golf balls around into the holes, a game I called, "Solf." It is a mixture of soccer and golf. Then, we went to the greatest Italian restaraunt in the history of all Italian restaraunts: Brick Oven. It is not all over the world, only in Provo. It is the greatest place to go to. I enjoyed a Pasta Bar. I got bowtie and shell noodles and a huge meatball with some garlic bread. Then, at the sauce center, I chose red sauce. Oh, no, I just remembered. I left my garlic bread at Grandma's. Oh, well. So, then, Meegan and Parker split apart from the family for the night. They had class in the morning. So, the siblings drove together in Meredith's car.

On Friday my family went to Park City, Utah to enjoy a day at The Canyons Ski Resort. I didn't go, because I didn't want to. So, I spent a morning finding my own things to do. Then, my Grandma took me to a fast food restaraunt called Shivers. Inside it looks like Candy Land. On the ceiling, it has an oval with a picture of the Candy Land Game Board. Then, Candy Castle is there when you walk in. On the windows it says things like, "Peppermint Forest" and "Gumdrop Alley." I bought a mini cheeseburger and a small chocolate shake, which ended up being a huge chocolate ice cream cup. I didn't even eat 1/4 of the ice cream, and I was sad to waste the shake. My Grandma and I dropped off chairs at my cousin Liz's house. She had just had a baby girl named Grace. After dropping the chairs off, we went to a place called Color Me Mine, which is an art studio at an outdoor mall. People in Utah are probably familiar with the store, because it is very popular. I made an egg cup with stripes, and it holds an egg with polka dots on it. My family was impressed with it when we picked it up yesterday. My family came home, and we met up with my mother's mom, whom we call Nani. We met her at Noodles and Company, another Italian restaraunt. I had a recipe called House Marinara, which is regular spaghetti, but it uses penne pasta instead of spaghetti. It was delicious. Then, we went to Nani's condo and had ice cream sundaes.

On Saturday we went skiing again, and this time I went since we had bought tickets in advance. We went to Park City ski resort instead of The Canyons. My dad and my mom visited with a ton of people on the ski lifts, and most of them were from New York. I wondered why people more than 1,000 miles away come to Utah for skiing. Must be great snow. I can only go on Blue Squares, because I'm an intermediate skiier. My brothers are experts; they can go on double black diamonds!!! I always feel bad for my dad, because he's an amazing skiier, but he has to go on easy runs with me. He says he enjoys it, though. We went back home, and Meegan came to visit us from Provo. Parker had come skiing with us that day. We ordered Olive Garden. More Italian food!!! Everyone watched Quantum of Solice, which is James Bond #7, but I didn't watch because I don't like to watch PG-13 movies. I wish my family didn't watch them. I played my Nintendo DS and then went to bed in the basement.

On Sunday we went to Grace's baby blessing at Liz's church. It was Fast Sunday, which means you don't eat breakfast that morning. That also means you can bear your testimony, which is what you believe, in church. Liz's husband, Cameron, went up and bore his testimony, then Liz. I was happy to be a cousin of Liz. After the meeting, we said good-bye to Parker and Meegan and then went back to Grandma's to pack. I played hide-and-seek with Madison, and he was easy to find since he's so tall. We went home and weren't home in time to pick up Cooper, so we picked him up today. I was happy to see him.

And now I'm back to my routine. Learn, do, eat, sleep. Boring routine, huh? I wish it was summer, because then I'd have tons to do. But that's just the way it is.

On a Voyage

My family is heading for Salt Lake City in about four hours. My brother Madison prepares the ski equipment for when my mom comes home from working in her office in Meridian. My dad is in Twin Falls, so his strength is not here to help us. Oh, well. We're a strong family.

The trip is four and half hours long, and I get sick easily, even if it's a half-hour trip. I will bring my laptop to write stories along the way, my iPod for amusement with music, and my DVD player for movies. (Which would be better? DVDs on my laptop or DVD player?)

I've been looking forward to this trip for a long time, except I haven't packed yet, but I'll go do that soon. It doesn't take me long to pack, and we have plenty of time. Super Abby's on a trip to Utah to visit the Super Family and Friends. Hooray!

Wish me luck on my trip, everyone. I better not get sick. I'm just recovering from the flu!!!

P.S. Cooper's gone!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He's at the boarding kennel with the ladies, though. He can impress anyone. Whenever Cooper sniffs some other dog's toosh, the normal way to say hello in dog language, that dog wants him like crazy. They jump and bark. I feel like when Cooper pants back he's smiling. I love that dog, and I'm going to miss him!

My Eyes Feast Upon...

The warm weather, the birds chirping louder than ever before, the green grass, the flowers blooming, and, best of all, the sign of Spring Break. A break from school is just what I need.

I write in my journal, doodling and writing about spring. Just last night, I drew a picture of a smiling sun, a lake, a tree, and lots of flowers. I also write about how I'm going to visit my sister, my brother, and my grandparents in Utah in only five days (now it's only three days). I can't wait to snuggle with my sister. I can't wait to hug the grandmother I'm almost as tall as. I can't wait to eat the Goldfish that Grandma buys for us. I can't wait to talk to my step-grandpa, also known as Grandpa Floyd. I can't wait to jump up on Parker and hug him tightly. I can't wait to hug EVERYONE who I haven't seen since Thanksgiving (I saw Meredith about a month ago, though).

I will miss Cooper, though. His cute brown eyes and shiny black fur are so adorable. His royal blue collar jingling around letting us know he's near. His Timberline spirit spread throughout the house (his black fur, his blue collar, and the white stripe going down his chest). He makes me happy, although I sometimes have to punish him for the naughty stuff he does while we're gone. He's still my little boy. My cute, little boy. My eyes feast upon his.

Now, it's time for a poll.

Question: What's your favorite thing about Spring Break?

a. The blooming of life
b. A week-long break
c. Doing whatever your heart desires

The Loss of a Pearly White

Doing a special donation orginization today with my friends Maddie and Courtney, my tooth kept bothering me. It had been loose for a few months, and it was practically ready to come out this evening.

Before Courtney and I said good-bye to Maddie to go back to my house, I wiggled my tooth to check on it, and it was painful. Extreme pain. I nearly screamed. So, when me and Courtney walked back to my house, and when Courtney went home, I used a pen cap to try and get the tooth out so I wouldn't be experiencing pain. No use. I asked my mom to help me, and she yanked it out with a tissue. I screamed, and my mom gave me another tissue to bite on to get the blood out.

And now there's a huge gap in the right side. It's fun to go through, but the adult tooth will be here pretty soon. My 10th tooth lost. Victory.

P.S. Happy Saint Patrick's Day. You never know if you'll find a leprechaun messing up someone's property or space, or a pot o' gold lying around in a meadow full of clovers, or maybe even a four-leaf-clover, if you're lucky.

Sick Again?

Yes, I'm sick once again. I have the flu. I've had about four watts of Children's Tylenol. I hate the taste of medicine more than anything else. And, the worst part is, after having a large bowl of chicken noodle soup yesterday, I threw up later that night in the bathroom. I hated it. Brown liquid and noodles everywhere in that yellow bucket. It was dreadful.

So, I had to miss church. :( I really like church. I've learned to like it. But, it is what it is. Some more Tylenol every four hours. My brother Madison stayed home, too, because his wisdom teeth were pulled on Friday, and his cheeks are HUGE! (I learned that if your wisdom teeth grow in straight you don't have to get them pulled. Hooray!)

And so, for the sake of it all, I'm stuck here in this house where Madison Mangum, the famous receiver on the Timberline football team, watches NBA basketball all day while I blog and go on websites. (Madison's officially going to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. How exciting!) Happy Sunday!

The Worst of Emotional

Goodness, what an emotional afternoon I experienced today. The school district had a spelldown, and only four kids were accepted: two from each class. For my class, me and Emily Connell, and from the other class, Sebastian Elu and Grace Hernandez.

Grace was first, and the word was balm, used in plants. She spelled it, "baum" because it sounded like bomb or something. Then, it was Sebastian's turn: elated. Was right. Went on to Emily: upshot. Got it right. On to me: portly. Wrong. I spelled it "portley." Eliminated. No chance of going to the districts. The final two were Sebastian and Emily. Sebastian won, and is going to compete against 32 other schools.

After putting my head down on my desk and crying and having a runny nose, I finally signed out of the classroom and went to the bathroom. Sat in a stall. Cried some more. I came out after five minutes. A girl named Lauren Kerner came in as I stared at my red eyes in the mirror. She must have thought it helped, but it was really pretty offensive.

"What word did you miss?" she asked.

"Portly," I said.

"You should've gotten it right."

In my head: How's that supposed to help? That's pretty rude. Walked out of the stall. Sat down in class. Did my work slowly.

Kami passed a note to me saying, "Everyone makes mistakes. You did a great job." Pictures all over the other side of the paper. Smiley faces, rainbows, stars, anything colorful. It was emotional, but soon got over it. I'll make it another time.

Remember, don't forget "portly."

Head Lice Test

So, today when me and my friends got back from GATE, the nurse and the assistant principal were there testing kids to see if they had head lice. I sat down and sat quietly not knowing what to expect. The assistant principal dug through my hair trying to see if I had head lice (and happily, I don't).

But my friend Courtney (poor Courtney) got a call from the nurse saying she had head lice. SO, her mom made her clean up everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) out of her room. They put it all in the wash so they could get those evil seeds out of the furniture. And now she's going to the doctor to get those seeds off her poor head.

I feel bad for Courtney, really. My friend Olivia told me she had head lice once and it took the doctors all day to get the seeds off of her head and into a container. And Courtney's twin sister, Candace, probably has it, too because they sleep in the same room.

P.S. Thanks Courtney, for calling me and letting me know! It really helps!

I Saw...

Les Miserables, the play based on a novel by Victor Hugo, a French novelist and poet. He wrote a poem my GATE teacher LOVES: Wings. Here's how it goes (Mrs. Lundbohm, my GATE teacher, told the whole class to write it down):

Wings

Be like the bird, who

Halting in flight,

On limb too slight,

Feels it give way beneath him,

Yet sings,

Knowing he hath wings.

It IS powerful poem, I must say. And yet this French man can write a story that is made into Broadway plays all over the world. Amazing. I will never stop dreaming the dream of becoming a writer. Never...ever.

I hated the first part of the play, but it got better at the second part. The family rated, and I gave it a C. The play started at 7:30 pm, and my mom assumed it would end at 9:30, but it ended up concluding at 11:00. We were POOPED when we got home.

Victor, I must find the book. My mom said she read it, and I want to as well, even though it's a book for adults. This is my letter to you.

The Future

I closed my laptop last night when I shut it down, and today when I was going to check e-mail and read blogs, I found a few books on top of my laptop (my mom acts like my laptop isn't even there, so she puts stuff on it). One was a small playbill. A playbill is a little book that tells information about plays.

On one page it showed a picture of girl who looked about 24 years old. It showed more pictures of her below acting in plays. The article said she probably got more parts in a Broadway play than anyone else in the country. It really amazed me; this 24-year-old acting in major New York Broadway shows. It made me think about the future. I started asking myself questions: If I become an author, will I become famous and be in magazines that show information about authors who have had tons of books published? Or will I just be a best-seller for one single book, and then everyone forgets about me a month later?

But I don't need to worry. I have lots of years. I have plenty of time. Why am I even worrying about this stuff? Gosh, I have a brain that likes to plan ahead, don't I? It's good to plan ahead, but why 12 years before? But it's how I am. A ten-year-old who likes to plan ahead, loves animals, and loves to write. I could write on the computer all day if I could. And now, it's time for a poll.

Question: Would you rather be famous in New York or California (my answer would be California. You probably know about the post about East and West)?

Clover Month = Performing Arts

Yes, it's true. I'm performing tonight, at Les Bois Junior High, in front of at least 500 people. Other choirs in the district will be there. No solos, no duets for me. (Only 5th and 6th get to. Pooey!)

And then, on Friday, the White Pine Elementary Timberwolf Choir (that's me, oh yeah) is going to the Idaho Power Conference Room to perform Japanese songs to about 50 people. I really don't know the songs, for I've only practiced them once. I'm a lazy pig, aren't I? I've missed choir a lot! Well, I'll be sure to make it on Wednesday and I'll practice.

AND THEN, instead of performing, I will be WATCHING a performance: Les Miserables, at Timberline High School, on Saturday night. A story of kids who get way too much homework, their parents abuse them, (really?) and their lives are ruined. Doesn't sound too interesting, huh? Well, there are some high schoolers out there who are AMAZING! They will for sure make the show interesting. You can buy tickets at Timberline High School. Shows are on Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Show starts at seven o' clock each night, and there will be a dinner before. Sorry if I'm acting as if I'm advertising, I'm just trying to inform.

So, the month of the clover includes Arts (as in dancing and singing). Do the Irish Jig, men and women! Roll in a pile of clovers! (Here's a trick. Find a three-leaf clover, pick a leaf off of another clover, and hold it in place with your thumb. Your thumb will be in the center of the clover. Show it to your family! They might actually believe you found one.) Happy Green Month!