Everybody Sees the Ants

Lucky is living in a disfunctional family. His grandfather was a soldier in the Vietnam war and died in battle. Lucky's father has been distraught ever since, and his mom denies that they are anything but a normal family. Lucky is also being bullied at school, and he just needs to find an escape from the daily drama.
In his dreams, he escapes to a jungle where he is the hero. There is danger and adventure, and here he feels happier with his life. The real question is, how long can he hide in his dreams?
I thought this was a really good book and everyone should read it. It talks about bullying and dealing with family issues, but it also has a wild adventure side to it.

Spring Trip SOL

Exhausted. After flying all day and then driving for another hour in the car, I was ready to crash. In the car driving across Oahu, I tried to pay attention to the scenery around me, but my eyes eventually fluttered shut. We pulled up to the camp and I couldn't wait to go to sleep. We walked around a bit and we were told we could walk to the small brick wall. As we headed over there, we started to jog.
Then run. Right on the other side of the wall was the beach; warm soft sand that gets stuck between you toes, and cool ocean water that leaves your hair a little bit starchy. We rolled up our jeans and took off or shoes and danced around the breaking waves.

Murder on Fifth Avenue

This book is by Victoria Thompson and is of course a mystery. I believe it is in the middle of a series, but I did not know that when I started to read it. Honestly, judging by the plot of the story you could read any of these books in any order you want.
I really loved this book, and all of you could read it. I think it would be above IS level though.
The perspective of the book changes between two characters named Frank Malloy and Sarah Brandt. The book starts out with a simple murder of a wealthy man, but the plot thickens from there. Scandals and hidden family secrets are revealed, and plenty of plot twists. (The good kind I promise) I really liked how I could follow along and try to solve the case with them.

This was definitely a page turner, and I can't wait to find the rest in the series!

TBR:
Other books in this series
Messenger
Raven cycle series

A Long Long Sleep

This book is by Anna Sheehan, and is kind of a futuristic fairytale spin-off. The main character is Rosalinda Fitzroy and she has been asleep for about sixty years. She is awoken (accidentally) buy her handsome prince. Rosalinda was the daughter of the most powerful people in the world at the time, and sixty years later with her family absent her awakener's family obtains the "throne". So I guess he was sort of a prince... Anyway I thought this was a cool book. It was a neat way of modifying an old classic fairytale, and it was fun to read. I know this book wasn't on my tbr list, but Sofie recommended it to me so I read it. You guys should read it too!

TBR:
Raven cycle series
Blue lily, lily blue
Everybody Sees the Ants

More Poetry

Continuation.

The thick stifling air swirls around the room
           Our shoulders steadily hunch forward
     As the audience grows a look of gloom

   More friends and peers have moved onward
As we show them out our door
        Another stage they have conquered

They speak of dragons they have slayed
     Diving head first, unafraid
Basking in the moment I'm sure

       For they tell us a quick tale
Their last before they'll sail
   Carving their name with their decade blade

Ahead lies more dragons to slay
    More stories at bay
          They will prevail.

Hallway Game.

Where to go?
   To the left or the right
       it is the same
          One is inadequately bright
              The other neighboring night
                  To take the long way around
               is the game.

Limerick Poetry

Susie's Class Lockers/Cubbies

There once was a small wooden locker
Finding a friend there was a shocker
The metal hooks rest
Where the backpacks will nest
For small space, sharing was my offer

We Were Liars

This is a quick read by E. Lockhart, and it was okay in my opinion. This book is about a 17 year old girl named Cadence, and she always spends the summer on an island with her friends and family. After she experiences an accident, Cadence is left with amnesia and brain trauma. She doesn't remember all of those happy memories on the island, and all she has now are prescription drugs and books to pass the time. Anyone in our class can read it for sure, but personally I didn't really like it as much. I didn't hate it, but still. I don't really know what it is but for me something was missing in the story.

Free Verse Poetry

Wetlands.

A land once teeming with
adventure
and life
with towering trees
 and buzzing bees
the memory of sounds emerge.

The winding creek that roared with curiosity
now quietly trickles as it has been discovered

The gold stalks that scraped the sky
now wallow and bow at their roots

Due to the wave of change.

Occasional Poetry

WW2

Soldiers look
and peer
and spy around the towns
boots in their rhythm
marching around
watching and waiting for
the time.
The time to act
to move
to conquer

Now they don't spy
or peer around the comers,
their boots in rhythm
infest the peace
and take us with them.

Love
and fear and hatred
and hope
is all that is left
clutching to weak memories
the same song
a different melody

Ode

Ode to Old House

The creme walls hold the secret whispers
the leaf walls grasp onto the unforgotten memories
and the autumn walls share the bonds of years.
Crayon marks line
the white trim that follow the walls
around the pictures and toys used and neglected,
you have been through it all.

You gave us a home
more than a house
more than another place for a footprint
to be left.
A unique clone you were
with candles and somewhat off tuned
pianos.
With places to
hide
and places to
play

You were more than a living
square.

Haikus

16 stories told
Showing out, reflecting in
Through the looking glass

Two straps are back
While carrying the knowledge
From eight to three now

In the unerring place
Yet it turns but not open
A blockade of white

*I was in a mystery mood, try to figure out what they are!

Looking for Alaska

This book is one of many great books by John Green. It starts out with a boy named Miles who moves to a boarding school in Culver Creek for his junior year in high school. He makes some pretty neat friends there, but the book is mainly focused around a girl named Alaska. (Hence the title name) This book is about relationships and friendships, along with the happiness and grief that follow. I thought this book was really good, but pretty sad at some parts. Do not compare this book to The Fault in Out Stars or Paper Towns! Personally I thought Paper Towns was more depressing than this book, but that is my completely non-professional opinion. This book does cover some more mature topics, so if that is not what you were expecting for your next weekly read, try some of John Green's other books. My favorite character was Alaska probably because of her spunk.

TBR:
Raven cycle series
Blue lily, lily blue
We were liars

SOL

I have seen the house once before, but it looked completely different. There were chairs and a kitchen table, and clothes in the closet. I set my stuff down at the foot of my new bed and finish my homework. Everything is different here. The air is warm and the floor is cool, even my bed. Now it is a foot higher, and I only use one pillow. The kitchen table is round instead of square, and I have to take my shoes off as soon as I enter the house. It is the little things around me that the make the most difference, and only time will help me adjust.

Navigating Early

I didn't like this book for some reason, but here is the response/summary. This book is based around the time of WW2 and about a boy named Jack Baker. He started out living in Kansas, but he is sent to live in a boy's boarding school in Maine. This is where he meets a new friend named Early. I was a bit confused but this book is about their friendship and their journey to find this special bear. I think it was called an Appalachian bear, yeah. My favorite character was Jack because I could relate to him. I know what it is like to move around a bunch. This is just my opinion, and it is definitely at the reading level where you al can read it, so you can tell me your opinion.

TBR
Raven cycle series
Blue lily, lily blue
We were liars

SOL 31

Today is the last day of the March SOL challenge. There is a lot I could write, but this is my last one for March 2014. Over the past thirty one days, I have challenged my self in time management, and of course different ways of writing.
Memoirs, reading blogs, and SOL entries alike were written everyday for all of March. My inspiration was my vast catalog of pictures on my computer and some from close friends. Most of the time I talked about vacation experiences, but as I got later into the slices I chose to put variation in my blog by just free writing about small things.

Also I would choose some things from past experiences but later I posted from that day and found the little things that I could slice about. Some days it was a nuisance that I had to blog and comment, and other times it was a way of escaping the things around me. It was a stress reliever. If something was bothering me I would sit down and let it out onto the page. Most of the time I deleted it when I was done, but it was a good way to calm down and let my emotions out. SOL's were really neat because you would take time out of your day and just write. I could be about anything, and my different posts were interesting to compare.
Some of my friends might think I am crazy about loving this assignment, but it was really fun in actuality. There is so much I could write for this last post, but nothing spectacular stood out. My fingers hit the keys as I say goodbye to the SOL. It isn't the end for them, just for the challenge and the ones in March.

SOL 30

I grab the small red tube and get in line for the tubing hill on the magic carpet. I wait my turn patiently to step on at the right time, and the next family waits until I am twenty feet ahead to step on. I ignore it and look at the scenery around me. I turn around to see how far away I am from the bottom, but I see one of the four year olds from that family standing six inches behind my tube. She stands there staring at me, so I smile awkwardly and turn back around. Just ignore it, I'll be up at the top in a few minutes. I turn back around and I see the same four year old along with her sister, both of them staring at me. Now it is getting creepy, so again I try to smile as hurry off the carpet to meet my family on the third run.

SOL 29

First day of three days in Copper. It has been over two years since I slid on my white snowboard boots, and clipped into the pink bindings. The white mountain is covered in a mixture of powder, slush, and ice. I guess there is a one out of three chance that I will get good conditions to board in, and that is what I got. Most of the day I have to concentrate on not tripping on the loose pieces of ice, and avoid the dirt patches. My dad, sister and I make it about half way down the mountain before my dad starts to critique my sister's technique of skiing. "No, try skiing with your feet parallel to each other rather than going down the slope in pizza shape." For the last half of an hour we help her go down the turns as french fries instead of pizza.

SOL 28

Labor day, 2012. It started out as a Bar and Bat Mitzvah, but sometime after (maybe the next day) we went out to Dairy Queen to relax and eat ice cream. While we were walking there, a woman and and old man were walking into a restaurant next to DQ. I leaned over to ask "Hey Mikayla, how old do you think that woman is?" she couldn't tell, so she asked her brother. He also couldn't figure it out, so we all just stood there and creepily watched the "immortal" woman. "Wait, I have an idea" I pulled out my phone and explained that we could all pose in a picture and act like we were taking the picture of us but actually take the picture of the woman. Of course they though it was genius, so we all gathered together and smiled. "3, 2,1..." Mikayla whispers, and I take the photo. Have you ever had that moment when you have a good idea and then it turns out to be really embarrassing? This was my moment. As soon as I took the picture, I realized that the flash was on my phone, but it was too late. I took a very bright picture of an eighteen year old who looked very old, or an eighty year old that had a lot of plastic surgery. Both the man and the woman turned around in bewilderment, but all three of us were leaping through the front door of Dairy Queen by then.

SOL 27

The yellow house directly behind Danielle Tamkin's home, was the first of many I lived in. I have so many memories there; when I first learned how to use roller-blades, the time I made hand molds with my mom in 2006, and even coloring on the walls. I used to climb to the highest point of the play structure in the backyard, and wave to Danielle who was on the other side of the fence to see if she wanted to come over. We dressed up as princesses and paraded around the house in our fancy costumes. We ate spaghetti in those costumes and got them covered in slimy sauce, and then played some more in those costumes. Once she left it was normally time to go to bed. So it was most likely around 7:30. I would grab every stuffed animal I could find, and pile them onto my bed. There was a Clifford the Big Red Dog, a big Spongebob stuffy, and a huge Strawberry Shortcake doll along with countless others. I remember that they had to be in a specific order, and the Strawberry Shortcake one was always directly to my right. Only then could I fall asleep. While we lived there, the house was not yellow. I think it was a pretty creme color, but I cant recall. I miss this house the most, but I have made other great memories in the other houses too I guess. Though I love my house now, I had my best memories in the one across from my best friend.

SOL 26

Almost done with the SOL challenge for March, and this is the first day I have run out of ideas on what to write. I have written about colors and short things that happened during the day, but nothing comes to mind now. I even looked at the SOL website for ideas, and looked through the prompts we were given. I find it interesting that last year I started to run out of ideas on the fourth or fifth day of the challenge, and here I am today out of ideas at the twenty-sixth day. What has changed in a year? Some could say that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Five days in, verses five days from the finish. I have grown as a writer throughout the past year; I guess you could way it was vocabulary and structure. But it is more than that. I cant really explain it, but I am different. Though, I can't change completely. There are still parts of me that write and talk and act the same as I did last year. That brings me back to the more things change, the more they stay the same.

SOL 25

My head is pounding as I try to get through my work load for tonight. My headaches fluctuate during the day, but they typically range from barely noticeable to clutching my head hoping it will stop. Of course this doesn't help while I am trying to do math, so I spend more than the expected time working on the problems. For a while I stare at the problem gritting my teeth telling myself to think things through one step at a time. With double the math homework then I normally have, it takes forever but I manage to push through. Some people read to take a break from homework, while some watch TV. I take naps. I slip away just below consciousness, and it is enough to stop the headaches for a little while. The fifteen minutes goes by in the blink of an eye, and I am presented with more work. Conjugations, conjugations, and more conjugations.

SOL 24 Bridge to Terabithia

This book was my children's classic book by Katherine Paterson and was really well written. It was a sweet story of a friendship and a magical land called Terabithia they made up together. This book makes you see what is really important in life with the saying be careful what you wish for. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't like sad books, but I loved it. Jess Aarons is in fifth grade and is trying to become the fastest runner in fourth and fifth grade. Leslie Burke, the new girl who moved from the city is trying to fit in but together they make a great team. Together they make up a magical land called Terabithia that they rule and have adventures in, but that is the only place where they have adventures. School isn't an awful place, but there they are each others only friends. This book was a really quick read a 128 pages, and I would recommend this book to anyone in AS who likes reading about small adventures and friendship. This book was told really well and had a plot twist at the end that made the book a little sweeter.

SOL 23

I know I mentioned I liked the basement bedroom before, but now it is just creepy. One tiny lamp sits in the corner of the dark room, producing barely enough light to work at. I have to rely mostly on the dim glow that comes from my computer to do my work. The sponge-textured creme ceiling is decorated with bare pipes painted creme color as well, as an attempt to camouflage them. It almost seems like some area typically used to store unwanted boxes, especially with the low ceilings. Most nights it takes about an hour and a half to fall asleep, so I stare at the bare ceiling of my room thinking about the weirdest things. Here in the basement, my mind wanders even more. If you jump off a bridge into water, the impact is like hitting concrete. What if I threw a water balloon off a skyscraper onto a person, would it feel like a rock? Stranger things have crossed my mind, but I am drawing a blank. Up in my room the night drags on and I sleep restlessly. Though it might take longer too fall asleep in the basement, I dream. In my room on the main floor I haven't had a dream I remember in about a month. I try looking around seeing if little things will trigger my memory, but the stories vanish each time. Now, I can piece together my parts of my dreams, which is more than I have had in a while. What is so special about a bleak confining basement bedroom? It is just a bedroom, right?

SOL 22

"Ok we'll be back in a few hours, and please do stuff with her instead of watching the tv." My parents give me a yes-we-know-you-were-going-to-do-that look before they head out the backdoor. Babysitting my sister again, and I'm running out of ideas of what to do. Like I mentioned before, little things can trigger lost memories. Out of ideas- I am sitting at the table of my aunt and uncle's open kitchen, and I am bored. What is a ten year-old supposed to do for a whole week? I'm out of ideas of what to do. I pick up the 90's rubics cube with the peeling stickers, and fiddle with it a while. My patience is short, and I cant even solve one side. I set it down even more frustrated now then I was before. Suddenly my aunt comes in muttering something about making puppy chow, and this quickly caught my attention. Puppy chow? "Hey can I help?" I ask silently praying she says yes. I'm really bored. Of course she lets me help, so I wash my hands and eagerly join her by her side.
"BRIAHN!" My sister's voice snaps me back to reality. "I am bored, lets bake something." Last week we made brownies, and now all we have left are the gluten-free boxes. No thank you. A slow grin speeds across my face and I suggest we make puppy chow. We don't have chex cereal, so plain cherrios will have to do. We grab the ingredients and start to work. Once we have the chocolate and peanut butter blended together, we spoon them carefully into plastic bags with cherrios. Hannah didn't want to get her fingers sticky, so we set the bags in a cup before pouring. Now comes the best part, shake! After they are coated in the peanut butter chocolate mixture, we pour in the powdered sugar and shake some more. Hannah is shaking her bag of deliciousness a bit too violently, and the inevitable strikes. The bag slips out of her grip and crashes to the ground, sending puppy chow everywhere. Of course I tell Hannah to pick it up, but then I tell her to eat it. And of course she does.

SOL 21

Eleven thirty. I pull up the covers and start to drift off. I think about what it would be like to live in a book, even think about my banner design. I try to relax and fall asleep, but something won't let me. I lay here staring up at the creme ceiling wondering what I could have forgotten. Math? No, it's done. Latin? That was it, I haven't done my Latin homework yet. I try again to let the traffic of Colorado Boulevard lull me to sleep, but something won't let me. Suddenly my eyes flew open; I haven't blogged yet! I grab my laptop from beside the bed and frantically try to turn it on. Panic starts to set in as I see that my computer is frozen on a black screen with the mouse in the corner. I turn it on and off, and on and off again, nothing. I knew my phone was my last chance. But I have tons of typos when I'm texting, what do I do for my blog? My only choice is to do this carefully and hope for the best. A slight bit of panic once a day should spice up my life, but this should count for a while considering I haven't felt panicked in a while.

SOL 20

During this oddly warm spring in Colorado, it is just our luck that the fan breaks. The fan that cools pretty much the whole house down. Little things toss my mind into the past, and this is one of them. 

I woke this morning over heating. It is normal for Florida, but I have to adjust to the heat. It is late morning already, but my eyes are still heavy so I have to practically drag myself out of bed. The humidity is over whelming and soaks down to the bone. I grab a quick breakfast, and hop in my aunt's car to go to a local park in Miami. My family and I have always gone to Florida for at least one break and we always have fun. Ever since I was little, I loved climbing Banyon trees with my family. The branches and trunks are intertwined, which is a natural playground for small kids.

Later we headed out to Tampa. On the way we had to stop to buy Pastalitos, which are the most amazing cuban pastry. They are a flaky danish about eight inches long, that is covered in a thin layer of sugar. The inside can be filled with a variety of things such as guava and cheese, but my favorite is just cheese. The car pulls up to La Palma and as we walk up, we both agree that I have to order in spanish. "Cuatro pastalitos con queso por favor." She just nods and pulls the out with tongs and places them in a paper bag. "Llevar?" she asks have smiling. Mom asks if she speaks english but she just shakes her head and says no. I don't know if I completely believed her because as we left she said "goodbye."I laughed a little and pulled out the first pastalito and hopped in the car. My first bite isn't filled with thick cheese, but it was sweet and flaky which was still delicious.

SOL 19

The smell of rain still lingers in the air, and the clouds still lurk above. I grab my headphones so hopefully I will be able to quietly listen to music the whole time, but I know that isn't possible. Conferences; the day I spend in Extended Care, then talk about my feelings towards my work. I trudge through the damp grass with my now wet shoes towards the EC building, only to find that everyone was eating lunch in the cafeteria. My luck, I'm the only AS student there, so I sit with Sadie Bean who is in primary. Last time I hung out with her, she somehow managed to break my headphones so they electrocuted me, so I cant be blamed for being slightly nervous this time. She is really adorable and fun, but not very good with headphones. I was hoping to sit there and listen to 80's music the whole time, but she wanted to run around and play hide and go seek instead. In the end we met with a compromise. "Ok, how about we play hide the shoe!" It isn't as extravagant as hide and go seek nor how low key as I wanted it to be, but it will do. After the first round I quickly discovered I needed to clearly explain that she must cover her eyes and ears so not to cheat, and count to thirty with mississippis. I lost count of how many rounds we played and how many new rules we added, but I had fun. Her tiny blue and white shoe was hidden everywhere imaginable in the back area; behind the TV, around the book case, under the bean bags, in the couch, under the couch, behind the bins, even on her own foot as she hid with it.

SOL 18

Sleeping in the basement because I saw a spider in my room. It wasn't exactly a small spider, or large actually. Just a spider. Every now and then I flinch when I feel something brush my leg, but then I have to calm myself down because it was just the blanket settling. On the wall opposite the bed is three foot by three foot picture with a black background, so it sort of works as a mirror. My eyes are drawn to it for some reason, and I cant explain why. There sixteen individual pictures inside of it, all versions of tree branches but they use different shades of orange and red. The whole picture itself reflects back to me, and I can see the window above my bed.
During the day the light shines through the blinds and casts thin rays of gold into the dark room, and every once in a while something moves in front of window, blocking the light for an instance. Someone keeps walking by, and I have seen their silhouette four times now. Honestly I don't know what I find creepier; the spider upstairs or the mysterious lurker outside. The mysterious lurker would definitely make a better story, but I don't really want to see where that story leads.

SOL 17 Secret Life of Bees

This book was by Sue Monk Kidd, and I enjoyed it. The main character is Lily Melissa Owens, who is 14 years old and lives with her abusive father in the 1960's. Lily's mind is clouded with thoughts from the past about her mother's death, and she wonders if it is her fault. A little later she runs away with their African American housekeeper/nanny Rosaleen, who became almost like a mother to Lily. In her new home she learns about bee keeping, and different views of racism. She is a young white girl living in a black home, so she grows up pretty quickly in my opinion. I tried not to spoil to much, but those were the main introductory points of the book. I really liked this book, and I got attached to the characters. I wouldn't say I had a favorite, but I did like May. She just seemed more distinguished and different from the rest. This book is at the reading level where anyone could read it, and I think everyone in our class should read it.

TBR:

Blue Lily, Lily Blue

The Raven King

We were liars

SOL 16

I walk into the classroom with my backpack and black binder, feeling like the new kid. I guess I am the new kid in this class, I'm normally in Max's class. I see familiar faces, but I still feel like the new kid, and then, I see Selah. I am saved! I immediately set my bag down at the empty desk next to Selah and pull out my laptop. The morning went by slowly, particularly because I was working the whole time. Finally it was time to take a break, so I pull out a jolly rancher from my backpack and unwrap it. As soon as it escapes the clutches of the plastic, it jumped out of my hand and onto the floor. Well actually it slipped and fell on the floor, and then shattered into pieces. That piece of candy was my happiness, and there it lay on the cool tile, broken. Nevermind... I pick it up and go back to work.

SOL 15

I never liked orange anyway. The color or the fruit. Something was just, unsettling about both. In my little collection of nail polish, sits one vial of orange polish. It was one of six colors that came as a birthday gift from years back, but this is the only one left. Probably because it is the most hideous of all colors. (No offense if anyone likes this color) Now the cap is glued on with nail polish, and it is pretty much useless now that I can't even open it. The bottom quarter of nail polish has crusted over from lack of use, and of course Father Time himself. If I were to leave it as is, eventually nothing useful will be left. Just orange flakes of chemicals. Currently it has separated into oil and polish, looking repulsive. The cool little jar rests in my palm innocently begging me not to toss it in the trash. I should, shouldn't I; toss it in the trash. Yet it is still in my hand, something wont let me throw it away. I study it up and down as my fingers trace the curves of the glass, but I cant make a decision. Throw it away? Or save it? Suddenly my grandfather's voice pops into my mind. "Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it" he would always stay. Thats the argument I give myself whenever I come across a piece of junk in my room. I guess nothing has changed, so I toss the ghastly vial back into the bin.

SOL 14

Part two:

Fyoder D'shindinberg was found lifeless at the base of the Wetzel's Pretzels shop at the Cherry Creek Mall. Coroners have determined the cause of death- too much shopping. At the mere age of eight and a half years old, young Fyo  had "shopped 'till he dropped" and the pretzel is currently being tested for poison. With a lack of water fountains, Fyo had become dehydrated, also while carrying nine of his mother's shopping bags. The nine shopping bags all together weighed 2.3 pounds more than poor innocent Fyo, causing him to become physically exhausted. Officially, he died from the exhaustion, dehydration, and a bit of salmonella from the pretzel. The funeral will also be held at Fairmont Cemetery, at 3:30.

*Both Sarah and Fyo have allowed me to write about them

SOL 13

Part one:
At 11:32 in the morning, two people were found dead across the state of Colorado. Sarah Washorkavitz  was on a school trip to a Nuclear Power Research Center. Coincidentally, Sarah Washorkavitz is a State Champion swimmer, which helped to influence her tragic mistake. Because Nuclear Reactors are filled with water, Sarah was too tempted to resist. She dove into the crystal clear water, desperately trying wave her fingers through the light blue glow. Sadly, the heat was over powering and Sarah melted into the Thermal Neutrons. Scientists  didn't want to let this mishap go to waste, so they ran some tests and discovered a new material called Saranium. Saranium is composed of 42% Sarah, and 58% Uranium, and it has a half life of 4.3 minutes. The funeral will be held at Fairmont Cemetery at 4:30 in her memory, though she will never truly be dead.

SOL 12

Today I'm in eighth grade, soon I'll be in ninth. Today I'm in eighth grade, so why not act like I'm in fourth? I grab Selah and head over to the playground. "Come on, lets play hand games!" Selah just gives me a slightly confused glance as we dash under the stairs and under the climbing wall. We talk and giggle and pretend that none of today is actually happening. I'm not continuing this year, I'm not celebrating my last Pi Day at Logan today, but we're little girls laughing without a care in the world. I scoot my foot the left, and as it does it uncovers a fresh layer of dirt. I shouldn't have paid much attention to it, but the dirt was moving. I stop and stare and realize, it is a worm. Its just a worm, its ok. But its not ok! My eyes widen in anxiety, and I get up while yelling about how there is a worm. Selah just sits there smiling at my ridiculousness and decides to do something about it. She picks up the squirming worm and places it in her right palm and chases after me. My eyes widen even more if it is possible, and I tear across the playground screaming, trying to escape Selah and her worm. The whole time Selah is laughing hysterically about my screaming hysterically, and she ends up grabbing my arm with her right palm. Stop overreacting, ITS A WORM! But I can't. As her hand grips around my sweatshirt sleeve, the color drains from my face and I am presented with a terrible horror. She has TOUCHED ME with her WORM HAND!!!!! Turns out she let the worm go a while ago, but she kept up the act to mess with me. We sit down on the concrete and continue talking, except it is different this time. We aren't in the year 2011 anymore, its 2015. Our conversations have shifted, our presence has shifted. Soon its time to go inside to finish March 12th, 2015.

SOL 11

Left turn, right turn, I don't really know where I'm going. Eventually I end up in a huge room filled with familiar faces, and immediately my eyes land on the stacks of pizza boxes. Food sounds good, and I didn't have lunch. Well my own lunch. I grab a compostable plate and throw a piece on, and pause. No, I'll take two. Maybe a sugar cookie while I'm at it. I sit down at the round table with my friends and ignore everything they are saying as I eat each slice with contempt. Laughter erupts all around me so I finish chewing and look up, only to get two words in reply. Obama and pineapple. I flash a confused smile and return happily to my pizza. Hmm, three slices should do it. I grab another slice and a glass of lemonade as well. Why is this all so strange? It is completely normal, eating food at dinner time. But something was definitely off. I guess I'm just not used to it. We laughed and giggled about dishwashers and Ireland until it was time to go. As I leave I see one last thing in the next room, a table full of cookies and then everyone dashes for the tray.

SOL 10 Dream Thieves

This is the sequel book to The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, and I loved it! It is a two week book, so I just finished it this week. Basically they are still on the hunt to find Glendower, but new secrets are reveled and old ones are hidden. A new competition has stepped up, and his name is Mr. Gray. He is definitely not afraid to stop anyone in his way, and first it was Declan and now its Noah, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Blue. I am sorry if this is a bit vague, but I really cant give too much away! My favorite character is Gansey because he is super sarcastic and has a cool car. Every book could use some sarcasm. I think the author is still writing this series, so I do not know how many books there are in this series. I highly recommend this book and the previous one to everyone, because they rock. 

TBR
Next in the series
Secret Life of Bees
I am Number Four

SOL 9

I woke up feeling like someone was trying to pry open my skull from the inside, and my throat felt like I had swallowed seven or eight cotton balls. Sundays are great aren't they? The day everyone's fantasy of the weekend comes to an end, the day everyone realizes they have to go to school the next day so they better start doing their homework. Here I am missing the last day of JYG sitting on the couch watching Harry Potter. Then more Harry Potter, and of course more Harry Potter. Why cant I be a wizard? Maybe I love the movies so much because I was a wizard in a past life. Or-or a future life... Minus the whole psycho dark wizard He Who Shall Not Be Named thing, I wish I could be a wizard. Who wouldn't want to be a wizard? A world full of wonder and magic. Some say our world is full of wonder and magic, all you have to do is look for it. Nice metaphor guys, but I want to fly on a broom stick thank you very much. But what if the magic is there and hidden in plain sight? Like the Sri Yantra appearance and other unexplainable mysteries. Swamp gas cant be an excuse for everything. Like Nate's multiverse theory; what if sometimes our world overlapped with another that had magic? The stories of Harry Potter are true! None of us can remember except for J.K. Rowling who remembers some bits and pieces. The government has tried to hide the truth, but a group of people called the illuminati are trying to reveal the real story. J.K. Rowling is a part of the illuminati, and that is why she incorporated the symbol into the Deathly Hallows.

And then I woke up just as the credits started to roll.

SOL 8

"Today we will be docking in Petropavlosk, Russia. Please get in line for customs." said the woman at the front desk. I wondered what we would be doing there, maybe staying at the beach? On a driving tour? No, visiting a replica of a traditional village from a different time period. Trudging through the thick layers of grass, I  felt cold. Not like sitting outside on the patio for lunch, but truly cold. There were these shack structures that sat at about twelve feet in the air, and had a carved log for a ladder. Yes this was all wonderful and nice, but when do we eat? Our group finally made our way into a teepee, which was warm from the fire burning in the center. The woman kneeling at the fire was cooking something similar to bread, and it was warm! Food and warmth, very good. I sat on the log stump eating the bread, just enjoying it. At some point someone tried to talk to me but I was too focused on the food and warmth to pay attention. A little while later we walked into another building that had three tables set with plates and silver wear. I couldn't believe it, more food?! Today was a very, very good day. I sat down as someone brought over a bowl of soup. She said it was something that the people here would have eaten at that time, but food was food. As the bowl was lowered, I saw two potatoes and a chunk of salmon. Not a strip, but a whole chunk of the body was sliced and put in a bowl of water. For the first time that day, I was not hungry.

SOL 7

How do I always manage to do this? Second day into JYG (Junior Youth Group) and I have ruined the friendship with the first people I met. Today we were sitting together at lunch and I got separated from my friends by a few people, which wasn't that far but far enough so I wasn't in the conversation anymore. Most of the time I sat there in the little metal fold out chair and challenged myself to see how much spicy mustard I could put on my sandwich with out wimping out as I ate it. I did pretty well, some of the people next to me thought I crazy with all of the mustard, but I ignored them and enjoyed my lunch. I honestly thought I put just enough mustard. The blend of flavor with the turkey and the mustard with some tomato...mmm. Anyway, one of my friends got up and I decided to mess with them so I stole her spot and joined in the conversation. Finally in the conversation. She came back, but she stopped. I don't think she actually knew what to think, so she gave me a nasty look. My stomach turned so I got up to give her her spot back and moved my lunch back to the corner of the table. Something changed inside her, I didn't know what but I knew I should move. She managed to give me a quick "whatever" with a huge glob of bitter and sass on top as she moved my lunch back to where she originally sat. The guilt started to build up inside me like bricks piling up. Every time she looked my way, another brick was thrown on top. How did this even happen? It was just a chair!

Later at the basketball game we had I tried avoiding them to have a better time at JYG. Turns out that one of my best friends from camp was there, so I hung out with him. The minutes flew by and soon it was his turn to play in the game so he gave me his hat before he ran in to the court. I sat there bored with the hat on for a few minutes, and then got up to help put away the extra basketballs lying around. I struggled to cary five, but managed enough to bring them over to the basket. My eyes floated over to my other friend as she turned around with a face I couldn't really name. Fear? Anger? Confusion? ALL OF THE ABOVE??? It took a second to make the connection and then the guilt bricks started to pile up to my neck. The hat belongs to her ex-boyfriend... More bricks. I tried to flash a quick smile and then I walked hastily back to my friends. You can have multiple friends.. right? I cast a quick glance at my other "friends" and saw the surprise on the their faces as their stare back. Ok, theres that answer. Why do I feel so guilty? Im just wearing a hat. Why is this such a big deal, a chair and a hat? I sat there pondering this until the half time bell goes off and I joined my new friends.

SOL 6

I have finally counted. There are eighteen pockets in my backpack, each probably filled with junk I don't need. I really only use four of the eighteen pockets, but I occasionally use the others too. The small pocket on the top contains fragments of pencils and pens, with a dollar bill, and even a candy wrapper. The largest pocket the follows the small one holds my text books, notebooks, and lap top along with all of the papers I have shoved in carelessly over time. Like the copy of the agendas; they are helpful while that specific week is happening, but then the paper lies crumpled in the bottom of the backpack until someone finally cares enough to go look for it. The second biggest pocket really isn't that special, it just has a few papers and nothing really out of the ordinary. Lastly, the small pocket directly on the front of the plaid-ish black, blue, and white backpack, is full of small silver oval beads. (Exactly fifteen of them) These were from a bracelet I made with my aunt when I was younger, now the sides of the beads are scuffed up from being tossed around for years.
The bracelet itself broke awhile a ago on some overnight, but for some reason I keeps the beads. I don't really know why actually. I guess if I'm having a bad day I can just pull out a bead and escape to the memories.

SOL 5

Passover is coming up which is my favorite Jewish holiday. The past couple of years our family would get together with a couple others and celebrate it that way, but when I was younger we would go to my grandparent's house. My Grandpa passed away last summer and they sold the house, so we wont be able to have the same celebration or have it with family. But I do remember the times we did get to go over there, and they were really fun. I remember that one long table was stretched across the deck in the humid backyard which at night was packed with people.

 I didn't know most of them besides my family, but I was only around five years-old. It seemed like hours until we got to eat, which it probably was considering the list of things we had to do before. Such as the Seder which means "order" so we had to wash our hands, discuss the items on the plate, and re-tell the story of Passover. The food was delicious, especially with my grandma's classic and my favorite brisket. Everyone quietly eats and talks while Maddy sneaks under the table stealing everyone's napkins. She is a Black Lab and she is old now, but she was young then. Someone would go to wipe their mouth, and their napkin wouldn't be there.

My family was talking about stuff I didn't understand at the time, so I just sat there quietly eating my dinner, but I would look at the rest of the backyard. Four sculptures stood in the middle of the backyard and some of them were taller than me. I liked stacking some of the rocks on top of them and pretend it was part of the sculpture. To the right of that in the trees and bushes was an old canon. I didn't know if it was real or not but when I was younger I like to imagine the battles it was in and actual cannonballs firing out.

After dinner, my grandpa would pull out the clues to find the Afikomen. The Afikomen was a piece of Matza (thin un-levend bread) that was set aside and hidden for kids to find. It could be anywhere on the property. My grandpa was a poet, so each year the clues to the Afikomen would rhyme and be riddle-like. I don't remember the words, but we were split up into teams of two and set out. I was paired with Benjamin who is one of my older cousins, and we made a plan to split up to look for it. He went by the bottom deck that was by the basement door, and I headed over to the sculptures. My hand stroked the bright and glossy ceramic, not finding a trace of Matza. I quickly walked over to Benjamin, but before I could my eyes caught a quick glimpse of blue fabric in the canon. I grabbed the neatly folded fabric to open to a flat cracker. My heart skipped a beat as I ran up to Benjamin and screamed "I found it! I found it!" We each received one dollar and two gold pieces of gelt.  I couldn't wait until next year, and I didn't know I should treasure it while I had it.

SOL 4

Every morning I some how manage to be half awake ten minutes before my alarm goes off. I don't really know how, I wake up at different times during the week to go to school so I don't really know how my brain just does that. (You could say it subconsciously does that while I'm unconscious-Rachel, Sarah and Andrew) Though some days I have to wake up early for Spanish, my routine stays the same. I start out warm and cozy in my bed trying to go to sleep for ten more minutes, but then eventually I hear Don't Stop Believin' blasting from my phone as the alarm I set. After about twenty seconds I finally talk myself into dragging myself out of bed, normally with the argument "hey at least you get waffles" and that does the trick.

After eating breakfast alone at the huge dining room table (my family wakes up later than me so we eat at different times) I grab the tiny evil tube of toothpaste and put some on my toothbrush while slightly irritated. I am fine with any other type of of toothpaste; Colgate, Aim, anything but SparkleFresh. I squirt a small green blob of it and shove the brush in my mouth and just get it over with. It tastes worse than mint, it has the sort of chemical-ish bite to it. The kind that is ok when you are actually brushing your teeth but when you spit it out, the true flavor comes out and lingers for the next hour. Your breath smells fine, but you have that awful taste...

Anyway, next I grab my laptop and try to carefully shove it into my bag. The words "carefully" and "shove" obviously don't go together, so I end up dumping the contents and re-packing my whole bag. Yes, every morning. Yet again I have over estimated the time it takes to get ready, so I sit on the couch reading for another half of an hour until the rest of my family is finally ready and were off to start the day, and then come home and do it all again tomorrow.

SOL 3 Dream Thieves

This is the sequel book to The Raven Boys, and so far I'm loving it! It is a two week book, so I'm only about half way through right now. Basically they are still on the hunt to find Glendower, but new secrets are reveled and old ones are hidden. A new competition has stepped up, and his name is Mr. Gray. He is definitely not afraid to stop anyone in his way, and first it was Declan and now its Noah, Gansey, Adam, Ronan, and Blue. I think the author is still writing this series, so I do not know how many books there are in this series. I highly recommend this book and the previous one to everyone, because they rock. For all of you who actually bothered to read this, thanks and I'll update you next week!

TBR:
Next in this series
Secret life of bees
I am number 4

SOL 2

Frustrated with my now finished homework, my mind starts to wander. I remember when Kidz Bop first came out and when disc six was a huge deal. Sitting in my car seat eagerly waiting for my happy meal from McDonald's, my eyes float over to the pick up window and I see a poster for Kidz Bop CDs and that they are the toys in the meal. At first I was a little confused and disappointed that it wasn't a little action figure, but my mom put in the 2006 CD and the car started making that soft noise that sounds like the disc is spinning a thousand miles an hour. The first song said something about an L on someones forehead, which turned out to be All-Star by Smash Mouth and pretty much the only song I would listen to for the next year. My 2006 fantasy ended abruptly when my phone fell off the couch, but I didn't want to let go of the memories. Humming the words I could remember of each song, I found the original bands of the songs that I loved when I was younger. Now every time I hear the melody, my mind gets tossed back to the little 5,6,7 year old in the car singing along and dancing on the way to school and back home.

SOL 1

Gesher Sunday! (My volunteer group thingy) Over the next two hours, my arms felt heavier and heavier from lifting boxes. I set the cardboard box down, and slowly started sorting the various cans by type of food, and expiration date. The backdoor of the room was stuck open, so the cold winter breeze flooded the area. My fingers became numb soon after starting, and the cool glass jars and metal cans didn't help them stay warm. I brought down another box and just before my fingers could brush the side of a jar, I heard a sudden squeal followed by "SQUIRREL!!!!!!!!!!!!" Everyone dropped what they were doing and started screaming as the squirrel ran around the cement floor of the basement desperately trying to find an escape route. Of course something like this would happen, and all I can do is roll my eyes at the panicking children and get back to work. My hand never had the chance to reach my phone and check the time, but after many cycles of picking up, setting down, and sorting, it was time to scam little kids at the Purim carnival.


The huge social hall is filled with booths and games to play, each with only a slight chance to win. I grabbed my staff T-shirt and went over to the Fish Pong booth. The goal of the game is to get at least three out of five ping pong balls into any of the 50 cups set out, and you win a fish. Almost everyone won, I guess this one wasn't a scam. Next was the impossible ring toss. After the next two hours of standing by the booth, I felt bad for the few kids that wasted twelve tickets trying to get a ring on, so I gave them a few extra points. Kids would come back again and again, this game was virtually impossible. Only ten kids the whole time actually got a ring on one of the pegs. 2:30, time to clean up. It took some time to clean up considering I was physically exhausted from the whole box thing and dodging flying rings that were supposed to be in the general area of the game.

Out of the Easy

By Ruta Sepetys. Josie Moraine is the daughter of a prostitute in a brothel in New Orleans during the 1950's, and she can't wait to leave all of it behind. Her dream is to go to college far away from New Orleans, but a mysterious death catches her eye. Should she stay and learn more? Or go off to college? I thought this was a pretty good book, but I never really understood what it was getting at. If there was a bit more clarity and maybe more plot development I would have liked it better. This is a book set in a brothel, so as a warning for all of you this book talks about prostitution. A few have read this in our class, and it is definitely at the reading level where anyone in our class could read it. I think my favorite part was that it was set in the 50's, just added another level of interest into the book.

I choose a book based on recommendations of others who tend to like the same genre as I do. I wrote down a bunch at the beginning of the year when Linda came in and gave a book talk, so at first I went off of those and then later I started reading some books that my friends like. After I read the first couple on my TBR at the beginning of the year, I did not really like some of the books as much as I thought so I asked some other people what they thought I should read.

TBR:
The Dream Thieves
Second to this one^
Tigers Curse

Shooting the Moon

This book is by Frances O'Roark Dowell. Jamie Dexter is twelve years old when her brother goes off to fight in the Vietnam War, and both of her friends have moved away. Because she is lonely, she gets a job at her local rec center, and becomes friends with a 19-year old soldier who also works there. Jamie's brother TJ has a hobby of photography while he is in Vietnam, and he sends them to Jamie to develop. Mostly he shoots pictures of the moon, but some others too. This book is about her life while TJ is away; developing his pictures from the war, and working at the rec center.

I thought this was a good book, but I did think it was also kind of a sad book. There is kind of a plot twist, which in retrospect was a little predictable but it was a pretty good addition to the story. Jamie was my favorite character because she was the most relatable. Mainly because she is the closest to my age. I would recommend this book to anyone in out class who would want to read it.

TBR:

Out of the Easy

Second book of the Raven Cycle

Third book of the Raven Cycle

SOL

We turn the last corner in my mom's green Rav 4 and arrive at Sweet Action. "Hailey, what are you going to get?" "I don't know, maybe the Vegan Mocha?" That sounded a little weird, but I wasn't judging. The mountain of Vegan Mocha was passed to Hailey over the counter, and I begged for a taste. Bits of cake were layered into the ice cream, and it was surprisingly delicious. Though it was good, I quickly ordered my classic mint chocolate chip in a cake cone. Both of our eyes flew over to the bar stools at the window, and we rushed over.

We would then take turns making stories about random people we saw walking down the street. "Ok that girl wearing the Bronco sweater." Hailey blurts out through licks of ice cream. "She is going to the urgent care because she dislocated her foot. She was so mad that the Broncos didn't win, that she went around driving into light posts down her neighborhood. She came so close to hitting a post, she stepped on the brake as hard as she could which dislocated her foot." Laughter escaped our mouths, some in the ice cream. "Ok, ok my turn." I say still smiling. "Ok, that man over there handing out the flyers is actually Morgan Freeman's younger brother. He was also an actor, but his brother got the spotlight, so he had to go hand out flyers to strangers and practice his acting by pretending he cared." People walked by and giggles were released into the shop, out into the street, and down the block in the car. 

I grin at my computer screen as I am typing this. This took place a couple of years ago, Tari's class maybe? All I know is that the only interesting thing happening right now would be that I am listening to J-lo, so I try to savor this memory. Hey for all you logan people who are working on expo stuff try thinking of a happy memory while work. It makes things funner. 

If I Stay

Mia Hall is in a coma, and is faced with a life altering choice. Dream, or love? This whole book is about this main idea, while she has an out of body experience.  This is a good book written by Gayle Forman and is probably a young adult realistic fiction book. A bunch of people also thought it was good, and decided to make a movie after it! By the way if you need encouragement to read it, that is a pretty good point. My favorite character was Kim (Mia's best friend) because she is kinda witty and sarcastic. If you have read my other posts you'll see that I tend to like the witty and sarcastic characters. They make the story fun and a little brighter! Well thats about it, I don't want to give too much away. If you like what I have said, read it!

Would you choose your life long dream, or love?

Next Ravens cycle book
Tigers Curse
Out of the Easy

Sol

It's ten thirty Monday night. It has been dark for a few hours now, so probably time to go to sleep. Dragging my feet across the cold floor, I finally crawl into bed and close my eyes. What is wrong with this picture? I CAN'T FALL ASLEEP. After like half an hour of trying to fall asleep, I decide I may as well be productive, so I think of ideas for my title for expo. All I can think is the word sharpie before I decide I am bored with this train of thought, so I stare out the window. I don't expect to see anything, so I jump when I see a small object move barely to the right. Is that a garden gnome or something? But why would it be moving? More curious than scared a I look over the window sill to find that the object has moved to the right of my neighbor's flower pot where before it was on the left. Having nothing else to do as it is eleven at night, I stare at the small moving object. Finally it comes out of the shadows and on to our lawn and I realize it is.....A FREAKING BUNNY. Very disappointed, I watch the bunny anyway because I am bored and not tired. Sitting in front of my house it eats some grass, then moves a couple inches then just sits there. Briahn, go to sleep I keep trying to tell myself but I always reply with just a couple more minutes what if it does something cool so I wait a couple more minutes and go through the same question and answer. After another fifteen minutes of staring at the same bunny eat part of our property, it hops behind a tree hidden from my sight. Annoyed with the outcome, (the bunny didn't do anything exciting) I go to sleep.

Love, Stargirl

This is the second book by Jerry Spinelli, and I think there are only two that have to do with Stargirl. There are no chapters in this book, but it is divided up into different days. This whole book is about Stargirl sending letters to Leo. (He was the main character in the previous book) She moves to Pennsylvania and becomes home schooled. She writes about her five year old best friend Dootsie, her agoraphobic neighbor they eat donuts with, and Alvina the eleven year old who hates all boys and is not afraid to beat one up. Even though the book is made up of a bunch of little stories, I found myself saying "Just one more section...oh that ended weirdly I guess I should read another. Or two."My favorite character was Dootsie; she has so much sass bundled up and she doesn't really know it. She is too young to know that she is sassy, she thinks she should always tell the truth, which of course comes out sassy. One of my favorite parts with her (not a spoiler) is on April Fools Day. As a "prank" she hands out candy, and whatever she can find in her pockets, and then Stargirl's pockets. If you have not read the first book, READ IT!!! Some books tend be written in a way girls or guys might like them better, but neither of these two are like that. They are really good books and everyone should read them! The coolest thing for me right now would be if at least one or two people read it the next week. They really are not too long, so read them!

TBR
If I Stay
Out of the Easy
The Secret Life of Bees

Otaru

As most of you know, I went on a trip to Asia at the beginning of the year. Why not share some of it? The first port in Japan that we went to was Otaru. The first thing we did there was go to Mount Tengu, which had amazing views of some of the city and the coast. Mount Tengu is also a ski slope so there are gondolas there to use. In a little five foot by eight foot car about twenty people were squished together, and it smelled like feet. The smell was horrible, so for the five to ten minute ride I tried to focus on the people shrinking in the distance, and trees on the mountain flying by. There were quite a few buildings in Otaru, but they were all surrounded by hills layered with lush green trees. On the edge city was the ocean which seemed more to touch the earth rather than connect with the shore. Seconds felt like hours trapped in the over heated gondola, but eventually it came to a stop and the passengers just seemed to flow out. Finally I could take a deep breath in, and feel the warm air in my lungs rather than people air. Air always seems to be different when you are squished with a bunch of random people, I guess its just people air. We walked down the hallway and through the doors and the first thing I saw was....a movie scene. It really could have been out of a movie with the forest all around except for one big rock that sat in the distance. You could see that the weather had worn it down, but there were three characters carved into the stone that still remained. It was a pretty small area; there was a trail that weaved in and out and between the trees, and you could go to the edge of the mountain and see the city and the shore. You know that feeling when you are in a quiet and special place, and everything seems to stop? Everything just kept on going. The people hundreds of feet beneath me hurried down the street, people got on and off the bus to hurry to somewhere else. Even there I was just pausing as I hurried around town, around the world even. Ok I was a little freaked out about how deep my thoughts were at the time, so I hurried back towards the gondola and took one last deep breath in before stepping the metal box.

Boys of Blur

(By N.D. Wilson) This is a really good book! The main character Charlie moves to a small town in Florida, which produces sugar cane. The fastest runners are there because they can out run the fire and the smoke of the sugar cane being harvested, along with chasing rabbits to make money. Of course there is the sugar cane with the flames and the smoke, and the three dollars they can make on a rabbit, but there is so much more than that in this town. Secrets in the fields that have been kept since the original tribes lived there, and Charlie hunts the secrets as the secrets have hunted people from early tribe, to locals in Florida now. My favorite character? The swamp! The way the swamp is described and talked about in the book, it seems like a character. Alive almost. I can imagine the stalks of the sugar canes swaying in the wind, and crumbling in the harvest. I really loved this book, and I would recommend it to everyone in our class who would want to read it!

Tbr:
If I Stay
The Secret Life of Bees
Out of the Easy

Sol

There were ups and downs on this trip, literally. Once my "tennis rackets" were strapped to my boots, I started to hike up the trail. The path curved this way and that, and went up down and around too. Some parts of the trail we pretty flat, which made it much more peaceful, while other parts were steeper. Steeper slopes required more concentration on not falling, rather  than looking around at the trees and the pretty views. When we finally arrived at a flat field, most of the class found a nice spot in the fresh snow to collapse before we split into groups to dig snow pits. As we were digging, you could really see the different layers of snow piled up onto each other over time, and my mind was instantly thrown back to our snowshoeing trip last year. We went some time in February, so there was much more snow. Our goal was to dig until we got to the ground, and after much digging we discovered the rocks and twigs that were laying on top of the earth. This was of course after we dug a hole about two feet by two feet wide, and about five feet deep. To look at the small snow crystal formations with a magnifying glass, we were lowered down face first while someone held our feet at the top so we couldn't fall in.
Back to this year, we ate lunch and of course got to play in the snow! Most people went over to an open are and tackled each other. I mostly got tackled, but I did push Abby and Sarah in a couple times. Sometime later I had a brilliant idea, why don't I write a math pun in the slope of the hill? So I walk up the hill and right the math formula for slope intercept in the snow and take a picture. (Y=mx+b) As I walk down the hill I'm smiling like an idiot, and I go up to some of my friends and show them my accomplishment. One of them chuckles, but most of them give me the look of "wow....." and the high five to the face. I didn't mind, I thought it was hilarious. The hike down was a lot easier and shorter than the way up, and I think all of us were excited and anticipating listening to music in the warm bus.

Winter Trees to Summer Bees

Winter is great and all, getting to drink hot chocolate and being able to wear blue fuzzy socks, but times when I'm so cold I don't even want to move I think about summer. Mostly going up to the mountains in the summer. The drive on the highway is a bit exhausting, but towards the end of the ride we pass a gate. Behind that gate are all of my warm memories in the mountains, all of the things that are going to happen. Every time we reach this gate, I wish we were behind it. What is going to happen this summer? In anticipation, my mind gets thrown back to the saving cream wars, the hidden caves, and the impossible snowflakes in early August. There was barely enough snow to make a snowball, but non the less it was there. The gate is thrown open, and all I can see are aspen trees. These are the trees that scrape against the car window because the road is too narrow, and the trees that I ducked behind and dashed around everyday. Something about all of this is comforting; the gate and the aspen trees, it almost feels normal to see them. It takes about ten minutes after passing that gate to get up to wear we are staying, so I rest my head against the glass window and watch as each tree flashes by in the blink of an eye. Now I definitely know this is normal, it feels like home. I have my secret hideouts and memories here, not in my little brick house by the cherry creek mall. Here I caught minos with my hands, got chased by a bee, and picked flowers, and I know part of me will always belong here.

The Raven Boys

This week I read The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater! I really liked this book, but some might say it was one of those cheesy teenage girl book. I thought the main character was a girl named Blue, but the point of view changes to other characters in different chapters. Blue Sargent is from a family of psychics, and every one of them has told her that she is going to kill her true love with a kiss. She lived in a town where it was easy to hate all boys, including Aglionby boys. (Raven Boys) They are the rich snobby kids according to her, so she never thought about talking to one, let alone kissing one. Blue herself doesn't have psychic abilities but miraculously she meets the ghost of her true love, and it kind of freaks her out. I really cant say more without spoiling, but this book is kind of an adventure book; there are legends about sleeping kings and magic roads, (if you have read it this book this sentence would sound cooler and make so much sense) as well as something close to a murder mystery. It is based in current time in the real world, with just a little weirdness. I know Sarah has read this book and she would probably agree with me when I say that you all should read it, so do! Oh yeah, favorite character. I think my favorite character would be Gansey. I just think he is funny, and he makes the book more interesting. Others might choose the tragic character, (cough cough certain people) but to me that is the only interesting thing about him. Tragic I know. Oh yes, I would like to mention that there are a lot of swear words in this book. Just in case any of you were looking for a nice sweet book that had no swear words, don't choose this one. Well I think that about sums it up, so enjoy!

TBR
I am number 4
Tigers Curse
If I stay

Ready Player One

This book by Ernest Cline is about a teen named wade who just wants to win. OASIS is owned by a man named James Halliday, and he put a prize literally in his company. Anyone and everyone is trying to go into the virtual world of OASIS to find the easter egg and inherit the whole company. I guess you could say that the OASIS is as huge as the internet. This book was kinda fun, it was like a treasure hunt. Of course it was all modern, but same sort of idea. Anyone in our class could read this, and I think most have or have it on their TBR list. (Just in case anyone in Linda's class is reading this and does not know what TBR stands for it is To Be Read)

TBR:
Neverwhere
Raven Boys-reading this week
I dont remember the name, but it was about the kids trying to out run the fire, based in Africa. <-so descriptive

Winter Break SOL

To be honest, I have already forgotten most of my winter break. The good moments of my trip are slowly fading, but throughout this post I will probably think of something. Sometime in the middle of the trip we went to John Pennekamp National Park in Florida. There we went snorkeling and I saw hundreds of jellyfish, and then after we went paddle boarding. I walked out to the edge of the dock, where the pink paddle board was waiting. Great, pink. I lay me feet over the edge and slowly start to stand up, and then realize this is a lot easier than I thought. I paddled around the dock flaunting my skills, and eventually argued my way into getting a smaller board. This one was red, much better. As soon as I was standing I raced down the river attempting to escape my sister. The river was calm, and my board sliced through cleanly. Around me mangroves grew and seemed to step into the water, and it was very peaceful. As soon as I got around the bend, I heard the rapid and weak strokes of my sister trying to catch up. And that is when the war between us began.