It's almost...

...Christmas! I'm sad that it's probably not going to be a white Christmas, but I'm excited nonetheless. Riley and Sean are going to come to the family Christmas Eve party. They'll probably never speak to me again, but it should be fun. I'm still trying to talk Aaron into coming as well, but he hates big crowds and meeting new people and my family is quite overwhelming. But I really want him to come otherwise he's going to spend the evening with his girlfriend. On Christmas day I'm going to his house for dessert and so we can exchange gifts. I can't tell you what I got Aaron and Riley yet, since Riley reads my blog and she might blab. Love you, Riley!

Last week Riley and I went to our school dance. It was alright, nothing spectacular. There was a ton of yummy desserts and good punch. We spent most of the time eating. Sean stayed and talked with the other parents. Riley and I also "danced" with some of our classmates, but I don't really think you can totally call it dancing since you mostly just move your arms and feet. Some kids came with dates so they actually did dance, but most of us just "danced."

Kit informed me today that my Christmas present finally arrived. Now I'm super curious what it is. Is it something that was hard to get and that's why it arrived so late? Or is Mother just very lazy and decided to wait until the last minute to shop? I'm kind of leaning towards the latter, hehe.

Now for a surprise. We have someone else joining my family this Christmas. Another Westie! Yes, I know we're crazy. Four terriers is insane. But she was found abandoned and was badly neglected. She was taken to a shelter and the people remembered that we had adopted a Westie from then and called us and asked if we wanted to foster this dog. Mother said yes. Right now we are just fostering her, but she seems to be getting along well with the other fur kids so we might adopted her. Her name is Misfit. She's a spunky little thing about three years old. (In the picture, Colin is Riley's dog and Misfit is on the far right).

From left to right: Colin, Knut, Coconut, Coco, & Misfit

Things are Changing

Well, I don't know for sure, but its been feeling different at home lately. My family and extended family aren't as close as we used to be. In fact I'm rarely at home anymore myself. When I'm not at school I'm at Riley's and on the weekends I'm at JJ's.

One thing has changed. Gillian is gone. I don't talk about my quiet little sister much, I know. She's always been the most reserved of the lot. I'm sad to say that none of us noticed how much pain she has been in. You might recall that my dad abandoned us and prior to that he and his parents (who often babysat us) were abusive to Mother and us children. Nellie took the majority of our grandparents abuse and she goes to a special school. Now we know that Gillian suffered just as much. She's being treated away from home and Mother says it's better for the rest of us to not know a whole lot and not worry because she's going to be alright.

However, I overheard her talking to Elizabeth last night. She confirmed what I have been suspicious about for awhile: Gillian and Morgan are our half-sisters. Casey is their actual father. That is why our dad hated her so much. I wish these things could have waited until after the holidays, but I guess it's better to know sooner than later. Mother said that things are going to get harder as she tries to find our dad and get a divorce. There is talk of sending some of us to boarding schools to keep us safe. I told Mother there was no way I would leave my friends. She said she knew that and had already talked to Sean and he was willing to take me in if needed.

I don't like posting heavy stuff like this, but I decided my blog friends should know what is going on in my family. I know Mother will do everything she can to make this easy on us. Being born into a normal family would have been nice. On a positive note, Riley and I are going to the Christmas dance this weekend. Sean is going to chaperon us and we are definitely not going to dance with any boys. We're just going for the fun of getting dressed up and free food.

Tagged!

 I love being tagged! The Bolton Girls Christmas tagged me. Since JJ is with me, she's gonna answer the questions as well.

1) What is your favorite part of the holiday season?
ME: Baking! I can't wait to make peanut butter balls and Christmas cookies.

JJ: Putting up the tree. We have a ton of special ornaments and I love hearing the stories every year. We listen to Christmas music and drink hot chocolate. This year we added a new ornament for baby Jadyn.


2) Who do you celebrate Christmas with?

ME: Mother, my sisters, and the millions of cousins I have.
JJ: My family and usually my friends, too.


3) What is your favorite gift you have ever received?

ME: Coco, even though she was technically a family present, I've always been her favorite. We got her when I was 5.

JJ: Maxwell, my stuffed guinea pig. I got him last year. I saw him every time we went shopping, but my parents never showed any interest in buying me another stuffed animals. It was such a surprise to see him sticking out of my stocking!


4) What are your favorite Christmas Carols?

ME: I don't really have a favorite.
JJ: "Up on the Housetop" Me and my brother Jack love to act out the song. We're trying to teach Jadyn, but babies are pretty boring.



5) What is your favorite Christmas food?

ME: Peanut butter balls! It's peanut butter and powdered sugar mixed together, rolled into balls, and covered in chocolate.

JJ: Candy canes. Although I have more fun sword fighting with them than actually licking 'em.


6) Can you sleep on Christmas Eve?

ME: I have six sisters, I never sleep anyway!
JJ: Nope, me and Jack prolly only get a few hours in.


7) When do you wake up on Christmas morning?

ME: Six sisters, remember? I usually get up at 5 or 6.
JJ: My parents prefer us to sleep until 7, but we're always up earlier to sneak a peek at the presents.


8) What is your most memorable memory?  

ME: Seeing Coco under the tree in a basket with a big bow on, even though we had gotten her a month before. She just looked so cute and was making puppy noises.
JJ: The time that are power was cut off because we forgot to pay the bill and we had to have poptarts for dinner and stay by the fireplace to keep warm. I had never felt so close and loved by my family before.


9) What are you Christmas traditions?

ME: We usually have a big family party on Christmas Eve. All of us kids get a stocking and we eat a lot of food. On Christmas, Mother makes a big breakfast and we spend the morning opening presents and playing with out new stuff.
JJ: On Christmas Eve we go to Emily's family party. On Christmas day we stay home and enjoy our presents. After lunch we always have a snowball fight and make snowmen or go sledding. Daddy takes us up in the hills behind our house to look for reindeer prints and sleigh tracks.


10) Do you have a real tree or an artificial tree?

Me: Fake!
JJ: Real!



I tag:
Rory (Rory's Ramblings)
Lucy (Love, Lucy)
The Lawrence Girls 
Makennah (Makennah's World)
Mac (The Scarlatti Ranch)

Aaron

I hope everyone isn't tired of me talking about Aaron. I swear one of these days I'll find something else to post about. The fact is, I've been spending most of my time at Riley's house. Her dad picks us up from school and we do our homework together and have a snack. A couple of times a week I stay for dinner. I usually don't see Riley on the weekends since she always has a dentist appointment. That's my JJ time.

Anyways, about Aaron. I think I probably knew this, but just ignored the fact. He has a girlfriend. I actually think I mentioned her a long time ago. Her name's Nora and she also has a Westie. She's been hanging around lately when Riley and I get back from school. She's nice and everything, but Aaron is supposed to be mine. I try to act normal around her, but I'm afraid I come off as a little snotty. I just don't want Aaron to marry her!

Speaking of marriage, Mother and Casey (Jess' dad) have been getting a lot more serious lately about their relationship. Technically they can't get married yet, because Mother is not actually divorced from my dad. I don't know what the divorce rules are, but I doubt it would be hard since my dad abandoned us. I asked Kit if she knew and she got really upset. She is still holding out hope that our dad will come back and everything will be fine. That is never going to happen, but I don't know if I want Mother to remarry either. It would be weird having a dad again and having two more sisters would make for a very crowded house. We would have to live at Jess' which would mean Riley wouldn't be my neighbor. I just have to hope those plans are still a long way into the future.

On a more positive note. It's December and Christmas is right around the corner! It hasn't been snowing much so I hope we get a big snowstorm soon. I don't want a green Christmas.

Food!

I apologize in advance for no pictures. Everyone's camera seemed to die at the same time and there was no extra batteries. Anyways...Mother let me go to Riley's house for Thanksgiving! I didn't think she actually would because she is very into having the whole extended family together. I was pretty relieved. If you remember some of my past holiday posts, it gets pretty crazy! That's the only part of Christmas I am not looking forward to.

It was the best dinner I had ever had! I thought Aaron's normal food was good, but, oh man, when he goes all out, it's phenomenal. I never had stuffing or sweet potatoes that tasted that good. And his pumpkin pie! I don't even know how to describe it, it was just perfect. He helped Riley and I make fudge and it turned out so good. I'm supposed to bring some home to "share" with my family, but I think it will stay in my secret hiding place. My little sisters don't need more sugar anyway.

I even got to spend the night! Sean is going to take us shopping in a little bit. However, he refused to get up at 4am to hit the early sales. Aaron hates shopping so he will stay home. I'm so thankful that I met Riley. She and her family are so great. I did miss seeing JJ, but her family went to Bozeman to visit her grandparents anyway. I'm going to hang out with her tomorrow.

I hope everyone else (if you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday) had a good time and great food. I think that's all for today; I hear a little, sugary, and chocolate-y voice calling me.

100

Okay, I really have nothing to post about, but I wanted to do my 100th post on 11/11/11. I mean, can that get any cooler? I suppose if it was my 111th post, but, hey, nobody is that cool.

Anyway, we got out first snow last weekend, though it is mostly gone now. It was awesome while it was snowing, though. I hope some more comes so it'll feel more like the holidays. Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away? Crazy! I can't wait until Thanksgiving break. I really think school should only be a four day week. Anyone with me? I know Riley's dad--who is a science teacher--would love that. He teaches at Elizabeth's and Ham's school. I can't imagine being Ham's teacher. The horror! What's really funny is there is this house in my town that has a shed with plywood over the front and in big letters are the words "I love Samantha." I bet if they met Ham, they would totally retract that statement and make whoever (whomever?) Samantha is change her name :)

Okay, enough making fun of Ham. Guess what my school is doing this year for the holidays. They're having a dance! One before Thanksgiving break and another before Christmas break. I don't know if I will go to the first one or not, since it is so soon, but I'm totally going to the Christmas one. I've never been to a dance before. Riley and I are going to have her dad teach us to dance. Has anyone been to a dance before? Was it fun or just crazy?

Enough rambling for today. I have efficiently wasted (oxymoron, much?) the last 10 minutes writing this and you will have wasted several minutes reading this. Aren't blogs great?

Halloween Party

Well, my favorite holiday is over. Now the only thing to look forward to is Christmas :( Haha, just kidding. Christmas is the second best holiday. It's not even two months away! Crazy!

 As you know for Halloween I went over to Riley's house for a slumber party. First we had a healthy dinner of chicken, rice, and salad. Then Sean took us trick-or-treating. He drove us since all the houses are so far apart. We didn't hit very many, but enough that it was fun.

 As you can see we got a lot of candy corn!

 We also got candy bars and chewy candy. My sisters went t-or-t in town and got us enough candy to last until Christmas. A quarter of it was old people candy, though. You know, the random hard candies and weird chewies.

 Riley was a witch and JJ was a pirate. I, of course, was Lyra. Before all of that, we made Halloween cupcakes. Aaron had those and some apple cider ready when we got back. Afterwards we played a board game and watched Halloween movies. Nothing too scary because Sean said he didn't want Aaron to get scared. How cute is that?

Riley has a trundle bed so we slept in her room. I'm used to getting up early thanks to baby sisters so I was up first. Since no one was around I had a cupcake for pre-breakfast. It was very yummy.

Aaron came out of the bathroom while I was throwing away my evidence. Is it wrong to say that that made my day since he was only in a towel? I told my friends later and Riley totally agreed with me, but JJ didn't see the fuss. If he wasn't so camera shy I would share his pictures and I know you guys would agree with me. I don't think JJ had enough sugar in her.

Sean made waffles for breakfast (Riley says it's the only thing he can cook. She says they used to live on waffles, pop-tarts, and pizza. Sounds good to me!). We also had hot chocolate and Sean said we could each have a piece of candy. Then the worst part. We had to go to school.

That evening JJ sent me a picture of her and her new baby sister. Her parents did not go with the suggestions of Halloween or Hallie. Her name is Jadyn Vitani Bishop.

I think she's pretty cute. JJ said she's a big baby. Jack was really tiny when he was born. The family is doing well. I'm not sure how six people fit in their mobile home type house, but apparently they do.

It's That Day!

Happy Halloween! Today is the best holiday of the year! It's already pretty chaotic (though when is it not at my house?). Mother is pretty frazzled trying to get us where we need to be. Tonight she is taking all the younger kids (Kit thru Annie) to a block party in Jess' neighborhood and then trick-or-treating there. Elizabeth is going to a party with Ham. Liz is a "sexy" pirate and Ham is a ballerina. That was the scariest costume I have seen in my life! Ham in a tutu? Not pretty.

My costume has two parts: My Lyra coat with guinea pig daemon.

And my Lyra ship outfit with cat daemon. I entered this one in the AGPT costume contest.

 

Tonight JJ and I are going to Riley's house for a sleepover. We're going to do some trick-or-treating, too, but mostly we're going to play games, eat snacks, and watch scary movies. And I'll get to spend it with with Aaron! JJ's baby sister is due today so we're picking JJ up at school. JJ wants her middle name to be Halloween, but I don't think her parents were going for the idea. I don't know why, Halloween would be an awesome middle name! I wish I was born on a holiday.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow of our party. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Something Happened!

I was beginning to fear that my life had become completely boring. Thankfully Riley said we could have our dinner party Friday night. I got the idea for a dinner party from my friend Frankie. I told Riley about it and she told her dad and he thought it was a cool idea. However, Riley thought we should each have a date. I reminded her of our pact, but she said that her date would be her dad and mine could be Aaron. I'll admit I had a huge smile on my face at that idea.

I couldn't wait for school to be over on Friday, though it was weird to go home with Kit and not straight to Riley's like I have been doing for a few weeks. Anyway, I watched TV until it was time to get ready. I decided to go with my plaid skirt and denim jacket (with a shirt underneath, of course).

Aaron greeted me at the door and said I looked "lovely." Riley gave me a hug and we tried to pretend we were grown-ups and made small talk. Uber boring, I might add, but it was still fun.

Sean, Riley's dad, cooked steaks and Riley and I put together a salad. Soon it was time to eat.

 We talked about school for a little bit. Sean is a science teacher at the high school my sister, Elizabeth, goes to. He has a lot of funny stories to tell.

After the table was cleared, Riley and I set it up for dessert. Aaron made chocolate lava cupcakes.

 

I think we look pretty darn cute! Riley suggested that the next time we have a dinner party Aaron and Sean would have to go as a couple, and she and I would. I think that would be funny!

After dessert, we played some card games. Aaron tried to teach us poker, but Riley and I were hopeless. So we stuck with Uno. I won twice in a row! Aaron won the last game. I think he cheated. I hated to go home, but Riley had a dentist appointment in the morning so I couldn't spend the night. Aaron walked me home since it was pitch black outside.

"I had so much fun!" I told him as we walked.

He said he had fun, too. He even kissed me on the cheek goodnight! Is it wrong to have really enjoyed that? He's 28, but he looks so much younger, and he is so hot! I feel silly having such a crush on him, but it's really exciting, too. It's my first major crush (Andy Wharton who?).

All in all it was a really great night and totally grand to have something to actually blog about. Oh, JJ wanted me to put in a quick announcement that her new baby sister will be arriving any day. Even though she wanted another little brother, she is super excited. And Halloween is almost here!

Another Post About Nothing

Wow, my life has become totally boring. Once again I'm posting about nothing. Of course, it's not like I sit on a shelf all day. It's just that nothing out of the ordinary has been going on. I go to school, I come home, I go to Riley's house. One good thing is that my costume is ready! I can't wait to show it off and enter costume contests. I'm gonna brag and say that it is totally awesome!

Aaron, my math tutor, says my math has been really improving. He's tutoring Kit now, too. Poor Kit has been having a tough year. Her class is very disruptive and she has trouble concentrating. She might need more than just a math tutor. I don't think she likes Aaron quite as much as I do. He hasn't opened up to her and he can seem cold since he doesn't talk much.

Riley and I have decided to make a pact that we will not date until high school and we may extend our contract until college if high school boys are as stupid as junior high boys. Remember Andy? The cute boy in my class? Total jerk. He told Riley and I we couldn't sit with them at lunch because of our parents (he used some dirty words to name call). Riley and I were both upset and confused. We didn't feel comfortable telling our parents so we told Aaron. His advise was to gossip about Andy's parents! Of course we couldn't do that (I think he may have been teasing), but it put us in a better mood. I am so ready for Thanksgiving break.

Not Much Going On

Like the title says, my life has become pretty boring since school started again. Is anyone else ready for the holidays like me? I've already been planning my Halloween costume. I've decided I'm going to be Lyra from The Golden Compass. I haven't finished the first book yet, but so far I really like her character and I think she kind of looks like me. My friend Frankie from Life as Frankie Finds It has been helping me figure out what to use and JJ's going to lend me Maxwell, her stuffed guinea pig, to use as my daemon.

I still have math tutoring on Thursday, but Aaron decided we had to banish Riley to her room while I work or else I get distracted to easily. Me? Get distracted? Never! We also had to cut back on the baking since Mother was worried I was eating too many sweets. But she promised we can go crazy for the holidays. Which is another reason I can't wait for Halloween! It's also my favorite holiday, of course.

Well, I thought I'd just give a quick update before I go back to doing homework. Not that I really want to do homework. But apparently it's mandated.

Slumber Party

Since it was a long weekend, Mother allowed me to have JJ and Riley over to spend the night on Sunday. I was so excited for JJ to meet Riley, and a little nervous that they wouldn't like each other. But I needn't have worried. JJ and Riley hit it off right away.

 We found out that Rileyis an incredible card player. She beat JJ and I at 3 games of Uno! She says she played cards with her grandparents all summer.

Since that was hungry work, we raided the kitchen for some cookies and watched a movie. It took us a long time to decide on a movie. JJ wanted Pirates of the Caribbean, Riley wanted Ice Age, and I wanted The X-Files. Guess what we decided on? Nope, I didn't get my way. None of us did, in fact! Gillian came in and said she wanted to watch The Secret Garden. Since I'm such a great older sister I agreed. It was a good movie.

 Next we took some pictures. This is the only one that turned out good. Apparently none of us was very photogenic that day. Hey, it was a long weekend, we were supposed to be lazy!

 Around bedtime we got into our pajamas and played stuffed animals.

The next day after breakfast (bagels and peanut butter!) we played outside and then went to Riley's house for lunch and to bake brownies. Aaron was out so we didn't have any help with the baking, but we did a sufficient job...of making a mess! But don't worry we cleaned it up. The brownies were uber gooey since I don't think we baked them long enough. But they were delicious!

New Friend + School

I started school on Wednesday, and it went well thanks to having met a new friend the week before. Her name is Riley Henderson and she is my math tutor's roommate's daughter (yes, I know, awkward title). I didn't know Sean had a daughter since I, obviously, hadn't seen her before. Turns out she spends the summers at camp and then at her grandparent's house in northern Montana. She had just gotten back a few days before I met her. It was a bit weird at first, being as it was a complete surprise, but she had a Westie! Anyone who has a terrier is automatically a great person. You have to be to put up with the little beasties! Her Westie's name is Colin and she is very soft and scruffy. I told her about Coco, Coconut, and Knut and we spent the next fifteen minutes talking about the silly things our dogs do. But then Aaron said we needed to get a little bit of math done.

Luckily Aaron was very understanding and kept are session quick. Riley and I played board games and talked the rest of the afternoon. Best news was that she is going to be in my class! She used to go to the closer public school, but her dad wants her to get some religious schooling as well. It's going to be wonderful having a friend in my class! We made a promise to meet in front of the school on our first day.

I didn't want to leave, but Mother wanted me home for dinner.

On Wednesday, Mother drove Kit and I to our school. Riley was already waiting. I gave her a big hug and we searched for our classroom together and founds seats next to each other. I didn't feel nervous at all. Which was a good thing because our teacher isn't the friendliest. Though maybe she was just nervous.

Riley and I have plans to make cookies this weekend and have a sleepover. We're already planning a big sleepover with JJ for Labor Day weekend. JJ and Riley can't wait to meet each other. So far this school year if off to a great start!

Mountain Climbing

Okay, so we didn't climb any real mountains, more like a big rock, but it's the thought that counts!

JJ and I went hiking this week. Possibly our last hike of the summer which makes me sad. This has been such a great summer. I don't want it to end! The only bad thing was JJ cracked the lens of her glasses, but luckily her dad was able to fix it.

 At the top of the mountains (or Rims as it's called) there used to be a cabin, but it got torn down and all that is left is the stove. It's huge! JJ and I pretended we were in a giants castle. After that we explored a little and I found the creepiest thing! It was a pointed stake with red paint on the pointed end. It looked like blood! Green Girls, you better watch out. I think the vampire hunters are out in about and right now there in Montana.

After exploring we had a snack and took in the view. Yup, our legs are hanging off the edge of the cliff. Okay, not really. There's a ledge below us. JJ's dad would never let us be that dangerous.

I don't start school for a few more weeks, but between now and then it will be crazy getting ready. Is anyone else feeling the end of summer blues?

Adventures!

I must say this has been quite the summer! Yesterday JJ and I went hiking with her dad and Jack. We just went to a local hiking spot. It rained the entire time! It was great! We didn't get any pictures since we didn't really want to stop. But we did find a slightly sheltered spot under some trees to have lunch. PB&J! On the way back to the car it rained harder. We got down in 20 minutes! The ground was muddy and slippery by then and JJ and I had to run most of the way.

Last week during tutoring Aaron and I baked up a storm (and did some math) and this Thursday we are going to make truffles (chocolate, not mushrooms)! I was there for a couple of hours. When Sean (spelled it wrong before, oops) got home he said I could stay for dinner. I called Mother and she said it was okay. We had spaghetti. It was so good! Aaron can make everything taste a thousand times better. I asked him how he learned to cook so well, but he said he wasn't sure. He just can. He still doesn't talk a whole lot, so Sean and I did all the talking at dinner. After eating we took Remy for a walk to my house. Coco was mad when she saw me with another dog, but I gave her a treat and she was all better.

Karate has been nice now that I don't see Alex. Is it weird that I kind of miss the drama? Oh, well, I'm sure once school starts again there will be plenty of new drama. If you get a chance, please check out my friends store blog: The Crazy Doll Ladies Store. They always have a ton of cute things.

Another Hike

On Saturday I went hiking to a mountain lake. Holy cow, was it a hard hike! It was, like, 2 miles of uphill climbing. My legs aren't very cooperative this morning! The lake was more like a pond, but still very pretty. We had lunch here. PB&J!

 On the way back we stopped and played at a creek. The water was cold and so refreshing to drink! It was a beautiful day out. Perfect temperature and a nice breeze.

 There was a little cabin just off the trail. I'm pretty sure it was no bigger than 8 x 10 if even that. I can't imagine living in something that small! Right above me right arm you can see part of the roof. An adult wouldn't even be able to stand up in it! I hope a family didn't have to live in the cabin. I can't imagine it being very tolerable for even one person.

Before we headed home we stopped for ice cream. Best ice cream ever! I had mint chocolate chip. They didn't have any peanut butter & chocolate which is, of course, my favorite. I love getting the chance to see Montana. I swear there isn't an ugly place in this state.

Party Time!

I wish it was my birthday, but it wasn't. Yesterday was Mac's 13th B-Day. Why she gets to turn 13 and I don't, I do not know. But I don't want to be a teenager anyway. And I totally don't want to be in 8th grade.

Our cousin Rebecca was here for a visit. She's the one who likes to have tea parties and where frilly dresses and forces her cousins to also wear frilly dresses. Her hair was insanely perfect (I think Mac posted a picture). Mac's cake was to die for even though it wasn't peanut butter. Is there such thing a peanut butter cake? I bet there is. You know what's really good? Cake balls made of chocolate cake and peanut butter! I ate, like, a dozen last week.

Anywhose. Mac's dad made hamburgers on the grill and we had fresh lemonade to drink. It was so hot out! I was glad the party was mostly inside.

 After all the food stuff, our parents made us pose for pictures. I guess they were smart enough to stuff us with food first so we couldn't run away from the camera. I hate when grown-ups get tricky like that.

I wore my Spike shirt, obviously. Flashpoint has been totally awesome the past few weeks. Spike has been getting a bigger role. He's the best (and cutest) character in the show. The show is set (and filmed, I assume) in Toronto, Canada in case my Canadian friends are interested in knowing :)

Tomorrow is math tutoring! I can't believe how excited I am. I think something is wrong with me. You know what Kit thinks? She thinks I have a crush on Aaron. Okay, Kit, just because you have a crush on, like, every guy doesn't mean that I do. Little sisters can be quite the pain.

Hail Storm

We had a nice little hail storm last night. It was so loud in my bedroom! I swear the roof was going to cave in or something! All the Westies hid under the covers. It was quite hard to sleep. Luckily it only lasted a half hour.

I'm sure you are all wondering how karate went. I talked to Mother about taking lessons somewhere else, but she said there wasn't any other good karate places around. But she thought it would be possible to switch to a different class. JJ's dad took me to class early and we talked to my current karate teacher. He said he was sorry that Alex had been bullying me, but because she was considered special needs he couldn't ban her from the class. I didn't know what to say to that. It's wonderful that Alex can be in a regular class, but what about the needs of the students she tortures? JJ's dad spoke up and said even though we were sensitive to Alex's plight, I was in physical danger each class. I'm signed up for the later class now. JJ's dad will still be able to take me since he doesn't work on Friday.

Now about my math tutor. Is it terrible to say I love my math tutoring? Aaron is very patient and doesn't mind when I make the same mistake five times in a row. He just shows me again and tells me I'm catching on. We work for 45 minutes and then we have a snack. Aaron is like the best baker in the world! He always has some home-made goodie to give me. This week is was lemon squares. I could have eaten a dozen and there wasn't even peanut butter involved! Which is a good thing since his friend Shawn is allergic to peanuts and they can't have PB in the house.

Aaron said I'm welcome to come over anytime. Since he doesn't drive nor have a job he's always around. I think I will take him up on that offer.

One last thing. I think I've mentioned Angelica a few times. She has a blog now, too. The link is under my favorite blogs (she bribed me to add it. Just kidding! Maybe...) called "Angelica's Analysis". I know she'd like to meet my blog-y friends!

Karate and Math

I haven't had much to tell about karate in awhile since I missed a few lessons due to vacation and then Alex was gone on vacation for a few weeks, too. I must say I really liked the classes when she wasn't there. Anyway, we were both there Friday and it was right back to square one. Alex nearly gave me a black eye and I was close to tears by the time class was over. I couldn't even try to talk to her. She was mean to everyone. I wonder how she acts at school? I'm pretty close to quitting karate. I was so bummed out Thursday knowing what the next day would be like. Mother says it's up to me if I want to quit or not. I said I would give it two more weeks.

My first math tutoring session was okay. It was on Thursday and the only thing I wanted to do was watch TV. Aaron, the tutor, didn't seem to care that I didn't want to talk much since he doesn't seem to like to talk much himself. My curiosity did get the better of me about a few things that I did have to ask about. Like who rides the motorcycle? Aaron said that is his best friend Shawn. Shawn owns the house and Aaron mooches off of him (Aaron's words not mine!). Shawn also has a beautiful Irish Setter named Remy. That dog made my day a little bit better. She's very sweet, but Aaron says she is very lazy and has a stubborn streak.

So my tutoring session ended on a fairly positive note and I'm actually looking forward to next Thursday. I just wish Friday didn't come after that.

4th of July Picnic

How was everyone's 4th of July? Mine was a blast! Everyone went over to Jess' house for a party. It was such a beautiful day! Not too hot or windy. For lunch we had hamburgers and French fries; watermelon and apples; and cupcakes for dessert. I'm totally obsessed with cupcakes right now. I want to make some with peanut butter filling.

 Ella, Jess, and their new neighbor Angelica

 After we ate, our parents said we needed to burn off energy so we played soccer.

 But then Rex (Mac's puppy) stole the ball! He was too cute to get mad at, though. We let him play with us then.

 JJ and I decided to climb trees after the soccer game. We couldn't get any higher than that. Well, we probably could have, but our parents said "that's high enough, girls". Grown-ups...

 This is Angelica on the left. She just moved here from NYC and now lives next door to Jess. Her dad worked for Mac's mom in NYC so she and Mac know each other well. Right now Angelica is staying with Mac's family while her family gets the rest of their stuff moved and deals with all the house selling hassles.

Later we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. Sooooooooooo yummy! I could have eaten a whole bag. I wonder who came up with the idea to hold a marshmallow over a fire? It is quite a bizarre idea if you think about it. Of course, who thought it would be a good idea to milk a cow and drink it? Anyways, it was a fun day and I hope we have more picnics in the future!

A Math Tutor and a New Puppy

Okay, I know, totally weird title, but both are important for this post. I'll try not to ramble on too long, but when have I ever not done that?

Yesterday Mother decided to spring on me that I needed a math tutor for the summer. I'm doing average in math, but I would spend hours with Mother and Elizabeth helping me do homework. So Mother figured a tutor would help me figure out my problem spots so I'll be ready for fall. Perfectly logical, but right now I hate logic. I don't want to spend my summer doing math!

Anyway, Mother apparently enlisted Casey's help in finding someone and he called yesterday and told Mother there was a "math genius" that lives near us who would help me. And it turns out he doesn't just live "near" us, he practically lives next door! How terrible is that?

This all happened in the morning, so after lunch I talked Kit into taking Coconut for a walk with me and figure out where this guy lives. Chances are I've seen him before and with Coconut with us we could "accidentally" "lose" our dog in his yard. Yeah, that was my bright idea for the day. Sometimes I amaze myself with my cleverness.

So we found his house and I recognized the motorcycle in the driveway. I must have waved at him dozens of times! Coconut decided then would be a good time to put our plan into action and he yanked free of Kit's grasp. He started snuffling around in the bushes by the front door. And with my grand luck the door opened. But it wasn't a guy, it was a young woman and another Westie. Coconut and this Westie stared running around like terriers do and neither obeyed (another thing terriers do). Finally I managed to grab Coconut's leash and apologized to the woman. She was very kind and said it was okay, her dog needed the exercise anyway. Her name was Nora and the dog was Kyla.

That's when I noticed a guy standing in the doorway. He didn't look like the guy I usually saw on the motorcycle; he was much younger. But by then I was out of breath and a bit embarrassed at how bad Coconut was to say anything.

By now you are probably wondering where the new puppy comes in. I'll get to that now. Nora asked where we got out dog and I told her we got him from a shelter in Nevada and she asked if we had ever been to the local shelter. The shelter had gotten a one-year-old female Westie that was now ready for adoption. Like we really needed another dog, but when we got home the first thing Kit told Mother was about the Westie. We had to go see it, she said. Amazingly Mother agreed and we stopped at the shelter after picking up Nellie from her art class.

Well, we couldn't leave without the dog. So, here is Knut our newest Westie.

 

 

There you go, a math tutor and a new puppy!

Hiking

I got to go hiking on Saturday! It was so much fun and a perfect day to be outside. I haven't live in Montana long and it's totally awesome to see how beautiful this state is.

 Below me is the Stillwater River. Very ironic name right now because the river was totally raging. That pictures does not show how powerful and crazy the water was. And, honestly, I'm not hanging over the cliff. That's just the awesomeness of photography.

 Again, I'm not going to tumble into the water.

 These first three pictures were taken at a huge rock I got to climb and below was a wider part of the river and where the rapids wouldn't kill you (at least not as fast).

 Here I am at the lake. It was so beautiful, but I was starving and just wanted to get back to the car for lunch. The smart thing to have done would have been to bring our food with us. Right, Mother?

 After lunch (peanut and butter and jelly), I was ready for a few more pictures. This pic shows how fast the river was going. It was so loud! I kind of liked it 'cause it meant I couldn't hear Mother or my sisters!

This is me just being totally awesome. Can't wait until I can hike again! Summer is awesome!

The Pirates and Pet Store

Hey, this is JJ! Emily is allowing me to post the pictures from my day at the museum. I got to see real pirates! Well, not the actual pirates since they died back in the 1700's during a storm at sea (two managed to survive but were arrested!). But I did get to see real pirate treasure! Sadly I wasn't aloud to take pictures in the exhibit, but I still got a few.

 This is me under a banner of the 9-year-old pirate boy John King. I got to see his femur bone that really proved he was a child. No one is quite sure why this boy was aloud on the pirate ships since children normally weren't. I wish I could be a pirate!

I got to sit on the lap of a pirate statue. It was so cool! That little black dot on my overalls is my Pirates of the Caribbean pin that I got at the mall. In the pirate exhibit there was a lady walking around dressed in colonial clothes. She was funny! She liked my shoes since they covered my toes and she wondered about the people with funny colored toenails. She thought they had some kind of disease! Another thing I learned is that pirates were really honest amongst themselves. All their treasure was split equally between them, not even the captain took more. And if there wasn't enough hammocks for everyone to sleep on then everyone slept on the floor. I can't wait to learn more about pirates now!

I also got to go to the pet store. This was taken at the pet bar. I was wearing my Montana pin that day.

 

The Zoo

I got back from my trip to Denver with JJ a few days ago. Now you get to put up with several posts of pictures! Aren't you excited? These pictures are of me at the Zoo. It was totally awesome to see all the animals and get my picture taken. It was quite hot and I was lucky I didn't melt!

 This is me with a sign about Wolves: my favorite animal

 

Here is the actual wolf. I only saw one since they seem to prefer hiding to getting their picture taken, though I don't blame them. I would hide too if screaming children watched me all day.

 

Here I am with a wolf skull. It's as big as me! I tried to fit my head in it's jaws but I couldn't quite fit. If the skull wasn't stuck to the sign I could have done it. Morbid, I know.

 Here I am riding a hippo. Don't laugh! It's not like I chose to sit on a hippo. Mother made me... sort of.

And this is me next to a Penguin sign. As you can see I'm about the same size as the little Penguin, but no where near as big as the Emperor Penguin. I would be scared to meet up with that fellow. (But not to meet the wolf whose mouth could fit over my head...strange).

 The two-headed Giraffe.

 Banded Mongoose (I wanted to take him home. So cute! Look at that mug!)

 Me and a Monkey (He wanted to take me home, I think)

And this is me watching some wild horses. I think they are from Mongolia and they are, like, the last true wild horses.

So, that is me at the Zoo. Tune in next time for JJ's trip to the Museum.

Alex

I learned some stuff about Alex last weekend. Since Casey works at the same hospital as Alex's dad, he knew a bit about the family. However I don't think I was supposed to hear any of it since the grown-ups were talking while us kids were supposed to be upstairs playing. But I was thirsty and came downstairs.

Alexandra Hayden Woods is 13 and lives in the city and goes to public school. She spent most of her childhood (from, like, 3 to 9) in foster homes. She got moved around a lot due to aggressive behavior and being unruly. She was adopted by the Woods family at 10 after being fostered by them for several months. The Woods have an older son who was also adopted.

Her early childhood situation sounded similar to my own. Her father was abusive and she was sent to live with her grandparents who were also unkind to her which is how she ended up in foster care. I'm not sure why she couldn't live with her biological mom, but I think she just got the short end of the stick since her mom had too many other children to care for.

Knowing all of that I went to karate on Friday ready to make the best of it. She was probably bullied a lot and her way of defense is to now be the one to bully first. I've seen her pick fights with some of the other girls, too, but I seem to be more "special" in her eyes.

The same rotten teacher was still there. JJ's dad couldn't stay, but JJ did. It was a typical class. Alex kicked me a few times and stole my water bottle. I told the teacher; he told me to "toughen up". Even though Alex still wants to chew me up it didn't hurt me as much. I can understand her and I could just as easily ended up like her. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do because she really shouldn't be hitting anyone even if it's not entirely her fault. And that teacher still needs to go. If not because of his attitude to me then because of his crude remarks to JJ's dad about his children.

On a sunnier note, the sun has been out for a few days! It's hot out and I think summer has finally arrived. Yay!

Karate 2

Another dramatic karate class. Luckily I had JJ's dad with me. Since it's been raining forever and there is a ton of flooding all baseball practices were canceled. JJ and Jack came to support me, too.

My class started out good. Alex and I were at opposite ends of the room. But during our water break she came over to me.
"I see you're back," she told me.
"Of course," I said.
She grabbed my water bottle but I'm not sure what she was going to do with it since JJ's dad came over. Alex gave the bottle back to me and stalked off. But somehow we ended up as partners. That was enough for me, I told the teacher that Alex was picking on me and I didn't feel comfortable being her partner. The teacher told me to tough it out! I wanted to cry, but I knew I couldn't and I knew I had to at least try to get along with Alex. Or at least figure out why she seems to hate me so much.

But JJ's dad wasn't going to put up with that. He went right up to the teacher and told him that Alex and I weren't compatible and we needed to be placed with someone we felt more confident practicing with.

I think the constant rain and cloudy weather has been making everyone a little testy because the teacher bluntly asked JJ's dad if I was his daughter or if he had any relationship to me at all and if not to mind his own children and not micromanage other people's. And then he made a nasty comment that JJ's dad must have a habit of picking up other peoples children since it is clear that JJ and Jack are not as white as their father.

We left then and are going to get that teacher fired. Since I was out early, we headed to the hospital where Mother is a secretary, which is also the hospital Jess' dad is a surgeon at. Us kidlets were told to go find a snack machine while the grown-ups talked.

JJ and I got cookies and Jack got chips and we got a bottle of apple juice to share. Our parents were still talking along with Casey, but I don't think the conversation was about karate anymore since they shut up when they saw us. Mother said I was going to spend the night at JJ's and she would pick me up in the morning.

That was Friday and Saturday. Today I'm going over to Jess' house for a Memorial Day lunch and I'll post about that when I get a chance. Sorry if this has been an angst-y-ish post. That Alex girl has really thrown me for a loop.

Karate

I don't know if I have ever mentioned it before that I take karate. My uncle was my teacher for a few months, but since he moved back to New York (Rebecca is his daughter) my class had to get a new teacher. There was also a new student today and I got partnered up with her. Her name is Alex and she's a year older than I am and a little more advanced in karate. I held the punching bag thing-y and held my breath like I always do for fear of getting kicked.

Everything was going great so far. Alex had very good coordination and accuracy. I was starting to have fun since I wasn't near as worried as usual about my partner missing.

I don't really know what happened next. Alex claimed I moved my hand, but I'm certain I did not. She missed and fell over backwards (that's when I lowered my hand).

I've never been so scared before when she jumped up and shoved me in the stomach. She kept calling me names I'd rather not repeat and threatening to choke me. I was afraid to yell for the new teacher since I didn't know him. Luckily he did notice, but he only mildly told Alex to behave and it was time to switch partners.

I just wanted the class to end and barely put any effort into my kicks and punches. Now the teacher thinks I'm lazy and not very good. But I don't really care about that right now. JJ's dad picked me up along with Kit and his son. (He coaches his son's baseball team which practices right after Kit's team. Kit stays and helps the little kids).

I started to tell Kit what happened when Alex stormed over.

"Who's the little punk boy?" she demanded. Okay, seriously the girl has her knickers in a twist or something and apparently Kit looks like a boy when her hair is in a ponytail and she's wearing a baseball uniform. I mumbled that she was my sister Kit. Alex shoved Kit in the shoulder and I grew defensive and shoved her. She tackled me down, but we were quickly stopped by JJ's dad.

I had to tell JJ's dad everything on the ride to his house. He reminded me to tell the teacher immediately if it happened again. I promised I would and he said he would stay during the next class if I wanted him to. JJ is so lucky to have such a great father!

I was super glad to see JJ and told my story again to her. I felt better after talking about the fight again. But I'm not very excited to go to class next Friday.