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.