Sunday, July 19, 2009

June Bliss

Oh yes! I got to rest. Let me recap June:

Spending time with Julia- we watched all 8 seasons of Charmed.
Spending time with Austin- we went to see movies, and watched a lot of movies at our homes
Spending time with Tyler- planning to go to seminary/institute (we went a lot less than planned)
Spending time with Marin- she got back from greece and we text and shop, etc.
Spending time in bed- YAY! resting!

I also occasionally went to things and did stuff with the fam, but in general, I just got to chill and do whatever.

:)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

the "after"




So I just graduated, and now I had quite a lot of fun. Night of graduation we had a big dinner and barbecue which was a BLAST. Then! Tyler, Austin and I went to the Senior All-Nighter. The school hosted until 3ish am and then we went to macey's and walmart (2 places still open at that time!) then Denny's for breakfast. By that time the sun was up signaling all-night-hood!

Then Austin and I took a nap before I had physical therapy. Then he dropped me off at my house and we each took some time to nap and get ready before we went to a concert!

Around 1ish we went to the library and then went up to SLC for The Big @ss Show hosted by a fav. radio station of ours- x96. It was a lot of fun! There were a TON of bands, including Medina Lake, Red Jumpsuit Aparatus, and the headliner: The Offspring!

So lots of fun! Now it's time for lots of resting!

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Graduation!



Well, now it's time for Graduation #3...that matters to my life most...
MY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION!


So I got everything taken care of. And today, I graduated. WOOHOO. We took pics with friends and family right after, and booked it outa there! ALL DONE. Mom had a barbecue for when we got home, and it was fun just to chill with family and eat yummy food.

Tonight is the Senior All-Nighter, but I'm busy now. I'll tell you all about it next chance I get!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

END to the Crazies!

So! Yesterday I finished up my packets, went to east shore, tested and massive passed. ALL done!

Today I went to the school (after sleeping through yearbook day :( ) and talked to my counselor. Everything by my second term of precal went through. But see, I've been having homework crazies making sure it DID get done. So he had me call EHS (Electronic High School) and I had to wait for a long time. Then I called again, and finally got somebody. We talked and she figured out what was up, and that she had to contact the teacher and find the scores in order to get them to the counselor. She told me to call back in 30-60 mins.

Well, I went to the Seminary Building, got my scriptures. Then I spoke to and helped Mrs. Weight. She's going with me to Tennessee for Nationals, and so she and I are friendly. Which is good. She also got a stinker of an end of the year, because she has to switch rooms, but wasn't allowed to do it when she still had students to help her! And she's moving SEWING MACHINES! Lots of them. So Tyler and I helped for a bit.

Then I called the EHS lady and she said she found the info, and had to fix it up. But that I could go talk to my counselor in 15 min. or so and it would be sent. Well, after 15 more mins or so of helping, we went, and TADA, there was my credit. I got my cap and gown and felt GREAT!

NO MORE HOMEWORK CRAZIES!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

ASL Pics

what up? so I've missed several weeks of vids, which I will make up for eventually. However, here's a huge one. Here are my ASL PICS for a class assignment.

I'll number them. Guess what I am signing and the theme. If you get all 10 right (and the bonus)... you get to... know you're smart? or pick the vid for the first week of June. (last week of may is taken.) haha. Comment with answers, I will only give them personally!

1.
2.
3.
4. 5.
6. 7.
8. 9.
10.

Bonus. What is the theme of these pictures? (hint: the answer is not 'signs' 'asl' or 'emily')

GOOD LUCK! (fun stuff, eh?!)

more...

ok. as of last time:

here are my 3 fav. senior pics (of right this very moment!) There are much more on my facebook.



here are my current 3 fav. supplemental (taken when we did Senior Pics) prom pictures. once again, more on facebook.


I continue faithfully working on graduation credit. However, I finished both quarters of pre-calculus (just have to send her a few more assignments.) and passed the tests! Now I've just got English. Wish me luck!

My seminary graduation was great, it all worked out. Exciting stuffs! Cool beans too, I can officially say I'm a seminary graduate. I can also admit that due to my health, I worked a lot harder for my graduation than most of the people there.

Senior Sluff was fun. There are pics Tyler and Austin took up on facebook. Boondocks wasn't bad. It's not Lagoon, but it wasn't bad.

Sorry I never have time to post as of late, hopefully things will...ease up after this crunch-time.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Senior Season

So there's lots that's going on because I'm a senior:

-Senior Pics
-Graduation Credit Work
-Seminary Graduation
-Senior Sluff/Activity Day
-Graduation...

So check on senior pics. They're taken, and we'll get them back asap. So, be awaiting those and my graduation announcements! 2 conflicting feelings-I. I love Marta and think I'll look pretty in my pictures. (Merely pretty, I don't look like a senior, I look so young still. And, I'm no model!) II. I don't want pictures that are pretty. I want pictures that reflect me, my personality and all. And me is funny faces, crazy poses, and insanity. Too bad that's not what Marta wants to portray. :S Oh well. They'll be...good.

Credit work-see Homework Crazies and know that I'm still working.

Seminary Graduation is tonight. I turned in my makeup work and really hope it all went through, cuz if not I'll just die! :( so cross your fingers! I'll tell more later (if I get the chance).

Senior Sluff/Activity Day is TOMORROW! Tell you all about it tomorrow (afterwards) when I tell you about Seminary Graduation.

Graduation is such a crazy thing. I hope it all works out, that would suck if not. :S So cross your fingers for me, and I'll work hard and hope things all work out.

Homework Crazies

And I mean CRAZIES. So, I have to do yet another term of precal before this Wednesday (and that's still late!), 2 packets of English (as Bodily told me there's no hope of passing. grr), and the work to pass ASL (including the ARCs). SIGH. so basically, be grateful you're not me, and I won't show you the amount of homework I've got on my lists. You'd pass out, it's very hard for ME to handle it.

AP Tests

Why do we do such stupid things to ourselves? I mean, of course, I see the value of AP classes and tests. It's an inexpensive way to get necessary college credits, and a great way to challenge ourselves. That's what I find crazy-the challenge. The stress and work associated is pure madness. I only had 2 AP tests, I can't even imagine friends of mine like Megan, who is taking 5+ tests this year alone! I'm only taking 2 this year on the same subject. English Language and Composition, and English Literature and Composition. I found the Lit test to be much easier, but they were both...within my reach. Oh I hope I did ok. But now I'm very glad they're over. It was like a huge weight being lifted off me. Too bad that huge weight is only the tip of the iceberg huh?

Prom


More will be coming soon. I'm still working on acquiring good pictures. Our photographer had...issues. SO! I'll be obtaining those as soon as possible, some of which will be included in my senior pictures (YAY Marta.) But I will say it was a lot of fun, if also a lot of ick. hehe. It's prom, what can I say?! I had a breakdown in the morning (cuz I'm a freak) and then we had mom's surprise party, which was amazing, and I tried SO hard not to cry as Julia and I sang to mom. Followed by an hour of making Megan all gorgeous (She really doesn't need my help, but it's nice to have someone do your hair and makeup!) then I went and had a professional professionally destroy my hair. After which, mom and dina helped make my hair pretty, and a lot better, though not ideal. (since when would that be realistic?) I scrambled to get ready, put on my makeup, and go with Austin to Ihop for a VERY FUN dinner, though we arrived late. Then we got our pictures taken. It was kinda cold, and it took a while, plus we had to sign stupid copyright stuff. After that, we went to the dance-crazy fun. But, it killed me. Oh the pain of dancing like a crazy person in a dress when your back already hates you. But it was fun! And now, I'm glad I went, but I'm also very glad that it's over.

oh wow

k. so here's a lot of what's been happening. I haven't had time to blog since before prom! yikes. so list:
-Prom
-AP Tests
-Homework Crazies
-Senior Season

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

ASL Vid of the Week #3: Overwhelmed

Ok, so I still have to post about mom's surprise party, and prom. And now I'm doing my catchup ASL vid. I have so much going on, and yet I'm so dumb about time, etc, that I thought this sign fitting. There's 2 signs:

I like this 1st one better. Like everything is coming down on you:



Friday, May 1, 2009

graduation #1

this year there will be at least 3 graduations I'll be attending! #1 was today! MOM HAS OFFICIALLY GRADUATED! cool stuff huh? well, tomorrow is prom...sigh. post more then...technically after midnight, but still...

Thursday, April 30, 2009

OH! things to mention!

OK! so, as mom mentioned on a comment, I need to actually tell you guys what 'pride of the pack' is! We got a new principal this year, a great guy and awesome principal. He's been really into school pride, spirit, and being awesome. haha. He has been really into keeping the school clean -we got new trash cans in the parking lots- and having each student matter. He will talk to you in the halls, shake your hand, ask you what you wanna do, etc. Well, he came up with a new school award. It's the 'pride of the pack.' As T-wolves, one motto you'll see at our school is 'the strength of the wolf is the pack, the strength of the pack is the wolf.' So, if you do something cool to represent the school, you get recognized. He has you come to his office, and they record a quick spot on "t-wolf tv" (our student-produced video announcements) about what you did, and he gives you a cool hat! Well, being a relatively average student, I wanted one REALLY badly. I have one friend who has gotten several (sterling scholar and newspaper layout). Well, when I won state, Mrs. Weight turned in a thing to him to say that I did something awesome to represent the school! SO!!! Today I get to go in there! When the video is put online, I'll make sure to post it! So, now you know!

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

sigh...

so! today I had my math final. I hope i did well. cross your fingers and say a quick prayer...maybe i'll pass. then, I was exhausted so my lovely mother checked me out. I found a friend to cover so I didn't work, so I got to do some laundry, talk to mom, go to walmart, and do some stuff with tia! then, austin gave me my birthday presents! he ordered me some shirts online on a 'geek' (as he says. my definition of nerd. aka cool but into computers) website that we like. They're pretty cool. You can check out the website. jinx.com. sweet.

but here's the exciting news! I'M GETTING MY PRIDE OF THE PACK TOMORROW! so, the video should be pending! you'll get to see that soon I hope.

overall, not a bad day. not a bad day at all. :D

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

ASL Vid of the Week #2: Excited

Ok! so sorry this is a day late. Forgive me. HEHE. BUT! there's so much happening this week I debated between 3 signs: excited, busy, and tired. WELL! I'm always tired, so I'll do that another time. Additionally, I'm not quite as busy this week as next, so look forward to next week's sign. SO! I'm excited. Anxious might be a better word, so I'll prolly attach that vid too. just for 'kicks and giggles' (what does that even MEAN?!) But I'm excited/anxious because wednesday( tomorrow! AH!) I have my Math 1050 (also known as college algebra) final. Friday mom graduates from college (way to become an RN MOMMY!) and Saturday is my Prom! SO! Lots to look forward too, with or without dread. SO! Excited/Ecstatic (same sign) and Anxious everyone!



Just as a P.S.: If you have any words in particular you wanna know, just comment/im/e-mail/facebook/contact me some way and let me know. I'll either find a vid I have of it,make a vid myself, or ask my teacher (the darling woman in these) to sign them for me!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

WOOTS


so! guess what? today was cool. I got my Personal Progress/Young Woman Recognition Award! I got a silver one (i asked to have silver). Why? Well, 2 reasons. 1-I like how silver looks better than gold. It looks more pure and pretty, it also looks better on me. 2-I once heard this story. I'm gonna put it here for you:

"Parable of the Silversmith"

Some time ago, a few ladies met to study the scriptures. While reading the
3rd chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable statement in the 3rd
verse: "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Malachi 3:3).

One lady decided to visit a silversmith, and report to the others on what he
said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the
silversmith the reason for her visit, begged him to tell her about the
process of refining silver.

After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "Sir, do you watch while
the work of refining is going on?"

"Oh, yes ma'am," replied the silversmith. "I must sit and watch the furnace
constantly, for, if the time necessary for refining is exceeded in the
slightest degree, the silver will be injured."

The lady at once saw the beauty and comfort of the statement, "He shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver." God sees it as necessary to put His
children into the furnace -- but His eye is steadily intent on the work of
purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for
us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested
beyond what we can endure.

Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "How do you know when
the process is finished?"

"Oh, that's quite simple," replied the silversmith . . . "When I can see my
own image in the silver, the refining process is complete."

Saturday, April 25, 2009

18th b-day

well, again I post... Um.. So it's my b-day today. I decided that I don't enjoy my own birthdays. Here's why: i always get my hopes up for random things and must not communicate well. Don't get me wrong: I love presents, I love spending time with my family, and everyone is usually (of course there are always exceptions) really nice. But like...today. Just wanted a day of rest. Instead, I got to go shopping. Oh well! Maybe i'm just a sour puss who's in a bad mood. Being an official adult really isnt' an exciting thing for me right now. I'm kinda just in the mood to watch tv or cry. Pathetic eh? Oh well, I'm a teenage chick. My emotions never really make sense. :(

Thursday, April 23, 2009

askings

heya! so...I know nobody reads this...so why am I writing? I'm not sure... oh well. Today was an...interesting day. After busy crazies of school (with stupid pep assembly), work, and shopping, I was at home. Rest didn't last long, however. Tyler came over to do english and talk about asking my friend to prom. Here's the catch: he's never met my friend. He just wants to go to prom? I'm not sure what's in his head. He figured that he'd take my best friend/angel that I talk about so much cuz things would be fun. Additionally, I showed him pics and such. Fun stuff. Then I helped him 'ask.' It's a big deal. hehe. We looked through a bunch of ways in a 'creative dating 101' packet I recieved whenI turned 16 in Young Women's. Our favorite was fun. We used the cricut and cut out a BUNCH of little circles in bright colors(preschool colors. that's what paper I have.) Then we wrote a note that says "Now that I've "spotted" you, will you go to prom with me?" and a few spots had the letters of his name, phone number, and e-mail address. VERY FUN! CUTE HUH?! I kinda wish I had the pics. OH WELL. I'll have official prom pics up soon after prom I hope.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

sleepovers

k... so I was reading blogs, (nightmares. can't sleep) and i ran across one on my aunt Dana's page. (the link can be found on mom's page...) It was about sleepovers. It was... extremely long and so I didn't read through the whole thing. I have my own opinion about this, and, while i didn't wanna leave it as a comment on her page, I wanted to say something about it here. Here's what I think: My parents have almost always said no sleepovers. However, I've had a few special exceptions. And I have 2 things to say. 1-a lot of teens (and kids) are stupid and do stupid stuff during sleepovers. 2-HOWEVER, some kids aren't. the very few sleepovers i've had have just been fun, and have been good memorable experiences. so! i agree 3/4 of the way with Dana. Pick other options- I LOVED late-nights (as we called them) growing up. I went to a lot of sleepovers and left and went back the next morning. And there's a LOT of fun stuff you can do that's not even at night! But the RARE sleepover can be ok, I can list mine. 1st was with Callie. She lives down the street from me and is in my ward. We puff-painted shirts and watched old movies, took silly pictures, and talked until we passed out we were so exhausted. Then I can't remember any until Marin. (see, rare. I remember dozens and dozens of awesome late nights!) She wanted to come with our family on our family trips, mom let her sleep over cuz she'd stay over late and her parents preferred she stay over to her coming home and possibly waking them up. So mom was really nice about it. Then her parents said they'd help pay if she wanted to do summer stuff with us, BUT if she went with us, I had to come stay up at their cabin with them. I remember really missing my family (having not been used to sleepovers) and having a fun time. We rode 4-wheelers (during the day) and just talked at night! The rest of the sleepovers we've had have been at my house, or in relatives' homes. So I think my mom got it right. I've had the few experiences, I've had some really fun sleepovers. But, I've also had LOTS of really fun late-nights. And I know that my mom found a balance. I think that my mom has always been wonderful in that I knew what was right and wrong. I'm definitely not stupid enough to mess around with ouija boards or drinking. And mom, being the loving angel mom she is, knew that. And trusted me enough to give me some great experiences. WAY TO GO MOM! hehehe. quote to wrap it up: "Man always travels along precipices. His truest obligation is to keep his balance. -Pope John Paul II" That's the point. Happy mediums always win. (like my Mom!)Ok. that pretty much covers what was on my mind! hehe.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

mutual crazies

So! as you know, today was my last official mutual as a 'young woman' before I'm 18. What you prolly don't know is that I'm NOT in a presidency. I have virtually no responsibilities in my class and shouldn't. But somehow, on sunday, I got volunteered (without really volunteering) to...plan and prepare the joint ym,yw mutual activity for today! I mean, REALLY? They knew what they essentially wanted to do, and they had a few ideas, but they wanted it all organized out. SO! I got to do it and e-mail it to the YW pres. last night!

So...here it is. I thought it was pretty cool, and it seemed pretty fun. The "bonus missions" were different for each group and that part the yw pres took care of. It was stuff the bishopric suggested or that we had materials to deliver.

MISSION POSSIBLE: SERVICE IN ACTION!


Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Find and complete as many assignments as possible. For each you complete you will get the point value assigned. Get as many points as possible and report back to headquarters (Sis. Day's home) at 2000 hours (8:00).


Parameters (Rules):

  • You may not repeat any missions.

  • You may complete only one mission per location (home).

  • You must have the signature of your service-receiving citizen witness (the person you help).

  • You MUST report in on time. Each minute you are tardy will result in a point deduction. (You lose one point per minute you're late.)

  • There are 3 types of missions. 1-Crazy 2-Service and 3-Bonus. The higher the type number the more points it's worth. Completing the Bonus Missions in your envelope will result in bonus points.

The list here was awesome. A table and whatnots. But I've already learned those don't copy over so well. SO! List of Items Type 1, and how much they're worth.

Run around a flagpole-10

Do a dance for an elderly ward-member-15

Play leap frog with a child-10

With a child, play a game of their choosing-20

Sing a lullaby-10

Read 2 children a story-10

Sing around a fire hydrant-5

Hop down a sidewalk-5

And level 2:

Change a baby's diaper-45

Wipe off a counter-15

Clear a table-15

Handwash dishes-25

Load a dishwasher-20

Vacuum a room-20

Clean a toilet-50

Clean a mirror-15

Clean the gutters-25

Mow a lawn-25

Pull 15 weeds-25

Garden Chore of Homeowners' Choice-25

Wash a car-20

Check the oil in a car-20

Change a tire-45

It was pretty fun. I think it might have been better with more time. And a few more things, etc. Anyways! FUN STUFF. Posting again soon! :)

Monday, April 20, 2009

ASL Vid of the Week #1

Ok! I've decided that on Mondays you guys are getting an ASL vid of the week. If I ever forget, just remind me!

The vid this week is the Happy Birthday song, because, well, I'm going to be 18 on Saturday! AH!

Anybody got any exciting ideas for something I could do that day? Mom wants to do something fun, but I HATE birthday parties for me...cuz I always feel ignored. (weird. I know. I have issues.) So, current ideas are pedicures, lunch, shopping,...etc. Idk. I'm not really in the mood for a total pamper day. ANY ideas are welcome.

Anyways! Here's the Happy B-day Vid!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Spring Break

Ok. Spring Break was crazy this year. Rundown of the week:

Mon- Homework. Personal Progress. Time with Family and Austin.

Tues- PERSONAL PROGRESS. Bishop's interview. Go home and sleep.

Wed- Deaf for a day (For my ASL class (fav. class btw)). Wore earplug, signed, and apparently sounded really stupid when I tried to talk. It's hard. And people had to yell and i had to concentrate really hard to attempt to hear anything. Went to the mall with Charlotte, Alicia, and Austin. That was...interesting. Hehe. Came home, hung with brett and the guys. (that was also interesting. Monopoly (well, it was Utah in a box. basically utah monopoly) is hard when you can't hear!) Rested and Hung with Austin.

Thurs- A lot of homework. Interview with Sis. Barney (that made me cry REALLY hard when I got home.) Depressing day though, even when Austin officially asked me to prom. ANY IDEAS FOR CUTE WAY TO ANSWER (MUST BE CHEESY) SHOULD COMMENT! WINNER WILL GET THE PICS E-MAILED TO THEM BEFORE I POST! Austin took me to my first midnight showing of a movie. 17 again. Cool story: We got there like, right on time. And got kinda crappy seats on the side of the second row. Then, this lady came and told us they were opening another little theater (it was mini!) for the first two rows! SO we got AWESOME seats in a mini semi-empty theater. It was cool. Then we went to Denny's and had breakfast! Very fun. Came home and went to bed.

Fri- LOTS OF HOMEWORK. Talking to Austin. More homework. Watching youtube videos of comedians. More homwork.

Sat- Lagoon with Tyler and his family! LOTS of fun. The sweet guy took me as a date (so he paid for me (luckily his mom had a coupon or I never would have let him!) ). He was sweet the whole time, even though I get sick on crazy rides. And let me tell you, my family goes on the kiddie rides. His family goes on the real rides! I got soaked though. Had a blast. Missed my loud musical crazy family (especially sisters). But I had a BLAST! Then when we got home, I took another shower (cuz I was sick of sticky pants and showers make me feel better) then put on jammies and made rollo-pretzel treats with Austin and Tyler. Lots of fun!

Now school has to start again. EW! AND I'M OFFFICIALLY CAUGHT UP! Anything else you wanna know about, just ask! :) Hopefully now I'll be better at keeping up! :)

Personal Progress and Easter

Well, I'm caught up. As these are just this last week, I'll say they're on time! WOOTS.

Personal Progress-
So! First you have to know that I had given up on Personal Progress. Which had been a source of contention between my mom and I. In January, a friend (tyler) and I were talking about his eagle scout project (FINISH IT BOY!) and my personal progress. Looking at what I had left, I decided that I could work on it REALLY hard and finish the experiences, doing a value a month, and finish before my 18th b-day. I decided to keep it a secret. He agreed to keep it a secret, and remind me of it and help me out. Well! Guess what guys, I'm finished. I did a pretty darn good job of keeping it secret as mom had no idea.

On her birthday I got to tell her. Here's the video. It's also on my facebook. Yes, I had Julia record it so you could see her face. (and so I'd have it forever). She thinks she looks silly, so I'll just make sure you know it's cuz she's trying not to cry. I thought it was a pretty good birthday present for a mother. WOOTS.


Easter- Easter was good. This year the easter bunny was smart and just put my eggs in my basket, I didn't even have to find them! Awesome huh? And I loved going to church on time (even if I had to sit through sacrament meeting by myself.) It was good. And I enjoyed it thoroughly. This Easter was special as I had just finished my personal progress and really know that while I'm not perfect, I'm not totally worthless. Usually, I'm EXTREMELY grateful that the Lord allows me to repent, cuz I really suck. This year, while I'm still extremely grateful, I had a happy sense of doing good, and knowing that He's pleased. It was...really really nice.

Catchup: State FCCLA

Well, so, no pics of this...sorry. Um. Well... So I went to State with FCCLA (Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. I think it used to be Future Homemakers of America. For rules and any info you could possibly want: FCCLA website) to compete in a Star Event. Pretty much you pick an event and fulfill the requirements. I competed in Early Childhood.
Basically there are 2 parts. Portfolio and Performance. The portfolio has a bunch of rules and what needs to be in it, and how many pages, etc. That's completed ahead of time. Then, you have an overall theme for the year. This years was Science. You prepare a box with materials in it. (the box has to be a certain size. Mine is a normal file/storage type box.) My box is really cool cuz I worked on it a lot in the class I took, and have since put a lot of stuff in it as well. The lid itself is a chalkboard and flannel/felt board. Well, in it you put lesson plans, etc. When you get there you sign in. When your time comes, you give them your portfolio. They give you a specific lesson theme and a sheet to fill out. For 30 min. you prepare while they look at and grade your portfolio. Then, you go in and present a 15 min. lesson for the judges that you prepared in the 1/2 hour you had.
When I went to area, I had prepared a weather lesson that I really loved and did for the kids, who also loved it. But, when I got there the lesson theme was 'color fun with fruits and vegetables'...which i pulled stuff out of my box and just...kinda winged it.
Well, this time, the specific theme was 'hands on fun with science!' so I got to do an adaption of my weather lesson that was REALLY fun. I had 5 main parts. 1- I went in dressed up in all sorts of weather gear. I introduced the theme of the weatherman being the science guy who tells us what weather we will have and lets us know how we should dress. Then I discussed what type of weather each item of clothing would correspond to with the judges/kids. 2-I read a fun story "The Jacket I Wear in the Snow." It's a cute repeater book that discusses clothing, and since you have to wear appropriate clothing for specific weather it's very important to know, and we get that info from the weatherman. 3-I explained that one way they know what weather we will have is from clouds. I let them feel different materials (and colors of those materials. one was thick and gray another was cotton balls) and asked which weather they thought each cloud might bring. 4-"c-c-clouds" start with the letter C. I had them glue the "c-c-cottonballs" they had just felt onto an outline of the letter c (on blue paper. gotta coordinate.) 5-review by going over what we'd talked about with questions, and having them tell me what each item of clothing went with as I put them back on. Then they asked me questions and I was finished.
Well, then I found the girls from my school and hung out, but I heard we were having call backs. At noon they posted the list. Now you have to understand, most events have different categories. Junior, Senior, and Occupational. Early Childhood-EVERYONE is Occupational. Which means: we all could go to nationals, we've all taken the class, etc. There are 2 sets of grading. One is just a point system. Everyone gets a medal - bronze, silver, gold - according to that point system. Then people place- 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Only Gold, 1st place winners can go to nationals. But most events take 3 people (or teams.) However, Early Childhood takes ONE.
At noon, I went back and found I was at the top of the list, and so first to go again. In an hour and a half (waiting almost killed me) I presented my lesson again. They asked me one question I specifically remember. They asked how my experience working with children had prepared me for this star event. I answered by saying that I learned to adapt. Each child takes to a lesson differently and will respond to one another and the environment differently because of differing personalities. For example, when I did my lesson with the kids, I didn't do the cloud craft, because they were really wiggly right after naptime. So instead we had a relay kind of thing. Racing to one side of the room, putting an item of clothes on and naming the weather you'd wear it with, and running to let the next person go.
Then you just wait. We went to dinner and I got to be better friend with Nichole. We shared a HUGE dinner at Cracker Barrel so as to be able to get ice cream for dessert without going over the school's dinner budget they gave us. Then we go back to the conference building for a meeting, they had skits and speakers. I really liked the speaker.
COOL STORY: I really liked the speaker. His name was Kirk Weisler. Look him up. Awesome. Anyways, he talked about a lot of stuff, and I took notes as usual. One thing that made me laugh was that a lot of his tips for success were things I already did. Like where to sit, and to take notes, and to write thank you notes. Well, I was writing notes on sticky notes, but still. I wrote him a quick thank you, explaining that while I try to do a lot of what he said, some was new, and he was very entertaining and I appreciated his way of telling the truth in an interesting way. I told him I appreciated him coming, and really enjoyed his work. I just wrote my first name, but I said what school I was from. (making me a real person, but not identifiable.) WELL! I hurried out of there, and actually went back to the hotel to help a friend, and to make sure I wouldn't be locked out as one friend with a key was at Sterling Scholar for the state (yeah, she won! WOOTS) and the other had to leave, and so I would be left without a key. However, before the dance, my teachers came and found me. He had AUTOGRAPHED 2 books for me, and sent them to my school advisors. ISN'T THAT NIFTY!? They're really cute books too. Motivational Picture books! The Dog Poop Initiative and The Cookie Thief. I really enjoyed them.
Then we went to the dance. It was kinda crazy as it was estimated that there were 50 girls to each boy. But there was a LOT of actual dancing. I danced with some friends for a while, then I went off with Callie to a quieter place. She was still kinda dazed having won Sterling Scholar and just getting back. I also got to know a new friend a lot better, and that was a lot of fun. Michaela is like a cute blond mini-me. She is also an Early Childhood competer, likes computers, musicals, and even kinda talks like me! hehe. Then we went to the hotel and stayed up talking way late (she was stoked. I don't blame her.) until we passed out.
The next morning we got up early and got ready, packed everything up and checked out. We went to the meeting center and had 'closing ceremonies'. Then we were presented with our awards. I got GOLD, which I was very excited about as that's what I wanted. Then I got FIRST! I wasn't expecting it, but it was really exciting. So, I now have the chance to go to nationals!
The trip home was fun, as Michaela and Callie were on the bus with me. We got back as school ended on Thursday. I caught a ride home and took a NAP. It was exhausting.
Update- although I'm going to miss Girls Camp (extremely sad, as it's my favorite place in the world) I'm going to nationals in Nashville Tennessee this July! Also, by winning 1st I get to letter in FACS without having to fill out all the paperwork, and I might get a pride of the pack hat (a new award my school has where the principal puts you on school video announcements to talk about something you did that shows our school is awesome, and you get a "pride of the pack" hat.) SO! Overall, VERY exciting!

Catchup: Preference and Penny Wars



Preference-
I went with Austin. Very fun. We were in a group with a bunch of the girls in my ward. Day date: Progressive Breakfast. We went to a bunch of the girls' houses and had bits of a giant breakfast. We ate lots of food (fruits, pancakes, eggs, bacon, pull aparts and smooties. (last two at my house)) and talked and played games like guesstures. Also very fun. :) Um...the pictures are awesome, cuz a private photographer gave us a pretty good deal and then he just put ALL the pics up online for us. Austin and I love to dance silly, and even though we were the only seniors in our group we hung with some other friends as well. Fun. Fun.




Penny Wars-
Well, our school has spirit points. Cuz we're awesome. One of the things to get points is a week long 'penny wars' each cent is a point. If it's from a penny, it's positive. If it's from anything else, it's negative. So, my friends and I, cuz we rock, collected 2 BUCKETFULLS of pennies. OH YEAH. one night it was mostly just me and tyler and austin. Though Jonny brought the starting, we continued. Jonny started and added a lot for the first bucket. Apparently by the end of the week, the banks in the area of our high school were EMPTIED of pennies! carrying this bucket gave austin bruises. scary huh?!
VIDEO OF DUMPING THEM. $190 of pennies. CRAZY! You can see Austin's hands...hahaha. And hear him and Jeff a lot. And a bunch of random people like, WHOA and OH MY GOSH and HOW MANY IS THAT? HOW DID YOU GET THOSE? etc. Well, after clearing some banks, we hit walmarts and gas stations.
Now, would you believe it, we LOST. a couple teachers wrote CHECKS to cancel out our money. Jerks. I know. But we sure did make the school a LOT of money!

Catchup: Christmas and New Years

Christmas this year was good. Gramma and Grampa F came down. I did a lot of stuff, kinda having 2 families worth of stuff to do. We had a blast. Day after christmas Austin left for arizona though, and so I got to do stuff with the fam, watch a lot of movies, etc. Tyler came for New Years, and Austin and I video chatted. It was a lot of fun! yeah!

Catchup: Homecoming, Halloween, Black and White Ball

k, first, sorry the last post had issues. there was a table. If you wanna see it, i'll e-mail it to you. had issues. hehe.

New school year. Now I'm a senior. ICK HUH?!

Homecoming: Lots of Fun. I went with Austin. He changed my desktop to ask me. (wow. I really am a nerd). Day date- We hung out with Friends. It was fun. Watched a movie. Then Tia and Marin and I went to my house where Tia and Marin curled my hair and then Marin managed the rest of my getting ready. (It's good to have a perfectionist around. I look pretty!) The dance was a lot of fun. (wow. trend.)


Halloween: I was a pumpkin. Marin was a cavegirl for school-borrowing my stuff. (i thought she was gonna wear leggins, but who am i kidding, this is marin!) Then I took the kids trick-or-treating at the mall. I bought a cute 50's girl costume for doing stuff with Austin after he had work, but I didn't feel well, so he just let me sleep. Nice of him, huh?

Black and White Ball: Winter Ball. Black and White Theme. I wanted to go 80's, so our group did. The dance was practically empty. But It was a lot of fun. Day Date-bowling. WAY FUN.

Catchup: Summer

OK! So, school ended. Woots. :)

Trek- So, I got to go on a Pioneer Trek for my stake's youth conference in 2008. Very fun. Um... wow, I dont' even know what to say. I kept a very good record in my journal though. I think I wrote more than I did anything else. Um... I had... 37 pages. For any details you might want, ask a question in comments, e-mail, or a message on facebook.

Road Trip- So we drove an RV to Nauvoo and back. Really cool. I have 40 pages in the same journal on that. June 23rd to June 29th. Comments I found funny in my journal: I informed the reader of what everything meant, "I also laugh a lot and put a Lot of smileys and camps and underlines. I'm going to mention here that this is because I like to write as I'd be speaking. So ya, I smile, make faces, laugh and set words apart using tone inflections. The underlines are mostly italics-because (though sometimes my writing is unclear -or squiggly due to bumps from writing while driving, well, riding) I can't write in italics well. So the caps are also stressed words." HAHA! I was listening to the 100 best of the 80's and think "Jessie's girl is only #20? CRAZY!" I had no cell service for more than half of the trip and "I see why they call Wyoming the armpit of the west. There's nothing. (haha, that was underlined)" We stopped at a museum mom's friend suggested and "I thought one of the best parts was the "Mormon Ferry." It was "rebuild" by the stake here. We're EVERYWHERE. haha." (I think by WE, there, I meant, "mormons".) Later, "After much driving and boredom I went to the back and took a nap with Julia- AFTER we sang through all of Wicked." (I then go into details about our singing.) I title every day (did in all the days of my journal) and I titled one day (Wednesday) "The Long Drive to Missouri" and the whole day, I find stuff to write about -3 pages worth. Um...yeah. There's a lot in here... So, again, any questions... ASK. (This is also on mom's blog. But if you wanna know anything in specifics, I have my journal.)

Bright Readers- I'm just gonna paste the info from the Packet I gave to the parents. It was a great experience, a ton of fun, and I learned a lot about kids.
BRIGHT READERS:
Hi, I'm Emily, and I was trying to think of something I could do for my summer job that would be fun and not require me to give up my “last childhood/teenage summer” freedom.
After speaking with a friend, for whom I frequently babysit, I had an idea. I love reading and books, which I attribute to my dear, angel mother taking me to the library weekly during the summers when I was a child. Because of her time, I learned to love books, and later I began to read more and more. I now read a few novels a week, and one of my favorite things to do is to read.
So I decided that I would love to make a program to help kids fall in love with books. There are so many great books out there! That's where you come in. My “Bright Readers” program (Bright as in summer and smart! Haha) will be a lot of fun, and I'm very, very excited. I've chosen to hold my program over 14 Tuesday and Thursday mornings this summer. Each day will have a theme, activity, and at least one featured book. Most days we will be going to the library, and will attend the “storytime” they have there, in addition to time for the children to find new books. This information packet will tell you all about it.

Dates, Themes, Books and Daily info:

Date
T/Th
Theme
Featured Books
Other Information
June 10
T
Meet the Library


June 12
Th
Dr. Seuss
Books by Dr. Seuss
Bring a hat (silly is best)
June 17
T
Silly Monkey
Curious George Books
Bring a Banana
*June 19
Th
If you give a...
The If You Give a... books

July 1
T
Bears
Goldilocks,
Going on a Bear Hunt
Bring a Teddy Bear
July 8
T
Bugs
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Grouchy Ladybug

*July 10
Th
Pokey Little Puppy
The Pokey Little Puppy

July 15
T
Let's Get Wet!
Better Not Get Wet, Jesse Bear
At Park, wear something to get wet in
July 17
Th
Wild Fun!
Where the Wild Things Are
At Park
July 29
T
Manners
Willie the Whiner

*July 31
Th
Colors
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
Wear your favorite color
August 5
T
Foods
There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly
Bring a snack
August 12
T
Favorites
Your Child's Favorite
Bring your child's favorite
*August 14
Th
End of Summer Party
You are Special





FAQs:

Q. How much will this cost me?
A. A $5 enrollment fee, for a Bright Readers book bag, and $5 per child per day attended. Payments will be at the end of each two week period (marked on the schedule above with an *).

Q. What time and what is the attendance policy?
A. Each day will have a 2 hour program, starting at 10:00 a.m. and ending around 12:00 noon. You do not have to attend all 14 days. If you choose not to attend one, I would like to know the day before. You will also need to sign your children in and out each day you attend, for billing and security purposes.

Q. What age group is this for?
A. Mostly ages 3-7 with a few special exceptions for 2 year olds

Q. Where will we meet?
A. You have two options. Option A-costing you $1 more per trip, you can sign a waiver and I will pick up your child at your home to take them to wherever we are meeting. I will bring them home after as well. This eliminates your driving time, and makes it a little easier on you. The extra dollar is only because of gas prices that I hate so much. Option B-you are more than welcome to meet us where we will be that week. I only ask to know when you will want which ever option.

Q. What will you do each day?
A. We will go to either the library or the park, depending on the activity. The days we go to the park are marked on the dates list. They are July 15th and 17th.
Days when we go to the library have a schedule as follows:
Start Time
Minutes
Activity
10:00ish
Approx. 30 min.
Sign in, Return old books, look for new books
10:30
Approx. 30 min.
Library sponsored “Storytime” (more info. available online)
11:00
30 min.
Decide on new books, check out
11:30
30 min.
Theme book and activity.
12:00 noon

Pick-up or Take Home and Sign outs

Q: Tell me everything about book check-outs.
A: Each child will pick two books to check out each day. I will check them out using my library card. They will be put directly into that child's book bag to be taken home. I strongly encourage taking the time to read these books at home sometime before the next program day. If not, that's ok, but they will not check out new books, unless they wish to return them without reading them.
I will require you to pay any fees for late books and let you know as soon as possible. But hopefully that won't be a problem at all if they are kept in book bags, especially since we meet more often than the three-week due date.

Q. Is there any paperwork I need to fill out?
A. Yes. If you choose to participate you'll need to fill out an Emergency Information sheet that I will need with your $5 for enrollment, the driving waiver is simply the last signature on that information sheet. Additionally, there will be the sign in/outs previously mentioned.

Then I included a sheet to fill out Emergency Info. Great Stuff. Lots of Fun.

Trip to Idaho- 10 journal pages. Lots of fun... not much to say here. Ask for details? If you REALLY want you should just borrow my journal sometime. :)

Girl's Camp- We were TMNT in a Superhero theme. Motto: "Get Your Shell On." I didn't finish filling out my journal. Dumb. I did however take quite a bit of notes that I really enjoyed.
Last official year as a YCL. Didn't tan. Got very dirty. Loved the hike. Loved spending time with my sisters. Love Camp. Best place in the world.

Family Reunion- Interesting and fun. We went to Heber and rented a cabin. We took family pictures, had a talent show, went to the alpine slide and such. Except the usual cousin drama, it was fun. I played a lot of hearts. :)

Well...that pretty much covers the summer. Besides all the time I got to spend hanging w/family and friends...and that's just always fun.

Catchup: Choir Tour


So, Junior Year I was in A Cappella- our school's audition choir. For tour we went to...wait for it... SEATTLE! Which was, AWESOME.











































I can't even begin to list all the things we did. But here's a few:
-Space Needle -EMP(Experience Music Project, awesome!) -Lots of Workshops -Performance -Watched a Musical -Pike's Place -Aquarium -Cruise -Hike -Oh, and lots of time on the bus.
Here, see some pics.

Catchup: Morp, 17th B-Day, and Prom

Morp: So, I can't find the pics. It was long ago and very fun. I went with Cory, and we dressed up as a couple from the 20s. Very fun.

17th B-Day: Ok, I know I'm a stinker. Also no pics. I didn't wanna do anything. So, I went and babysat the Leifi kids. Boy do I love them. That was very fun! Even if everyone was mad at me...



Prom: Tyler asked me. Isn't he nice? He put the message on the back of a puzzle. When completed and flipped over (tricky), it said something like, "When we talk computers, it makes my 'mother board'. But without linux life would be a 'piece' of crap. Will you go to prom with me?" That is not exact, as the puzzle refused to stay on my wall, and so is in a pile somewhere...which one, I'm still looking. The funny things: a-we met by talking about linux, deal with it. b- it was a puzzle of a map of the US, the class which we first had together in sophomore year. Fun stuff eh? I replied by putting, "of course" in a bunch of file formats on a flashdrive, which I had delivered to him. He was really nice and fun the whole way through. Our group was HUGE, but we had a blast. His friend Aaron took a friend of mine, Holly, and we laughed ALL through dinner. Tyson (also in our group) took my friend Marin (yes, THE marin!) and we danced all crazy and had a blast as well. Overall, very fun night. The pics are there for your viewing pleasure.

(More catching up coming now!)

...oh my goonnagush!

Ok. so the catchup list has to be a lot longer.....I'm so sorry but I broke my promise. I have not posted...in...a very long time! so:

-Morp- details and pictures
-Choir Tour to Seattle- description AND pictures
-17th Birthday
-Prom (oh yes, I WAS asked. crazy. I know)
-End of School Year
-Pioneer Trek Youth conference
-"Bright Readers" (will post later today! no worries!)
- Homecoming
- Halloween
- Black and White Ball
- Christmas Break & New Years
- Preference
- Penny Wars
- State FCCLA
- Easter and Spring Break

READY?! Here I go.