Update On My Life

    Sorry I haven't written in a while :/ Today I am going to try and bring you up to date on my life. Last week I went to a Church camp. It was a ton of fun. I met some new people and hung out with some old friends.
    Two distinct memories I have are:

    The Counselor Hunt- The object of the game was to find all the counselors and ask them the questions on the sheet. We were only allowed to ask them one question, so if we didn't know who they were, we couldn't ask.
    I had no idea who anyone was and the girls I was paired with didn't really know very many people either. We were wandering around when Ryan came out of the camp nurse office limping. He had apparently hurt his ankle and he wasn't quite sure who or where his team was.
    We put him on our team and he knew just about everyone there. Once he greeted a counselor by asking, "How's it go?"
    The Counselor smiled and replied "good". Then we realized we weren't aloud to ask him anymore questions. Luckily, he let another one of our teammates ask him the designated question. We didn't win, but I had a good time.

    The Hacky Sacks- Another camp had left behind Hacky Sacks. Claire said a three year old had found one the first day and she had told him to leave it where it was. One of the counselors found it and some of the boys were playing with it. Somehow, it ripped open and they decided to patch it with tape. Francis patched it up and the boys continued to play with it.
    As we were cleaning up on the last day, a girl from my cabin found a ripped, taped up Hacky Sack and she threw it away saying it was mostly because the clown on the front  was scaring her. As we continued to clean, I found another Hacky Sack in the weeds along with more garbage.
    I have found that people prefer to throw their garbage in the weeds as opposed to in the open. This doesn't make any sense, because if you are going to litter you might as well make it convenient for the people that are going to have to pick it up.
    Anyway, I remembered that my friend had thrown away the Hacky Sack and I saw Francis, so I threw him the Hacky Sack and throughout the rest of the day, I played briefly with the Hacky Sack and it happened to provide a lot of enjoyment for me.
    I do not know what happened to the second Hacky Sack, but I have the feeling I won't be seeing it again.
 
    I look forward to the camp again next year. Soccer has been continuing and I think I am either going to get in shape or die trying.
    Practice has been moved to the evenings, but it doesn't really help. I appreciate being able to sleep in, but now I spend most of my day dreading practice.
    I drew three more pictures and stuck them to my wall. I want to learn how to draw a human face, I have made a few attempts, but all of them still need some work.

    I guess that's about it.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Board Games

    Some special memories come from board games.
    As a child my favorite game was Candy Land. Claire and I would play that game all the time. We would pick our favorite characters on the board and pretend to be them.
    Claire's favorite was the gorgeous Queen Frostine. I loved her too, but of course Claire and I couldn't have the same favorite character and so instead my favorite character had to be Princess Lolly.
    Shoots and Ladders is another game that played a role in my childhood, but not for the same reason.
    As a child Claire was a complete optimist and I was not. Not often would we play Shoots and Ladders, but on rare occasions we would settle down with the board game and play. I don't think I ever won that game; not once.
    I accused Claire of cheating, because I never won! I got mad at the board game because every time I went down a shoot (which was quite often) they came up with a very offensive explanation. "You ate all the cookies in the cookies jar," The space would say accusingly. "Go down a shoot!" I would spend most of the game arguing that I would never do such a thing.
    Most games went unfinished because I would run away crying. Claire says she remembers sitting with the board game alone finishing up the game for both of us, because I had left. I still look at that game with disgust and refuse to play.
    Another fabulous board game is Scrabble the classic word game. It's such a beautiful idea, but no one seems to share with me in this joy. I rarely get to play Scrabble, just because none of my friends like it and none of my family members appreciate it.
    Sometimes, I can rope Jane into playing, but even so she doesn't really like it.
    A wonderful game to play with friends is Apples to Apples. Playing with adjectives and nouns, this beautifully pieced together game is always enjoyable. Whenever a friend is over and we have time to spare I like to pull out this game and play.
    Board games are great ways to take a break from the day and relax. Some might think that these games are slowly becoming outdated and overtaken by apps and virtual video games, but board games are different they allow me to bond with the person I am playing with in ways that electronics never can.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Traveling Towards Glacier National Park

    We woke up and began packing to leave. Mom and Claire went shopping, while Jane and I stayed in the camper with Dad and tidied up a bit.
    Then we set out for Glacier National Park. Claire and I went through my camera role and I would like to share one of the pictures I rediscovered:

    The story behind the picture is: I made three rubber band unicorn charms. One for me (pink) named Joe, one for Ryan(blue) named Juan Pedro (although Micah and Claire may tell you otherwise) and one for Alexis (purple) named Sally.
    The dolphin is Ryan's and his name is Joseph. It was actually kind of hard to get all three together at the same time, because I gave Ryan and Alexis their unicorns at different times.
    Anyway, the drive continued on for quite a while. Claire and I played some games to occupy our time.
    Finally however, we arrived at Glacier National Park. The view was gorgeous as we drove along towards the campground. We stopped early at Johnson's campground, set up and left the trailer there. Then we headed to the Visitors center.
    When we arrived, we sat in a theatre and watched part of a film about the park. We left the visitors center and drove up going to sun road a little way in order to get a sort of sample of it. Dad took us up until we had a pretty good view of the mountains here is a picture:

    Then we turned around and headed back. Claire drove part of the way. She is becoming a better driver. However, I am not so sure how comfortable the rest of her passengers were as we drove along a cliff on the road.
    We got back and had tacos for dinner. Then we took our 6 minute showers and relaxed a bit before going to bed. I stayed up for a little while in bed typing and playing spider solitaire. Finally, I went to sleep.
   
Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

A Day Out

    We woke up and went for a run near the lake. It was very peaceful there and it was also very hot. I walked for half of the three miles we ran so I had time to take pictures. Here are some of the ones I thought were especially beautiful.

Louis and Clark Lake, S.D

Tree over Louis and Clark Lake, S.D.

Geese at Louis and Clark Lake S.D.

    When we got home we went up to my Great Aunt and Uncle's house for breakfast. Afterword I sat on the porch and kept busy while holding their dog Jake in my lap. He is so cute!
    We went out and spent our day in the town. We visited an indoor Archery Range and that was cool. I got to shoot a bow and on my first try I hit the bull's-eye. I was totally pumped and so I did it again and again and I am sad to say I got progressively worse. Very depressing stuff. I didn't hit the bull's-eye again at all for the rest of the afternoon.
    Then we went to my Great Aunt's art studio (Aunt S.) and we got to paint. I had so much fun! I painted a picture entitled, 'the girl in the field' that I had been planning for a very long time. It felt nice to finally paint it.
    We spent a long time there messing with paints and supplies it was a great way to spend the afternoon. Jane painted two abstract pictures and a picture of two hearts. Claire painted a lot of swirls with different colors and accents and it came out really nicely. Mom painted a picture of a swimmer doing the butterfly, it was sort of abstract I think, but Dad guessed the image as soon as we showed it to him.
    After the art studio we went to an art gallery and looked at sculpted dresses. They were very interesting, we had Claire pose behind them and pretend she was wearing them.
    When we got back we crashed for bit. As I was moving across Jane's couch bed my knee went between the cushions and happened to find the metal pole that helped support the couch.
    "Ow!" I complained. "Your bed is very uncomfortable."
    "No." Jane frowned. "It's very comfortable." She likes her couch bed, but I can't really tell you why I'm just glad I don't have to sleep in it.
    "I just hit my knee off a metal pole in your bed." I explained.
    "I don't have a metal pole." Jane argued. Then she stopped and said. "Or at least I didn't bring one with me."
    I thought that was kind of funny so I thought I would share it.
    After we had a sufficient amount of break time we went up to the house for supper and played the one student violin we brought. The fireflies came out along with all the bugs. I must have tasted very delicious last night because I accumulated plenty of bites. I also held Jake.
    We climbed back into the camper and fell asleep and our day closed.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

South Dakota

    We started our day in Iowa.

Iowa fields

    It was very nice and the temperatures began climbing. Lucky for us, our camper and car have air conditioning.
    We kept riding through the day and I became the DJ of the car for awhile, because I wanted to. I played the songs through my iPod and jammed because they were all from my playlist.
    We stopped at a gas station and Mom got a bucket of chicken, because of the trouble with food that we had with the dog on Friday, I held all the chicken and doled it out and I passed Jane her pieces one at a time.
    Let me just clear something up right now. From what I have seen in the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and South Dakota there is certainly no shortage of corn.
    It is different than back home. The sky is bigger somehow and the ground is flat. I can see for miles in both directions as we travel.
    I saw Nebraska, but we did not cross into it, we simply drove along the side of the state line.
    Late afternoon, we arrived at our South Dakota destination. We have stopped to visit with my Great Uncle and Aunt. They have four adorable dogs.   
    We have been here before a long time ago. I distinctly remember their oldest dog Killer. He chewed up Claire's littlest pet shop toys. Now again here we are and he's just so cute. He sure isn't as ferocious as I remember him.
    Then we went  swimming at the lake it was extremely  gorgeous. Jane was terrified that she might find an alligator.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose
   

Yesterday's Adventures

    Last night we had a little bit of fun ;). We were planning on having tacos in the camper for dinner and all was going well.

    Then we weren't going to get to the campgrounds until 8:30 and we wouldn't have been able to eat until nine. We pulled off the highway and stopped at a Burger King for dinner and that is when our adventures began.
    Mom and Claire went in to get the food, because my white shirt was covered in dog hair. Covered in hair! So, you can understand why I didn't want to go in. Anyway, the food took a long time and Claire didn't get any ketchup with her fries. She went back into the camper to get some.
    Then Sparky (the dog) ate Jane's bacon cheeseburger and she was very distraught. Mom went in to get her another one and Sparky joined Rosie in the cargo area against his will.
    We pulled out and turned around to wait for Mom. The thought of Claire slipped our minds momentarily in all the confusion. We were waiting patiently when Claire came stomping up to the car, whipped open the door and sharply exclaimed, "I have dressing on my foot!"
    I had to turn my head to hide my laughter, but Claire was furious. When I had regained my composure I turned to her and explained that we had simply thought she had gone into Burger King with  Mom.
    "Well," Claire said. "I did not! I was trying to get the ketchup out of the refrigerator and then the shelf broke!"
    Apparently we stuffed too much food into the refrigerator and the shelf broke under all the weight.
    "A pickle jar fell on my ankle!" Claire complained, "And the Italian dressing landed on my foot and spilled on the rug!"
    Mom got back in the car with Jane's sandwich and we pulled out.
    There was loud complaining all the way to the campsite from the cargo area where Sparky and Rosie refused to settle their differences quietly. They continued barking and yapping and carrying on until we removed Sparky from the cargo area at our destination.
    Today, Sparky is sitting in the back with Jane again and there have been no problems yet.
    Here in Indiana there is a lot of corn.

Indiana Corn

   

    I took a picture of Indianapolis. It's actually kind of pretty and it definitely helps that's it's absolutely gorgeous outside. Too bad we have to sit in the car during such a nice day.

Until Next Time,

    Katherine Rose

We Are Off...Finally

    This crazy trip is underway. We have two dogs packed into the backseat with Jane and one dog in the cargo area. The camper is finally packed and the chicken coop is clean.
    I am looking forward to what we are going to see and discover while on this trip. Not a whole lot has happened except the leaving part. That's a step in the right direction though. We should be out west in a matter of days.
    I am very glad this car is comfortable because I am going to be here for a little while.
    Packing was interesting and hectic, but we finished finally. I can't tell you how much clothes I stuffed in my compartment, because every time I looked at my closet I thought of yet another thing I might need.
    I will admit I found a sneaky way of bringing more clothes with me on this trip. It's called layering. It's very effective. I wore a white active tank top, a cute black sleeveless jacket and a sleeved jacket over that.
    Jane was a little less concerned with packing and focused her free time mostly on the kittens we were preparing to leave behind. I am not completely convinced she brought everything she will need and I probably should have checked on that before we left, but at this point I don't really care. I am just glad we have set out.
    Mom made sure she had everything for the dogs. Yes, the leashes, the new collar, the bowls, the water bowl, the food, and their papers. She packed just about everything else too, so I bet she is exhausted.
    Dad took care of the outdoor work and thanks to him the camper is in working order and the trip is underway.
    Claire managed a football into her compartment, but she is mostly worried about her cat that went to stay at Paige and Nathan's house. He isn't used to being in the house and the last update we received from Paige was a picture of him sleeping on Nathan's lap while Nathan was watching television.
    I have a feeling this is going to be quite an adventure.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

A little bit of everything

    Yesterday Paige came over to celebrate Claire's long past birthday. She is staying through today so that promises some fun. We took Paige over to our neighbor's farm to bale hay yesterday. That went surprisingly well and Paige said It wasn't as bad as she expected.
    Nicole came over to play with Jane yesterday, but left sometime in the evening (I wasn't around when she left). Jane and Nicole focused most of their day on preparing a home for the cats in the barn.
    Paige, Claire and I walked into the kitchen to find them making tiny pillows for the kittens out of scrap fabric and foam.
    We also moved the horses from one pasture to the other which took a little time, because they were very frisky and decided to run all across the fields.
    Today we have a pretty clear schedule and tonight we have soccer games which should be fun. Up until now we have basically been playing video games :)
   
Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

A little bit of everything

    Today we are going to a graduation party to celebrate our fellow homeschool graduates. As far as I know it's just a nice get together to say good-bye to our graduating class, which is a whopping three boys! 
    Earlier, I had a soccer game and we won 5-0. That was pretty fun. In soccer, I like to play aggressively, while my sisters Robbie and Joan prefer to take less aggressive and possibly more affective approaches.
    I am currently trying to figure out how to play, Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson on the violin. Literally, I am holding my violin while I type this. I looked a little bit on the internet for sheet music for the violin, but all I found was stuff for guitar, which make sense since it was written for guitar, but still....
    I wrote a little this morning, but it was just in a goofy book, I am writing for my own enjoyment.
    Not too much is going on today. Tomorrow, I might try and pack up the camper with all my shirts. However, I have a slight dilemma with that.
    My mom says that I only need five shirts on the trip. There is a huge difference between need and want, sadly. I want to bring all of my summer inventory. I have a lot of sorting to do. I can't say which ones I am planning on bringing yet and I am hoping to make those hard decisions some time tomorrow.
    I think, for the most part, I know what pants I want to bring. It's not that I'm worried I will run out of clean shirts, because I know we are going to stop and wash them frequently. It's just that I can't decide which shirts I want to wear for a month.
    That's all for now.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Looking back

    Every year our homeschool group puts on a show, so that family and friends can see what we have accomplished in the past year. Usually it's a puppetry show, a drama or a talent show or a good mix of all three.
    Recently, we have been going back and watching some of the older ones to see how we have grown and progressed in the past years. It's fun sometimes to look back and see just how far we have really come.
    As we watched the shows, I recalled what was going on in my life then.
    This past year I participated in a lot of classes, but my favorite was by far the creative writing class. The class was very loosely held together because there were only three of us in it. The rest of the group was participating in the puppetry performance which held practices during that time.
    We wrote lots of stories using the writing prompts from the book, 712 More Things to Write About  by The San Francisco Writers' Grotto.
    Since there were so few of us in the class, we got to read all the stories we wrote out loud. Some of them were silly, some were short, some were long.
    I would like to share with you one of the stories I wrote using the writing prompt:
    Walking to school with a broken heart...

    I stare at the stop sign at the end of the street. My boyfriend and I broke up last night and the thought of love is disgusting.
    My walk to school in this delicate state would usually have been manageable on any ordinary day, but today is not ordinary.
    A man holding a bouquet walks by and says, "Have a wonderful Valentine's day." My stomach lurches.
    "Shut it." I mutter under my breath.
    I continue on my way and pass a couple sitting on a bench near the library.
    "I love you." One coos.
    "I love you more." The other giggles.
    "I hate you both." I grumble as I kick at the dirt.
    This superficial holiday has put me in a remarkably bad mood, but the next thing that happens throws me out of control.
    An Elvis Presley impersonator is singing a beautiful love ballad in the park while he strums his guitar and admits his emotions from the very depths of his soul. The lyrics are wonderfully romantic.
    If I was strolling by with my special someone, I might squeeze their hand or whisper something into their ear; instead I beat up the guy and smash his guitar over his head.
    Good news! I didn't have to finish walking to school. Bad news, I got a nice ride to the police station.
    I am now a juvenile delinquent. Yeah me.
    I knew I should have called in sick.

     The End

Soccer

    I have been participating in AYSO soccer for a long time now, I guess this would be my fifth season. AYSO stands for American Youth Soccer Organization. This year I will be entering into high school sports and I plan on playing soccer in the fall.
    My number this year is 12 and that's the same as three other people I know! My team is pretty cool and together we make up the Nuclear Leprechauns; awesome right?
    I suggested the unicorns, but that didn't really fly with most of the boys. However some of the girls were in agreement with that. I mean, what's not to like about unicorns?
    We have only lost one regular game this season. At least I'm pretty sure that's it, except tournament games, which we lost both.
    The uniforms aren't extremely appealing this year. They are striped. I'm not exactly a huge fan of stripes, but they serve their purpose.
    The other day Jane had a game and Claire and I walked around and watched some of the other games going on. I can't be sure who won and who lost most of the games, because we skipped around a lot. I do know that Joan's team lost. My Mom told me that.
    I don't really like watching soccer, but I sure do like playing it, and I plan to keep playing it for a very long time.

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose

Friends

    Summer is finally here. Even though it is my favorite season, there is not as much going on during this time of year, so obviously I am not going to see my friends as much.

    I would like to make a post about them.
    Nicole is first. Nicole and I are very good friends. She's really Jane's friend, but I like to mess with her sometimes.
    Next is Ryan. He is a part of my home school group and we go to the same church. He's pretty cool. Ryan, Alexis and I were all in a writing class together last year.
    Alexis is also my best friend. She and I have been friends for a long time, but when I first met her (when she started coming to my homeschool group) I didn't really like her very much at all. Now she and I are very close and I am glad I got to know her.
    I'll mention Nathan next. Nathan, I have known for a long time. The reason we actually got acquainted is because his sister, Paige, became friends with Claire and they started hanging out and having each other over. Now all four of us get along together.
    Paige and I became friends a little later on, because at first I always just thought of her as Claire's friend, but as we got older we started hanging out with the same people, since there isn't really that much of an age gap between us anyway.
    Nathaniel, I recently got to know. He is a pretty interesting character and I'd call him a friend, I really enjoy beating him at video games. It's one of my hobbies and sometimes he does win, but that's what makes it a challenge and winning is what makes it fun :)
    Claire, although she is my sister, she is also my friend. I usually confide in her before anyone else.
    Jane is my sister and good friend. Anytime I want to jump into a good game or start a massive, impossible project. I usually will go to Jane.
    Rebecca is also a good friend of mine, she goes to my homeschool group and church. We aren't buddy-buddy tight, but she is definitely a friend.
    The way you turn out usually has something to do with the company you keep. I try to keep myself in good company. With all of these friends, that's pretty easy.

Until Next Time,
    Meredith   

5 unusual things I enjoy!

1. Unicorns! Who hasn't heard of unicorns? I mean they are awesome and frankly very famous.  Nearly every child could tell you about unicorns and every adult probably could too. The best way to describe them would be a horse with a horn in the middle of its head. Why are they so popular? I doubt anyone knows the answer, but in my opinion it's because they are awesome.

2. Footie Pajamas! I have expressed my love of these things before and am the proud owner of four pairs. They are just so comfortable and convenient. Imagine how much time you could save just by wearing footie pajamas. Especially, if you prefer to wear socks to bed. Sadly, the ones that have caught onto this fabulous trend are mostly kids under the age of (but not limited to) eight.

3. Tacos! Of course tacos! Who doesn't like these things? They come in a fun edible pouch for easy consumption. Tacos, great food- awesome name. Taco's are amazing. I rest my case.

4. My friends. They are all very unusual and fun people, but then again, who isn't.

5. Writing! I love writing! Blogging, writing poetry, writing short stories and novels. It's all just so much fun :)

Until Next Time,
    Katherine Rose 

Happy Anniversary to my Parents!

    Today is my parents 26 Wedding Anniversary. Wow! 26 years and I have been here for over half of those! For this special day, I would like to share a few thoughts in honor of them :)
    One memory I have of my mother is her helping and encouraging me with all my writings, books, poems and blog posts. The list goes on and on. I also remember my Dad driving five hours for my twelfth birthday, because I told him that I had never spent a birthday without seeing him and to this day that still rings true.
    My parents are very involved, and I am so glad they are! They drive me here and there and everywhere and just about anywhere else :) while also managing to do the same for my two sisters! On top of this, my mom homeschools me and my Dad works five days of the week to support us. This is probably the reason I am able to do so many of the things I do.
    So thanks so much Mom and Dad for being the best parents! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Until Next time,
    Meredith

The little stuff I'm thankful for

I sure am thankful for the world, life, family, the bible, my friends and animals, but what about the little things I truly am thankful for? Well here they are:
    1. My fabulous turkey hat that I can wear for Thanksgiving (so festive! It's a hat that looks like a roasted turkey!)
    2. My footie pajamas (they keep me toasty and warm...plus who doesn't love footie pajamas?)
    3. The word yes (I mean come on, who doesn't use it?)
    4. Light bulbs! (Just cause.)
    5. The big dipper (One of the easiest constellations to find!)
    6. Door knobs (they've really opened doors for me!)
    7. Soap (keeping the world clean -sort of.)
    8. Oatmeal (A fast, easy, delicious breakfast!)
    9. Bagpipes (come on no one else is going to be thankful for them, am I right?)
    10. Four leaf clovers (That tiny ray of hope that really brightens a day.)
    11. Granola (another one of my favorite ways to start the day.)
    12. Clocks (keeping track of time, all the time!)

Until Next Time,
    Meredith

Braces

    Let me start out by telling you that having braces is no tea party and I haven't even had them a full day yet!  The bands are light blue and light pink and I'm really not all that happy with my color choices.
    Today I went and got my spacers out and my braces on.  Afterward I attempted to eat with them.  If anyone has any tips on how to eat with these things I would be grateful :)
    At first talking with them was really weird.  Needless to say, I am happy to have them considering the condition my teeth were previously in.  Boy are they sore.  I don't really like cold things on my gums, but I have a feeling things are about to change.
    I only have my top teeth done at the moment, but if all goes as planned, next visit I will be wearing braces on both the top and bottom teeth.
    I guess I will just have to get used to them, but they sure feel strange now.

Until Next Time,

    Meredith

Things I enjoy

    This past week has been a bit hectic especially with the play and such but I think things are finally starting to wind down. I figured now might be as good a time as any to introduce you to the wide assortment of interests that I enjoy.
    First, I very much enjoy writing, mainly fiction. I also like the arts. I suppose gymnastics and square dancing fall into this category. Gymnastics is more of something I admire and would love to learn. I am merely a beginner and can barely do a back walker over although I think flexibility is skill I would love to pursue!
    Horse back riding is just another thing I am interested in although I do ride. I am hardly any good at it. I am working on mastering the trot.
    Some hobbies are reading and drawing. I have read the Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth and the Hunger games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and really enjoyed them!

Until Next Time,

    Meredith

Let me introduce myself

   Let me tell you a little bit about myself and my family. I have two sisters and no brothers. I am right smack in the middle of the family and being the middle child can have it's perks.
    I am Meredith and my two sisters are named Claire (the oldest) and Jane (the youngest.)
    I live on the farm -which is cool and mostly a lot of fun- with two spoiled indoor dogs named Herbie and Rosie and two porch kitties, Pumpkin and Buddy. Pumpkin, a dark solid orange color, is Claire's cat. He isn't very bright, but is very friendly. Buddy has an orange striped coat and is much wiser than Pumpkin. He belongs to the whole family.

Until Next Time,
    Meredith