I Am Number Four

So I actually finished a book today! This is rare for me, because I come home with 2-7 books every time I look for "a" book, and then I never have time to finish them all. Generally, I don't find any good books anyway.
But now, being the librarian aid in school, I have a feeling my two books I've already found myself checking out will go up to twenty before the end of the semester. And I might finish five. xD

So, for the last few days I've been reading the book, "I Am Number Four." The movie came out a few months ago, and when I saw the ad I was hooked. Unfortunately, we never got around to seeing it. When I was wandering through the library the other day, though, I ended up finding the book, which I figured was the next best thing, if not better. So I checked it out myself (that's the advantage to working there XD) and began to read it.
I started the book knowing the movie, according to rumors, had been awful. But I tried it out anyway, knowing books are 99.9% better than the movie. At first, the book seemed promising. The first half covered the main character, named John/Number Four, who's an alien from a planet that was destroyed by another alien race. He and 8 others had been on the run from the other alien race for maybe 10 years. Three of them had already been killed, and John was next in line. This meant that he and his father-figure, Henri, were constantly on the run, avoiding the other aliens to the extreme.

It doesn't sound like a bad book when this is all you hear. But the rest of the book was basically John/Number Four trying to cope with his alien powers and his love story with his human-girlfriend (already creepy) named Sarah. Generally, I'm a hopeless romantic. But although sex never occurred (miraculously) in this book, John was too devoted to his girlfriend and not to his own alien race's survival. I guess you can't expect much more from a 16 year-old boy. But still.
Also, the book's sentences felt forced to me, meaning the words did not flow together. When I (or authors I admire) write, the sentence structure varies from a very short sentence, to long, complicated sentences. However, this author used short sentences more often than not, especially if it was supposed to be an intense scene. This in itself distracted me from the story.
Furthermore...the book felt cliche-like. Popular-jock hates John who falls in love with the jock's ex. It sounds like a High School love story, and last I knew, the book was supposed to be science-fiction. I know other kids my age like the High School stories, but I really don't. They bore me in their, "I'm not popular; I'm going to become popular; I'm popular!" story-line that takes place in almost every book. Either that, or the story-line goes, "I like this girl; I gotta get this girl; we're dating! Yay!".
I hear these things every day at school. Get me something new, please.
However, I make it sound like this book was awful. It was, to some extent. But I haven't totally given up on the next five books in the series. Only one of the five, book two, is out as of now, so I'll be getting it from the library soon, hopefully, and expecting a much better story-line. Thankfully, I have a feeling John's girlfriend will be out of the way more. :D We'll see how the book turns out...
Anyway, I'm off!
~Kathy

Christmas/Birthday!

Oliver's been bugging me about my blog "dying", so I decided to update today just for him. Luckily I actually have stuff to say, and photos! :D
Since today is my birthday, my family celebrated Christmas yesterday. We had our traditional coffee cake for breakfast, opened our Christmas presents, visited my Grandparents, saw Christmas lights, and went to the Christmas Eve Service! A pretty full day, I'd say, but I enjoyed it. The Christmas Eve Service was awesome, and it was great to see my grandparents.
Since I'm basically broke right now (all my money is going to a band trip to Branson, Missouri later this summer), I had a "fun" time giving presents to my family, heh...in the end, I got a stuffed mouse for Mom (she loves those type of stuff, ya know xD), wrote a heart-felt poem to Dad, and Oliver recieved two presents he had already bought for himself, but he allowed me to give them to him. I also gave him a "Get Out of Dishes 3X Free-Card." Heh, next time I'll try and be more creative. Oh, and all three of them again received a music video I made of my 2011 photos. It's having trouble uploading on my parents' facebook, but hopefully I'll get it up there in the next few days.
I'd have to say that my favorite Christmas presents are the book "One Child" and t-shirts from Oliver, and my pj's and stuffed bear from my parents (they know me SO well xD).

 Then came today! :D The first half of the day was spent at church, which was...interesting, to say the least. A person would think the place would be packed, considering it's Christmas Sunday, after all. But the place wasn't anymore packed than on a normal Sunday, and there was only one service today, not two. It made me sad.  Luckily, there was this adorable little two year old sitting one row behind us, and when he tried to sing along with the congregation I would practically squeal. He was adorable I tell you. :)
I need a little brother or something...*sigh*...
Anyway, so after church we headed home and we opened our stockings. Even though stockings technically go with Christmas Day, we've always opened them on my birthday. Mom came up with it when I was born so as to not make Oliver, the older brother, jealous that his annoying sister was stealing the holiday, hehe. Afterwards, I couldn't wait any longer, and so I opened my birthday presents! My brother got me yet another book I've been wanting called "The Book Thief" (!!!), and this hilarious trombone t-shirt. I plan on wearing it the day I get back in school, and if the trombone section doesn't get it, I might just punch someone. ;) My parents got me two epically awesome DVDs I've been hinting at; Cars 2 and How to Train Your Dragon. One of my guy friends says the latter movie is cute but took away his "manly-ness" when he watched it, and so every time I look at that movie I think of his comment. He just needs to embrace his emotions is all. xD
The best gift is the one currently on my finger. A few months before my birthday, my parents decided to buy me a purity ring, and they took me shopping to pick it out. It was very exciting. It's a silver ring with the verse Proverbs 3:5, and a diamond in a cut-out cross. It makes me happy, and it'll be on my wedding finger until marriage. :)

Anywho, so I think I've mentioned the squirrel (named Nut) by my house that always shows up, right? The crazy one that's tried to kill both me and my cat while mowing or just walking through my yard. It's gone on all year. Anyway, so I saw him today of all days, and like usual I called out to the nut and made fun of him. I mean, c'mon, he's a perfectly good squirrel to tease. It just works.
He was digging for some old bird seed under the feeder today. Unfortunately for him, that meant getting into a foot of snow and trying to find a needle in a haystack. So I got some pretty funny pictures of the Nut. Take a look. :)

Who would think he wasn't cute with that snow on his nose?? But he's still a Nut, and an annoying one at that. ;)

~Kathy

I Am Alive!

Yea...It's been a while, eh? But I am alive! Be amazed.
Marching band and history homework have taken all my time in the past month, basically, and will continue to do so until another week passes. However, I'll get to that all later. This blog is dedicated to how school is going, and not just the band part of it (although, that is most of my life, as I've said already).

My first class of the day is honors math. This is totally not how I would like to start the day, but at least it kicks out my least favorite class at the beginning. It's not that I'm terrible at math-I just don't enjoy it. It doesn't help that my math class is the only class where I don't have any friends/acquaintances to really talk to. However, the teacher is nice, and algebra II has come easier to me than geometry ever did.


Language arts is my second hour, where I share it with a few band buddies and friends. The class, although honors, is a total joke. We don’t really do anything in that class except listen to the teacher ramble on about…well, I don’t even know. What does that say? I swear, that area in the school must have issues-both teachers I’ve had in that general area have been, what teens would call, a fail. But the nice thing is currently we’re writing short stories, and I’m totally in Heaven. My love for writing has come back, and I’m excited for the possibility of getting back into it.
Third hour goes extremely fast for me, and that’s AP U.S. History. My government teacher made me scared to death of anything that had to do with our country last year- but thankfully, I have no reason to be scared of this years’ teacher. Not only is she nice, but she’s funny and keeps the class entertained. Class is tough, and I get a lot of homework (this is an AP, remember). It’s been hard keeping up with it all due to marching band, but I’ve managed and still remain strong in this class. J I share this period with one of my guy friends.
Fourth hour is another favorite of mine: Honors Biology. The class is difficult and I’ve only recently managed to get it back up to a grade I can live with (very exciting!), but I enjoy challenges sometimes. I’ve learned a bunch too, and I like the teacher pretty well. The class has a few class pets to keep me entertained- 2 saltwater tanks, a guppy tank, 2 tortoises, 1 turtle, 1 mouse, and a tarantula sleeps quietly behind me. I’ve learned to respect that spider though. I mean, seriously, it’s behind glass. I don’t think it can escape and kill me…In this class with me are a few band friends againJ.
Fifth hour is Spanish, which has always been a joke for me. I enjoyed bragging about doing my math homework in it last year and still passing the class with an A. This year’s a bit different (she won’t let me do homework, sometimes, and it’s more challenging), but I’ve still managed to be fine in there. The teacher-like all Spanish teachers- is optimistic, “fun”, etc, and it just makes me want to laugh. I don’t know- the Spanish teachers, they try. But they try a bit too hard to make us feel welcome in there. Thankfully, I share this class with four friends (3 from band), so it goes by relatively quickly.
Afterwards, I finally get lunch! Depending on the day and my mood, I usually sit with 1-12 kids. This depends if I sit at the band table or not; otherwise the number dwindles down to 1-3 kids. (Yes, I am a band kid. Don’t judge me.) This results in quiet days and loud days. It makes my life interesting, to say the least. J
            My next two hours are relatively easy and I enjoy ‘em. Sixth hour is journalism, and I share it with two band friends and a new friend as well. The teacher is a favorite of mine-we get along very well and we have learned to respect each other in a way I usually can’t with other teachers. Within the class, we don’t do much- that helps, I must say. We read about writing newspaper articles in the textbook and discuss current events, mainly. Recently, we interviewed a school teacher, and the best three articles in the class will get published in the school newspaper! I have my fingers crossed.

My last class is band/marching band, where I’m surrounded by friends and acquaintances. We call each other our family members, so our bonds with one another are strong and I enjoy it that way. I’d be a total loner without them at school, to be honest. Although most kids in the band hate the teacher, I don’t generally have a problem with him- he’s just like another teacher to me, only a little bit more demanding (he kinda has to be-we don’t listen). As most of you know, I play the trombone, and I generally enjoy it (until recently because my chops are DEAD). I am challenged in that class in every way; emotionally, physically, in my relationships, my responsibilities, my musical ability…I guess everything but mental power. As I said earlier, I like a good challenge. Hence, one of the main reasons I am in the class. I think it helps that I enjoy it all, too. J

Besides playing music and having friends, band has been a great way for me to observe people (see last blog entry), shine my “light”, and watch people grow in their own talent(s). I thoroughly enjoy it. Everyone in the low brass section has something going for them, even those that most people would throw out, saying, “They don’t work hard enough.” It’s been a blast getting to know the kids on a better level, and I look forward to spending 3 more years with all of them (except one--he just has to be a junior… -_-). 

And…that be it! That is my life in a quick little nutshell, right now, without the drama. Marching band will be ending this Saturday at the latest *tear*, and I’ll suddenly have free time again…I honestly don’t know how I will manage. It’s late over here, and I should totally be heading to bed now. I’ll update you again, soon (we hope)! J

~Kathy

People

People fascinate me. No, really, they do. Everyone's just so different from each other...one minute, you think you know someone, and then the next you don't. There's always something to learn-a secret, something about their childhood, something they don't even realize themselves.
I strive to hear the little things about a person's life, because it's always interesting to me. Why do you do this? What do you think about this? How was your childhood experience? Is that honestly how you feel, right now?
And when I'm lucky enough to get a response, to be allowed into part of a person's thoughts and mind, it's amazing. I can then compare and contrast people, find running trends, discover how a person may do this, and another the complete opposite due to, maybe, their background or how they were raised. When I do get the information, it's fun just processing it.
I get even more excited when someone different enters my life. Someone people generally cast out of the world because they're "slow", "don't fit in", "weird", "stupid", etc. Because these people seem to have the most interesting back-story and the most interesting set of emotions out of all the kids I meet. Sure, they may be problem kids-but really, they're the most intriguing. I often find myself wondering, "Why does so-and-so act that way? What happened in his/her childhood that changed who he/she became?"
My brother tells me that maybe my career when I grow up will have to do with helping the mentally-handicapped people, because he sees my interest in them when I always happen to find a book about them. I read a book once called, "One Child", by a women named Torey Hayden, and although it wasn't a book about a mentally-ill child, it was about a child who needed some series help. The child had already burned another child alive (I don't remember if the kid died or not) at the age of six years old, acted like a total animal, had absolutely no control, and, overall, was a complete mess. If I recall correctly, she was going to be put into one of those insane hospitals if something wasn't done about her quickly. By the end of the book, however, the child did a complete 180-her teacher Torey showed her love and kindness, and the child was able to learn from her and grow. Oh, and did I mention that this is a true story? (By the way, I'd love this book for Christmas, family members who may be reading this!)
If this isn't a sign in itself that I may head off this road later on in my working life, you can also look at the friends I seem to gather around. I hang out with the kids that're social outcasts, weird, or both. I think this is because I like coming into their lives and helping them out. It probably also helps that I've been labeled as a social outcast myself in many cases, due to the fact that I hang with those that are different and because I don't try to be popular. Oh, and it helps that I was a weird little child. :P
Anyway, it's late over here, and I think this is enough of a piece of me to keep you all satisfied for a while. I'll have to write about how school's going soon. Later!
~Kathy

Ode to Summer

Sad days are upon me...school is starting back up.
This means not only homework, but being around people all day, which isn't one of my highlights, being an introvert at heart an' all.
However, it's not all bad. It gives me a chance to be a light within the darkness-and that's where my heart's set these days. I just want to be the different, godly one, and the public school is the perfect place to shine my little light. It'll be fun to see where this new school year takes me. :)

Anywho, this journal entry will probably be the last one of the summer, and so, it is destined to be about my summer. This break has been full of joy in the form of vacations with my family, marching band, and growing in my faith in Christ. I've had a great break, and even though I don't feel ready to go back to school this year, I know I'll live. xD
My first vacation this summer was up at Salida, Colorado, where my family and I went to southern Colorado to just get away. We went to the Great Sand Dunes, saw some falls, and overall had a great time.

The very next day after this little trip, Dad took me hiking where we nearly got lost, but enjoyed all the nature!

My kitty enjoyed being photographed...Okay, so maybe not. xD

Cooking crazed omelets became a sort-of hobby for me for breakfast... (And so did days spent at my grandparents' home cooking with my grandmother) :)

 

Family friends were often a part of our summer lives...

Photography became a major past-time for me...!

Rootbeer

The "Hybrid"

Our trip to Yellowstone took place...!

Marian and I

Walks around a nearby lake with my brother and Dad occurred from time to time...

My family and I went up Mt. Evans...!

...And got stuck in traffic on the way home :P

Then about a month later, we went up the mountain again, but with my cousins! And we did other cool things, too!

 I met the craziest squirrel I have ever met in my entire life (his name is Nut xD)

Nutty want some birdseed?

Too bad! (yes, he is in the picture...Rootbeer's teaching him a lesson :D)

Rootbeer somehow became even cuter...!

Oh, duh! Marching band too! Although this is a picture of me and my friend during our last concert of last year...oh well :P

Me and my friend, 'Lexis

And there's been so much more that's happened this summer, I couldn't write about it all! I'll definitely miss this summer; it's been full of fun. But, I guess all good things must come to an end sometime...

Goodbye summer. See you when the bees take flight, when the flowers bloom, and when the rains come again. I'll be waiting.
~Kathy

My Family's Visit

I am so darn tired tonight...I blame it all on marching band. But the things I learn and the fun I receive from the band make it all worth while for me, even through the pain. =)

Anywho....

Everyone in my family wanted me to write about my trip to Yellowstone that took place about a month ago...but I never really got into the writing, heh. It was a great trip though; Oliver wasn't able to go due to work, so it was just me and my parents, and of course everyone in my uncle's family as well ('cept for my cousin Stephen and his wife, Jessica =( ). I mainly hung out with my cousin Marian, and we had fun goofing off. On one of the days, me and all my cousins went rafting down a raging river, nearly flooded because of all the moisture up there (I'm telling you, even Wyoming was green!). We saw six bears and four moose on our trip, and four of those bears were grizzlies. Even further, two of those grizzlies were cubs! Overall it was a fun trip, and I'm looking forward to seeing my uncle's family again, probably next summer.

Speaking of family, my Mom's brothers' family was here last weekend (different family, haha). They came for my Mom's birthday, which is a month from now. There're four kids in my other uncle's family, and their ages are 7, 11, 13, and 16. So a lovely mixture of rambunctious kids, haha. The three older kids are all boys, leaving one girl who's constantly teased by her older brothers. But don't worry, she shows them who's boss! ;) Calvin, the eldest, is a gifted musician, who already has his own CD made! Noah is the logical and quiet one of the family, who enjoys reading more than talking (good boy =) ). Jonah is the sensitive one, I believe, and he's always keen to give hugs. ^_^ And Rebekah's the loud and bold girl, tough enough to force her brother's to stop picking on her! She enjoys being carried around (lucky for her, I enjoy carrying her). =)
They arrived at our house Friday evening around 11:00 P.M., and stayed until Tuesday afternoon. On Saturday we took 'em up to Mt. Evans, which was my second time up there and their first. Their family lives by the eastern coast, so they had some problems with the altitude, but besides that I think we all enjoyed the trip up the mountain. =) Here's some photos.

From left to right, front: Aunt Pattie, Oliver, Mom, Dad, Calvin (16)
From left to right, back: Uncle Danny, Noah (13), Jonah (11), Rebekah (7), Me.

There was a lake at the base of a nearby mountain. =)

In the back: Rebekah, Uncle Danny, Oliver; Front: Dad, Jonah, Noah =)

Dad with his feet in the chilly mountain water!

Jonah, posing for me ^_^

Oliver was not amused :P He stayed on that rock the whole time while us kids played in the water.

:D

Noah, toughening himself up xD

Jonah and I :D

Dad, looking at home in...*gasp* water! :O (He can't swim)

Jonah said this photo could almost be professional if that guy wasn't in the picture. I said the man added character. Who's right?? xD

All of us kids/teens, observing "Oliver's Clouds" (he enjoyed watching them while waiting for us). =)

She may be "a pickle" (according to Noah and Jonah), but she's a cute, pink pickle :P

Bighorn ssshhheeeppp! :D

Cute baby mountain goat, posing for me ^_^

Jonah hidden away in a blanket (it was 'cold'), watching goats.

Three babies! <3

The three boys, Jonah, Calvin, and Noah (left to right). At the top of the mountain!

...and that's all the photos I'll torture you with here! But only of Saturday, hehe :) For supper that night, we ate at Casa Bonita, a 'Mexican' restaurant and a favorite of my cousin's. In fact, me and Noah's birthday party was shared at Casa Bonita when we turned 8 and 6. Jonah and Rebekah especially enjoyed dragging me along with them into Bart's cave, a little walk-through cave for kids (and me) :) .
The next day was Sunday, and so all we did that day was head off to church (I had nursery duty! :D), and then hang out at home. We had a barbecue, and the adults talked for three hours afterward while us kids played on the computer, watched TV, read, and played with one another.

On Monday, my parents and Oliver were at work, so my uncle's family took me with them to my uncle's hometown, in Colorado Springs. He showed us where he grew up, including his elementary, middle, and high schools and were his first job was. We also stopped by his old friends' house from elementary, and we stayed and chatted with her and her husband for maybe an hour and a half.
While in Colorado Springs, Uncle Danny also took us to Garden of the Gods, where we enjoyed climbing around. =) My uncle used to work as a teen at this candy store called Pasty's (as did my Mom), so we went there as well and said hello to his old boss before getting a tour of the factory itself. As we left to head home, we stopped at my family's old friends' home, at Monument. Here's some photos of the day, which was pretty awesome!

Calvin, Noah, Jonah, Rebekah, Me, at the entrance of the Garden of the Gods!

"The Kissing Camels" XD

Garden of the Gods in all their glory!

Back: Jonah, Rebekah, Me; Front: Noah, Calvin

Calvin be strong! xD

Noah under the rock! :D

Jonah climbing through a hole! :D

We also stopped by my grandparent's gravesite before leaving Colorado Springs.

<3 <3

It was rainy, and my camera was in black/white mode. I saw this, and I thought of how Christianity's not important anymore in America. =( Calvin told me to write an essay about it xD Maybe I shall, if I get too bored, haha.

Rebekah, being...a pickle :P Love you Rebekah! :D

On Tuesday morning, the family woke up, got dressed/took showers, ate breakfast, and than left me alone at home at about 11:30 that morning...it was a very lonely afternoon, because each time I heard a scream outside, I thought, "It's Rebekah outside playing with Jonah." And so then I'd get up and look out the window, and...not see 'em, for they were long gone. =( Our house is so darn quiet without them, it took me all day to adjust to our home's usual stillness.

And so, I had a lot of fun with them while they were here!! I miss them like crazy, though. Hope this entry made up for the lost Yelloswtone one :P Those photos are on Facebook, at least, so not all is lost. Thanks for reading! :D

~Kathy