Part 9

The ninth day was the last day of vacation. After eating breakfast, we went to one museum about route 66. After a few souvenirs, many pictures, and one long video, we were ready to leave at 10. We crossed the California border around noon. I spent most of the car ride reading. We ate at a familiar place (The Panda Express at Barstow). After that, it was a quick 2 hour drive back home. With stops and all, we got home at around 4:30. It took a while to unpack, but after that, vacation was basically over. 

Part 8

The next day was our first day on the way home. We woke up from Gallup, NM at 7. When we finished breakfast, it was 9. We drove one hour to Petrified Forest National Park. Before we got there, we stopped at a store in Navajo Nation for some ice cream. We spent a long time at Petrified forest, from ten to about 5. Along the way, we did the junior ranger and one hiking trail. After that, we ate at another Mexican food restaurant in a nearby town. It again took us until 7. The day ended after we arrived at the hotel in Kingman at about 11.

The great skiing fiasco (Part 7)

After waking up, it was 7 o'clock, which was actually pretty late, because we wanted to go skiing that day. After eating breakfast, wasting time, and getting lost, we arrived at the skiing area at 10 o'clock. Renting the equipment took two hours, and we only started skiing at 12:30. Afterwards, I tried to learn how to ski by eavesdropping on the lessons (which cost money). It took about two hours before I could reliably stop myself. I still had no confidence in myself, which meant that I didn't do much for another hour. I only skied down the full bunny slope twice. After that, we took a picture of the sunset, and started heading for our hotel at around 6 o'clock. After that, was the moment of our winter vacation that I remember the most. I had muscle spasms. After losing control of my left thumb twice I asked my dad what was going on. He said it was most likely due to the fact that I had not eaten any salt the entire day. Luckily, my mom had packed some sausages, and I ate half of a sausage. At 6:45 we arrived at a Thai food diner in Albuquerque. We finished eating at 8:45. Then, it was a 3 hour drive to our hotel in Gallup, NM. We arrived at 11 and, for the second time, went to sleep after midnight (at least we booked the hotel though). 

Wasting a Day (Part 6)

After not going to sleep until 1:00 AM the last night, we still managed to wake up at 7:30. After a one hour breakfast, we decided to extend our stay at our current hotel, because we just really wanted to go skiing. At 9 we explored the city of Los Alamos which had a "national historic park." We also visited the atomic bomb museum (paraphrasing). By 11:30 we were finally heading to Santa Fe, which was what we were planning to do that day. Though we arrived at about 12:15, it took us nearly 45 minutes to find some place to park. We ended up parking at the New Mexico Department of Veterans Affairs, and my mom gave the parking meter fees for three hours of parking. We waited for 30 minutes at a random Mexican food dine-in restaurant, before going to the Georgia O'Keefe museum at 2:00. We also went to the Native American art museum, a large cathedral, and the New Mexico state capitol before arriving back at our parking spot 15 minutes early. There we contemplated going to the movie theater again. However, we eventually decided against it. My dad remarked that we had nothing planned for today - but we still wanted to stay in Santa Fe an extra day? We ate at a grocery store Deli next to our hotel. That took until 6 o'clock. When we got back to the hotel, my sisters realized that this hotel had a heated pool, and they went swimming. I just played video games (after booking the hotel of course). We slept rather early that day (before 11 at least).

Revisiting missed opportunities (Part 5)

The fifth day of my family's vacation was spent at Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which was in Texas, but only an hour drive away from the city of Carlsbad (New Mexico) where we spent the night. We stopped and got out of the heated car many times to take pictures in the sub-freezing temperatures. Once at the sign declaring "Welcome to Texas" and twice at the two signs informing us of our entry into the National Park. We immediately went into the visitor center, where my sisters and I were forced into doing Junior Ranger. This was by far the most difficult junior ranger program I had to do in the whole vacation. It took us 90 minutes to do it. Afterwards, we decided to do a very short 0.6 mile hike, because there apparently was not much to the park besides hiking (We were ill-prepared for the longer hikes).  I took many pictures of the frosty desert, making sure to capture a Prickly-Pear in the background to remind my future self that, yes, this is an actual desert. At noon, the fog finally cleared and we could see the park's namesake Guadalupe Mountains ... right as we were planning to leave. So, after a few photos we headed towards our hotel. At 2 we ate at a subway in El Paso. Then arrived back at White Sands National Monument at 4:15, because we were determined to revisit it. It was open, but would be closing at 5, and much to the relief of my sisters and I, we didn't have time for Junior Ranger, and instead headed into the monument, sleds in tow to sled in the white sand dunes. While the entrance is blocked out at 5 o'clock, once you get in, you don't have to get out until 6 o'clock (sunset). So, we enjoyed about 45 minutes of sledding down sand dunes, before leaving. We quickly ate in the nearby town of Alamogordo before speeding (metaphorically) to our hotel in Los Alamos. We arrived at 11:30, and I might've been asleep for part of the 4 hour slog. It was so late that we didn't have time to book the next day's hotel, and instead opted to procrastinate until the morning to do so (we still found time to mess around until about 1 o'clock). 

Part 4 (Points for an original title)

The next day was, in my opinion, the best day of my entire vacation. After an unfilling breakfast where I mostly ate toast w/ butter. We left to go to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The day before, we had already visited most of the park, except for the visitor center and the actual caverns, which were located 700 feet below the surface. We went down through an elevator reading all the signs and taking plenty of pictures (the cavern was lit up by artificial light). After seeing the main attraction, we walked out through the "natural entrance", which was a sloped one mile trail out of the cave's natural entrance. By the time we were finished, it was almost 2 o'clock. We ate a very overpriced meal at the gift shop, drove a scenic route, and did the junior ranger program. We didn't leave until sunset (which was approximately 5). After that, my dad decided it was too early to go to the hotel, but too late to go to the other national park we were planning to go to. Instead, we watched a movie. The movie was from 7-9 so we ate dinner first. By 9:30 we were all at the hotel and did some research on our next destination before going to sleep for the night. 

Vacation Pt. 3

The next day, was Christmas Day, which means that next to nothing was open. After breakfast at the hotel, we left to go to White Sands National Monument. Unfortunately, the one hour drive was wasted, because it was not open on Christmas. In desperation, we parked our car and walked around the gate, but we were caught before we got very far. So, at 10 we had already left for our hotel. We also couldn't find any place to eat lunch and ended up eating lunch at 2 o'clock at a Sonic in Artesia, which was one of the few stores open on Christmas. Later on, we arrived at our hotel, but decided to visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park, which we originally planned to visit on the 26th. Unlike White Sands, the road wasn't blocked so you could still drive in and visit. However, the visitor center and their main attraction - the underground caverns were closed for Christmas. Because of this, we visited the national park again the next day. At 7 we returned to our hotel in Carlsbad, spent one hour eating dinner, then planned the next day's activities in the hotel.

My Vacation Pt.2

The next day everyone woke up at 6:30, but we watched TV until 7:30. After that, we quickly ate breakfast, before checking-out of the hotel and beginning the next day's journey. Our first destination was a place we literally just found out about yesterday, one of Arizona's three national parks - Saguaro National Park, which apparently was full of Saguaro Cacti. We arrived at 10 and basically just drove around, took photos, and occasionally stopped to read the signs. At 12 we did a short hike, and by 1 we had left. After that, it was a quick visit to the local supermarket and In-N-Out for lunch. Right after that, we refilled on gas, then left for a 5 hour drive to Las Cruces, NM. On the way, I finished up my math homework. When we got there, we ate Mexican food for dinner, which also filled me up. This is mostly because of how large the portions were and the fact that they had free chips w/ salsa sitting on the table. At the hotel, we booked the next day's hotel, and I slept a bit earlier than the day before.

Long vacation Pt. 1

Winter break has been going on for quite sometime now. Yet, it feels like it has just begun. This is mostly because I went on a week-long vacation, and presently don't really remember much of it. If I think about it, I can remember many of the details, but, when I'm not attempting to recall the details, I just am not aware of the fact that I've already used up the majority of my two weeks off. I think the reason for this is because I haven't done anything remotely similar to what I did during vacation, and thus only truly remember yesterday and today - the days I spent home from vacation. Anyways, if I think hard I can probably get about 80% of the details right.

We left for New Mexico on Saturday morning. On my family vacations, we normally end up leaving later than we originally plan to. Our plans took a second hit when we agreed to go a different route than we had originally planned. Under the new plan, we drove south to San Diego. I remember doing my math homework while occasionally asking my dad questions on problems I needed help on. Our first stop was to refill the gas tank at San Diego. It was also the first time my sisters and I washed the car (which we failed at doing). Following that, we sped along the freeway heading towards Arizona. We stopped for lunch at noon in the city of El Centro, CA. My mom and sisters went with me to eat KFC, while my dad decided to stay in the car and eat some of the food we had brought from home. After that, I was stuck doing my math homework in the car until about sunset (which because of daylight-savings time was about 5:30). I still hadn't finished though, there were some really annoying problems that I must've pondered for more than an hour. We mainly passed through desert and such, the other major stop was on the border town of Yuma, AZ, which was where my mom took over the steering wheel from my dad. At about 7 in local time, we had arrived at our destination - Tucson, AZ. While Tucson is only 8 hours away from our house, bathroom breaks and meals took up about two hours. We ate dinner in Tucson at a local Italian restaurant. It took about 90 minutes and most of my stomach (my dad had to help me finish). At about 9 we finished eating and headed to the hotel. We, being last minute planners, booked the next day's hotel at today's hotel. We decided our next destination was Las Cruces, NM and we would spend the morning at Saguaro National Park. Afterwards, I played Learn To Fly 3 until about 11 before going to sleep for the night.

Going Hiking (again)

Today I hiked with my family and my friend Kevin's family to celebrate the new year.  However, this 3 mile hike didn't feel like a hike at all for two main reasons. The first was how easy the trail was. It was flat and straightforward, with not very many extreme slopes. The second reason was the fact that I was talking while walking. Kevin was hiking with me, and we talked about school, video games, and life on the internet. Earlier in the day, I was dreading the hike, but it turns out that time really flies when you are doing something you want to do. The second part of our new year excursion was eating out at a restaurant for the new year. I mostly ate with my own family. Due to the fact that we are learning about nutrition and health in science class, I forced myself to choke down vegetables with the rest of my meal. I had already been doing that for a while, but this time, I absolutely hated the taste of the vegetables (specifically steamed lettuce). My sister later remarked that I was the only one in the family who ended up eating it (it was that bad). I finished eating early, and then I talked with Kevin for a while. After that, everyone headed up to the local bakery to eat dessert. I went home with a full belly and basically forgot the hike in the morning.

Getting Sick

Yesterday I was sick, like really sick, I had a fever, messed up lips, dried throat, and was completely out of energy. Naturally, I missed school that day, but after the school bus left, the Advil I had taken basically completely took out all the symptoms.  By 10 I was completely OK. My mom asked if I wanted to go to school or not. I felt that it would be a bit awkward, so I stayed home. By 2 the symptoms were back and I took another pill, at the end of the day I was basically rid of the illness. I wondered if I could of just went to school. Today I'm mostly okay except for a dry throat that I keep pouring water into, but is perpetually dry and constantly gives me weird mucus. Next time I will go to school.

Book Orders

My sister got her book orders today. So she gets to buy a bunch of books from scholastic. Back when I was in her grade, I didn't really buy that many books, but now I wish I had, every time I look for something to read, I can always check my sister's book hoard. She has so many books that if I tried reading them all I could probably read them again without feeling bored. Some books can be reread over and over again. 

I tried to write a book more than 4 times, every time I couldn't get the project off the ground. The closest I ever got was a 27 page wall of text, that spent 20 pages introducing concepts and then 7 pages for the plot. If it was the size of a normal paperback novel, it might have been around 50~ pages. I can't help being distracted, sometimes I really want to write something good, like when I find so many opposing complaints on goodreads. I have so much fun reading comments it wastes so much time, which makes it the most interesting thing that I do.

Speed Homework

Yesterday I did the impossible I finished my chinese homework in less than 20 minutes. I was extremely motivated, because the computer was already open, and I had to do it in order to keep it open. my dad commented on how long it normally takes me to finish one simple task and talked a lot about ways to improve my efficiency. I guess it was basically a one time thing however, because today it took about 40 minutes to do the same amount of work. The thing holding me back was a combination of my sharpener issues and frustration made my mental atmosphere less suited to doing it. Seventh Grade has been very light on homework, and I must get faster to keep up.

Middle School

So, today is the second day of middle school. I have many different conflicting feelings already. So first on the list is homework, I actually don't have much homework, but the main thing affecting me is the high* expectations of the teachers. *I mean I don't actually know that I can't handle it but I feel like I can't which is almost worse. I already have 2 things due on September 5, and the teachers advice to start early isn't very helpful. So I kind of finished my homework. Also I don't know about tests or anything else as of now. It is all very confusing, the number one feeling I've been having. I don't know if I need to change my habits to finish my homework on time. I also don't want to get to comfortable. In a few days my questions will be answered, for better or worse. For example, in history class, I have a long project due September 5th, I know from experience that I can finish on the last day, but it doesn't turn out well. I try to plan, but I know that there are always unexpected obstacles. All the teachers are currently very nice, but I have big suspicions that is only due to a kind nature and fickle first impressions. I want to make my parents proud this year, but the 8th graders always talk about how hard a particular teacher's class is. Anyways, my general feelings are positive, yet I don't want them to.

Vacation day

Today is the first day of our vacation. However, we still had to do our things today. We only will actually leave to go at dark. This is a first, as we usually like going first thing in the morning. Flying a plane is so weird. My sisters probably are having lots of fun right now, I shall join them.

I'm so weird

Yesterday was an unordinary day. I woke up at 8, and my sisters were asking my momma to open the computers. We did stuff, eventually she opened them , but only one, which we all had to share.We rotated in thirty minute intervals. I played for two hours that day. When my mom came home at 5, I played the iPad until I went to sleep, yay!

Blah Blah Blah

My sissy is such a sissy. Bye, I just wanna do stuff so I can finish blog and play a bit before I have to leave at 11. Anyways, on Thursday, I get to go on vacation. So I have three more days to do stuff. I am sort of worried about middle school. I already feel like summer is over for me. It actually went by pretty slowly, and overall I feel that I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I am glad to start school at 8:15 in middle school, and being able to take the bus. I could wake up at 7:50 and not be late, which is when my sisters have to be at school. Yay

The last week

This is the last free week at home I have for the summer. This entire week I went to zero summer camps. I've had 4 free weeks this summer, but today was like a sort of sleep in week free from obligations. My parents gave me a break after Basketball Camp which lasted a whole day five days in a row, so as a reward, my parents let me do whatever this week! Except next week we go on vacation. This week I woke up at 9:30 slept at 10:00 and stayed home the entire day. Yay!

Basketball Camp

This past week, I've been going to basketball camp. I had to wake up at my usual get up time of about around 7:20, I would play around and then start a long routine for 7 hours straight of basketball, that I don't like, and was forced to go by my parents. I guess it started to get fun at the end, I won't be coming back this year though. My sister was jealous and what not, because she actually likes basketball.


Okay, I guess I'll go through day to day of what happened.

On Monday, I woke up at 8:10, we went to a big basketball court. At about 8:30 I saw the huge wooden gym. I mostly just explored around trying to find out about this situation I have been forced into. Starting at nine, the coaches introduced themselves and we split into "leagues", I was grouped into the 11 - 14 yr old category. Then they numbered us off into teams. After a short half-court trial game, they decided to split the six teams into 7. Originally I was in team two, maybe the coach thought I was really bad at basketball, and I was the first one to join team 7. We were the smallest team in the league. Of the 11 players in team seven. 2 left for vacation, one sprained his ankle, and one disappeared by Friday. After that we got to do drills, which were hard, because I didn't understand much. Then we had lunch (provided). After that we had basketball challenges. Then some full fledged games, which was the first time that I decided "maybe I'm not completely trash.", we lost, but I played for 8 minutes out of 16, pretty good.

The next 3 days were the same, except there was an additional morning game, oh and on Wednesday we went to the pool, and we had pizza on Thursday.

Friday was the "Playoffs". We played, and lost by 2 points on the first round. Not much else happened. I remember getting a certificate telling me how I did. You either did "Average", "Above Average" "Good", "Excellent", or "Outstanding". Then I went to Barnes and Nobles, Yay!