Books: What Would We Do Without Them?

     As the leaves begin to fall, an aching feeling of lonesomeness tends to stir within me. It's the time of year where outdoor activities cease, and a life trapped within our houses becomes more realistic. Here is the time of year where I turn to books for comfort, such an indulgence one cannot forgo. Sadly though, I have read many great and wonderful books and now I find myself lost to which book/books I should read next. At first I thought I could just reread the Harry Potter series again, but alas! I find myself bored halfway through the series, having read them before many times. I need something new, something exciting, something to fill my soul with like hot chicken-noodle soup. So today I am off on a quest to find such a book! To the library I say! To Barnes and Noble, my trusted friend! And please, if you have any suggestions, whatever they may be, please indulge me in such a treat.
P.S. And no, I will not consort to read Twilight, however my desperation.

Sincerely,
Kelsey

My Crazy and Amazing Friends

Through the summer I've realized how much I enjoy the company of my friends. From the wacky jokes we've made up together, to just chill'n after school, my friends are the one's who make me happy. I'm ecstatic to be able to hang out with them, and thankfully I'm in luck. Tomorrow I'm going over to Stephanie's house to go swimming with her and Jessica in her lake and watch amazing British Sci-Fi series like Doctor Who! I am very excited. :) 

 Jess and Stef at their best!

PURPLE URPLE

I have finalized my decision for what color I want to paint my room. Yes, I have wavered between many colors: pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and even grey; but! my final conclusion is thus: PURPLE. Though this color is not the first to come to mind when I think of my top favorite colors, I'm satisfied to hope that I'm making the right decision. Besides, it matches this great quilt I found on PBteen. Here's what I wish was in my room:

Happy Fourth of July!

Showing my love for America: 

     Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Tonight's Going to be a Good Night

The church dance is tonight! I can't wait. I've already picked out a great outfit to wear. Later!

Today

I'm a little tired and I think I'll just give a brief description of my day before hitting the hay. Anyway, today was slow... and boring. I mowed the yard of free (in order to pay my mom back) and I'll be the first to tell you that it was hot, hot, hot! I'm not great at driving a lawnmower (or about anything) so our lawn looks pretty bad right now. Before I actually got to mow the yard though I had to un-dogpoop it and ride it of all the unwanted twigs; a long, and tedious task as anyone who has seen the size of our lawn can believe. After that I didn't really do anything worth mentioning. I did however just get back from babysitting, it was fun as always. I love spending time with kids. ttfn!
-Kelsey

Facial

Yesterday, my mom took me to some weird spa place to get a facial. 

 (She had bought a certificate for a facial at my school's auction.) Anyway, at first I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but I really didn't have a choice in the matter so I went along with it. The spa place, DeSpain Cayce, was very nice (and very expensive). They treat all kinds of patients there: people wanting a facial, skin cancer patients, and anything else to do with skin. After waiting in the lobby, a lady said they were ready to see me now. Dragging my mother along we walking into a small, but cozy little room with a tiny waterfall thingymabob and soft cushioned seats. During the facial they massaged, cleaned, rubbed, steamed, and poked my face until it was almost "glowing." Once all this was over they did a makeup application and tried to coax my mom into buying some really expensive makeup (she didn't give in.) Now I feel beautifully clean! Let's just say though I'm not going to be doing that again anytime soon unless my mom wins another certificate for a free facial.

  

Young Women's Night (Cute, Cute, and more Cute)

Tonight, for our young women's activity we designed, pieced together, and perfected beautiful flower-clips. They're adorable! I'm not sure if I'll wear them in my hair, but I will definitely be pinning one to my backpack or purse. Here's a peek at my lovely creations. Now go make one of your own!

Recipes of Fun

Brad Stein

Here's a clip, this guy is hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaH0WTTfc1I

Going to Las Vegas

     The gambling city of all times: Las Vegas. My mother, crazy and adventurous as she is, has decided that she is going to Las Vegas. I'm not sure what prompted her to make such an extravagant decision like this, but I am telling you that she is not turning back. She's already booked a hotel, looked for shows to go to, and at this moment is checking plan tickets. Thankfully, she promises to take me and my brothers along with her. Regretfully, we have to go where SHE wants to go... and that does not include going to see the Blue Man Group perform (unfair? I know!) Anyway, my mom has this whole trip planned out in her head. First, she'll fly out with us to Las Vegas, stay there about 5-7 days, and then zip out to Salt Lake City to meet up with my dad so we can all visit his parents together. I'm not sure how this will end, but I'm in it to win it. 

Fourth of July

     Well it's that time of year, the day's are hotter then ever and the anticipation of grill'n hot dogs and shooting off fireworks is at an all time high. My little brother Andrew has already gone shopping for fireworks, and I can already  hear fireworks going off at night. Summer, for me, is not my favorite time of the year. Hot, sweaty, and humid for some strange reason does not appeal to me. Though, there are aspects of the summertime that I do enjoy. For instances, the pool is a great place to soak of the heat and blissfully eating watermelon slices all day long is another bonus. 
                                              
                                            

The Windy City

     A city to be admired; home of the Cubs baseball team and the John Hancock Observatory. As a class field trip, me and my peers we able to partake on an adventure to the wild city of Chicago, IL. We had lots of fun, we ate at all the famous restaurants and visited jaw-dropping museums, we even took a quick trip to the Illinois Six Flags. I can't say when I've had more fun! Here's a few pictures of this mighty adventure.

S.A.T (Oh My!)

Tis the season to start freaking out. This week is SAT week, and for those who don't know what I'm talking about SAT stands for standard achievement tests. Yuck, I know. A whole week of nothing but hours on end filling in tiny circles and answering questions. Most of the questions are opinionated too! It all makes my head hurts just thinking of it. Thankfully, we only have two more doses of that awful stuff tomorrow, and then we're free as birds for about the rest oh the week. There's only one good thing I think has come from taking these test, no math homework! :) That is something to be happy about.

-Kelsey

Spring Break

Where the Cheney's Vacation

Crisp, cool air, high, overseeing mountains: Utah. This week my family traveled to our beloved Utah for spring break. Our trip entitled skiing, ice skating, visiting family, eating sushi, and much, much more.

Usually family trips can be a hassle, from the long car rides to the unending bathroom breaks, but for once I came back feeling refreshed. Even though my family had it's share of tussles and fights, when we were with our family out in Utah, all those meaningless quarrels vanished.

SKIING: a fun way of falling down a mountain. Boy, did we all have a blast racing down those slopes. Or at least I know I did. Even though I know I'm not a great skier, I still had fun going on all the lifts (or trying to) and zooming down the mountain side. Slowly but surly I'm getting better and better at skiing. Even Andrew did a good job riding down the slopes. It was his first time skiing and even though he may have fallen down a good number of times, by the end of the week he was skiing quite fast. This week was a pretty good week for skiing. My dad, a fan of spring skiing, said that it was perfect weather for a good ski. Even though spring snow isn't as good as winter snow, that air and attitude of spring is a much more peaceful time to ski.

ICE SKATING: my first time on ice! Slippery, unnerving, amusing, icy, frustrating, rewarding, graceful, fast-paced, goofy: all these describe ice skating. On our vacation my grandparents took my family and a few of my cousins ice skating at a local ice rink. Being my first time on ice I made a big impression on the other ice skaters there that day. I'm sure if I had asked them they would have said it was "quite a dreadful performance." From falling on my behind, to falling on my knees, to falling on my hands, to falling on my side, to falling onto my back, to running into the walls, to running into others, I put on quite the show. Arms flaying, eyes wide, mouth gaped open, I even would've goggled at my appearance on ice. Though it wasn't all that bad, my mom at least said I did well for my first time ice skating. I remember JC and Nick, my cousins, had to use little walkers when they were ice skating to keep them from falling. As usual, Katie and I found a very amusing way to entertain ourselves and JC and Nick. We would push them around on the ice and spin them in circles for fun.

SUSHI: On our way back from seeing the movie "How to Train Your Dragon" my dad all of a sudden had a craving for sushi. Under his command we all obliged to stop at Happy Sushi, a sushi house we had once visited before on a prier vacation. Now, I'm not a sushi or Japanese eating person, and neither were Andrew or my mother at the moment, but we couldn't stop ourselves from ordering the what to me seems bizarre Japanese food. I got a large plate of beef teriyaki that had fried and greased broccoli and some other kind of veggie (yuck). Lets just say I just ate the meat and rice. Andrew demanded on getting meat dumplings, something my mom didn't think he would like, and Chase and Dad shared a huge plate of Spider sushi and California rolls. My mom and Nathan got some weird looking chicken and beef noodle thing. In the end, we all left with full, overstuffed bellies.

I guess all well ends well. My family had a terrific time vacationing in Utah and I hope we'll get to go back soon (if our cousins will have us). Maybe next time I'll get to do a little more shopping and a little less watching t.v. on our grandparents awesome HD television. I just hope my cousins will stop growing so I won't have to miss out on all the exciting things they do without us.

-Kelsey-