~GAHHHH!!~

ok, i know i haven't updated this in like forever, but i have been B.U.S.Y.!!
ever since mom & the sibs got back from ND we have been going NON-STOP!!
we just haven't had time to catch our breath..
i am sick w/ some kind of head cold or something. and i don't feel too well.  but tomorrow we get to sleep in and get some much-needed R&R.
as i am sitting here typing that i am sick, my brother just came up saying he took his temperature, and has some kind of 99* temp.  ugh we're all gonna be sick! 
this past week has been pretty awesome, though.  monday we did some school --not too exciting.  tuesday i had cornerstone co-op and then a GS meeting for kenzie (and i am a helper for her troop).  wednesday we didn't do much..  thursday i had learning tree co-op and shakespeare auditions (do NOT get my started on that topic!!)  and then friday we went to Newport Aquarium with the millers.  and today (saturday) we delivered all of our 1400+ weekend newspaper bags. so we can DEFINITELY sleep-in tomorrow! :D :D :D
i have not had anytime to keep up w/ either of my blogs. ( including my new one for my photography ..::  CassPhotography ::..  )  funny thing is, i haven't even had time to take pictures of all the stuff we've been doing!!  GAHHHHH!! lol
this coming week we don't have anything planned other than our tuesday and thursday co-ops, and we are hitting the school books ..  we need a good school week.  /: 
hope-fully we will be able to have a calm week, and then i'm sure it'll be back to craziness!  we are so run-down tho, and now all three of us kids don't feel good, that we need a good day of R&R. 
well i think i am going to retire this post and i hope to be able to update this sometime soon w/ what goes on.  in the meantime, my mom is better about updating her blog w/ what we do(:
=)

~ZooAide Banquet Twenty-Ten~

well the ZooAide banquet of twenty-ten was the end of august..so i think these pictures are a little over-due, buy hey..better late then never!!

so here are some pictures ::

ZooAide Banquet Twenty-Ten::

a lemur..lol

me, kelly, and malavika (more zooaides)

me, malavika, & kyle (more zooaides again)

me & hannah (another zooaide.. :D  )

the banquet was awesome as usual..i can't wait till next summer!

i wasn't able to take many pictures because everyone was at different tables, but oh well..at least i had a small handful to share..

=)

~Alyssa's Sweet 16~

alright, well i know it's been i think over a month since i last updated my blog, i now have a post. :D

last night i went to my friend alyssa's sweet 16. it was so much fun!(:

we hung out for a few hours and had an awesome time..

the birthday girl alyssa & me

so alyssa had a gorgeous dress!!

Gifts

cynthia, me, jenna, and a very cute little girl!!

Cake

jenna&me

cynthia&me

the party was awesome and i had a great time..(:

=)

~Bizzare~

sooooooooooooooooooooooo i was outside earlier today and found this spider.  yea, it's yellow & green.  apparentally, according to my mother (who i just spoke with lol) said they found them all the time in the front yard, which is where i found this one.  NEVER did i know about them, tho!  weirrrdddd!!!

i think i'll name him 'John'...  'John Deere' lol (:

Meanwhile, some pretty flowers (idk what kind) are blooming away. lol

aaaahh i LOVE summer! (:

=)

~Summer Twenty-Ten~

so yea, this has got to have been one of the best summer i have ever had! (:
the beginning of my summer basically started a little before easter, when my mom, bro, sis and i left my daddy in north dakota ( sad day ) to go spend time with my grandparents in iowa/nebraska before going even farther east to ohio to spend time with my other grandparents and friends.  now, little did i know what the rest of the summer beheld.  i was under the impression that i was going to get to stay a few weeks in ohio with my mom & sibs before heading back thru iowa up to north dakota.  now, a little before we ended up leaving north dakota on the second of april, my mom got to thinking.  (now, when my mom gets to thinking...it can be good or it can be not-so-good, however, not always 'bad' so say)
anywho...so i have volunteered at the columbus zoo and aquarium ( the #1 ZOO IN AMERICA) since the summer of 2008.  i love it so so so much and each summer i get to meet awesome people and develope awesome friendships, not to mention have awesome experiences. lol.  (can you tell it's pretty awesome?!)
so i got my renewal packet in the mail month back and i wouldn't throw it away.  well, long story short my mom talked with my dad, grandparents, and any other partie that would be involved about me staying for the summer to volunteer at the CZA for my third summer.  i was completely excited, and tho i loved my dad, i couldn't wait to get out of north dakota to head over to ohio.
since i've been in ohio i've had so much fun and even done some new things that i have never done in my 15 years of life.  one being as simple as going out on a boat on a lake.  i also got to go tubing. (: now THAT was fun!
along with trying out new things, i am volunteering again at the CZA.  now that is one of the main reasons i came back, however, i also came back to be able to spend much needed time with friends and social-ness. (;
being back at the zoo i have been able to go spend time with my friends and hang out at zoombezi bay, or hang out when working (whether it be being paired up at a station or on lunch break).  i've had such an amazing time and i honestly don't want it to end.  i think summer is getting to be my top favorite season!  (i've always enjoyed summer but have come to the conclusion you can do way more when you are available to do more).
as i've mentioned numerous times i am back at the zoo and lovin' it!  things are going really great!  i am super excited to have the number of hours i needed to reach my goal and am also really excited to be able to continue volunteering so maybe i will be able to beat my hours from last summer.  i'll be honest, i don't always like going just because i am too tired and have no motivation if i don't know anyone working that day, however, as the day progresses and i get to talking with people my day gets better. 
friends are also a very very very very very important part of my summer (and life) and i have been really glad to be able to spend alot of time with who i can get around to. lol ;) 
now, tho it sounds like my summer is coming to an end considering i've been talking about everything i've done, HOWEVER it is still continuing.  i am going to be able to go have an overnight at a friends house this week and can't wait until some of my other friends & i figure out a date to go to zoombezi bay and hang some more. (:
i would really love to get back into more activities so i can spend more social time, however i am also still working on school since i go year round homeschooling.  now alot of people are always like 'oh my gosh, year round must suck; but homeschool must be awesome.  i'd love to be able to go to school in my pajamas.'  now, as much as i enjoy the saying over and over again, some people just don't realize that school is school and that's that.  some people think homeschooling is biased, but it's not (at least in my house it is FAR from it!).  some other people think that because you are homeschooled you are not socialized and have no life.  again, it's not...especially in my house!  alot of people are surprised to find out i'm homeschooled because i'm 'normal'.  another phrase that i hear alot.  sooo... what is the definition of 'normal'?  i think the best way to put it is... i am me and not the sterio-typical homeschooler people always assume.  considering i think i've made my point on not to judge homeschoolers because of rumors or whatever i'll continue on about my summer schooling.
between the zoo, friends, and family i always find time for my school... especially considering i am kicking butt to get thru my 9th grade books which i started at the beginning of the year (our school calendar is January-December) to get thru my freshman year so i can begin my sophomore year in september or around then, so i am pretty much on a 'school year' calendar.  that way when it comes time for my senior year and graduation i will graduate when the rest of my grade would be graduating.  some days i do extra work, others just what is required.  now, another question i get asked alot is if i were to do say four lessons of each subject in one day would i be allowed to take those other three days i got the lessons done for off?  ok, now not always because if i do alot of extra work that means i'm getting thru my books faster and stuff.  but, if i want to go somewhere one day and won't be done for school i HAVE to get it done since i won't be around.  make sense? ok... (:
well, considering i have written a book on my summer (and i throw a fit to my mother whenever she does this) i will leave you with that.
an overall summary would be that i am really enjoying my summer and don't want it to end.  that's pretty much the end of the story. (: lol

(i am hoping to be able to update my blog more often...considering i've REALLY been slacking!) :P
=)

~Friends for 5+ Years~

Well I've been friends with Sassy & Stone for over 5 years and I don't think we really have any pictures of us together.  So tonight, we weren't sure what to do so we took some pictures.  (Now, some of you might know them as Map & Twirls in previous posts, but they requested their names to be Stone & Sassy.)

Stone, me, & Sassy

Stone, me & Sassy

camera timers catch the best moments at times! (:

Stone, me, & Sassy.

We are in tallest to shortest. (Sorry, Sassy.) :D

You guys are awesome & I'm glad we get to hang out all the time!  I know we have our times, but there is always good in them!

=)

~The Pizza Story~

We made pizzas tonight. . .
Here is the pizza story. . .

mushing it...or whatever it's called.

tossing it...and I didn't drop it!

final product...

me & my grandparents who have been feeding me, clothing me, and housing me... (:

=)

~Counsins~

Well, I've gotten to spend some time with my cousins (who live up in Dayton) a couple weeks so far through out the summer.

I enjoy spending time with my little cousins Lil' Man & Princess, as well as my older cousins Socks (he plays soccer) and Base (he plays baseball).

Me & Lil' Man

Me & Princess

We (my grandparents & I) brought Base & Socks back last week to hang out of a week.  So we went to the zoo on one of my days off 'so i could explain things to them & lead them around the zoo'. 

We had a lot of fun!  I have to say - I forgot how tiring it is to walk around the zoo whenever you come to enjoy it!  We walked for 6.5 hours.  I'm not putting all the pics up because I'm running short on time, but here are some pics from when Socks, Base, Gma, Gpa, & I went to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

The Polar Bears (now, this picture wasn't taken when we went - it was taken one evening I worked an overnight - but here it is.)

Base & I

Socks trying to give Base the Lorikeet.

Gma & Base on the boat ride in Austrailia and the Islands.

Base, Socks, & Me with PePe the Penguin statue.

Socks & I on our way home from the CZA.

We had a ton of fun spending the day at the Zoo and I hope maybe we can go again sometime this summer.

~Playing With the Dogs~

This is Map (inside joke). 

This is Map,

Map likes his hat,

When dog got his hat,

He was a very angry cat.

(OK, not really a cat, but it rhymed)

This is Orea attacking Map.

Oreo chasing Child.

Good, Oreo, good dog!

BAD DOG!  No, it really didn't hurt that bad. . .

Remember when I said Map was an angry cat when the dog got his hat?

Picture proof. 

Oreo took Map's hat & ran all around the yard.

Twirls trying to retrieve hat. . .

Not sure where the hat is, but Oreo & Map are wrestling. . .

There's the hat!  Child holding the hat away from Oreo, while Map is on the ground.

Child keeping the hat away from Oreo.

Eventually the hat was returned, however when we returned to my house, a half an hour game of keep-away began.  It consisted of keeping Map's hat & shoe away from him.  He was a very good sport about it & we all ran around.  I have a feeling that 4 against 1 isn't very fair, but no one really seemed to mind.

=)

~Yes, We All Hang Out~

Well, since my mom & sibs left Ohio on the 2nd of May,  I have been spending time with the neighbors across the street.  Even though I can be crazy at times (haha) we all still hang out!

Me & Twirls. . .

Hanging out in the sun (while ND is supposed to get 6-8 inches of snow. HAHAHA!)

Smiles from Twirls & me. . .

Me & Awesome-Dude!

After playing some basketball with Awesome-Dude & Twirls, we . . .

. . .caught butterflies!  *ok, not really - there weren't any around, but it was fun jumping*! lol

. . .Twirls spun Awesome-Dude on the swing. . .

AAAAHHHH!!!!

Hanging out a few days before - without our swimsuits. . .

Me & Twirls

Twirls & Awesome-Dude wanna say hi to all my family!

=)