National Parks

So, on our big trip from Sep. 7 to 18, we visited 6 national parks and monuments. Originally we were going to only 5 but we added Devils Tower on our way to Mt. Rushmore. In order (with pictures) this is where we went:

Garden of the Gods (on the way to RMNP)




Rocky Mountain National Park (see the Elk?)




The Grand Teton National Park




Yellowstone National Park (first National Park created)




Devils Tower National Memorial (first National Memorial created)




Mt. Rushmore National Memorial




The Badlands National Park




We did a lot of hiking on our trip. That is, a lot for me. For those of you who walk several miles on a regular basis while heading up an elevation of a few hundred feet, we didn't do an excessive amount. But I discovered how out of shape I really am when half-way up a 2 mile hike (elevation over 200 ft) I was extremely tired. I did make it all the way up though, and it was worth it! It was beautiful up there! I also liked Alberta Falls.



And of course, the ever excited chipmunks.



At the on our way to the Tetons we drove through a snowstorm. I still am not used to snow. We also went on a hike and afterwards Phil was exhausted.



At Yellowstone the first thing we saw were Bison (not Buffalo!)



Then we proceded to Old Faithful. The earlier pic is from the second time we saw it, the first wasn't nearly that big. We also saw lots of hot springs. They all smelled like sulfur, which I think smelled like a rotten egg.



We only spent a little while at Devils Tower but you could see climbers on it. Some were at the top, but most were on their way up. The record climb to the top was made in 18 min unassisted.

Mt. Rushmore was totally amazing. We saw it at night first. The lighting ceremony was really cool. The next day we walked the President's Trail. We got to go right under the monument. Phil thought we saw a moose, and maybe we did. An albino pygmy moose!



We then saw Sylvan lake and climbed all over the rocks. It was really pretty.



Next, and last, we went to the Badlands, so named because an explorer said it was "a bad land to cross." They were actually quite nice to look at.

We saw lots of animals up-close. We saw Elk sparing, a mother Moose and her babies, Chipmunks, Mountain goats, Bison, Ducks, giant Crows and Fish. But according to Phil, if it had four legs, it was a Moosh.






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The day after we got home (Friday) we worked at the taco stand for the state fair. We worked 8-5 Friday and Saturday and on Sunday from 6:30 to 11:45, except Nat stayed till 2:30 to finish the clean up since it was the last day. I had class this morning, otherwise I would have stayed too.

Now, I'm going to have to work triple speed on school to catch up in everything, but the trip was well worth it!

~Ellentia

Home!

We're home! We had a great trip and saw all sorts of cool things! I can't post much now because we're terribly busy but I will post soon!

~Ellentia

Samantha Cinderella Scott

Narrator:

Samantha Cinderella Scott
was told she’d have to have a shot.
The doctor said,

Doctor:

“You’re somewhat sick;
I think a shot should do the trick.”

Narrator:

He said,

Doctor:

“You shouldn’t feel a thing,
except perhaps a tiny sting,
a painless prick, a poke, a pinch.
It shouldn’t even make you flinch.

“You won’t begin to bleat or bawl.
I doubt that it will hurt at all.
I don’t expect to see it bruise
or swell your arm and start to ooze.

“There’s little chance of bellyaches
or fevers, chills, or sudden shakes.
It’s not supposed to cause a cough.
Your arm will likely not fall off.

“I’m guessing that there won’t be lots
of itchy red and purple spots.
Convulsions, too, are fairly rare.
I think you’ll get to keep your hair.

“In fact, the chance is nearly nil
that you’ll become intensely ill
or grow a ghastly greenish hue
or turn into a kangaroo.

“It’s nearly certain that you’ll not
become a fish or flowerpot.
I’m quite convinced it’s fair to say
you won’t turn into mush today.

“But if you start to shake and cough
or if your head should tumble off,
if you become a moose or mule,
you’ll get a day away from school.”

Narrator:

Samantha Cinderella Scott
took just a moment, deep in thought,
then yawned the slightest little yawn
and told the doctor,

Samantha Cinderella Scott:

“Bring it on!”

The End

Adapted from the poem by Kenn Nesbitt in When the Teacher Isn’t Looking

~Ellentia

Rules for the Bus

Rules for the Bus


Child:

Said our driver in September
as we climbed aboard the bus,

Driver:

“There are rules you must remember.
Number one, you do not cuss.
Do not squirm and do not wiggle.
Do not squeak and do not squawk.
Do not laugh and do not giggle.
Better yet, don’t even talk.
Do not ever let me catch you
with your feet out in the aisle.
Sit as rigid as a statue
with a stiff and silent smile.
And you will not wear your mittens,
and you will not wear a mask.
And you will not bring your kittens,
and you shouldn’t even ask.
And you will not play with bubbles
or a yo-yo or balloon.
And for causing me such troubles
you will get them back in June.
Now the day is here. Begin it
with the words I have to say.
Kindly take a seat this minute,
and let’s have a pleasant day.”

Child:

Well, I listened very closely
to the messages I heard,
and, in all this time, I’ve mostly
followed each and every word.
I have tried to pay attention,
but of this, I must confess.
There’s a rule she didn’t mention,
and today it caused a mess.
It is not as if I planned it
with an evil attitude.
I am not that underhanded,
and I don’t mean to be crude,
but it causes quite a fuss,
and it might even be unlawful
to have climbed aboard the bus
when you have stepped in something awful.

The End


Adapted from the poem by Eric Ode in Rolling in the Aisles

~Ellentia

Time to go!

So, the eve of our big trip. Tomorrow we are leaving after church and we will be gone for just under two weeks. We are visiting the Rocky Mountain National Park, the Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills of SD. I have always wanted to see Yellowstone and Mt. Rushmore so I am very excited! In honor of the trip, I got a new (and bigger!) memory card for my camera so I can take lots of pictures.

Today Jc and I worked at another OU game, but this time we worked selling programs. We made a lot more because we almost sold out and there was only three of us on a team. I am thoroughly exhausted now. Thankfully, it didn't rain and it wasn't too hot, although it was pretty warm in the sun. When we went into the bleachers to sell I got a lot of glares because people couldn't see over me. It's funny, they didn't glare at the food sellers. Well, I need to go now, lots of things to get ready before we can leave, but I will post while we're gone.

~Ellentia

Barcode

Enjoy! (and let me know if you want a more challenging puzzle, I have different pic's and cuts that are available)





Puzzle courtesy of JigZone.

~Ellentia

The Mirror

So, a while ago I saw this video on www.quirkology.com It said that for most people, they either figured out the trick right away, or they never figured it out. I didn't figure it out until Jc watched it with me and we did a little searching (she was the brain behind it). So, can you figure it out?




Don't worry, if you can't figure it out, in a few days Jc will post another video that might help explain it a little better.

~Ellentia

Olympics

It's funny, almost as soon as I posted those terribly boring three paragraphs, I remembered that I was planning on doing an Olympics post. I have been staying up until 11:00 or 12:00 every night to watch the games. I have really enjoyed them. My favorite event was definently the 4x100 mens freestyle final. However, the men's and women's all-around individual competitions were really good. If you didn't see the mens 4x100 freestyle, you really missed a good race.

The commercials have been good this year. In my humble opinion, as a whole, they are better then superbowl commercials. The best individual commercials come from the superbowl, but all around, there are more good commercials in the Olympics. My favorite commercial, though not strictly Olympic:




And another good one:




There are so many great athletes who are in the Olympics this year, but there were also lots of people who didn't make the team. Here are the honorable mentions:




~Ellentia

So, since I last posted, nothing really exciting has happened (maybe that's why I have taken so long to post again!). I am loaded down with school this year and to be honest, I'm not sure how I'm going to get it all done! Each subject by itself (except Chemistry) isn't a problem; but putting them together is going to be tough.

Okay, enough school. This year I am planning to enter into the state fair competitions. The deadline for entry forms is Friday. I need to hurry up and get my entries settled. Thankfully I don't have to have the actual piece finished, I just have to have the forms mailed in. Surprisingly (ha ha) there are a ton more categories then there were in Nac, and it is difficult to know which ones I'm looking for.

Dad has finally re-started the girls ensemble at church. I love the song he picked! I hope that we can learn it fast so we can spend more time on the fine-tuning. I am a little worried that the middle part will have some trouble because the girls in it, as far as I know, have not done a lot of singing, and the song is syncopated. But, I am not too worried, because Dad is an excellent teacher and the girls will probably do fine.

~Ellentia

NM!

So, last week was a lot of fun. Our family minus the father and daughter who work went to New Mexico. Nat went fishing for a few days with our Grandpa and Mom and I learned how to quilt from my Great-Grandma. Libba watched movies while we quilted in the mornings and Phil just ran around making a nuisance of himself. Enjoyed learning how to quilt and if I had time I would probably attempt a small quilted somthing-or-other but since I already have way too many hobbies that I am working on, and school is about to start in earnest, I figure it would be a good idea to not start something new.

While I was in NM, I signed myself in to Bondage. Literally. Remember the Oklahoma History class I was in last year? Well, the teacher, Mrs. Bond, also teaches American History. I shall have to slave away for her again this year. It will be a little easier because I know what to expect now. We also signed up for choir again this year. I was going to do a different choir because I am not fond of the way the homeschool choir is run but it didn't work out. Oh well, I will try to ignore all the frustrating things that happen every 30 seconds.

So, now for pictures from our trip:

First, some scenery. It is so beautiful in NM. As M0m says, the sky is the bluest in NM.




The clouds were spectacular on the trip to Las Cruces.


These are the Organ Mountains, my favorite mountains. Las Cruses is right by them so you can see them a lot in the city.


These are the Organ Mts. at sunset. I wasn't in the best spot for picture-taking though.




More sunset.


Friday we went to the park.


It was hot.


This is Mom and Mimmie quilting.


This is the water tower that mom and I walked to Saturday morning. It was a lot longer on foot then it was on a bike.


I thought I would close with some cactus flowers. (there isn't a ' at the end of cactus is there?)



~Ellentia

Dayspring!

So, I am finally back from camp. I am glad to be back, I was so tired by the end of the week (sleep deprivation does that to you). My BASIC (Brothers And Sisters In Christ) group was really awesome! We all really got to know each other and in the middle of the week everyone was participating in the discussions. I learned so much from everyone in my group.

The camp is located in this really cool red canyon and on one side there is a cross at the top that lights up at night. You can hike up to the cross but you're not supposed to hike anywhere else. I did anyways. There was a place where the rock was at an angle and there were handholds and footholds so some friends and I climbed up that. It was more difficult then the trail but it was a lot more fun.

Of course, every year there are the usual free time activities, volleyball and basketball tournaments, swimming, hiking etc. and this year I was on a volleyball team. I think were were the worst team but I had fun playing. It was rally scoring and best 2 out of three games. Our first game we lost 15 to 3 and the second game we lost 15 to 5.

At the end of free time there were electives you could go to. Connecting to God through art, connecting to God through relationships, connecting to God through culture and connecting to God through conflict. I went to all except the conflict one. The art one was arts and crafts, you could draw, paint, make beaded things or make paper things. I decided to sketch. The relationships and culture ones were open questions and discussions.

The most annoying part of the week was the first night. One of the girls started shrieking because she saw a mouse and then all the other girls started shrieking. It was rather funny because they all started jumping on beds and suitcases. I personally didn't care but the other girls were scared out of their wits so at 12:30 we all had to pack up and move to a different cabin! I was not happy. It's not like the mouse was gonna eat them in their sleep! My friend and I named it Joany, and it was a very cute mouse. I voted to catch it and keep it as a pet. Somehow I was overruled.

So, now for the pictures. These are in no particular order:

This is the cross at the top of the canyon that a lot of us hiked up to; me for the scenery and others for the cell phone reception.


View from the top of the cross


Mountain Men!


This is the lovely foot circle at the cross.


Hiking buddies at the cross, notice the cell phone ;)


This looks like a cave but it is only a few feet deep.


Before we had free time we had total group and we would play games. If you lost, there was a punishment. This is the punishment for Jc, on the right.


Every night after worship we had "late night". This is at the disco dance.


This was the Spider that I found in a window, it is still alive.


During BASIC we had a butterfly land on Steve's hat. It sat there and licked his hat for about 15 minutes. We named it Steve Jr. because it seemed to like Steve.


There were lots of animals at camp (of course). This is the baby deer, I didn't get a good picture of the mother.


There were also goats, about 12 of them.


There were canvases and oil pastels in the Tabernacle and people could draw during worship, there were some pretty awesome drawings.






This is the cool climbing place that we found. It wasn't really that difficult, but it was a lot of fun!


This is our unofficial devotion group that met the first three mornings. I missed the last one because I was so exhausted that I woke up after it started.


This is the chapel that my BASIC group was supposed to meet in but it was so hot that we met right outside the chapel.


And this is my totally amazing BASIC group!


This post has taken forever to create and there are a bazillion pictures but I couldn't decide which I liked best. Well, that was camp.

~Ellentia