The Most Fun Time Picking Out a Book

Our family field trip  on Friday was going to Barnes & Noble to pick out a new reading book.  We met the Huiskens, Skeehans, and the Hollingsworths there.  I thought it was amazing how many books there were to choose from.  We started in the kids section.  I began picking out lots of books I was interested in.  One I was interested in was The City of Ember.  I decided against that one because I was afraid it might be too confusing.  I also looked at the series about Poppy the mouse but I have already read it before.  I had picked up James and the Giant Peach  remembering that my teacher in 2nd grade had read it to us.  I decided against it because there were other books that I liked better.  In the end, I bought the book The Capture from the series Guardians of Ga’hoole.  I have seen the movie and it was great so I thought I would enjoy the book.  I also got a Nancy Drew mystery book with two stories in it.  One is called The Secret of the Old Clock and the other is The Hidden Staircase.  I picked this one because my mom recommended it and and it was a good price.  We got to have Starbuck’s drinks and go to lunch with everyone after.  I had fun picking out new books and am excited to read them.  -Gracie

My Adventurous Scout Camp Out

This past weekend I went on an overnight camp out with my scout troop. Last Wednesday we had a troop meeting to plan the menu and review our supplies needed. Because I needed a few more requirements to complete second class, they assigned me to be the patrol chef. I made suggestions for what to eat and everyone vote in favor of my menu. I gave food assignments to the other boys. The next day, Thursday, I got the supplies I needed and called the other boys to see if they got their supplies. On Friday afternoon we picked up the other boys and headed up to the Biggs’ house in Nevada City. When we got there it was pouring rain so we decided to set up camp inside the barn. When we finished setting up camp we started to cook lunch. We had English muffin cheese pizzas which were delicious. Everyone said they were the bomb! I felt proud. After lunch we started to play in the hay tunnels. After playing we started to cook dinner which was chili dogs and celery sticks. That was delicious. After dinner we went up to the loft and opened the window. It was pouring on that cold night! While we were looking out the window we saw eyes in the bushes and steam from a creature’s breath. We screamed and ran to get our bb guns. When we started shooting a bear jumped out of the bushes and then ran away. Later we got ready for bed and turned off the lights. It was so dark! I was freaking out. The wind made the big barn doors swing against each other and make loud noises. I couldn’t go to sleep. Finally, I close my eyes and fell asleep. Early in the morning, 6:30, we got up and made breakfast. Dad and I cooked toast, eggs, bacon and hot chocolate. Following breakfast we cleaned up camp and went up to the frozen pond. We started sliding on it and Jack McKim slid onto a thin part and fell in to the water up to his waist. He was frozen. We loaded in the car. We took off our wet shoes and socks and put them next to the heaters to warm up. It started to smell bad, it was nasty! Haha:) My trip to the Biggs’ house in Nevada City was adventorous and fun! – Brayden

Indexing Can Be Fun!

Indexing is typing information from old record sheets into your computer.  After you finish a batch of names you submit it to familysearch.org.  There are a lot of records that need to be entered so they need a lot of help.  This is important because people want to know about their ancestors.  So far I have done 19 names.  Mostly they were records of people arriving on a ship.  Some were hard to read.  It was harder than I thought it would be because the first example was very easy to read.  I want to do indexing because if I can get 50 names done my mom will take me to Starbucks for a hot chocolate.  I also want to do it because it helps people find their ancestors.  My goal is to do a batch every week.  I think it is fun when you finish a batch and can push “submit”.  I am also excited when I submit a batch because I know I am getting closer to my reward!  I feel awesome when I do it.  As you can see I am working very hard on indexing.  – Gracie

The Disturbing Tools Used by Doctors Long Ago

When we first arrived at the Medical History Museum in Old Town Auburn we were meet by a funny and nice gentleman. We had a chance to look around for a few minutes as we waited for everyone else to arrive. One thing I noticed was a real skeleton named “Anna Rexia” haha. The man began to talk to us about bullet injuries. If you were shot in the leg with a bullet you would have to get your leg cut off with a nasty, sharp saw! If you were shot in the head, a drill would be used to make a hole in your head so the bullet could be removed. Then he pulled out an odd machine that looked like an old time tazer. He asked for a volunteer and I raised my hand first. He put the machine on my arm and it lit up and made a buzzing sound and felt like a little shock. This machine was a fake used by many people who would tell people that it would heal them but it really did nothing. The man told a very interesting story about a bed pan. While he was collecting old medical items he found a lady who had a crystal bed pan. He asked if he could buy it from her but she said it was not for sale. Years later he decide to go back to try to get the bed pan again. When he got there the lady had died a few years before. Her son said they sold most everything in the house but he could looked through the house to see if the crystal bed pan was still there. Sure enough, in an old dusty cupboard, there was the bed pan he had wanted for so long. He keeps this item at his home but might someday bring it to the museum. My visit to this historical hospital was a surprising experience, and it was a blast. I think that if any family has any extra time they should go to the Gold Country Medical Museum. -Brayden

The Best Christmas Ever!

This year Christmas was the best one yet! It was wonderful because everyone in our family was here. Lauren and Andrew came for 10 days from Logan, Utah. Carter and Shelby came back from BYU Idaho. I enjoyed the time we got to spend together. We were able to do a lot of fun things together. First, I started in the middle of November setting up for Christmas. I put up the tree and decorated it all by myself. I liked exchanging gifts on Christmas morning. It is fun get things and see the expression on other peoples faces as they open the gifts I got for them. My favorite gift I received was my Soda Stream soda machine. The gift that I gave that I was most excited about was a giant commercial potato masher for my mom. I got it for her because she is always trying to borrow my grandma for big catering jobs. We went with Andrew, who is a good tennis player, to play tennis. We also went up to our cabin right after Christmas Day. We stayed two days. Some of us stayed at the cabin and played board games while others went snowboarding. I especially enjoyed playing the games Sour Apples to Apples. Back home again we went and saw two movies. One was Mission Possible and the other was TinTin. I enjoyed TinTin the most. I really liked the animation. Overall, this Christmas season was very fun! – Maddy

Gracie’s Goals for 2012

In 2012 there are many things I would like to get better at. This year I want to get better at piano and violin. I really love music. I think I can get better by practicing more. I would like to learn longer songs on my violin. I would like to learn how to play “I See The Light” from Tangled on the piano. I would like to become better at tennis.  This will also take practice and lessons. I would like to be able to play in some tennis matches. This year I want to work on not fighting with my brothers and sisters. I want to be more patience. I will try to be better at showing love to others. I want to get better at math and learn more about science and history. I will try more kinds of food. Finally, I want to bear my testimony at church. If I work hard on all these things, I will become a better and more talented person. – Gracie

My Adventurers in 2011!

In 2011 I had a lot of adventures! First, I went on an RV trip to Yellowstone. It was very fun. I saw lots of elk and an Osprey nest as big as a car tire. We went to see Old Faithful. I was surprised at how high it went. It was very cool. After Yellowstone Carter left for college. I was very sad and lonely.

Then we went to Yosemite later in the year. In Yosemite the mountains were very tall. It was very amazing. On the second day there we went on a long hike up to a waterfall. It was very tiring but worth it. Me, Andy and Alex wandered up the mountain in search of the trail to the next waterfall but couldn’t find it but saw the most amazing view of Yosemite that anyone could see! We rode bikes all around the valley. It was a very fun bike ride because I pretended it was a race to the next spot.

In November I started flag football. I was one of the fastest kids on the team. During the season I scored 2 touchdowns plus one extra point. When it came to the tournament, we scored 3rd place. Our team’s name was the Lions.

In December our family went to Maui & Kauai. In Maui we had lots of shave ice, my favorite flavor was pina colada and a slash of coconut with cream on top. We also

went to a place only Hawaiians go, Kahakuloa. Our shave ice partner, Malik, invited us there for lunch. It was very fun. In Kauai we met up with Carter. I was very excited to play on the beach with him. We went to our hotel and checked in. The next day we went to Hanalei Bay, the best beach in the world! We had so much fun together.

2011 was very fun and I hope I can have that much fun this year! – Brayden