Halloween--with the whole army!

What a fun filled evening everyone had on Halloween! Cameron, Ryan, Melissa, Billy, Trax, Andrew, Austin, and Derrick all came over to go TRICK OR TREATING! We all put on face paint, and our army men shirts and hats. The younger boys trick or treated, while Melissa and I (and sometimes Ryan and Cameron) were the supervisors. Everyone had a blast going around the neighborhood and looking at everyone's neat decorations. I am so grateful everyone could come celebrate this evening with our family. Even Melissa's parents, and my grandpa came too! Luckily for us, too, the face paint came off with a little soap and water (or at least mine did). Happy HALLOWEEN!

I must say the picture with Cameron, Ryan, Melissa, and I is my new all time FAVE! I love how everyone is smiling, except Ryan. Maybe that is because we all jumped on top of him to take a picture. HAHA. GOOD TIMES!

Back Draw GOLD!

 

Wilsynn and I did it! Well...sort of. We got our gold medal, but no in the true Championship finals. Nerves really control you at the times that you wish they didn't. Our first match was against Taylor. Even though Wilsynn and I beat them during our season, our luck didn't pull through. The object is to be the first one to 6 games. It became 5 all (5 to 5), and deuce (40 all). The next point would win. Unfortunately, we did not get that point. Although I was disappointed that we did not beat them, I was kind of glad we lost. If we would have won, then we would have had to play Stapely (the other best doubles team), and if we lost to them, then we would be officially out and would not have a chance to win a medal. Instead, we got to play a tournament with all the losers. :) It was blast, because Wilsynn and I had a lot of support, and ended up having a lot more fun without so much pressure. We went all the way to the Back Draw Finals, and beat Fremont 8 to 3 to earn the GOLD! Even better, everyone at Shepherd won some sort of medal! :) 

The tennis season is officially over, so I will probably stop posting so much about tennis, tennis, tennis! I know everyone is probably getting sick of it. SORRY! Basketball tryouts start 6:15 AM on November 3rd. YA!

Pranks on Hernandez!

During first hour, all the tennis girls decided to hide in the TEAM ROOM until Mrs. Hernandez took her P.E. class out to play tennis. Don't worry, we all got permission from our teachers first. We all waited for about twenty minutes, until Mrs. Hernandez took her P.E. class outside. After she left, we were going to cover all the glass windows in the locker room with shaving cream, and then write "WORLD's Best Coach," and "Undefeated City Champs!" That was how the plan was supposed to work, but what is a plan without its faults? As we were snickering in the team room, and trying to be calm, we overheard Hernandez saying take out a pencil and paper. This was not a good sign, because we assumed her class was about to take notes, and Hernande usually takes notes in the team room. Luckily for us, her class was taking a test instead. This was still bad though, because that meant Hernandez would be in the locker room, and not outside! We quickly decided to send Jen and Carly (our two best liars) out to distract Hernandez. We obviously couldn't just send them out the team room, because then Hernandez would be suspicious. So, they quickly snuck out when she wasn't looking, and went around to the other locker room door. Carly and Jen told Mrs. Hernandez a whole bunch of lies about how none of our team wanted to participate in the City Match tomorrow, except for Jamie. She was so furious that she stormed into the locker room, but only to be found astonished at her glass windows covered in shaving cream. She loved it, and we then gave her a hug with our shaving cream hands. She wasn't too happy about that (she was wearing a black shirt), but she still kept laughing hysterically. I think overall the little 7th graders were mostly taken by surprise, when the scary ninth graders came out of no where. This brightened my day, but the day got even better! We all headed to Barro's Pizza during sixth hour for a team celebration...coach's treat. Everyone surprised her again with a $100.oo gift card (from all of us) to her favorite restaurant, Los Olivos, and a huge card. The tears couldn't hold back any longer, she automatically started to bawl, which made everyone else tear up. After a great pizza dinner, and many great past time stories, Mrs. Hernandez gave us the top three awards that we voted on last week. MVP (the most valuable), MIP (most improved player), and the Stallion Award (for the nicest, and the best person overall to just have on the team). MVP went to Jamie T, MIP went to Jen P, and the Stallion award went to ME!! I was very excited. Tomorrow is the City Match! GO GIRLS TENNIS!

Just a little notice. I have never been so proud of one of my brothers before, until today. Trax participated in the City Cross Country Meet for 7th grade boys. Out of 80 7th graders running the two mile race, he placed 13th with a time of 14 minutes, and 08 seconds! Only the top 15 runners got medals. I am very proud of him. I must say...I did give him some words of advice that I gave him, so maybe I should get some credit....:) Just kidding! GOOD JOB TRAX!

We are the CHAMPIONS!

Shepherd tennis girls truly are the best! Our last match was today against Smith. :( I am sad that our season has only two more days left. Tennis has become very special to me, and a big part of my life. I am glad that I got to learn this wonderful sport, and become very close to many people that I barely even knew before our tennis season. The Shepherd girl's team, Jamie T, Jen P, Wilsynn W, Carly M, Jackie G, Rachael R, Megan H, and Alicia R [and me] played eleven total matches, and finished our season undefeated. We are the City Champions, and the only team at Shepherd that went undefeated. I am so proud of these girls! We fought together, sweated together, and most importantly...stayed together throughout our whole season. I can remember back when over half of the team didn't even know how to play tennis. Luckily, our amazing coach, Hernandez, had faith in all of us (and probably said a few prayers), and brought us all the way to the top! A great team comes from a great coach. I am going to miss tennis, but am hoping to continue it at Red Mountain High School after basketball season. Thank you to all the people that have come to support me [my mom], Mrs. Hernandez for not giving up on us, and to all my teammates defining the word teamwork. GO SHEPHERD GIRLS TENNIS--# 1! :)

Friday, the 24th is the City Tennis Match. Only the top six players on each team get to participate. Wilsynn and I are undefeated as doubles partners, and are going for the GOLD MEDAL in doubles! The match is at Gene Autry's from 3:30pm to 8:30pm. Any support is highly appreciated. Food and drinks will be selling at the park. :)

Party Time!

My friend, Katie Hightland, had her birthday/halloween party on Saturday. There was a lot of people there, which made the party a lot of fun. We played pumpkin bowling, and ate donuts off a string. It was a hoot watching everyone try and catch the swinging donuts in their mouths. Of course it was a competition, and the winner, somehow, was Whitney Buchanan (another one of my friends). After game time, we all roasted marsh mellows (or burned them), while stuffing our mouths with as much marsh mellows as we possibly could shove in there. At 7:30 we crammed into Katie's living room and watched Disturbia. I have never really watched a scary movie before, but this movie was shockingly awesome. We all had our piercing screams, because some of the guys kept saying "Oh my gosh!" to try and scare us. Katie's brother also freaked us out at the scariest part of the move. He through himself against the window. The movie was so suspenseful and so entertaining, that everyone had to call their parents to pick them up later. We just HAD to finish the last bit of the movie. This was a perfect ending, to a perfect night....and a frightening

 one!

Cameron, Melissa, and I with the AFRO!

Dad's old afro+ Mom's high shoes+Pillow= One crazy girl! Cameron, Melissa, and I all hung out at my house for a little tonight. Little did we know how it was going to turn out. We were all just chit chatting with my parents, when all of a sudden we somehow got onto the topic of black afros! My dad remembered we had a huge afro, so I went to put it on. My mom sparked an idea to get her old black clogs, and brown pants suit and put it on me. I looked like a total diva! We took it another step farther and shoved a pillow down the back, to make me look like I had a "bubble butt." Yes, I know we are all very crazy, but it had us chuckling up a storm, and I just had to share the pictures with everyone! I hope you enjoy, I know I did. :)

Bowling!

What better thing to do, than to go play bowling at AMF on a Friday with your friends? I've got to admit, I am not the world's greatest bowler. So, for me, in order to make bowling fun, you have to make it into "more than just a game." The way I play, you have to come up with the most creative way to bowl. Whether it is throwing the bowling ball half way down the lane without it touching the ground, mimicking the so called "professional" bowlers around you, or seeing how many times you can hit the bumpers before the pins (yes, I still use the bumpers and I am almost fifteen) No matter how bad you end up doing, it is worth all the laughs and glaring stares. To start off, I forgot to put a pair of socks in my bag, so I had to buy socks at the bowling alley. Did you know if costs $3.75 for a pair of socks? It is a scam. My suggestion is don't forget your socks! You'll spend more money on socks than on the actual game itself. We only played two games, because half the time we were doubling over laughing at our stupidity, and ridiculous bowls. Most of the time we kicked back and took crazy pictures of one another. And what would a bowling game be without getting the ball stuck in the gutter, with the bumpers on? I know that sounds impossible, but trust me, it is possible! I think bowling can bring the best out of people. This was a great idea Melissa, thanks for inviting Jenny and I! :)

Weekend with the DUNN'S!

 Last weekend Melissa and her brother, Billy, stayed with our family for five days. Their mom and dad were out of town, so we adopted them into our family for a few days. You never know what it is going to be like living with your best friend for almost a week. You come upon many challenges like: who is going to get the straightener first? Who is sleeping where? What do you eat when you both want waffles, but there are only two left? Having Melissa and Billy over turned out to be soooooo much fun! I am used to having younger brothers, but Melissa and I were "technically" sisters for a couple days. Although people tell us that we look like sisters almost daily, it was nice to actually get to be sisters. We shared make-up, clothes, shoes, helped each other with each others hair, and had some good laughs here and there. We even included them in our daily chores! How nice are we? Melissa's dog also stayed with us too! You can imagine that did not go over well with Scruffy, our kitty. I will remember and treasure that weekend forever! Thanks for making those five days so wonderful Melissa, Billy, and Missy!

First Day of October Break!

Today was just fantabulous! Melissa and I made some arrangements to go to our park and play flag football! We invited Cameron S, Ryan T,  Paul K, Trinity F, Melissa's brother (Billy), and my three brothers (Trax, Austin, Andrew). Melissa's mom tagged along too. We hauled down all the cones, drinks, football, and Austin in a wagon. Our game didn't last very long, because it turned into a wrestling match between Cameron, Trax, Billy, and Andrew. Instead of fighting in the middle of the itchy grass, we decided to have a mini water fight (with all the empty water bottles we refilled), and then use the wagon to ride down the grassy hills. We had quite a few good laughs every time Paul flipped over the wagon, and rolled onto the grass. That boy is the "life of the party" as Melissa says. He can make anyone bust up laughing. Our day concluded with heading over to Melissa's house to watch some a movie, before everyone had to go home. This day was very tiring after being thrashed around in a red wagon, but I had a blast. It is nice to get to be with all my good friends every once and a while, and not have to worry about the pressures of school and homework!

End of 1st Quarter-October Break! :)

WOW! The first quarter just flew right past my eyes before I could grab onto it! 9th grade is sure a big difference from 8th grade. I hopefully managed all "A's" again this quarter, but we'll see. I have a "B" in Honors Geometry, but Mrs. Coleman said she will drop everyone's worse quiz grade. Mine happens to be a low "C" (my very first quiz), which is dragging my grade down immensely. 

Our tennis team is still undefeated! We only have three more matches. Our next match is against Stapley. They are also undefeated, so this match should be really tough, but I know our girls will pull through. My coach, Hernandez, told my doubles partner (Wilsynn Wheat) and I that she is going to put us for the Gold Medal in the City Match coming up. It is going to be tough, but that would be a privilege if Wilsynn and I earned the Gold Medal! 

Mrs. Hernandez also recruited me to run in the City Cross Country meet. It is a two mile run, so it is not too bad. I want to do it, but the coach is really weird and sort of rude to me, so I don't feel like I should run for him if he is going to treat me rudely.

Basketball tryouts are in less than three weeks. I am nervous, but I am also really excited! I am not nervous, because of not making it. I have played with the coach for over three years with the same girls, so our team will hopefully be awesome! I know we are going to have a great season, and I can't wait!

A lot of things are keeping me busy these days. Besides homework and tennis practices/matches, I enjoy going to Ryan and Melissa's swim meets! They have got me into watching swimming. Their team is pretty decent, and I know they're going to keep doing great! I am also teaching (volunteering) at my church on Tuesday's teaching younger students about God. It is a neat experience, and I am glad I volunteered. My younger brother, Trax's, basketball team is into their season. My dad is the coach, and their team is doing great! I love going to their games, and I sometimes get to keep score with some friends. It is a blast watching them. I am still playing piano, but I am currently "teacher-less." My teacher that I had for three years decided to take a job offer in CANADA! This is hard for me, because she was a really awesome teacher. It is going to be difficult to start with a new teacher after being with my old teacher for over three years. It is almost like starting over again.

Well, that just about sums up the first quarter of my Freshman year! I am excited for the rest of the year, and the experiences that it will bring. :)