July 30 and 31, 2011 Long Drives, (The) Great Sand Dunes, Yoga with Yaga, The Colorado Ocean, and Catch-up Pictures

Now, you may be wondering why there was no post yesterday and why the today's post is going to be super long. The answer.......right after this brief commercial!

Sorry for the interruption but the answer is: I decided to merge yesterday's and todays adventure/story into one huge blog post! Anyways, lets begin the day (well, technically, yesterday)!
Yesterday, we were required to wake up around 6:30am so we could make it to the Great Sand Dunes. So, the drive to (and from) our destination was 5 hours so we were cooped up in the car for a little more than 10 hours that day.
When we finally arrived at the Great Sand Dunes, our first stop was the visitor center to expand out knowledge on this national park. After watching a very informative video, we walked onto the balcony and snapped a few pictures. Once we got enough pictures, we jumped into our car drove a bit further into the park (we only got this privilege because the uncomfortable car turned out to be a four wheel drive so we could drive a bit longer).

Believe it or not, that picture to the right is sand (and no, the picture is not made of sand, the mountain looking thing that looks closer then the other mountain is made of sand.
Ten minutes later, we began hiking (the trail was half a mile) but a few minutes later, it began raining so we ran back our car and tried to wait the storm out. Unfortunately, the storm didn't want to stop er, storming so we decided to come back another, sunnier day. While we were driving away, we stopped and watch these two, not so smart people stand on the top of the dune which is the most likely place for lightning to strike. I think I saw them praying.... Eventually, we arrived home and....I got hit by a screen door because Ty didn't bother holding the door for me. He assumed that I had my foot in the door. He assumed wrong.
The next day/today, we woke up and drove to this park to do a yoga class. This class was taught by my dad's colleague. This class was almost exactly like Friday's except that this class had some different poses and was outside so we got eaten alive by bugs. The class lasted for about an hour and we were given free stuff! Yaga gave out free Larabars for everyone and the girls were given these pencil pouch thing that contained some items. After the class, I ate a Larabar (the cherry pie one) and it tasted awesome. There's no other way to explain it.

Later on, we drove to the Colorado Ocean to meet up with Yaga and her family (her husband and her two sons). Now, you may be thinking, "There is no such thing as a Colorado Ocean!" and that is where you are wrong! There is this place called a Union Reservoir which a man-made lake/ocean. It was almost exactly like a beach but it was a) green and b) not salty (which is a plus). We stayed here for quite a while and then came back to our house.

And now, there is some things I would like to put on this post! 1) Here is what you've been waiting for! Below are the pictures of my brother's tennis trophy for being a finalist and there is a picture of the cute black cat below the other picture.

Before I move on to the second thing I have to say, I want to say something (else). This afternoon/tonight, there was a huge storm and the cat returned! This time, I was allowed to feed it some bread and carnitas meat.
2) The second thing I have to say is that I am getting my eye exam (for contacts) tomorrow! I can't wait for some random person to poke my eye out. Kidding! Bye!

July 29, 2011 Ty's Tennis Tournament and Yoga

Today, we had to wake up at 4:30am and then had to drive to Littleton, which is where his tournament was being held. We arrived around 7:00 so he had about half an hour for him to warm up with my dad. The court was very....unique. There were six courts total and the whole thing was located in what can only be described as a bubble.After a while, his opponent arrived and they played their match. This match took about an hour or so but Ty finally pulled through by winning the third set/tiebreaker. The next match was one and a half hour later so we bought a light snack and made shadow puppets in the park.
Finally, 11:00am rolled around and Ty was off to play another match. This time, he lost but at least he was a finalist so he got a trophy. (Still, I can't believe his opponent won! That guy didn't hit any winners and just tapped the ball, waiting for the other player to make the mistakes. Funny, that sort of sounds like my opponent, Ruth...) I don't remember my opponent from last year getting anything like that. Now, I would give you a picture of the trophy but I can't find it and the picture that my brother took is in the camera case which is in the car. Basically, that means no picture because of misplacements. All I can say about the trophy is that it's different from mine (the one I got from last year) because mine's made of plastic while his is some sort of metal.
We drove back to Boulder and my dad went to work. Since he needed the rental car to get there, my mom, my brother, and I lounged around, watching TV, reading, and checking our emails. While I was watching some animated show, it began raining so my mom opened the door to watch the rain. To the right of the backdoor was this black kitten (okay, it's either a really old cat or a kitten. It's hard to tell the age of cats sometimes.....) that was so cute. It crawled over to us and let us pet it and let my brother take some pictures of it. Not very good ones because it kept moving but good enough. Once again, I would put some pictures of it but the pictures are on the SD card that is in the camera case which is in the car. I'll try finding a picture that looks like it but don't count on it.

This was the closest thing I could find but it just lacked the cuteness factor.
Once my dad arrived around 6:30pm, he changed into more yoga appropriate clothes and we drove over to this yoga place called Power Core Yoga. While we signed up, I had to change my birthday so I would be 13 (13 was the minimum age you had to be to be allowed in the classes. It's more of a matter of maturity more than anything). My new birthday is 01/24/98! Then again, it's not like it matters if I was 13 because I can be very mature when I want/have to be. I mean, it's not like I disrupted the class by giggling or talking. I was actually really quite. The yoga class we took was the free hot power yoga. Okay, it's a specific type of yoga but I can't remember the name. (If you don't know, hot yoga is yoga in a heated room that makes you really sweat and power yoga is more like aerobics.)
The class was actually fun and it really made me work. I guess my favorite position was the half frog because it doesn't really stretch much and it was really.....relaxing. Once again, I have no picture and I can't find any pictures.
I just want to take a moment and say: I found this drink and I bought it without realizing that it's suppose to make you sleepy. I drank it before Ty's match and I (almost) fell asleep in the park.

I'm kind of scared of the drink because I don't know the side effects so I'm just going to avoid it and maybe pour it down the drink. Another drink thing is that WE ARE OUT OF GREEN TEA! In LA, the hotel had complementary tea (and lollipops). As always, my brother and I took advantage of this and took tons of tea packets. We have all this tea like, Chamomile, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Black Tea, Orange & Spice, English Teatime, Raspberry Royale, etc. but not green tea, my favorite. AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!

July 28, 2011 Tennis Practice, Playgrounds, and New People

Today, my brother and I had to go to this 1 and 1/2 hour tennis practice that started at 2:30pm and ended at 4:00pm. Since Catherine didn't come, I'm guessing that this practice was only for the people who made it to the finals (they have to play tomorrow) and I was allowed to come because I'm a sibling of a person who made it to the finals (you know, Ty). My brother and I warmed up against this young boy named Max who is pretty good. Then, Ty had to move to the other courts and he left me to play against Max. Soon, Alyssa (another girl who was in the second 12 and under bracket. She, unlike me, is going to the finals) arrived with her brother, Austin, and Gonzo (the coach) told us to warmup a bit and them play a set.
A few rallies later, Gonzo then told us to switch to the other courts (where my brother, Kevin, Randall, Max, and Alyssa's brother were playing some serving game) and play the set. So, we began the set and I was in the lead 3-0 when she started saying that her eyes weren't adjusted to the super blue courts so we began hitting around. After we hit some balls, we joined Randall, Max, and Austin in the serving game (my brother and Kevin had to play a set but Ty's arm began hurting so he sat out for the rest of the time). Basically, you played the game by serving when it's your turn and the person on the other side (usually Max because he wanted to work on his strokes but he traded off with Austin when he was thirsty) and you just play the point out.
Then, Gonzo told us to start picking up the balls because Matt's tennis lessons were going to be held on the court we were playing on so we moved to the last court and began hitting the balls against the wall. Eventually, we decided to play doubles because there was nothing else to do. We didn't even finish one game before Gonzo interrupted and told us to gather around on the grass because he had an announcement. After giving the people playing tomorrow a pep talk, everyone dispersed because it was already 4pm. Wow, that passed by quickly.
Later on, after buying Haagen Daz Chocolate on Dark Chocolate bars

from the grocery store and picking up my dad from work, we returned to the East Boulder tennis courts (which is where we had our tennis practice) where my parents played. While they were playing, my brother and I horsed around on the playground next to the courts, filming lame (and funny!) Survivor Man videos. After a while, two kids about my age arrived at the playground because their parents were running) and invited us to play hide-n-seek tag with them.
The first person to be "it" was the girl named Mckena (I'm guessing that that's how you spell her name)a.k.a. Kena. She's a little on the short side but she was really good and eventually caught me. My turn as "it" took forever but Kena finally let me catch her and it was her turn all over again. This time, she was a little more crafty and finally caught her younger brother (who doesn't look like he's younger), Riley. He tries to catch someone but failed. After a while, Kena and I quit since we were so tired. We then hopped over the small black fence and began throwing rocks into this murky lake and admired the fish and some creatures bones. We hopped back over the fence and began sharing our wacky stories with everyone while swinging on swings. Then, we all moved to the equipment and began sliding down slides, climbing up slides, etc. Soon, the dreaded moment came. My parents were finished playing and came to collect us from the playground. Kena and Riley don't have email accounts and aren't allowed to use the computers they have and (of course) they weren't allowed to give us their personal information such as their phone numbers so Ty and I can no longer talk to them. I was so sad and I ended up stubbing my toe on a rock and it began bleeding. Since we had to go to the Recreational Center to get a band-aid, we passed by the playground numerous times so we said good-bye to them three times. Even though we only got to know them for a few hours, I'm really going to miss those two. :( Bye bye.

July 27, 2011 Another Tournament, Library Visit, and a Strange Greeting

So, you MAY be wondering what I mean by another tournament and what I mean by another tournament is that my brother, Ty, had a tournament. Since he is older than me, he played in the 14 and under tournament and he was out in bracket #1 which is the hardest bracket. Anyways, the outcome. He won and is now going to the semifinals which is on Friday. If he wins that match, he goes to the finals which is also on Friday. Wait, wait, wait! This blog is about me (yes, I am that selfish) so I will now explain what I did during the 1-2 hour match (they have to play two sets because they're older). Since the match took forever and we had to sit on very uncomfortable wooden bleachers that were tilted forward so you can't lie down and sleep without falling off the bench, I kept my nose in my book, ignoring what was happening in the outside world. Sadly, certain bugs don't understand the meaning of "leave them alone and they'll leave you alone" and they kept swarming around me. I'm like a bug magnet!

After the match, Ty was awarded with a clear blue water bottle and a huge poster that shows who won or lost and we went back to the house and learned more Spanish. A few hours later, I finally nagged my mom long enough for her to take me to the library to pick up a few books that were on hold. Once my mom and I climbed into the car, my dad and my brother raced out and asked if we could drop them off at Barnes and Noble. When we finished dropping off my brother and my dad, and picked up the three books, my mom and I drove back the house to cook dinner. About thirty minutes later, we left the house (I should really find another word for "house") and picked up my brother and my dad.
Finally, we located them and came back home. When we climbed out of the car, we found a very strange greeting waiting for us in the window of the neighbors (Technically, it's not our neighbor. It's one house down from our neighbors.) In the window was a baby just standing on the window sill. Did I mention that he/she was naked!? Ew! Not a sight I need to see! So that was basically our day.
For a while now, I've been wanting to put down this lame joke but kept forgetting about it so I shall type it now!
Person 1: Hey, Person 2, what does a Hindu?
Person 2: Huh?
Person 1: Lays eggs!
Person 2: What?
Person 1: Get it? What does a hen do?
Person 2: Huh?

HA HA HA HA HA! Also, in this book I'm reading, I came across this character named Jade. Immediately, I threw the book off my bed and then climbed down the bunk bed ladder to retrieve it. Why must such nice/good characters have....that as a name??? Anyways, please enjoy the next few fail pictures. I actually like searching for fail pictures so I will try my best in putting fail pictures on each post.

July 26, 2011 Bad Luck in Tennis and Complementary Mints

As you all know (or don't know), my tennis tournament was today. Very exciting. The actual results, not so exciting. Anyways, since I was the state champ last year, I was given a bye so I was automatically put in the quarterfinals. My first match was relatively hard at first but then got easier as I warmed up. So, the end score was 9-2, I won! The girl looked like she was about to cry during the match when I got the lead but I think I understand why. I proceeded to the semifinals which was at 1:00pm so I got to eat lunch between the matches (we ate Mexican food!). We returned to the courts shortly after we finished our food, checked in, and waited for my opponent to arrive.
Once 1:00 finally rolled around, my opponent (named Ruth) arrived. First, we warmed up for about two minutes and then began the semifinals match. This is a match I did horribly on. Well, I didn't do that bad, she was just super good (personally, I think she should've been in the Girl's 12 and under Singles Bracket 1 which is the best one). Ruth got almost every shot in so our rallies were long and drawn-out. Since she made almost no mistakes, I ended most of the rallies with a ball just barely out or slapping the net. In the end, the score was 9-1. I lost. Badly. Like the girl I played before, I cried because that was the first match I had ever lost when I was up against a girl (close to) my age. Now, I'm really mad that I lost to her but since she's probably 12, she shouldn't be in the 12 and under tournament next year so I have a chance to win next summer. I just have to wait...
After that, we went to get ice-cream at this amazing ice-cream shop so that kept my mind off the loss for about ten minutes. Once we devoured our ice-cream, we went to pick up my dad who was working so he didn't see me play. Then, we began hiking around for a bit and then drove to this restaurant called Baker St. Pub and Grill. My small soup and salad with oil, vinegar, and salmon was great but a bit bland (well duh, what's a salad without any real dressing). Wait, before you get confused, the salad was bland, not the soup. The soup was excellent but I had to put in a lot of work taking out the bacon because I wasn't in the mood for ultra soggy bacon. My brother and my mom ordered some buffalo burgers which tasted like regular burgers, and my dad got this tuna with mash potatoes and green beans (ick :6). When we left, we passed by this mint container that offered you complimentary mints. Of course, my brother and I took advantage of this feature and took about 10 mints each. Maybe I should start a mint collection like I have in Myrtle Beach...

That was the final handshake on the last match. I can't upload videos so I'm putting a bad picture. Anyways, enjoy these fail pictures and have a good night.

July 25, 2011 Tennis, Strings, Bugs, and Libraries

Wow, I actually typed two posts today! I mean, I woke up at 8:00am (and that's early for me) just to write the last one.
Anyways, we did more SAT and Spanish today for the majority of the morning (well, we finished our "study session" around 1:30pm so that's past morning) and then went to the library. The term is pretty straightforward so I don't think I will have much to say about it. The few thing I do have to say is that this particular library lacks computers/technology, is small, but actually lets you do I self checkout kid of thing. As a kid (wait, I'm technically still a kid), I used to always want to be a clerk or library for a summer or school job. I wanted to be a clerk because whenever they have to type something, the keyboard made this click-ity sound that I love. I wanted to be a librarian because they (used to) have to use this stamp that makes a sound similar to the click-ity sound that the cashier/clerk sound. Sorry for the random flashback but it did fill up the paragraph.
After that, me picked my dad up from work, went grocery shopping (once again), and headed to the tennis courts. Actually, we've been playing tennis everyday so I don't thing I should write tennis in the title unless that's the only highlight of the day. So, I'm going green! I'm recycling the letters 'T','E','N','N','I', and 'S'! Anyways, while I was waiting for some random reason, this ladybug/manbug looking thing was flying around so I tried swatting because it was stalking me (well, it kept following me)! I hoped it would get the message and just go bug (pun intended) someone else but it was stupid so it just stayed there and got sliced in half! After awhile, it began moving again so my mom walked over and just killed it, so now there is a yellow-orangish mark on the tennis court, courtesy of me. Poor ladybug/manbug looking thing. It never saw it coming.
So, we stopped playing after awhile and began running. I ran about 5 laps total but I can proudly say that I can run/jog a lap and a fourth without stopping! After that lap and a fourth, I walked for about 1/4 of a lap and ran/jogged 1/4 a lap. For the other laps, it was 1/2 walking and half 1/2 jogging. The walking part was divided into 1/4's so...... At the end of the torture, my left side felt like someone just sawed it off! Ouch.
Tomorrow, the tournament is on! I just have to win 2 matches in a row (duh!) and I make it into the finals which is on Friday. While we were playing tennis, I noticed this part of my string breaking off so I hope my strings don't just snap while I'm playing. Just to be safe, I'm bringing my brother's racket even though it's completely different from mine. It'll have to do since I absolutely hate my mom's racket. Now I really need you to wish me luck. G'night!

July 24, 2011 More Tennis, Rob's Music Store, Pearl Street, and Sticky Tack

Okay, you may be wondering (or you may not) why this is a day late. The answer is......... why not? Then again, who was actually looking forward to reading this?
Anyways, I woke up at 11:00am and we couldn't go where we originally planned because my brother and I didn't wake up early enough. Oh well. So, instead, we drove to a music store. Rob's Music Store to be exact. So, this place is like any old music store, it strives to torture little sisters by luring their older siblings to play instruments. Even worse, this place had little to no air conditioning! I was burning up and I had to listen to random people play guitars! At least I had my book. Eventually, my parents made my brother put away the guitar and then we payed for Ty's "much needed" guitar strings.
After that, we (to be more accurate, I) were getting hungry so we drove to this Vietnamese restaurant. Since you can obviously see that this is not in the title, I'm not going to explain it! Afterwards, we walked around and my brother bought a "used" Nirvana box set that contains so many songs. Ugh, he even plays it in the car!
Later, we drove to this outdoor mall called Pearl Street. I don't know why I chose an outdoor mall because it was 91 degrees outside! (well, that may not be much to people in Myrtle Beach but once you've come from winter (Australia and New Zealand), that is super hot! Soon, we came to this frozen yogurt/smoothie place called Maiberry. Here we bought a total of three drinks.
1) A Large Blueberry Mist Smoothie
2) A Medium Citrus Smoothie whose name I can't quite but my finger on
3) A Large Taro Boba Drink

We gulped down these drinks in a matter of seconds and then visited a few shops.
About an hour later, we came back to the tennis courts and began hitting around. Today, I received only three minor tennis injuries!
1) I hit my neck when I was just bouncing the ball and when I tried to catch it, it flew out of my hands and hit my neck
2) I hit my knee when I finished my serve (the serve was in!)
3) My right arm hurt so much after I served about a million times
Tennis is a dangerous sport. Anyways, I played a match with my dad and got 7......points in total. And he even gave me the doubles alley! (Again with the Mag-Net.) We played a volley game after that where he won, again. This time, the score was 15-9. Then again, these scores make sense because the following is a chart that shows the "rankings" in our family.
- My dad* (the best)
- My brother**
- My mom
- My brother**
- Me
- My brother**

*My dad plays in modes. Easy (which he plays me and sometimes my mom in), Medium (which he uses when he's against mom and usually my brother), Hard (which he plays when he's playing in his 4.0-4.5 team), and Impossible (I've never seen him play with this. This is before his two surgeries. He started teaching us tennis and playing for the team after he had his surgeries.) So, if anyone wants to play anybody in my family, they should start with my dad.
** My brother's playing depends on his mood, his hunger, who he's playing, who's watching, and the length between the last practice and the present. I've never actually played him because my parents think that we will just goof off the whole time (hmm, that may be true)
Anyways, I found 60 cents just lying on the ground in the tennis courts. I'm pretty happy that I found the money before my brother saw it/took it. I'm guessing that I only found it because I was almost wearing all purple (one of my favorite colors). If only I had black shoes and put silver and blue highlights in my hair, I would have found a lot more. Maybe a million.
Okay, I want to donate this little paragraph to Sticky Tack because it is that awesome! Since you read this far, I'm going to congratulate you with pictures. Also, please click here! Bye!

July 23, 2011 Track and Tennis

Like the first day I got here, I woke up at 1:30pm. After learning spanish for hours (I finally got past my brother! I now have 1454 points!), my mom and my brother going out to drop off some rackets that need restringing, and eating dinner, we all drove to the Millennium Hotel to pick up the two tennis rackets that were dropped off earlier. Actually, we had to wait awhile for the person to finish stringing (or would that be restringing?) so my parents sat on the bench, watching my brother and I build leaf boats, just to see them be devoured by the river. Eventually, the woman finished stringing the rackets and we were off to the tennis courts.
Once at the tennis courts (and after we finished warming up), I practiced serving with my mom. Half of my serves went into the net or out so I don't think the practice really improved my serve. I also hit my shins and knees while I was practicing so that's another reason why it probably was a waste of time.
After a bit, my mom and I began playing a set where I lost...again. A lot of my shots hit the net (I'm starting to think that the ball has a magnet in it and so does the net. That's why whenever you hit a shot, it goes straight to the net. A Mag-Net. Pun intended) and I got so frustrated that I started hitting the balls all over the place. I guess you can call me competitive. Or short-tempered. Or a sore loser. Just like last time, we didn't finish out set (we ended the match at 5-2). When we cut our match short, we walked over to the track thing which was next to the tennis courts, and started to run.
Well, I tried to run. After a few laps, my dad and my brother decided to join and they ran three laps. All in all, I ran 5 and 1/2 laps. Well, technically, I ran only 1 and 1/4 of a lap and walked the rest but still. Lesson learned today, I'm pretty bad at running.
Thanks for commenting and I hope you continue reading and commenting my posts. Also, if you are not a follower already, please follow the blog. I only have 6 followers and I want at least 10! Please enjoy the pictures of my beat-up racket. You can't really see the damage from the distance but trust me, it's beat up!

Oh, I forgot to mention something yesterday. The Colorado State Champion last year was me :)! Then again, it was 10 and under so the the opponents were easy but I was 10 and under last year so...... I'm entering the tournament once again this year (I'm in the 12 and under division now) and the tennis coach put me in level 2 (level 1 is the highest) and now I may have to go against Katherine and Claire. The tournament starts on Tuesday! I can't wait! Anyways, more pictures of my racket.

July 22, 2011 Tennis, Tennis, and Tennis! Did I mention tennis!? The rise of the Colorado state champ!

I'm so happy! Someone posted a comment! Thank you whoever you are!

Anyways, the main highlight of today was (you probably guessed it from the title but I'll say it anyways) tennis. Around 7:00am, my parents woke us up and told my brother and I that they were going to play tennis. They came back about 40 minutes later and then herded us to the uncomfortable car an hour later. We then drove to these tennis courts where I had to play two matches in pro-sets (In case you aren't that big on tennis, pro-sets are sets with 9 games instead of 6. The younger people (like me) have to play pro-sets while the older people (like my brother) have to play two sets). My first match was won by me! The score was 9-1! The girl was pretty nice about it and actually shook my hand unlike some past opponents!
The next match was about an hour or so after the first one and it was doubles so I didn't have to run as much. My doubles partner was a quiet brunette named Claire. The score was 9-2. We won, again (well, I won again, Claire lost her first match (which was singles like my first match), barely)!! The hour or so between the matches, I caught up with my doubles partner from last year, Katherine. It was kind of awkward between us for a few minutes because we used to just talk about random stuff but then we began talking like we were old friends (we are old friends but still). Before Katherine arrived, I was kicking rocks around and then I accidentally kicked this huge rock and it hurt really badly!
So, we went back home for lunch, came back to the eight tennis courts where I played earlier in the morning and my brother played a set with Kevin (you know, the Kevin from yesterday), we went home again, and then came back to the courts around 6:00pm. Once back, we warmed up and then I played a pro-set with my mom. Well, we would have finished the pro-set but then my clumsiness caused me to accidentally hit a ball with my rackets frame which caused it to bounce up and hit my left eye. It hurt so much. Because of that incident, I decided to stop playing and just watch my dad and my brother. Before I got hit in the face by the tennis ball, the score was 7-2 and I was the '2'! Then again, I have many reasons why I lost!
a) I was tired from the previous match.
b) I can't hit my 'good' serve since the ball may go flying to the other courts or onto the road.
c) My toe hurt from kicking the stupid rock so I couldn't run very well/fast.
d) The song "Who am I living for?" By Katy Perry was stuck in my head so I couldn't concentrate.
e) There was a guy walking with a stroller which contained a super loud, crying baby.
f) The high altitude of Colorado and the special high altitude balls made all of my shots go straight up and out.
g) My hair got in my face.
h) My mom had the advantage because older people have more experience and she is older than me.
i) I was to busy thinking of excuses of why I lost that I forgot to focus.
Nice list right? My day was pretty good though. Well, except for the getting hit in the left eye part.

You may think that this picture is random but it is not! I've been reading and rereading this manga (if you didn't know already, manga is a japanese comic and anime is a japanese cartoon that is usually based on the manga) and I absolutely love it! It's funny but a little depressing at first. The reason I brought this up is because I just remembered this funny part. Let me set the scene. Okay, the main character is a girl who is plain, practically invisible and has no friends due to that fact. So, one day, on the first day of 7th grade, this kitten starts crossing the road when there are cars zooming by. The girl hops in front of the cat and waves her hands, trying to stop the car that's about to run over her and the kitten. The car stops but then a motorcycle runs her over, the driver saying that he only say a cat. If you don't think that's funny, then I'm sorry. I find it ironic and hilarious. Anyways, that's all for now! This is the picture of the main character. Not very plain at all!

Please remember to write comments, no matter how short!

July 21, 2011 Spanish, Tennis, 15 Minute Walks, and Cats

First of all, if you are reading this, I want you to write a comment, no matter how short! I feel like I'm typing/blogging to no one (okay, that may be true but....) and that is not a good feeling. Anyways, please comment on my posts and continue reading this one.
Today, I woke up early compared to yesterday. Yesterday, I woke up at 1:30pm and today I woke up at eight something! There's such a big difference between the two times. Anyways, after a ate a breakfast of cereal and some juice, my mom made my brother and I continue using our Spanish learning program. In this program, you memorize words and their definitions and then you are quizzed on the content of that section. The number of questions you got correct are added to the other questions you got right. To finish one disk, you have to get 1800 points. Everyone has different accounts so you can see their progress separately. Unfortunately, my brother (768 questions right) has a higher number than me (751 questions right)!!! At least he isn't on a different disk (we're both on disk one still) which would be a horrible thing.

After a few hours of reading and doing other stuff, my mom, my brother, and I went to this tennis court where we played tennis with these two boys (Randall and Kevin) that my brother met (and kind of made friends with them) last year when we were in Boulder. We played for about an hour and a half and then my mom, my brother, and I had to pick up my dad from where his work dropped him off.
Flash forward for a bit (actually, a lot more than a bit) and my family are just walking around the neighborhood and the shops on the outskirts of it. Eventually, we turned around and then began walking back to the neighborhood where we observed this community garden sort of thing and we tried searching for our mailbox with no luck. Soon, we were being eaten alive by mosquitoes so we walked back to our house for some ice-cream and such. The whole walk lasted for about fifteen minutes. I know, that's such a long walk.
Around the neighborhood, there has been many cat spottings. On the first day we came here, there was a cat waiting outside our door just looking at us. (it was cute!) Also, when we were going to the uncomfortable car, there was a cute black white cat just staring at the flowers that are in the front of the house. We saw some cats on our short walk, too. Four to be exact. There was the cute black and white cat, a white and silver one, and two others who's color I can't describe. Since my brother's pictures of the cats turned out blurry, I'll just put a picture of a cat I found off the internet. Bye-bye. (~_~)Meow.

July 19 and 20, 2011 Garden Gnomes, Planes, Cars, and Houses

First of all, I'm apologizing for the inconvenience of typing/posting this a day late. Yesterday was spent travelling and packing up. Then again, who was actually waiting for me to write a post??
Anyways, after we finished packing up, the owner of the hotel/motel was nice enough to let us leave our luggages in his garage while we went to the botanical garden. After a relatively short walk to the garden we picked up a map or two. It turns out that there was this activity for "children" going on that was open to all. For this activity, you have to pick up a special map and use a clue to help you find the first gnome. Once you find the gnome, there is a door next to it which has the next clue. The first gnome is actually 3-D and made out of metal while the others are just doors which you open. In the doors, you find the clue and there is a gnome pasted next to the clue. When you find all ten gnomes (which we did!), your quest was over. This was pretty interesting considering they led you to awesome places. My favorite place you had to search for the gnome door was in this huge pine tree. The tree's roots came above ground and some branches were very low. These served as obstacles so you had to jump and crawl around or above them to find the door. This added to the awesomeness. Even though this activity was meant for little kids, I did enjoy the hunt and that's all that matters. Plus, without the activity, we would have just been walking around looking at bare branches and trees because it was winter and not many things grow during this season.
After a few hours, we came back to the hotel/motel, hopped on a shuttle, arrived at the Christchurch airport, and eventually got through checking in our bags and security. At that point, we were running a little late so we raced to the gate with little time to spare. The first flight was to Auckland, New Zealand and was about 2 hours. Since there was nothing to do on the flight due to my lack of books, I just slept a bit. Once we arrived in Auckland we had a two hour layover, meaning that we had to wait in the airport for two hours. These two hours passed in a snap and before I knew it, my family and I were on the plane to LA. This flight was about 12 hours long but because it was international, they had screens which let you listen to music, and watch TV episodes and movies for free!
Finally, we arrived in LA and we had a four hour layover. Yay... The next flight was about 2 hours and it had screens even though it wasn't international! The screens were kind of useless since you had to pay money for any good shows or/and movies but it was good enough. I also got to sit in economy plus with my mom since I'm considered a minor and I shouldn't sit by myself. We didn't even have to pay extra for the upgrade!If you do not fly often or have never flown higher than economy, I shall explain what economy plus is. Economy plus is basically the same thing as economy but you get a little more leg room. The following is a diagram explaining the luxury of the seating in an airplane.
-First Class This is the best one but is also the priciest one. If you have to sit next to someone (or if you don't) depends on the size of the aircraft.
-Business Class This is not always available in airplanes but it has a bit less leg room than First Class and you have to sit next to someone.
-Economy Plus Class This one is not always available. This class has a lot less leg room than Business Class and you have to sit three to a row on most rows.
-Economy Class This class is always available and offers the least amount of leg room. This is the cheapest one.
Please remember that this is based on my experience only so it may not be exactly right. Once we arrived in Denver, we had to rent this car and drive to Boulder, Colorado (which is where we are staying). This drive was about 1 or 2 hours and very uncomfortable since I had to sit in the middle because my brother's guitar took up the other seat. The headrest was rock hard so it made it very hard to sleep. We eventually arrived at the house we're renting and brought ou stuff in.
Hmm, since we left Christchurch on Tuesday night and landed in Denver on Tuesday night and we have been on a plane for about 14 hours, it's like we time traveled because of the time difference! Anyways, here is the picture of the uncomfortable (and impractical) car!

Also, the house has very....... artistic decorations and the room I'm sleeping in has the same flowery border as I had! This room is SUPER girly (ugh) but has a bunk bed! Wel, my hands are aching. I guess this is good-bye.
Wait! I have to say one more thing! The next few blogs will be considerably shorter because this is practically my second home (Boulder, not the actual place we're staying at) so we most likely won't do the touristy things/attractions. Bye for real this time!

July 18th, 2011 Sophie's Cafe and Willowbank Wildlife Preserve

Today, we ate breakfast at our hotel but then walked to Sophie's Cafe for some hot (and a cold) drink(s). Here, my dad bought a latte, my mom bought a mocha, my brother got hot chocolate, and I got a caramel milkshake. The latte was super bitter, the mocha was bitter, and the hot chocolate was bland, and the milkshake was delicious. Not to sweet and not to bland. The milkshake actually looked very stereotypical but actually tasted extraordinary.

Yum!!!
The main highlight of the day was going to a zoo-like place called Willowbank Wildlife Preserve. This place was awesome since they let you buy some animal food and let you feed and pet certain animals! Once you step out of the visitor center, you see other people feeding the eels and the birds. The eels are fed with some unknown meat and the ducks and black swans (The swans are mean! They pecked my finger when I was trying to feed it!) were fed with tiny pellets of matter.
The next animal we saw were all these deer and more ducks. These deer were so cute and would lick the food right out of your hand!! Even though most of the deer were used to being near people, there was this one white deer that would never come near us. Since writing all of the animals and what we did would take forever, I'm just going to write down a list. If you want pictures, click here or go to the Willowbank Wildlife Preserve page. Anyways, the list:
-Ferrets
-Rainbow Trouts
-Kiwis
-Wekas
-Wallabies
-Swans
-Ducks
-Lemurs
-Pigs
-Horses
-Ostrich
-Goat
-Llama
-Otters
-Monkeys
-More Pigs
-Mini Horses
-Eels
-Sheep
-And More
So please view the pictures. There will be no pictures of the kiwis because we weren't allowed to take any pictures. Bye! Enjoy the below pictures!

July 17th, 2011 Professer Adrian's Family

My family went out for a big delicious breakfast. Wait, how would I know?? My parents let me and my brother sleep in while they went out. Here's a picture of a latte the restaurant made.

After that, my dad's colleague picked us up at 1:00pm and brought us to his home. This home was a beautiful two-story house that was built in the 1800's (I wish I could say the same thing about my house) and had a huge backyard with lush vegetation and a trampoline. Professer Adrian's family consist of (like mine) an eleven year old girl named Lucy, a fourteen year old named William (Billy for short), a wife name Sian, and a cute perky springer spaniel named Charlie. The dog in the picture is not actually Charlie. We forgot to take a picture of him. Charlie actually has longer fur and the black dots are in different places.

Once we took off our shoes and jackets, the parents began talking and sent us away from them. So, the four of us scurried upstairs and began playing some video games in separate rooms. Billy and my brother bonded while playing some zombie shooting game on the PS3 while Lucy and I bonded while screaming at the infuriation of driving off the side of a course in Mario Kart. Anyways, Lucy and I played a little bit of Mario Kart and then her parents called us all down to eat lunch.
For lunch, we ate delicious spaghetti and homemade sauce, soft bread and butter, great salad, and water with raspberry and strawberry in it. We finished eating and raced upstairs to play more video games. Lucy and I soon began playing another Wii game called Hasbro Family Game Night Vol. 2. When we finally realized this game was a bit to complicated and hard for our liking, we ran downstairs, received a slice of irresistible chocolate cake, and raced back upstairs. Next, Billy and Ty went downstairs for cake and then came back upstairs and we played more of the Family Game Night game.
Before we finished the game, all of us went to the park with Charlie. At the park, there were many other dogs and some exercise equipment things. Later on, we went back to their house and played this strange game that consist of Billy throwing a ball to us when we're on a trampoline and we must hit it before it touches the trampoline or else. Soon, we had to leave.
Well, that's basically my day! Bye!