Tylan and Creed: My summer friends for not very long at all :P. These two are pretty much like Dylan and Cyle, if I’m with one I’m going to be with the other one doing the exact same thing. Last year I didn’t hang out with them very much but when I did hang out with them I had fun for the most part, like when I first met Creed we were hanging out at my friend Zeke’s house playing basketball, for some reason that was a lot of fun. Tylan and Creed are extremely funny when they get together, I think that’s why I like hanging out with them. I hope to spend more time with them this summer as well, maybe they will have those wars with me too (I doubt it though).

Cyle: Cyle has about the same story as Dylan. Dylan and Cyle were pretty much together the entire time so where ever one was there was the other one. But this summer I hope that we can finally get around to do what we have been planning for quite some time now. Our plan is to have random food war things. Here is an example: Whipped cream war, canned cheese war, uh and the rest will come to us as we go. :] But that’s our plan and I’m pretty excited about it.

Dylan: He was my summer friend last year, because we were dating so that’s pretty self explanatory. This last summer was pretty fun especially since his family is like in love with me so they were way nice. The only thing we really did during the summer was hang out just with our normal friends and we either went swimming in Dylan’s huge pool in the back yard or we just walked around finding someone to hang out with. But one time around the middle of summer Dylan’s mom paid for us to go to Water World, I had never ever went there before so that was EXTREMELY fun! The only thing is that my feet were all messed up when I got back home, they had blisters from walking around on the very hot ground and I when I was walking in the grass I stepped on a stick and I got a nice hole in my foot from that. Now its this summer that I am way extremely excited for, we have many things planned in which I will explain in Cyle’s blog. :P

My summer friends usually contain: Jenny, Dylan, Cyle, Creed, Tylan, and all the ones that show up in between.

*each of them deserve their own blog*

Jenny: She is a summer friend for life :P Jenny is pretty much my Hugo/Limon buddy. She lives in Hugo so I get to go see her if I’m stuck in Hugo, but yet if I go to Limon or if she goes to Limon we always go together so she is pretty much like my other sister, for real ha-ha.

So seeing my family is always extremely fun, but I have to admit that there are a few things that I cant do with my family that I can with my friends :]
Yeah you might say, “well you have friends in school!” but that is a lie, I have people in my school that I get along with but I truly cannot consider them as friends. All of my true friends live in Limon or go to Limon school, so summer is about the only time that I ever get to see them…. And the weekends, sometimes.
I don’t have an awful lot of friends, but I still enjoy the ones I have. They are the very few people that are there for me whenever, weather I need a shoulder to cry on (which never really happens, but I know they are there for me if I do :P) or weather I need to get a nice laugh or just to get away. Yup they are just pretty much there at all times ha-ha :P

Now, one of the most exciting parts about the summer is that you get a ton of time to spend with your friends!!! Yay!!! :]
I don't have to many of those but I enjoy being with the very few that I have :P
Being able to spend a bunch of time with your friends is healthy for you.... and also extremely fun!!! Oh yeah, healthy and extremely fun was just used in the same sentence... TWICE!!! :P

When I think of summer vacation I think of how much more time Im going to get to be with my family:]
Being with my family truly means a lot to me, because you never know when your going to be telling memorable moments instead of making memorable moments. During the summer I get the chance to go see my family in Kansas City usually on the fourth of July, that is some fun right there let me tell ya!
In Kansas there isn't a fire band thing so I get to watch all the way cool fireworks that a lot of you don't get to, but thats just because I'm awesome :] (joke). And I get to see a lot of my cousins that are around my age which is always fun because I dont have many of those down here, in fact I dont have any cousins around my age that live to close, so getting time with them is just awesome :]
I also like to go to Chyenne to see my favorite cousins Tylor, Tera, Sara, and Lacie. They are the best.... because you have the one you can talk to (Tera) the one that you can just chill with(Tylor) the one that makes you laugh (Sara) and the one thats so to cute (Lacie). They are a package. :]
Then I spend what time I have down here with the family that lives down here and my friends :]

My Essential Question is "What makes me happy" of course. Well there are truly many things that make me happy... simply because Im just an all around happy person :]
The one thing that really sticks out to me (when Im in school anyway :P) is Summer Vacation. One thing I enjoy the most about it is the whole NO HOMEWORK part. Not having homework for three months straight is a lot like hearing a babys first word.... or finally getting what you have been craving for months... Im sure you know what that feels like right? :]

Shelby Lammert :]

Concentrated Happieness: Expanding Beyond

It is crazy how much I have talked about my nieces and nephews during the course of this project. I think I have as my mom would say “Whipped a dead horse,” but every word I said was true. They make me truly happy, but that is not what this blog is about. This blog is about expanding on what makes me happy. Everything I have said was concentrated around family, friends, poetry and music but I have noticed that these are no the only things that make me happy.
If I was to sit here at this computer and list every thing that made me happy my fingers would shrivel up and fall off. Some people need big expensive things to make them happy but I need things like extra sour pickles, soft white snow, a trip to the Rocky Mountains and a good book to go along with hot cup of crisp apple cider on a cold winter night.
I remember going to an Oakridge Boys concert having no idea who they were, but when they started to sing I realized that they sang some of my favorite songs. I got a look on my face that must have been priceless because my mom could not look away from me. The pleasure that that gave my mom made me happier than the whole concert did.
I wish that everyone in the world could be happy with the littler things, because maybe there would be less murder and pain caused by people trying to get to the top.

Pictures

Pictures tell the stories of families and friends, triumphs and failures, past, present and future. As I was looking through pictures for this project I found that every picture has a story behind it. We may never know that story but it is there just the same. I think the saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” is very true. I found pictures by typing in words like love, family, friends and I came up with countless pictures but very few of them were right for me because they did not tell MY story the told some one else’s story. So I to make a choice about the picture I chose. I decided that my pictures had to be of something not some one. Meaning I chose pictures that were of things like a heart that says my auntie loves me. That tells nothing about me but it does explain how I feel towards my family.
I also used pictures that I took of my family. There is a good memory for every one I chose. There is one of my two oldest nephews wrestling and the memory in that one is how well they got along even though they had just met. I can remember when every one of those pictures was taken and the memories are all good. I try to capture personality when I take a picture and my family rises to the occasion again and again. There is never a dull moment with them and for this I am thankful.

Letting the poetry flow

Poetry has probably made many people happy since the beginnings of time wither they wrote it or if they read it. But I bet the number of people who truly have a passion for it is much smaller in comparison. I am one of the lesser number. When I sit down to write a poem a sense of calm comes over me but there is also an underlying sense of urgency because I can’t wait to share it with the world. I write to let out anger and I write to express my love for simple things. I have yet to write a poem about how much I love climbing into a pick-up truck that smells like diesel fuel or watching the rolling hills of my home move by during a mid-afternoon drive not because I don’t love them but because I can not find words good enough to get my point across. I am no Elizabeth Barrett Browning or Homer but I do feel a connection with them because they saw what see . They saw words coming together in a way that no one else has seen and I love being the one to unveil them to the world.
When I write a piece of good poetry my pride can not be measured by any human-made devise because it is simply so much bigger than that. I want to teach others to feel the way I feel about it because it is a high so much greater than any street drug.

Music makes me happy

I love music. Music is a way for the artist to express themselves and it is in turn a way for the listener to express their style. I listen to music to soothe my hurts and it is sometimes the inspiration for my poems. I wrote One Man Army about Lexxi but I go the words for a song that said “Walking like a one man army for some one you love”. When she had to go away those words really hit home because Lexxi isn’t very popular and I was her one man army when every one else turned their backs on her. Another one of my poems is called “Thank God for Kids.” It shares its title with the song by the Oak Ridge Boys. I wrote this poem because my world would be so empty if you took the smaller people in my life away. I love to get wrapped up in a song and if there is no one around I sometimes dance. I can get hyped up by turning on something with a beat or I can tell some one how I feel by telling to listen to a certain song. There is always that one song out there that was written by some one that was feeling what I have felt. I like being that close to some one I have never met.I think a world with out music would be a very bleak world for every one. Music makes me happy.

I Love My Grandparents

I met my grandparents when I was eight and I have loved them since. My grandma is so calm and gentle that I feel at ease just by being in the same room with her. I don’t think I could make her mad even if I tried, not that I would want to. If I go a few days with out calling her she calls to make sure I’m doing ok. She always tells me what I need to hear without telling me what to do. I love that. Even though I’m sixteen if I stay at their house she comes to tuck me in and give me a kiss. Some people may think this is pathetic but I it makes me feel loved and I wouldn’t trade it for a million bucks.
My grandpa plays guitar and he is part of the reason I started playing. Grandpa is a very gruff and he doesn’t display emotion very much but the look in his eyes when we play together is priceless to me. He calls me gal and shakes my hand instead of hugging me but I think my grandpa is my rock. He is the first person I think about when I want someone to be proud of me.
My grandparents come to track meets, volleyball games and concerts because they care and I am so glad they do. I want to go to college in Denver so I can be closer to them. They are a very big part of what makes me happy.

i'm doing a common question what makes me happy for two reasons the first reason is my first question i didn't like and wasn't getting any where. the other reason is its a hard question to answer no one is the same.what could make you happy is a dollar you find i your pocket or having a cup of coffee in the morning.

My search for things with meaning

I am glad Mrs.V gave us an extension. Thanks Mrs. V! I need the extension. I am having alot of trouble finding things with meaning for my project. I want every part of it to convey just how much I love my family. Being aunt is God's best blessing for me so far in my life I have found a picture of a baby wearing a shirt that says" MY AUNTIE LOVES ME". I don't really like this because it is such a cliche. I want things that have so much love in them that it is almost tangible.

My essential question is: What makes me happy. The answer is working on engines and electrical stuff. It is fun because it is like a puzzle. I have to use pliers to work with all the little pieces. To work on motors and electrical things you need the ability to not give up easily, patients, good eye sight, pliers, tools, wire cutters, screwdrivers, electrical tape, hammer, electrical wire, and wire caps.
Working on electrical motors is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to find out where everything goes and where to put it and how to put it in right.
For my pictures I will use a picture of my Uncle Bobby. I will use his picture because he is the one who shows me how to do all of it. I may have to borrow a camera and take pictures. I will take pictures of things I have fixed. I have fixed wheelchairs, remote control boats, and remote control cars. Things I would like to work on are wiring in real cars, I could learn how to do that at ITT tech.
Areas where I might need help in this project is writing letters, essays and poems. I don’t know how to write letters and poems.
I can find articles on my essential question would be on the internet, in car magazines and I can check with Mr. Kendrick to see if he has articles on engines.
Poems I might be able to find in books, on the internet, in the library or I could ask Mrs. Markle.

Lindsey's Essential Question Continued

Poetry is very important to me because it gives me a way to express my feelings and to let out my frustrations. I love putting words together in a way that no one ever has before. Poetry takes a perfectly simple thing and turns it into something much much more. Alot of the things I write about are things that most people take for granted. The world moves so fast these days that most people don't take time to be thankful for the little things and I try to bring attetion back to them.

I also write about my feelings, but I don't show these poems to everyone. Some of them are very angry and some are very sad but when I write these poems they are usually aimed at certain people and they are the only ones that read them before i put they away in a filing box. That is another thing, I can't throw them away, if my house ever caught on fire my room would take forever to burn.

I am also a great lover of music. I love it all. Music is like poetry with sound. It tells a story and people can assosiate with it. Plus music is a challenge to produce and I love the challenge of playing the guitar. Hearing the notes hum out of that hollow hole makes me happy

Lindsey's Essential Question

My essential question is a common one, " What makes me happy", I think what makes me happy has a lot to do with love for family, friends, poetry and music. I also love to dream about a future with a good carreer , a wonderful husband and beautiful children.

I love my nieces and nephews to distraction and I would do anything for them. It makes me happy to hear them giggle at something I did or to rock the younger ones to sleep. The smell of a baby's hair is the sweetest perfume on earth. It makes my day when they won't go to bed with out calling me to say goodnight. If i were to lose one of them the loop that is my life would cease to exist. Losing them is also my biggest fear, going away to college is going to be murder for me .

My sisters and I aren' t all that close because of our age differences but I love them too. They give me advice that they can only give because they have made the same mistakes that i am facing. Angie got pregant at sixteen and i am now sixteen and her mistakes gave me a heads up to the fact that guys can be very convincing when they want something. The only time i have been propostioned by a boy her advice rang in my ears and i was able to say no. I thank her for this now because he turned out to be very bad for me. Annette was the first of my sisters to graduate high school and she had a six month old baby girl on graduation day. I am trying to follow her example and graduate even though it will be hard. Sara didn't graduate but she did wait till she was out of her teens to have baby and she taught me to never give up on what I want. Think my stubborness comes from her. Paula was the first to go to college but she quit and now regrets it. She is urging me to pick a college and set my goals to get into that college. I am sad to say I am draging my feet on that one.

I don't have many friends but the friends i do have are going to be my friends for life. They are true friends because I won't be friends with any one who will stab me in the back. I love my friends like they were family. I seem to attract the outcasts and loners but that is ok with me because they are some of the best people on earth even though they have their flaws and problems. It makes them unique.

Lindsey Burkholder's Essential Question

Blog Prompt 21 September 2009

Hi guys-

Be good today. You did an AWESOME job the other day so keep it up and I'll be back tomorrow.

All of you take a few moments and write a narrative about something that happened during Homecoming. Be specific and thorough, using lots of description!

Stuck about what to write? A great play in one of the games? Your date's dress and your time at the dance? Seeing the parade from a float rather than the street? Watching Mrs. V getting smacked in the face with a volleyball....the options are endless.

Shoot for 15-20 minutes of writing. Wow me and then get ready to read as a group.

Hoorah!

Blog Prompt 16 September 2009

Hiya guys. Be good for the sub today.

Group C:
Dispute of defend
1. Nathan Radley cutting off the communication between Boo and the children.
2. Atticus' teaching style. Give examples!

Group B:
What is the significance of Jem returning to the Radley place to find his "breeches" folded and mended?
What is the significance of Atticus not allowing the children to play the game about the Radleys? See page 49.


Group A: (With Mary Jo)
This book is as full of idioms as a big ole' tick. Click the link to see a guide that's as handy as sliced bread. http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/Belmont_HS/tkm/
Then, respond to this post with your 10 favorite idioms, their meanings and the page numbers associated with them.

When you're done, read TKM beginning at page 63 (Chapter 8). Be ready to discuss.

Blog Prompt 10 September 2009

Thank you for your best behavior today while I'm home with Caden.

Group A:
Meet with Mary Jo and discuss the following relationships:
Scout and Atticus
Scout and Jem
Calpurnia and the kids

Then, write thoroughly about each relationship. What is the relationship like? How do the people in the relationship behave? Use examples from the text!!

Group B:
As a group, choose 20 vocab words in CH. 3-5. Individually, define them and be ready to present them to the class tomorrow.

Group C:
Finish Dispute or Defend papers. Discuss as a group and be sure to catch your absent group members up.

Group C 9/9/09

Comment here to respond to the questions of 9/9/09.

Dispute or defend

-Scout "rubbing Walter's nose in the dirt," (22).
-Scout's comment, "he ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham," (24).
-The Ewells not attending school. (27, 30)
- Miss Caroline's actions on the first day of school.

Blog Prompt 26 August 2009

Ted Kennedy Video responses.


http://www.cnn.com/

Blog Prompt 24 August 2009

Today I want you to take a few minutes and blog about whatever is on your mind. How was your weekend? What's going on in your world today? Tell me all about it. This should take you about 15 minutes. Go!

Blog Prompt 20 August 2009

Hi folks-

Answer the prompt:

Imagery is an incredibly important element in literature. Which image from your "Questions" piece is the most memorable? Can you visualize it? Tell me about it using sensory details (sight, touch, sound, taste) and build upon your original image.

For example:

My original image was "eating dinner with my family".

The improved image is "all of us sitting around the heavy oak table like hungry birds on a wire. The voices of all in the family blended into a dull roar and I was unable to distinguish one Southern accent from another. Holli rounds the corner, a ruffled apron tied around her waist, carrying a steaming pot. The newsprint on the table was smooth to the touch and grew wet when she poured the Frogmore onto the table. Bright yellow sweet corn, red potatoes and blood-red crawfish filled the table from one end to the other and everyone grew quiet, their mouths filled with the bayou treat."

Choose any image from your "Questions" piece and flesh it out into something more! Plan to spend about 15 minutes on this exercise. I want to be able to hear it, feel it, see it and taste it when you're done describing your image to me.

Blog Prompt 19 August 2009

What is your prediction for this class? Speak to our development as a group of people who are learning to think of ourselves as writers, your predictions for the year, and in what ways you would like to improve.

Be thorough.

Mrs. V

Bless Me!

Bless me, Press me, Address me....

hey mrs.vermillion

hey mrs. vermillion i liked the assignment it was a nice getting to know you kind of topic

Hello, loves

Hello and welcome to the Pirates' Pen. This will be your daily stop in my class to blog, receive assignments, request assistance and submit assignments. In short, don't lose your password.

There are a few rules we play by here. First, no negativity. Second, nothing inappropriate. If I find that you have posted something that violates these rules you will surrender your blogging rights for a time specified by me. In that time, you will not be allowed access to the blog, thereby not receiving your daily points. It will not likely end well for you so play nice.

Your first assignment is to respond to this blog and indicate (and you can copy and paste this and then electronically sign it and post it.) that you "understand that there is to be no posting of material or comments that are inappropriate or negative and doing so will result in a loss of blog privileges and the points associated with any assignments originating from the blog in that time period."

Again, I welcome you to the Pen and wish you the best of luck for a great year.