Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Monday, April 28, 2008

Rough Draft 3

The Endless Cry of the Summer Crickets

Chirp! Chirp! Splat!

"Eww! Bird dudey!"
"Speaking of dudey, wheres the bathroom?"
"Look a turkey!" Zander said pointing in the direction of a moving bush with red feathers. Okay it was a turkey, but it looked like a bush. The forest filled with the sound of my family's voices. We decided to go on a hike, but nobody told me it was a 3 and 1/2 mile hike.

I groaned as i trudged along the wretched path on which I would be walking on for what would seem like forever. We finally reached close to the top, and I felt relief rush over me when my dad said we were almost there. my legs burned, my nose was thriving over the smell of the barbecue, 1/2 a mile away, and my mouth was dry without water. I was so mad I decided to go, but I guess it's good for the soul. I sat down on a big boulder at the top with relief that the long journey had come to an end. My legs were already recovering, until my dad said, " Okay, lets start the downhill." WHAT!?!?!? I've just gone for two hours uphill, and all I get is a five minute break until you expect me to go for hours downhill?!?!?! Okay, maybe it wouldn't be more than an hour but still! I guess I was okay with it because Luke was there to entertain us with the 1/2 of his phone call we could here, his non-stop laughing, and his undefinable gestures. When we reached the steepest part, my mom's shoe lace came untied. She bent down to tie it but almost fell over, so she had Luke wrap one arm around a tree that was luckily close bye, and with the other hand grasp her pony tail. You can't imagine how funny it was to see nincompoop Luke wrapped around a tree, grasping his mother's pony tail, and still on the phone! I would've cracked up if it hadn't been for the lack of energy in my small body.

The downhill didn't last as long as I thought it would and we were soon back at camp. When I regained my energy, which only took about five minutes, I found that I was incredibly hungry.
"I'm hungry." I suddenly shouted out of my hyperness that I found within ten minutes after returning from the long stroll.
"Jules, the closest restaurant is at least twenty minutes away."
"I know." I sincerely exclaimed
"Sure." said my dad giving into my puppy dog face. So off we go to eat dinner at Wrongs Branch, twenty minutes away. After we ate, we returned to our campsite and told jokes around the fire. After a few hours of inhaling the smoke, we were getting tired. That's when it started. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! The endless cry of the summer crickets.
"Ugh." everybody groaned.
"Well, bed time." I said. Everybody silently agreed as we headed to our tent while my brother put out the fire. In the morning, we packed, piled in the car, and then went to eat at a restaurant called miner's diner where I got a giant shake and pancakes. After my mom bought a pie for my aunt, we returned to the car to drive home with great satisfaction and sore legs.

Looking back at that camping trip, I really enjoyed it. The hike wasn't that painful, and we had a lot of fun over all. We're going to Alpine in a month, I can't imagine what we'll do there, but one thing's for sure, it's winter which means, no more summer crickets.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Rough Draft 2

No More Summer Crickets

Chirp! Chirp! Splat!

"Eww! Bird dudey!"
"Speaking of dudey, wheres the bathroom?"
"Look a turkey!" Zander said pointing in the direction of a moving bush with red feathers. Okay it was a turkey, but it looked like a bush. The forest filled with the sound of my family's voices. Suddenly I here the Jurassic Park Theme song.

"Luke, only nature sounds please. We're in the forest." The next thing i hear is tons of birds and water, then a storm. I look to the sky in despair, but its clear as crystal. Then i realize, it's Luke's phone. I burst out laughing and roll around on a table that was set out at our campsite.

"You said nature sounds." Luke tranquilly reminded my mom. This was already a fun trip, and it had only just begun. We were really hyper so we decided to go on a hike. However, nobody told me it was a 3 and 1/2 mile hike. I so did not want to go on the hike, but i kept it to myself.

I groaned as i trudged along the wretched path on which i would be walking on for what would seem like forever. We finally reached close to the top, and i felt relief rush over me when my dad said we were almost there. my legs burned, my nose was thriving over the smell of the barbecue, 1/2 a mile away, and my mouth was dry without water. I was so mad i decided to go, but i guess it's good for the soul. I sat down on a big boulder at the top with relief that the long journey had come to an end. My legs were already recovering, until my dad said, " Okay, lets start the downhill." WHAT!?!?!? I've just gone for two hours uphill, and all i get is a five minute break until you expect me to go for hours downhill?!?!?! Okay, maybe it wouldn't be more than an hour but still! I guess i was okay with it because Luke was there to entertain us with the 1/2 of his phone call we could here, his non-stop laughing, and his undefinable gestures. When we reached the steepest part, my mom's shoe lace came untied. She bent down to tie it but almost fell over, so she had Luke wrap one arm around a tree that was luckily close bye, and with the other hand grasp her pony tail. You can't imagine how funny it was to see nincompoop Luke wrapped around a tree, grasping his mother's pony tail, and still on the phone! I would've cracked up if it hadn't been for the lack of energy in my small body.

The downhill didn't last as long as i thought it would and we were soon back at camp. When i regained my energy, which only took about five minutes, i found that i was incredibly hungry.
"I'm hungry." i suddenly shouted out of my hyperness that i found within ten minutes after returning from the long stroll.
"Jules, the closest restaurant is at least twenty minutes away."
"I know." I sincerely exclaimed
"Sure." said my dad giving into my puppy dog face. So off we go to eat dinner at Wrongs Branch, twenty minutes away. We walk in and there is a huge wall piled to the top in stuffed animals. I must have melted where i stood as my jaw dropped to the ground, pulling me with it. I got anxious as i looked at the wall, but i was able to contain myself until after we had ordered our food. I, of course, ran straight back to the mound of heaven right away. There were so many to chose from, but so little time. Luckily, within ten minutes, i had it narrowed down to a blue moose named Bloose, who would've thought, a blue moose named Bloose, and a chocolate lab puppy named Puppers. In the end, i chose Puppers and returned to my table. Looking back, i wish i would've picked Bloose, but i returned to my table to eat with satisfaction.

After we ate, we returned to our campsite and told jokes around the fire. We also made a few. After a few hours of inhaling the smoke, we were getting tired. Thats when it started. Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! The endless cry of the summer crickets.
"Ugh." everybody groaned.
"Well, bed time." I said. Everybody silently agreed as we headed to our tent while my brother put out the fire. In the night, the sleeping order was dad, mom, me, Luke, and Zander, but by the time we woke up, dad didn't have a bed, mom was on dad's bed, i was on mom's bed, and Luke and Zander were on my bed, leaving two beds empty and the tent nearley tipped over. We got up, packed, piled in the car, and then went to eat at a resteraunt called miner's diner where i got a giant shake and pancakes. The glasses were shaped like boots and they gave out cards like the ace of spades as table numbers. In the gift shop next door, my brothers and i went to the candy mine and got tons of candy for the drive home. We then looked around at the statues, got ice-cream, and went across the street to look at stuffed animals and fire-places while my mom bought a pie for my Aunt. We then returned home with great satisfaction and sore legs.

Looking back at that camping trip, i really enjoyed it. The hike wasn't that painful, and we had a lot of fun over all. We're going to Alpine in a month, I can't imagine what we'll do there, but one thing's for sure, it's winter which means, no more summer crickets.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Different Leads

Different Leads for my Memoir

- every step was painful. It wasn't any less painful when my dog tripped me.
"ugh" i groaned
"get over it wimp" said my brother Luke who walked by right when i triped.
"oh like your legs don't hurt. " I sarcastically exclaimed. I purposely ran up behind him and tripped him. He landed with a thud on the ground.
"OWW!" he screamed as his unusually large body hit the floor.
"Point proven." I sincerely replied to the shrieked.
"Touche'."
"That trip was painful." Luke groaned.
"You guys are both wimps." said my brother Zander. Luke ran up and pushed Zander to the ground with a painful scream for both of them.

- Chirp! Chirp! Splat!
"EWW! BIRD DUDEY!" "Gross!"

- How would you feel if you had to journey 2 1/2 miles UP HILL??

-It was dry and the sounds of birds and rodents filled the forest.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Rough Draft #1

"were here!" "wheres the bathroom?" "look its an Blue-Jay!" "a squirrel!" the forest filled with the voices of my family. suddenly i hear the Jurassic Park theme song coming from my older brother's phone. "Luke, only nature sounds please." said my mom. "okay." then i here a chirp chirp, some wind, and rain, coming from my brother's phone. then everybody burst out laughing. "you said nature sounds??" oh this was going to be a fun camping trip. everybody was happy, curious, calm, and in a good mood. okay maybe we were a little excited but that was fine because we were about to go on a hike. however, nobody told me it was 2 1/2 miles UP hill and a very STEEP mile downhill.
I groaned as i trudged along the wretched uneven uphill surface i would be pacing on for what would seem like forever. We finally reached close to the top, and relief swept over me when my dad said we were almost there. my legs ached from the long uphill journey, my nose was thriving over the scent of barbecue 1/2 a mile away, and my mouth was dry without water. I sat down on a boulder with relief that the long and painful journey was at an end. until my dad said, "okay, let's start the downhill." What?!?!?! Now i had to go for hours downhill! Okay, maybe not hours. But as usual, Luke kept it interesting with the half of his phone call we could here, and his non-stop laughing. and when we were on the steepest part, my mom's shoelace came untied. she had Luke wrap one arm around a tree that was luckily close by, and with the other grab onto her pony tail to hold her while she tied her shoe. So there's big doofas Luke, holding on to my mom's pony tail, and a tree, and yet still on the cell phone.
but the long hike finally came to an end and we reached our campsite. "I'm hungry." i exclaimed. "can we go out to eat?" "Jules, the nearest restaurant is at least twenty minutes away. "i know." i sincerely repeated. "sure why not." said my dad giving into my puppy-dog face. so off we went to go to a restaurant that sounded somewhere along the lines of Wrongs Branch, and when i walked, there was three huge walls, piled to the top and covered in stuffed animals. i must have melted where i stood as my jaw fell to the floor, taking me with it. After we had order our food, i ran straight back to the giant mound of heaven. There were so many to chose from, but within ten minutes i had it narrowed down to a chocolate lab puppy named Puppers, and a blue moose named Bloose. In the end, i chose Puppers and returned to my table to eat.
we returned to our campsite and told, made, and laughed at jokes around the fire until our late bed-time. that's when it started up. chirp! chirp! chirp! chirp! chirp! The endless cry of the summer crickets. "ugh" everybody exclaimed. "well, bed-time." i said aloud. everybody silently agreed and we headed to our tent as my brother Zander put out the fire. In the night, our sleeping pattern was dad, mom, me, Luke, and then Zander, but by the time we woke up, dad didn't have a bed, mom was on dad's bed, i was on mom's bed, Luke and Zander were on my bed, Luke and Zander's bed were empty, and the tent was nearly tipped over. But we went to breakfast at the Julian cafe' and then started on our way home. No more summer crickets.