Maria's blog

One of the games that we play at our house is Scrabble, because my brother Jack LOVES it. This is how a normal Scrabble game goes. Jack somehow plays all seven letters in the first turn and has a 60 point lead, my dad plays most of his letters and I play a word like, "CAT". In case you didn't know, the point of the games is to play long words, not like cat.

On my 12th birthday, my Dad picked Trinity, Daphny, my brother Tony, and me up from school. Before we went back to the house, we had to pick up my brother Jack, and go get pizza. The pizza took forever to get, and then Jack took like fifteen minutes to come out.

When we finally arrived at the house, the car still had to be loaded up with all the birthday stuff. It was really hard to load the car because two random little three-year-olds from our neighborhood kept jumping in our car and wouldn't leave.

"I don't want to leave," said the little kids.

"No, you need to go home," I said.

After doing this for about twenty minutes we practically had to drag them to their house.

When we got everything set up, we were ready to start bowling. The boys were in one lane and girls in the other. The score board went haywire and gave my Dad all strikes. He got a three hundred point game!

Now, it was time for cake. The icing on the cake was all soupy because my mom didn't have time to let the cake cool, but it was really good anyway. I didn't get any candles this year because they wouldn't stand up in the soupy icing.

Present Time! Out of all my presents, my favorite was a ... kitten! It was an awesome birthday.

On Saturday my Dad, my brother, and I went ice fishing with some friends. After driving for an hour to get there we had reached the lake. I was looking around at the trees and I was noticing that it was really windy out on the lake. The tops of the trees kept on swaying back and forth, and back and forth.

"We are going to be in one of those shacks right?" I asked.

"Nope," one of them responded. I thought that he sounded a little worried too.

I wouldn't have been worried about the wind if we were going to be in a little shack, but we set up little tents and some of us weren't even in a tent! Luckily the kids were put in tents first, then the adults. Three tents were set up, one held about six, and the others only two or three.

One guy caught two fish in the first half hour. That was all we caught. There were sixteen of us, and ONLY two fish all day long! I guess the fish were not biting, just nibbling. Lots of us fell asleep while fishing.

After fishing for about six hours of fishing, and no catching, I hear, "Time to pack up!"

Then like five seconds later I caught a fish! I was so happy to have at least caught one fish.

"I caught a fish!" I yelled. When everyone had gotten a good look, we threw it back, it was tiny. While the guys were packing up, I decided to stick the line in one more time, another tug! I had caught another fish!

"I got another one!" I said, while running to the others. It was also tiny, down into the water again. Just for fun, I stuck the pole in one last time. Another tug! I couldn't believe it, three fish in ten minutes.

"I got another one!" I yelled, kind of surprised. I was beginning to feel like 'The Boy Who Yelled Wolf.' By the time I had reeled in the last fish we were all packed up and ready to go. I was walking to the van when...

"AGHH' I yelled as my leg plunged down a whole into the icy cold water. The guys had filled it with snow so that it would form ice, I couldn't tell were any of the holes were. Luckily, the snow was what had gotten all wet not my leg, it was like I hadn't even stepped in the hole. I walked to the car only on the parts where I was able to see the ice. The trip was over and we were headed home!

If I could change anything about school, I would make the classes have a lot less students in them. I think that this would help because each student would get more attention from the teacher. If this happened, the kids' grades would improve and the same with their behavior. Each student would be more carefully watched, so they would have less opportunites to get into trouble. Also, in smaller classes, the class would get more done because they don't have to wait on others, therefore learning more, too.

The classes would be divided into levels of learning. Some of them would work at a faster rate, and the other classes at a slower rate. Of course, there would have to be a lot more teachers, which means more jobs, so this would help the economy as well. It might not ever happen, but I would Love it if it did!

I like winter, but it is nothing like what people think. They think that we have snowball fights, build snowmen, and snow forts. But we don't.

The snow here is just powder. It DOESN'T stick together, no matter what you do. Winter here is pretty much just cold, all the time. Sometimes, it gets even colder because of the wind. I've tried many times to have a snowball fight, but no, the snow won't let me.

Some of the fun things you can do are skiing, sledding, snowboarding, and snowshoeing, as long as it isn't -50. I love winter, but I think that winter would be so much nicer if it wasn't so cold, but it is.

My least favorite food is probably squid. If you haven't tried it yet, don't.

One of the reasons I do not like squid is is because of the smell, it makes me nauseous. Another reason I don't like it is the texture. It still has the suction cups on it and it feels like rubber. The last reason I don't like it is because of the taste. It tastes nasty! I feel like I am trying to eat a bouncy ball. When you bite down, your jaw just bounces right back up. It is as if the squid has a mind of its own and is deciding to not to be eaten. I've only had it once, but that was plenty for me!

SQUID=GROSS

In class we are learning about ancient Greece. I am reading about the goddess Athena. She is the goddess of strategy and crafts. This is a great website for looking up the Olmypians. It only shows the main gods and godesses, like Zeus, Hera, Posidon, and Hades.

http://www.mythweb.com/gods/index.html

I woke up on a cold November morning to a freezing house! I went downstairs, bundled in blankets and warm clothes, to see what was happening. We were out of fuel. For most of the day we sat covered in blankets on the couch. My Dad decided that it was way too cold for us to stay at home, so he took us to his office where it was warm!

Everyone was really over-heating because we all had long sleeves and wool socks on, so we were burning up! Our sweaters and extra socks came off. After about two hours of burning up, chasing my little brother, and watching three year old shows, my Dad came back.

He had tried calling the fuel company but they said it was too short of a notice, then he found out he could go get fuel at a gas station. Luckily he called a friend and found out that the fuel he was going to get would have started a fire. So he had to go get special fuel, that is what had taken so long.

After all of this our house was finally warm!

About four years ago me and my friend Kori went camping. We were spending the night at the camp grounds. Then the next morning we were going to go hike Angel Rocks. After driving for about an hour we got to camp, then started to set up the tent. Once the tent was set up we tried to start a fire. This did not work out at all! One reason was because the wood wasn't all the way dry. Two, we left the matches at her house. After asking around for awhile, someone finally let us use their lighter. We put the wood in the fire pit, added some kindling, and tried to light it, but the fire did not want to burn.

Kori and I were both really cold because it was pretty late already, so we made one last attempt at getting a fire. The man in charge of the camp made a thing that should start the fire right up. It was newspaper dipped in some sort of liquid, it did not work. So we just went to bed.

Even though it was a cold camping trip, I still had lots of fun!

Three years ago my brother, some friends, and I went to a cabin. To get there we had to drive about an hour, then snowmachine for two more! I got to drive the snowmchine most of the way which was really fun, my brother didn't because he was only seven.

Once we got there we had to do chores. The boys had to get the water from the river, and the girls had to start the fire, and all of us helped unload all the gear. When all the chores were done we made dinner, played board games, and went to bed. The first day was over.

In the morning after breakfast we fed the birds the left over food. They would swoop down and eat it right out of our hands! Then my brother and I got to ride on a sled tied to a snowmachine, we both kept falling off, and off. That night we all ran bare foot in the snow to the sauna, the snow was freezing! We were all tired by then so off to bed we went.

The next morning it was time to go back home, so we packed all our gear and rode back to the cars. On the way home I slept, I had fun, but I was ready to go home.

Last summer my family and I went to Anchorage for three days. On the drive down I had to sit between two of my brothers, which is not a good situation when you are known to get very bad carsick. After driving for what seemed to be days, we finally got to Anchorage.

Our plan for the first night was to stay at a cabin. It was so much fun! I stayed up watching movies, eating popcorn, and playing board games, until I was almost asleep. Then in the morning we packed up and went to go get some breakfast. After eating we went to the next place we were staying.

The next night was not so much fun, it was a camp type place and it had tons of bedrooms. Even though there lots of rooms and beds, we didn't have enough sheets, so my mom, my baby brother, and I shared a bed. Somehow during the night I ended up cramped against a wall, feet in my face, and sheets pulled off. So I had to move to the living room couch. In the morning we ate, and left to go to a hotel.

At the hotel everyone went and swam in the pool and had a nice dinner. We were all tired so we went to bed early. On the last day my mom insisted on going to the street market before we headed back to Fairbanks. The market wasn't as bad as I thought; it was actually kind of fun, but I was glad we were headed home!

This week we have super cold weather. When I left for school this morning the temperature was thirty five degrees below zero! Brrr! On the internet it said that this has been the coldest November for forty two years! Lately there has also been ice fog, so when I look out the classroom window all I see is white and a couple of trees in the background. Our school has had indoor recess for the past four days; that hardly ever happens! Last week we were supposed to be able to see Mars, but with the fog I couldn't see a thing.

It hasn't snowed for awhile because it has been too cold and too cold for outdoor recess, we have had indoor recess for four days! In these cold temperatures we have to plug the car in before and after we go anywhere.

It is an awful idea to run in thirty below because it feels like your lungs are burning. On the way home from the bus stop I want to run because it is so cold, but it is a bad idea!

Today we were reading a book called Bud Not Buddy. Bud meets up with his friend Bugs and they go to a cardboard village/camp. They go there because they are planning on riding the rails to somewhere where they can get a job. The camp is called "Hooverville" but Bud thinks it is called "Hooperville". The people at the camp welcome them to eat if Bud and Bugs do the dishes afterwards.

I think it is a bad idea to "ride the rails" and live in Hooverville. I have a feeling that either Bud or Bugs is going to get hurt or caught.

I have been trying to speed up my typing lately, and it seems to be working. But I still don’t understand why the people who invented the qwerty keyboard didn’t just put the keys in alphabetical order. The way the keys are arranged it looks like they randomly dumped them on the keyboard. I could type so much faster if ‘a’ was next to ‘b’ and ‘b’ was next to ‘c’. What were they thinking! I remember in third grade when I typed with my two pointer fingers, it took forever to find anything! Computers are so complicated!

Trick or treating is one of my favorite parts of Halloween, but you have to choose your costume wisely. Most kids will have a coat and snow pants under their costumes that makes everyone look like giant marshmallows! Even though they should be a princess or a pirate.

Last year, my younger brother got the right idea and dressed as a sumo wrestler! It was a blow up costume so he looked completely normal, even with all his snow gear under it. Out of everyone's costumes, no one is as unique as my older brother. This year he got a basketball mask, a cape, and then calls himself an evil basketball man. Who thinks of that?

So now you know, if you ever come trick or treating in Alaska, wear a costume that you can fit snow gear under. If that doesn't work for you, try thinking up something unique, so that you can tell people the snow gear goes with the costume!

In May I went to the Sea Life Center in Seward on a field trip for E.L.P. It had sea lions, seals, octopus, all kinds of birds, and tons of fish. Instead of practicing a fire drill we practiced a tsunami drill, we had to walk in a hallway and up a hill. We did this because we were spending the night there.

Upstairs was where the sea birds, seals, and sea lions. There was a huge net over the birdcage so they wouldn’t fly away. It had places where you could touch sea animals like coral, sea stars and sea urchin. Downstairs, there was octopus, fish, and a place to watch the seals and sea lions swim under water.

Our group got to dissect a squid! We made the squid change colors by rubbing its skin. The teacher let us keep the pen so we could write with it, and the beak for a souvenir. The teacher had an enormous octopus hat to show us what they looked like.

One of the seals there had a camera attached to its head so you could watch what it was doing and eating. You could see the tip of its nose in the camera.

When you go downstairs there was a place to watch the seals, sea lions, and birds swimming. When the Puffins swam under the water they left little glass like bubbles behind them. We had so much fun there!

Have you ever had trouble getting somewhere? I know I have had trouble getting to soccer games. My mom sometimes has trouble leaving the house. She will tell me to get ready half an hour early and when we are ready to leave she starts doing laundry, dishes, or cleans up the house. Then, when my mom is finally ready she needs to tell someone something or she forgot her cell phone. By the time we get to the soccer fields we can’t find a place to park or can’t remember what field I am on. I end up getting there right as the game is starting.

After the game we can’t seem to get home, because my mom is usually talking to another parent. So I stand around and wait until she is done talking and as we're in the parking lot we forget where we parked the car. So after walking up and down the lanes we finally find the car, but that is not enough! On the way home we somehow manage to hit every speed bump, round-about, and red light possible! By the time I get home it feels as if I’ve been gone all day. That is why I sometimes just ask my dad!

Last year I was in Honors Band; I played the French Horn. The band had been practicing the music we were going to play, we knew what supplies we needed, and we knew when to get there. Everything was ready. My friends and I had to run to the bathroom, but when we came back, everything and everyone was gone! We all panicked, so we picked up our instruments and music, and ran to the auditorium. It was kind of hard with a French Horn, but I managed.

When we got there they were all almost completely ready, so we ran down the aisle and ran up to the stage. When everyone was ready we started our first song. It might have just been me, but I don’t think the other French Horn player was playing. I had a solo. It was very hard and I was very nervous, but I think it ended up OK. As the songs went on, it got easier and I was way less nervous.

After we finished our songs the middle school went up, then the high school. In the end we got the “You did great” talk, and the “I am so proud of you”. In the end I was very glad I did it!

When I was two years old, my parents, three brothers, and I drove from Indianapolis, Indiana to North Pole, Alaska. On the way up we stopped at White Horse, that and nights when we stayed inn hotels were my favorite parts. We drove for ten days! It felt like forever, and I was carsick most of the time. My family moved into a two bedroom trailer.

I started kindergarten at Badger Elementary, my teacher's name was Mrs. Hughes. Halfway through the school year I moved to Fairbanks and finished the school year at Denali Elementary. My teachers name was Mrs. Brown. I loved living in town and I loved going to Denali.

I started playing soccer in first grade, my team's name was the Orange Panthers. I have played for five years, but my favorite team was Arctic Thunder. I play soccer a lot with my brothers. It is not always fair, but it is so much fun.

Two years later my baby brother Henry was born while I was in third grade! He was born at our house! He is now three and extremely talkative. Now I have four brothers instead of three.

In the summer 2011 I ran the Midnight Sun Run with my cousins, it took an hour and twenty-six minutes. After we finished we went and jumped in the Chena River, it was freezing! We jumped in about five times. We walked back to my house to watch the rest of the race!