{paige's turn}

A few months ago, my brother DJ spent five nights at Mosiac. He had a blast, but my mom was almost in tears every minute.

I am going to Olympic Park in Washington for a full week! (my mom got all weepy the second she found out)

I signed up a while ago, did all the paperwork and paid the money, but I didn't get in. I was so devastated. So I was on the waiting list, meaning if someone's grades dropped or they, misbehaved, I would be next in line to get the spot.

And I got in!

I was jumping up and down and yelling in the hallway after my teacher told me.

So tomorrow morning I have to be at the airport at 5 o' clock in the morning. We're taking the plane to Seattle, Washington. Then we're taking a bus to Olympic National Park.
Right when we get there, we're going on a mile long hike. We have a bunch of chaperones and instructors, so I assume that the first day will be an ice- breaker.
I don't know all the details of every day, but I know that were camping the second night. Like pitch- a tent, sleeping bag on the floor camping. (by the way, it's supposed to rain all week, and we do everything rain or shine)
After an amazing week, I'm coming home on Friday.

It's going to be a fantastic week with friends and nature!

I'm # 7

{in the garden}

{paige's turn}

I hate the dentist.
When I was younger I had to get two teeth pulled. They had to put me under because I freaked out so much. Just so you know.

I went to the orthodontist yesterday. This is our second one we chose- I didn't want the guy who's Yelp page said he was a total jerk. So I went to the awesomely nice guy instead.

Three of my adult teeth came down the wrong way. They're supposed to come straight down and push the baby teeth out... mine "missed" and are next to and behind the baby teeth.

So I need them yanked. Yay.
 Then I need braces to pull the adult teeth into place. But apparently there isn't enough room for them to come down, so I need headgear to pull my molars back to make room.

Headgear.
Headgear!

Thankfully I only need to wear it at night!
But...
I know my mom is going to take tons of pictures.

Life As We Knew It

by Susan Beth Pfeffer

I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald's would still be open.

We may not have a future, but you can't deny we have a past.


I feel myself shriveling along with my world, getting smaller and harder. I'm turning into a rock, and in some ways that's good, because rocks last forever.
But if this is how I'm going to last forever, then I don't want to.

Beautiful Creatures

By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Falling.
I was free falling, tumbling through the air.

"Ethan!"

She called to me, and just the sound of her voice made my heart race.

"Help me!"
She was falling, too. I stretched out my arm, trying to catch her. I reached out, but all I caught was air.There was no ground beneath my feet, and I was clawing at mud. We touched fingertips and I saw green sparks in the darkness.
Then she slipped through my fingers, and all I could feel was loss.
Lemons and rosemary. I could smell her even then.
But I couldn't catch her.
And I couldn't live without her.




Sixteen moons, sixteen years
Sixteen of your deepest fears
Sixteen times you dreamed my tears
Falling, falling through the years...

The Hunger Games Series

by Suzanne Collins

I'm filled with awe, as I always am, as I watch her transform from a woman who calls me to kill a spider to a woman immune with fear.


It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete madman.


Stupid people are dangerous.


Deep in the meadow, under the willow
a bed of grass, a soft green pillow
lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes
and when again they open, the sun will rise.
Hear it's safe, here it's warm
hear the daisies guard you from every harm
hear your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true
hear is the place where i love you.
Deep in the meadow, hidden far away
a clock of leaves, a moonbeam ray
forget your woes and let your troubles lay
and when again it's morning, they'll wash away.
Hear it's safe, hears its' warm
hear the daises guard you from every harm
Hear your dreams are sweet and tomorrow bring them true
hear is the place where I love you.

-(soft song)

{paige's turn}

I never thought that middle school teachers had classroom pets. I never heard about them, or even read about it any animals in middle school. So you can imagine my surprise when I walk into math class and there's a gecko on the desk!

I've only seen lizards on T.V. So when my classmates ran to me in the doorway, screaming about a lizard, I was ecstatic. I haven't had a classroom pet since kindergarten (we had baby chicks- I got to hold them!)

So I went to look at the lizard, and it was the weirdest animal I've ever seen. It was in a tank that had sand, two hollow logs, and a heating lamp above it all.
And a MILLION crickets on the logs- so many that I refused to get within a foot of the tank!

The gecko was deep inside one of the logs, so I only saw it's black and yellow leopard- patterned head with HUGE creepy eyes...

Which looks awesome!

Matched

by Ally Condie

Now that I've found the way to fly, which direction should I go into the night? My wings aren't white or feathered; they're green, made of green silk, which shudders in the wind and bends when I move- first in a circle, then in a line, finally in a shape of my own invention. The black behind me doesn't worry me; neither do the stars ahead.

Green Angel

by Alice Hoffman

I once believed that life was a gift. I thought whatever I wanted I could someday possess. Is that greed, or only youth? Is it hope or stupidity? As far as I was concerned, the future was a book that I could write to suite myself, chapter after chapter of good fortune. All was right in the world, and my place in it was assured, or so I thought then. I had no idea that all stories unfold like white flowers, petal by petal, each in it's own time and season, dependant on circumstances and fate. The future is something no one can foretell.

Camille

by Tess Oliver

Nathaniel held tightly to my arm to keep me from falling face first. "I'm such a clumsy dolt."

"I wouldn't expect to see you in an of these theateres perfoming a dance, but I like the way you move. You're rather like a feathery sprite with just enough swishing from side to side." he said.

Curse the involintary blush that was impossible to hide. "I swish? Exactly what part of me swishes?" I brought up his family, but I was relieved we'd changed subjects. Even though the subject was making my cheeks burn.

He grinned down at me. "All the right parts."