Friday, July 16, 2004
Grand Canyon
Last Friday through Wednesday my family and I went to the Grand Canyon for our summer vacation. Here is a short account of what we did and lots of pictures to go along with it. (I apologize if you have a slow computer.)
Friday:
And we're off! In preparation for a long drive today, I took some dramamine so I was able to read some but mostly I slept because that drug puts me right to sleep. We drove about seven hours to Mesquite, Nevada. We stopped in Barstow at Quizno's for lunch -- just in case I hadn't had enough of it. :) Our stop was the Virgin River Casino and Hotel where we stayed for the night. It was super-hot outside but my family tried to give me hypothermia with the air conditioning in our room. Why can't there be a happy medium? We ate at the "Chuckwagon Restaurant" and then went swimming in the pool. By that time it had cooled off and was a bit windy and I got to go in the spa.
Saturday:
This morning we had the breakfast buffet and after breakfast my mom I were waiting for my dad and Steven so we put a dollar in one of the penny machines (yes, I know it's illegal for me to gamble, but it was my mom's dollar, even though I was sitting in the seat.) We didn't really know what we were doing but just kept pushing random buttons and the next thing we know we won twenty bucks! Teach me to gamble. We were pretty excited. Then we drove another few hours through parts of Nevada and Utah (some of the rural parts were very pretty) and into Arizona, finally making it to the Grand Canyon. We camped on the North Rim which is much nicer because it is less crowded. 10% of visitors visit North Rim while the other 90% visit the South Rim. I think the South Rim is just more convenient. Anyways, we set up our tent, which was really easy with four people and then went to the Visitor's center and the Lodge.
Here is a picture of my dad and Steven at the campground:
This is the backside of the Lodge:
And a picture of us at the sign in front of the visitor's center:
We walked around a bit -- there is a nice big space with wooden benches where you can sit and enjoy the view into the canyon and there are also some nice overlook points. Here are a couple pictures:
At 8pm we went to a ranger show which I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to. I think I had altitude sickness. After that we went on a "night walk" where we walked along a path to a point that overlooks the Grand Canyon in the day, but at night it just looks like a big black spot of nothingness. I was standing near the edge of the cliff, knowing that there was a hole 5,000 feet below me, but even with my flashlight all I saw was blackness. But above me, there were so many stars! More stars than I have ever seen, I think. It was absolutely beautiful. There was also an astronomer there with a telescope who showed us some neat nebulas and such.
Sunday:
I woke up at 7:30 and we went down to the Lodge for breakfast. I had my favorite -- pancakes -- and we had a view of the red canyon walls through the large windows in the restaurant. Then Steven went back to the car to take a nap (7:30 is way too early for him) while we went on the Bright Angel Trail. It was the same trail that we took the night hike on, but much different in the day. My mom was terrified of the steep drop-offs, but somehow made it all the way to the end -- yay, Mom! The views were beautiful. It was wonderfully sunny without being too hot (well, at least I didn't think it was too hot, but I seem to have a different thermostat than the rest of my family.) Oh on the trail I saw a little girl that looked like Ashley when she was little. Not that I was there, but I've seen pictures. Then next thing I know her mom is yelling at her, "Ashley, get off that railing!" It was Ashley the Second! Here are some pictures from Bright Angel Trail:
My mom creeping slowly toward the edge while my dad laughed at her:
And she made it!
My dad taking a picture while my mom enjoys the view:
From there we went to Cape Royal. It had two nice vista points, but Steven and I somehow got separated from our parents and were annoyed that we couldn't get in the car since I didn't feel good and Steven was hot. We got some good pictures anyways:
Then we had a picnic lunch and a friendly deer tried to share our lunch too! I was excited to be that close to the deer, but I had to scare her off after a while so that she didn't eat my lunch.
Near our picnic area was Point Imperial, yet another look-out point.
Me and my mom:
The cause of all my altitude woes:
Then we went on Widforss Trail, named after some guy who painted pictures of the National Parks. The mix of aspen and pine was beautiful. I love the smell of the pine bark that smells like butterscotch.
My brother, mom, and dad on the trail:
View through the trees to the canyon:
Then we came back to camp and took showers -- aren't we spoiled? I'm not used to getting a shower when I camp and it was awfully nice. Then my mom made ham and mashed potatoes on the camp stove and it was soooo good. Food always tastes better when you have been hiking. After dinner we went to the Lodge and watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon, the blue sky turning to hazy red then deep blue while the stars appeared. It was a bit cold and windy and there were some clouds in the sky that prevented good star gazing, so we came back to camp and played pinochle (with lots of moths that were attracted to the fluorescent lantern. I named one of them Albert.)
Monday:
Today was our last full day here. We once again had breakfast at the Lodge. I think half of both the workers and the tourists either were speaking a different language or had accents. It was interesting to listen to sometimes. At 10:00 we went to a ranger's talk about the geology of the Grand Canyon that my mom thought was fascinating but it was too much like school for me and I forgot to pay attention. Afterwards we went for a drive to see all the wildflowers that seem to grow only by the sides of the road. There were lots of different kinds and lots of butterflies too. Then we went for a short walk past a "lake" to a salt cabin, which I still am not sure what it is for. Holding salt, I guess.
The trail to the salt cabin (with grasses that felt like they had razor blades on them):
The beautifully green lake. There really is water. Just not that much of it.
Me and my mom in front of the salt cabin:
Me by a huge pine:
Then we came back to the campground for lunch and got ready for our hike down North Kaibab Trail. The trail goes from rim to rim, but we only went 3.4 miles total. The trail took us straight down into the canyon. We had to share the trail with mules, which was kind of stinky. Good thing Steven opted to stay at the campsite and read Harry Potter. :) The trail had some fantastic views. On the way up it started to sprinkle a bit, but not for too long. We finally made it back to the top and I took a shower to wash off the layer of red dirt that was stuck to my legs.
Pictures on Kaibab Trail:
Me on the trail:
This picture shows the white-ish dirt suddenly change into reddish dirt. (If you ask my mom, she can probably tell you why since she was listening to the geology talk.)
Our destination was this tunnel before we got to turn around and head back up the trail.
You can see the rain coming down on the far side of the canyon:
Tuesday:
Today we drove to Las Vegas to stay the night so our trip home wouldn't be all in one day. We stayed at the Stratosphere. Once the sun set, we went to the top of it, and it was so different looking down on the bright lights of Las Vegas than looking down into the Grand Canyon! We had fun watching the rollercoasters on the top of the stratosphere above us. Then my Dad and Steven and I wanted to see the Strip, so we took a trolley to the far end. It took forever, but it was fun seeing all the hotels that we passed. Then we got off at New York New York and walked by all (and into a lot) of all the hotels between the Excalibar and the Venetian. My favorite was Paris. I was hungry at midnight so Steven and I split a sandwich at Bally's, where my dad stays for his work convention every year. Then we took at Taxi back to our hotel and went to bed around 1:30.
Friday:
And we're off! In preparation for a long drive today, I took some dramamine so I was able to read some but mostly I slept because that drug puts me right to sleep. We drove about seven hours to Mesquite, Nevada. We stopped in Barstow at Quizno's for lunch -- just in case I hadn't had enough of it. :) Our stop was the Virgin River Casino and Hotel where we stayed for the night. It was super-hot outside but my family tried to give me hypothermia with the air conditioning in our room. Why can't there be a happy medium? We ate at the "Chuckwagon Restaurant" and then went swimming in the pool. By that time it had cooled off and was a bit windy and I got to go in the spa.
Saturday:
This morning we had the breakfast buffet and after breakfast my mom I were waiting for my dad and Steven so we put a dollar in one of the penny machines (yes, I know it's illegal for me to gamble, but it was my mom's dollar, even though I was sitting in the seat.) We didn't really know what we were doing but just kept pushing random buttons and the next thing we know we won twenty bucks! Teach me to gamble. We were pretty excited. Then we drove another few hours through parts of Nevada and Utah (some of the rural parts were very pretty) and into Arizona, finally making it to the Grand Canyon. We camped on the North Rim which is much nicer because it is less crowded. 10% of visitors visit North Rim while the other 90% visit the South Rim. I think the South Rim is just more convenient. Anyways, we set up our tent, which was really easy with four people and then went to the Visitor's center and the Lodge.
Here is a picture of my dad and Steven at the campground:
This is the backside of the Lodge:
And a picture of us at the sign in front of the visitor's center:
We walked around a bit -- there is a nice big space with wooden benches where you can sit and enjoy the view into the canyon and there are also some nice overlook points. Here are a couple pictures:
At 8pm we went to a ranger show which I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to. I think I had altitude sickness. After that we went on a "night walk" where we walked along a path to a point that overlooks the Grand Canyon in the day, but at night it just looks like a big black spot of nothingness. I was standing near the edge of the cliff, knowing that there was a hole 5,000 feet below me, but even with my flashlight all I saw was blackness. But above me, there were so many stars! More stars than I have ever seen, I think. It was absolutely beautiful. There was also an astronomer there with a telescope who showed us some neat nebulas and such.
Sunday:
I woke up at 7:30 and we went down to the Lodge for breakfast. I had my favorite -- pancakes -- and we had a view of the red canyon walls through the large windows in the restaurant. Then Steven went back to the car to take a nap (7:30 is way too early for him) while we went on the Bright Angel Trail. It was the same trail that we took the night hike on, but much different in the day. My mom was terrified of the steep drop-offs, but somehow made it all the way to the end -- yay, Mom! The views were beautiful. It was wonderfully sunny without being too hot (well, at least I didn't think it was too hot, but I seem to have a different thermostat than the rest of my family.) Oh on the trail I saw a little girl that looked like Ashley when she was little. Not that I was there, but I've seen pictures. Then next thing I know her mom is yelling at her, "Ashley, get off that railing!" It was Ashley the Second! Here are some pictures from Bright Angel Trail:
My mom creeping slowly toward the edge while my dad laughed at her:
And she made it!
My dad taking a picture while my mom enjoys the view:
From there we went to Cape Royal. It had two nice vista points, but Steven and I somehow got separated from our parents and were annoyed that we couldn't get in the car since I didn't feel good and Steven was hot. We got some good pictures anyways:
Then we had a picnic lunch and a friendly deer tried to share our lunch too! I was excited to be that close to the deer, but I had to scare her off after a while so that she didn't eat my lunch.
Near our picnic area was Point Imperial, yet another look-out point.
Me and my mom:
The cause of all my altitude woes:
Then we went on Widforss Trail, named after some guy who painted pictures of the National Parks. The mix of aspen and pine was beautiful. I love the smell of the pine bark that smells like butterscotch.
My brother, mom, and dad on the trail:
View through the trees to the canyon:
Then we came back to camp and took showers -- aren't we spoiled? I'm not used to getting a shower when I camp and it was awfully nice. Then my mom made ham and mashed potatoes on the camp stove and it was soooo good. Food always tastes better when you have been hiking. After dinner we went to the Lodge and watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon, the blue sky turning to hazy red then deep blue while the stars appeared. It was a bit cold and windy and there were some clouds in the sky that prevented good star gazing, so we came back to camp and played pinochle (with lots of moths that were attracted to the fluorescent lantern. I named one of them Albert.)
Monday:
Today was our last full day here. We once again had breakfast at the Lodge. I think half of both the workers and the tourists either were speaking a different language or had accents. It was interesting to listen to sometimes. At 10:00 we went to a ranger's talk about the geology of the Grand Canyon that my mom thought was fascinating but it was too much like school for me and I forgot to pay attention. Afterwards we went for a drive to see all the wildflowers that seem to grow only by the sides of the road. There were lots of different kinds and lots of butterflies too. Then we went for a short walk past a "lake" to a salt cabin, which I still am not sure what it is for. Holding salt, I guess.
The trail to the salt cabin (with grasses that felt like they had razor blades on them):
The beautifully green lake. There really is water. Just not that much of it.
Me and my mom in front of the salt cabin:
Me by a huge pine:
Then we came back to the campground for lunch and got ready for our hike down North Kaibab Trail. The trail goes from rim to rim, but we only went 3.4 miles total. The trail took us straight down into the canyon. We had to share the trail with mules, which was kind of stinky. Good thing Steven opted to stay at the campsite and read Harry Potter. :) The trail had some fantastic views. On the way up it started to sprinkle a bit, but not for too long. We finally made it back to the top and I took a shower to wash off the layer of red dirt that was stuck to my legs.
Pictures on Kaibab Trail:
Me on the trail:
This picture shows the white-ish dirt suddenly change into reddish dirt. (If you ask my mom, she can probably tell you why since she was listening to the geology talk.)
Our destination was this tunnel before we got to turn around and head back up the trail.
You can see the rain coming down on the far side of the canyon:
Tuesday:
Today we drove to Las Vegas to stay the night so our trip home wouldn't be all in one day. We stayed at the Stratosphere. Once the sun set, we went to the top of it, and it was so different looking down on the bright lights of Las Vegas than looking down into the Grand Canyon! We had fun watching the rollercoasters on the top of the stratosphere above us. Then my Dad and Steven and I wanted to see the Strip, so we took a trolley to the far end. It took forever, but it was fun seeing all the hotels that we passed. Then we got off at New York New York and walked by all (and into a lot) of all the hotels between the Excalibar and the Venetian. My favorite was Paris. I was hungry at midnight so Steven and I split a sandwich at Bally's, where my dad stays for his work convention every year. Then we took at Taxi back to our hotel and went to bed around 1:30.
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
Happy 4th of July
Happy 4th of July!!! (A little late.) I didn't do much to celebrate, but I had a good weekend anyways. Cindy, Dad, me, Lori, and Grammy went to Lancaster and spent most of the weekend cleaning and boxing up Grammy's old house. We got a lot done and the kids got to help us. My primary job was cleaning out one of the back rooms and I think I ate a ton of dust in the process. I found some interesting things.... my great aunt and uncle saved everything.
After two and a half weeks of my first summer job working at Quizno's, I am quitting today. (And I finally learned all those sandwiches!) Susie is getting really sick and Peter cannot care for both her and for the kids, so I am going to Lancaster to take care of my cousins. Or as Peter says, to be their "nanny" but when I think of a nanny I think of an old lady.
I went to Ashley's yesterday afternoon to press seaweed and to have dinner at her house. Then she came here and we watched Under the Tuscan Sun and I thought it was quite a good movie. One of my favorite quotes (and you must have an Italian accent when saying this): "Green means go. Yellow is for decoration. And red is a suggestion." Hahaha.... only that is not funny in the slightest if you haven't seen the movie.
After two and a half weeks of my first summer job working at Quizno's, I am quitting today. (And I finally learned all those sandwiches!) Susie is getting really sick and Peter cannot care for both her and for the kids, so I am going to Lancaster to take care of my cousins. Or as Peter says, to be their "nanny" but when I think of a nanny I think of an old lady.
I went to Ashley's yesterday afternoon to press seaweed and to have dinner at her house. Then she came here and we watched Under the Tuscan Sun and I thought it was quite a good movie. One of my favorite quotes (and you must have an Italian accent when saying this): "Green means go. Yellow is for decoration. And red is a suggestion." Hahaha.... only that is not funny in the slightest if you haven't seen the movie.
Thursday, July 01, 2004
It's A Beautiful Day
I woke up to sunshine this morning around eight o'clock and headed to the beautiful Ellwood Mesa for a walk with my Mom. We walked about five miles on the bluffs overlooking the ocean and on the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous and we saw dolphins and lots of birds. Then I took a hurried shower and Mom made me a breakfast burrito and then I scurried off to work to make sandwiches for the hungry working people of Goleta. The four and a half hours went pretty quickly and afterwards I went across the street to the Thursday afternoon farmer's market. I strolled along the stands to look for the best fruit (and getting good samples) and then I bought white nectarines, apricots, strawberries, and an apple pie. There is something about the farmer's market that I love. Then I came home and turned right around and went to the new Vons with Mom. We bought lots of groceries and then came home and I juiced oranges that I had climbed a tree at Dad's work to pick earlier this week and Mom made waffles for dinner. Then I sat outside in the slowly dimming sunlight and read my book in the newly planted front yard with all the wonderful smells of sage and other native plants. Everything about today was beautiful.
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Quiz me Quizno's
Well I have almost learned all those stupid sandwiches. I have had three different people quiz me and I think I am ready for basing tomorrow. Today was a slow day at work. Jenny said it was because Vons just opened. Yesterday Ashley and I saw The Notebook. It was pretty good, but I think it would have been better if I was old. And there were a lot of random things in it. I wish I had something more interesting to write in my blog. I will think of something and come back later.
Saturday, June 26, 2004
A Sunny Saturday
I am sooo happy that it is sunny. Today I dug up the front little area by the maple tree. It was hot and hard work and now I am tired. But I made Pasta Roni for dinner and it was delicious. I'm still hungry though. And I need to learn all those Quizno's sandwiches.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
I Now Work at Quizno's (we have a pepper bar)
My first day of work yesterday went pretty well. I only made about fifty mistakes and tried to overcharge people a couple of times. But it was all right. It was incredibly busy, though. Today it was much more relaxed. But my back hurt after standing for three hours. OK this isn't going to be as funny when I type it... in fact I don't know if it will be funny at all. But this in a conversation I had with a customer today after giving her her change of 40 cents as four dimes.
Lady: "So I guess you don't have an quarters left."
(My thought: what the heck are you talking about?)
Me: "Um, yeah, I have quarters."
Lady (in a voice that made me think she thought I was stupid): "Twenty-five, Thirty-five, Fourty!"
So I guess she wanted me to give her a quarter, a dime, and nickle. Don't you think that is a weird thing to tell a cashier? I do.
So far I know how to use the cash register (although I am not very fast) and refill dressings and restock chips and cookies and take cardboard boxes to the dumpster. Aren't you proud of me?
Lady: "So I guess you don't have an quarters left."
(My thought: what the heck are you talking about?)
Me: "Um, yeah, I have quarters."
Lady (in a voice that made me think she thought I was stupid): "Twenty-five, Thirty-five, Fourty!"
So I guess she wanted me to give her a quarter, a dime, and nickle. Don't you think that is a weird thing to tell a cashier? I do.
So far I know how to use the cash register (although I am not very fast) and refill dressings and restock chips and cookies and take cardboard boxes to the dumpster. Aren't you proud of me?
Disneyland!
On Sunday I went with the Hammorks and the Huberts to Disneyland!!! I woke up to the smell of bacon, so I decided to get up and take a shower. Then I went downstairs to a feast that Cynthy had prepared. There was bacon, scrambled eggs, potato pancakes, sausage, sweet rolls, and orange juice. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. After breakfast we all got ready to go to Disneyland... it was difficult to choose what to wear since it was foggy outside, so I think we all ended up wearing shorts with pants on top. It turned out to be pretty warm despite the fog. After parking and riding the little tram thing, we went to California Adventures because we were all excited about the Tower of Terror that opened recently. First we went to the Who Wants to be a Millionare show that they have and guess who got in the hot seat? Stevie! How crazy is that? She got hard questions, though, like "who is Isadora Duncan" or something like that and "who is the kitten that bothers Garfield?" But it was crazy that she got to go up there. So then we went to Tower of Terror and the line wasn't that bad -- only 40 minutes long, which isn't bad for a new ride. And it was a lot of fun. You should go on it if you have the chance. Then we ventured over to Disneyland and went on Thunder Mountain and waited in line for Indiana Jones but it broke down just as we got near the front. But I didn't care too much. Lindsay was the only one who was angered by it. I probably don't have all these things in order, but oh well. Then we had Toni's birthday party at this special place for birthday parties inside disneyland. This strange fellow in a cake hat came out and sang a song and then Mickey and Pluto came out and then we each got an individual mickey mouse plate. The face was a cake and in one of the ears was blue, yellow, and red frosting, and in the other ear were three different kinds of sprinkles. And we all got to decorate our own cakes! (I was quite excited about this and I want to do it for my birthday but Ashley says I should wait until I have kids and do it for their birthdays.) The man in the funny cake hat said it was a contest, so Ashley, being the competitive person that we all love, thought long and hard about what her cake should be... she wanted something original so that she would win the contest. Finally she decided on a volcano and made quite a nice one. Then people came around to "judge" the cakes and Ashley shouted out, in a way that made her sound just like a little kid, "Mine's a volcano!" and we all cracked up and haven't stopped teasing her about it yet. As it turned out, everyone won, so basically there wasn't a contest. I think Ashley was slightly disappointed about that. Oh before her birthday party we went to lunch at the hotel next to CA Adventures and I had chicken fingers and fries. It is cheaper than eating in disneyland. So then we went back to CA Adventures and went on Tower of Terror again (ooh so much fun) and were going to go on Grizzly Bear Rapids, but it was closed, which was very sad, but probably a good thing since I would have gotten soaking wet. So then we left Disneyland and ate dinner at Boston Market (and it was sooo good... i'm mad that they took out the one in Goleta.) Oh and then there was a fiasco because Ashley and I wanted to sit in the back but Lindsay was being a lame-o and wouldn't sit in the middle row. Anyways, it was a big ordeal but then I sat in the middle seat of the back row and it all worked out. And that was the conclusion of my fun weekend.
Pictures from Disneyland:
Group picture by the entrance of Disneyland. Note Teddy's lovely smile.
Stevie, Ashley, and me
Group photo in front of the entrance to the birthday party. Don't you love our hats? Again, note Teddy's lovely smile.
Ashley, Lindsay, Sammy, and I wearing our party hats
Pluto and Mickey entertain us. Toni is the cute short girl standing in the front.
No party is complete without streamers.
Me, Sammy, and Ashley at the "Kodak photo moment" stop.
Ashley, Gregg, Lindsay, and Teddy on Thunder Mountain. Again, Teddy has a nice smile. However, I don't know what happened to Ashley's head. It seems a bit warped to me.
The best thing to do in the Disnleyland stores is to try all the hats on and then take a picture of yourselves.
Everyone who went on Tower of Terror by the sign. Hey wait. Toni didn't go on it.
Sammy with her giant cup... no, I can't even call it a cup. More like a bucket of lemonade at Boston Market.
Pictures from Disneyland:
Group picture by the entrance of Disneyland. Note Teddy's lovely smile.
Stevie, Ashley, and me
Group photo in front of the entrance to the birthday party. Don't you love our hats? Again, note Teddy's lovely smile.
Ashley, Lindsay, Sammy, and I wearing our party hats
Pluto and Mickey entertain us. Toni is the cute short girl standing in the front.
No party is complete without streamers.
Me, Sammy, and Ashley at the "Kodak photo moment" stop.
Ashley, Gregg, Lindsay, and Teddy on Thunder Mountain. Again, Teddy has a nice smile. However, I don't know what happened to Ashley's head. It seems a bit warped to me.
The best thing to do in the Disnleyland stores is to try all the hats on and then take a picture of yourselves.
Everyone who went on Tower of Terror by the sign. Hey wait. Toni didn't go on it.
Sammy with her giant cup... no, I can't even call it a cup. More like a bucket of lemonade at Boston Market.
Mission Viejo
Saturday I went with the Huberts to the Hammorks' in Mission Viejo. We listened to "Adventures in Odessey" and some music on the way there and stopped at Costco for lunch. I had a suprisingly good chicken caesar salad. It took us a long time to get there because of traffic. We celebrated Toni's birthday (two days early) and father's day (a day early, and my dad wasn't there) and it was fun but I was kind of out of it because I had taken dramamine so I didn't get carsick but it made me so tired. We had hamburgers and hotdogs and other good food and then we started to watch Zoolander but I fell asleep. When I woke up Toni had already opened her presents, but I got to eat cake and watch the dads open their presents (Mr. Mark, Gregg, and Ashley's Papa were the fathers we were celebrating, just in case you were wondering.) Then we went to Target and Kohl's and I bought sunglasses and khaki pants for my job and a skirt. After dinner we watched TV and then went to bed.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Chuck-E-Cheese
On Friday, Ashley, me, Chip, Summer, and her friend Ryan went to Chuck-E-Cheese. After getting my hand stamped at the door, I walked into a frenzy of happy (and some not-so-happy) children all shoving tokens into machines in the hopes of gaining a few paper tickets. It was, however, a lot of fun. We sat next to a giant robot mouse that did a show every five-or-so minutes, which I thought would be highly annoying, but actually was enjoyable. One of the songs was particularly likeable. And I got pizza and tokens for free since Summer and Ryan's parents gave us money. So I played lots of silly games and one really fun one where you are kind of on a hand-cart. It was a work-out.
Here is a picture of me, Chip, and Ashley at Chuck-E-Cheese. You just put a token in the machine and it takes a picture. It would be cooler if digital cameras weren't invented, but it still was pretty fun. We took five, I think.
For dinner I went to Bellyboards with Ashley, Lindsay, Chip, and Mr. Mark. I had a cheeseburger and lots of peanuts cuz they are free. After dinner we watched the saddest movie ever -- House of Sand and Fog. I wanted to cry. It was a good movie, but too sad to watch.
Here is a picture of me, Chip, and Ashley at Chuck-E-Cheese. You just put a token in the machine and it takes a picture. It would be cooler if digital cameras weren't invented, but it still was pretty fun. We took five, I think.
For dinner I went to Bellyboards with Ashley, Lindsay, Chip, and Mr. Mark. I had a cheeseburger and lots of peanuts cuz they are free. After dinner we watched the saddest movie ever -- House of Sand and Fog. I wanted to cry. It was a good movie, but too sad to watch.
