I still like to laugh at the time when I got so mad at my siblings because we were on vacation, camping in our trailer, and I was the only one playing in the SNOW because we brought the Nintendo and they just had to "beat Bowser."  I mean, come on!  We never get to see snow, and yet Bowser is just way too important to put aside for another day...

July has been... let me just say it.  Miserable.  In Arizona, every afternoon it is over 100 degrees.  My mom and I had to quit running/biking in the morning after only a few days because, even that early in the morning, we were dripping in sweat.  The pool hardly helps because it is like jumping in a big bathtub.  It is warm!  Our car has terrible AC that takes forever to be cool and even then isn't really that cool.

Today we found out that a boy who our family has been with a lot lately got the chicken pox.  And... it is most contagious the 24-48 hours before the person breaks out.
My mom said she didn't care too much if the younger kids got it.  Don't take that the wrong way.  Immediately my mom became worried for me and Rachel though.  We have both recently babysat him and his family, and we have Girls Camp starting next Tuesday  (I CAN'T WAIT!!!).  Can you imagine us getting chicken pox during GC and exposing 250 other girls?!  So to the doctor us two went and to get a shot.  The one thing I hate about getting a shot other than that slight prick and the thought of a needle in your arm is the BandAid.  I mean, come on.  Do we really want Snoopy stuck on teens and tweens?
Anyway, it's just better not to take chances.
And feel better, poor boy!

I have five siblings... all of them younger than me.  In many ways, being the oldest is a great load of fun.  I get to stay up later, sit in the front seat (except when Rachel does), do whatever I want with them when I babysit.  But it is not always the best.  I have to be responsible.  Of course, that I don't mind.  Then there is the fact that I don't have anybody to tell me what this or that is like.  I was the first to break away from the safe-atmosphered elementary school.  It was so scary.  Sure, I had friends and my cousin Kendall who are only a few months older than me and therefore did not miss the cutoff as I did.  They gave me a few tips.  Still, it is not like having an older sibling.  A few minutes ago I showed Rachel how to open a lock.  I remember the first day of dress-out PE when I could not figure out how to open the lock.  It was scary and embarassing!  I will also be able to help her figure out the layout of the school, and figure out answers to her math homework.  Even though it was difficult, I am glad to be the one to unlock the secrets.  I want to influence my siblings in the best ways possible.

Doesn't everyone want to moan when they wake up and remember the word "chores"?  I felt this way especially when I remembered that it is Saturday, AKA "deep cleaning" day.  It felt like I had just scrubbed the whole upstairs bathroom from top to bottom for when our cousins came from Wyoming!  But, nope.  The week flew by and suddenly it's Saturday all over again.  Luckily it was my turn to do the tiny downstairs bathroom, which is much easier.  I was able to do it quickly and easily.  I felt relief flow through me, that I had just done it as soon as I finished breakfast instead of procrastinating and saving it for later in the day.  After that I decided I might as well clean the kitchen- I loaded and ran the dishwasher, wiped off the counters and table, and vaccuumed.  The only thing I was asked to do after the bathroom was the dishwasher.   You know, I have come to find that, even if you don't enjoy the work, you enjoy life itself much better if you can learn to just do it, and go the extra mile!  You can feel the Spirit a lot better when everything is clean, too.  And now I get to spend the rest of the day doing all the fun stuff- reading, writing, blogging, swimming! 

Last Sunday was the Fourth of July.

I cannot express how proud I am to be an American. Our country has been facing trial, especially now with people like Obama and his wild Liberal supporters trying to tip her upside down.  But I know that, even then, I am so greatly blessed.  This country was built upon blood and tears, faith and dreams.  First, nearly two thousand and six hundred years ago, Lehi and his family were led here by God.  Then Columbus discovered her, and more people came flooding here in hope.  The Promise Land,  the New World.  Has ever any country held such great titles?  People have come here in need of freedom, to escape religious persecution, starvation and plague, and even simply in the want for a better life.  Our Founding Fathers knew exactly how our country was to be great, and I cling to the beliefs written in the Constitution.  We have fought and struggled against those who think not of our liberty, and even struggled amongst ourselves.  I am deeply sorry about the mistakes our country has made, but every country makes mistakes and that is just what teaches us how to be stronger.  Hearing about other countries facing difficulties much worse than ours makes me want to cry out from how blessed I am.  This is America, the land of freedom.  This is the land of Zion.    

We were all devastated by Rocky II 's death... but my parents decided they had to do something.  On Friday we were able to bring into the family Louie and Maxie, two beautiful cockatiels.  My mom came across them online, being sold by a lady who had developed an allergy to them.  We called and then she had us come over to her house.  Dad, Mom, and I got to meet her and her husband, two very nice people.  She was one of those few people who understand how careful you should be with animals.   Next thing we knew, we owned two cockatiels and their cage.  She felt we were right and gave them all to us for free!  The poor lady was in tears by the time we left, but she had a hard time breathing around them, so she had to say goodbye.  The younger kids were so excited when we came home and surprised them.  We haven't heard him say anything yet, but Louie (the boy) can say "Whatcha doin'?," "Hello," "Louie," and the husband of his first family's name.
At ten thirty that night (the flight had been delayed because of the hurricane in Houston where they were going to leave from), Mom, Rachel, and I left for the airport to pick up Liberty and Lexi.  They are English golden retriever puppies.  We were just going to take Lexi over to her new owner the next morning.  They were so tiny and bluish-green (they had just been tattooed on their ears with numbers before they left their birth-home, and the color had spread everywhere, but it will washes off)!   We named Liberty like that because we got her during the Fourth of July weekend.  It's funny though, because her parents and all those   dogs before her were champions from around the world!  She has no American blood...
We are so excited to have these three new members of the family!

                                                      

Tuesday marks a day of sadness in our family.  Rocky II the lizard died.
He was an Egyptian Uromastyx, and he was bought on the same day that Rocky I died, smashed by the dolly in the attempt to lift the fridge which he was under.  We bought Rocky II older in the hope that he would live the whole 20-or-so year life without the risk of crawling underneath things.  He had tan skin with these yellowish spots that blended in perfectly and a spiky tail, and was not full grown, and I guess he had a hard time growing in his small tank.  We are not certain of how he died- he looked totally normal, except frozen with his eyes only half-opened.  Adam said he had a piece of lettuce in his mouth...
Adam was devastated.  I am just relieved that he is finally free.
Goodbye, Rocky.  We love you.