Sorry, I have gotten way behind due to a sense of overwhelming,  So much has happened in the past couple weeks!

  Three weeks ago on Friday I went to a masquerade ball with Rachel, and my two friends Katie and Taylor.  It's an annual event for those 14+ put on as a fancy fundraiser by our performing group, AYT.  An event that I had been anticipating for over six months.  Trust me, we didn't hesitate to find gorgeous blue gowns and hand-made masks and, once the day came, beautify ourselves with perfect makeup and intricate hairstyles.  Rachel and I also got to learn two dances with a few of the other AYT kids: one of them Dynamite to use for a flash mob, the other one the actual Masquerade song from The Phantom of the Opera.  Though we had to learn them in a short amount of time and one of the sleeves that Mom sewed onto my dress ripped completely off, it was still really fun.  And though not as many people showed up as I would have hoped, it was great with beautiful decor and a nice program.  We also got to dance some more, eat {which was especially great since Mom accidentally ended up being in charge of all the food}, hang out, and listen to some amazing singers.

  The next day ended up being another big dance, this time a tri-stake dance.  It was pajama themed, so I just wore my cheer shirt, which is a fitted black v-neck with blue rhinestones saying "Hawk Cheer" across the top and my name in silver on the back, and gray sweatpants with hoops and my hair big and wavy, so that I could hopefully look casual but cute.  I again went with Rachel and Taylor.  It's kind of frustrating when your sister/best friend is in the grade below you and doesn't want to join you and your friends, because you're forced to alternate groups, which is especially difficult when those groups are the opposite ends of the giant, crowed dance floor from each other.  But I got to dance a lot, be crazy with my friends, and forget about the rest of the world as the music throbbed loudly.  It was pretty funny at one point when some boys I haven't seen much since junior high came up to me with large shoe and instructed me to find and dance with the guy missing a shoe.  There were a bunch of fast songs before we could dance, though, so I just hung out with Rachel until then.  At one point everyone formed a giant circle to show off tricks.  I went in the middle and did a quick toe-touch, and for some reason all the guys started whistling...  Hmmm...!  So when a slow song came around, I danced with the "shoeless" boy, who happened to be a sweet, tall eighth grader that knew some of Rachel's friends I had been hanging out with.      "So, you're a cheerleader?" he asked.  "Yep."  "Yeah, my friends were telling me about you."  I wondered what they could have told him about me, but he invited me to be his friend on Facebook the next even though I forgot to tell him my name. After that song, the DJ bribed us to clean up the room if he gave us one more slow song.  I was immediately asked by one of the guys that had gotten me together with the eighth grader.  He told me that the DJ playing one more song was "an answer to my prayers."  Another thing I didn't know quite how to respond to...  Wow, um, thanks!
  On Tuesday and Wednesday those students who didn't have to take the AIMS test didn't have to go to school until 11:00 and then 10:15.    It was really nice because it gave me extra nice to be able to sleep in and finish up difficult homework assignments.    
  But it was especially nice for Tuesday night when Mom, Dad, Rachel, and I all got to see the musical Wicked at Gammage Theatre.  We got the tickets way back on Christmas, and we were so excited when the day finally came.  Before it started, we went out for dinner at La Villa Peru {which made me anticipate our three-week Peru adventure even more}.  The theater was huge.  Thousands of people flocked the place, so I guess it was good that the seats were assigned.  We sat on the third row of the third level, the balcony level.  We had to bring binoculars for that reason, but I couldn't have been any more happier.  The play was even more amazing than I imagined, with spectacular music, a heart-wrenching plot, and realistic-looking costumes and sets.  It was about time to see it since I've performed two songs from it.  Seriously, it's the only thing Rachel's talked about- aside from Les Miserables and The Hunger Games- since then.
  The next Saturday, Mom and I joined some other members of AYT volunteering at a farmers market.  I guess how it works is that this little company goes around the southwest US collecting all the fruit and vegetables "unworthy" of the grocery store that the farmers want to throw away.  Then they get it all together and let people get anything they want, just filling up a box, for $10.  I couldn't figure out why on earth that stuff would get thrown away, because most of it was actually really good.  But anyway, we got to help organizing everything.  After being there for about two hours, though, we got a call from Dad saying that Zoe`, our little coton de tuliear, was in labor.  We had thought she was due a week before, so this was no surprise, but it was definitely bad timing.  After apologizing to other workers, we drove home to where  Zoe` was panting and pushing, Dad, Rachel, Adam, and Olivia were pacing, and Eric and Sophie laid with fevers and stomach aches on the couch.   Nothing happened for about five hours after went into labor, so my parents took her to the vet where she was given a C-section and delivered three healthy pups.  It was Rachel that suggested that we name them Elphaba, Fiero, and Oz {names of characters in Wicked}.  They are nine days old now and just about the softest, sweetest, most adorable little things you'll ever meet.  Right now they are blind and deaf, but I cannot wait until their eyes and ears open, their fur gets a little fluffier, and they start playing with us.  Then anybody would die just seeing their almost-unreal-looking-because-they're-so-cute faces.
  Oh, by way, happy birthday to my friends Tesah and Lindsey whose 15th birthdays were both on Sunday the 4th.  Ha-ha suckers- I get my permit in a month and you guys have to wait till when I'm going to be almost of turning sixteen!
  I couldn't figure out if the next week went by slowly or quickly; I had a choir concert and a lot of test/quizzes, but Friday we had a half day and now we have spring break.  Already we have gotten together with our cousins to watch videos we found from when my family had barely moved into the house over nine years ago {and it was really funny to see our little-kiddish behavior and hear our squeaky mouse voices}, Rachel and I have stayed up watching old Disney movies {personally, my favorite character in Hercules is the short, chunky Muse}, and we have all gotten our house sparkling clean {wow- there's furniture beneath all that dust?!}.  Trust me, it's gonna be good!