Christmas Dollhouse 2010!

Maybe you remember from last year, the Logan tradition of Christmas Dollhouse? Well, here are pictures from this year :D

{.captions on the bottom.}

I have a lot of people...

Lizzy's house in progress...

Momma's house in progress...

My house in progress...

Lizzy's finished house...

Momma's living room...

My finished house...

My parents' room..

My little girl's room...

My living room...

My kitchen...

The Parade! :D

We made muffins. And then pretended they were dollhouse cakes :D

Cake on my kitchen table...hehe :D

My parents enjoying their cake...

My family on Christmas Day!

~Kendra

DISNEY RECAP

Hi! I'm back! So...Disney World was amazing :)

Hollywood Studios: It's the kingdom where you see all the special effects stuff and very movie-related stuff. They have a show where you get to see an Indiana Jones scene acted out, complete with explosions and amazing fight scenes. It all looks so real.

I rode my first legit roller coaster (the Rockin' Roller Coaster). I got in line with my parents before I told myself what I was getting in line for. I didn't tell myself that the roller coaster went upside down until even later. It was extremely fast and extremely upside down etc.

I have decided that I was born for roller coasters and can't wait to find another one.

I saw a great Beauty and the Beast show.

We ate at this place called the 50s Diner, which is supposed to be so much fun, but I hated it. The food was okay, but our waiter was obnoxious, and the restaurant has RULES. No elbows on the table, and you have to eat all your vegetables to get dessert. -_- It was annoying.

I got my picture taken with Minnie Mouse.

I saw the coolest parades ever.

I experienced snow while wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Disney is amazing. They had a snow machine blowing the stuff from the roofs at one point. It was my own personal dream come true (which is, after all, Disney World's motto): snow when it's warm outside.

Magic Kingdom: Everybody loves Magic Kindgom :) It has Cinderella's Castle and most of the princesses and characters. It's divided into Adventure Land, Frontier Land, Liberty Square and Tomorrowland. It's so fun :D

I MET PETER PAN. :OOOOOO He looked exactly right, aside from the part where he was two inches shorter than me, but what can you expect from a kid who never grows up? I happened to be wearing green, and he complimented me on my color choice. *blush*

I rode Splash Mountain, which I remembered loving. I got soaked and it wasn't as great as I remembered. Drat XD Still fun though.

I went to a store that had M&Ms of every color and I got a pound bag of them. I chose dark teal, light teal, white and brown. They look very pretty :D

I saw Cinderella's Castle get lit up to look exactly like it's covered in ice. I have no idea how Disney is so amazing.

I got delicious pineapple ice cream.

I MET ALADDIN AND JASMINE. Okay, guys...like, I don't even know how to explain how amazing that was. "Aladdin" is my favorite Disney movie, and I loved Aladdin. Jasmine is my second favorite princess. I love, love, love, love, LOVE the whole shabang, so I had high expectations.

My expectations pale in comparison to the real thing.

I don't understand how Disney found two people who look exactly like Aladdin and Jasmine. I swear, they looked EXACTLY like their cartoon versions, and I'm a perfectionist. It only got better from there.

Those of you who have seen "Aladdin" know that Aladdin's voice is pretty distinctive. It's almost a little bit cracky, but not quite. It's just really unique. And the Aladdin I met had the same voice. The VERY. SAME. VOICE. Jasmine did too. She sounded just like Jasmine.

And I'm not done. Not only did these people look exactly right and SOUND exactly right, but they ACTED exactly right.

Most Disney characters, when you go up to meet them and get a picture with them, they say, "Hello, princess/prince, how are you doing today? I like your shirt/necklace/shoes/insert some random article you're wearing. Would you like to take a picture with me?" Then you take a picture and they tell you to have a magical day.

Not Aladdin and Jasmine.

*I walk up*

Jasmine: "Hello!"

Aladdin: *stares at my shirt and reads it:* "Santa's Favorite Brunette."

Me: "Yup."

Aladdin: *blinks and crosses his arms like Aladdin. He looks at Jasmine.* "What's a brunette?"

Jasmine: *raises her eyebrow at him*

Me: *raises eyebrows also* "It's brown hair!" *points to pigtail*

Aladdin: "Ohh...Right.....so, where are you from?"

Me: " >insert my state< "

Aladdin: "We've been there, I think." *looks at Jasmine* "Haven't we?"

Jasmine: "I think so...I don't know, we go so many places. We--"

Aladdin: "I think...if you flew the Magic Carpet back and forth, we've probably been as many places--"

Jasmine: "As Santa Claus."

Me: *raises eyebrows* "Really?"

Jasmine: "But we don't go to Canada."

Aladdin: "Way too cold."

Me: "I heard you don't go to Delaware either." (I'd been listening to them talk to other kids.)

Jasmine: "Oh no, we have been to Delaware--"

Aladdin: "Yeah, just not in the winter. We don't do snow."

Me: "But Canada is too cold all the time?"

Jasmine: "Yes. Always too cold."

Me: *grins and moves in for a picture*

*dad takes a picture*

My mom: "Kendra, you could do your Eliza hands!"

Jasmine: *looks at me* "What's Eliza hands?"

Aladdin: "Yeah, what's that?"

Me: "Well, I was in a play that's set in Siam, and I was one of the dancers, so I had to learn Siamese dancing." *does Eliza hands*

Aladdin: "Ohhhh--"

Jasmine: "Oh, that's kind of like when I hold my scarf."

Me: "Yeah!"

Jasmine: "Here, you do your Eliza hands and I'll do my hands like that too."

Aladdin: "And I'll....well, I'm just gonna stand. Like this." *crosses arms like Aladdin*

Me: *laughs* "Awesome."

*dad takes another picture*

It was...amazing. I know I didn't capture it here, but it was truly...well, magical. It really was. They were so exactly like their real characters that I left them with my head spinning and my heart flying. Some tiny part of me wondered if they might really be the REAL Aladdin and Jasmine. They way they talked, the way they acted, the way they moved...it was all absolutely right. Take your very highest expectations, create in your mind an Aladdin and Jasmine that you think couldn't possibly be out there, and the ones I met were even better than that.

Seriously.

I saw Mickey's Philhar Magic, which will always be amazing no matter how many times I see it. It's the most elaborate 3D show ever, complete with other effects like scents and water splashes and breezes.

I rode It's A Small World, which is annoying, but still somehow really cool.

I walked past a camel statue that spit.

I rode Space Mountain, which is awesome. It's a roller coast that's completely in the dark, except for a few lights that feel like/look like stars and a freaky night sky.

We had breakfast at the Grand Floridian hotel, where Alice in Wonderland, Tiger, Pooh and the Mad Hatter walk around and talk to you and stuff.

Epcot: Epcot is the kingdom where tons of different countries have their own sections. All the stores have items from that country, the people working in that section all have to be from that country, the buildings and food come from that country, etc. It's completely awesome.

I went to a store where you could taste soda from all over the world. Chinese watermelon soda is great btw. So is the stuff from Israel. And I almost got a shirt that says "Coke adds life to me."

I saw a Celtic rock band called Off-Kilter perform, and they were great.

I got a leather bracelet with studs and had it engraved with "Ember" at Epcot in the Canada section. Sorry, I know this post is long, but there's a story with this, too. I was in line to get the bracelet engraved, and in front of me where all this girls. Now, I don't mean to judge, but right away I pegged them as prissy airheads. *puts hands up* Sorry, but I did.

And I turned out to be completely right. Especially about one chick who spent the entire wait time with her head in her hands and her elbows resting on the engraving counter. Why? Because of the admittedly attractive boy running the operation. It only got better when he opened his mouth, because he was FRENCH. I never liked the French much, but I must say I do like their accents.

Anyway.

List of Questions Said Bubble-Head Girl Asked Said Attractive Boy:

1. "Are you French?" (Not a terrible question, because he did sound French, but seeing how we're in the CANADA section...)

2. "Do you live here in Disney World?" (-_- Really? Yeah, he and all the Disney workers just chug on into the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse and spend every night...)

And finally, my personal, gag-me-with-a-spoon, she-did-not-just-ask-that, let-me-turn-so-you-won't-see-me-rolling-my-eyes favorite...

3. "Do you meet lotsa pretty girls working here at Disney?" *bats eyelashes, leans forward on counter*

The poor French-Canadian boy didn't know what to do XD It was funny because I didn't know girls were actually that...THAT. I thought movies only caricatured them. But nope. Some girls are really that...just, that.

So I got up there to have my bracelet engraved after the Bubble Brains were gone. The guy, whose name was Felix, btw, asked me to write what I wanted on the bracelet on this little chart. So I did.

He started programming the engraving machine, and said (don't forget the French accent),

"Ember...Zis iz your name?"

Me: "Well...actually no. It's sort of a nickname."

Felix: "Oh."

Me: "My name is Kendra."

Felix: *laughs and looks at me* "Iz not even close!"

Me: *lols* "No...I'm actually a writer, and Ember is a character of mine."

Felix: "Ah."

*he works on the bracelet for a few seconds*

"What iz it zat you write?"

Me: "Well, mostly fantasy...One of my stories is set in a Celtic/Scottish setting, so this bracelet was sort of perfect for 'Ember.'"

Felix: "Ah." *finishes bracelet* "Well, good luck to you. Have a magical day!"

Me: "Thanks, you too."

My dad as we walked away: "He talked to you a lot. And you didn't even have to ask if he saw lots of pretty girls."

Lols XD

I finally met Belle!

I saw fireworks like you've never seen before. They were so loud and so HUGE and so MANY and FAST and BEAUTIFUL and all synced up with music and other lights...You can't explain something like that. It was so incredible...My mouth was open for the entire thing, and I am NOTTTTTTT easily impressed, y'all. I'm really not.

In the Italy section, we ate genuine Italian food and had a genuine Italian waitress, who was so cool.

In Morocco, there was a belly dancer. (Don't freak out, it was perfectly kid-friendly; she had plenty of clothes on.)

Animal Kingdom: Animal Kingdom is what it sounds like. It's actually one of my favorite kingdoms. It has safaris and all kinds of animal-related stuff.

I saw tons of African animals a few feet away in an open-windowed safari van.

I saw this guy who walked around with a guitar and made up songs about people he saw. He was incredible! He'd ask a kid what his name was, and create a whole song about him as he sang! He never stuttered or paused and all his lyrics rhymed. It was very cool.

I saw the Festival of the Lion King, which is great.

Our Disney Dining Plan got us 1 Sit Down Meal, 1 Quick Service Meal, and 1 Snack every day. The meals all include entrees and sides and desserts. Good grief; I've never eaten as much as I did this past week in my whole life.

Basically, this vacation was incredible. It's impossible to be too old for Disney. No one ever grows up THAT much, and if they do, they need to have that fixed as soon as possible! I love Disney World, and I can't wait to go back :)

~Kendra

P.S. I dunno if you've made it this far, but if you have and you're still reading (XD), I'd like to announce that I think I'd like a new Christmas header this year. I still love the beautiful one Bethany made me last year, but I switched backgrounds and I don't know that it fits as well. If you'd like to help me out, that'd be great. I'm no good at that stuff XD

P.P.S. My Christmas Countdown will start tomorrow! I'm so excited!!!!

GUESS WHERE I'M GOING?

I'm doing something great tomorrow. And the next day, and the next day, and the next day until Thursday. You may already know what it is (and I honestly can't remember if I've mentioned it before), but I'm going to give hints. Ready?

Happiness.

Got it? No? -_- Okay.

JOY. And WONDER.

Yet? No?

Here's a big one: four parks.

...not yet?

Fun, excitement, memories, characters.

Anything? UGH!

WISHES AND MAGIC AND DREAMS COMING TRUE. DO YOU HAVE IT NOW? :DDDDDDDDD

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disney World might possibly be my favorite place in the whole wide world aside from...um...nah, it's my favorite place. Wishes, dreams come true, magic, wonder, rides, excitement, fun, memories, characters, PETER FREAKING PAN, rides, food, shows, ALADDIN AND JASMINE, songs and parades and stories and being a kid again and imagination and castles and pirates and shops and BELLE and happiness and happy workers and little kids and Splash Mountain and mermaids and lions and kings and kings that are lions and staying in a Disney resort for the first time and swimming in Disney pools with fake ziggurats and wild animals.

Disney World. Possibly the happiest, most fun, memorable, adorable, creative, perfect place in the world.

Me, tomorrow, Disney.

I am one happy camper.

OMG :D

~Kendra

So, Kirsten's Over...

I'm here with my friend Kirsten. She is cohosting my 500 Anniversary Celebration! :D

30 Random Things Kirsten and I Thought of For This List:
331. This week is "Change Your Picture to a Cartoon Character" on Facebook. We highly recommend DOING IT.
332. "Not you, WESLEY, you're a RRRRABBIT for heaven's sake."
333. "A GGGGGREAT ANIMAL."
334. We played dress up today.
335. We took exams today.
336. Kirsten failed an exam. (NOTE FROM STEPHANIE: She BARELY failed. Two points, and it was a freaking hard test, and she knew a ton of it when we looked at it after the fact.)
337. She likes animals.
338. She's allergic to aspirin and sulfa.
339. She's obsessed with my purple hippo named Happy.
340. We did crazy makeup today.
341. Facebook chat is annoying.
342. I love red peppers, Kirsten thinks they're gross.
343. And blecky.
344. We like the song "G6." Like, a lot.
345. Also, "Low." And we can dance to it.
346. I had ramen today.
347. Raw AND regular.
348. We watched "The Devil Wears Prada" for the first time, and it was good.
349. Kirsten, as you know, works at Subway.
350. She just now freaked out that I had told you guys that. She called me a stalker. I am deeply wounded and offended at such vicious name-calling.
351. Kirsten: "The truth hurts."
352. This list is rambling.
353. I had it all planned out that I would end this list thing on Thursday, Thanksgiving, but I feel like I may have misjudged that a little...seeing how it's like three days away and I'm still 150 to go...
354. I'm wearing my sock monkey footies.
355. We're going to go watch "The Swan Princess" til our eyes fall out in a minute.
356. We're going to a lunch tomorrow for a grade we're not in to have food we don't like (chili). It'll be great :D
357. I'm going to Disney on Saturday.
358. I hope I'll get a ton of school done before then, because we have a ton of assignments to do, and I want to actually have a break...
359. We want to go see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" at midnight >:D
360. My cartoon character is Belle; Kirsten's is RUFUSSSSSS.

~Kendra

Ballet and Babies

I am not usually a superstitious person. I am a self-proclaimed realist with OCCASIONAL tendencies towards being a hopeless romantic. But I am not usually superstitious.

Tonight was dance class :D I love dance, and I love my teacher. She's so sarcastic, and hilarious. She's 28. We learn a lot of strange, random things from her. She tells us about having kids and the things to look for in a house and celebrity crushes and she gives us advice on boys.

So today, we got started talking about babies. (Boys, don't panic. This is not going to be that bad XD) And apparently, there's an old wives' tale where you have someone else dangle a necklace over your wrist and wait. After a few seconds, the necklace will start to sway in a pattern that will tell you the gender of your first child. Then the necklace will stop, and if you'll have more kids, it'll keep going and tell you the rest of them.

In my head: "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."

But, all the dance teachers at the studio have tried it. There are like 12 of them. And the necklace has never been wrong. Ever. And it'll give the same person the same thing every time. So. Hm.

Well, being the easily amused and distracted bunch we are, Adrianna yanks off her necklace and we decide to test it on each one of us.

It's freaky watching the necklace at work. It just sits there, then it suddenly starts to sway. If it sways parallel to your arm (towards your wrist and then back to your body), it represents a boy. If it sways horizontally, it's a girl. If it sways in a circle, that means twins. Then it'll sway to tell you if your twins are boys, girls, one of each, yada yada yada.

It was intense. All of us holding our breath, watching the necklace tell each girl what she was going to have. My friend Susanna was so into it. (But then again, Susanna gets really into everything XD) She almost cried when she "saw" her kids.

All the girls went. I was the only one left. (Dramatic, right?) I was slightly torn, because I've always said I wanted to be surprised, but I figured what the heck. I held out my wrist.

As some of y'all might know, I'm very adamant about having a boy first. I've always mourned the fact that I don't have an older brother, so it's really important to me that none of my kids have that issue. Preferably, I want boy, girl, boy, girl. Like really bad.

I watch the necklace dangling over my wrist. It just sat there.

That was awful. No kids?? At all?? D:

But then it started swaying. My heart started pounding. What was it? What would it be?

A BOY!! It was a boy! Everyone cheered for me XD They know how much I want that.

The necklace stopped, then started again. It was a girl! How amazing was that? I was thrilled. Then...

Another boy.

Freaking wow.

After that, it was done. Apparently I'm only having three children (boy, girl, boy). But WOW, three out of four is NOT BAD AT ALL. XD

Normally I'd just roll my eyes at this crap, but...if it's never been wrong...and it's consistent...hmmm? ;)

Note: Here's the killer though. It's the male that determines the sex of your baby. So...technically, your babies' gender is NO WHERE inside you, girls. But hey. It's worth a shot, right? XD
~~~~~~~~~~
My Favorite Books
181. The Mortal Instruments trilogy
182. The Farsala trilogy
183. The Inheritance cycle
184. The Uglies series
185. The Da Vinci Code
186. Inkheart
187. A Morbid Taste for Bones
188. The Maximum Ride books
189. Sophie’s World
190. The Princess Bride

Things that Scare Me
191. Rock climbing
192. Being alone in dark, sketchy parts of town
193. Heights
194. Losing people
195. Being out of control
196. Drowning
197. Arachnids (spiders and scorpions >.<) 198. Being unprepared 199. Crazy people (like, actually mental XD) 200. GOING crazy Things About Clothes
201. I hate pointy-toed shoes.
202. Skinny jeans only work on girls.
203. There’s a line between “mini-skirt” and “is that a belt?”
204. Dresses don’t have to be girly.
205. I’ve worn white shoes after Labor Day.
206. High-water pants are hideous.
207. Make sure your shirts aren’t see-through.
208. White socks with black/brown shoes will never be okay.
209. Hot pink and red are supposed to be okay together these days. Well, they’re not.
210. Knock-off shoes are not a bad thing. If they look the same, who cares? Now you can spend those 40 extra bucks on something else.

~Kendra

Concerning Guys and Girls...

Hellooo! Today was great! I had some crazy friends over for a sleepover last night, and today we went and worked at Cassidy's ranch as a youth project. I rode on the top of a pick-up truck back and forth on the bumpy road (which I think feels a lot like riding on an elephant would), shoveled a lot of horse manure, and got to see a guy's foot actually gush blood (not gonna lie, it kinda reminded me of the Black Knight in "Monty Python"). All in all, a very exciting day.

Now I know you're all very interested in my Dos and Don'ts for Guys, as well as the About Girls category, so without further adieu...

Don'ts for Guys:
61. Don't let your hair get too long.
62. Don't wear skinny jeans.
63. Don't be girly.
64. Don't part your hair (if you follow the first "rule," this shouldn't be a problem XD)
65. Don't let yourself or people you care about be pushed around.
66. Don't lie.
67. Don't be disrespectful.
68. Don't be so nervous!
69. Don't cuss.
70. Don't go too long without shaving.

Dos for Guys:
71. Do hold doors for girls.
72. Do give hugs.
73. Do make people laugh.
74. Do like guy stuff.
75. Do know *something* about sports.
76. Do be yourself.
77. Do try in school.
78. Do persevere.
79. Do read (at least occasionally).
80. Do be on time.

About Girls...
81. We like it when guys call/text/talk to us first.
82. We're tough. But not ALL the time.
83. It will bother us when you forget something we’ve told you, even though we know guys are pitiful.
84. Even if we know you like/love us, if you stop showing it, we’ll think you’ve stopped meaning it.
85. Tell us when we look nice, but don’t tell us that ALL THE TIME, or it loses its meaning.
86. Sometimes we tell you that you win even when you lose.
87. Sometimes we tell you that you lose even when you win.
88. We’re complicated, but it makes us feel good when you try to figure us out.
89. It’s annoying when you try to interpret our secret girl eye-conversations. If we wanted you to know, we’d say it out loud.
90. Flowers will always be cute.

~Kendra ;)

I'm Posting... :3

I'm sorry I haven't been posting! *sigh* I don't have any especially good reasons besides the old favorite:

I've just been busy.

But I really have XD I've been feeling behind ever since the trip to Great Wolf, and then Wednesday-Friday, I was out of town at a conference. It was really awesome and definitely worth it (I'll probably be posting about it at some point), but I'm back to treading water in school. Gah.

I'm especially behind in math, which sucks. At least I'm getting it though, right? Usually I just keep up with the pace, ignoring my issues. This year I'm actually slowing down to learn the concepts. So...that's good...right?

Tomorrow I have a Family Tree project due. In Spanish XD It's pretty fun, but a little complicated. I'm not sure which labels to put and how to show all the relationships. I also wanted to make the poster look like an actual tree, but there's not really room for a leafy outline and trunk at this point...

So yeah. My life has not been boring lately, I'm just telling you the boring PARTS because telling the exciting parts would take a lot more time, and I still have philosophy and Shakespeare to tackle...not to mention babysitting tonight...Although you really can't call it babysitting when Matt is now FOUR-FREAKING-TEEN and Katie's almost twelve.

That's kind of scary.

>.>

*stops ranting*

~Kendra

P.S. If you want to, check out this blog. It's...sort of hard to explain. But I like it XD Check it out: A Crossroads of Rhyme and Reason.

"The Clockwork Angel"

Hellooo everyone! I hope everyone has had a pleasant week and weekend :D

The Scavenger Hunt is officially over! Only three people won :P Congratulations to...

Third Place: Tragedy101!
Second Place: Noelle!
First Place: Elizabeth!

Yay! I should have awards for you today, but I don't have them yet. Give me until tomorrow if you would :)

By the way, you know my obsession with (the amazing, hilarious, awesome, witty, clever, sarcastic, arrogant, extremely attractive) Jace? And the trilogy he lives in called "The Mortal Instruments?"

Well.

Cassandra Clare has started a new trilogy that happens hundreds of years before "Mortal Instruments." I've been wanting book one, "The Clockwork Angel" for months. I got it yesterday at Sam's (that's like Costco)!

It.

Is.

Great.

I'm only about a third of the way done, but it's great! I'm not completely in love with the characters yet, but that's only because I'm not finished. They're great. Cassandra Clare did a great job of creating a new story and new characters. I would have been tempted to make my hero and heroine just like Jace and Clary, even if by accident. The main guy, Will, is witty like Jace, but he's completely his own character, too.

I've also laughed out loud about 10 times already. I pretty much NEVER laugh out loud at books. I mean, inside I might be rolling, and I might grin or chuckle, but Cassandra Clare always has me giggling out loud and re-reading paragraphs just because they're hilarious.

Seriously, I'd read this book for Henry alone.

And he's not even the cockycutefunnyguy of the story.

~Kendra

GO!!!!!!!

***LATEST NEWS: Clue #11 has been put up! Happy hunting!***

The Scavenger Hunt starts now!!

All you awesome Hunters get going! Put on your detective caps and find which blog comes next! The first clue issssssss...

"All silver and green, find this Elvish theme."

Now, check out these blogs and figure out which one fits this description...

A Collection of Reflections

Evening Stars

Nahla's World

Caliginosity

Summer Girl

A Selection of Varied Topics

The View Through These Eyes

With Love and Kisses

With the Setting Sun

Playing for Him

(:My World:)

Random Thoughts

Farmgirl Writes

Thoughts of A KleeWyck

Katie's Pixels

Good luck! You have til the end of the week. Special prize for the one who completes it first.

~Kendra

Amazing

Today the sun is bright and clear, the trees are green and rustling in the wind, the sky is blue and cloudless, the air is warm with a hint of fall chill. My family ate lunch on the screen porch with the breeze blowing lightly. Then we went out to the front yard. I laid in the driveway in the sun with my dog beside me. I walked in the bed of smooth rocks next door. I sat on the rocking bench with my mom and watched my sister scooter and laughed at my awesomely funny dad.

Today was pretty much amazing.

~Kendra

Finally

Y'all know I've been having kind of a rough time lately. Well, these past few days have been just what I needed :)

Sunday:
Play practice went great! My dad took me and we talked a lot in the car. I love that. I don't really talk to him like I used to, and I miss that.

After play practice, I came home and just sat in the living room with my mom and dad :) Sometimes it's nice just to be around. We watched some TV and I colored XD [Shut up. You're never too old to color.]

After dinner, my dad and I walked down to the lake to feed the fish. The sun was shining just right and you see the little swarms of gnats near the water. A boat motor made a loud sound and all the gnats JUMPED! It was the funniest thing! My dad wondered if you could make them jump with your voice. He said "JUMP" in a low voice and...

They did! It was really weird, and equally hilarious.

We went back to the house and Daddy watered the grass while I kicked the soccer ball and played basketball. When he was done, he played with me. I got six shots in a row, which was good for that night. I was missing like 80% of all the shots I took XD

I picked daisies for my mom.

It was a great day.

Monday:
Memorial Day!
"I'm proud to be an American, Where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, Who gave that right to me."

We can't forget :)

To celebrate Memorial Day, we went down to the lake! My friend Brianna and her little brother Michael came over, and we went down to the beach. Before long, lots of other people had joined us. A few hours into swimming and having fun, a thunderstorm came up! We got a canopy up just in time.

I love thunderstorms. And this one was cool. Not the most amazing one ever, but it had a giant crack of thunder that made me grin.

Some of the kids, including Matt, were actually in the water when lightning struck nearby. Matt said he felt like someone had kicked him in the chest. I wasn't in the water when it happened. I was jealous XD

The whole day was just amazing. Hanging out with friends, doing random things, I even got to DRIVE MY DAD'S CAR. In the neighborhood, but still, with just me and Brianna in the car. Please don't have me arrested.

Tuesday:
I slept late and just kind of chilled around the house. My mom and Lizzy are at a practicum, so it's just me and Daddy at home. We went to this new frozen custard place, which was awesome. Then we went to Wal-Mart to get stuff on a massive list I had just made XD I also got CHEAP CLOTHES! Who doesn't love cheap clothes? I got a skirt and a shirt for a grand total of $9.70. Alriight XD

We ate at Subway.

Play practice went amazing. I'm learning the dances better than I thought.

Daddy and I watched episodes of The Office :) I love that show.

Today:
Another sleeping in day. It felt great.

I laid outside in the sun for a while. It felt soo nice out. I'm not really one of those girls who can just "go out and tan". I get really bored really fast XD But I'm pale. So, I took notebooks, books, and my iPod and managed to stay quite happy for about an hour. Then I got up and played basketball until I satisfied myself with a beautiful three-pointer.

After dinner tonight, a thunderstorm blew up. It was so beautiful. Daddy and I went out on the screened-in porch and watched the bright lightning and listened to the thunder. I love those peals where you can hear where the crack starts, and then follow it as it rips around the sky :)
Daddy had to go to band practice for our church, but I stayed outside and listened to the storm. God is so cool, you know? I think thunderstorms are one of his finest ideas :) It even inspired me to write a little. A beginning of a story that will never go anywhere, but hey, I like it.

So basically, I've been having an amazing past few days. It's finally starting to seem like the best summer ever.

~Kendra

Little Things

Today has been one of those "little things" days. You know, those days when nothing exciting happens, but you smiled enough to call it a good day.

Last night (which was really today), I fell asleep listening to music.
I slept until almost 11:30 this morning :)
I remembered my dreams enough to write them down.
I had delicious pasta for lunch.
I laid on the beach in the sun and listened to music and read for two hours :) :)
My dog surprised me with a visit to the beach too.
I wore no sunscreen and didn't burn at all.
My summer freckles are coming out. (I never understood why girls in books complain about freckles so much. Maybe I ought to hate my freckles too, but I don't. I've always liked them:))
I drank orange juice with ice in it. I love that.
I had yummy hot dogs and seasoned fries for dinner.
I ate two cupcakes :D
I acted out a Bible story with my scattered collection of animal bands.
I sat out on the screened-in porch and journaled.
I talked to Cavender for a tiny bit, which was an awesome surprise. (He's grounded.)
I watched the end of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

What a great day :) Sometimes the little things make all the difference, we just have to be careful not to miss them.

Carpe diem :)

~Kendra

Things to Watch

Wow! Today has been extremely full!

Work went well. Today it was just from 9-12, and was strangely exhausting. It didn't seem like I did much, but it was kind of draining. However, I didn't mess anything up, I understood everything, and I actually think I helped a lot. Yay!

David and Daniel and their family were at our house when I got home. We all went down to the lake and played around on this inflatable giganticness we recently bought. I slid down the slide (with some help. Thanks, David -_- :P). Then I decided to be a party pooper and lay around in the sun for a while XD Later we went exploring in the woods and went to our "secret" spot. We had a lot of fun :)

Then, we all went to this little pizza place before going next door to this coffee shop. Some kids that I know are in a band and they were playing.

They're good.

Personally I was like :O The lead vocalist and lead guitarist, Forest, has a great voice and he is an extremely talented musician. Their music had a cool sound. Edgy but calm, and they wrote several really good songs. I was enjoying it and it was really relaxing.

Then Forest screamed.

:O :DDDDDDDDDDDDD WOOOT! >insert shock and wow< THAT was awesome. It was even more awesome than their faces when I was like "WHOA, that one was my FAVORITE do it AGAIN!"

So yeah. Today was really great, but really tiring. And I hafta get up at 7 again tomorrow :( And work 9-4. Seven hours. *moansighsob* I like it, but I'm tired. And that's a long time. And tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful and I wanna swim in the lakeee XD Oh well. I'm making money. So...yay.

After all that ranting do you still want my summer list #5? Well, read it or not, here it comes XD

Things to Watch
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Slendie vids on Youtube (only Cavender will know what the heck I'm talking about)
3. The Blair Witch Project
4. Paranormal Activity
5. Braveheart
6. The Wind and the Lions
7. Alice in Wonderland
8. Men in Black
9. The Transformers movies
10. Push

~Kendra

The Weekend

I BROKE A RECORD!

Cavender and I got to see each other two days in a row XD Never happened before. WooT!

Yesterday/last night was a Casting Crowns concert that my church went to, and Cavender came with us. Everyone met at a BBQ place beforehand, which was interesting XD

For the record, I like BBQ. But my sandwich was nasty. Every other bite had something hard or chewy or crunchy or gummy that I couldn't identify. So that grossed me out XD I'm not really a fan of food to begin with, so most of my sandwich went unconsumed.

So did Cavender's. Why?

Matt (little brother) -_-

Cavender does not like spicy food. Like, at all. (I love it, so hah XD) So Matt, being the Irritating-Yet-Completely-Lovable kid he is, decided to pour Texas Pete on Cavender's coleslaw. It just went downhill from there until I confiscated the hot sauce. Even Matt does not ignore The Look when I give it to him.

By the way, Cavender got revenge. Matt's sandwich ended up with copious amounts of Texas Pete...

The concert was good. Tenth Avenue North was there, too, which I didn't expect. I really like them. Casting Crowns is good and everything, but they're not really one of my favorite bands. I like hearing Mark Hall talk as much as I like their music. Their concerts aren't really FUN like tobyMac's are.

Yesterday was apparently Food Fight Day in my circle of friends. Matt sat almost right behind me at the concert, which I knew was bad news -_- I did not however expect him to shoot frozen lemonade at me through his straw. What a middle schooler XD

Cavender: "Hey, see if you can get it in her ear."

He did -_- XD Some of Cavender's nacho cheese also somehow found its way to my cheek...I could have put in on his Metallica shirt, but I didn't feel like starting World War III--with cheese anyway >:)

Today was also good. Church was good, and Cavender came home with us.

Have you ever seen these?

Kyle hadn't, so don't feel bad if you too have been so brutally sheltered and out of the loop ;P

Well. Allow me to share something with you:

They are waaaay more fun than they seem.

Call me easily amused (which I admit, I am XD), but they are freaking awesome. Cassidy and Katie (little sister) gave me some! I gave some away though, 'cause I'm nice like that XD Right now I only have a blue dog, a green turtle, a yellow sun and a purple rocket ship. Cavender has my cloud and my star.

But anyway, they are awesome. They're apparently extremely cheap, and if you're easily amused and imaginative like Cavender and me, you can enjoy yourself for long periods of time with them. I love how we think the same way. It's just really great.

Youth group was good. Dinner was good. This evening is good.

This weekend was great.

~Kendra

Summer Lists

It's here. It's here. It's finally here! I've been waiting for this for nine months!

SUMMER.

No school. No tests. No exams. No papers. No projects. No timelines. No modules. No notes. No rough drafts. No final drafts. No vocabulary. No lab write-ups. No flashcards. No stress! My life is complete XD

Well, almost. I just need a mode of transportation and the rest of the world to get out of school XD And texting would be nice...But for now, I'm in paradise :D

But just because I don't have school doesn't mean I can't be productive. I just get to be productive in the areas that interest me now! How? I got one word for you:

Lists.

I love lists. I make lists things to do. I make lists of things to pack. I make lists of things to remember. I make lists of things to wear. I make lists of things I hate. I make lists of things I love. I make lists of lists.

Okay, I'm not quite THAT bad.

But I get organized through lists. It's how I think. So when I want to make sure to accomplish some awesome things over the summer, where do I turn?

Kendra's List of Summer Lists
1. Books to Read
2. Movies to Watch
3. Places to Go
4. Things to Learn
5. Things to Start
6. Things to Stop
7. Things to Try

Lists are tangible reminders of what you want to accomplish. Sometimes just putting something in writing can give you some motivation. What do you want to do this summer? Make a list :D

I'll post my own summer lists later, starting on Sunday, my first full week of awesome.

~Kendra

Prom and Pictures

For me, prom was one of those rare nights that I don't know how to post about. Usually words are my little minions, but sometimes they just fail me XD

My awesome friends Meredith, Stacey and Jessica came over at 4pm to help me get ready, seeing as how I'm a little challenged in this area...Lacking in self-confidence if nothing else XD Mer curled my hair, Jessica did my nails, and Stacey hung out and was her wonderful self :D Despite getting a late start on preparations, we were ready only about five minutes after Cavender showed up.

*Daddy and Lizzy take pictures and stuff*
*Daddy takes Sa--Cavender and me to Olive Garden to meet friends (Emma, and Tori and Tim)*
*apparently Olive Garden wouldn't take reservations*
*we find out the wait is 40 minutes long*
*we end up at Macaroni Grill XD*

Dinner was good, both funness and foodness wise XD We didn't get to the prom until 8:15, which was really fine considering there wasn't anything to miss.

Those of you who know me know that it takes me a ridiculously long time to warm up to situations. I usually end up getting loose about the time something ends -_- That was almost the case at prom. I'm honestly not an extremely awkward person. I feel incredibly awkward a lot, but I can usually hide most of it. It usually comes out as arrogance or irritability.

I knew more people at prom than I thought I would, but Cavender actually knew more. Go figure, "my" prom and he knew a ton of people XD I mostly hung out with Emma at the beginning. She's awesome XD We got into dancing towards the end. I have a confession to make:

I am decidedly very white XD

The prom just got better the longer we were there. I ended up having a freaking epic blast. We also learned "hardcore dancing" which was lols. And fun. Even though I'm pretty sure I didn't do it right XD Cavender and I also did a teensie bit of non-legit slow dancing, at which I failed even though there was nothing even to fail at.

(Cavender: "You put your hand on my shoulder."
Me: "What? I know. It is on your shoulder."
Cavender: "No, like--"
Me: *changes hand position*
Cavender: "No. Here--"
Me: *changes hand position again*
Cavender: "No. HERE."
Me: *changes again*
Cavender: "Your arm needs to be on top of--*fixes hand/arm position* There."
Me: "Oh. Heh...sorry..."

>.< Nothing like wounded pride to bring you back down to earth, right? XD)

Long story short, prom was one of those nights I wish would never end. I honestly had no intention of staying the whole time, but we did. It was like my mom said to me and Daddy the other day,

"I don't know that you really want to go to prom. I think you just want to buy a dress and do your hair and makeup and take pictures and have Cavender and then change into shorts and y'all watch Alias all night."

Me: "...maaaaaaybe...>.>"

So yeah. I had fun. So much fun. Cavender FTW :)

Wait, what's that? You want to see pictures? XD Okay. Here they are. Captions on the bottom.
The AMAZING :D:D:D Crew, left to right: Mer, (me), Stacey, Jessica.
Hair...Hair and nails...Nails...The name of the polish? Gun metal >:D I would."You're gonna paint my toenails? You really want to? Okay..."Hairspray...All done :DWooT! The dress!Shoes...
Me.
Me and Cavender.
Tori and Tim.
Me and Emma putting our shoes back on XD
Emma and me in the masks :)
Me, Cavender, Emma, Tim, Tori.

:) Hope y'all had a zillionth as much fun reading this as I had last night :)

~Kendra

Audition Results

Well, the cast list for "The King and I" has been posted. I really wanted to play Eliza, the main character in the ballet portion. Of course, this is only my second play, there were several good dancers and the audition instructor had me doing the part of the Angel the whole time, so I knew what to expect when the list was published.

Which is why it shocked me so much when I got Eliza.

I was so shocked when I saw my name next to Eliza. I gasped, jumped out of the chair and covered my mouth XD A pretty cliche reaction, but the truth all the same. Lizzy asked me what was wrong and I told her I was Eliza. She was thrilled for me. I then ran upstairs to share the news with my parents.

I'll be honest, I know I can dance. I'm not pulling false modesty there, I'm a pretty good dancer. But I just knew that someone else would be better, and better suited to the part. I was hoping for Eliza, but not really expecting her.

I just can't believe it. I'm so excited.

If you want to see what I'll be doing, here is the ballet on Youtube.

Part I
Part II

Thank you so, so, SO much for all your prayers! I know they helped!

~Kendra

The Earth Shakes

Today was :D

I hung out with Cavender all day at church, my house, then Ellie's house. Then my house a little bit more. We played Balderdash with just us and my dad, and watched a little bit of the movie "Major Payne", which is awesome.

My friend's party was pretty fun, too!

I also ditched my mood ring today.

*pauses while you scream, gasp, and recollect yourself*

Yeah, I got something better now :)

So, today was great. Really great.

~Kendra

Beach Pictures

More coming later.

Captions on the bottom!

The girls :) Left to right, up the back: Amanda, Ellie, Kirsten, me, Cassidy. And in the middle, Bri.

YMCA :D (I'm C, btw.)

Cassidy, me, Ellie, Bri, Amanda, Kirsten.

Wheee!

Amanda and me in the knee-deep tide pool :D

Happiness :D

Mrs. Martha pushed me off! :O XD

>:D LET'S JUMP!

WHAAAA! XD

Charades: "How. In the HECK. Am I supposed to act that out???"

Charades fail XD

Climbing "Kendra's Cliff."

...I really don't know.

Cinderbelle.

Always and forever, FOOTIE PAJAMAS.

~Kendra

Beach

I can't believe I haven't mentioned it much before. But, guess what?

I'm going to the beach with some people for my Sweet 16 :D We're leaving today and coming back Saturday. I might have internet, but even if I do, I probably won't post XD I'll be busy having lots of fun. I'll let you know how it was when I get back, but for now, goodbye!

If you wouldn't mind saying a prayer for safety and for us not to be too swamped in schoolwork while we're there, that would be great, lol :) Thanks, y'all!

~Kendra

P.S. I may have Kyle update if something REALLY MONUMENTAL happens. Like if we crash into the ocean or something. That'd be pretty monumental. Or if I decide to move to the beach. Or if we discover cold fusion by accident. Something like that. Or maybe just if we're having a really epic time. We shall see.

kBai.

~Me again