Slidey Slide? - Part 2 of the "Adventures With The Graham Crackers"

We're sitting in the Graham Crackers trailer. The sun has finally come out after the 2 hours of rain. I'm playing with Pops, Mom and Mrs. Graham Cracker are talking about kids or something, my dad's laughing at something Mr. Graham Cracker said. All the kids are outside, except for me and the babies. Sam's taking a nap.


Sis walks in and asks to put on her bathing suit.
"What? No" Mrs. Graham Cracker says to her daughter. Then asks, "Whhyyy?"

"Because the guys are playing Slidey Slide, and and I don't want to get my clothes wet."
"Slidey Slide?"
"Yeah. And I don't want to get my clothes all wet and muddy like theirs"

Silence.

"This sounds like a picture moment, Kait" Mrs. Graham Cracker says to me.


I agree. I grabbed my camera off the Graham Crackers counter, and follow her out the trailer door, wondering what nonsense my brothers and their friends were up to now.

We go down the small hill to where the lake meets their back yard and look down the lake's shore. This is what we see.







Yeah. Wow. Apparently Slidey Slide translated is: Slide down this nasty slimy mud hill into the fish-poop-filled, littered lake. I wonder how much they accidentally drank? Ick.

When we got there they were just in the mud, getting their feet wet a little as the slid down. Then things got really messy. It's funny; you'd think they'd do the worse while the parents weren't looking, but with them it was just the opposite! They didn't start actually getting into the water until after we showed up.

/

They were a mess.

Bud came around and saw what was going on. He very carefully slid down down the hill, put his foot in the water and tip-toed out. At least he tried to.

Beebo tackled him full-force, though you can't tell from the pictures.

They were all having a great time. It was funny to watch them tackle each other. :)

Mother got some video of them, I think. I should find out. Maybe I'll put it in the video!

In the end we had to hose them off. Pops was peeking out the window saying hi.

And Guys found this frog, who was named Murdock.

It was an awesome day.

We're A Homeschool Family...

Here's us, well not really. But when I saw this video by Tom Hawkins, I couldn't help putting it on here. You'll probably see more of him on here, too. He's a hilarious Christian comedian.

Anyway, this reminded me so much of our family, there are 9 of us.

Enjoy!

100 Things About Me

Ok, I'm going to write 100 weird, interesting, and perhaps quirky things about me. My friend Taylor could barely get out 25...perhaps I'm just a little weirder then he is.

1. I have 6 brothers.
2. I'm the oldest child in my family.
3. I'm the only girl.
4. I have my own dog.
5. I think that ranch in mashed potatoes is good.
6. Batman is totally sweet-awesome.
7. I play piano.
8. I'm not a huge fan of video games...unless of course I'm playing them.
9. I love animals.
10. I can't decide who my best friend is, so I have 2.
11. I'm very talkative. Don't believe me? Ask my friends.
12. I love going to church.
13. I think that the pastor of the church we are going to now is the best preacher I've ever heard.
14. I can't wait to get married.
15. I want to live in Florida forever.
16. I really want a Orange Mini Cooper.
17. I've always wanted blue eyes.
18. I love my hair.
19. I've wanted a rat since January 31, 2009
20. I used to wear glasses.
21. I'm 14, and starting high school in about a week.
22. After taking a test, I found that I am only 22% girly.
23. My dad is in flight school right now.
24. Horses are cool.
25. I have a Electric Guitar.
26. I just beat Taylor's record...with ease. :)
27. I love taking pictures.
28. Black and White pictures are my favorite.
29. My middle name is Elizabeth.
30. My favorite number is 7.
31. I love chocolate.
32. I belong in the south.
33. I don't like snow.
34. I've never broken any part of my body.
35. Never had stitches.
36. I've never been to the hospital for more then a check up.
37. I'm going to get braces in a couple of weeks.
38. My nickname is "the kid"
39. I love the color orange.
40. I plan on having lots of pets.
41. Converse rock.
42. My favorite meal is Beef Stroganoff.
43. I love listening to music.
44. I am VERY hesitant about spending money.
45. I babysit a lot.
46. World War 2 is my favorite thing to learn about.
47. I love to read...a lot...and I'm fast...really.
48. I'm learning Sign Language at the moment.
49. I really want a Wired-haired Visla.
50. Jesus is my Hero.
51. My favorite band is Casting Crowns.
52. My favorite song is "Every Man"
53. I don't like the beach, yet I love Florida.
54. The Dark Knight is by far my favorite movie.
55. The greatest romance story I've ever seen in a movie was "The Village"
56. I think it would be cool to live like the Amish,
57. I live to swing on a swing set for some reason.
58. It would be cool if I had freckles.
59. I have brown eyes.
60. I wouldn't choose to marry someone who's in the Navy, Marines, Air Force, or Army, yet of course I would if I was in love.
61. I'm starting to run out of ideas.
62. I think that the most romantic setting is at a lake.
63. I am very strict about the fact that I will be courted.
64. I don't like moving.
65. I love to shop at Christian Books.com.
66. Janette Oke is my favorite author.
67. My favorite animal is the Arctic Fox.
68. I only like hot dogs when they have ketchup smothered all over them.
69. I want to be a Stay at Home Mom when I am older.
70. I have my own Laptop.
71. I love learning things about people.
72. I love dogs.
73. It would be fun to have a bird.
74. I love the smell of rain.
75. I hate laundry, but somebodys got to do it. That's why God gave us siblings.
76. Though being told that a sibling is only your younger brothers or sister, I just looked it up and the person who told me this has been proven wrong...for the first time.
77. My favorite candle scent is Birthday Cake sent. Yes, it's a real scent.
78. I collect spoons.
79. Hay smells good.
80. I can't wait to fall in love.
81. I had memorized the book "Are you my mother" by the time I turned 3.
82. I was born on January 28, 1995
83. I like to watch movies.
84. I am SO ready to be done with this.
85. I can't wait for summer.
86. Winter is like a hollow pile of Bologna...what ever that means.
87. Macaroni and Cheese is "da bomb" as some would say.
88. I love to get e-mails.
89. I wish I had a horse.
90. One of my closest friends is a smart alick and wears glasses...
91. And the other one is scary tall and left handed.
92. I only listen to Christian music.
93. I LOVE PAINTBALLING!!!!
94. I have 2 green Anole Lizards that I caught myself...in my backyard!
95. I could look at the stars forever.
96. I hate weeding.
97. I have a 4 week old brother.
98. I've been to Waffle House in Pj's.
99. I love cooking.
100. My favorite thing to do is have fun.

Well, there's a hundred!!!! I encourage you to write 100 things about you!! If you do, please leave me the link so I can see!!

Ask The Writer If You Want The Answers

Hi! I have a grand-father who is a writer. He has written 3 books, Smilidon,Before Ann After, and Into The Mist, and is working on another now. I decided to ask him a couple of questions about his job as a writer, I thought I would share them with you. If you have any questions you have to ask him, please let me know and I'll ask him.


1. What usually inspires you to write a book?
Are you asking what inspires me to write, or what inspires me to write a particular book? I'll go with the first. I write for the same reason a painter paints or a dancer dances . . . because I can and I feel good about myself when I do it well. I like the feeling of finishing a story and knowing that someone will get enjoyment out of reading it. I like the craft of putting words together that elicit an emotion for the reader, whether it be anger, laughter, sadness, reflection . . . whatever. What inspires me is the creativity of the art of writing. We, humans, need to be creative. Writing is my way of filling that need.

3. How long does it usually take you to write a book?
That is a hard one because every story is different. On average, if I stick to my schedule, about 9 months for a medium length novel. The one I'm working on now I've been into for well over a year, and I'm only halfway into it. I've had a lot of interruptions, and it is a complex plot requiring lots of research.

4. How many times did you have to scratch things out?
Scratching things out is called "editing", and it is continuous. In the process of answering these questions to you I've already scratched (edited) a dozen or more times. If you don't edit your work, you're probably not writing well. When I finished Smilodon, my story about the sabertooth cat, I gave it to Nana(my grandmother) to read. She is my first reader and she has a crazy red pen to point out mistakes in grammar as well as her opinions on my plotting. I then start at the beginning and edit the entire story, continuously scratching things out and rewriting. When done I send it on to my second trusted reader (a friend) who does the same thing that Nana did. Then I edit again. I will go though three or four rounds of this before deciding it is ready for publishing. Scratching out is a very necessary part of the process.

5. Do you ever start a book, and then stop and start a new one with a totally different subject?
Yes. I was 50,000 words into Before Anne After when I stopped to work on Angels in the Mist. After I finished Angels in the Mist, I went back and continued on Before Anne After.
Have you ever asked other authors for suggestions?
When I lived in Helena, Montana I started a fiction writers' critique group. This group was made up of aspiring novel writers who would read each other's work and then get together twice a month to discuss. I've attended writers' workshops and conferences to learn from successful writers about the craft of writing and publishing. Writers continuously learn from each other. Now I follow a dozen blogs on the art of writing and interact with those.

6. How do you develop a name for a book?
I think titling is different for every author. The novel I'm currently working on is called Annie. This is my working title. I don't know yet what the final title will be, though if an idea pops up I will make a note. Before Anne After didn't get its name until my first reader finished it. She gave me the title. In the publishing industry it isn't unusual for the publisher to change the title to something they feel is more marketable, possibly to the displeasure of the author.

7. How many hours a day would you work on a book you were writing?
When I'm on schedule I'd be writing 1-2 hours a day, Monday through Friday, and 3-4 hours each Saturday and Sunday.

8. About how many copies of a certain book did/do you sell?
A few hundred is all, but the reasons are a subject all by itself.

9. Did you write your books on paper, or on the computer?
I used to write on blank, white copier paper in a three ring notebook. Every chapter or so I'd key it into my computer, print it out and then edit that (do my scratch outs). Then I got my first laptop and started doing it all on the computer. I can't imagine writing an entire novel on paper now.



Thanks Papa!!!!

Hey

Hey guys. I just thought I'd let you know that my dad now has his own blog! Click here to read it, he's diein' for comments.

Summer fun!

We have this huge water slide that we have been playing on with some of our friends this week. It is really fun! Her is a picture of me and my bros playing on the slide.

Hey There Gustav

Hey guys. As some of you may know, Gustav just hit Louisiana. We live in Florida, so we got the outskirts of him. It wasn't much. A little rain and a windy day. Me and my brothers thought it would be funny to do a little news report. Here is what we did.

New baby!

Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you guys that my mom is going to have a baby! He/she is due Jan. 7. I hope it's a girl! We will find out within 2 weeks. I'll let you guys know as soon as I find out!

Thanks For The Advice!!!

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll use it when I get stuck again. But today I chose to take... Natalie's idea!!! Thanks Natalie!

Ok. I don't know if I've told you, but my dad is in the Navy. Right now he is going to collage to be a pilot, so we are about to move to Pensicola, FL. I hear they have great beaches, not that I'm too fond of beaches, but I might like them there. So, we've started packing, kind of. Since we're selling our house, we have to make it look neat, so we have to take down pictures, self belonging that way it looks neat. We have people who will come and pack our house for us. The Navy pays for it, so we're lucky, expeccialy since we move every 3 years or less. My dad graduates on Saturday, the only problem is that we don't have orders. We don't know what day, week, or even month that we leave. That's a problem because we haven't even sold our house yet. We asked to stay through the summer, so we might be here until July. That would be cool. Though I can't wait to go to the south where it's warm all year around, I love to stay here for a while. It's up to God!


If you could live ANYWHERE in the USA, where would you live? I would probably choose Montana, because I'd like to live on a ranch. What about you?

Challenge Anyone?

My brothers is having a LEGO contest!! Click here to check it out!

Ben's Cloud Theory

Here is the cutest video of Ben, my newly 3 year old brother. He is so funny!

Here, in Washington, it is snowing of and on. Apparently Ben thinks that when it stops snowing, the cloud dies, but when it is snowing the cloud is living again. Here it is!

Moving... Again!

Hello. Sorry I haven't posted that much. I've been really busy with our new Blog. It's been warm here lately, so we've been outside a lot too. The other day it was a whole 85 degrees! That's REALLY warm for where we are this time of year.
Well, we will be moving in as little as 4 weeks. For those of you who don't know, my dads in the Military. He's in college right now, he's going to be a pilot. We are moving to Pensacola, Florida so he can go to flight school.
We are asking to stay for the summer, hopefully we can. I'm in no hurry to leave my friends, but at the same time I can't wait to get back to south, though I very much dislike the beach. I have a strong feeling that my parents will want to go there a lot. Luckily, since we have young children, we won't rent a house on the beach. I love the warm weather and swimming, I just really don't like the sand that sticks to you when you go swimming at the beach. What about you? Do you like the beach?

Our Family Slide Show

Hey. I made a slide show of my family. I'm still working on it, so if there are any mess ups, I'm sorry. Hope you like it! Now you can see my whole family!

Samuel David

Hey. Today I thought I'd do a post about my youngest brother, Sam.

Samuel David was born on May 16th, 2007. He weighed in at 8lbs 12oz, 21in long. He is the cutest baby in the world, that's a fact. He loves to raise his eye brows in disbelief whenever he is told "NO SAM!!", which is quite often. He is the chubbiest of all the kids, and loves "real" food. Right this very minute he is trying to push every button on my keyboard, his favorite "I'm bored, let's bother Kaity" thing to do. I love Sam with all my heart, here are some pics.




New Baby Sam


Cute Sam


Little Sam


Isn't he adorable!?


'What is that?'

What Exactly is Junk?

I looked it up and this is what I found for the definition ~ anything that is regarded as worthless, meaningless, or contemptible; trash ~ cheap, worthless, unwanted, or trashy ~ to cast aside as junk; discard as no longer of use; scrap.

This "Daily Section Cleaning" for you room is a de-junking and room organizing method. Do not expect to be able to keep every little thing if you follow my methods. Learning to de-junk will also help you to not spend your money on trinkets that you will use for a couple of days, and then just throw it under the bed or in the closet. I learned that about a year or two ago and now I have a Ipod, a dog, and lots more because I save my money and little trinkets don't even tempt me anymore, well not ALL the time:) But my junk has definitely decreased. I hope my methods help you keep your room clean and help you to be a junk-less person.

To Keep A Clean Room

I posted this a long time ago, but I thought I'd post it again here. Do you go to get a pair of socks and you can’t find a match or you cannot find any that are clean or ones that don't have holes in them? You start to look around the room in a hurry because the school bus will be here any time and you only have one sock on. You find a couple under your bed that are dirty. Do you put them in the hamper or do you push them back under the bed? If you put them in the hamper you will be able to wear them next time you are looking for a pair and you won’t have to worry about your mom or dad yelling at you because they tell you to clean your room and they come down and there are a bunch of clothes under the bed. I personally like my room to be clean.

Here are some reasons why you should keep your room clean.

• You don’t have to worry about your parents getting mad because your room is messy.
• When you have guests over you don’t have to be in a rush cleaning your room a hour or two before they show up.
• You have more room to play if your room isn’t all cluttered. If your room is always clean you don’t have to worry about any of the things I listed.

There are easy ways of keeping your room clean. Here are some.

• Pick up after yourself.
• Try cleaning your room in sections. Each day of the week do a different section.
• Make your bed every morning immediately when you wake up and pick up your room.

Try this and your room will be clean in a week!

I've decided I'm going to do a "How to clean your room in a week" post. Every day of the week I will be doing a different section of your room. I hope it helps those who have a lot of stuff, just not enough room. So tune in every day this week for section of the day. I learned that it is easiest to clean it in sections. I hope it helps you to get a good start on your room cleaning that will eventually be your house.

Matthew has broken his leg!!!

Matthew, my 4 year old brother, broke his leg yesterday. We went sledding and Matthew's leg got caught in the fence opening. Here is a exclusive interview of Matthew, telling us of his tragic accident.


Kaitlyn: " Matthew, how did your leg break?"
Matthew: "We were sledding and my leg got twisted in the fence."
Kaitlyn: "What did it feel like?"
Matthew: "Like my leg was pinching"
Kaitlyn: "What did the docters do?"
Matthew: "They gave me some medicine and got me whatever kind of food I wanted."
Kaitlyn: "What does your cast feel like?
Matthew: "It feels like it's warm, and comfy.
Kaitlyn: "Does it still hurt?"
Matthew: "Only when I move it, even just a little bit"


That's all for today from Matthew. He broke his leg in two places, his fibula, and his tibia. It was so scary, he just couldn't stop screaming not to touch his leg. Luckily, it doesn't hurt that bad any more. It was a CRAZY day.

Benjamin Marc

Benjamin is very cute. If I was to describe my younger brother{age, almost three}, I would say he is rotten, cute, adorable, bad, loud, obnoxious, silly, and afraid of trains, though he loves them. Benjamin Marc was born on January 24th 2005. He weighed 8lbs 13oz and was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He has red hair and brown eyes. He is VERY cute! He looks a lot like Gabe and me. He shares a room with Matthew, but soon he will share with Sam as Matthew moves downstairs. I take a lot of pictures of Ben. He is always making faces that you just can't not take a picture of. Check it out!

Baby Ben Sleep

Ben Happy

I don't like it!

What are you talking about?

Happy Birthday Ben!

HI!

Ben Sad

My Family

I am a first born and the only girl. My parents got married in 1997 when I was 2. My mom had another baby, named Joe, a year after they were married (1998). 2 1/2 years later they had another baby named Gabe (2000). 2 1/2 years later they had another baby name Matthew (2003). When Matthew was almost a year old, we found out that we are going to have another baby named Ben (2005). Matthew was only 2 when we had Ben, while every body else was born 3 years apart. And now my mom is having ANOTHER baby. We found out on last Sunday. We think it will be born on May 5th. I hope it is a girl, I'm tired of having all those boys around, lol. My brothers, Joe and Gabe, are very close. They will play together for hours and hours a day. Matthew and Ben do the same thing. But Matthew has started to want to play with "the guys", as he calls them, more often. Mabe this new baby will fill in for Matthew as Ben's playing companion. That would work out perfectly!!

Little Brother Trouble And How To Solve It!!!

I have switch from Wordpress to Blogspot for easier use. So it looks like I wrote all of these blogs today but I wrote Shoes? on Sat.
I have four little brothers and lots of trouble. I have to pick up after them all the time until my mom came up with a solution. Every time I see them not cleaning I take somthing away and put it in this box and if they cry it goes away for good. If they continue to not clean then I keep taking toys away until they learn to clean up there room properly. Once they clean there room excellently without me having to take somthing away they can choose to take one toy out of the box. It works like a champ!!!