Pen Pals!

It's a lot of fun to have a pen pal, especially since these days all the communication is done over phone or Facebook. Even e-mail is going out of date, which to me is sad because I love emailing people. Everything is done with use of electronics, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just the way the world is evolving. But it is nice to do things differently.

I look forward every week for my letter from my pen pal, and although calling each other would be easier and faster, it seems to the both of us writing a letter is better. We write each other weekly, and we've become closer in friendship than we would have ever done any other way. I met my pen pal at summer camp last year, and other than my best friend who went with me to camp, my relationship with Sophie has progressed and grown stronger than anyone else I've kept in contact with. Using Facebook, emails, phones or anything else. It's not lot of work, I look forward to receiving letters, and I overall just enjoy it. Sophie (my pen pal) and I both agree that it relieves more stress writing your problems down, and sending them to someone, knowing that the other person won't care what you write, than anything else.

And what I think is really cool, is that Sophie lives in the same city my grandmother does, so if I ever go to visit her, I can see Sophie too. I think I tell Sophie more than I tell anyone else. The last letter I wrote her was seven and a half pages long. And all it was about, was recent happenings in my life over the last week. I've told her things, and she's told me things that I know we could never share with anyone else, ever in a life time. Important things, confidential things, even stupid things, that I don't even tell my best friend. A relationship like that is hard to build, and I'm glad I have a pen pal.

ISIC First Month Update

This month a lot happened. It was just a busy month in general. I started actually working at ISIC (I Scream Ice Cream.) At first I was really nervous, and it took a while to get used to the hang of things, but it's not such a hard job at all. I serve people ice cream and I clean after little kids and their messes. The first day I kept leaving the scoop in the ice cream container, and messing up the cash register, but as time progressed I have gotten better. I can do the cash register easily, and have even mastered two layered ice cream cones, and the bowls are easy. At first I'd put too much ice cream in a cup, not leaving enough room for toppings or anything else, now Bill (my boss) says I do it perfectly. I learned to make coffee last week, and this week hot dogs. I'm hoping one day to master making a malt, but from what I've heard it takes a lot of practice to perfect. And since ISIC is one of the coolest places in Albuquerque to go, a lot of people go there. Meaning that chances are that I'll meet someone I already know. Today I met a family who used to go to pre-school with my brothers, and another family who goes to my brothers' school now. I also met one of my mom's friends of whom we haven't seen in such a long time, which is good. Now we're back in contact.

Today was my third day, and I think I've finally got the hang of things. Between serving ice cream, hot dogs and cones, coffees and sodas, and the cash register I've got the counter covered. And between mopping up ice cream from the floors and tables, and re-arranging and organizing the toys multiple times, I've got the front area covered too. I think the only problem today was that I couldn't replace the towels in the bathroom. And my co-workers are all nice, which is a bonus to everything else.

S.A.M.S. Academy

Southwest Aeronautics Mathematics and Science Academy- SAMS Academy
I've been on the waiting list to go to a charter school called SSLC (Southwest Secondary Learning Center) for a few years now, and my name hasn't been pulled. They pull your name from a lottery system in order for you to get in, and my name was never pulled. But just recently I received a letter from the school that said they were opening up a new school called the SAMS Academy. The letter said that it specialized in math, science, aeronautics, and most types of engineering, including and of coarse aeronautical engineering. And as most of you know I want to be an aeronautical engineer, so this is a wonderful opportunity for me! I'm really happy, and I can't wait to go. I think at first it will be a rough start for anyone who's going, just because it's a new school. But anyone who is interested in this kind of thing at all, knows how amazing this offer is. I've heard that subjects such as these are supposed to be really hard, but I'm ready, and I'm going to try my best to do well.

Here's a short bit taken from what they've written on the curriculum page on the school's website:

"... The SAMS Academy offers broader aviation programming with more depth into the many facets of aviation. Using aviation as a conduit to high-tech post-secondary education and careers, the SAMS Academy offers its students a more comprehensive education in the various disciplines of engineering, like aerospace, mechanical, and electrical engineering, for example. Mathematics and physics will be taught and emphasized, not just through engineering and science, but through the practical application of learning how to build and fly airplanes. Learning to solve problems and expanding critical-thinking are the transferrable skills high-tech employers need and we believe we can deliver with this stimulating and inspiring STEM education model..."

I Scream! Ice Cream!

Okay so there is this kitchy little ice cream parlor that I have been going to for years. It's kinda small, but it's filled with all sorts of cool things, like an original pac man game, tons of toys for kids to play with, board games, books, and even a little coffee area for the parents. The store also has a lots of different flavors, like my brothers' all time favorite birthday cake. Ooh and the walls are covered with old records. He even has one of those old bikes, with the huge front wheel, and a little small wheel in the back. Like I said it's a small place, so all of those amazingly cool things kind of makes it cluttered, it puts some people off, but I like it.

We have been going there for years, almost from the time when we moved here to Albuquerque. We go so often, and we have been going for so long that we have come to know the owner really well. He's a really nice person, and he always gives me an extra cookie, or extra toppings on my ice cream.

Last year around my birthday, I asked how old I would have to be to work there. He said I either had to be fifteen, or fourteen with parental consent. My mom said that she consented, and he told me that he didn't have any job openings, but to wait until next spring.

Well, spring is next month, so I took the opportunity to ask him today if he had any job openings, he said yes, and he'd be happy to hire me. He told me that he'll have a job application ready for me by the next time I come in, and that weekends would be best. I'm really excited now! I can't wait to start!

Pencils and Coffee

My latest homeschooling project was to find, replicate and research famous art pieces that you see in the everyday world. I found five, all at once while playing peggle. It's a computer game, and the background to the various levels I was playing just happened to be famous art pieces. It was easy really, but I guess that is the point of the project; art is everywhere, including art from the 1800's as I have found.

The pieces I found were: Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, M.C. Escher's Relativity, Salvador Dali's Persistence of Memory, Edvard Munch's The Scream, and The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Katsushika Hotsukai.

I was supposed to replicate them with colored pencils or markers, (felt tip pens). I was quite happy we weren't using paint because I am no good at paint. But I happen to be really good at colored pencils. I think I see colored pencils the way most see paint, I'm really good at mixing the colors, and creating different textures. Each painting had a different texture, therefore my drawings had a different texture. And because I had only so many pencils I had to mix them. The background of my Starry Night, was made from six different colors.

Each replica has taken me about a day, and I can only imagine how long the real ones took. Here is the link to my picasa album.I'll post them on here later.
https://picasaweb.google.com/106570209400696421292/ArtReplicas

Babysitting

Once a month I get called to babysit at my brother's elementary school for their monthly PTA meeting. It seems I'm at their school all the time now. I volunteer there two days a week, I babysit there once a month, and I have to be there almost everyday to pick them up.
I like babysitting, even though it can be a lot of hard work. The job lasts throughout the duration of the meeting, which is about one to two hours. It would seem easy if it weren't for the fact that just about every parent has brought their kid, (some more than others, to make up for the parents that didn't bring their kids). I think I have counted up to thirty four kids at one time.
It's not too bad though, most of the kids are good, and the only problems I really have is them being loud. There's the constant telling of the 'be quiet'. Plus you have to be on your feet and attentive at all times. You can't sit down at all, and you have to be concentrating on the kids at all times. I learned that lesson especially today. I sat down for just a second when I realized one kid had stood up on a table, and another had flown his paper airplane into the rafters. It seems I'm always telling them off for something, so I have to invent knew ways to get them to be good.

My mom told me that one time she overheard a conversation between a kid and his mother. The kid was saying that the new babysitter, (meaning me) was so mean. He was explaining how I wouldn't let them run, or be loud, leave through any of the doors leading outside, come in and out of the meeting, throw things, or anything else fun. The mother then replied to the little boy, that if the babysitter was only trying to keep him safe and quiet, then she felt very sorry for him.
The job pays well, it only last for two hours at the most, and since there is always pizza at the meeting and I'm usually one of the last people there, I always end up with the last of the pizza. Today I made out with three boxes! Even though there are a lot of kids, all elementary school age, it's worth it, and I enjoy doing it. I feel that I am very lucky to have the opportunity.

Young Judaea Winter Convention 2011

So I promised you guys a blog about my convention once I had gotten back, so here it is. Not that I know where to start, or what to wright, but I'll do my best.

Considering a huge majority of the Young Judaea Midwest region lives in Illinois, very few of us were picked up at the airport, (Most people drove.) My best friend and I were picked up at Midway, with a few other people, and then we drove to O'hair to pick up the rest. As we were both flying in, and driving trough Chicago, I saw how big the city was, and minuscule Albuquerque is. Once we had picked everyone up at the airports we drove to where everyone would be staying, which was a camp called Camp Henry Horner, (where we all stayed in one big cabin.)

The first night consisted of unpacking, eating dinner, re-uniting with old friends, and going to bed. The buys got one side of the cabin, and the girls got the other, witch was separated by the bath rooms, the hallways, and one big room which was called the middle room. This was the only room in the cabin tat bot the boys and the girls were allowed to be in together. There were four buildings that we went in all together, considering we had to to share the camp with two other groups of people. Witch surprisingly we only ever saw at mealtimes. Their was a small building tat consisted of a small room, (about the size of living room,) and a bathroom. Then there was the dining hall, the main hall, (which was one big room,) and of coarse the cabins.

Now I know I was only there from Thursday trough Sunday, but I honestly can't remember when anything happened. Just that it did happen. Most of the time spent was discussions. Now Young Judaea being a zionist youth movement, these discussions consisted of Israel. Mostly what is going on in Israel right now, what our views are, and what we think should happen. We talked a lot about Israel's image right now, why it has done some of the things it has done. We talked a lot the green line a lot. The IDF, (Israeli Defense Force.) We also talked some about ow much we individually do and don't support Israel, how much we believe in what it's done, we talked about political issues. We talked about our personal connection to Israel, and we even talked about things back in America.

And when we weren't busy with discussions, and activities, we had fun. A lot of fun... And what's crazy is that some of us didn't know each other at the beginning of the convention, and we were in tears by the end, because we didn't want to say good bye. We became so close, and we were only there for a few days. There is a sense of security, and family that you get with Young Judaea, that everyone who has gone has said they couldn't find anywhere else. I mean where else would you tell someone your life story, and your deepest secrets before you even get to know their name? I'm sure some one reading this can name a few places, but you'd honestly have to be here to experience and understand what I mean.

Although it was cold, it was not as cold as I had expected. Yes it snowed once, but that was only in one night, and by the next morning, the snow had either melted, or had been apart of a snowball fight at one thirty in the morning.

Young Judaea Convention!

So my best friend and I are going to Chicago in a few days, for a four day long convention. The convention is for jewish teens for kids who live in the midwest. There is one for every YJ (Young Judaea) camp across America, of which there are only four. There used to be five, but the one that was in the West, (the one I used to go too,) was closed down, so now we goto the one in the midwest. Anyway I'll post what all exciting things happen after we come home next week!

Volunteering Part Duex

Some days are different than others. Last week in the kindergarten classroom, the assistant teacher and I were really cold. We both were jogging on the spot, while the kids just sat on the carpet and stared at us with the utmost look of 'you guys are weird' and confusion. We then proceeded to stand next to each other, and huddle, which, they thought was funny, because I had to bend down to be at her height considering, she is half the size of me hight wise. So we decided to go make tea. The day after that ended being the day I spent the whole day with them, since their assistant teacher had a doctors appointment. (It had nothing to do with the previous morning.) I did the usual morning routine, but instead of leaving when they went to recess I stayed. It was the usual school day. After recess, they read a book. Then it was lunch. During lunch I had lunch with the other kindergarten teachers. I got to hear the teachers 'gossip' I guess, though I just sat there and smiled a lot. After lunch (again it was a usual schooled day. Not really interesting. But fun because of their little kindergarten personalities.) We had science class. So their teacher took half of them and taught them about veterans day, and I took half of them and read them a five senses book. There would be one page that was a close up of something, for example an onion. I had them take turns guessing what it was, (there was one kid who for every page guessed a hot dog). Then I would reveal what it was, and ask them silly questions. They were simple like can you taste the onion? Can you feel the onion? So you think you can feel the onion but do you think you can rub it on your skin? No?! Why not? There was a page where it was a close up of a parrot's beak. I turned the page and asked them questions like, "can you hear the parrot?" Of which one boy replied that parrots can in fact talk because he heard one talk once. I then asked them if they could taste the parrot, and what they think it would taste like. The same boy replied that it would taste all beaky and feathery. To that I replied that I just thought it would taste like chicken.
After science, there was math. And something called interventions. I'm pretty sure they went to recess again, and P.E. but I don't really remember the rest of the day. I know that when they went to P.E. (Educacion Fisica!) I helped their teacher with their nightly reading folders. After helping them with snack they had fifteen minutes just to play. So as I helped clean up snack, I noticed that one girl was making me something. I knew that I probably shouldn't look in her direction. So I didn't. Later she came up to me with a picture drawn of the two of us, that read,'ILovethedayatschoolwithyou.' (I love the day at school with you.) Once I got home, I showed it to everyone and then hung it up on my door. It made me so happy I told her to come here and I gave her hug. (I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to, but that's beside the point.)

Once in the third grade classroom they were learning about Rosh Hashana. I told their teacher that I had a shofar, and I could bring it in and give them a presentation about Rosh Hashana. So for about two weeks I brought in the shofar, until there was finally a day we could fit it in. She really wanted me to do it, it's just that she didn't have a lot of spare time. I took them out to the grass and I told them about the shofar, and then I proceeded to blow each individual call, (not to be bias but I actually did it fairly well, considering I hadn't done it in more than a year.) Then I handed each one of them a clorox wipe, and they proceeded to each take a turn. In between each turn they had to wipe the mouth piece off. I'd say about four of the twenty four children were able to do it. I was really surprised at how well they did it. My brother could do it, but just like his voice he did it at the highest pitch he could probably muster. He is a very high pitched person in general.

Then there was the time that smokey the bear came in, and gave an hour and a half long presentation on how to be safe in a forest, and how to not start fires. It was really long, and I thought it was a little too long for the younger ones. But yo make it up to them, at the end they got to take a picture of smokey the bear. I went to the third grade classroom where I began to sort out the number of pencils, rulers, and fire safety booklets for every class that went. I was even nice and gave them an even number of each color.

I think those were all of my different days. But everyday I go is exciting and different. I love going and everyone knowing me, and their little waves and smiles every time they see me.

This week I get to help with the school Thanksgiving lunches. All of the families come in and they get to have a special lunch in their classrooms with their kids. I heard it will be pretty hectic.

Slowly Healing

I did end up re-writing my novel, I am really behind. I have decided to stop being so OCD about it, and to stop dividing the days by how many words I have left, therefore calculating how many words a day I should write. But it still bugs me as to how much I have to catch up on. Today is the tenth of November, and if I had not started from the beginning and I had followed my original plan of doing two thousand words a day, then I would be a twenty thousand words. But since I have decided to start over, my story is a lot better, but it is only at three thousand-ish words.

A Sort Of Politition

http://www.edd.state.nm.us/about/cabinetSecretary/index.html

Today my brother had a dentist appointment, and my sister had a doctor's appointment, so in between their appointments, we went out for lunch. We went to a restaurant, which was next door to the pediatrician my sister was going to. As we were sat at our table, we saw this man, who was obviously of some importance (due to the way he dressed). "Hey you should ask if he is a politician!" My mom nudged me, and looked in his direction. I protested and asked her what I was to do if he wasn't a politician, she said to ask him if he was on T.V. Again I protested, and said that he was probably busy or something. But after a few minutes of getting up and sitting back down (and a lot of giggling between the two of us), I finally went to ask him if he was a politician. He replied, and told me that he was sort of like a politician. After introducing himself as the secretary of the economic development, he told me that he had run for senate last year and lost by only a few votes. Then he introduced me to his friend that he was talking to, who happened to be a very old man, and nearly deaf. His name was Joe, and he was wearing a hat that was covered in badges, it declared that he was a veteran from the Korean War. I wondered if that had anything to do with his hearing, but he did also seem to be at least eighty years old. Jon asked me what school I was from, and I told him I was home schooled. He then asked me if I was planning on going to college, and I told him, I had been planning on it my whole life, I told him that I wanted to go college somewhere on the east coast, and preferably to an IV league school. Promptly after that, his friend Joe asked where I went to school and I told him that I was home schooled, in as loud and as clear of a voice I could manage. He told me that he had two grandchildren that are also home schooled, and they were the smartest group of people in the neighborhood. Jon then told me that I seemed like a very bright and smart kid, and throughout the rest of the conversation he kept telling me that. And I repeatedly kept saying thank you. My mom came to the table, and she spoke to them about my former schooling, and how I was younger than everybody in my grade here, and why I was home schooled, and such.
Then she told Jon Barela that I would like to volunteer in the campaign trail, and then she asked him how I would go about it. He told me to that I was to pick a party first, then I was to pick who I was going to volunteer for, such as the senates, or the representatives. Then I was to go down to the district office and sign myself up. He wished me good luck on getting in to the college I wanted, and then he told me it was nice seeing me, in which I replied that it was nice to meet him. The veteran stood up and we shook hands, I smiled and then I left their table and went back to mine. Later as we were going back to the car, I thought it was rather coincidental, considering we were just talking about politics on the way in to the restaurant. My mom proceeded to tell me to pay attention to the signs, and I said I do, I told her that I also believe in coincidences. And she told me that science doesn't. To that I responded that even if I did end up in a science field as my career, even if I do become a scientist or an aerospace engineer, I will always have my beliefs, and that I will always have that balance. Even if they completely disagree with each other.

Volunteering

I volunteer 2 mornings a week at my brother's elementary school. Every Monday and Tuesday morning, I'll wake up with them, (not like I don't already, infact I wake up before them.) and I'll go with them to school. Immediately as we pull up to the drop off zone, I get waves and smiles. And for the kids that remember my name, I'll get; Hi Miss. Celia!. After going to breakfast with my brothers, (They serve breakfast in the cafeteria.) I'll drop them off at their classes and head over to the office to sign my self in.

Once finished with that, I proceed over to the kindergarten classroom. The class I work in is a dual language classroom, which means it is both in spanish and English, but most of the time it is just spanish. It helps me learn a lot of Spanish, and it also goes towards my language credits, which is really good. I always love walking in the door because all the kids wave at me and shout to each other that 'Ms. Celia is here!' I sit down on the carpet with them and they begin their morning routine. After their morning routine, like all elementary school classes in America they do the Pledge of Allegiance. then we separate into their assigned groups and I help them with literacy.

The bell rings, and they all clean off their tables, and run off to recess, which is when I take the chance to leave to go to the third grade classroom. Since I always enter at the same time everyday I come, I always know that they will either be taking a spelling test, or they will be doing literacy. Always with literacy in the mornings. This class is also a dual language class, but from what I've gathered since I've been there, is that she mostly does everything in English. But I probably shouldn't say anything, considering I am only there two mornings a week. In that class I just help the kids with the school work, and do small tasks like stapling homework. When they do English, I'll help them with whatever worksheet they are working in, or I'll help them spell things for whatever they are writing. They write a lot in that class, and then they also need help editing. The only other class I'm apart of is their math class. Again I'll just help them with their worksheets. When it is time for recess, if I'm not helping their teacher inside, I'll go out and play with them. I always look forward to lunch time, because the teacher and I will always sit and talk in her classroom, usually over stapling homework.
The work seems easy to me, but it also seems as though the teachers need my help a lot, especially the third grade teacher, who always has volunteers coming in and out. Both teachers are exceptionally nice, and I love working with them.

Ehh Well...

Update on my novel-
When I first started writing my novel, I didn't have an outline prepared, or even a story line going until about the fourth day, (which just happens to be today). I found out today that there is a website for teens to do their novels, so I joined that website, aswell (Yes I'm making swell one word. I believe it should be. That and homeschooling.) On the website they have a 'workbook', that you can fill out. It was just basic things, like who my main characters would be, what my main plot would be, and even things like what my mint plots are going to be. Things I thought I had already figured out. But now that I'm about six thousand words into the novel, I find that I am wrong. I feel now, that I have wrongly gone about this whole thing, and I would like to start over. I have even re- written my synopsis and everything. I just don't know if I do start over if I can catch myself up. Because this time I would like to have an outline written. And as much as I'd like to re-do the whole thing, I would be ten thousand words behind. But hey, who's timing me? I am the one that puts my word count in to the website everyday, which I have given up on, because I am tired of it lying to me. (Read my last post.) I finally just decided to put that I had written fifty thousand words into the word count, just so it would leave me alone. Ha! Take that stupid word count! Anyway, the gist of it all, is that I'm stuck at a junction, and I need to take the right path. But because there are no signs in England, (where allegedly my day dreaming takes place), I don't know which road to take.

Slowly

I had decided it was easy to write two thousand words a day, which it is. But you have to know what to write about. I find myself, writing useless things, just to pad it out, instead of coming up with interesting things, to fill it up with. It's more than just writing two thousand words a day, I've found because you have to write an outline for tomorrow's chapter, and edit yesterdays chapter, while still keeping your numbers up. I haven't even gotten to the point of my story yet, and I still find myself writing the first chapter, and not have even started the second. which means I'm two thousand words or so behind. Things are going slowly but I soon hope they pick up.
Seriously, who cares about the blue group at the rectangle table cleaning up their pencils, when Celia's older brother are home alone, having the chickens throw eggs at eachother?

R.O.U.S.S.s

Synopsis of my 50,000 word novel.

Stuck at home sick, with nothing to do, these rambunctious little boys and moody sister have nothing to do but to entertain themselves. Having done all their homework, and colored in all their coloring books, they decided they would make up a story, based on a movie they had watched over the weekend. The only problem with this is there was a lot of sword fighting in this movie, there was also a lot of things little boys (as they say) 'should not try at home'. For example jumping on each other's back and wrestling until the other was unconscious, or pretending they had come back from the dead, and setting themselves on fire to scare the guards into letting them into the castle. Luckily it was only pretend but still... By the time they were finished, Daddy was home, and it was time for bed. Having told him what they had done that day, he decided he would tell them their bedtime story based on the events that occurred that day. Their dad proceeded to continue telling that story every night for a whole month. After a week of being home they go back to school, and they then begin to tell their friends all about the crazy things their dad tells for a bedtime story. Not realizing though that their days begin to parallel the story.

Excerpt from the first chapter

Meanwhile at home, were her brothers. Even when they were sick, things were still as crazy as usual. No one was watching them because Celia was at their school, and their mom was in the bedroom feeding the baby. So they took this opportunity to define the definition of little boys. They had decided they were going to act out a movie they had seen recently, about a king who marries the most beautiful girl in the world. He was going to have some of his men kill her, and blame it on the other country to start a war for his own entertainment . But the men he had to kill her, ended up saving her and her true love. There was a lot of sword fighting in this movie, there was also a lot of things little boys (as they say) 'should not try at home'. For example jumping on each other's back and wrestling until the other was unconscious, or pretending they had come back from the dead, and setting themselves on fire to scare the guards into letting them into the castle. Luckily it was only pretend but still...

Gummy Bears

Step By Step Guide to De-heading and Re-heading Your Gummy Bears:

Step One:
Make sure you have all your gummy bears together.

Step Two:
Get your gummy bears ready. Set two upon the surface you will later be preparing them on. If you feel ambitious, you can line the rest up to get ready.

Step Three:
Proceed to cutting/ biting the heads off of your gummy bears. Make sure they are different colors. If and when biting off the head of the gummy bear, you find yourself eating the head, you should probably use a knife instead.

Step Four:
Wet the underneath of your gummy bear with a little water. You may lick it, or wet it with a wet piece of paper towel.
Step Five:

Your gummy bear head should be sticky, which means you can now place it on the

head of the other gummy bear. Once you have done this, you have now successfully de-headed and re-headed your gummy bears.

Space Mueseum in Alamogordo

The Space Museum in Alamogordo

The space museum, was very inspiring to me. Not only did I learn a lot, but it made me realize that I can do so much more with my life. Imagine these people that design the rocket ships, that fly the rockets, and the people that go into space with them. How often is it that you find someone who does something like that. You ask someone what they do for a living and they reply, "I'm a rocket scientist." And you'd be amazed.

While visiting the museum, it made me realize that, that is what I want to do when I grown up: I want to became either an Aero Space Engineer, a Rocket Scientist, or something space related. Like a bio-chemist that see's whether life on a certain planet can contain life. I know I still have time to change my mind because I am only fourteen, but I really have my heart set on this, and I can't see myself doing anything else. I'v always wanted to have a career in space. I remember when I was taking a vet/ vet technician class. My instructor asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up, of coarse everyone answered something a long the lines of a vet. But when she got to me I said, I want to be a rocket scientist, she then asked me why I was taking her class, and I replied that I want to on a ranch at the same time, and I may as well know how to take care of the animals.

My experience at the space museum as I said was inspiring, but I also said that I learned things. What I left out is how much fun I had, and how much I didn't want to leave. As we arrived, the first thing we did was take pictures in front of all the rockets and spaceships. The little kids and my dad stood in front of the big engines and pretend they were being blasted, (they thought it was hysterical, but my mom and I just thought they were big dorks). We went inside, and started from the top floor down. The top floor was my favorite floor, because that's where all the interactive things were. A man who worked there came and told us about the testing site. He then gave us some things to do, for example he gave us a gyroscope. He showed us how well they balanced and then proceeded to do a few tricks, like balance it on the tip of a pen. He used this example to tell us about how they worked, and the use of gyroscopes in the real world.

He said that they use them in space craft to keep them balanced, or the space craft will not be able to fly on track and it will loose its balance and crash. A gyroscope exhibits a number of behaviors including precession. Gyroscopes can be used to construct gyrocompasses, which work along side with or replace magnetic compasses (in ships, aircraft and spacecraft, vehicles in general), to help in maintaining stability (Hubble Space Telescope, bicycles, motorcycles, and ships) or be used as part of an inertial guidance system. Gyroscopic effects are used in tops, boomerangs, yo-yos, and Power-balls.

We continued through the museum, and on the next level down there was a simulator, you had to try and fly a space shuttle back to earth. We got to see different astronaut food and utensils such as pepsi that came in an aerosol can, and dehydrated chicken. We got to hear how loud a space craft was when it took off, and we got to engineer our own rockets and devices from building pieces that were similar to k'nex, only they were specially made for building spacecraft. I made myself a rover with a telescope attached and the boys made themselves rather imaginative rockets. We had to leave soon, so we hit the gift shop. The boys got gyroscopes, and I got a soda rocket. My mom wants me to set it off, and then experiment with it. Seeing if I can change the results. Ensuing that, we went outside and took dozens more pictures before leaving. My favorite picture is the one of the boys standing next to a rocket, with their arms above their heads, as if they were a rocket themselves.

White Sands

White Sands

We set off at about four a.m. that morning so that we could get there early. On the way we stopped outside the trinity site to watch the sun rise over the mountains; it was gorgeous. We also stopped at Carrizozo for a bathroom break. The little coffee shop we stopped at was like something out of the movies. It was so colorful and unique yet so small town at the same time. After stopping at the crazy coffee shop we left off again, the last stop before reaching White Sands was at the Heart of The Desert Pistachios store in Alamogordo.

We finally reached White Sands around 11 a.m. that morning. It was between seventy and seventy five degrees out, which doesn't seem that hot, until you take into account the fact that the sun reflects of the pure white sand, making it feel twenty degrees hotter. As well as the fact that you are climbing up big sand dunes, which even when it's cool outside makes you sweat.

We played for a few hours and then went back out to get some food for our picnic- lunch. We ate at one of the benches that are covered from the sun, but really look like they belong to the Martians on Mars. We then proceeded to find the biggest sand dune we could possibly find, which turned out to be twice as big as the one we usually play on. It took forever to climb up, since it was so hot outside, and carrying the sleds up the hill just made it worse. I figured out a way to make it easier; by braiding long pieces of of stalk from one of the plants out there, I made handles for everyone's sleds. So that they could drag them up the hill instead of carry them.

The last three times we have been there, I had been trying to master surfing down the hill on the sled. I was unsuccessful previous times, but this time I actually did it. The first time i did it, I actually screamed with joy. I made a way to brake, to go faster and a way to turn. It only works on the round sleds that we bought at the visiter center. But I don't see why making just a few modifications to other sleds wouldn't work.

Later that evening our close family friends arrived. we had planned on spending the whole weekend together. the first day at White Sands, the second at Carlsbad Caverns, and the third at Roswell. They got their later because their niece had arrived in Albuquerque where we all live, for the balloon fiesta. They were talked into taking her on a balloon ride, and then taking her out to lunch, so naturally they arrived later than we did. As soon as they arrived we went on a nature tour of White Sands. I would have enjoyed it more but I really didn't like the tour guide. After the tour, it was twilight, so we watched the sun go down over the mountains and then went back to the dunes we were previously playing on. I tried to teach them how to surf down the hill, but they both politely refused. We played for a few more hours in the dark, until the park closed. On the last time we went down, we could hear the coyotes howling. My dad and I thought it was pretty neat but my sister was scared, and my mom who grew up in the middle of no where Texas, didn't seem to care at all. (It just goes to show that we are city folk.) After leaving White Sands, we all reconvened at the hotel for dinner. After dinner we swam in the hotel swimming pool, and the next morning we left to go to Carlsbad Caverns.

I love going to White Sands. It's worth the long drive and the excruciating heat, just so we can sled down the hill to our heart's desire. The scenery is gorgeous, and as my brother once said, the dunes are so unrealistic they had to be from a cartoon. Obviously I knew they weren't from a cartoon, but I was still curious as to how they came to be. So the last time my family went, I learned where they really came from. My mother explained to us, (which later she proved by taking us on a nature tour), how the sand dunes were really made.

There was a fissure that was filled with lava like a volcano, but unlike a volcano the lava spilled out, instead of erupting. When the the lava spilled out, gasses came up and onto the earth and settled on the limestone that was above the fissure. Among the gasses was hydrochloride and sulfuric acid, which when it settled, dissolved the limestone and turned it into the gypsum crystal. As the weather wore the gypsum down, it turned into grains of sand that was carried away, and was turned into the white sand dunes. Every wet season the two lakes fill up and draw the gypsum that was covered out of the earth, again the wind will carry it up and add more sand to the dunes. (When the gasses settled, it settled wit the lava creating the mesas that we see today.)