Christmas!

This year's holiday break has been very fun! I've gotten to ski at Snow Basin frequently, play with my cousins, go to the Mormon Tabernacle choir's Christmas concert with David Archuleta, and just enjoy the holiday cheer that comes with this most joyous time of the year.

One of my most favorite things about winter is the skiing. I have a season pass to Snow Basin, one of the best ski resorts in the world. So when school is out, I try to get on the slopes as much as possible. I have an awesome grandpa that also has a season pass, so I catch rides up to the resort with him and ski the rest of the day. Skiing is such a fun sport because of the freedom it provides, there are no rules or out of boundaries lines, so you can make your own way down the mountain. I also like to pretend I'm cool and know what I'm doing by going off the jumps. I don't like to go in the park, but I think it is really fun to go sailing of a ledge. But to be cool, you've got to yell something like "airtime" as you go off the jump, then your jump will be a lot more "sick".One new development in my ski life is that I got a new ski coat for Christmas, once again, I have to say that it is pretty "sick". It's a patterned brown sort of color, and it has a special pocket on the sleeve to put your season pass into.
My cousins usually come up during the holidays and it is always fun. Over the course of their  stay we have gotten pretty amazing at Mario Kart and Just Dance 2, we go skiing and have air soft wars. In these awesome air soft wars, we get all our high tech gear together and then head over to my grandma's back yard, she has a big yard with a lot of things to hide in, like the tree house or the barn. Today we had an airsoft war that ended with us dropping our guns and resorting to snow ball fights.
Another holiday tradition my family has is to go to the  Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert every year. They are always enjoyable and fun. This year David Archuleta came to sing with the choir, which was nice. He has a really great voice and sounded great with the choir. This concert always helps me get into this wonderful season a little but more. After the concert, my family and I went to Crown Burger, which was also fun.
I am blessed with a great family that is very musically talented. So every year on Christmas eve, we have a party where we have a musical program and do the nativity scene. This year I was the narrator. This party is also fun because of the time spent with my family. Christmas is a great time, and that combined with a great family, makes the holiday season one of my most favorite times of the year.

The Quest for the Golden Fleece Research Report

                                                                                                                                                            

                Did you ever wish that you had the help of Athena while doing your math test? How about having Zeus helping you make that shot in your basketball game? Many Heroes including Jason got this kind of assistance from the gods. The myth of Jason and The Quest for the Golden Fleece is the story of a Hero named Jason. This man was kept from his rightful throne in Iolcus, and, in order to gain it back, he must retrieve the Golden Fleece. After going on a long and hard journey on the sea, he finally returned to take what was his. The myth of Jason and The Quest for the Golden Fleece is similar to other myths in many ways. They are similar in that in these myths, people try to escape Oracles’ prophecies and can’t, monsters play prominent roles in both stories, and the Gods help our heroes on the way to victory.

                The myth of the Quest for the Golden Fleece is similar to other myths in that people try to escape the events foretold in prophecies, but cannot. When Jason was young, the evil ruler of Jason’s rightful throne, King Pelias, received a prophecy that someone in his court would kill him. In reaction to this, he killed everyone in his palace. Luckily, Jason was smuggled away and lived (Malam 6-7). At the end of the story, Jason ends up taking back his rightful throne from Pelias, who is killed by his own daughters (Malam 10 - 29). The same theme is followed in the myth of Persesus. In this myth, baby Perseus is also sent away to die due to a prophecy that he would kill his own grandfather. Perseus lives, but unfortunately, later in life, accidentally hits his grandfather with a discuss blown amiss by the wind and kills him (Skidmore “Perseus”). Thus we see that no mater how hard one tries, he cannot escape an Oracles’ Prophecy.  The myths of Jason and Perseus are also alike in that both heroes had to deal with ferocious monsters.

                Another way the myth of the Quest for the Golden Fleece is similar to other myths is the common theme of heroes, dripping in testosterone, taming or killing huge, ferocious monsters. In his quest for the Golden Fleece, Jason and his crew had to tame not only fire breathing bulls, but harpies, dragons, and an army of warriors sprouted out of the ground (Limke 28-29). Of course, every evil beast Jason and his men battle is sorely defeated. Heracles kills the one thousand headed hydra (Skidmore “Hercules”), Thesus defeats the half man-half bull Minotaur (Skidmore “Thesus”), and Odysseus stabs the one-eyed Cyclops in the eye with a fiery spear. One can always count on his ancient Greek heroes to come out on top. But without the help of some Gods or goddesses, these heroes could not have done what they did.

                The last way the myth of the Quest for the Golden Fleece is similar to other myths is the theme of heroes getting help from certain gods or goddesses. When Jason kindly helps an old woman cross a fast flowing river, he then finds out that the woman is actually the goddess Hera in disguise (Skidmore “Jason”). Luckily for Jason, Hera helps him throughout his quest. She even partners up with Aphrodite to make Medea, a beautiful enchantress, fall in love with Jason (Skidmore “Jason”). This proves to be very useful, as Medea helps Jason get the Golden Fleece from a huge dragon. This theme is also illustrated in the myth of the Odyssey, when Odysseus gets help from Athena throughout his voyages. Athena also helped Perseus by giving him her shield. Perseus used this shield to look at the reflection of Medusa, instead of looking directly at her (Skidmore “Perseus”). If he would’ve looked directly at Medusa, he would have been turned to stone. And, as all myths have an end, so must this essay. This brings us to the conclusion.

                Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece bears many similarities to other myths. Some of these similarities include, when characters try to stop prophecies from happening and fail, the theme of the taming of monstrous beasts, and stories of divine intervention in the lives of heroes. The epic story of Jason’s voyage will live on in the hearts of many a man. The question is, will that man remember how this myth fits into the massive web of mythology? We live in hope.

Letters About Literature Entry

Dear Mr. Potok,

             When I was first assigned to read The Chosen, I was somewhat skeptical about reading about two Jewish boys growing up in New York City.  However, after finishing the novel, my opinions are different from what they were before I read the book.  While turning the pages, I found many similarities between the characters and myself.  It also helped me understand more the meaning of true friendship and sacrifice.

             My family and I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as did many of my ancestors.  Where I live, the majority of people are of the same faith.  With so many good people, I am blessed with a great community. But elsewhere, there are many misconceptions about the Mormon faith.  Too many people in the world think that we are not Christian, or that we practice polygamy.  Both of these things are not true. While reading the chosen I found that Danny and I lived in similar conditions.  He lived in a family strong in their church, a church that is misunderstood worldwide.  He and I are also alike in that we are under a ton of pressure to follow the ways of our own religion.  If I were to chose to not to be a Mormon anymore, it would bring a lot of heartbreak to my family.  I love my religion and have a strong testimony of it, just like Danny and Reuven.

One thing that I have always liked to do is read to learn more about the world around me.  I enjoy reading material such as encyclopedias and atlases.  I found that Danny and I liked the same things.  I think it would be super fun to sit down with him and talk.

            While reading The Chosen, I understood more things about friendship than I had before.  I have some great friends that at one point in time I didn’t know very well; I have friends that I even once disliked.  The Chosen helped me feel more grateful for these friends and for friendship in general.  But then, when I read the ending of the book when Danny and Reuven have a parting of the ways, it left me with a lot to think about.  When I grow up I realize that some of my friends now might be too cool for me and pretend that they don’t know me.  This will be sad, but it will also bring new opportunities for me to make new friends.  It’s also sad how choices can break up a friendship.  If one of my friends started to do drugs or alcohol I wouldn’t want to be very good friends with him anymore.  I would still be nice to him, but if I kept hanging out with him, I might get into situations that I wouldn’t want to be in.  These are the reasons why I want to create great friendships now that I can keep forever.

            Thank you, Mr. Potok, for writing a great book that helped me not only understand more about the world around me, but about myself.

Sincerely,

                        J.R. Oldham 

           

Spies, Basketball, Tests, and Ebenezer Scrooge

This week was a pretty eventful week. I got to go to three different Junior High Basketball games three days in a row, I had some pretty hard tests in school, and I went to Hale Centre Theatre's production of  The Christmas Carol on Saturday.

One of the most fun things about being an SBO is the chance to go to all the sports games to cheer on our very own falcons. When you go to the away games, it can sometimes be more fun than home games because you can be crazier without anybody you know  seeing you. One thing that was super fun was a thing my fellow officer and I invented to pass the time before away games began. We hide our officer jackets in the bleachers and then, dressed in our street clothes, we wander the halls like we actually go to the school we are in. We say hello to people and pretend to try to open "our" locker. It's also very enjoyable to pretend that you are lost and are counting the numbers above the rooms. One girl asked us who we were and we told her we were new to the school and she believed us. To complete the disguise, we invented new names for ourselves, which I can't tell you because I'd have to kill you. And finally, after messing around in the halls, we go to the gym and sit on the opposing teams side and cheer for them for a while. I guess you could say that we're pretty amazing at blending in with the crowd and therefore awesome spies. Once we're back to our own side of the gym we cheer on our team to victory. And I say that truthfully because this week our falcons beat Kaysville Junior High for the first time in over a decade!! We even won it in a dramatic fashion, as big man Elijah Kletzli scored a buzzer beater layup that won the game! We won every game this week, and are going into the first round of the playoffs with a bye.

I was kind of stressed this week because I had several quizzes in several different classes. For instance, I had a hard test in math, a quiz in Geography on memorizing over 50 countries in Europe, and a mythology test in English class. Although all of these tests were hard I had fun on each and every one of them.

For my Christmas present from my grandpa and grandma they took me and a few of my more grown up cousins to see The Christmas Carol at Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City. It was very enjoyable. All of the acting was superb. And the man who played scrooge was especially funny.

That's all for now! Thank you, goodnight!

A persuasive letter to stop overfishing

Dear Congressman,                                                                                         

There are 3 main concerns I have about some of the fishing limits we have here in our beautiful coastal community.

People used to harpoon three meter long 400 pound sword fish in rowboats; nowadays you are lucky to get a 100 pounder. Only ten percent of all large fish are left in the sea.  The big fish in our ocean are being overfished; they are caught before they have a chance to reproduce. If big animals like these die out, our ecosystem will have severe changes that will make life harder for humans. New laws need to be made about fishing for large fish.

            The gorgeous coral reefs we have here provide shelter, habitat, and food for myriad species. They are as rich in species as rain forests.  But the condition of the reef is at a sharp decline. One of the biggest factors to this is underwater trawling for fish. This involves towing a big net along the bottom of the sea floor. To catch more fish boats have begun doing this at coral reefs. This tows and destroys the beautiful ecosystems that are coral. These practices must be outlawed.

             The demand for sea food has increased over the years, and to keep up with these demands some boats are using high tech devices developed in the cold war. They help them fish with greater accuracy and speed. Because of this many deep sea species of fish are dying out. Scientists warn that species such as cod, tuna, haddock, flounder, and swordfish could be extremely scarce within a decade. This would put many establishments that rely on fish out of business. These techniques that involve high tech machinery should be put on a decline instead of our amazing animals that are fish.

            These are the three main concerns I have as a citizen about the fishing limits we have here in our beautiful coastal community. I urge you to take action and save the fish that we have left.

           

                                    From,

                                                J.R. Oldham

           

Wrestling Persuasive Essay

One of the greatest problems facing youth today is physical health.  I believe Davis School District should not eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling program in their budget cuts for many reasons, such as; many student’s physical health would be at risk, some teens would feel less connected to the school, and a loss of the wrestling team mean less chances for sportsmanship and leadership opportunities.

Would Davis School District sacrifice the health of young people to save a few bucks?  Continuing the wrestling team would help youth stay fit, physically, and mentally.  The health of youth now will determine their well being in the future.

School sports encourage teens to support their school.  Young adults come to games and cheer on the mighty falcons.  Loss of the wrestling team would result in a loss of school spirit for wrestlers and students alike.

One of the most important parts of school sports is learning how to get along with others.  Athletes and students need the wrestling team to practice skills such as leadership, sportsmanship, and commitment, the skills that are of great importance during school, and in life to come.

 I know that if Davis School District chose to eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling team, a plethora of problems would arise, including the risk of student’s physical health, less school spirit for all, and loss of sportsmanship opportunities.  When Davis School District decides to not eliminate Fairfield Junior High’s wrestling team, they will make Fairfield Junior High a happier, healthier place.

ACT Practice essay #1

High school should be extended to five years for many reasons. Students would be able to achieve a higher Grade Point Average, and would gain more values and maturity being with their families

            If more years were included in high school, students could raise their Grade Point Average even higher. The more classes you take, the more grades you receive, the higher your GPA can soar. One main thing that colleges look for in a student is his/her GPA. Imagine how many more students would enter college if their GPA was higher. But an outstanding GPA can only be produced with the support of an entire family.

            When young people enter college, they need to be prepared with strong, cemented values and a mature temperament. With another year to be living with their families, many students would gain all of these values and more if high school were five years long. If college students didn’t have a strong moral foundation, how can they succeed in college? If they aren’t mature enough to handle college, they will not be able to handle the responsibility. Instead of these students studying for a big test they have the next day, we could find them playing Mario Kart in their college dorm.

These are the reasons high school should be five years long. Students would be able to achieve a higher Grade Point Average, and would gain more values and maturity being with their families.

When Worlds Collide

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. But what did that bring about? The Columbian exchange benefited both the new world and the old in three main ways: the exchange of food, trading of animals, and sharing of knowledge. The first reason is the exchange of food.

Food was an important part of the Columbian exchange. The Europeans brought over wheat and sugar to America, and the Americans shared potatoes, tomatoes, and corn. All of these foods are very important staples in the world today. This food is frequently used to feed animals.                  

         

The trading of animals played a huge piece of the Columbian exchange. The Europeans brought horses, pigs, cows and goats to the new world. We wouldn’t have the Pony Express or the Kentucky Derby if we didn’t have horses! The horse can make work and travel easier for everyone. Along with the animals, both worlds traded ideas.

The trading of knowledge happened during the Columbian Exchange. The main reason Europeans came to America was to convert Native Americans to Christianity, and they did. The Indians showed the Europeans different ways to farm, and a new culture. Imagine how different America would be without Christianity! Tons of Americans today are Christian. This brings us to the conclusion.

The Columbian Exchange involved lots of great things; the exchange of food, the trading of animals, and sharing of knowledge. Both Americans and Europeans benefited during it. A more fitting but less catchy phrase to “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue” would be: In 1492 the Columbian Exchange changed the world for the better.

Volcano House

Welcome to Mansión del Volcán: Mansion of the Volcano. I hope you enjoy your stay here. When my eccentric master died, I was heart broken, but glad when I heard that I would soon have a new master. Now that you have built this beautiful home here on Mount Shasta, I suppose it would seem fit to give you a grand tour. Oh, I almost forgot, Yo soy su mayordomo, Nacho. Shall we begin?

As you come into the foyer, notice the extensive ornamentations made with volcanic rock. Also notice the million dollar furnishings. Off to the left you might see the kitchen, where your private chef, Pierre awaits your every order. As you look out the huge windows with beautiful views, notice your private ski resort and an 18 hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus.

As we go down stairs we enter your entertainment floor, with a private theatre, arcade, party rooms, and a golf driving range and putting green with your very own golf shop. Out this door, we see your garage with 25 different cars from the most famous designers in the world, such as: Audi, Bugatti, Ferrari, Ducati, BMW, and Lamborghini. Also notice your extensive collection of ATVs, trucks, motor boats, and motor cycles, all powered by steam that draws off the lava underneath us. As you look out the Garage doors, you will see your private racing track.

Now let’s take the elevator to the fourth floor. (Elevator music plays as you rise on the elevator, as Nacho taps his foot to the beat). Welcome to your exercise and well being floor, with geo thermal heated hot tubs, saunas, pools, and 500 foot high water slides. The heat from the lava not only heats the water in the house, but acts as a thermostat when in gets cold. On the right you will see your gym, soccer fields, basketball courts, and running track. You can also see your personal trainers, massage therapists, and servants to attend to your every health need.

On the next floor we come to the guest floor, which holds the guest rooms. Rooms personalized for each person who comes to stay here. And if you look out the window, you may see your barn with horses, cows, and the like, all taken care of by your own servants. Adjacent to the barn you will see your 300 acre farm, grown on the rich volcanic soil.

As we climb the stairs and come to the nest floor, we come to the music floor with a recording studio and every instrument known to man. Also on this floor, your private library and office, notice the beautiful views from 10,000 feet above the ground.

As we come to the last point on our tour, your floor we notice your massive bedroom with a  huge walk in closet and 1,000 square foot bathroom. There are also doors leading to your golf course, ski resort, kitchen, or any room in the house.  As you may notice there is a staircase off to the right, this will take you to the elegant roof, a good place to eat, sleep, read or do just about anything.

Now as you might have guessed, living on an active volcano is not easy, we have prepared escape routs for you to take, in the event the lava flows through our walls of indestructible metal. The first escape rout is for you to strap on your skis and use your supreme ninja skills to ski down the mountain away from the lava. The second escape rout is for you to take your private jet or helicopter off the volcano on your private air strip.

This concludes our tour, master I hope you will enjoy living in Mansión del Volcán, as I know I will enjoy serving you. I will give you a chance to get settled into your new home so hasta que nos reunamos de Nuevo, master, until we meet again.

Rhapsody's Musical Revue 2010

Recently I had the opportunity to be in a musical revue with the Rhapsody group at Fairfield Jr. High. We sang medleys from Wicked, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and Hair. All of the songs were fun to perform to. Besides from the music, it was great fun to be with my friends. Another great part was that we were able to eat some carrot cake after the last show, which was delicious. We wore some sweet costumes and performed some pretty touching sign language. In Wicked, the boys and I wore sparkly hats and glasses, in Joseph, I wore an Egyptian headdress and necklace, and in Hair I wore a hippie headband. The sign language was great, my friend and I were the best sign linguistics in the whole performing group. But then, when I was watching the performance afterword on video I realized my headdress was crooked. I was petrified, I looked goofier than ever! I had a lot of fun in the musical revue, anyway.

Seventh Grade Writing

 I think I did this for my English class:

Disestablishmentarianisms are mononuclear paladins with hydromantic ramekin. They are related to Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis and like to floccinaucinihilipilification. Hopefully we can Honorificabilitudinitatibus Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. Then life would be supercalifragilisticexpealidocious.

These are all real words!!

       

Utah Studies Term Project Report

J.R. Oldham Period 3

            Lots of people think that service work is a chore but for me, it was a blessing in disguise. For my Utah studies term project I did service by doing yard work and collecting food for a food drive. I weeded and edged my elderly grandparent’s lawn, and helped them plant, water, and fill their 1 acre garden. I did this on Saturdays throughout the term. While working, I got hot, sweaty, thirsty and discouraged, but one of the most rewarding things about yard work is seeing the finished product. I also had my family helping out along the way. Some more yard work that I did with a church group was mowing and weeding a family’s home whose mother was expecting a child, and the father was disabled.  Working in the yard was fun for me. It also improved my work ethic and probably my muscles.

            When I went on this canning drive, it was storming snow for two hours! I went with my church group and knocked on doors asking for canned or boxed food items. Then we’d lug the food out to a trailer. These items would go to a bishop’s storehouse to help feed those who are in need. Luckily, I did not get cold in the slightest because I had on plenty of warm clothes. The snow was so deep at one point that we had to push one of our leader cars out of some snow. This food drive was fun, not only because I knew I was helping others in need, but I had fun running around with my friends in the snow.

           

This project was extremely fun, while driving for food in the snow, and doing yard work for those in need. After doing this project, I think serving others benefits the server just as much as the person in need.

           

Sundays and the End of the First Term

          Wow! Today my family and I got to go over to the Phillips home (my grandpa’s house) to eat out of the Phillips’ garden. Even though this is a time honored Sunday tradition, it was especially good today. There were brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes, two of my most favorite things in the world. After dinner, my family and I sometimes go to James’s house (my grandpa Oldham’s house) and play legos with my cousins. Then, later, I go home to relax with my cat. I have trained my cat to go through a cat door into the furnace room, what my family used to call the cats’ rooms. We used to have two cats, but then one died, so now we just call it the cat’s room.

This term has been great! I have made a lot of new friends, I learned a lot, and had a blast along the way. I've also had some pretty boring and hard things to do too. Whether I am staying up late doing homework, or playing with the SBOs during homeroom. First term has been a party.

            To start off, I want to talk about algebra 2 honors, a very easy class to compare to a monster, its massive mouth leering up at you from a huge worksheet. Algebra 2 is definitely the hardest class I’ve ever taken in my junior high career. In this particular class, I get about three assignments that are due the next time I come to class. Since I am really good at procrastinating, I usually wait until 8 o’clock the night before it’s due to start doing the 50+ questions that are the hardest problems I’ve ever attempted in my life. And if I thought the assignments were hard, I didn’t know that the tests would be much harder. These tests are timed, adding to the amount of stress already heaped upon you. During one of these tests, I found myself so nervous my leg would not stop shaking. But alas, due to hard work, a lot of stress, staying up late doing homework, and going to school early for help has earned me an A-, which I am kind of put out about, owing that it could have been an A very easily.

            As it turns out, I have enjoyed every single one of my classes. Even Honors English has been very fun to do. You can probably guess I’m having the time of my life writing this blog entry right now. Kidding aside, reading books like The Chosen has really been interesting. I’m looking forward to reading the books for the second term of Honors English.

This term I have met a lot of new people that are really nice. One of my goals for this year was to know every person’s name in the whole school because everyone likes to hear his own name.  I am realizing now it’s going to be really hard to do this.  But I figure if I meet 2 new people everyday, I should be able to be Mr. Memorization by the end of the year.

           

One thing that has been fun about being an SBO was the chance to visit other schools. I’m pretty sure all of the Davis County Jr. High schools’ SBOs think theirs is the best school. When the other SBOs and I visit their schools, they are kind of annoying sometimes. Apart from this, I love watching the boys basketball team play, they are really exiting to watch!

This term has been really fun, and I hope to continue with the fun in term number two!

My Reflections Entry 2010

Here's my reflections entry for 2010, the theme this year was "Together we can..." I hope you find it very illuminating and inspiring:

What if our founding fathers of this great country never decided to work together and unify a country? Good bye democracy, hello king George. Would Ernest  Shackleton’s crew ever have escaped from the bitter cold of the Antarctic if they suddenly yelled, “every man for himself”? No, our world would be very different if people did not work together.

An Orchestra performs, a soccer team scores a goal. All due to team work.

            Humans, in all our follies, flops, and flubs, need the help of others to support us in the race to the finish line. And not only does the struggling person accomplish more than they ever could without us, we benefit from it more than we could ever know.

As Henry Ford once said:

“Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress

Working together is success.”

            Let’s choose to work together, let’s choose to help one another. Because in a world like today, we could all use a helping hand.

A Musical Family

My family is very musical. Whether it's playing the piano or serenading with the violin, I have some pretty talented family members. All of my siblings play at least one instrument, as does most of my extended family.I want to talk about some of these talented people and about myself, another talented person.

My Grandma Oldham is and always was a very musically gifted person from a young age. Now after many years of hard work and practice, my grandma is a retired piano instructor and an amazing pianist. She can play any song you put before her, and she is the best piano teacher I've ever had. She is always so nice and cheerful, she often accompanies my siblings in concert, and plays music at the family gatherings. I am really lucky to have a great grandma who helped me on to the road to fame and glory.

 My mom is another great musician in my family. She plays the cello and the piano, and is always there to help with my sibling's music practicing. She can also sing very expertly. My mother has managed to keep all of her children in music classes throughout their childhood. She is the director of the family whenever we have to perform music for people. I am very grateful to my mom for all her hard  work and sacrifice she gave so that her children could be musical.


My older sister Sarah is a pretty amazing person. She can play the violin and the piano, both very well. She has been in a ton of musical competitions, and most of the time takes them by storm. She took piano from my grandma and many other skilled piano instructors. She has used her talents to win a lot of pageants also. Nowadays, she can play any song out there by just looking at it. She is also very good at making up her own songs. She is great at playing popular music of the day and singing the words along with the music. Not only does my sister play instruments, she even taught her own music lessons one summer to local children. She taught piano, violin, ukulele, and voice. She is a really nice person who has a lot of talents.




 My grandpa Phillips is another great musician who is a great person too. He taught himself to play the piano, and he really loves having music in his home. His favorite songs are the old-timers and sings along in a beautiful tenor voice. He bought me my first guitar from the Philippines , which kick-started my guitar career. He also is always there too offer advice on the song that you are performing. My grandpa is one of the coolest people I know, and he is a great person too.

Like I mentioned beforehand, my grandpa gave me my first guitar, and I am really lucky for that. I have now played the guitar for over 6 years, and I mainly play the classical guitar. I have recently been taking acoustical guitar lessons, which has been interesting. I have won 100 dollars one time playing my guitar, and I love it. I also got to perform in my school's talent show last year. I was even lucky enough to have been taught piano by my Grandma Oldham, and I can still play the instrument just a little. I play the hymns in priesthood meeting on Sunday, which is quite fun. I even play the hymns in seminary once in a while.

There are so many talented people in my family, it would be hard to fit them all on this post. So I'll leave that for another time.

Sports, the Next Best Thing after Pokemon and Chess

When asked about my favorite things to do, after letting them know that I am a hardcore pokemon master, and telling them I love to play chess, I usually answer that I like to play sports. Now just because I say that I like sports does not mean I am good at them in any way. I simply like to be able to run around and have some friendly competition.Some of my favorite sports include soccer, golf, water and snow skiing, hiking, and running.

I have played soccer all my life, and I really love the beautiful game. Soccer is such an easy game to learn and play, but the games can turn into masterpieces of kicks, tackles, and slides. Soccer is a great way for me to relax too, I love to absentmindedly kick soccer ball at a wall. I have played on both competitive and  recreational teams, and I have made some great friends.  Another thing that is great about soccer is how it connects the world, knowing that kids all around the world love soccer as much as or more than I do makes me feel like I am a part of something great.

Many will say that golf can be really boring to watch and play, but that game can give you some of the best on top of the world feelings, and the worst gut-wrenching feelings. Nothing beats going out on the green grass with some buddies to play a round of golf. Golf is very hard to describe, if you play the game, you know what I mean. Golf is one of the most addictive sports ever, you may leave the last green saying that you're never going to golf again, but you will always come back. One thing that is super fun to do is to putt in your basement with your friends. These competitions can get pretty intense.

Snow skiing is one of the most exiting sports ever. I love the feeling of rushing down the mountain at top speed, wind howling by your face. Another thing that's great about the sport is how you can make your own trail down the mountain. You can explore through the trees or go off a ledge. Skiing is one of my biggest natural highs.

As I have already written about on this blog about the bair gutsman mountain race, only a little explanation is due about my love of the hiking. I live very close to the mountains, and I love to hike and run up where the air is clear. One of  my favorite things to do is to go on a run with my ipod playing. I run track at my junior high, and I love to run with my friends.

All in all, I really enjoy sports. Just being able to run and play under the sun is a huge blessing. Sports provide a way for people to get to know one another and have a great time. And in the words of Nacho Libre, I say: "My life is good, really good."

Boating

Water skiing has always been a favorite activity for my Dad's side of my family. Since he was very young, my Dad could water ski. Water skiing was sort of like a rite of passage, if you were and Oldham, you needed to learn how to water ski. My grandpa had a blue ski boat with and outboard motor that we still use today. My Aunts and Uncles kept their skills from when they are young and can still ski just as well today! My grandpa and Grandma still ski too, and they are almost in their 70's! One of my grandpa's coolest tricks is to put his foot in the rope while skiing, this leaves him with his hands in the air, and only one foot on his ski!

Now, even though I'm not as good of a skier as my grandpa, I can still slalom ski with ease. During the summer, I am lucky enough to go to Willard Bay often to ski in the greenish-gray waters. My family and I have an awesome time. We eat a yummy picnic and then get in the boat to go water ski. Some of the best times I've had with my family is when we go water skiing.

But sometimes, everything doesn't go as planned. Sometimes our 30 year old boat doesn't want to start, delaying our fin time out on the lake. But luckily my family has some really smart people in it who know a lot about mechanics. And most of the time, after many unflattering sounds from the boat,  the motor finally roars into life, provoking many cheers from the waiting water skiers.


 I love water skiing, but something that's just as much fun is tubing. When my family goes tubing,  the only aim of the boat driver is to get the tube rider thrown of the tube. Many times, my uncle with go very fast over some really big waves, and the tube and its rider will go flying into the air. And if you hang on, you're sure to get some cheers from the spectators in the boat.

 Sometimes, my family also likes to wake board, I think that skiing and tubing are superior to wake boarding, but it can be fun all the same. Maybe  the reason I don't like to wake board is because I have a hard time doing my double back flips (just kidding). Actually, I am not really the best at staying on a wake board, I've had some pretty bad fails riding on a wake board.

 Part of the fun in boating is just sitting in the boat and watching the tuber or skier, perform some amazing stunts, or wipe out at high speeds. One time, my uncles were all trying to do a back flip on a wake board. It was very entertaining to watch them crash land headfirst into water going 35 miles per hour.

Boating is way awesome, I love spending time with my family, playing some really fun sports, and cooling of on a hot day. And nothing beats the feeling of skiing of into the sunset on water that is so calm it looks like glass.


Yes! Five hundred and thirty two words!! I can't believe I did that much in such a short time!!!

The Crater

First, look at this.

In south eastern Idaho my mom's side of the family has a cabin that is positioned in what we call a "crater". Now if you've seen the picture at the link that I posted above you can probably make the connection as to why we call it a crater. Its official name is Morgan Crater, and it was part of my great-grandpas land that he used to put his herds sheep into. When he died, my grandpa inherited the part of the land with the crater in it. When he had a family of his own, he and others built a cabin on one edge of the crater. And every year in the summer, the family would go up to the cabin for two weeks to work and play.
   
 Now, a generation later, all of my extended family gets together in the summer at the crater. It is one heck of a good time when all you do for a week is ride motor bikes, go on hikes, play games, ride horses, and pretty much do whatever you want. Songs have even been written about the crater. Some really good memories have been made up at crater camp.

When my cousins and I go for motor bike rides, we often go to what we call the "blow holes". These are big round holes in the earth, formed by cows that have continually rolled in the mud, making the bowl shaped depressions even bigger. When speeding through them on a motor bike, it's almost like riding a roller coaster. And some of the crazier people such as myself like to go off the jump-like lips of the blow holes. And in the words of Napoleon Dynamite say, "You got like three feet of air that time!"

Another fun thing to do at the crater is riding horses. My uncle and his family are big time rodeo cowboys, and they sometimes bring horses to the crater. It is really fun to saddle up a horse, ride him around into the sunset, and then put the horse back in the corral. Once I even tried to jump my horse over a log, and almost fell out of the saddle. I must sound pretty pathetic.

To top it all of, my family has some of the best cooks in the world, and while at the crater I am treated to some really good food. We even have a special term to describe a deluxe breakfast with pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and hot chocolate. We call it crater breakfast. When we eat dinner, we always get to have smores roasted over an open fire for dessert.

Every time we have crater camp, we always go to the local Kilgore Store, in Kilgore Idaho. All the cousins pile in the back of the pickup as we drive down to the store. This is where we made up the crater song. When we get to the store, we are treated to an ice cream cone, and then we all go outside and sit on the fence to slurp up our delicious treat. We all have an awesome time.

I love going up to the crater, and whenever I leave, I wish I could go back.









                              

The Bair Gutsman

Crazy Bob's Bair Gutsman is a mountain race that climbs up four miles to the top of  Francis Peak, then 7 miles down the other side. If you live in Kaysville, Layton, or Fruit Heights, You've probably seen the white structures that people sometimes describe as "big golf balls"on top of the peak. This race goes over that mountain.


My grandpa is an amazing athlete, at 64, and after having open heart surgery, he still does triathlons and marathons. He ran the Bair Gutsman in the 70's, and after finding out about it from my grandpa, my dad wanted to run this hard mountain race. At the time, I was in the first grade. My dad and I started training every morning by running in our neighborhood and doing "army"(a series of push ups, sit ups, and squats). When we started, it was hard to keep exercising every morning, but as time rolled on, we persisted, got into better shape, and could run  faster and farther than before.

I remember feeling a little scared that I wouldn't be able to finish the race, but after doing a practice race up the mountain with just my dad. I discovered that I could not only finish the race, but have fun while doing so.

The morning of the race, my dad and  I woke up extra early so we could get to the starting line on time. I remember not being tired at all, owing to the butterflies in my stomach. When my grandpa came to run with us, we hopped into our car and headed down to the start line. We got our race numbers and headed over to the start. I remember feeling nervous, but ready to run. Then the gun was fired to set us off.


And so it began. We ran up to the top of the mountain in 2 hours or so with little incident. We decided we were making pretty good time, and set off on the long 7 mile dirt road to the finish line. As soon as we started the downhill portion of the race, I discovered my feet were hurting. I felt like stopping, but my dad reminded me that we needed to keep going if we wanted to finish the race. With my grandpa and my dad holding my hands on both sides to keep me going, we ran towards the finish line. When the end was in view, I got so exited and ran faster on the final sprint. That year the had a huge timekeeper scoreboard at the finish line, telling us how much time it took us to run the race. We finished in a little under 4 hours.

After running we got a sweet t-shirt and a slice of watermelon. I even got a gift certificate to a running store for being the youngest runner in the race. When my mom came to pick us up, we ate subway for a celebratory treat.

Now I have ran  the Bair Gutsman 4 times. In fact, now most of my family has run it too. And every time I finish, I get a great feeling of accomplishment that can't be beat. I will forever be grateful to my dad for running with me, and will always appreciate how lucky I am to live close to the mountains. 

Just Mow It.

When I first began to practice my lawn mowing skills in the fifth grade, I was super exited to be doing something that only 'big guys" could do. I was set to work mowing in my very own backyard. Back then, I struggled to operate our Honda lawn mower. I was often unable to even start the machine. It didn't help that the lawn mower was very old. Even today billows of white smoke emit after you start the mower. Luckily, I was assisted by my dad so I could eventually mow some of my lawn with ease.

Now, four years later I am a master at the art of mowing. I currently mow 5 lawns, and I am pleased to say that I can start any mower very easily. I have even upgraded into using my grandpa's riding lawn mower. I have the routine of riding my bike to the lawn that needs to be mowed, mowing the lawn, and coming home down to a science. I guess you could say I'm a professional, which is true. I make a substantial amount of money every week.


But not everything in the mowing business is as smooth as some people make it seem, on the job, I have broken sprinkler heads and been chased by huge dogs. But no matter how hard it may be to mow a certain lawn, or how hot it my be. One of my greatest satisfactions is to see a lawn that I have mowed glistening in the sun. Who could ask for more?

Climbing to the Top of La Tour Eiffel

Last summer I had the amazing opportunity of touring Europe with my sister and dad. One great part of the trip was when we climbed the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.

 When evening rolled around in Paris, my posse and I headed out on the Metro( Paris' underground train system) to the Eiffel tower. The sun was just setting, and it was a great picture moment when we first saw the tower. The sun was gleaming off this gigantic structure that you always dream about seeing, but it seems impossible until you're really there. As we walked along the Seine, ( Paris' major river) it felt like we had walked into the movie Ratatouille. When the sunlight began to fade, we made the trek up to the tower's base The top looming over you at 1,063 feet, gives you the feeling of being very small. After meeting some Australian school girls in the huge line to get tickets, we finally claimed our tickets and began the ascent to the top. After climbing 300 steps to the first level, and another 300 to the second level, we were ready to go to the very top, which is only accessible by elevator. And after waiting in another line, we rode in the elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower!

When darkness falls in Paris, the Tower lights up.When you go outside on the highest level of the tower, the wind in your face, the glowing view of the City of  Lights, and the feeling of being able to say, "I am on top of the Eiffel Tower." Puts you in a state of awe. After soaking in these wonderful feelings, it's time to take pictures to prove to your friends that you really got to do something that most people only dream about. Climbing the Eiffel Tower.

The begining of the end: ninth grade year.

So far ninth grade has treated me pretty well. My classes are challenging but fun, and being the Student Body President has been a blast.

Although a lot of my classes are challenging, all of my teachers are really cool. Algebra 2 has been especially hard, staying up late doing homework for that class happens very often. Biology has also worked me very hard. One fun class I have is Rhapsody in Blue, we are singing some really cool songs from Wicked, Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat, and Hair (a hippie musical). I also enjoy going to Chinese two, our teacher is funny and we do lots of fun activities, just this week we got to watch The Spy Next Door, starring Jackie Chan. Many of my friends are in Chinese with me. English has so far proved to be a fun class, my English teacher teaches in a different way than any other teacher I've ever had. French three will also be fun this year, because we are doing more speaking and less writing. Seminary has also been way fun, I love to play the hymns when we have the opening song.

Being an SBO has proved to be one of the best decisions I've ever made. All the officers are all awesome and we are now all really good friends. There isn't a moment when we aren't having fun. Planning the assemblies, making posters, decorating the showcase, and cheering at the games are some of the stuff we do, and if that sounds fun, that isn't the half of it. We have now set up a Nerf hoop and a Gamecube in Ms. Allred's room. And if we aren't shooting hoops we can be found sneaking down the halls on secret missions for poster paper.

As Student Body President, I also get the privilege of associating with all the great people at Fairfield Jr High. When I first became Student Body President, I promised myself I would help others have a great experience at Fairfield. Whether that means meeting someone new at lunch everyday, or saying hi to a person in the halls, I am grateful to be the Student Body President.

I am confident this year will be the best year I have ever had. But we'll see about getting that 4.0 GPA.

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Hello world!