I cannot truthfully tell you who my one true hero is because I have so many. My father, my mother, my grandmother, my best friend… There are so many!

My father is a hero to me because of how string he is, not physically, but emotionally. Earlier this year my grandfather, my father’s father, passed away. It was very difficult for my dad, but he was able to pull through.

My mother is one of my heros because of all of the obstacles she overcame: losing her younger brother when she was eleven, an evil stepfather, managing going to college while raising three girls and taking care of a husband, and still finding times to coach all of my soccer teams!

My grandmother is a hero because I can always count on her- for anything.  Wheather I am in dire need of her help or if I just need to borrow her portable DVD player, she is always there.

Tyler, my best friend since I was two, is one of my heros because I can tell him anything and always know that my secrets are safe.  I trust him with my life.  Through our fourteen years of friendship, we have gotten into many arguments, but when push comes to shove (and I truley mean that because we were two violent kids) we are always there for each other.

You know, I could fill pages and pages writing about people who I believe to be heroic, but that would be a waste of both of our time.  I wish that I could tell you about every person who has really helped me, but that would take forever.  So, I leave you with this: for a person to truley be heroic, they don’t have to be a strong guy in a cape, they don’t have to have super powers or “batarangs,” all they have to do is help you up when you are down.

http://wyatt67.edublogs.org/2009/04/28/challenge-9-true-heroes/

To start off, I must get one point across: my family is no way perfect- but that’s what makes being part of it so fun! My immediate family consists of my two sisters, my father, my mother and myself. The five of us have endured many misadventures, including being stranded in the middle of a lake in a boat with no gas, stuffing two unhappy girls into a one person tent during the midst of a wild tempest, and getting lost in an immense campground. As you might have guessed, we a fairly outdoorsy bunch. We all wakeboard and enjoy playing various sports, but we also have our numerous differences. For example, I enjoy singing- very loudly and my sisters enjoy drowning me out.

My parents are like most parents in the way that they seem to know exactly what to say to embarrass me most.  But, the do have their halfway decent moments.  My parents know how to have fun, we always have a blast whenever we go out on our boat.

So, as I have said, my family isn’t perfect, but maybe that is what makes it ideal.

Ok, so I’ve never actually seen a flamingo before, but they look so cool! What is better than a giant pink bird? I’ll tell you, nothing! I know that the point of this blog was to write about an animal that I would rather see live instead of a zoo, but the truth is that I have never seen a flamingo in any zoo and I don’t know anybody who has. That doesn’t change tha fact that they are so cool!

Currently we have a an apple tree in bloom in our backyard. When the wind blows, it looks like a flurry of snow.

The Oregon sky is often various shades of white. Many people I know find the sky far to bleak to enjoy, but I love it. After sixteen years stuck under the oppression of the relentless clouds, one learns to accept them rather than resent them.

My hometown is littered with beaches made of white sand. Every time I set foot on a beach I am reminded of years past.

When I first heard tale about Earth Hour, which took place March 28, it was already March 30… So, I missed Earth Hour. Whoops. But, just because I missed this event, doesn’t mean that I don’t do my part in helping the earth.

In my family we try our best to reduce, reuse, and recycle. My mom will only buy recyclable items, and my mom makes sure to sort through our recyclables and put them in their correct places. At the grocery store my mom only uses paper bags, or better yet, brings her own.

I do, in fact, plan on participating on Earth Day (April 22). I plan on doing my best to conserve as much energy as I can, and encouraging others to do the same.

So, this Earth Day and everyday, do what you can to save the earth.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The sudden gust of air stung my already chilled face as looked up at what could possibly be the place of my premature death: the bunny slope. Now, everybody says that the bunny slope is nothing to worry about, that it’s really easy, but why did it look so menacing?

I took a deep breath and decided to go for it. I made my way to the ski lift, which was quite a feat considering I had to drag my heavy snowboard around with one foot, and waited in line. Ahead of me there was an older woman and her teenage daughter who were going skiing, they looked as new as I did.

The mother sat down on her bench, the daughter on the next, and then I took mine. The view from the air was astounding and surreal. I felt as if I was on top of the world and looking down on all the little people. Halfway up the slope the mother admitted to her daughter that she had no idea how to get off of the lift. This worried me a little.

I knew by watching that you were supposed to tilt your skis or snowboard upward when you reached the top of the lift, and then you just slide down. Not a difficult concept to grasp.

When the mother reached the point where you get off the lift, she panicked and didn’t get off. The young, irritated man who was working the controls stopped the lift. The daughter started laughing; I had to keep myself from screaming. A sudden feeling of vertigo kicked in, and all I wanted to do was get off of that lift. The mother managed to slide off of her bench and then the daughter took her sweet time doing the same.

When it was my turn to get off I was prepared. I angled my board correctly waited for the correct moment to push myself off of the bench. It went off without a hitch, until I slipped and fell on my butt. I picked myself back up, though, and dragged my board to the edge of the slope.

I, being “goofy-foot,” strapped my right foot into the board and pushed myself upright. I took in a deep breath and went for it! In a moment I was zooming down the mountain. All that I could see was a swirl of white as cool air whipped at my face. Then, right as I thought I had a hold on everything, I went tumbling forward; luckily I was wearing a helmet. I must have fallen halfway down the slope.

When I finally came to a stop I stood myself up again, and despite my aching legs, continued all the way to the bottom.