Tim at College!

The reason why Mom, Charlie and I didn't stay for the second half at church is because we had to leave for CCSU to visit Tim! In case some you don't know, my brother, Tim, is a freshman at Central Conn. State University in New Britain. Tim says hi to everyone!

Tim is having a hard time keeping up with the piles of studies he's been given but he has gotten it all done; it isn't easy for him. He doesn't like his courses but he's hanging in there and soon enough I think he'll find something he is interested in. Tim says that all kids do up there is drink and party but Tim has chosen to stay away from it. He has a really nice clump of friends, but unfortunately they are worldly kids and do what worldly kids do. Tim's roommate is awesome! Tom's his name and he is also is on the golf team. Here's a pic:

yea, he is a lil bit taller...haha he is huge!

He are a couple more of CCSU!!

out on the bball court just below tim's dorm

this is the view from his dorm

with the bro! tim's on the left and charlie is on the right.

tim and mom in the dorm

tiger's always watching...lol tim looks like he just saw a ghost.

tim with his Apple and im watching (wishing i had one)

we were so bored on the way back home that we just had to take some silly pics. i put this on our car the other day and charlie just had to take this pic.

no comment

this is my official "im bored and want to get out of the car" face. look at my nose for a lil bit and after like 5 seconds it looks huge (DO IT)

in the prison...tim's dorm, haha.

that all i have. it's too bad i don't have any campus pics, ill get those next time and post them on here, cuz it really is a nice campus.

WE LOVE YA TIM!

TIM SAID HE WOULD LOVE PRAYERS!

-Wolf Alert-

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Here is a picture of our dog Meesha (she is part wolf) howling at a siren.

You envy my dog...

...CUZ IT'S SO COOL!

When our 2 other dogs bark at something, Meesha will try to bark but she can't. She sounds more like a dying dog than a barking dog.

I LOVE MEESHA!

Hey Delaney I did some more research and I thought these cars/boats were worth looking at.

Check em' out.

Then of course you need to have the Jet Ski/off road Quad.

They are only $142,000

THESE WERE NOT PHOTOSHOPED!

Delaney, quit wishing for an El Camino and be logical and get a car you can afford.

It doesn't look to nice but I'm sure it'll start up.

Looks pretty rusty but a lil rust can't hurt.

I know you don't like insects but worst comes to worst you'll have to settle with this one.

I'm not sure if you'd like the wheels but I guess you could get them replaced.

I think it can fly too but I still don't think it's worth it.

Looks more like a remote control.

No way now that I see the inside. Looks like a Hot Wheels car.

So ugly.

Well even though they are rather ugly and rusty I think you should start with something with a reasonable price. LOL those cars are only a couple mil each.

Hey remember me? Sam Kerr, the kid that abandoned his blog for months! Haha, yup it's me and I'm back. It's been a while, but I'm back and I've got some new news for ya.

THE NEWEST NEWS

WITH THE KERRS

That guy up there is my oldest bro Tim (as most of you know). Tim is going to Central Connecticut State University to play on their Division 1 Golf Team!!! It's going to be weird having Tim gone!! We're all gonna miss him...right? Lol of course we will! He will be rooming on campus which will be interesting, hopefully he'll have opportunities to share the Gospel with roommates and buddies. So be praying ahead of that!The dude with the gun on the left in my second bro, Charlie. I've been his video man during turkey hunting season. We went on many adventurous hunts! We would start off by camping out and then wake up by 3:50am our eyes barely open tromping through the woods in search of gobblers.Unfortunately we didn't have a turkey dinner on the table this season, but we captured some great memories on film.

Charlie and his buddy, Collin Riddle, have been working like dogs for the last couple of months at the Ridgewood CC for Dad. Collin is now literally officially my 3rd brother! He seems to be over every other day! This is what normally happens: Collin and I both have guitar practice on Tuesday at my house, and that same night we have Bible Study with a bunch of kids, which Collin also comes to. So, he comes over for guitar practice, goes home for a couple hours, then comes back for Bible Study, and sleeps over because he works the next day at the golf course. Tuesday isn't the only day he comes over! He sleeps over anytime if he is working the following day. Sometimes I'll be walking around a corner and there's Collin, and I'll say, "Oh hey, when did you get here and who let you in?" Yeah, Collin is now one of our best friends.Charlie got a chance to cut the green with a singles mower the other day. He did a great job controlling it until he got on the green.

...

Well, let's put it this way, Charlie will no longer be cutting greens with a singles mower. No, I'm just kidding. He cut 8 greens to perfection, not a line out of place. And Collin has also been doing a great job around the course. AHA! Time for some live updates.

LIVE UPDATES!

Dad literally just called me telling me that they (Dad, Char, and Collin) just had to chase a HUGE black bear off the course!!!!!!! They said it was by the Pro shop! This is the first time they have ever seen a black bear on the course! Hopefully the pics they got of the bear will be on here in a couple of days.

I really think we should convert the golf course to a wild animal park. I mean, goodness, you've got bears running loose, killer coyotes, and herds of vicious deer on the prowl! The main sign should read,

"ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!"

Ridgewood Golf and Game Park

As for me, I've been finishing up my school work for the year and working for Dad too, but not as much as Charlie and Collin. I'm also learning guitar which I love! My guitar teacher said that since we have done a great job so far, our next lesson (next Tuesday) will be dedicated to learning our favorite song, no matter how difficult!! I'm so psyched! I haven't decided on the song yet, but I'm looking for a good one.
Basketball this year was great! When I went to my first practice we were less than perfect, to say the least. But when we stepped out on the court we won and won! For the regular season we were had only lost one game. By the time Playoffs arrived our team was predicted to be the Champs. We flew by our first game then we found ourselves in the Semi-Finals and ended up fighting for our lives in the last quarter.

The game started like any other game, we took an early lead and kept it for a long time, but not long enough.In the final quarter with a minute on the clock our competitors made a shot to pull them ahead by 1. Then we called a time out and made a play that had a good chance of pulling us back on top, but unfortunately my teammate, Rich, missed the shot, but the game was far from over. Somehow time winded down to 3 seconds and we planned for a player to run up, set a pick on my man, and then I would run to the basket and take a shot around foul line. Well, the player who was supposed to set the pick never did! I was left scrambling to get open and by the time I got the ball and tried to shake my defender there was hardly any time left which forced me to throw up a low percentage shot that missed. WE HAD LOST!! And no one could believe it, and that made it twice as bad. But I was happy for the team that beat us because there were some of my friends on that team.

A few days later the Championship Game was played and the team that beat us won, so that was good. But the only reason I was kind of upset they won was because the coach was so intense and just plain mean. I got to play on the All Star Team and it just so happened that he was my coach! I got to see if it was true what all my friends on the Championship team said about him. WELL IT WAS TRUE!!! It was not a very enjoyable game, unfortunately.

Despite the super competitive All Star Game and the loss in the Semi's I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the two MVP's for the league. So that was exciting and encouraging.

Summer League is coming up so I'm getting ready for that and golf has started! The golf course is better than ever so Tim and I have been going in a lot to play. It's fun and challenging playing until dark.

Let's see what's new? Well I think I've told you about me and guitar so that's covered but here's a pic.

I'm just joking.

Here's the real me.

It's been fun playing around and figuring out songs I know.

I'll give ya one last pic of us boys.

Haha, our VW Bug ROCKS!

-W A R N I N G-

FLOOD!

These pictures were taken at Southford Falls and Stevenson's Dam...

After a stunning 9 inches of rain!

Just a normal day at Southford Falls...

Or maybe not!

Remember I said it was Southford Falls not Niagara Falls

That current looks so weak...NOT!

I'm over on the left getting ready to dive in a swim upstream, no biggy.

Man overboard!

ETHAN B. IS THE MAN! (read the sign, lol)

Stevenson's Dam at its best. You can't really tell but the water was so high and rushing so fast...what can I say? It was just rediculous!

I went through that little shoot on the right and that was a pretty fun ride, jk lol

I had to include this picture just because this guy was like the highlight of our day, lol. This guy was sooooo mad at all the people who were watching the dam (he is Ethan B's hero, lol).

Ok, you want to see something ridiculous?

CHECK THIS OUT!

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These are all REAL street drawing! Not photoshoped!

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Take that!

Lobster Bisque?

How do ya figure?!

Saved by Spiderman!

Taking a dip...RIDICULOUS!

What a discover!

Blows me away

Sewage Problems

ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!

Sailboat Puddle

Watch your step!

Sony Street

Biggest coke bottle ever?

Check this out!
UNBELIEVABLE! This dude has some serious skill!

Kids Bible Study "The T-Shirt Race"

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ..."
Romans 13:14

Sean is about 55 pounds and in this pic he looks like he is 155 pounds!

Showing off...btw SEAN IS MY HERO!
"Brendon the Beast"
I'm guessing Brendon weighs less than Sean!
Carley is so cool
Meesha looks small compared to Carley!

Remember to always put on the Lord Jesus Christ!

With Daring Faith Book Review

by Sam Kerr

Little Amy Carmichael couldn’t understand why God had given her brown eyes. Every time she looked at herself in the mirror she couldn’t help but to think that her eyes were like two mud puddles. One night little Amy prayed to God that He would make her eyes blue like her mothers but in the morning when she hopped out of bed and ran over to her mirror, those dark brown eyes still stared back at her. Little did Amy know what God had in plan for her and her brown eyes.
Every biography I had read before this one had been boring, dull, and just didn’t seem to turn me on. But my thoughts changed when I read this powerful, exciting, inspiring, and thought provoking biography called, With Daring Faith, by Rebecca Henry Davis. With Daring Faith tells the true story of Amy Carmichael’s unpredictable life. This book takes you on a roller coaster ride with the ups and downs of Amy’s courageous missionary work in India. I honestly don’t know how you could read this book and not be convicted of your sins and realize how wonderful our God really is. The Hindus are less than cooperative and yet the Lord works through Amy and lives are saved from eternal suffering in Hell.
Amy is the main character in the book and lived with her two younger brothers and parents in Great Britain. When she was young she was rather mischievous and was always trying to pull a prank on someone, but when her father died a big change happened. She was forced to grow up and become one of the leaders in the house. After a few years their family moved to England and while Amy was there the Lord spoke to her to pursue missionary work. At first her mother told her that there was no way she could be a missionary with Neuralgia (a disease that makes your bones and muscles ache). But after a little while Amy decided to go to Japan where she stayed for some time, until finally her Neuralgia made her turn away from Japan and go back to England. She didn’t stay there for long though, sooner than later she received a note asking her to come to India and help a certain mission group to help spread the Gospel. She asked the Lord if she should go to India. He replied with “Go”. Off to India she went and seeds were planted but not without trials. Many times she was confined to her bed because of the painful disease that she suffered from but still the Lord brought her through these hard times. This book clearly shows that nothing is impossible with God even when it seems nothing could possibly be done.
This biography of Amy Carmichael is without a doubt the best biography I’ve ever read. Reading this book made me realize how hungry Amy Carmichael was to share the Gospel with so many people and it inspired me. One time when she was suffering from Neuralgia she asked the doctor when she would recover and followed the question with this: “There isn’t a second to lose! Souls are dieing and going to Hell!” I highly recommend this book! It is an easy read, short, but great book. I promise you’ll enjoy it.

I'm so bored I dont even know what I'm gonna do
Here's a bunch of random stuff

Looks like i'm standing on clouds doesn't it?!

Only Collin knows what he was doing in this pic, ROFL! Looks like he is walking on clouds too though.
LOL! This pic was taken in the middle of a turkey hunt! Hahaha! I can't believe I lowered myself that far, lol. It was actually pretty fun hanging out with my bro and Collin...even though we were hunting turkey. We didn't shoot anything that day...I wonder why?
ABBEY IS MY HERO!!!

I hope it isn't too far away for you to read but if it is it says this, "HAPPY SCOOPERS...DOG WASTE REMOVAL SERVICE... 1-866- SCOOP UP" ROFL!

I stood next to a llama! You can tell he hasn't brushed his teeth in a couple yearsDelaney sent me this picture and I cant tell if it is real or Photoshoped but either way it looks pretty cool to me!

Back for More...

Fun on Photoshop

Glowing eye (If anyone thinks I'm trying to look evil I'm not, I was just having fun on photoshop to see what I could do, lol)
Jawas!! I was trying desperately to look like one of the Jawas in Star Wars and I think I had a success!

Christmas fun

Gramps againHolding the Sun!

Last but not least one more Darth Vader pic...I labeled this pic, "Rock Star", haha.

The Funniest TRUE Story Ever!

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One of Tim's friends (Katie) told him a story about her cousin the other day that made him crack up, here it is.

Katie's cousin was dog sitting for a friend of hers in downtown Boston. Unfortunately, the dog died during one of the days she was sitting it so she called up the owners of the dog and said, "Hi, I'm so sorry but your dog died last night." Surprisingly the owners weren't shocked and replied saying that they had been sort of expecting it since he was so old. Katie's cousin was shocked at their reply and then asked relieved, "Oh, well ok, umm, what do I do with the body?" The owners instructed her to take it down to the pound and that they would get rid of it. Well, Katie's cousin didn't have a car so she couldn't drive down.

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What she is about to do is hilarious!

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So she stuffed the dead dog into a suitcase!

She approached a bus with her extremely heavy suitcase and when she tried to get up the stairs and into the bus she found that the suitcase was way to heavy for her to drag up the stairs. A man came over to her and asked if she needed help and she excepted it gratefully. The big man dragged it up into the bus and asked,

"Wow, that is heavy, what do you have in there?" Katie's cousin wasn't about to tell him that a dead dog was in it so she replied,

"Oh, umm, computers and computer parts I'm going to meet a client right now actually." The man kindly said,

"Please take my seat, with that heavy a suitcase it will drag you to the floor if we stop short."

"Why thank you sir." she replied.

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You won't believe what happens next

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It turns out that at the next stop the the same man who had helped her pull her suitcase up the steep stairs and offered her his seat suddenly turned around, punched her in the stomach, grabbed her suitcase and took off down the street!!!!! Can you imagine the guy's face when he opened the suitcase!!! I wasn't told anything else but I don't think she was hurt at all. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Pretty priceless!

My Trip to NYC

I'm not going to kill myself and write an essay on our time down in Manhattan, but I will give you a quick (but nice) run through and show you some AMAZING pictures of the one and only...New York City!

The whole reason we went down there is because we wanted to go to Bodies Exhibition. I know it sounds weird but it really wasn't. It was a museum that displayed preserved cadavers (a dead body, lol). It also their veins, nervous system, brain, muscles, heart, liver, lungs and more out in the open without skin covering them! IT WAS AMAZING!! You name it they had it. It was mind blowing! It was amazing to see what goes on inside of us! Its name said it all. I don't know how you could go there and yet still not believe there is a God!!!!! Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow me to take pictures while we were in the museum, but obviously I snapped plenty while we walked around the city with Collin and Bradleigh Riddle who were our prize guests for the trip.

After we found a parking a place we pretty much just walked around the seaport and then we wondered down Broadway (I WALKED PASSED TRINITY CHURCH!!!! BTW Trinity Church was where they found the treasure in National Treasure) and went to Ground Zero and saw the memorial that had been put up (that was impacting, you'll see pictures of them below) and then we went to Chinatown and then headed back towards the car and met more friends at the Body Museum. Sounds like a short time but we really spent 3 or 4 hours just roaming around...It was awesome!!

Here are some pics I know you'll love.

What a sky!

Having fun with mirrors

That's a better one

I took this one and think it looks so cool with the American flag and then the building in the background

George staring into the distance at the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)

TRINITY CHURCH!!!!

I love this photo! I took this one through a fence in front of some church cemetery. In the top picture, as you can see, Dad is in it, but thanks to Ryan he took Dad out of the pic below and I think with just one person it makes everything look more mysterious. I like to call it, "The Mystery Man"

Ground Zero...

This is one of the many pictures that they had up in memory of 9/11

This flute player was apparently there when it happened

TIM'S LEVITATING!!

NOT MOM TOO!!

Hahaha (Above and Below)

So much for "Raining Cats and Dogs"

I thought this was a really cool pic

Time for a ladder, I love the sky in this pic!

The Never Ending Bridge

Almost dark

I thought it would be nice to end on this one. I caught a glimpse of the Empire State Building!

Even though it was busy and crowded, I loved it and am definitely going back there again!

I was just looking at my blog and wondering what was missing or what else I could write about, and then the thought came to my mind of Christmas! I had such a fun time, why not write about it. Don't worry it's just gonna be a little walk through my Christmas...so it'll be shorter than my Cape Cod story, haha.

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The Life of a Chimney in Winter

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Here I am, up in the sky huffing and puffing
To keep my house dry.
It is winter now and all I can see
Is a layer of white all around me.
Children are romping outside in the snow

Sliping and sliding oh look how they go

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Christmas at my Grandparents

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"Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!" greeted Grandpa, who was wearing a red and white Santa hat. I laughed and made sure to comment on his awesome hat. I reached into the back of the car and began pulling out gifts, which were for our cousins and of course, our grandparents too. I added one after another onto my arms and stacked them like I would stack wood and then headed for the house. After bringing all the gifts in from the car, I said hello to everyone and passed hugs all around. I was extremely excited to see my Aunt Nancy, Uncle Henry and cousin, Ben Utter, who I rarely get to see. Most of you probably know a little bit about them just because of Cragged Mt Farm. In case you don't or just forget, they own Cragged and are the ones who are kind enough to let us go up there and have fun with the church group. Our other cousins weren't there yet but I was also excited to see them too.

We walked into the playroom and flicked on the T.V. An NBA basketball game was on so we watched that for a little while and then Ben and I made a bet.

The Miami Heat were playing the Los Angeles Lakers and then Ben suddenly announced that Jason Kapono (who used to be on the college team UCLA) was on the Miami Heat and was one of the new leaders on the team. On the other hand I was quite sure (even though I had never heard or seen Kapono) that Kapono was on the Lakers. So we made a bet and a little bit of gambling broke out. I had brought my battery eating, little Canon Powershot along and just in case I ran out, I had brought 4 extra batteries which laid in my pocket. So I decided to give Ben my 4 extra batteries if he won the bet and he would give me 5 dollars if I won. Sounded like a good deal to me so we watched closely and listened to see if the commentators would use the mystery players name. A commercial break came and during it Ben and I went back and forth saying things like:

"You're going down big boy," or "You might as well give me those 5 dollars now." Before the break ended my other cousins came walking in and after the hugs, of course, we announced to them what was going on and who we thought was going to win. After literally 15 minutes the moment came. Suddenly the room light up with roars saying,

Sam, you got owned!", "Sam lost!" or "Ben wins, Ben wins!" My heart sank like an anchor, I had lost. But I suddenly remembered that the person I thought was Kapono (who was actually a guy called Jordan Farmar) had also used to play on UCLA! Everyone somewhat eased up on me since they found out that Farmar had also played on UCLA but still I had lost the bet but Ben being the 25 year old that he is was kind enough to let the bet go and NOT take my 4 batteries. What a nice guy, haha. After the bet all the kids headed outside to the front yard to play some football. That was a fun time! Probably my favorite football game of all time and one of the reasons why is because we were delivered food while playing! My Uncle Henry is an amazing cook! So while we were playing out came Uncle Henry with a platter of the most delicious chicken I have ever tasted! It seemed as if it melted in my mouth. My team won and I felt as if I had somewhat redeemed myself, haha just kidding. While we were outside playing football the parents and grandparents were inside opening their gifts before ours because every year it is crazy trying to open all the gifts at once! So by the time we finished the game and walked back inside, they were almost done with their gifts, so in the meantime we just sat around and talked while watching a football game.

Supper was soon announced and everyone gathered into Grandma's beautifully decorated eating room. After a prayer, the ladies grabbed plates and started the line around the large eating room table. My plate was piled high with tasty delicacies. It was so long ago that I forget all the delicious meals, unfortunately, so you ladies won't be getting any recipes, sorry, haha. I found a comfortable spot in the T.V room where all the kids were and just had a good time talking, joking, watching some football, and most of all, eating.

Here are some pics of my awesome Christmas:

Uncle Henry posses for a pic over his AMAZING deserts

Randy Da Man & me...funny pic

Hahaha, Me and Ben joking around Me, Grandpa, and Charlie

Another great pic with Ben, Gramps, and Me

Mom & Grandma

Chelly Bell (Chelsea) & Tim

Randy & Stevie

Uncle Bill doing his classic laugh

Aunt Nancy & Aunt Kerry (You can tell Nancy is Mom's sister. Nancy looks just like Mom doesn't she?)

Couldn't leave Tim out

Say "cheese"

Ben took this one. Great shot of the entire family!

Sorry I kinda cut the story short but basically the rest of the night was a ball. I LOVE MY COUSINS, AUNTS, UNCLES, GRANDPARENTS, BRO'S AND PARENTS!

IS THAT MY BROTHER?!?!?

Well, on one lonely, December night, my brother, Charlie, at the age of two, jumped out of his cradle, grabbed some of his belongings, and then vanished. He’s been missing for fourteen years now and still no one knows where he went. Some say he couldn't have survived the harsh winter, but deep down inside I knew he was still out there...somewhere.

***

“Mom, can I check the channels?” I asked.
“Sure, but make it quick.”
I grabbed the clicker and pressed Power. I raddled of the numbers as they went by.
“Two, three, four, five, six, seven…” I stopped on seven and listened.
“Hi, I’m Josh Dollen on ABC News and I just got word that a near catastrophe happened on Route 6 in Newtown, Connecticut.”

My heart skipped a beat; our house was just off Route 6.
“The person to blame is a bizarre looking young boy who ran out of the woods and was nearly hit while crossing the road! He was hunched over like an ape and covered in mud from head to toe; all he wore was an old pair of jeans and brown sneakers. But after crossing he made his way into someone’s front yard where he posed for pictures before scurrying into the underbrush. We got an interview with the man who was lucky enough to get the photos. He said he believed it was the legendary ape man who had been sighted twice in the mid nineties and now in 2007 has resurfaced.”
By now the entire family was in front of the T.V, and listening carefully. The newscaster continued, “Here are the photos of the ape-like creature.”

I looked at the odd looking creature with a mixture of fear and excitement.

“And that will be all for tonight, this was ABC News with Josh Dollen, thanks for watching.”
As I turned off the TV I turned to Tim and asked,
“WAS THAT OUR BROTHER?!?”

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To be continued...

I had a good long laugh after writing this. If you didn’t know, my real brother’s name is Charlie, and one day he decided to jump into a mud puddle (as you can see above). This was one big joke on Charlie. The story was “made up”, so don't worry about seeing him in your backyard anytime soon.

Tiger Woods and his Crazy Shot

This is a video of Tiger Woods in the Masters on the 16th hole for a birdie and to take the lead. It is a real shot that actually happened, I saw it live on T.V!

Basketball: At the Buzzard Full Court Amazing Basketball Shot

Basketball Shot of the year! A kid throws a shot at the buzzard from full court and makes it. Amazing!!!

Acrobatic Basketball Stunts

This video shows some AMAZING baskets from some trained acrobats. Great amazing basketball tricks. INSANE!!!!

VISCOUS!! RABID!!

I was looking through our pictures today and I saw two that I can't believe got left out of my previous Cragged post...Here they are. Sorry, I didn't realize they were so far away but I think you can still see them.

Meesha enjoying a pet by Noah and Charlie and

THEN SUDDENLY...

SHE TURNS RABID!! Meesha is yawning not gnawing.

It makes her look like she's eating Noah's arm off.

I just had to add those two little pics cause I thought they were so funny.

Our Trip To Mohonk Mountain House


These are some of the many pictures we have of this amazing place out in the middle of no where in New York. The pictures are sporadic because when I inserted them I thought I could cut and paste but I can't...UGH!

Living Dangerously

This is one of the many little resting places along the trails and hikes

This picture is of a crevice you can climb on one of the trails...it is awesome!
This is the view you get once you reach the top of the crevice. You can see 3 or 4 states from there!

This is a picture I snapped when I was half way up the crevice

This one is of the amazing view from the top of the mountain. You get a clear view of the main Mountain House...AMAZING!

The garden is awesome and huge! That it's a pic of their Mohonk Mountain House symbol

Garden of Adam and Eve...literally!

Just down right awesome!

This is the tower that waits for you at the top of the mountain

From below at the Mountain House

Another one of the resting spots but this one is right next to a 15 yard drop off into a lake

The Mountain House close up

Cool shot I got off while climbing the Rock Scrambles

Look out below!

Cool little ladders that get you over small crevices

Awesome shot of Charlie climbing one of the ladders with the sun in the background

SUPERMAN RETURNS!!! Charlie is a nut!

View across the lake

Those are some of the cool pictures I thought you guys would like to see. I totally advise you to go there!!!

"AWAY IN A MANGER"

~REMIX by DJ $ammy~

"Away in a manger no crib for a bed

The little MeMe Rider lay down her sweet head

The stars and the sky looked down where she lay

The little wolf doggy asleep on the hay..."

Meesha sleeping in our flower pot!

MEESHA IS CRAZY!!!!!!!!

By the way, Meesha's nichname is MeMe Rider...lol

CHECK THIS OUT!!! THEY'RE LIKE MONKEYS!!!!!

(I didn't make this video)

(Turn off the volume if you don't want to here the music)

http://talentshow.yahoo.com/#v=104778

Tim's Art

Tim has a great talent that I wish I had...art. Here are some of his drawings/paintings.

This one is of some famous golf hole. It's his first drawing.

Sorry for the glare, this definitely isn't the greatest picture of it, but I couldn't find any other pictures of it! This is his second drawing.

This one is of Tiger Woods lining up a putt. It's his latest one. He painted the background.

Not bad huh? I think they are awesome! But leave a comment and let me know if you like them too!

Me and my Crazy Family

I figured I haven't put any pictures of me and my family on this little blog of mine, so here are a couple.

Here's a funny one of me (left) and Charlie's best friend, Collin.

The lighting isn't the greatest but oh well.

All decked out for my Grandma and Grandpa's 50th Anniversary

This is my Mom's side of the family...love all of them! The two Charlies!

Charlie and our cousin Charlie Utter joking around!

Tim and Charlie being weird.

Is Charlie's face priceless or what?

Us at Hammonasett State Park. Chilling at the beach, haha.

I can't not put a couple pictures of my Uncle Bill on here as the grand finale. Drum roll please!

Nice wig! Aunt Kerry is in the background.

This is him again in the same outfit. This was on my Grandparents' 50th Anniversary. He set up a game of Jeopardy! It was so funny. The catagories you could pick from were: Ancient History (about my grandparents' life), Groovy Grove (where my grandparents' summer home is), You Do the Math (important years when things happened my grandparents' life), and then Location, Location, Location (where something important happened during my grandparents' marriage).

Those are some pictures of my awesome family!

Trip to Cape Cod


Mom came walking up to me at supper time and said she had a surprise for us boys. Well she exclaimed that we (Tim, Charlie, and I) were going to Cape Cod with our Uncle Bill and his family to stay at their summer house for 4 days. They are all Christians. I knew we were going to have a blast! I was so excited I couldn't wait!

*The Beginning of an Adventure*

We drove over to my uncle's house at about 9:00 pm. The rest of their family was already up at the Cape, so we were the last brigade. I went with Uncle Bill and Stevie in their VW bus (it is really old) and Tim and Charlie drove up in our Honda Civic. The adventure begins! We took the lead and Tim and Charlie tagged along behind us. Charlie stayed with Tim to keep him awake, it's like a 6 hour long drive. Before we hopped on the highway we got some gas and grabbed a couple of Coffee Collates at Dunkin' Donuts.

WARNING!
IF YOU HAVE A BLADDER PROBLEM OR SOME OTHER DISABILITY LIKE THAT, YOU SHOULD NOT TAKE A RIDE WITH MY UNCLE! BUT IF YOU WANT TO GET YOUR ABDOMINALS GOOD AND STRONG...GO RIGHT AHEAD!

My uncle is the kind of guy that should have his own comedy show on T.V. He can't stop cracking jokes! He is so enjoyable to be around. It was about 10:00pm, so I decided to try to take a nap, I COULDN'T! I just kept laughing at him! Stevie is a little more subdued, but he still has his Dad's genes.
When we stopped for a bathroom brake, Stevie and I couldn't stop laughing at Uncle Bill, because he kept playing the same song over and over. We would recite the lines jokingly and then all laugh at them.
I somehow fell asleep, and it supposedly, was a long time before I was awakened by the voices of Stevie and my Uncle saying things like,
Stevie: "Let's get off the next exit."
Uncle Bill: "Yeah, there's smoke coming out of our muffler."
Stevie: "I wonder what the problem is?"
I sat up and said something like, "What's going on?" Stevie told me I had missed an exciting time. They explained to me what was happening as Billy took a right off the highway and pulled into some sort of rest stop. Uncle Bill turned the car off and hopped out to inspect the injury.
My Uncle collects old cars and then gives them a makeover. So we were with the right guy. Tim pulled up next to us and said that there was a cloud of smoke coming out the muffler. "We know," was our response. Stevie decided to go long boarding while his Dad fixed the car. While Stevie amused himself, Uncle Bill was busy looking at the engine. Oh, by the way, on the back of the car, there are two bumper stickers, one says:
Yup, its got a Hemi, and the other, Honk if anything falls off.
When Weet Woow (a nickname for Uncle Bill) exclaimed that he thought he had solved the problem, we all came over and got back in. He turned the key and...nothing happened. "Time for a push," said Uncle Bill. We got out again and went to the back of the car. We put all our weight against the car and pushed. We got her rolling, by the time she had gone about 30 feet...FFFrrruummm! She kicked in! We jumped back into the bus and speed off. Uncle Bill told us,"If we stop, we'll stall, so basically, WE CAN'T STOP!"

We maneuvered out of the rest stop and then said a prayer for the car. When we got on the exit ramp (it was like a 15 mile an hour zone), an old, slow car, chugged in front of us at about 15mph, and here we come from behind going about 25mph! We all were screaming, "Go! Go! Go! Come on speed up!" Our car was lurching like crazy! It kept cutting out then starting up again. We managed to get on the highway without stalling, but the game wasn't over. Stevie suddenly said, "The bridge! If we stall on that, we won't be able to pull over to the side since there is a 5 foot high cement wall right against both lanes!" There was a bridge ahead that was probably 800 yards long! So if we stalled...CERTAIN DOOM! There was no turning back! We were going about 60mph as we hit the bridge.
"Please Lord, let us get over this bridge," we begged. This was the moment of truth! It continued to sputter, but at least we weren't stalling. 600 yards left! Sputter, sputter. 400 yards left! Ffrrrumm, ffrrumm.
"Come on, come on," I said excitedly. 200 yards left, almost there! Uncle Bill started to encourage her on.
"Come on baby you can do it!" 150, 125, 100! I pressed my fists against my face in nervousness. I was relieved to see that the last hundred yards were fine. We made it! Yes! We all celebrated and gave each other high fives. The cement wall disappeared and there was enough room to pull over on the side. We pressed on, lurches and all. The bus slowly got worse as we neared the Cape. A couple more stutters and a few more lurches.
At 1:00 am., when we were about half an hour away from the house, we hopped off the highway and got on the main road that led us straight to town. Normally when you go through town there might be a couple stop signs or stop lights. So that means you have to obey the law and stop,right? No, of course not! You just go straight through them! Easy as that. Now obviously we would stop any other day, but this wasn't your average day. Since we couldn't stop the car without it stalling, we weren't going to stop for the signs or lights! I remember Uncle Bill asking Stevie,"Do I have clearance? Can I go through?" Stevie would reply with a yes and on we went. Another thing Uncle Bill would say is,
"Sam, are there any Po-pos (police)?" I answered with nope every time. The funniest thing about this whole episode, is that every time I looked back Tim was right behind us, cruising through every red light we went through, as if it was normal.
We went through a few more intersections but then finally pulled into the driveway, at about 1:30 am., and as Uncle Bill put the car to a STOP Tim rolled up behind us. We climbed out of the half dead bus and were greeted by the sweet smell of salt water. We gave each other high fives; we had made it to the Cape.

I hauled my sleeping bag, pillows, and gym bag out of the Honda and headed for the house. Stevie lead the way. We walked silently through the hallway, and then climbed some stairs at the end of the hall. Stevie asked us if we wanted to sleep in the "Crows Nest" or in one of the normal bedrooms. We thought the crows nest sounded pretty cool, so we turned a corner and Stevie began to climb up one of the steepest staircases I've ever seen. Here's a picture of the Crown's Nest.

The old wooden floor boards creaked as we made our way up. It was a rather small space, but it had 4 cots, 2 windows, and a skylight. Plenty enough for me. I sat down on my cot and sighed, it was almost 2:00,a.m I was tired, and so was everyone else. I set up my sleeping bag and crawled in, it wasn't long until I was sound asleep.
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*The First Day*

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I woke up to the sound of noisy sea gulls and commotion downstairs. I got dressed and headed for the first floor. I saw Aunt Kerry out on the porch and sleepily walked over to give her a hug. We talked about the crazy ride up and how exciting it was. After that she told me that they had planned to go out on her Dad's boat and go to some island that had a really nice beach. Sounded cool to me. Next she informed me that the girls, my cousin Chelsea and her friend Leah (Leah is a Christian too), had walked into town and that they'd be back soon. My 13 year old cousin, Randy, came out of the house and after a hug asked me if I wanted to play Ping Pong. "Sure", I replied, so we made our way over to a little barn next to the parked cars. Inside the barn was a Ping Pong table, a couple chairs, and a coffee table. There were tons of things covering the walls, like surfboards, skateboards, roller blades, hockey sticks, golf clubs, and even a huge Shell gasoline station sign. Randy grabbed a ball and and we started playing.

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WARNING!

PING PONG IS A VERY ADDICTING GAME! IF YOU PLAY IT ONCE OR MORE YOU WILL RECEIVE THE "PING PONG VIRUS"!

THIS VIRUS CAN GLUE YOU TO THE TABLE!

IF YOU DON'T WANT THE "PING PONG VIRUS", THEN DON'T PLAY!

Turns out, I got the virus, bad! I couldn't stop playing! It is the most addicting game I've ever played. As a matter a fact, we all got the virus! We lived in the barn and just played Ping Pong tournaments. Not to be prideful, but I must say that I got really good over the time up there! When the girls came back, Chelsea declared that she wanted to play me, so we each grabbed a paddle and started to play.

Let me give you some background here. A month earlier we had gone over to their house to celebrate my Grandpa's birthday. While we were there, Chelsea and I played a game of Ping Pong in their basement. I was so bad I couldn't even hit the ball! I'd swing, and miss, she killed me in that game. But for some odd reason I was playing like a pro up at the Cape. So Chelsea started playing me, she was playing easy to see if I could even return her shots. Once she saw that I could return them, she started playing tougher. All the guys were watching, they couldn't believe it, I was "schooling" Chelly Bell (nickname for Chelsea)! The whole Stratton family is good at Ping Pong, especially Randy and Stevie, and the weird thing was, I was beating them! It was really queer.
"We are ready to go to take the first clan to the beach guys, so whoever wants to go first, put the game on hold and go get your swimming clothes on," said Uncle Bill as he walked into the barn. We scrambled upstairs and got ready. Since we couldn't fit everyone on the boat at once we had to separate it into two trips. The first people to go to the beach were: Charlie, Chelsea, Leah, Randy, Jamie and me.

Mr. Dell (my Aunt's Dad) steered the boat like an expert as we sped across the water. In about 30 minutes, we were pulling up next to the island. We jumped out, once it was shallow enough, and pulled the boat towards the shore. Mr. Dell handed us all the stuff we had brought, like: lawn chairs, towels, shoes, beach bags, boogyboard, and lots of other stuff. We thanked Mr. Dell and waved goodbye as he turned the boat away from the beach and headed back to pick up the rest of the clan. We immediately started exploring. We found 20 foot tall dunes that you could run and jump off of. I know it sounds dangerous, but it really wasn't, because you would land on the down slope in light sand. So if your thinking we were jumping off 20 foot high dunes and landing on flat hard ground, your wrong, but we did get a little crazy later.

An hour later the second raid came, Steve, Tim, Uncle Bill, Aunt Kerry, and Mr. Dell. We headed back over to the dunes with Stevie and Tim, we brought the boogyboard along. Stevie, being the dare devil that he is, said he was going to attempt going down the slope on the boogyboard.

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WARNING!

BOOGYBOARDS ARE NOT MEANT TO BE RIDDEN DOWN SAND DUNES! THE BOARD WILL STOP AND YOU WILL GO FLYING FORWARDS!

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He grabbed the board and ran up to the top of the sand hill, and hopped on."Here I go!" he yelled. He shuffled over to the edge and, just as expected, fell. He made all of us want to do it. Charlie tried many times but only fell flat on his face. I decided to give it a shot. We were trying to slide down on our stomachs this time, so I got a running start and jumped. AHHHHH!!!!! The board stopped and I kept going! My legs went passed my head! I felt a twang in my back and just laid there yelling in pain. All the guys came over and asked me if I was OK. It was really painful, but then after I sat up, I felt perfectly fine! It was the weirdest thing ever! I thanked God for keeping me safe. I had learned my lesson, and didn't try it again (I'm such a wimp).

We headed back to the area where everyone else was and had lunch. Hot dogs were passed around and we were offered soda, chips, and most of all cherries. Stevie and Charlie started pegging me with the pits as I was laying on the beach! It was a mine field. It wasn't long before all the cherries were gone.

After lunch we went swimming off the boat. There was a 3 foot high railing that you had to jump over in order to land in the water, this railing limited us to only simple jumps (thank goodness). Although Stevie did jump off once and came up saying he had gotten poked in the rear by a sharp rock. After hearing that we decided to call it quits. The first barrage left and returned in a hour or so, but in the mean time Jamie and I were making a Sand Castle, or more like a Sand Pit. We grabbed a couple leafs and acted as if they were castles, then we would dig under them and see how long they would last before crumbling. Sounds lame but it actually was fun.

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*Noon*

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Aunt Kerry announced that she had reserved a couple tennis courts at the little tennis club down by the beach (this was a different beach, this one was like right next to the house). We grabbed some white tennis wear and rackets, and headed for the courts. The courts were packed but it was OK. I played Randy for a little bit but then we decided to play King of the Hill with everyone. Basically, you play till you lose, then the person who beats you gets to be the King. Pretty self explanatory. We were all rather rusty. Leah was having a hard time, just a little. I started joking around with her and told her things like:

"You should start teaching Andy Rodick (a very famous tennis player) how to play."

"You'll be a pro in no time." She couldn't stop laughing. After realizing we weren't getting any better, we headed back for the house.

When we got back we played football in the yard and Ping Pong tournaments and walked to the park to play "Manhunt" but by the time we got there we decided we weren't going to play, haha. On the way back me, Leah and Chelly Bell went down a short road that lead us to (what Chelsea thought was) a private beach. Since we weren't sure we decided to stay quiet. We weren't quiet for long. For some reason Chelsea and Leah wanted to swim really bad, and yet it was midnight or later already. I didn't want to swim at all, and besides I wasn't in a swimsuit, instead I was in Khaki shorts! But then again, the girls weren't in bathing suits either, so I guess that just makes me a wimp :( . Anyway, the girls decided it was way too crazy to swim so instead they got on their knees and let the waves hit them. Leah, who was totally enjoying herself (why I don't know), pleaded for me to do it. I gave in and got on my knees. Oh, by the way, the girls had been getting these tiny waves that just got high enough to get their pants wet. Well, it was a different story when I did it. Right when I kneel down a huge wave came and absolutely drenched us! We all jumped up and looked at ourselves. The wave had been so big it crashed into my stomach! WE WERE SOKED! We ran back to the house to show the guys; they all lost it. We were a sad sight.

The Next Day-

Tim, Charlie, Jamie, and I scanned the crowded street. We were trying to find the girls and Stevie. They had walked into town before we had. We walked a block without seeing them but then we spotted them at Dunkin'. The girls were sucking down their Ice Lattes while Randy was ordering a Coffee Collata. We joined up with them and also grabbed Collates. We walked outside to the sidewalk and sat down on some steps. Suddenly it looked really familiar. Then it clicked! About eleven years ago I had sat in the very same spot! I remembered because we had our trip to the Cape on home video back at home.
Dad and Mom had brought us up to the Cape a long time ago with Uncle Bill and his clan. On the home video it shows Uncle Bill pushing us through town in one of those little, red wagons, then we stopped at the Ice Cream Shop (they tore that down and put a Dunkin'). I laughed, remembering our faces after we had our ice cream.
The only people that really wanted to shop were the girls. We tried to stay close so we wouldn't lose eachother again. We met up w ith my uncle and aunt at a store and planned to head back to the car.

I think its time to show some pictures of my crazy cousins.

Far left, Chelsea. Left, Leah (not my cousin). Center, Stevie. Far right, Randy.
Yup, I know, they're a very scary bunch.

Here's a good pic of my Aunt...opps I mean Uncle!
He is the funniest guy on earth!
You now know everyone in this picture except... Jamie!

(The one ontop of Randy)

Ok, I think you now know what my cousins are like, WEIRD!

But GREAT!

That afternoon Aunt Kerry told us that we were going out for dinner at Westward Ho golf course. We put on on some apropriate apparel and prepaired to stuff our stomachs.
I sat down next to Randy and placed my napkin in my lap. It wasn't very busy, as a matter a fact, there were only four tables being used! So it was nice and quiet...until we walked in. A waitress guided us to a table in the far corner. Don't you wonder why she put us in a far corner? While we were scanning the menu, we chatted and shared stories. Kat, our waitress, came over and took our order. It took a long time for our meals to be prepared, but it was just fine because we were enjoying ourselfs throughly. When Kat returned with our drinks, Uncle Bill told her that she reminded him of Julia Roberts (a very famous actress), this comment led to the funniest line of the night. Somehow she started talking about how she and her boy friend were begining to look alike. Uncle Bill suddenly blurted out,
"Well thats bad news for him!" He didn't try to say it like that, but he did. Trust me, my uncle would never make fun of someone like that. Kat looked at him with wide eyes and replied back jokingly,
"Don't expect to get you're meal tonight." We all laughed. We didn't realize that everyone was looking over at us. We tried to quiet down but it was too hard. It was one of those moments when you had to be there for it to be funny.
When the food arrived we couldn't believe how big the platters were! They must have been 2 feet wide and 2 feet long! I said kidingly to Kat,
"Looks like you're feeding a pack of wolfs!" I was handed a plate with a huge slab of meat on it with onion rings on the side. We asked a blessing and then dug in. It was delicous! We were all very thankful for the meal. Aunt Kerry suggested that us kids should head down and explore the dock that was past the 18th green. We piled out of the restuarant and walk across the soft green grass to the dock. Tim, Charlie and Stevie had stayed behind looking at the golf green. After the girls had a photo shoot on the dock we walked back towards the 18th. Little did we know that the guys were right around the corner waiting to scare us. Leah was the closest to their hiding spot so she was their target. BOOOOOO!! That noise was followed with a scream. I didn't jump at all, honestly, but Leah was so scared she sprited 10 yards to the opposite side of the trail. We all cracked up. Seeing that it was getting darker by the second, we decided to go back to the car and head for the house.

When we got back we got back we (once again) played a huge Ping Pong tournament (very unusual), and then after we watched a movie we decided to go down to the beach (oh by the way, its 1:00am right now). We strolled down the sidewalk for about a 1/4 mile until we reached a light house, its beem of light streaked across the beach, it served as a good flashlight. We crossed the road and walked down a stairway that led down to the beach. Once we reached the shore we started writing things in the sand, such as: "I LOVE MY COUSINS" and "SAM KERR WAS HERE!". I know, I'm such a vandal, ha. After we litered the shore with sayings like those I just listed, we had a contest to see who could dig the deepest hole in the sand. We dug holes so deep that the sand was up to our shoulders! Thats pretty deep when you think about it! By the time my hole was done (in other words, it was so deep I couldn't keep digging), I dared Leah to put her foot in it, and then, after we burried it, see if she could get back out. Being the fearless girl that she was, she stuck her foot in and just as I was about to slip the sand back into the hole I heared the weirdest noise ever off in the distance. RARHOOORARWHHOOORARARHOOO!The creepy sound sent a chill up my spine. What was that noise? I turned to the guys and said,

"Sounds like a bunch of kids are heading this way." I shook it off and pushed the sand back into the hole. RARHOOOOOOOOO! I whirled around and starred off into the darkness, it was same noise, but much, much closer. We all were thinking the same thing...COYOTES! I jumped up and sprinted for the stairs! Luckily for Leah I hadn't totally buried her feet! If she had been fully buried, she probably would have been stuck there! They continued to howl. I must admit...it was pretty freaky when the coyotes howled. Once we all got up to the road I was totally fine, but man they scary!

Now you're probably wondering why coyotes were down on the beach. Well we aren't sure if the howling came from coyotes or foxes. There was a slight argument wheather they were foxes or coyotes, but after a while we all decided that they must have been coyotes. Because foxes don't howl, they yip.

I have to say that that was the highlight of the trip. It was action packed, fun, and scary.

Once we reached the house we were still pretty pumped up so we didnt go to bed until something like 2:30. LATE NIGHT! Lets just say this...I slept well that night, or should I that morning.

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The Last Day-

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I woke up at a rediculous hour that morning and jumped out of bed. It was something like 11:00! I'm used to waking up at 7:30 or so, but then again I'm also used to going to bed at 9:00 instead of 2:30. I felt like I had slept half the day away, that's the concequence for going to bed that late. The girls were out and about but us guys were still recovering. I got up and walked around outside. I decided to stroll down to the beach to see if the Chelsea and Leah were there. I scaned the beach, they weren't there but a sea lion was (I'm not sure if it was a sea lion or a different kind of seal). A large crowd was watching a sea lion (or whatever it was) swim around not far from the shore. I watched it for a little bit but I began to get bored and right as I began to head back to the house the seal plunged under the water and disappeared. All the guys were awake when I returned and they all wanted to play tennis. The girls and Tim wanted to go to the beach but the guys and I all shipped off to the tennis courts.

When we got to the tennis courts we were shocked to find the courts soaking wet! Apparently, it had rained that morning so all the courts were really wet and gross. Here's a picture of the lovely conditions we got to play in.

You can't really tell how gross it was but right where Randy is standing it was literally slush. Oh, and I thought I'd mention that Randy is poddie trained that's just the rain water in the background.

But not to worry, my gang and I didn't care, and still played through the slush. It was fun, wet. We played a game were the object of the game was to hit your opponent with the tennis ball while they were standing still, but you still had to be on your side of the net...that my friends, is my kinda game. I'm brutal...no I'm not! Well anyway, we all got hit at least once, a least. It was Jamie, Randy and I against Charlie and Stevie. I have no idea who won. Whoever walked away with their head won (that means I didn't win, haha, just kidding). It was a ton of fun.

I carried my racket back to the house with all the guys and then we all just hung out until the girls, Tim, Aunt Kerry and Uncle Bill came back, then we started to get ready to leave.

The saddest part of the trip was when I tossed my sleeping bag into the cars trunk, the same place where I had pulled it out only a couple of days before.

Since it was such a fun trip it made it that much harder to leave the Cape. But, i had no option, the train was leaving, I had to go too, and besides it wouldn't have been fun without everyone else.

Hugs were exchanged and then off we went, back to our homes.

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All in all, I had more fun than I'd ever had in my whole life, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves! It was a ball. I had no idea it would be that much fun when Mom told me about the trip back at home, days before.

My Dogs!


Well, I didn't want to write a big post, so I decided to post some pictures of my dogs.

Meesha

Meesha's Nicknames: Sweepy Pig, Fufu, Wupers, and The Meme Rider! (I know, our family is rather strange.)

Look at the camera!

Getting comfortable.

Does she look like a wolf or what?

Hiedi

Heidi's Nicknames: Mouse and Kuddoo Bumbshkin. There are many more. Trust me.

The Mouse playing with her favorite toy.

No, she's not tired.

Pipin

Pipin's Nicknames: Johnson, Whippy Johnson, and Lilly Pip.

This is what we saw when we got back from church one morning.

Johnson making his seal face.

There are some pictures of my very cool dogs.

Championship Game


WOW!!! That was the most exciting championship game I've ever been in! Let me give you a really cut down version of last night's game. I don't recall the exact scores for each quarter, but they are pretty realistic.

The first quarter begins. We get out on the court, play well, and yet, somehow we were still losing 6 to 17!

If you couldn't tell, they had the better team, for sure. The tallest kid on my team is like a inch taller than me, and I'm not that tall, so our team is somewhat short, but the other team's guys were at least my height! One of their players, was probably 6 feet tall!

Next subs enter the game(that's when other players go in and take the place of another player). My sub and I walk out onto the court. Max (a good player on my team) and I worked together to get a little run going, but it wasn't enough to catch them. The score at the end of the first quarter was (something like) 17 to 23.

Nothing that exciting happened in the second, but we did close the gap a little more when the half came around, 25 to 29.

In the second part of the third quarter, Max and I got the team pumped up, by going on a huge run and TAKING THE LEAD! Momentum was on our side as we began the fourth period, 35 to 30! Our other substitutions kept our opponents at bay. The last 5 minutes of the game were so nerve racking for the crowd. It was to the point where all you could hear were all the mom's and dad's screaming things like, "Grab the ball! That's a travel ref! Come on call the foul!" But to tell you the truth, I wasn't that nervous. I think I had to calm Mom and Dad down, instead of them calm me down. The score was 36 to 34 with 15 seconds left!

Andy, a player on my team, got the ball and tried to waste the clock, so the other team was forced to foul him with 6 seconds left! Andy went to the foul line. If he made both, he would make it a 4 point game! Andy swished the first..... and the second! Our team went nuts on the bench! So now, in order to send us into overtime, our opponents would either have to sprint down and the court, make a layup, then steal our inbounds pass and make another layup, or they'd have to make a three pointer and get fouled, which is very hard to do. It turned out that they tried to make a three and get fouled, but he missed and didn't get fouled! So we grabbed the rebound and held the ball until the clock ran out.The final score was 48 to 44, WE WERE THE CHAMPIONS!

The whole team ran over and tackled Andy. It was without a doubt was my best game ever, the teams best game ever, and the girls played well! The league is co-ed. I hated it that way (no offense girls), but we worked like a well oiled machine even with them.

Here's a picture of my team:

(Top row) Me, Max, Andy, Jeff, Adam, and Matt.

(Bottom row) Dramain, Megan, Stephanie, Nora, and Griffin.

Cragged Mt. Farm

Sunday night, around 9:30 pm., my family and I returned home from Cragged. We, and most of the members from our church, head up to Freedom, NH, and spend the weekend at this camp (Cragged Mt. Farm) that my Uncle Henry owns. This year, there must have been 30 people there! I'm going to list the families that came:

Chidesters
Kresinas
Supps
Faringtons (only Ken and Ryan)
Riddles (Bradly's couldn't make it...she's at collage)
Halls (Ethan and Sarah, then Milinah, Rebecca, and Joanna)
Heberts (including Nathan and Sarah...Mrs. Hebert couldn't come)
AND (drumroll please)... Emily Mills!

I'm kidding, that's a bad picture of her. (right)

That's a little better.


We took two cars. Mom, Emily, and I were in one, and Dad and Charlie were in the other. Mom and I wouldn't have survived without Emily.
We, like always, lived at the lake! The water was freezing! I never went all the way in, only up to my waste. We had great weather the whole time, God was good.

Charlie and Collin fished every day, whether it was morning, noon, or in the later part of the day. They cought a lot! Collin cought a 5 pound monster!

One thing that I found really funny, was when we (the boys) went on strike.It was 8:45 a.m and breakfast still wasn't ready! We had to speak our mind! So while the ladies continued making breakfast, we planned an attack.

The Guys: "What could we do?"
Seth: "We could light some fireworks!"
The Guys: "Great thinking! Let's do it!"

So we followed up on our plan and grabbed some fireworks that Charlie and the Heberts had brought up. We innocently walked over to the front door, lit a match, and then...BANG BANG POP POP POP BANG!!!! That noise was, of course, followed by screams, jumps, and who knows what else. It was pricless!
You can't go to Cragged and not go on the little hike behind the camp. Well, we were too destracted by the awesome obstacle course that is en route. Here are some great pictures.

Everyone in this picture is trying to stand on a plack of wood that I'd say is about 3 ft long and 3 ft wide. It was hard, too say the least! (below)

After we tackled the obstacle course, we set off for the short, easy, but enjoyable, hike. Even though it is a really short hike, it gets REALLY STEEP at some points! I got some good pictures of us at the top.

Isn't that picture of Moriah sooooo cute?

Once you get up to the top you can see for miles! No picture can show how awesome it looked.

We had a Bible study every night in the clubhouse. Since we started it after supper it sometimes went till 11:00p.m! Dad, Daniel, and Mr. Chidester shared short messages. As you can see below, Brendon, Graham, and Collin Riddle, were all meditating hard over Daniel's message.

We had a huge triathlon, it was great fun! On my team were: Isaac, Milinah, and then Rachel. First we had a running race down to the lake. Nathan and his team took first on that one (obviously). Isaac ran the first half, then I took over the second leg. We surprised ourselves and ended up taking second! After the running race we hopped in a canoe and set out about 200 yards past the docks. This was quite the race! We, and all the other boats started to make a wild dash to one of the two docks. Once we reached the dock we had to make a full circle around the dock. Bonk, Bang! Someone elses canoe came up and cut us off! We were only pushed farther and farther from the dock, I think the winner of that one was Ethan Hall's team. Then, last but not least, the bike ride back to camp up Swett Hill (Swett isn't a spelling error). The power biker for our team was Isaac! Nathan (surprise, surprise) took first in that one, too. Here's a picture of Mr. Hebert climbing Swett Hill.

Once everyone got back we, added up our team's times from all the races. Nathan and his team took 1st, my team took 2nd, and I forget who took the Bronze. It was a lot of fun, probably too much fun.

Instead of blowing up the girls' cabin we boys decided to display some fireworks for everyone to enjoy. We set up all the remaining fireworks in the area just before the soccer field. When the evening Bible study was over we called everyone outside to watch the fireworks. We didn't have those little ones which go 4 feet in the air and have little sprinkles. No we had huge fireworks, the ones that go 50 feet in the air and then explode making them look like the fireworks you see on 4th of July! Everyone loved it.

Just like every year, Sunday was a rainy, gross day, which was good, I'd rather the last half day be ugly, than the first. The Chidsesters left early at noon, then everyone slowly vanished from Cragged. We were all saying, "We should make the stay a week instead of four days." But sometimes if you stay too long... it's no longer as special. So we will see what happens next year.

All in all, we had a GREAT time being with everyone and I think that that trip will rate up there as one of the BEST EVER!