Seascape

This scene may be a little unoriginal, but I think it turned out pretty. :)

If you ran away and joined the circus, what job would you want?

Oh, there's so many choices! Snake charmer, trapeze artist, bareback rider, lion tamer, ticket seller, gamebooth and snackshop operator, tightrope walker, acrobat, clown, fortune teller, human canonball, ringmaster, strong man, bearded lady. . . Make sure to vote on this one. I'm really interested in the results! The poll is to the right. :)

Art Update

Remember "The Really Big Art Show"? I recently squished some of the art that I showed on that day into one picture (plus a silhouette of myself in the middle). No computer help included. I titled it "Reflection". Here's how it turned out . . .

Girl's Camp!!!

Girls Camp was amazing.
Enough said.

Rooster Skit

For Girl's Camp, which was AWESOME, each group had to come up with a skit. At first, our group was going to do something that had to do with our theme, Dr. Seuss, but Laurel Roses suggested a different idea. A skit about a rooster who "fixes" a farmer's problems that he has with his farm. For example: if a chicken won't lay eggs, the rooster sneaks into the yard, and the chicken lays eggs. If a garden won't give fruit, the rooster comes along, and the garden gives eggplants. If a cow won't make milk, the rooster comes, and the cow makes eggnog. Starting to catch on? Well, playing the rooster takes skill, and Brooke Penni was an amazing rooster! The whole crowd of girls at Girl's Camp were laughing their heads off. It was so funny, we were going to perform again at the Ward Camp-out on the 23rd and 24th. But alas, Brooke could not make it. So the rooster role basically fell upon me. It was kind of fun being the rooster, I must say! The video is hilarious, so as soon as I get a copy I'll post it. :)

Kurt with a Dragon

I was helping Nate find some pictures online that might help him learn how to draw dragons and I came across this adorable picture that reminded me of Kurt. :)

"Play-date" with Brooke

One of my very best friends, Brooke, came over to hang out at our new house. We baked delicious chocolate chip cookies (the first batch got burned), played many cleverly thought-through rounds of Hide-and-Seek, and a very intense game of Olly Olly Oxen Free with Nathan, Derek, Lauren and Kurt. We had a great time listening to Weird Al on Nathan's blog, watching He-Man -- Masters of the Universe, and being hot, hot, sweating-HOT! It was very, very warm outside. Despite the heat, we had an AWESOME "play-date"! (A play-date is what we used to call "getting together".) We've got to do that again. :) Thankyou, Brooke!

 Five-year-old Brooke and I at the "Stripes and Spots Party".

Brooke and Nicole at age 6, at the Gilber House

Brooke and Nicole now... :)

Thank you for a wonderful time! P.S. Nate, where is the library? :) hee, hee.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

This amazing self-improvement book by Sean Covey and has definitely changed my point of view of my self, others, and life. It was written especially for teens, who either are struggling, or just want to become a better person. I'm only about half-way through it, but it's helped me improve my attitude already. So all you teens and pre-teens out there, please consider reading this book!

Fun Portrait Project

This was an awesome project and I highly recommend trying it if you like fun, creative things to do. Trace a photo of yourself on a piece of graph paper, but try to keep the lines simple and definite. If you don't have graph paper, you can trace lines with a pencil and a piece of paper or a ruler to keep the lines straight, like I did. Decide on some of your favorite color combinations. I choose green and yellow for the face, red and purple for the hair, warm colors and brown for the background, and different shades of blue for the shirt. I encourage you to try and use your own combinations to make yours original. After you've chosen your combinations, color each of the squares in a different design with the two or more colors you chose. Designs can include pictures of things you are interested in, such as a keyboard if you like to play the piano. Or you can make random designs like polka-dots, stripes, or squiggly lines. I have the letters of my first name hidden in my face and hair. I even got as crazy as making some cyclops triangles. (See if you can spot them: they're blue.) You can make WHATEVER YOU WANT. Let yourself go. It's art. :) You can use whichever medium you would like, but I recommend colored pencils for this particular project. Leave the teeth white if your teeth are showing in the picture (I guess, of course, you don't HAVE to). And feel free to make the eyes as detailed as you'd like. Good luck if you decide to try it! :)