The Next Chapter

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2011-05-06T09:56:00.001-07:00

I've finally decided to start this blog up again, but it will be awhile before I really start writing in it. Check back soon....

Yes, I have moved to Nigeria.

2011-03-05T16:47:00.001-08:00

No, not really. But I'm not really updating anymore right now. Maybe I will start again soon....not that anyone even reads this blog.

No I haven't died or moved to Nigeria

2010-06-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

It's true. I have let my blog rot. After you forget write in it for a few days, it's hard to get back into the habit. I'd like to begin writing on here again... but I don't know where to start. It's like reading a novel, getting to the middle of it, loosing it for a while, then trying to read it again from where you left off. So... this blog may be getting a major rewrite if you know what I mean. I just feel so guilty for not writing here... I'm a writer so that can happen. You feel guilty if you don't write everyday.

Spotlight on: Montie

2010-02-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of Montie that Garrett took. It reveals her personality perfectly. We've had Montie around five years and she's probably the worst cat you can ever imagine having. But let me start at the beginning.
Way back when we lived in Florida my brother found a little gray kitten at my dad's tractor shop. She was very sick, crawling with fleas, and so, so tiny. The vet said she probably wouldn't survive. But we didn't give up. We bottle fed her and treated her fleas and did pretty much all we could to keep her alive. We named her Montana, after the brand of tractors my dad sold and decided to call her "Montie" for short.
After having Montie awhile me and Colton surmised that she was an alien cat sent to spy on us. And one could almost believe it, she is very, very strange.
For one thing her absolute most favorite pastime of all is drinking water from the sink. She hop right up to it, look you in the eye and make a weird purring that sounds almost like she's asking a question:
"Brrrrrr?"
Then when you turn the sink on she'll drink from it for a long while. Then when she's done she'll just stare at the water until you turn it off.
Another odd thing she does when she's really comfy and being all snuggly (which is rare) is sucking on a blanket while kneading her paws into it. Sometimes her tongue flicks in and out of her mouth like a snake while she stares dreamily up at you if you disturb her. Freaky.
But most of the time Montie doesn't act like that. She is the grumpiest, gloomiest, growliest cat you'd ever hope to meet. You pick her up and she instantly starts growling. She reminds me of a gargoyle, especially when she's on top of the tv or computer, just staring down at you.
Montie had lived in three different homes, two in Florida and her current one here in Iowa. When we were moving, we had to put her in a cat carrier. Man, she did not like that. She was litteraly flipping around in side of it, hissing and growling like crazy. I remember one thing about that move in particular. We were driving through St. Louis and Montie was out of her cage, staring out the window at all the tall buildings. I wonder what she thought when she saw all that. Okay, yes, I know, she's a cat. But still it was an unusual moment.
So that's Montie's story. She's a terrible cat and pretty much every hates her now except me and my mom (the main reason for this is that she tends to barf on the floor and she's had "accidents" in Julia's closet quite a few times) she also has this weird skin condition were she gets all scabby and starts loosing her fur.
I've grown fond of Montie throughout the years and I only hope that with old age she'll become nicer (yeah, right.)

Montie
Description: Gray, short-hair, with greenish-yellow eyes.
Favorite activities: Drinking water from the sink, looking out the window, sleeping, drinking more water from the sink, being grumpy.
Favorite food: Puppy chow (makes her extremely obese)
Best friend: She hates pretty much every cat except, oddly enough, Remi. She plays with him at times.
Least favorite things: Being held, being bothered, seeing another cat.

Valentines day and other such matters

2010-02-14T06:53:00.000-08:00

Well, today is Valentine's Day and its snowing like there's no tomorrow outside. Everyone stayed home from church except Julia and Alicia who had to walk there because we don't have a car. We have Colton's Colt but its not working. And my dad took the Oldsmobile to work and Colton took the Suburban. So, we are left without a vehicle for now.

In other news, the Beem family is gearing up for a big Walt Disney World vacation! We're taking our grandpa's camper down and hooking it up at Fort Wilderness. Hopefully, everything's going to work out alright. I seriously can't wait to go back to Disney. I've been there so many times... if you've never gone then make it a goal in your life to go at least once. Its awesome beyond reason.

After sitting in a chair for a while and writhing in pain while being tortured, I finally have all my teeth. I finally (and I say that with much emphasis) had a bridge on the left-lower side of my mouth put on. So now when I sweep my tongue across my bottom teeth there is no gap. Huzzah!

iPod

2010-02-04T15:41:00.000-08:00

Wondering what the orange print is for???

I bought a new nano iPod today. It's my second one actually. The first one I had went through the wash, though I could still listen to music on it, the screen quit working. Then finally the whole thing turned into a smoldering hunk of junk. But now, at last, I earned enough money to buy a new one. Its ooh so shiny and orange! Plus it has a camera, and you can listen to the radio, and--and WOW! It's totally RAD!

Okay, just kidding. I'm not that obsessed with it. But I'm glad I finally have something to listen to music with (my sister, Julia, also has an iPod, but oh, whaddya know, hers went through the wash too. It still works, but is very, very sensitive.)

The rest of my family (except for the little ones) are diving into a brand new series of Lost. I've never been that interested in the show and from what I hear them talking about (Bob traveled back in time into a parallel universe..... or whatever) I'm not so sure I want to.

Also: stay tuned for more stories...

Oh, mama mia!

2010-01-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

A while back I posted about the puppet ministry my youth group was doing. Well, a tragedy has struck. Our puppets have been... stolen! Okay, maybe not literally. You see, Choya, our Sunday school teacher, wants us to really focus on this series of videos were watching featuring Ken Ham. In order to get the most out of it, we've got to start before the normal time for Sunday school. So? No puppets. We've handed them over to the younger kids for now. And I don't mean to be brag-ish or anything, but the younger kids aren't exactly up to par with us youth group guys. I mean they do a pretty good job, but some of the people voicing the puppets...well. Anyway, I can't wait to get them back. Hopefully we'll finish up our Ken Ham thing soon and start up on the puppets once more.

Of Blizzards and Boredom

2010-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, so a white Christmas is fine. But, oh, why, oh, why do the following four or so months have to continue in that manner? I don't know how Febuary, March, and April are going to turn out. But I have a pretty good guess... snow...ice...wind...high of negative 5. AWANA was cancelled tonight because of a another big storm blowing in and who knows how much more they'll be?

So, I suppose I should write a little about Christmas here, before I forget. We went over to our grandma's a few days before Christmas and had to stay their a few days after on account of bad weather. It was a pretty fun time, but with long stretches of boredness in between. I spent much of my time eating food, playing video games, long matches of I Doubt It with family, and plenty of B Christmas movies from the Halmark channel. Wee, fun! All the cousins were there (or most of the cousins) and we all did cousinly things. We had two big white elephant gift giving bonanzas. Colton got a *ahem* beautiful floral refridgerator calander (or something.. eh, my memory's already fading) which he prompty traded. Good times. For Christmas I got a wide array of unusual objects. Armadillo slippers, a DS game with no DS in it (long story short, Amazon made a boo boo) and a big owl pillow. My room is now officialy owl-themed. Yes, I'm pretty owl crazy.

And let me just say that Christmas isn't about gifts, or getting the best sales, or the last sugar cookie that your granny made. Okay, sounds cheesy, but then most movies will say Christmas is about peace and joy and love and having the jolly spirit of jolliness! All those things are a part of Christmas (er, maybe not the jolly spirit of jolliness though) but I hope never to forget the real true meaning. One that most people will scoff at or ignore.

On a cold starry night
He lay in the manger
He came into this world
But only a stranger
Who would of known
That this child would become
The Saviour of the world
The Risen One?

Have you ever wondered...

2010-01-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered about the story of the three little pigs. Well, is it true? Did it really happen that way? I'm here to tell you a story I wrote a very while back that records the absolute truth on the matter (aka my rather absurd version of the story). Since the story was never completed, not every chapter will be posted, but most will. This was my first major story I ever started writing. I was probably ten or eleven when I started it. Enjoy!

The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs
By: Carlina Beem

Author’s Note:
I am sure that you have all heard the story of the three pigs. You know with those three rather, well, what’s the right word, unintelligent little pigs making houses out of things like straw, twigs, bricks or whatever other materials. And then the wolf comes and tries to eat them by demanding to be invited into the house, but the pigs won’t let him in or at least not by the hair of their chinny chin chin. Come on, you know that old fairy tale; I know you once were a tiny tot who enjoyed stories like that.

If you haven’t read it (and I am quite surprised if you haven’t!) I'd just forget about reading it any time in the near future. Because you see, this is the real version of the story. The real, real version of the story. The real version of the story that has been kept a secret by my family for generations (kept in a vault guarded by crazed baboons, more specifically) and the real version of the story that has never been known until now.

Yes, there are three pigs, a big bad wolf, and even some houses in it, but there is also an evil beast that shows no mercy! And a very wealthy rodent who lives in a haunted castle! And- well I don’t want to give it all away, but let’s just say that the real version of the story is far much better and more exciting then that tedious, boring old tale you’ve heard a thousand times over again.

So without further ado a proudly present to you the long lost, the up until now secret, the astonishing, the incredible, the amazing (and surprisingly true);
The Real Story of the Three Little Pigs

Chapter One
It all began on a quiet summer day. Yes, it was a peaceful and lazy sort of day. When the dragon flies hummed happily over the clear, blue pond and the birds chirped cheerfully up in the clear blue sky. And the butterflies and bees floated to flower to flower on a nice, calm breeze. Wouldn’t you like to be there on such a fine day? Wouldn’t it be nice? Just thinking about it makes me feel so-

“WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

What in the world! Where did that come from?

“WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

What is that!?

“WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Sounds like a fog horn and a grizzly bear trying to sing a duet!

“WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Okay, alright already, I’ll tell you what’s happening, before we have to hear any more of that awful noise!

I am sorry to say that this nice day can’t last. Because as soon as that noise started up, all the animals and bugs ran for the hills. And all the flowers withered up. And the sky grew dark and stormy. And the pond grew murky and began to smell like sewage.
What the heck is that sound anyway? You may ask. Well- there is a tiny little house right by the pond and in that house lives a certain family. The Pigton family.

There is Mr. Pigton, Mrs. Pigton, and there three charming pig children Alice, Joe, and Bert Pigton.

Up until now the family had been living happily all together, but now the three Pigton children were almost grown up and they had to leave the house.

And well… that sound was Mrs. Pigton crying for her three precious babies. The conversation that follows went something like this:

"Oh! My precious baby pigs, you’re all grown up and you’re going to find jobs and become great pigs! And you'll be gone for many, many years. Oh!" said Mrs. Pigton who was holding and hugging all three of her children at the same time.

“Mom, we’ll still write to you and come visit you on the weekends,” said Alice, oldest of the three. Alice was a pretty pig with blonde hair. She could have even been a pig fashion model if she wanted to, but she didn’t care much for looks. She wanted to be the president or something like that, because she liked being a leader and even more so she liked bossing people around.

“Yeah Mom,” added Joe the middle child, “Now can you put us down? You’re squishing my rib cage!”

Joe was a cautious pig, especially compared to his adventures older sister. He liked things like helping his parents pay taxes, collecting ties, and playing games about law on the computer. You see, Joe wanted to be a lawyer. Yes, I know it’s weird for a pig to be a lawyer, but remember this is a world far different from our own. Okay, not too different, but just a little.

“Duh, yeah Ma, ya squishing me!” said Bert the youngest and, I’m sorry to say, the least intelligent of the three. I am not saying that Bert was a babbling idiot (which he might have been if his parents hadn’t made him go to second grade for five years), but he wasn’t the brightest guy around. He was very nice though and once donated all his old socks to charity.

Bert didn’t know what he wanted to do. Maybe he’d be a taxi driver or work at a cool fast food restaurant.

“Margaret, let the kids go now,” said Mr. Pigton who had been calmly reading a newspaper in his comfy chair the whole time. Sure he would miss his kids, but he couldn’t help but feel a little glad that they were leaving.

He remembered the time Alice made him go to that concert with her; The Mangy Monkeys the band was called. The concert was to raise money for the new library, which Alice so badly wanted built. Mr. Pigton still had nightmares about the screaming monkeys juggling their guitars while doing double back flips in the air, all while singing something about bananas and walking on the moon. It had been a terrible experience, but the popcorn and soda hadn’t been that bad.

He also remembered when Joe convinced him to get a fancy new security system to keep any burglars from breaking in. The security system included a robot which stood by the door and sang, “Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Come on Alice, Joe, and Bert! Get out of bed! Make for the door! Just in case he steals some more!” in the tune of “This Old Man” every time someone walked by him. Mr. Pigton hadn’t gotten any sleep that night, because Bert had been sleep walking in circles around the robot all night long.

No, there were some things Mr. Pigton wouldn’t miss about his three children. But he would still miss them all the same, they were certainly good little pigs who obeyed their parents and followed rules. Alice was just too bossy, Joe too careful, and Bert too… strange.

“Oh! Oh! Oh! I just can’t let my babies go out into the dark, cruel world! They can stay here forever!” sniffed Mrs. Pigton still holding onto her babies.

“Mom! It’s not like we’re going to China! We’re just going to Pigethy, it’s really not that far from here,” Alice reassured her mother. Pigethy was a very big city which the Pigton family lived by. The three Pigton children were leaving for it to find jobs and start lives of their own.

“Mom! Can you please put us down?” Joe asked again sounding like he was choking, “We’re going to miss the train,”

“Oh yes! The train!” Mrs. Pigton set her children down and burst into tears again.

“Margaret, the kids just can’t stay here forever,” Mr. Pigton said, still reading his newspaper.

“I know, James, but I’ll miss them sooo much!” Mrs. Pigton answered her husband. She grabbed a tissue from the coffee table and blew her nose loudly.

Alice, Joe, and Bert gathered their three suitcases and headed to the door before their Mother could try and hug them again.

“Goodbye Mom! Bye Dad!” they called as they headed out.

“Goodbye sweeties! Call Mommy when you get there!” Mrs. Pigton called, “Come visit me soon! I’ll bake snicker doodles just for you three! And you can lick the spoon! ”

“Goodbye kids,” Mr. Pigton said not looking up for his paper, “Make sure you stay out of trouble,”

“We will Dad, don’t worry!” the three pigs called from out on the porch.
Then they shut the door and headed for town, where they’d hop on a train and go to the amazing Pigethy. The city where dreams come true, where bad things never happen, where-

Hold on a second! What am I thinking? There’s another side to the story. And I think you know who it is. So while the three pigs head into town, let me tell you a little about the Wolf of our story.

To be continued...

2010

2010-01-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2009 I started this blog. Now its 2010. 09 seemed to zip by so fast I can't believe it. It was like gone in an instant. And my blog has been largely ignored as of lately. So my New Years resolution? Write more in this thing. I want to post more pictures, stories, book reviews, etc... But that's just me talking. If I actually get around to doing all that stuff...well... it will a bit of a miracle. I am a major procrastinator. Not exactly lazy... but sometimes it can take me forever to get things done. And I'm forever putting things off, especially writing. So I guess another resolution would be to stop procrastinating and get to it when I have something I need to do. So we'll see how the year pans out. And, wow, I can't believe I'm going to be a Junior next year. And Colton's graduating this summer. Wow again. Where has the time gone??? (Don't answer that. Its a rhetorical question.)

Thanksgiving Pictures

2009-12-08T14:01:00.001-08:00

Feel free to guess what this is... (Colton: A cybernetic owl?)

A game of Sequence

Someone's hungry for some turkey.

Cousins at the Omaha Zoo

Julia loves King Kong's great-grand nephew

Sweet Sixteen

2009-12-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Don't know why it's called that, but that's what I am now. Sixteen. My birthday was last Friday. As far as birthdays go this one was pretty good. I haven't had a party yet (me and Garrett are going to have a double one soon), but the day began with opening presents (scrapbooking stuff, socks, and a Nancy Drew computer game.) Then later on we went on over to Bomgaars and got a Christmas tree. I'm looking at it now as I write this. Its beautiful--- strung with golden lights and glittery orbs. I love Christmas trees. I love pratically everything about Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, it snowed last night and now the world is white and glittering. On a different (random) note Remi, my little baby cat, was fixed today plus he got a bunch of shots. Poor guy.

Moving onto the subject of books I'm currently reading. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (a book I've blogged about before) I'm reading to my sisters, Alicia and Katie. I'm also reading Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow by James Rollins (famous adventure writer for adults, though I've never heard of him before picking up this book.) Thinking about reading it? Forget it. Jake Ransom and his sister Kady stumble into a magical world (surprise, surprise) in which many lost cultures are living together. The characters are positively bland and the plot will bore you. But I suppose I must read the sequel when it comes out. I just have to find out what happened to their parents!! (yeah, I'm being sarcastic.)

Above, I told you I got scrapbooking stuff for my b-day. It was a complete set with an album, pages, stickers, and more. It was lots of fun making page for it and now I can understand why so many stores stock scrapbooking supplies!

Well, I've got to go set the table for dinner. So... until next time. (My next post will be called The Earth's Birthday?: The battle between Ken Ham and Coltono.) More on that later.

What's up with me

2009-12-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

After a long wait I'm back with an update on my life in poetic format:

Christmas is coming
It will soon be here
Soon everyone will be filled
With Christmas cheer (except Colton)

My job is going well
School work is fine
Except for my dreaded math
Which is anything but divine

I have three new cats
Which happen to be strays
Pierre, Elvis, and Loretta
Are here for the wintry days

I'll be sixteen
Upon this Friday
Hopefully it won't be
The-day-I-die day (only kidding!)

I had two Thanksgivings
And both were filled with food
In fact I ate so much
I could hardly move

I think that is all
I've been meaning to say
Hopefully, I will be able
To write another post the next day

It's baa-aack

2009-12-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

I have to say, I'm a big fan of traditional animated films. For those of you who have know idea what I'm talking about, traditional animated films are simply hand-drawn movies (i.e. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin.) Of course, CG (that is computer generated) animation I like as well. But there's something about 2D film. They seems much more personal then 3D. Every frame you watch flash by the screen has been drawn by an artist. Another reason for my bias is that I've grown up watching Disney films. I still enjoy those same films today and they have definitely sparked an interest in animation for me. Unfortunately, CG animated films seemed to have taken over the movie-world. I guess perhaps filmmakers think that 2D is too "old-fashioned" for audiences or unable to tell a worthy story. But but both are very untrue. But I won't go in to all of that. I'm here to say that after a long hiatus Disney as finally returned to traditional animation:
Disney's The Princess and the Frog. It looks promising. Hopefully we have another Disney classic on our hands.

Pictures of Autumn

2009-10-15T15:27:00.001-07:00

Lovely fall tree

Everybody! (except Colton)

My school picture

A beautiful fall day

Jacob Ruffian (and... uh, Julia in the background...)

Quick Update

2009-09-25T12:08:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. My blog has a new title! It's no longer The Life and Times of Carlina B. but The Next Chapter. Pretty nifty title, eh? I am going to be posting some of my stories on here soon so stay tuned!

2009-09-21T08:29:00.000-07:00

I'm hitting my head against the desk. Argh! I'm such a procrastinator. I need to write in my blog everyday and yet my last post was in August. It's now the middle of September. I'm going to have to try harder, I suppose. Not that that's saying much.

Anyhow, I've got some big news. A lot of big news actually. First off, Colton and I both have jobs! Colton works at Pamida (a kind of mini Wal-mart for those not familiar with it) and I work at a little family owned restaurant called the Beef n Brew. I wash dishes, peel potatoes, and clear tables. Its not so bad. The woman who owns the place is really nice and I'm looking forward to earning a little money once more. My last job was months and months ago.

Oh yes, last Friday was my church's woman's retreat. All of us girls from Trek and Youth group came to help out. We ended up staying up for the whole night. Well, not me. I finally fell asleep at four-thirty or something. It's not that I really wanted to. Its that everyone else really wanted to. Not to mention, its hard for me to sleep in an unfamiliar place. I have this whole routine. I need a movie playing, the bathroom light on, the fan set on high and blowing right in my face. Yeah, I like just a little bit of noise and light when I sleep. Seriously, I cannot sleep in a completely dark and silent room. I feel like I'm suffocating. Yes, you can call me weird if you'd like.

Well, that's enough rambling for now. I'll try (and the key word here is try) to write more really, really soon. And I'll also try to get some pictures up. Until then.

A Summer Lament

2009-08-17T15:20:00.000-07:00

I am weeping profusely as I type these words.

Okay, not really. But, still, it makes one sad inside to know that summer is almost gone. Along with it many enjoyable activities that would probably kill you if you tried doing them in the winter time. Such as swimming. I am trying to enjoy these final warm, summery days as much as I can. A lot has gone on this summer so here are a few pictures to show you what's gone on the last couple of months:

The Floyd Monument

What!?

Hopefully, Oliver is now in a good home.

In other news Colton got his driver's license. The words "got his driver's license" can also be substituted with "is now loose on the streets, creating Mapleton-wide havoc." Only kidding!

What Have I Been Reading...

2009-08-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

A Wrinkle In Time
This is my first time reading this book and I have to say I really liked it. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, it's about a girl named Meg, her little brother Charles Wallace (who just happens to be a child prodigy of sorts) and their friend Calvin as they take a terrifying journey into outer space to save Meg and Charles's missing father. It was a bit unusual, yes. And I've never much liked Science Fiction. But this definitely wasn't your old run of the mill science fiction. This was more fantasy, yet their was a sort of mysteriousness that the whole book was shrouded in. It's hard to explain. I highly recommend this book. Just don't bother on the film adaption. It will leave you with waking nightmares.

Animorphs: Book One
Here's an all together different sort of Sci-fi. Animorphs is about five kids who finding a dying alien who gives them the power to morph into any animal so they can fight war against the evil Yeerks, a race of slugs bent of enslaving the universe. It was alright, certainly a page-turner, but just not my thing.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Hatchling
Ah, now here's a good series. A world full of owls who can read, write, and think. It's not as strange as it may sound. This is one of my favorite series. I'm currently reading it to my two younger sisters, who love it as well. Now whenever we go to a zoo we're like: "Ooh, there's a Burrowing Owl! Oh, look its a Screech Owl!" If for no other reason, read this series to learn more about all the many different breeds of owls!

Good News, Bad News

2009-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Bad News
Well, I hate to say this but we had to get rid of Oliver. Yes, it was very sad. He had gotten loose for the one millionth time and was barking at a man walking down the street. And, supposedly, he had bitten the man. So we just decided he wasn't meant to be a "town dog." My mom took him to the Humane Society and that was that.Yes, I'm going to miss him alot. Especially... the eyes, the eyes! It's an inside joke.

The Good News
The good news is, we got a new kitten! My aunt has tons, I mean tons, of cats and I got to pick one out! He's a cute little puff ball named Remi (short for Remington.) He is just so adorable. I'll put a picture of him up as soon as I can.

In other news, I finished the classroom portion of driver's Ed (yay!), but I still have one more driving session, where we have to drive through the city. So I'm not really looking forward to that.

This summer has been extremely busy, so sorry for not posting more often. I'm going to try harder from now on... hopefully. Yes, I'm such a procrastinator.

Pet Pics

2009-06-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Kumquat in his box

Sleepy Oliver

"Must get... the string!"

Posing for the camera

What Time is It?

2009-06-06T15:49:00.000-07:00

Cute Picture of Oliver

For those of you familiar with the High School Musical song, you'll know what time it is... okay for those of you not familiar with the song... SUMMER TIME. I apologize for not posting in such a long span of time. This summer has been busy, busy, busy and I have a feeling its only going to get a whole lot busier.

So first thing, we went on vacation! Okay, so it wasn't quite the vacation we had planned, but it went over pretty well. We went tent-camping at a very beautiful park by Des Moines (unfortunately we only got to stay one night due to all the storming and flooding.) We came on over to Adventure Land (and no I did not torture myself by going on any huge coasters. Yes, call me wimpy if you like.) We also saw the capital building and for a history geek like me that was almost better then the theme park.

We also went to the Henry-Doorly Zoo in Omaha. It's only the coolest zoo ever. It has a huge Indoor Rainforest, Desert Dome, Butterfly House, pratically ever kind of animal you'd ever want to see. Did I mention the gorillas? How about a big bird avery. Pretty fun time.

Monday I'm starting *shivers in fear* Driver's Ed. I hope everything goes okay with that, but I'm definatly not looking forward to it.

And one more tidbit. I finished reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Last Olympian! The last book in the series. Lets just say it was pretty awesome.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Random pic of us at a train museum. I figured I had to put atleast one picture, right?

Okay, so this is a little late, but finally an update on how Easter went. Unfortunately, there was really no pictures because Julia lost her camera (more on that story later) and Colton's camera was broken or something, can't really remember. So anyway on Friday night we went to the Good Friday service at our church. I'm going to sound like a little kid but it was cool going to church at night! We sang hymns, watched a video, and just had a good time.

Saturday we headed over to my grandma's for an Easter lunch with all the relatives. We had soup, chili, blueberry muffins, and jell-o jigglers, mmm. Later we did an Easter egg hunt outside. We had to leave pretty early though, since we had to get up early for church the next day.

Sunday was a crazy day. My family was doing the Easter breakfast, so that meant a whole lot of waffles (my dad's specialty.) There was two services, which meant two puppet shows. We introduced a new puppet, Chuck the fireman in the first one and gave an Easter message in the second one.

After the first service, everyone went downstairs for the breakfast. I had to serve the huge tub of strawberries and it took every ounce of my willpower not to start eating them right then and there. After breakfast all of us girls did a "fashion runway" thing, showing off our Easter dresses. The boys were looking at us like they were trying to figure out what planet we came from.

Later Julia lost her camera and we turned the church upside down searching for it. Finally, a few days later when we had pretty much given up, we found out that one of the little boys from church had taken the camera. They found it in his bed. Okay??? What was he doing with it?

After the second service we went back over to grandma's for turkey, mash potatoes, corn, and a bunch of other yummy things. We played games (Spoons, Pictionary) and watched movies (Kung Fu Panda and Indiana Jones 4), it was pretty fun. I even made up a treasure hunt for the younger girls.

When I sank into bed that night I was so tired... now Easter's over and I'm looking forward to a summer filled with a long vacation, swimming at the community pool, reading new summer releases (Sisters Grimm and Percy Jackson, ooh), and just relaxing.

I am so thankful for all that God has given me, but especially for giving me Jesus, for giving me life, for giving me hope when times look bleak. I hope everyone out there had a truly wonderful Easter and remembered who the holiday was really all about (and no, not the Easter Bunny!)

It's a big house.

2009-04-15T06:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this happened awhile ago, but I'm just now making a post about it. A few weeks ago me and my family went to look at a house. It...was...huge. Not huge huge. But HUGE huge. It had been made into several apartments so there was, like, three kitchens on every floor. There were three floors, plus a basement, just loaded with nooks and crannies. To tell you the truth it was kind of creepy in a way. But my brother Colton loved it.

"Let's kill the owner and move in right now!" he said. As you can see his brain doesn't work quite properly.

It was quite a spectacular house. It had a big yard, a garden, a garage, even a tiny greenhouse. There were so many bathrooms that if we ever lived there we'd never have to wait in line again (in the house we currently live in there's only one bathroom.) There was even a toilet, sink, and shower in a tiny closet.

As Buddy the Elf would put it, "This house is ginormous!" But I'm not sure I'd want to live there. Its literally so big you could get lost in it. I don't believe in ghosts, but still. It reminds me of the kind of houses with eerie bumps in the night and secret passageways... actually secret passageways would be pretty cool. Okay, I'm started to ramble now. I'll try to post soon on how Easter went!

Presidential Jeopardy

2009-04-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

Me as Theodore Roosevelt (Yes, I'm rather creepy)

For the end of the homeschooling year we all had to do a report on a president and present it to the rest of the group. Well, instead of just reading a report, my mom decided we should turn it into something more exciting. So we decided to do Presidential Jeopardy. Julia was Thomas Jefferson, Colton was Woodrow Wilson and I was Theodore Roosevelt. My mom was "Alexa Trebec."

The event took place at a local church on a Friday night. It turned out to be really fun. I learned some "interesting" fact about the presidents I never knew before. Like Andrew Jackson had a swearing pet parrot? And Howard Taft once got stuck in his bathtub? Oh yeah, what about when Theodore Roosevelt's kids used to throw water balloons over the heads of visitors. Our jeopardy went pretty smoothly. Erm, except for the one part when I forgot how to pronounce the word episcopal. Then my paper mustache fell off.

Afterward we got to chow down on goodies, including my favorite: magic cookie bars.

The Beem Bunch...

2009-04-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

I've realized that I haven't really introduced my whole family as of yet. Well, here we all are.

Colton (16)
Carlina (15)
Julia (13)
Alicia (11)
Katie (7)
Garrett (4)
Thomas (2)
Anna (6 months)
Plus March! (if you look really closely you can see him in my arms)
This was our Easter picture. It was freezing outside so we had to take it inside.

The End of One March,the Beginning of Another

2009-03-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Katie and Garrett eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new bunny.
The one currently inside is stuffed!

Saturday me and my family headed off to the city in search of a bunny. That's what my sister Katie wanted for her birthday, but the search turned out to be longer then we expected. First we went to Petsmart (the most obvious choice right?) Not rabbits. Petco? No rabbits except for an immensely obese one named Thumper who was eighty bucks. We even go to this tiny pet store called the Velvet Poodle and guess what? They had three rabbits last week, but they all got sold. Who would of thought finding a pet rabbit would prove so diffucult? Well we finally found one. At a place we never would of thought of if it hadn't been for the lady at the Velvet Poodle. We found one at Earle May, a gardening store. There were only two, they were both albino Mini Rex's. So my sister got one and named it Filli, then Snow, then finally March. And let me just say, in the most girly way possibly, he's sooooo cute! He's about the nicest rabbit you could ever possibly want. So even though its almost the end of March, its only the beginning for March: The Albino Mini Rex. Hmm, catchy title. Maybe I could write a book about him?

Calvary Preview

2009-03-25T06:41:00.000-07:00

About two weeks ago, me, my brother, the pastor and his family, and the rest of my youth group piled into a fourteen passenger van and headed off to Calvary Bible College in Kansas City. We were going there for a three day preview. It was quite a trip. And unfortunately I wasn't able to bring a camera. So no pictures. Sorry!

On the way up I listened to my iPod, played my DS, and had fun listening to the conversations going on between Ben and the pastor's seven or so year old son, Bradon. He told everyone how he was going to become a paleontologist and find a dinosuar skeleton worth a billion dollars and become a billionaire. Then he was going to become president and chase Barak Obama out of the country.

"But don't worry." he said, "You can all work for me."

After arriving at the college we signed in, were given a complimentary t-shirt, and picked the three classes we wanted to take. I chose New Testament, World Geography, and American History. After eating dinner, playing some crazy games in the gym (one which involved wacking people with foam noodles), and visiting Ben, Blinda, and Lizzie's older sister (who lived on campus) I was bushed. And starting to get a nasty cold.

We all had to share a dorm with someone who attended the college. My dorm was packed. It already had two people living in the dorm, plus me, plus another previewer. One girl there was super nice, so I was relieved. The other girl I didn't see much.

The next day was a busy one. We ate breakfast, went to classes, attended chapel (the pastor was hilarious!), ate lunch, attended another class, then I went shopping at Wal-mart with Blinda, Maddie, Alisha, and Blinda's older sister. Finally, we came back and started to get ready to go see the play: Annie Get Your Gun. All I can say is it was a fabulous play!

I couldn't sleep that night so I stayed up in the bathroom, reading. Then the next day, after eating breakfast, we headed home.

That was the craziest trip I think I've ever taken. I had fun, but I was glad to be home.

Time Paradox

2009-03-12T05:01:00.000-07:00

I just recently finished reading the latest Artemis Fowl book. For those of you unfamiliar with the series it follows the adventures of boy genius Artemis Fowl who finds a secret world of Faeries living miles below the earth. The series is very fast-paced, extremely hilarious, but not anything to epic or serious. With six books you'd think by now the series would be loosing its charm, but no, the sixth book was as excellent as the rest of them. This book involves time-travel, an endangered lemur, and lots of unexpected twists.

Yes, I know.

2009-03-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know.

I haven't posted in awhile. I thought about it, but then I thought "No, not right now. Tomorrow." And the days just kept going by. So, here I am. I'm finally posting again. I didn't die or move to Germany or anything like that.

First of all our house has gotten an Extreme Makeover: Home Edition! Okay, okay, so my dad put up some new cupboards in the dining room and bathroom and my sister did some touch-ups with a can of white paint. But the house does like a whole lot better. Plus there is loads of storage space now.

Second of all I'm off on a trip! I'm going on a three-day trip with my youth group to a bible college in Missouri, I think. I may be wrong. But it will only be a four-hour drive. So its not like I'll be going to Alaska, thank goodness.

Skate Night, Bad Luck, and Graphic Novels

2009-03-04T19:56:00.000-08:00

I must start off this post by saying I am a terrible roller skater. And I tell you, nothing is quite as embarrassing as stumbling around the skating rink while practically everyone else is zooming by like they were born wearing skates (even little kids and an old man!)

So there I was. Wednesday night: Awana Skate Night. Skating along (orat least trying to) listening to Veggie Tales characters sing rock and roll songs in high pitched voices. Okay, so that description makes it sound like a nightmare, but it was actually pretty fun. I just wish I was a better skater is all.

On to other news. This week I had an orthodontist and a dentist appointment. Talk about your bad luck. And another thing. I just finished reading Rapunzel's Revenge, an excellent graphic novel. In fact it inspired me so much that now I want to make a graphic novel! I love drawing and I love writing. So it just got my brain fired up with all the possibilities...

Puppets 101

2009-02-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

For Sunday school at my church me, my brother, and a couple others do puppet shows. The kids adore them (and surprisingly, the parents do too). Now everyone's trying to get to church early enough to watch them.

I play a puppet named Joe who is a plumber, a veterinarian, and a handyman. So he's sort of a jack of all trades. He's the comic relief character most of the time. My brother plays a police officer named Napoleon. He acts as the mentor and sort of a father figure to the other puppets. It's funny to see my brother play him, because Colton is the last person you'd see helping others with their problems, especially spiritual problems. A running gag in the puppets shows is Napoleon's love for "donuts with sprinkles."

Then there is the twins, Bonnie and Priscilla. Bonnie is a cowgirl. Priscilla is a cheerleader. They are played by Maddie and Belinda (who are best friends in real life so that works out well.) Then there is Chef Al, played by Belinda's older brother, Ben. Chef Al owns a bakery and makes all the donuts that Napoleon loves. Ben does his Italian accent perfectly.

Lastly, is Nurse Susan played by Belinda's older sister, Lizzie. The characters have to visit her alot, since they always seem to be getting hurt.

Its alot of fun and a great way for the kids to get excited about God. So if you're looking for a fun way to teach kids at your church, try puppets, they just might do the trick.

Good News... and Bad News

2009-02-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

So, which one would you like to hear first?

Okay I'll start with the good news. We're going to keep Oliver!! My mom was determined not to get rid of him so she went into town and bought him a harness (which works really great by the way.) So far Oliver hasn't escaped once. I'm so glad we got to keep him. And more good news, my sister is going to get a pet rabbit for her birthday and I might get a kitten!

Now onto the bad news. These last few days I've been dreadfully sick. I've had a terrible stomachache (no vomiting luckily) and just when it looked like I was getting better, well whaddaya know: I get a sore throat. But even that's starting to clear up now so hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow.

In other news I took my IBS (Iowa Basic Skills) test yesterday at the church. It was pretty easy... until I got to math. Yikes! Just for the record, I stink at math and find it hopelessly boring.

I finish the rest of the test next week and the first thing I'll have to conquer is computing (Math without a calculator.) That is going to be bad.

Goodbye Oliver...

2009-02-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Well, me and Colton just got done chasing our dog, Oliver, all around the entire Mapleton area. And now my parents are going to get rid of him.

Oliver has gotten out before, but never this long. He barked at about five people, ten dogs, and chased three cats up a tree. Right now, I pretty furious with him, but I'm not so sure I want to get rid of him... it would be really sad.

My dad's so mad he says he'll shoot him or dump him off somewhere. I don't know what we're going to do with that crazy dog. I just don't know... Oliver is so energetic, he's just not meant to be a town dog, so maybe its best that we get rid of him, but I don't know if anyone would want him...

Is this goodbye?

Gonna be a busy week...

2009-02-08T11:21:00.001-08:00

It seems like my week is already all planned out (a rare occurrence.) On Monday we're going over to my grandma's for dinner. My grandma and grampa used to live in Washington state up until a few months ago. Now they live in Iowa with us, which is really nice. I can't wait until summer, they're going to get chickens and we're going to all help out in the garden.

On Wednesday is Youth Group. Last week I had to help out with the Cubbies (aka the really little kids) with my grandma. And let me tell you, those kids were running on hyper drive. Every two point five seconds one of them had to go to the bathroom or complained about being hungry. Having a snack of chocolatey little Debbies and Teddy Grams didn't help the matter much. But, things could've been worse I suppose.

On Thursday we're going over to the Bielenburg's house, a family whose goes to our church. They have thirteen kids, I think, and a simply huge house. They're all super nice. Me and my older brother, Colton, do a Bible Study with them and puppets shows for Sunday School.

So, I'm pretty booked this week. Which, I dunno, seems odd for me. Usually, I don't do anything but schoolwork all week. So I'm glad, I like to keep busy.

Thirsty Cats

2009-02-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Of Hamsters and Thunderbirds

2009-02-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

Wow, its already February. These first few months seem to fly by. We went over to my Aunt Debbie's for Super Bowl Sunday, I cannot stand football though (puts me to sleep), but I did root for the Cardinals for no apparent reason. Too bad they didn't win :(

My cousin Jewel had just gotten a new hamster named Summer. The weird thing was on our way up to my aunt's house we were all talking about hamsters. I used to own hamsters awhile back. My first one was named Peanutbutter. He was a real grouch. You couldn't hold him without your finger being bitten. Second, was probably my best. His name was October and he had a beautiful orange coat. He was extremely friendly and smart too. Third was Otis. He didn't like to be held either, so mostly I could only watch him run around his cage.

We just got done studying Lewis and Clark at school and are now on to Presidents. Which is a very interesting topic.

Oh, yeah, here's an amusing tidbit. My little brother now officially loves the movie Thunderbirds. In case you've never heard of it, it's a really cheesy adventure film about these kids who use futuristic machines to stop a villain from robbing a bank. It is a terrible movie. But Garrett is nuts over it. Go figure.

Two Little Cuties

2009-01-27T09:24:00.000-08:00

Baby Anna

Oliver

Ah... Warm at last

2009-01-26T05:59:00.000-08:00

The corn burner is working and now the computer room is toasty warm instead of the usual zero below. Its breakfast time here at the Beem household and things are as crazy as ever (in my house crazy is the norm.) My three younger siblings, Alicia, Katie, and Garrett, go to public school and its always a hassle for my mom to get them all ready to go. Oliver wanders the house looking for some attention or someone to play tug of war with. And Colton basically bothers everyone.

Today we finished the Lewis and Clark documentary that we had gotten from the library. It was pretty good. Next, we're going to be studying the presdents. So, that should be interesting.

Inkheart and Corn Burners

2009-01-23T10:17:00.000-08:00

The movie Inkheart comes out today. I cannot wait to see it! Its looks so good. But I doubt that it will be as good as the book, which was excellent by the way. I wonder if they're going to make Inkheart's sequel, Inkspell, into a movie? I was really disapointed after reading it. It hardly measured up to the first one. And I'm sorry to say the next one, Inkdeath, wasn't much better. But, oh well, what can you do?

In other news we got something called a "corn burner" put into our back room, so our house should be much warmer (I hope.) Since there wasn't room for both computers, one of them got put in my room (yah!) so now I can write in peace, without any noise or distractions. I just need to get a new keyboard for it.

Update on my Life

2009-01-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm already forgetting to update this thing. And its not like I'm extremely busy, so it's my fault, no excuses.

So... what's going on right now? Hmm. Well, its been really cold, like past zero below everyday. And that's a real pain when I've got to take the dog out. Usually, I don't put my coat on or anything. I just go out in my socks and pajamas. That's how lazy I am.

My great-great uncle (or atleast I think he's my great-great uncle) just died a couple days ago, but I didn't know him at all. My dad told us about him, and as usual, the story was hilarious. My dad tells the funniest stories. I don't know how he does it. Sometimes I think he should have been a comedian.

We've been kind of busy these past few weeks. We visited my aunt and uncle who live in South Dakota. Me and my sisters had fun playing Wii bowling, because, alas, we don't own a Wii like most average American families. But I hardly care. Video games aren't really my thing. There are a few games that I really like (Kingdom Hearts II, Rayman...) but I'd prefer reading or watching a movie then video games.

Oh, yeah, here's a recent funny story. Around Christmastime my cousin, Ariel, came running into my grandma's house and told us Oliver ate a mitten. We, uh, didn't really believe her as you can imagine. But a couple of weeks later and what do you know? Oliver barfs up a whole mitten. I could not believe it. He must have been really hungry when he did it, because I can't think of any other reason.

A Tale of Two States

2009-01-12T16:23:00.000-08:00

Winter in Iowa

Summer in Iowa

We're getting our first blizzard of the year today. It's snowing like there's now tomorrow outside and I bet the temperature is past zero below. Days like these make me long for my old home in Florida. In Florida its pretty much warm and sunny all the time. It was nice. Even though Christmases just weren't the same without snow. I lived in Florida for four years before returning back to the original state I lived in, Iowa.

I think I'd choose Iowa over Florida to live in. Yes, it's summer in Florida all year long, and you have the beach, and all the theme parks, but Florida just isn't the same as Iowa. For one thing almost all of my relatives live in Iowa, in the same area. And... I don't know Iowa is just a nicer place, not as much crime, four seasons. But I do wish we had a bigger house. All ten of us have to share one bathroom and sometimes the line can be pretty long. But I suppose its alright.

Bookworm

2009-01-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places to go at the mall is Barnes and Nobles. What can I say? I love books! Watching T.V. is okay and playing video games is somewhat entertaining, but there is just nothing like reading a book. Fantasy and Adventure are my favorite genres but I read other things too. Like history books. I love history. History is like one big story. I mean so many exciting and interesting things have happened in the past that I wonder why some people thinks its so boring. But, I digress. I was talking about books. Right now I'm reading The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. I loved the first one. At first I was skeptical, but it turned out to be really good. It's sort of a mixture of A Series of Unfortunate Events and Chasing Vermeer. Very funny, smart, and of course, mysterious.

Katie: Mad Scientist

2009-01-06T10:59:00.000-08:00

My seven-year-old sister's name is Kathrine, but we all call her Katie. It suits her better. Katie is certainly not your typical little girl. Forget ponies and princesses, Katie likes bugs, aliens, dinosaurs, and monsters. At one point she wanted to be an entomologist, but now I thinks she wants to be a dentist or study dinosaurs.

Katie can be very moody at times and her attitude can change in the wink of an eye. One moment she's grumpy, the next she's crying, and the next she giggling insanely. Sometimes she completely wears me out.

Katie and me share a room and I'm sorry to say this but... she snores. She also has this very old, very ragged blanket called, naturally, "blankie." It smells horrendous and looks like the tattered remains of a castaway's shirt, but she will not let go of it.

Katie is a little mad scientist and likes doing all these weird experiments that usually make a big mess. She loves E.T. too. The movie, the character, the ride, you name it. One time she saw a picture of E.T. and Steven Spielberg. She pointed to it and said,
"Look, mommy, its E.T. and Jesus!"

As you can see she's very unique.

Back to School

2009-01-04T15:23:00.001-08:00

Well, tomorrow Christmas break ends and I'm heading back to school. But not literally. I'm home-schooled so my "classroom" is usually at the dining room table or in my room or really wherever I feel like working. Its pretty nice.

Home-schooling does have its ups and downs though. On the upside I don't usually have to get up early or worry about what I'm going to wear. And I don't have to deal with teachers who give you five foot high stacks of homework or kids who go out of their way to make you miserable either. And I know what I'm talking about. I went to public school, Kindergarten through fifth grade.

But on the downside.... sometimes home-schooling can get a tad bit boring. Going to public school, I always felt nervous and excited about a new day, wondering what would happen next. Would there be a substitute? Someone's birthday? A new game in gym class? But when your home-schooled? Its usually same ol' same ol' week after week.

But I don't think I would choose to go to public school next year. Home-schooling has a lot more freedom, plus in high school I'd have to study evolution and history with God pretty much erased from the story. Blech.

Montie the Cat

2009-01-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

This is my cat Montie, short for Montana (we named her after the brand of tractors my Dad used to sell). My brother found her was she was only a newborn at my Dad's tractor store. Montie is a very grumpy cat who doesn't like to be held or handled in any way. Whenever I, or anyone else, tries to pick her up she starts growling But she loves to lick people, I mean when you try petting her, she just starts licking away at your hand like you're her kitten or something. She likes to suck on blankets too. Weird, huh?

Oliver and Me

2009-01-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Yep, that's my dog, Oliver. My aunt got him for us this summer when he was only a tiny little puppy, as cute as can be. Well, now he's grown up, and while he still is cute, he is a HUGE troublemaker. For one thing, almost all of our neighbors have called the police complaining about him. After a policeman showed up at our door and told us we'd have to pay a hefty fine if there were any more complaints, my parents considered getting rid of him. But they decided to let him stay, if us kids were way more responsible.

Oliver's mother was a lab and his father was a collie, two breeds of dogs we've owned before, so we figured he'd be a good dog. Well, he is... sorta. He loves us and thinks he's just another one of the kids, he even tries to hop in the car when we're going someplace. But he goes crazy around strangers, especialy men. The hair on his back stands straight up and he starts barking and growling. So, that's kind of bad. But he's a good guard dog anyway.

My Little Siblings

2009-01-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have seven brothers and sisters. So, sometimes things can get a little crazy. Take yesterday for example, my five-year-old cousin came had stayed the night so the next day the little kids were playing like there was no tomorrow. The sad thing is, my sister, Katie, and my cousin, Jewel, often leave out my little brother, Garrett, which doesn't sit well with him. He starts crying, and let me tell you, he has the loudest voice of any person I have ever met. So when he's crying you can here it throughout the whole house. The little kids completely wrecked my room, which I had just cleaned yesterday, and they sprayed all my perfumes for some reason. I wanted to tear my hair out. But, I still love them. I wouldn't trade them for any other little brothers and sisters in the world. But my older brother, well, he's another story... okay, just kidding! But he is the most annoying person in the world. Seriously.

Enter 2009

2008-12-31T18:24:00.000-08:00

It's a (almost) new year, so I've decided to create a new blog. I've had one before but I got to the point where I was too lazy to update it. So, that's my New Year's resolution. Create and maintain a blog. I hope plenty of interesting things happen in 2009, or this blog is going to be really, really boring.
The night continues on and in a few hours we'll be living in a new year. And what exactly will 2009 bring? I'll just have to wait and see...