Oh say can you see...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/buggolo/2850705584/

     Well, The Fourth of July is coming up and people are frantic about have a good day off of work. People in my town have been driving either to Target or to Pennsylvania to stock up on: FIRECRACKERS! It may be illegal, but who cares, The 4th of July is a celebratin' day, especially designed for Fireworks. I like to think of the 4th of July as a day for watching an ear-splitting parade...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/flutterbright/23885827/

Eating delicious burgers,(which you can do any day, but there's not a lot of Holidays where you can celebrate with juicy burgers)

And of course Fireworks.

GO and enjoy the 4th of july, before its over

Osama bin Laden

http://www.flickr.com/photos/diamond_rain/5682451071/

As I watched over all the endless news reports, 

I seem to misunderstand how people all around the world are being killed for no particular reason. Our social studies teacher told us the most horrifying true story about suicide bombers, ranging in age from 7 to 13 ( This is not an incorrect sentence), going up to innocent citizens and blowing the people and themselves up.Personally, I think it was stupid for him to be buried at sea, and so soon after his death. I am so thankful that the navy seals finally killed this cruel, and horrible person.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sancho_panza/24425493/sizes/m/in/photostream/

"The terrorists backbone has been broken"

Unknown

When I first heard about the death early Monday morning, I could not match a face to the name, since it hasn't been broad-casted lately. But after doing a quick GOOGLE search, I managed to figure out who he was, and some of the gut- wrenching things he's done to people worldwide. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5303903135/

This is the man responsible for 9/11 to occur, plus the deaths of over 3000 people worldwide. Watching the last news story I could withstand, My spirits were lifted on this situation after seeing a sea of people celebrating around ground zero.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lrargerich/2408114709/

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I was busy looking at this card that has bin Laden wishing us a crappy Valentines day"

-Erin Harkins Wiley

Bottom Line: Make history. But don't make it by killing people. Do it like this guy:

Peacefully and Kindly.

 Sorry Al-Qaeda, but no ones pushes the USA around and gets away with it! 

A Super Cute Cousin

In my previous posts I mentioned that one of my aunts is going to become a mother. But I don't think I ever mentioned my super cute cousin Sam. His real name is Samuel Henry Boyer. He is around 13-14 months old. He is my first Cousin from my moms side.

Sam was born on March 8th, 2010. He is my little buddy, and is extremely hilarious. A video my aunt and uncle made of him shows him laughing really hard, while their dog, Daisy, knocks him over like 5 times. Although he may have taken my fridge space, he repays me by being in a good mood every time I see him. My aunt is a professional photographer (something I want to be when I grow up), and took some pictures of Sam. I must thank her for the pictures and how wonderfully she took them:

If you look into the sunglasses in the bottom picture, you can see my aunt taking the picture. This bottom picture was taken the day of the March of Dimes walk-a-thon for babies. A two mile walk was nothing for Sam, who didn't even walk a little bit!


Sam also has a sister (kind of), named Daisy. Here is her picture:

I can already tell that if Sam is going to stay home for a day by himself, Daisy is going to be the one taking care of him instead of himself. Daisy is like a jungle-Jim to Sam. Sam will grab onto Daisy's neck, and she'll try the best   she can to not fight back. Daisy is a very loving dog, but everyone in my family agrees that after a baby like Sam, she's not going to be treated quite like she was before.


I can't wait to see Sam again, since I only usually see him at some family gathering. It is much easier to focus, concentrate, and work when you have something on your mind, and Sam is the something on my mind. Little buddy, I hope when you're old enough to read, I want you to read this, and see how much you mean to me, you being my very first cousin from my moms side.


Sam is a great cousin.

School? *Yes?* I have some questions...

As the first of May is quickly approaching us, school is getting closer to being let out, and for most (including me), this is the time when you are forced to say goodbye to teachers that you really like, and say "so long, suckers" to the teachers that you definitely aren't gonna miss. I think I can speak for any 6th grader when I say that we have at least two of each teachers. In Southampton Middle School, theres a lot of teachers that you might hate, but the good teachers make up for it. Whether you go here:

 or here...

You will always have good and bad memories from school. Whether its spilling your tray in front of the entire cafeteria, or cracking your voice, you'll have something to later look back at and laugh at.

When I started middle school, I lost a lot of my friends because of Bel Air Middle. Making websites and being on social networks like Facebook are ways to stay in touch with them. But as you move away from friends, you grow closer to others. I've made so many new friends this year that if I were to sell them, I would need a store the size of a Wegman's! As My friends and I slowly transition in becoming a 7th grader, I am eager to see if teachers, homework, and friends are going to be different. If only one thing could change for our school, in my opinion, I would buy Chick-fil-a for lunch instead of ground up chicken beaks.

And soon enough... all 7th graders will become:

High Schoolers!!


But... is college like middle and high school?
and... do we have to see our parents every day after high school?
or. are you free to do what you want?




Important Questions

Meet the Harleys

Last night, my family and I had friends over. Their name is the Harley's. This family consists of the baby(Imogen),the second youngest child, and my buddy, Harrison, My friend since kindergarten: Bea, and the hilarious parents: George and Gwen Harley (Mr. George and Mrs. Gwen). 


When they came over last night, I finally had someone to hang around, since most of my friends have been grounded. It was kinda funny to see how bad Bea and Harrison were at Scattergories, whereas Imogen beat me! We watched like 5 minutes of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:Part 1, Then ate some super delicious cornbread, chicken, and salad. I beat Bea in Egyptian rat, which she introduced to me. If you want to know how to play, just follow these steps:

Steps

1. 1
   Take a regular deck of playing cards (remove jokers) and, shuffle thoroughly.
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2. 2
   Pass out the entire deck to the players, face down. Distribute evenly so everyone has the same amount. Players hold their cards as a face down deck and are not to look at their cards.
3. 3
   Begin the game. The person left of the dealer goes first, and pulls the top card off his/her pile and places it in the middle. You are not allowed to see your card until it is placed in the middle.
4. 4
   Determine how many chances the next player has to lay down a face card if a card played is a face card. The next person has the following amount of chances to lay down a face card for each type of face card: four for Aces, three for Kings, two for Queens, and one for Jacks. Some people reverse these values, therefore allowing for the Ace, as is many card games, to act as the card of greatest value to players. If a player runs out of cards, and they haven't finished completing their chances, then the next player finishes for them. If no one lays down a royal card the set goes to the original player that laid down the royal card.
5. 5
   Have the winner collect all the cards. They should place them at the bottom of their deck. They also start the next set.
6. 6
   Slap the top card first to collect the set in the following instances. This overrides the royal or face card rule. The first player to slap the card before the next card is played can collect the cards. If it is unknown who was first to slap, the player with the most fingers on the card wins. If the event the tie remains unresolved, the slaps are disregarded and play continues.
7. 
   
8. 
   
   • Double: In the event two cards of equivalent value are laid down consecutively. Ex: 5, 5
   • Sandwich: In the event two cards of equivalent value are are laid down consecutively, but with one card of different value between them. Ex: 5, 7, 5
   • Top bottom or bottoms up: The same card as the first card of the set is laid down. This rule is nullified if a card is burned as a penalty (see below.)
   • Tens: If the two cards played consecutively or with a card in between add up to 10. For this rule, an Ace counts as one. Ex: 3-7 or 1-K-9 (sandwich)
   • Jokers: Instead of taking out the jokers you can use them in the game. Anytime someone lays down a joker, the pile can be slapped.
   • Four-in-a-row: If four cards with values in consistent ascending or descending order is placed, such as 5-6-7-8 or Q-K-A-2.
   • Marriage: If a Queen is placed over or under a King (optional rule) such as Q-K or K-Q
9. 7
   Add one to two cards to the bottom of the pile if you slap the pile and it was not slappable. This is called "burning cards" and voids "top bottom". If you have no cards and you false slap, then you are out of the game for good (optional rule). If you slap the pile incorrectly when you have won the cards due to the face-card rule, the face-card rule is nullified, allowing play to continue.
11. 8
    Continue playing if you have run out of cards.
12.  You are still allowed to "slap in" and get cards!
13. 9
    Continue the game until you have a winner (someone obtains all the cards).
    Thanks you to http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Egyptian-Rat-Screw

    
    

    The night was finished off with brownies, and the loss of my shiny red box, which Harrison took home with him, with a dime. Between me and Mrs. Gwen, we got some pretty good pictures. Here are some of mine:

    
    

    
    

    

    
    

    

    
    

    

    
    

I Am Having A Baby... Cousin

OK first, so that i'm not confusing anyone by the title, I am not having a baby. But my Aunt is. I already have three cousins of my own, their names are Jon, Taylor, and Sam. The reason why I'm so excited about this baby, is because my aunt hasn't had a lot of luck when it came to babies. I'm very excited for my aunt and uncle to become a mom and dad.


I never thought much in terms of preparedness when it comes to babies, but its a lot more work then it seems. As I looked around at the baby's room this weekend, I saw what life is going to be like for me about 10-15 years from now. Baby books, blankets, toys, and stuffed animals as far as the eye can see, is neatly placed all around the room. Instead of clothes in the closet, it's usually diapers, or baby wipes. All doors and electrical outlets are childproofed, and there is a rocking chair in almost every commonly entered room. I always thought that a house expecting a baby would be like this:


A couple of stuffed animals in the room but not so much that if I fell, I wouldn't land on 5 stuffed penguins.


A beautiful crib (Which my aunt and uncle do have) with a super comfortable baby mattress.


And lots of books too. I would want to read my child a new story every week.


Plus everything else mentioned before.

Lets just say i'm over-thinking happiness.

Having a baby is a wonderful thing, and even when you have the worst day of your life, you still know that you have a child either sitting  at home, waiting for you, or you waiting for that little angel to reveal itself to you. For all the moms and dads and soon-to-be moms and dads of the world, Your ultimate happiness is much closer then you think. Congratulations to my Aunt Kristin and Uncle Jem.

The first Wiley child 

To...

The first boyer

To...

      ?: Pink or blue, we have no clue!!

Japan Needs Us

As I look to friends, family, and teachers for an understanding of what has previously happened in Japan, no matter how much information I get, I will never get the understanding of how the Japanese sensed it. 


For us, the earthquake was something to put on the news, and to worry about. For the people of Japan, this was something that would take the lives of several loved family members, the force to live on the streets since your house has either been destroyed, or flooded, and the fear of something like this happening again, especially if you are a child. Imagine your sitting at home, and all of the sudden, this news report shows up:

Even Germany heard about this!  http://www.flickr.com/photos/hinkelstone/5576356363/

I don't think that I know a single person that wouldn't scream and/or cry at the sight of that. Imagine that you were in Japan, completely unaware of that. You have nothing to do at that point. Your only options are to get to safety somewhere, or, sadly, pass away.

Many organizations across America have worked feverishly to raise money to help the people of Japan. Even my school has been raising money for the Red Cross. Other organizations have been participating in events like canned food drives, walk-a-thons, and much more. Many people will not know how far just a couples cans of soup, or one hundred dollars will go.

People may be in conflict with themselves in this situation. Money is very tight right now in America, and people don't know whether they should help the people of Japan, or buy that hot tub they've always wanted. That's a very easy decision to make: The people of Japan. If you believe that a hot tub is more important than life itself, then there is something seriously wrong with you. One major sign of ignorance is a thought that I have heard floating around my school :"Why should we help them, they bombed us". That was the past, and hopefully people are moving on from something that happened a long time ago. Plus, if anything horrible happens to the USA, then Japan will thank us for our supplies with supplies back. Don't be the person finding a million reasons to not help Japan, but be the person who can find a million reasons TO help Japan, and accomplish as many as possible. You are the people that I tip my hat to.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/5517602446/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnavy/5526431226/