My Saturday was very eventful! First, we headed to see my Grandma Hall in the Hospital. On the way there, we were on the highway. This truck in front of us tried to pull over... right into the spot where we were. Mom says he was trying to get us to slow down, because it was one of those "Wide Load" escort trucks. We slowed down, and, well, the car behind us didn't. Next second- screech! crash! The whole car shook. Our heads hit out headrests. We all just sat there for a second, before it hit me- We just got in a crash! Genius, yes? This was new to me. I look out the back window, and The car behind us is... what's that word they use? Totalled. The entire front bumper, headlights, and some of the engine is gone. This doesn't bode well for our van. I get out and look at it... nothing looks different, except for a dent in the bumper. (I realized the black traction part of the bumper was missing later.) Anyway, we drove a little to a spot where we could pull over, somehow those other guys did too... Then police junk, filling out forms, called insurance, blah blah blah. We drove away. The other guys- not so much. They got a tow. Poor guys.

Later, though, we went up to Heber to visit the McKnights! I haven't seen them for over a year. Me and Brayden were friends like... post pre-school. We played games. We ate dinner (There were 14 people!) and then we played some more. Even I succumbed to Rock Band. The guitar is pretty fun (at least on easy mode...) but I didn't know any of the songs. It was all fun.

So, last night we went to a great fireside, it was one of those who they record in front of a live audience, and we were able to be the audience! It was great. One of his Opening Jokes:
"So I told my wife I was going to Washington for EFY. She froze. She turned and stared at me. "Is that okay?" I asked. She stared at me for a moment more before asking "Are you going to Forks?" "Umm... No. Do we know anyone in Forks?" "Yeah, the man I would marry if it wasn't for you." "Umm... Do you want me to say hi to him for you?" " By this point every girl in the room is almost falling off their chairs laughing, and the boys are looking around going "Uhh... What?" Then he mentioned the name all together- "Forks, Washington." It suddenly struck me. "Oh, boy" I thought.
Anyway, He talked about a girl that was in his seminary class when he was a sophomore. Her name was Laura Larsen. The only way he could describe her was that she glowed. She practically resonated this warm, happy feeling. And so he decided he wanted to be like her. He issued this challenge to all of us: Try to glow like Laura Larsen. Break the boundaries, be nice to everyone, no matter how "popular" they are. Be so kind, so loving, so happy, that you'll walk past strangers and they'll think, "What was that?" Give off a positive, joyful, loving aura. See how happy it makes you.

Daniel and Matt are having a Haiku war. I've decided I'm going to try. Here are a few of mine:

The stars are twinkling
like small diamonds in the sky,
Oh how they sparkle.

The frog leaps into
his watery home, and makes
a small, quiet splash.

The day's time is up,
the twilight's magic begins
preparing for night.

//This has nothing to do with the book Twilight. I've always thought that the twilight was a time of strong magic. Even before The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess came out. (Which gives me an Idea for a poll...)

Water suspended
in the air around us all
a frozen moment.

A single seedling,
a tiny plant, will soon be
a mighty Redwood.

The songbird's sweet song
drifts through the air, til it comes
to rest on our ears.

The grace of the birds,
their swoops and turns, can inspire
even all the best.

Check back. I may edit this post to add more.

So I get back to school on Monday, and I learn that everything I had finished over Christmas Break isn't due 'til next week. What's more, we're getting 3 days in class to work on our English assignment that I've already finished and everyone else is just starting. So I have 3 days to work on Midvale Fantical Adventures, the story I'm writing about the ghost of Midvale turning every one into fantasy beings. Here's the story of the Ghost: along time ago, Midvale Middle had an archery range, and an archery class. Kid's loved to take it- they thought it was much more interesting then developing photos or learning more. It was a very popular class until one day. No body knows how it happened, or if it was on purpose or accidental, or if it had even been done by a student, but one kid ended up dead, shot by an arrow. Needless to say, the class and range were shut down after that. But the kid still roams Midvale today, going to classes with the other kids, sitting in empty desks, opening doors when no one else is there to open them, and listening in on unsuspecting kids' conversations. He goes about like the other kids, but unseen.

Time to bring on the New Year! How will you start 2009? Look back on everything from 2008. What did you like? What do you think could have been better? How can you improve yourself? Then try to apply those things to your daily life. Easier Said than done, huh? Just try your best. Anyway, I'm hoping to make this year even better than last. I want to have fun! But in order to have fun, I need to throw out some road blocks: procrastination, selfishness, and a couple other things. We can all be better, right? And my first order of business is this: I'm going to ask you, my friends and my family, how can I do better? How can I strive for more, get rid of bad traits, and build my good traits? Be honest! If you don't want to say it in front of anyone, I'll be seeing you soon. Man, I can't wait for monday, to see all of you again!

Smiles all around!!!!