Summerohnine

This summer is going to be the best.
Once I graduate 8th grade and get out of school my family and friends are going to Sun Lakes Resort, Coulee City WA like we do every year. It is so nice there, around 95 - 100 deg all the time. There is not that much to do but the best parts are laying around on the boat, hanging out at the RV, playing golf, driving in through the desert, watching the Lazar light show on the Grand Coulee Dam and meeting cool people.

After that I am heading off for California!
Hanging out with some cousins, the grandparents and going to Mendocino.
I will probably hang out with my aunt and uncle most of the time and get to go to cool places. hang out with Christyna and meet her friends in Mendo. I can't wait to go back.

A couple weeks after I get back from Cali I am going to fly off to Illinois to see my cousin Rachel.
I didn't even know she existed till December 2007 and now we are really tight. Shes 17 now and I know a lot of her friends so we are going to drive around, hang out in the sun and see her friends.

When I get back from Illinois
It will almost be the fair and I will have some time to go swimming and hang out with friends. Maybe golf or just hang out around Langley.
Hopefully the fair this year will be better then last.

Presentation Reflection

Did you stand up straight but stay relaxed?
Yeah, I stood up straight but I was still relaxed. I tried to be as relaxed as possible but sometime it was kind of hard to focus.

Did you pause for a moment before you began your speech?
Yeah, I waited till it loaded then started speaking. Mr. B cut my presentation so there were a couple seconds before I started to speak.

Did you look at your audience?
I looked around the room. Sometimes at the computer or Mr. B I was also looking at a lot of the people looking at me.

Did you let your facial expressions naturally reflect what you were saying?
For the most part yes but some of the parts you couldn't really tell. You can't see my face super well but you can tell I am trying to express what I am talking about.

Did you use your hands?
Yeah, I moved them to describe things. I also showed where things were on the screen or just flailed my arms.

Did you speak loudly enough so that everyone could hear you?
Yeah I spoke as loud as I could without yelling! It was kind of hard to tell exactly how loud I was speaking because the speakers aren't that good on this computer.

Did you change your tone to show how you felt (upset, excited) about an idea or to emphasize a point?
Yes I did that a lot. I tired to show and tell with my arms and voice exactly what was going on.

Was your speed of delivery too fast, too slow or just right?
Some parts were a little to fast. But some of them were alright too. It just depended what I was talking about.

Did you practice your speech at home before giving it?
No I didn't. I read it over but i didn't practice it.

What did you notice that you did well in your speech?
I spoke pretty loud. I also tried to use my hands to show what I was talking about.

Describe one aspect of public speaking you will work to improve?
I would like to be more comfortable. I want to be able to just jump up and start speaking off the top of my head sounding great!

Metaphor Face Assignment

Eyes - are like a deep dark tunnel
Ears - are like a fox
Mouth - makes my ears hurt when she sings
Nose - is like a speed bump in the road
Forehead - is like a shinny new quarter
Hair - looks like Medusa's hair
Cheeks - are round a plump like bowling balls
Teeth - look like potholes in the road
Lips - are like rough sand paper
Skin - is like a vat of oil

Fronter House Application

Frontier House
OFFICIAL APPLICATION
Family Name: The Landel Family

Occupations/Schools:
Jeff Landel: Whidbey General Hospital - Paramedic
Kathleen Landel: Mayors Assistant
Walker Landel: Student


Open answer questions (attach additional pages. All questions must be answered.):
What attracted you to this project?
Being outdoors, working hard to survive, finding ways to make make hard chores easy, building a life outside of the 21st century.

What hobbies and interests do you have?
Working, Woodworking, Outdoors, Camping, Hiking, Baseball.

What image do you have of pioneer living?
Hard work, surviving, Working for food and survival.

What's the most challenging thing you and your family (or group) have experienced?
Traveling to 38 states in 3 months in our motor home.

If you were chosen what do you think you would most miss about modern life?
My friends, 21st century clothes, cell phones.

What qualities do you and your family have that make you suited to this experience?
We all love to go camping, we work well outside, we can come together and get things done, were a strong family.

What skills do you have that may help you?
Wood working, outdoors skills, community skills, I am a hard worker.

What would you hope to get out of the experience?
Working better with my family, making a home and life out of nothing, surviving in the middle of nowhere for months and months with very little.

What do you think will be the most difficult challenge of pioneer life?
Building a house, growing food, getting ready for winter.

What skills would you like to learn from the experience?
I would work better with other people, better with outdoors, better wood working skills, work better with my family and my dad, build a home.

We'd like you to tell us:
What interests you about this project?
Being outside of the 21st century and in the middle of nowhere surviving with nothing.

Do you have any concerns about your participation?
I think it is going to be harder then it looks but if you work hard, stay warm, work well, get things done it will be fun in the end.

How much do you know about your family history -- do you have pioneer roots?
My moms family history goes back to kings and queens, I don't know about my dads.

How did you hear about Frontier House?
I watched the show in Mr. B's class!

Ski Bus.

This year over the winter I did the ski bus.

I went with a bunch of friends and had a really fun time.
I love to Snowboard and I am way better at it then Skiing.
We went to Stevens Pass every Saturday morning.
I had to wake up at 4:30am every Saturday to get ready and leave at 5:45am
Every day I went was really long and exhausting but more fun then I have ever had.
I got to hang out with my friends.
Listen to music.
Watch movies.
Learn better snowboarding techniques.
Eat good food.
Go on fun trails.
Get lost.
Find new trails.
Go into random parts of the woods.
I had a lot of fun and I think I am going to do it next year.
Anyone who is thinking about it should really consider doing it.
It is some of the most fun I have had.
There is a lot to do and even though it's a really long and exhausting day.
It is a TON on fun!

This is just to say.

This is just say...
I am sorry for not being there,
helping you with projects,
being there to help you with your problems,
making sure you are safe,
I was never really there for you,
like a bowling ball,
hitting only one pin at a time,

I fixed one problem at a time,
but I never could be the best,
never able to knock everything down,
never able to beat this game,
never able to fix everything,
never able to put it all back together

Riddle

Dark and cold.
i weight you down.
soft noises on the pavement.
i keep you inside...
away...
away from the dark chill.

(Click below for answer)
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[Click here]
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Nice and soft.
as I fall.
faster and faster.
every hour...
little by litte.
I weight down the world.

(Click below for answer)
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[Click here]
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What If? Poem

What if.
Music was silent.
You could not hear it.
No matter how hard you tried.
It was never there.
You could read the words.
But you could not listen.

Monster

Kellens Version

Walker's Version

Description:
My Sci-Fi monsters name is Duo. He is pretty much two people fused together. He is about the same height as an average man. Duo stands at about 6 feet tall. Duo has a kind heart to some people, mostly males. He does not like noise or fire. Duo was meant to guard protected positions but he got bored of doing that after hundreds of years. He cooled down and started being a little nicer. Duo is nice when you first meet him but if he smells evil or doe not like your attitude then he will most likely eat you. He doe not have any hair on his head, this is because he has two heads. He has two brains but they both work together instead of being separate. His brains combine to make one very smart brain. Duo eats people or meat, although it doe not really matter to him if its people or animals. Duo does have big and sharp teeth but he rarely uses them. The only time he uses them is when he wants food. Sometimes Duo's eyes change colors. They are red most of the time and change in the night to being blue. When he looks into the sun they turn yellow. Duo wishes he was normal like every other person but he will never be, due to his two heads and body's fussed together. Now that Duo doe not work as a guard anymore he is shy to most people. He is skittish and gets scared very easily. Duos body is like any other persons body besides the fact that he has two body's. He has four arms and four legs. Duo thinks of himself as two people. He is very smart almost two times as smart as any normal human. Duo's hands are nothing like peoples hands. Duo has very sharp fingers and a couple less then any human. He has two fingers on one hand and four on another. His feet and legs are short and kind of stubby his feet are not like any humans feet, they are skinny and short. Duo can run fast because all four of his legs work together to make him run very fast. He can almost out run a car going 50 MPH. Over hundreds of years Duo has evolved into a different monster then he was. He has a kinder heart now and doesn't work as a guard anymore. If you stay on Duos good side he is very friendly and nice.

Spring Break 08'

During spring break this year my family and I are going on a trip to the Dominican Republic. My family has wanted to go there for a while but we never got around to it. My cousin lives there and we are going out there with my aunt to see him and travel the DR. There are a lot of fun things to do there and it will be really nice and warm. I am most looking forward to the warm weather and the food. I love to travel too and I think this will be a very fun trip. I was really excited to go but then I found out that the flight is going to take two days... First we have to fly a couple hours and have a lay over in Vegas. Then we have a lay over in Florida. Then one in Texas. In Texas we have to spend the night at a hotel in Texas because the plane doesn't leave till the next morning. But it will be worth it. I can't wait to see the people, culture, food, parties, clubs, and the landscapes. In 7th grade I did a project on the Dominican Republic so I know a little bit about it. The food is VERY good and the people are very nice. I am learning Spanish so I will be able to talk to people and talk to my cousin. I love taking pictures and it will be amazing to be able to take pictures there. It is a very pretty place and there is so much to do, and so much fun! During the day I can take pictures then at night go to clubs and parties and have fun. It is going to be an awesome experience and a very fun trip.

Winter Break

This winter break was a lot of fun. A couple days after school got out my aunt came here from England. She was here when the week we had the most snow. It was fun seeing her since the last time I saw her I was in Hawaii. On Christmas Eve like every Christmas Eve my parents had a Christmas Party. It was pretty fun, I had a good time. On Christmas morning I woke up at ten. I already knew what I got because my mom told me to order it so I didn't really have anything to look forward to. On new years day my dad and I left at eight in the morning and started the six hour drive to Whistler BC. I wanted to do some snowboarding and use my new snowboard. When we got over the border my dad wanted to exchange his money. The only exchange store was on the other side of the road. So thinking nothing of it we turned around and went over there. After we got some food and money we left and the only way out was back towards the border. There was a huge line of cars and we didn't realize that after going to the exhange shop you have to go ovethe border again. We found a road that didn't have any cars on it and went down it but it was for workers only and the guy at the border got really mad and he turned us around and we had to go back around and over the border. But once we got to Whistler it was really cool. The hotel was in Whistler Village and it was right in the middle of everything. I went for a walk down the main street and there were a bunch of people and shops. It's a really cool place to go. I was there for four days. On the second day I went snowboarding. I thought it was going to be really fun with my new really nice board. Once we got to the top of the lift my board wans't ajugsted right so I had to stop and move the bindings a bit over and over till they were in the right spot. It took a while but I got better and more used to the board. A little later that day I took the lift to the top of Whistler Mountian. At the top there is a lot of music and a big lodge to eat in. From there I took the Peak 2 Peak lift over to Blackcomb Mountian. Blackcomb has better snow so I ate lunch and went down the mountian. It was pretty fun going down most of the way but I still have some getting used to with my new board. But over all it was a really fun trip. I really want to go again soon. The four days went by really quick and I hope that I get to go on more differnt slopes and see more of Canada.