picking up the slack (by Ethan)

I feel you're most displeased by the lack of progress on this blog (catch the Darth Vader quote?). I am terribly sorry. The reason there hasn't been a post on here in a while is probably because my mom's been a bit busy. But then again, what do you expect when you've got 4 kids and a dog?

But enough of that. We have to go on.

This post isn't really about one particular topic. It's really just summing up the way the wind is blowing in our family. I think the previous post was about Ben's birthday, and that was back in July. So we're WAY behind.

So here it goes.

After Ben's birthday, July went along pretty smoothly. We went to see Planes (all Disney did was strap wings onto Cars), hung out around the house, and just enjoyed our summer.  I actually don't remember a whole lot, so once again I apologize.

August saw a bit more fun. I went to Scout Camp at Camp Wolfeboro like I did last year, and I got my second serving of awesome Boy Scout activities. One really memorable thing was the fact that by our campsite were some cliffs. Several times that week, I was laying down, relaxing in the sun, and maybe eating chips out of a bag-(hold your breath) with my feet dangling off the edge of the 30-foot cliff!

And the food there was pretty good. In fact, when I got home I said I liked the Camp food better than my mom's food. I admit I stretched the truth a little, but the Camp food was pretty good. At best, it always balanced out. In fact, the day after I got back was a Sunday, and when I got wind of the fact we'd be having enchiladas for dinner (a food I do NOT like), I said (in what I guess was a mean voice), "I liked the Camp food better!" And I'll bet you can guess what my mom's reaction was.

Anyway, like 2 weeks after that, we went to Sunriver again. It was as great of an experience as ever, with a week of bike riding, swimming at the SHARC, bike riding, reading books, bike riding, maybe even playing with toys we brought, and bike riding. Oh, and I went to the nearby city to see Percy Jackson:Sea of Monsters. I really loved going to the SHARC for several reasons. Number one, I'm practically amphibious. Number two, on the bike trail leading to the SHARC, there's a big hill that I simply loved to ride down. Riding downhill just felt so great!
Other than that, we just relaxed around the house at home.

Okay, so September was the month when we got a whole lot busier. School started, of course, and I can't tell you how good it felt to see all my friends and even meet some new ones. Blake actually started going to preschool, which I guess is a real big step. I can, believe it or not, remember what preschool was like for me. Eliza entered second grade. Ben started middle school at his Anova school. But I will say there was something new for me: My mom installed a new program onto her computer. It's a game that's popular among boys my age. It's a game that I'd strongly recommend to Lego fans. It's a game where you can do anything you want. It's a game where square-headed Creepers reign supreme.

MINECRAFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah the fun I started to have this September mining for gold, fighting off zombies and skeletons, and making cool stuff.

Then comes October. Not much here, except-Halloween! I know that sounds great, but we all know the main attraction of Halloween is Trick-or-treating, and the thing is, this year my mom prevented me from going because I'm "too old." Even when I said a huge amout of my classmates were going, she mantained her point. It honestly wasn't any comfort that I got to watch a movie at home on the big night. I liked the movie I watched and all, but I still felt sad that I was neglected out of a fun event just because I got older. I mean, what's the point of a major holiday when you're basically too old for it?
I guess I'm starting to have a "rebellious teenager" sound, so I'll stop there.
(plus I've already made my point)

November again was seemingly uneventful, but it was when things at school really started to get harder. I'm on the yearbook staff at school, and November was the month when I started having to do some serious work. Before that I simply learned how to use the design software and got some layouts done, but now I was rushing around doing interviews and taking photos. I can't tell you how much pressure I was under and every day I looked forward to getting home and playing Minecraft to let off some steam. But after a while I got everything done, and just in time for Thanksgiving, too. Thanksgiving was more or less the same as usual-relatives coming, a huge dinner with all manner of delicious food, and lots of talk. Gossiping may be fun for the women, but not for me. So I just spent some of the time out in the garage watching the Hunger Games movie to gear up for the new one. One really memorable and funny thing happened on Thanksgiving. Grandma Joan brought a turkey to cook and eat (the Thanksgiving tradition), and when she brought it I helped carry it inside. It wasn't wrapped in plastic, just sitting in a pan. Since it was so heavy I carried it real low, and just before I lifted it to put on the counter, Lily jumped up and got a bite out of the turkey! It wasn't a very big one, though.
I was lucky to go see Catching Fire with Granny. It was a truly memorable experience with convincing special effects, an interesting plot, and dazzling action scenes. My parents also went to see it, and they liked it too.

And finally, December! As is the case every year, there were a lot of things that led up to Christmas-Church parties, school potlucks, caroling, and of course Christmas Eve itself. During the stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I had quite the job looking for ways to entertain myself. I got out all sorts of things from the closet to keep myself entertained until the big day. But perhaps the best pre-Christmas treat of all came a few weeks after Thanksgiving. The day my family went to see a certain movie, Catching Fire got a serious rival in the competition for my favorite 2013 movie. That movie was-Frozen! I probably liked it even better than I liked Wreck-it Ralph, and that's saying something.
It took a long while for my parents to wake up so we could open our presents, but Santa didn't disappoint! Lego Technic Mobile Crane MK II for me(it consisted of over 2000 pieces-building it took me all day!), a Rubix Touch cube for Ben (even though it refused to charge properly-bah!), American Girl Saige for Eliza(apparently Saige would only be available in 2013, so she was happy to have an item that was basically limited edition), and a car garage for Blake(boy, does he love parking all his cars in there!). Oh, and a new Frisbee for Lily because I accidentally threw her old one over the neighbors' fence. Boy, does she love Frisbee!

So, that should just about sum up the last few months in the Smith family. Now we're ready to start a new year!