CHRISTINA

We were all sitting on the couch, waiting for the dinner to be finished. It was the parent’s night out and the nine cousins had finally convinced them that everything would be fine. After about fifteen minutes of them asking us questions like “where are the emergency phone numbers?” and other things like that, they had left. Now we were all alone and Mike was making us lasagna. BEEP! BEEP! The fire alarm went off and a large cloud of smoke flew up into the air as Steve opened the door to the oven. The lasagna was charred to blackness and we no longer had any dinner. We ended up having Pizza delivered to the room. we had a lot of fun sitting on the beds and watching movies, just hanging around. The parents didn't get home until one o'clock and we were all "asleep" (We really pulled an all-nighter)

sam's hair cut

When I cut my own hair it was fun at first. Soon my hair was long in some spots and bald in others. The worts part was when my mom wanted to fix my horrible job. I was scrreaming soon my hair almost looked better untill I moved an my mom cut me behind my ear. After that horrible 5 minutes I looked in the mirror and screamed I was on the floor screaming begging not to go to school but I had to. Now I will not let my mom cut my hair and I will nver cut my own hair.

COLES WRITTING

About 2 years ago my mom, grandma and I too a trip to Florida. The only problem was we had to drive. We had to drive because my grandmas’ car was at our house and we had to bring it back to her house. During the trip we experience many things. One of the most forgetful thing that happened was staying in the worst hotel I ever. But when we got into Florida we went to Orlando and we stayed at a hotel with a water park. This was one of the best trips I had with a relative.

IZZY =]

My last trip was to San Diego. It was one of my best trips yet. We discovered many cites there. This trip was for my brother’s golf tournament. After his practice round we went to an old fashion movie theater. The movies there sucked, so we ended up at a stranded town. We went to a Chinese restaurant and almost walk out after catching site of the menu. The next day we went go-cart riding, it was amazingly fun. I wish that I could bring that place to Wisconsin, the only negative thing is that It was expensive. The closest I came to fist was 3rd place, it hurt so much when you crash because the cart went 50 miles per hour and we crashed into plastic boards. My dad, derrick and I went on this trip with the Pattscots. We stayed for a whole week and it was an wild trip. Everyday we did something new, and creative. The only thing I regret was not climbing the mountains there!

Sam Fredman

Florida



Loudly, the plane took off on its flight to Florida. It would be a two hour flight. It was a long flight, yet it was good flight. When we landed, we jumped in the air. We met my grandparents at the security gate. After we met, we went out to eat. We went to Uno’s. After lunch, we started the drive to the condo. Quietly, we approached the condo and went to the beach. After the beach, we finally went to sleep for the night. Although we were only in Florida for three days it was very fun.

Griffin!!!!!!!

In august of 2004, my family and I took a trip to North Carolina. Getting there took awhile but was fun anyway. We flew into Raleigh and drove the rest of the way to the OBX. The OBX are the outer banks, a long narrow strip of land just off the coast. We stayed in a huge beach house with all of my mom’s close family, which include her parents, our aunt and cousins. We went to Kitty Hawk, where the Wright brothers had the first flight. We went to Blackbeard’s cove, and we went swimming. The waves were the biggest waves I have ever swum in. I was very sad when we had to come back home, but it was one of the best rips of my life.

HALEY BRANOVAN!!!

The last time I went on a trip was with my dad and my whole hockey team. We went to the world’s biggest hockey tournament, The Connecticut Polar Bear Tournament. We left Christmas morning after I opened all of my presents. The whole plane ride I was thinking about if we would win and how big the trophy would be. Right when we landed, on the big flat screen T.V there was a list of all the teams participating in the tournament. That didn’t do very well with all the nerves in my tummy. And it was on ESPN! Riding home from the first game celebrating out first win the very long tournament, we started to discuss the options of our 3 day break. We went to Boston, New York City, and New Hampshire. After that mini- adventure we had to put all the fun behind us and get out head in the game. We won out next game by a land slide. I had butterflies in my tummy again, it was the Championship game. When they announced the starters I felt like I was going to faint. Those were the three longest periods of my entire life. We won the game 1-0 vs. Asabet Valley. That was probly the hardest game I have ever played.

The bad, but not horrible haircut

It was the summer of 2006, when baseball season was about to start. The days were long and hot. My hair was way too long, hot and messy. My hair was so long that my baseball hat was too tight. I knew that I needed to get a haircut. I wanted it to be a #2 buzz cut. I always got a #2 and I knew I liked a #2. That’s what I told the hair dresser, a #2 buzz cut. She agreed. I didn’t pay attention to my haircut. I started daydreaming with the sound of buzzing in my ears. Soon my haircut was done. I looked in the mirror in horror. My hair was gone. I only had a millimeter of hair left. I asked the hair dresser what happened. She said that she gave me a #1 buzz like I had asked. I argued that I said #2. I always got a #2. When I went back to my family who was waiting for me, they all laughed. My dad, who is bald, said now I look like him. It was the worst haircut of my life, or so I thought. For the next 4 weeks my head never got that sweaty and I could put on my baseball helmet much easier.

Soumya

Excitedly I walked through the door, showing off my new haircut. After my cousin Ajay complemented my hair, he showed me his new toy, Silly Putty. We tossed it to each other, back and forth. Then Ajay accidentally threw the Silly Putty into my hair. It looked funny, so we spread it all over my bangs (I was only 3 years old). My hair became all blue and gooey. After we started getting bore of playing with the Silly Putty, we tried to pull it out of my hair. Then, Ajay found a pair of scissors and I decided that I would have to cut some of my hair to get rid of the Silly Putty. Divya saw me and Ajay cut my hair and then rushed to go and tell my mom. If only I knew that this little mess would only turn into a bigger one. My mom and grandma screamed loudly, while Ajay and I giggled. I received and big lecture from my parents on how I should never cut my hair without informing them. My mom took me to the salon (again) and I got my hair re-cut. I learnt my lesson; Silly Putty was a stupid toy.

Andrew Wartman (fixed)

The HaircutThat day, I was amazed at what a terrible and frightening haircut that I got.I was taking brush from the storm last night with my dad to the fire pit. As I was walking I heard a “CRACK!” A tree branch was falling on me, and I put my hands on my head. The branch got caught in the tree, but I could not get my hands off my head. I tore off chunks of hair freeing my hands. My dad told me that I needed a haircut. My dad took me to a new place called “Great Clips.” As we entered, the stylists were chatting away, and not paying any attention towards the customer. The small rectangular room was cluttered with hair remnants, combs, magazines, and other miscellaneous tools. I was nervous about my haircut because, I thought that they didn’t care about the customers. After 45 minutes, it was finally my turn. The lady who was cutting my hair was using a clipper that seemed like it was fifty years old. The clipper would pull my hair more than cut it, and the pain was unbearable. When she was cutting my hair, she would dump water all over my head, and would cut my skin around my ears and my neck. After twenty minutes of torture, I was freed. The price for my haircut was forty dollars and my dad was outraged. We persuaded them twenty dollars and agreed. When I came home, my mom hated my haircut, so we went to another place.

CAPTAIN AWESOME!!!

Ridiculously big waves stood waited for me, mocking me. Before I ran into the water I pondered weather it was smart to just go stand under a humongous wave. Because I was young it didn’t take me long to ponder I just ran in. The first wave was on its way, but I stood my ground against the all mighty liquid. Twirling me around, throwing me against the sand, gasping for air. After it was over I realized that the wave was not found of me in fact it just liked to hurt me. Once I had this epiphany it was time to go to the FUN ZON!!! At this "fun zone" there was ice cream, games and most of all in the middle for seven dollars there was this special bouncy trampoline. On this trampoline the instructor locked me into this harness and attached ropes on to me. The harness kept me from dieing and the ropes flung me in the air. I got twenty feet in the air about thirty times. After we got back from the fun zone we started to relax. We started watching Americas national eating contest. While the final two men were eating one of them through up. The technical terms for this in the national eating competition is "Spray Zone." All the people in the front row were covered in chewed up half digested hot dogs. It was an amazing day!

Billy

About two years ago my family and I went to Hawaii. I was really excited but the plane ride was 18 hours long. I thought I was going to die. And a few days before the planes just decided to stop serving food so we had to bring our own. I was really tired but I only slept for an hour. When we got there I was really glad. When we got off the plane we were given leis and it was really cool. During our trip we rode on an outrigger and went snuba diving. I can’t wait to go back.

joey

Every year we take a family trip to Colorado. The ride gets very boring when we drive through Nebraska. Since we have a T.V. in our car it isn’t that boring. Sometimes on the way their we stop at a water park to spend the night. When we don’t stop we drive through and when we get to Copper Mountain we have to Wight until we can get a room. We go to this really big gift shop and we all get $50 to but something because my dad is already paying for the trip. One year at Copper I was talking to my friends on the side of the mountain when this person comes and hits my and I flew into the forest. The good thing is that I didn’t get hurt.

Nic Ehn

“finally, I get to go to the cottage with my favorite cousin.” Here my mom Mandi and I are almost at the cottage up north. Waiting for us there is grandma and grandpa and as we pulled up the drive way with grandma and grandpa, Joey was waiting outside for us. We gave grandma and grandpa hugs especially grandpa because he just had surgery on his heart up in Florida and were so happy he was ok. We started to unload our things. Me and my cousin went fishing and swimming right away down at the lake, and we had the time of our lives. until my sister came. We were fishing on the boat with only 2 seats. She said she wanted to go on the boat, but we said no we were here first. then we started to paddle to the middle of the lake. Amazingly, Mandi starts chucking rocks at us. since I was six, I chucked them back.
Soon rocks from the shore and from the lake were being chucked, then Joey came and seeing how serious Joey is would try to hit Mandi I was just fooling around till Joey chucked one so hard, and hit her square on the nose ouch! We knew we were in big trouble when Mandi went to my grandma but grandma wouldn’t ever tell our side of the story. Then Joey and I had to sit next to my grandpa in his chair. I hated Mandi and she hated me so she told my grandma and mom if she could go golfing and rub it in my face that I couldn’t go. So as mom Mandi and grandma started to get ready in the car grandpa said “go on” then I said “what” I thought is he serious? I didn’t ask questions.
Then me and Joey ran outside and they were starting to go then we jumped in the truck. They didn’t even know we hopped in and when we landed we were on a bag of cloths because grandma doesn’t have a washing machine and she was going to stop at the laundry mat. I had my twenty dollars in my pocket that I saved up. I knew that after this was done we were going to get in big trouble, but least we would have fun since that was the whole reason we came up here was to just have fun. It was bumpy on the road back here me and Joey just looked up and watched the clouds go by. After a fifteen minute drive we hopped out of the back of the truck. Before they all got out and we said we wanted to golf. They were so amazed how we got back there with them noticing. Then said “fine but you have to pay.” And so I did me and my cousin played alone but we thought it wasn’t as fun because we wanted to play with the whole family. We asked if we could play but grandma said we can play on only one condition if we bought them shakes at dg next to the golf coarse and so I did and I couldn’t have wished for a better summer.

chris

The Family Reunion

Just a few years ago I went with my mom and brother to my grammas house. We were going to a family reunion. We went by car. The car ride was very boring. I couldn’t do anything, I even tried to read but I got head aces. When I got to the house I me my cousins and me and my cousin ran through the corn. Next at night we played with bubbles in the dark and it looks really cool. I had to sleep up stairs. Leaving was depressing. I felt very sad. I didn’t want to go at all. The worst part I had to sit in the car again. That was my family reunion.

Lazer Tag By:TIM

By: Tim Wucki

I, my family, and Cole went laser tagging. The course was in a jungle theme. It had two stories. The lower floor had a big opening in the middle where a tower was in the middle. The upstairs has only one walkway to get across and has good sniping spots. We started our first game. Cole jumped on top of the pillar and he started to slow dance with his boyfriend, a purple monkey. We got the snot beat out of us. In the second game, we had the advantage because we know the course and we had numbers on our side. Eric felt more confident then before, so he sniped from the top. We owned all the little fools. We had a great time.

The Trip By: Grant

Day by day, city by city, state by state we drove. We drove for 5 days. There also was no place to go to the bathroom. This was the worst feeling ever. As we stopped at Mount Rushmore, I saw the huge piece of stone. It was a sight to see. Then we went back on the road. Two days later we arrived at are initial destination, the Grand Tetons. I was amazed as the big massive rock towered over me. We stayed at Wyoming for a couple more days and then took the long ride home. This was a wonderful and an exciting journey and sometime, try it!

CLAIRE COOROUGH

Possibly the Worst Haircut Ever

I thought this would be a great haircut but I haven’t always been right. I go to this place where I have never ever gotten my haircut before; the place was at the mall. My mom said I needed a haircut because my hair was so long, so I said ok lets go then. I go in and Iook at the books with all the hair styles in it I said to my mom I want the one that is about shoulder length she said no you are getting the one by your ears. An ear that means it is going to be really short. My mom told the hair lady what to do and it was the exact opposite of the one I wanted. Well when she was done cutting it, the haircut lady said it looked cute. It looked horrible. After the worst hair cut ever I looked at myself in the mirror. At this time I was still in gymnastics. I thought to myself it is too short to put it in a pony tails or pig tails. Quickly I thought came to my mind that my haircut is ugly. I couldn’t wait until my hair grows out again. The next day I went to school and what I heard from my friends weren’t good. They said it looked too short. That it didn’t fit my face, I knew they were going to say that. I didn’t like it either but they weren’t the ones that had to deal with all day, all night. Even though that was the worst haircut ever my hair has grown out and looks a lot better.

-CLAIRE COOROUGH

Meghan Woodson

Trip to Mexico

Excitedly, my parents surprised us with a trip to Mexico. Except a problem occurred that night, I dropped a mini cell phone into my ear. My mom drove me to the emergency room, and we had an interesting talk about my ear. Slowly the doctors took tweezers and tried pulling out the mini cell phone, but since I moved they tore a hole in my ear drum. The next day we woke up around four in the morning to leave for Mexico. After we got on the plane, I had to take medicine for my ear. I sat with my sister and mom, so my sister and I mostly watched movies on my portable DVD player and had snacks. We got to Mexico and it was beautiful! Sadly I only went swimming once since if I was by water I had to wear ear plugs which I didn’t want to do. Quickly my sister and I were on the rock climbing wall, we love rock climbing and that wall was actually pretty hard. Even though I had a bad ear I had a ton of fun with my family!

Alexa

Slowly, I walked into the hair cut place. It was my first hair cut in a couple of months, so I didn’t know what to expect. As I sat waiting, my legs where shaking. Finally they called me back to chair. The lady asked what I wanted. My mom told her. After she washed my hair I returned to the chair. She started to cut after about ten minutes she was finished and dried it. When I looked in the mirror I couldn’t believe it!! It was so ugly! I just smiled and said thanks. After what seamed a super long ride home, I ran up stairs to my room and closed the door and cried. When my mom finally found me I was in my closest still crying. She asked my I was crying and I told her I hated my hair cut. After about two months my hair finally grew back and I told my mom I never want to go back to that place again.

Rachael

Every summer my family goes up to the Adirondacks, to a family camp resort called Camp~of~the~Woods. It’s an unbelievable experience. Usually each year we’d get a beach cabin, but this year we got a cabin in the woods. I wasn’t very happy about that, but I got over it after this summer. This summer I was determined to have fun. At camp there were many activities to choose from such as mini golf, zip lines, horse back riding, white water rafting, water skiing, and so much more. One night after my sister and I bought a bag of sour patch kids, we walked through the woods to our cabin. At that moment everything seemed silent. Suddenly someone had shined a flashlight on us, but it turned out they were shining it at something else, beside us stood a bear! It was probably the scariest experience of my life, but also the summer vacation I will NEVER forget.

nick bax

Twice as bad



Five years ago my family and my godmothers family went on a trip together. We went to Walt Disney World. When we arrived at our hotel it was already getting dark. Our families decided to go for a swim at one of the many pools. My parents were not done getting ready when my godmothers family was. They said they would take me with them. As we were walking I remembered I forgot my goggles in the room. Terese, my godmother said she would wait right there for me. I ran back, got my goggles and ran back to where she said she would be. She was not there. The hotel was so big I had no idea where I was and did not see her anywhere. I began to panic so I turned around and tried to find my way back to my hotel room where my mom and dad were. I did not remember our room number and they all looked exactly the same just as I thought I was about to cry my mom opened the door and saw me standing there.
The next day we went into the parks and had a great day. At night we all decided to go to MGM Studios for Mickey’s Spectacular Light Show. We all got in line, went to our seats and realized that we still had a hours wait until the show would begin. Terese offered to take all of the kids on a ride while the other parents kept our seats. We thought that was a great idea. We were all walking to Tower of Terror when all of a sudden I did not see her anywhere. I looked all around and she was gone. I did not know what to do and all I could think of was now I am lost in an even bigger place. I walked around for a little while and I found the entrance to the Light Show. I walked in and thankfully found my parents.
For the rest of the trip my parents would not let me go anywhere with out them and after being lost twice I did not want too!

Kiran's Vacation to AZ

Trip to AZ

In November 2008, my family decided to go to Arizona. This time instead of just my family and me, my mom let me bring a friend along. The friend that I chose was Nick. After a week of planning and getting homework, Nick and I left for the airport. My grandparents were the ones to take us and in the morning we went to a buffet. When we arrived at the airport, we both got Mocha Frappachinos. I got a magazine to read on the flight. When we boarded the plane, we were the first ones on and got to rent a Digi- Player for free.
When we arrived at Arizona, we were immediately greeted by my mom. We then left from the airport to the condo. When we arrived at the condo, we unpacked and got situated. We had dinner and went to bed for a sleep in a pump-up mattress. The next morning, we went for a bike ride around the neighborhood. We would go for a bike ride everyday and sometimes went to Walgreens. We also climbed Camelback Mountain and went to a couple swap- meets. At the swap- meets, Nick got a poker set and I got some hats. We also bought cap- guns that we pretended to shoot cars with. Another fun activity of ours was to play Frisbee. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and lots of fun. Our trip of fun was over after about 1 week and we had to go home. When we got home it was very cold and there was a temperature difference of 60 degrees. The trip to Arizona was very fun and I hope to go back again.

Gabes writing

By: Gabe Merkow



I remember the day where I had the worst haircut ever. Slowly, I walked into the salon. The man look scary, but he was holding a razor, so that made him scarier. He told me I was just getting a trim. My hair was down to my shoulders. I hadn’t cut it since I was two, I was 4 now. I loved my hair. I fell asleep when he was cutting my hair. I was glad when it was over. I looked in the mirror. AHHHH!! It was all off I was bald. Even though it was all off, I new it would grow back.

Nicole Fortune: Texas

I went to Midland, Texas for a family reunion in July. It was a very interesting experience. I met new family members, and also saw the relatives, that I already new. I thought my family was already huge, but when I met my other relatives, I realized that it was GIGANTIC! Everyone at the family reunion got along great. I just met some of these people, and I already felt as though, I knew them my whole life. This was one of the best family trips I have ever been on!!!

Bethany

Colorado


The last vacation I went on with my family was to Colorado. Our family stayed at Breckenridge at the Beaver Run resort. I had so much fun skiing. I loved when the warm sun would melt the snow, and then the temperature would get really cold so that the snow would become ice. When I ski down a hill the feeling is like flying. Both my cousin Madison and my second cousin Blair came with. When we were done skiing I loved to go swimming at the pool. The pool was heated really warm, so that you could swim under a flap that would take you to another part of the pool outside. The pool also has hot tubs that are lined outside by the pool. One time I jumped out of the warm pool outside to pick up snow by one of the hot tubs. The snow was freezing so I through it out of my hands. Unlucky for my brother, it landed right on his head! Jonathan became so angry at me that Blair, Ben (my second cousin), and Jonathan himself raced out of the warm pool, into the freezing cold deck. We broke out into a giant, freezing, snowball fight. The funny part was that every time someone through a ball at me or if I stepped on the snow with my bare feet, I had to race straight to the hot tub.

Family Road Trip (Andrew O.)

We came off the stuffy airplane and we were headed for Durango, Colorado to see our friends. First, we went to the car rental area. As we entered, we ran into a perky employee directing us to the next available agent. My Mom provided the confirmation number and the agent indicated that they were out of SUVs, so we would have to settle for a mini van. We crammed all our stuff into the van leaving just enough space for the four of us. Finally, we were packed up and ready for our seven-hour adventure to Durango. It didn’t take long and I was searching for something to do. Unfortunately, the DVD Player and our games were packed in a bag that was out of reach. My little brother was driving me crazy and my parents were listening to country music. We still had five hours to go. I looked out the window and took in the awesome scenery. As we got higher and higher in the mountains, my ears began to pop and that bugged me. Then, my little brother had to go to the bathroom and I knew this would give me a chance to get my i-Pod and the DVD player. As we were looking for the next exit, a road worker directed us over and informed us that we would be waiting for approximately 45 minutes, because they were working on the mountain road. I wasn’t happy about the delay. I got out of the van, stretched and got my things. Once we were on our way again, the rest of the trip was entertaining. My brother and I watched a good movie and then I listened to my i-Pod. Finally, after the exhausting car ride, we reached Durango. Of coarse, the Mapquest map my Mom printed was packed away and out of reach. We called our friends and they helped us get to their house. I was so psyched when we arrived. We had a fun week planned with them. I couldn’t help dreading the thought of the seven-hour return road trip back to the Denver airport, but I was determined to enjoy the week. It was a classic family vacation.

Marie's Horrendous Trip

It was about two in the morning, and my family and I wear packing our car for the trip back to Wisconsin. We did not want to leave Pennsylvania again, but we had to. Suddenly from out on the driveway I heard a terrible screech as pieces of our luggage fell of the roof of the car. Sadly this was only the beginning of our terrible trip. Madison, Liz, Katlyn, A.J., my parents, and I all filed into the car. The weather outside was horrible, the clouds were pitch black and the rain was coming down so hard that we could barely see. Hours later, when we finally made it out of the storm, Liz wanted to play with her guinea pig that we had brought with us. I stared curiously at the animal, I didn't like very much, for it bit me every time I touched it. As soon as the guinea pig was craddled in my hands, I noticed it did not bite me when I picked it up, actually it hadn't moved at all. I screamed, knowing that the guinea pig was dead. Liz and Madison were both very upset about what just happened, we got out of the car and decided to burry the guinea pig at our next stop, Notre Dame. My family, Madison, and I all buried the guinea pig near the lake on campus. We were almost home. As we neared the wisconsin border, Liz yelled at us to pull the car over, but by the time we had gotten to a road stop, the dammage was already done. Covered in puke, Liz, Madison, and I walked out of the car. I promised myself at that moment, I would never get in another car with Liz again, but we had to make it home.

Steve Hates haircuts

Nervously, I walked into the haircut place. I have always hated my hair being short. I would never want to get my head shaved, or a buzz cut. Honestly, you have no idea how bad I would look with a shaved head. I’ve always wanted to grow out my hair, but my parents disagree. I especially hate the people who cut my hair. They always cut my hair too short. When my parents say a little shorter, they go all out on me. She didn’t care; as long as she gets paid, I guess. After my hair is cut, I don’t like going to school the next day. I always feel terrible, and everyone has to mention it to me. I feel really ugly after getting a haircut. So basically, I HATE HAIRCUTS!

Ryan

Los Angeles

Last summer I went to Los Angeles (L.A.) for my cousin’s wedding. During my trip I found out that L.A. is really cool. We stayed in a house near the ocean. There were huge waves, and the water was not cold. There were also beaches that stretched on for miles and miles. The downtown area was pretty hectic. There was a lot of traffic, mostly because of all the entertainments and shops. There were lots of huge homes to see in Bellaire and Beverly Hills. The best thing of all though was Hollywood. All over the streets there were people dressed up as Cat Woman, Spiderman and other Hollywood characters, there was even a really fat Superman. Another awesome place was the wax museum. It had many figures of famous actors and actresses, but there were not ones from some of the newer films. I think it would be fun to live in L.A.

Carly Gnas

A Trip to California

During the summer of 2004, my family and I went to California to visit my Dad’s uncle and aunt, see Yosemite, and explore San Francisco. The first place we visited was my great uncle and aunt’s house. When my family and I arrived at their house, it was a perfectly clear, warm, sunny day. Their house was in Napa Valley, in a pleasant forested vineyard. There was a small deserted lake nearby surrounded by rows and rows of vines. My great uncle Rich Fohr seemed very friendly and kind. My dad’s aunt smiled at my brothers and me. As we walked into the house, the first thing we noticed was a huge window with a fantastic view of mountains scattered with trees. Before my family and I arrived, we had plans to have lunch with my Dad’s aunt and uncle. We ate at a fantastic café only ten minutes away from the vineyard. After lunch, my great uncle took my family and me on a tour to the building where the wine is made, and on the second and third level was an Art gallery. As boring as it may seem, the tour was actually interesting. The art was mostly sculptures and paintings that would play tricks on your eyes and would stand out compared to a regular art gallery. Lastly, my dad, my brothers Aaron and Zack, my great uncle, my great uncle’s dog, and I went to the lake. Going to the lake was the best part of that day. The dog would swim after a tennis ball when thrown into the water while Aaron, Zack and I would be standing knee-high in the cold water waiting for her to come back. The trip to California was one of my favorite trips that I can remember. Yosemite and San Francisco were fun too, but I liked this part of the trip best because I had never been to a vineyard before, or met my great uncle and Aunt.

Nick Derus

Vroom, the car started and the trip to my cottage in honor of my papa’s birthday began. He was turning 81 and living the life of a 25 year old. This trip was big, almost my entire family was going to be there, my uncles and most of my cousins were coming. I was traveling with my dad, brother, uncle and cousin. Then we stopped at the traditional go-cart track on the way. My brother, cousin and I strapped in and fired up the engines. We took off at 20 mph and crashed and slammed into each other. My cousin lost control and stopped perpendicular to the track. My brother sped up and t-boned him, they both stopped in shock. I sped up with a burst of adrenaline and collided with them at full speed. We got kicked out, but what a great start to a great trip.

Jack in Tennessee

One of my favorite vacations was last summer’s trip to Tennessee. The ride takes two days to get there, so we stay at one of my uncle’s houses that are at about the same latitude. We would begin the trip by waking up as early as we can then packing up the car with more than a week's supply of cloths and enough snack food for the trip. Once we got to my Uncle John’s house we would stay overnight to get some rest before starting the next length of road to Tennessee. The final stretch is the most exciting and uncomfortable part of the trip, for I can’t wait to be there and my body is fed up with the cramped space of the car. Once we arrive we have to go to the old house and visit whoever is there. The house is a piece of land that my Great-Uncle Leon owns. The actual house is a little shack that my Great-Aunt Joyce, Leon’s sister, and her husband are renovating because it is where they, my grandpa, and their other brothers and sisters grew up. One or two years before this we had a reunion at my Uncle Leon’s actual house where I discovered that I had a very large family. It was full of great uncles and aunts and cousins and second cousins to the point where I got confused. This year not everyone was there so I didn’t have as much whiplash, but still I was throwing my head this way and that trying to listen to everybody’s name as Grandpa introduced them. My Grandpa is practically my hero, for he is one of the nicest people I know. He grew up in that old shack that his sister is renovating. While we were in Tennessee we met one of Grandpa’s child hood friends, a woman named Joyce. We also learned that Grandpa was planning to move down there from South Bend, Indiana. He did and this fall he and Joyce surprised us by getting married. It one of my favorite vacations and I will never forget it.

Megan Bizub

Up North

Excitedly, I watched the green car pull into my driveway; I was going up north with my grandma. The trip to Porter’s Lake was a two-hour drive but we were delayed for twenty-minutes by a train. My grandma actually turned the car off and opened all the windows while we waited for it to pass. As we continued driving, we saw rolling fields, dairy farms, and small towns. Certain landmarks caught my eye, for example, Mullins Drive-In, the house with the red star, and the water park. Finally, we arrived at the long gravel driveway that leads to the little cottage in the woods. My grandma and I were not alone for very long, my uncle, aunts, and cousins soon filled every room. There were ten excited people in a small cottage and one tiny bathroom. It was only for two days, but it was scorching hot with no air conditioning. The lake kept us cool as long as we stayed in it. In the cottage, the window fans were our only relief. Yet we still found a way to have fun. I was either fishing, swimming, talking, or playing with my little cousin. I will never forget this weekend.

GABBY L**

Gabrielle's Story

When I went up north, I had the best time ever! When I got there I saw the huge lake with the big trampoline on it. I asked my cousin “What is that thing on the side of the trampoline?”, but she just said “You will have to wait and see” So after we unpacked the car. I got my swimsuit on and headed for the lake. As I got into the freezing water, I saw I line leading to the trampoline and asked my cousin about it. She said there was a very popular activity that was worth waiting in a line for. She looked at her dad and they laughed, so I knew it was either something I would hate, or something I would love. After about 10 minutes it was my turn to do this amazing/ not so amazing activity. I stepped up the ladder and onto the trampoline, with her dad behind me. Then I realized that it was a blow up… something. I climbed onto the other end and jumped around on it for a while. Just as I stood up, though, her father jumped on the opposite end and I went flying off of this blow up thing. I was startled at first, but when I hit the water, I swam back to the end of the line. It was the most fun I had ever had!!

Mackenzie's Horrible Haircut

Sadly, I can still remember that awful day when I got a horrible haircut at the Hair Benders Hair Salon. It had been a steamy summer day, so my family and I were staying in our old summer cabin on Okauchee Lake. That day, my hair severely needed a trim, so my mom took me into a new haircutting place called Hair Benders. I walked in nervously and I sat down in a large salon chair, while my hair was cut by an inexperienced sixteen-year-old. The teenager didn't seem to have any idea what she was doing.Over and over again, My mom and I reminded the teenaged haircutter only to cut two centimeters off my hair and only a couple millimeters off my bangs, but evidently, she ignored all of our reminders. By the end of the haircut, I had lost five centimeters of hair instead of the requested two, and I had also lost four centimeters of bangs instead of the couple of millimeters which I had asked for. If that wasn't dreadful enough, my bangs were also noticably crooked, sothe whole look of my hair looked ghastly. I was also very disappointed about loosing so much hair, for it takes so long to grow. My hair ended up taking many months to grow back and my bangs had to be cut straight. That was not a very good experience for me or my hair.

Divya's Family Trip

Quickly and excitedly, I woke up bright and early in the morning. Today we were going to India. I was going to India with my family, and we were going to attend my uncle’s wedding. Although we go to India a lot, we never actually “toured” some special sites. The airplane ride was long. We watched Indian movies and we played some games. Although the plane ride was fun, an 8 hr + 8 hr flight was really long, and I felt airsick. My dad said that this time we could see the Taj Mahal after the wedding. Magnificently and majestic, the Taj Mahal stood like a palace instead of its real purpose as a tomb. Although the Taj Mahal looked like it was completely made of marble, it has beautiful inlaid gemstones in it. To go to the Taj Mahal was a wonderful experience, and we as a family would love to go again.

ANDREW

Tiredly, I walked through the flashy, lighted hallway to my hotel room. Las Vegas hotel is really remarkable. We had a great room in a cool hotel complete with slots and shops. The next day we explored down stairs. We saw a Krispy Kreme store where you could se the donuts being made so, we went over. Some donuts came out raw. It was so fun. We had to leave the next morning, and we were disappointed. As our car rolled out we saw all the lights that made Las Vegas so famous. There was a roller coaster on one of the hotels. Wow this place is cool.

Magoo

Last year, my family and I took a trip over spring break to Mexico! Here’s how the story of my trip to Mexico went. It was the first day in Mexico, my family and I arrived at the hotel, amazed at all of the beautiful colors that Mexico had. “I am so excited to speak Spanish!” We walked down to the beach and looked at the ocean and its clear blue waves. After we had walked down to the beach, my family and I finally got to go swimming and lots of other things. Finally, I was in the salty, blue ocean, until I got swept away from a huge wave! After I was tired swimming in the ocean, a guy in a brown and white jacket came up to us on the beach and asked us if we wanted to buy dome jewelry. My mom bought a couple of bracelets for gifts if she ever needed them. Later, I ran back into the ocean, and there was the guy who sold us the silver bracelets! Awhile later, the ambulance had come with a stretcher and a big, black bag. A couple of minutes later, I went down to the beach again, and there was the bracelet guy, on the beach, lying down. It turns out that the guy who sold silver to us, had a massive heart attack in the ocean and died instantly. It was really scary to watch. I loved my trip to Mexico, even though a terrible thing happened there.

Lucy

My new Haircut

Me and my brother Ed were playing pretend haircut when I was about 5 years old, meaning he was 4. I took the real scissors and pretended to cut his hair. Then it was his turn to pretend to cut my hair. He took the scissors and pieces of hair began to fall on the floor, but I took no notice of it. After about 10 minutes I was tired of him doing my hair and then I looked on the floor. There was Ed playing with the scissors and my hair. Ed was so proud so he went to show my mom a piece of my hair. I ran to show my mom my hair and she screamed. That day she rushed me to the hairdressers and looked in the mirror. One half of my hair was cut partially off and the other half was normal. The hairdresser lady took off even more of my hair, I guess it looked okay. I would never forget the day my brother cut my hair.

~lucy brandenburg

Lauren

I have had many hair cuts, but the worst one was when I cut my own hair. I was seven years old at the time. As I was brushing my hair I noticed that the brush wouldn’t come out. I thought that if I curled the brush it would come out, but that just made it worse. The hair brush wouldn’t come out. I tried putting water on my hair, but that wasn’t such a good idea. I was panicking a lot. I didn’t want to tell my mom, so I didn’t. I regretted not telling someone. It took 45 minutes to get the brush out of my hair. Seeing a pair of scissors I reached for them and cut my hair. Luckily, my mom didn’t notice. The next day I showed my mom what happened and right away she picked up the phone and called the hair place. After the hair stylist fixed my hair no one could notice the horrible hair cut I gave myself.

Fred

Egypt, a grand country of fun in the sun. Quickly, the plane that was to carry me to this place made its take off. After I landed, we had to wait in the airport for five hours. This was because the plane had landed at 3am, which was too late to allow us to be free. I would have compared it to being in a prison, had I not been asleep for most of the time. Finally at 6:00am we got a taxi to our destination, the Movenpick hotel. On the large van ride, we saw armed soldiers lining the streets. Because of this, I was very uncomfortable at first. When we arrived at the hotel, I saw a fantastic sight. Within the walls was a tropical paradise. The pool was great, with a floating bar to order drinks from. The water at the beach was so blue, almost teal or cyan. The Egyptian cuisine was phenomenal. We had a great time, loving every minute. A windsurfing lesson, and light nights. Our hotel room was a great room on the beach. We could see the bright water. One day we went on and ATV ride in the desert. All in all, my trip to Egypt was a success

Amanda

The Worst Haircut

Excitedly walking into ‘Kenneth’s Hair Salon’ I filled my mom in on exactly how I wanted my hair cut. Mom was very skeptical about it, she didn’t really trust me. But it was my birthday, so I got to decide how I wanted my hair cut. As I sat down in the big chair, I told the woman exactly how I wanted my hair done. Apparently, I shouldn’t have used the word ‘short’ to describe how I wanted my hair. I watched helplessly as 10 inches of my light brown hair fell to the ground. When the lady turned me around in the chair, I surveyed the damage carefully. She had gotten the layers right, but my hair barely reached my chin. After politely saying ‘thank you’, I walked crestfallen out to my mother. Her smile faltered for only a second, for she had seen something in my hair that I hadn’t. Because my hair was so short, we would have fun discovering how to do it, she explained later. We took a long week discovering how to do my hair then decided to try it out on my family. I wasn’t very confident about my hair, nor did I want to show my whole family it. Because she understood how nervous I was, my gracious aunt decided to help me out. She made my hair look really cute and my hair looked somewhat okay that summer. By the time school started again my hair had put on enough length to hide a tiny ponytail. Thank Goodness! I will never cut my hair that short again.

Taylor

Before I was born, my uncle died of leukemia. I never met him but I knew he was a good guy. My aunt Patty was left alone with my two cousins, Andy and Joel. Twelve years later my aunt met a guy named Rick. He was very nice and made my Aunt Patty happy. After about a year, they got married and my mom’s whole side of the family was there. The wedding was small but fun. After the wedding we went over to my Uncle Rick’s house and ate dinner and played games outside. Later he even started a bonfire. My parents were tired and wanted to go back to the hotel but, my sister and I wanted to stay. My Aunt Joan decided she would take us back. After a few more hours everyone had left except my sister, Aunt Joan, my cousin Joel who had to go back to his apartment and me. My cousin Joel has autism so he can’t drive. My Aunt was now living with Rick and Joel didn’t have a ride home. We decided that we could take him home. We all piled into a tiny little car and Joel started explaining his sci-fi books. It was very confusing. It was pitch black and my Aunt wasn’t really the best at driving at night. We didn’t know where we were but we kept driving on the same road. It was starting to get scary so Joel started to tell us jokes. Since he had autism his jokes didn’t make any sense but they were still funny. We talked about Futurama, Sponge Bob and much more. We read road signs and finally got on the right road. We past a farm and all of a sudden random horses crossed the streets. Joel started singing, “Home on the Range”. The whole car burst out laughing. By the time we reached Joel’s apartment all of our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard. If Joel wouldn’t of come with us the car ride would have been boring and quiet.

Shelby

Awkwardly, I got into the nerve-wrecking car. The way there was short. Getting a new hair cut should be fun, but I was scared to death. Though my sister was exited, I was scared because my hair was never short before. My hair was in the middle of my back. It was a light brown, the occasional blond highlight here or there. After the hair cut, my hair was a little lower than my shoulder, and had a lot of layers. My mom wanted me to get my hair cut. Oddly my little sister is the one who convinced me to get my hair cut. Before getting the hair cut was scary, now I’m exited for everyone to see. I really can’t wait.

Alyssa S.

Family Fun
The last family trip my family and I went on was to Croatia. We departed on August 3rd. It took twelve hours to get to the farm; ten hours to get to Croatia, two to get to the farm. It was so hot and long, it was almost unbearable. When we got to the farm, I went straight over to the kittens after meeting some more family. Over the duration of our stay, I spent most of my time over by the kittens. Since they were only three weeks old, Meghan and I got to name them. Max, the indoor cat, had a blast popping the balloons we had blown up. Every morning at six, we would start to walk to the nearby bakery. The bakery was about a mile away. Once we got the bread, and started heading back, we would eat the fresh bread for breakfast. My favorite was the salt bread- it tasted like soft pretzels, only bigger. Going to Croatia was really awesome, but the best part was being with my family.

Cole Luther The Haircut of DOOM!

The Haircut of DOOM!

I remember a haircut, and I remember it well. I had 3 foot long hair. I loved to flip it. It was even died red. I went to a salon. I told the stylist I wanted a wild hairstyle. She went to work, and I fell asleep. When I woke up I screamed. My hair was a green spiked Mohawk. Tim ran in and started doing the polka. My hairstyle was 3 feet tall. I loved it!

Kayla

The day started out normal. I went to daycare the same way, saw all the same people and did all the same things. That all changed during reading hour. The teacher was reading a story to our class when my friend Amanda poked me and said, “Say you have to go to the bathroom and meet me behind the stairs. Since the daycare just added a loft to the room we know had 3 levels and Amanda wanted me to meet me on the ground floor. Amanda went first. She asked the teacher if she could go to the bathroom and he said yes. Then I followed after her. Down on the ground floor she pulled out some scissors. She was cutting her hair! Then she pulled another scissors out for me. Both of us were cutting our hair not caring how much we cut off or what we looked like. Once the rest of the class was down reading we stopped and hid our hair in our cubbies. No one noticed our new looks much but when I got home my dad sure could tell the difference. I looked at myself and saw the difference. I had cut a huge chunk out of me head. It also was much shorter. My mom wasn’t happy either. She was yelling at my dad about the chunk I cut out. The next day I got a haircut by a pro. My hair used to go down my back and now it was up to my ears. When I went to daycare on Monday Amanda also had her haircut as well. Hers was even shorter than mine! I never cut my own hair again.

Jared

Our family trip was planned; we were going to Winter Park Ski Resort in Colorado until my sister’s knee had to have surgery. My dad and me went by ourselves to the airport and got on the plane with my cousins and 27 of their friends. We got to the airport one hour late and when we got on the plane everyone was surprised we showed up. In the airport in Colorado they were filming a skit on the Winter X games and we were all able to be in it. We then embarked on our 3 hour drive to the lodge in Winter Park. The lodge was huge with almost 10 bedrooms for all 27 people. Each of the ten bedrooms had a plasma TV with a built in DVD player and an X-Box 360. We could get to the mountain from a back path from our lodge. Winter Park was one of the tallest mountains I’ve ever seen. We stuck to the blues and black diamond runs when we were there. We tried to avoid the double black and expert runs. There was a lift called the Super Gauge Express which took you to Parsenns Bowl the tallest point of Winter Park. It was so high up it didn’t have trees, and when it got to windy and the snow started to swirl it closed. The view was amazing seeing the Rocky Mountains all around. The trip was the most fun ever!

Marissa

One day when I was four, I decided that I would cut my hair by myself. I had always had long hair, and I wanted to see what it would be like to have short hair for once. The first thing I had to do was get the scissors from the kitchen to my bathroom upstairs. It was hard for me to take the scissors from the kitchen to my bathroom because my mom was making dinner. Quickly, I grab the scissors and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. I made it and my mom didn’t know a thing. Now it was time to give myself a little hair cut of my own. I started at my bangs. I never really liked them so I decided I would trim them up a little bit, so they weren’t in my eyes. Then I went for the front of my hair. I wanted short hair, so I cut my hair in the front and not the back. I liked how it covered my neck, but not my shoulders. The next thing I knew half of the garbage can was full of my hair. Suddenly, I heard my mom come up the stairs calling my name. It was time for dinner. I had to hide the hair in the garbage, so I put toilet paper rolls on top of my cut off hair. My mom came into the bathroom and I dashed out, but before I could she stopped me and screamed. She couldn’t believe I cut my own hair! She ran me down the stairs and showed my dad what I had done. He said that since I was only 4, that my punishment would be that I would be grounded for a week, and I would have to clean my room and my brothers room for 3 days. The next day, my mom took me to get a real haircut and she made me promise that I would NEVER cut my own hair again.

Laurel Ruesch

“But why!” I whined to myself as my mother and I drove to the hair salon. I didn’t want to get my haircut! I loved my long hair just as it was! I didn’t want a mushroom cut! My mom told me that when I get older I would thank her. I didn’t think I would ever thank her for what she was about to make me do. As we walked in to small hair salon, the lady at the front desk jumped up. “Oh, hello!” the woman said cheerfully. I stared back at her with my gloomy eyes. Unfortunately, I knew that my puppy-dog-pout wasn’t going to work this time. As my mom looked at the children hair catalog, I looked at the tall lady coming towards me. “Laurel?” “Yes.” “Its time for your haircut.” Oh no. The dreaded words. When I got into the chair, she whipped put her long, silver scissors. Then, she made the first, dreadful cut. “All done.” The lady said about a trillion hours later. I put my hands in front of my eyes, but then I snuck a look at my reflection. I was speechless. I walked back to the car with wide eyes. Everyone said that they loved it but, I didn’t believe them. But as I went on with my life after my tragic haircut, I learned to love it.

Elizabeth

To Tennessee
By: Elizabeth Schmeling
My family and I were on our usual trip to Tennessee by car. We were in the car, almost 4 hours into the 11-12 hour car ride. For the last couple hours, I had been listening to music. Since our entire family was in the car, David was being really annoying, and he was bothering everyone. I found that it works best to simply ignore him by reading, even if you have to read the same sentence over 5 times because he’s so loud. Finally, we arrive at my grandparent’s house. Because we had been sitting for 11-12 hours, everyone’s legs were sore. Quickly, we put our bags away in the rooms we would be sleeping in. Then we talked with Grandma and Grandpa for almost half an hour about everything that had happened to us in the last 5 months since we had seen them last. The next day, it was off to Dollywood. That’s right; we were in the car again for another 2 hours. Once we arrived, we walked around the park, and we looked in shops. Finally, it was time for my favorite part, the roller coasters. My grandpa, David, and me went on the Mystery Mine, our favorite roller coaster, 3 times in a row. Lucky for us, we got the front row every time. After we had stayed at my grandparent's house a few more days, it was time to leave again. It was time for the long trip home.

Maddie

The day of the bad haircut
By: Maddie Goodwill
After school I begged my mom to go get my hair cut that was the worst decision that I had ever made. I walked in the salon knowing what I wanted my hair to look like. I wanted shoulder length so that it wouldn’t be to short. I wanted long layers so that I would have volume. And Of course it had to be cute! I was donating my hair to locks of love so I felt good about that. I had told the hair cutter what I had wanted and either she doesn’t listen or decided what she wanted for me was better. The Way she did to my hair was the exact opposite. The length was at my ears, it was blunt cut so my hair was as straight as a stick and it was hideous! The next day I went to school, I walked in late and the class went silent. All that I heard was whispers and wow what did you do. I asked my friends what they thought and they said I like it, but I could tell they were lying. I never went back to that hair salon again.

Kevin

The last family trip I went was to go to my cousins house to spend christmas their. When we left I brought my DVD player with me so I wouldn’t get bored. My entire family was in the car besides my dad who was coming later. We had to go pickup my cousin in Milwaukee at his friends’ apartment. While we were driving we hit a snow storm, and it was icy. We were having a family fight as usual between my brothers Andrew and Henry. We stopped at McDonalds because my brothers insisted we get something to eat. I didn’t get anything but my brother got a hash brown. My brothers were yelling at my mom for how slow she was driving. I didn’t really care as long as we got there. We were traveling against a lake so it was kind of scary, because there was only a guard rail. When we got there I was happy and I had a great Christmas.

Samantha Schoenheider

Happily, I dove off the diving board into the pool. I was in Disney world, for my brother had made it to nationals. We were staying with our friends from the basketball team, luckily my friend Jenny could come. The house was amazing. It had a arcade in the basement, and it also had a huge pool in the backyard! Though my favorite part was that the house was in walking distance to Disney, our parents let Jenny and I go to the parks, we had so much fun! My favorite park was Magic Kingdom! We went on Splash Mountain eleven times; I had to get a perfect picture. My brother’s basketball games though were very fun, Jenny and I spent an hour just trying to find a place in the building where they sold pretzels! Surprisingly my brother team got forty-sixth place! I had so much fun at Nationals, and did not want to leave. Hopefully, I will get to go to nationals again someday!

Emily Robinson's bad/good hair cut!

It was about 7 o’clock p.m and I wanted a hair cut. My mom wouldn’t set up an appointment so I decided to do it myself. Oh did I mention I was 7 years old. My hair turned out pretty bad, obviously. My sister walked in and screamed. She grabbed my arm and pulled my down the stairs to show mom, then, she also screamed. I honestly didn’t think it looked THAT bad. The next day we went to the hairdresser place. The lady of course screamed, jeez, I guess my hair really was that bad. She gave me bangs and cut my hair all the way to the bottom of my ears. That was very short. The next day I went to school, and surprisingly everyone liked my hair, I actually could do many things with my hair, I put a headband in it, I put it in mini pigtails, many things, and I looked cute. My horrible haircut, turned out to be one of the best I had ever had. But from that day forward I decided not to cut my hair again. =)

Narrative Writing

Select a narrative writing piece that you would like peers to read and share comments.