Wednesday, April 15, 2015

March PPOW

Summer Fun
One summer morning down a long gravel road, there was a house with three sleeping kids.  Shortly, Dakota, the oldest, would wake up and go off to early morning weights.  He was a freshman in high school and played a lot of sports. The girls wouldn’t wake up for awhile.  They enjoyed their sleep.  They usually woke up between 9:00 and 10:00.  They would get up and get some breakfast.  Then they would go watch TV.
The kid’s names were Dakota, Felicia, and Beth.  Dakota was 15, Felicia was 12, and Beth was eight.  The kid’s were always home alone during the summer and had to fend for themselves.  They were always trying to find fun things to do.  They had a trampoline, swimming pool, four wheeler, gator, and a horse.  They often had something to do, but after awhile they got bored of those things.  
One day after dinner they were all sitting in the living room.  They were bored and didn’t know what they were going to do today.  As they were trying to think of ideas Beth pipped in.  
She exclaimed, “ Let’s have a party!”
Dakota and Felicia thought about it, but weren’t sure.
After a little bit, Dakota said, “What about a bonfire?”
“That sounds like a blast!” exclaimed Felicia and Beth.
So all the kids went to the kitchen to plan out their bonfire.  They were all super excited about the party. The first thing they thought about was when they were going to have it.  They got the family event calendar and saw what was all going on that month.  They found a Friday night that was available, and the night that their parents were going on a double date and staying at their aunt and uncle’s house.  The kids thought that was perfect.
So that night when there parents got home, the kids sat down at the kitchen table with their parents to eat supper. Their plan was to bring it up to their parents, so they could keep planning tomorrow. They were all eating their supper when Dakota and Felicia stood up.  Their parents were confused.  They didn’t know what was happening.
As Dakota and Felicia were standing in front of their family they said, “We would like to ask your permission to have a bonfire.”
Their parents just looked at each other.  They didn’t know what to think.  
“When did you think of this idea?” questioned their dad.
Beth exclaimed, “Today!”
Their mom asked, “And what do you want to do at this bonfire?”
The kids looked at each other.  They hadn’t thought of that.
Dakota said, “Well, we wanted to ask for your permission first before we planned anything.”
“That was a good idea!” their mom said.
The kids and their parents just sat there for a second.  Their parents didn’t know whether to let them have this party or not.  
Their dad stood up and said, “We will talk about it and leave a note on the table in the morning for you to see when you wake up.”
The kids all went up stairs.  They went into the game room and sat down.
Felicia asked, “Is anybody nervous about what mom and dad are going to say?”
Dakota and Beth both shouted, “Yes!”
The kids talked a little bit more about it then thought they better go to bed since they would probably get up early to see the note.
As the morning came along, the parents woke up and got ready for work.  Before they left, they wrote the note and left it on the counter.  Within 15 minutes Dakota woke up to go to weights.  He quietly went downstairs to read the letter.  He read it, but didn’t want to wake the girls up so he just got ready and went to weights.  He would talk to the girls when he got home.
The girls woke up an excitingly went downstairs, Felicia grabbed the note and read it out loud.
She read, “We decided to let you guys have the party.  We would like to hear more about what you plan today! Love, Mom & Dad”
Beth and Felicia turned to each other and gave each other a hug.  They were both very excited.  Now all day they would have something to do.  They started making breakfast when Dakota walked in.
He said, “Obviously you guys have already read the note.”
“Yes, we did!” replied Beth.
Felicia pipped in, “We have a lot of planning to do.”
“Yes we do,” said Dakota.
The kids ate their breakfast and cleaned up.  Then they got a notebook out to start planning.  It took them most of the day, but they got it all planned out.  They had everything ready to share with their parents.  The kids made supper, so when their parents got home they could grab a plate and start to eat.  The kids wanted to tell them as soon as possible.
As soon as their parents got home, the kids had them sit down and enjoy their supper.
When everyone was done the kids told their parents, “We have our plans to show you.  We worked very hard on them and want to show you everything.”
They showed them everything and they loved it now it was time to start getting everything they need.  The had three weeks to do so.  They were going to be very busy people until then.  
Time started shrinking, but they were wrapping things up.  They had worked very hard. and it had paid off. The house was spotless and the party items were taken care of.  Time came around and it was the morning of the party.  Their parents had the day off since they were leaving to go on the date.  Their parents helped them set things up and everything was set up.  All they had to do now was get ready.  Once they were all already, there was one thing that their parents had to tell them.  They had called someone to come and supervise the party.  The kids thought well could this be bad or good.  They were thinking they could of called grandma or their cousin.  
Their parents said, “We couldn’t leave you guys here alone, so we called your cousin Lesley.  She is going to come and watch you guys tonight.”
The kids love their cousin Lesley; she was 19 and always fun to be around.  They were kind of excited, but they didn’t want to tell or show excitement to their parents.  They didn’t want them to call her and tell her no.  After that the parents left and the kids were going to arrive any minute.  Each kid invited people.  No one could invite over 15.  There was going to be both boys and girls at the party.
Lesley showed up right after the parents left.  After that kids started showing up right and left.  Dakota and Lesley got the fire started.  Kids started jumping on the trampoline, playing football, basketball, and volleyball. Some just stood around and talked.  Everyone seemed to be having a blast.  
Once it got dark, they decided to play a big game of ghost and the graveyard.  They had teams of two to three.  The first people were it.  They stood on the trampoline and counted.  Everyone else went and hid.  Dakota, Felicia, and Beth lived on a farm so there were a lot of places to hide, but since they were playing ghost and the graveyard they wanted a good place to hide but also want to be close to base.  They played the game for a while and then went to hide and seek.  It was really interesting, since there were so many places to hide.  Once everyone got tired of that they grabbed a seat by the campfire and roasted hot dogs and s’mores.  They had plenty of supplies so there was plenty for everyone.  They sat by the fire and talked about lots of things.  Everyone had a blast. The kids loved having the party and were definitely going to have another one sometime.  
The party ended late so the kids went right to bed.  When they woke up the next morning the were still tired. Now they had to clean up.  That was the worst part, but it wasn’t to bad since they put trash cans all over the place.  They thanked their mom later for thinking of that idea.
Everything was cleaned up by the time their parents got home.  They were also napping when there parents got home. The kids were very tired but they had a blast.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

March PPOW Colorado

Colorado
            My trip to Colorado started when my aunt Ang invited us out to stay for a week. Of course we had to go so we planed it in June. The trip was a long 12-hour drive from Hancock, Iowa to Broomfield, Colorado. The whole way there, we were constantly going uphill. When we got to Ang’s house, we said hi to her, and our cousin Mark, who lives there. We didn’t do anything the first day because the drive was too long, and we wanted to catch up with Ang and Mark.

            Ang is known for her cooking, and the first day, she smoked pulled pork and ribs.  It was really good. The next day, we went to Elich Gardens Theme Park in Denver. When I was there, we rode on many rollercoasters, and rides I never have before. My sister Alyssa and my step-dad, Randy, went on The XLR8R. The XLR8R pulls you 150 feet in the air and drops you in a free fall style. My favorite was called the Mind Eraser rollercoaster.

            I was too scared to go on it, so I watched from below. Then after they were done, we did some more rides and headed back to Ang’s house. The next day, we decided to go hiking on a mountain in Boulder. We saw a lot of clear water running down the mountain, and a lot of pretty plants. The view was amazing and I wanted to stay up there longer. Even though it was really hot, it was worth it.

            We also did a lot of shopping at cool stores that day. The next day was really hot so all of us decided to go to the local pool. We had a lot of fun swimming and it was nice to cool off. When we got back to Ang’s house, she smoked ribs and we all ate and went to bed. The next day we started planning on going up to “Pikes Peak,” by taking the “Cog Railway.” Ang bought our tickets and we headed out.

            It was my first time taking a train, and going up “Pikes Peak.” On our way up, the conductor told everyone all about the land. He pointed out that the railway we were riding is the highest “Cog Railway” in the world. He also said that most of the trees on the mountain were over 2000 years old. The ride was very long and my sisters were getting a little sicker the higher we got.

             Thankfully I wasn’t feeling that bad, and was still enjoying the ride. The conductor also pointed out that Katharine Lee Bates wagon tracks were still there when she wrote America the Beautiful in 1893. I thought that it was very cool to see the wagon tracks even after all of these years. When we finally reached the top of the mountain there was a building there that everyone went into. My step-dad and I went outside after a while to look at the view.

            I could see some clouds when I looked down the side of the mountain because we were so high up. Out of nowhere it started to snow but I still stayed outside. Then a few seconds later there was thunder and lightning at the same time that it was snowing. It was the first time I had seen it snow and thunder outside at the same time. They told us all to go inside because we could easily get hit by lightning.

            When we were inside there were people making fresh doughnuts. We didn’t get any because none of us felt so well. The weather outside was getting worse so we had to get back on the train, and head back down. Once we got outside again we noticed how much it had snowed already so we had to move fast. It was really cold so everyone had to put up there windows to keep warm. The weather went from warm and sunny to cold a windy. I thought that it was really cool how the weather can change so fast.
            On our way down we still couldn’t believe how pretty the view was. When we were getting to the end the conductor started handing out books to everyone to see if they would buy it. We bought a book and it came with a CD and a souvenir. The CD talked about the history of the “Cog Railway” and extra information about it. We went back to Ang’s and went to bed after the long day. The next day was sadly our last and we decided to just stay at Ang’s and relax.
Ang made a really good breakfast for our last full day there. We ended up playing a lot of board games and watching good movies after that. We played Yahtzee and Mark ended up winning by far. My sisters and I started watching movies while the parents were outside by the warm fire. The night ended well and we had to go to bed early so we could wake up and leave early the next day.
We said our goodbyes and left early in the morning. The car ride back was really long with all the stops along the way. We stopped at a little store and got some Colorado shirts to remember our trip. We also got these weird suckers with scorpions in them. None of us actually ate them but we just thought that it was cool to have.
When we were on the road we were going downhill the whole time. We thought it was cool because on the way there we were going uphill the whole time. As we got farther away the more I missed it already. Yes, It was sad to leave but it was something we can always talk about.
We plan on going back hopefully sometime soon and visit Ang and Mark.

           

 


           

                                                                  

Cancer Fundraiser- March PPOW

Cancer Fundraiser
On March 8, 2015, I Ashley Jones, helped out with a cancer fundraiser. I did this fundraiser with my family and my best friend Isabella. The fundraiser was for my mother’s co-worker’s son, named Logan. Logan is 19 years old and has had cancer twice.
Here is his story: Logan kept getting morning headaches and nausea in the summer of 2002. When it was the school year again, Logan went to the eye doctor to see if he needed glasses. The doctor noticed something called hemorrhaging and he was immediately sent to a Children’s Hospital. He had surgery the next morning to remove a Medulloblastoma from his Medulla Oblongata. Luckily, the surgery removed the whole tumor, but while he was recovering he developed spinal meningitis. Logan began chemotherapy and radiation, although he lost most of his hearing because of it, he successfully beat cancer and came out of the treatments very healthy.
This summer Logan lost all hearing in his left ear, and was able to get a cochlear implant. A month or so later, he developed double vision and had trouble balancing. After a few rough months for him and his family, they had learned that Logan’s cancer had returned. This time it was a different kind of tumor- Glioblastoma Multiforme, also know as (GBM). He had surgery on November 11, and they were able to remove 90% of his tumor. That left behind 10% of his tumor, and that was on his brain stem and facial/auditory nerve. Although it was risky, they took a chance and put him under radiation again. They have seen some great results and they are planning on a new round of chemo.
Another co-worker was feeling generous and took the time to put together this wonderful event. She has known him and his dad for years and wanted to raise money so his dad could pay all the big hospital bills. This event literally turned my life around. It made me realize how short life is, and that you should live it too the fullest. It also taught me that there are kind people in this world that do care for others.
They had many different ways of raising money, Raffle tickets, baked goods, bowls of chili, hot dogs, t-shirts, and a silent auction. My shift started at 1:00 pm and ended at 3:00 pm. During those two hours Bella and I served chili to lots of people. Since my shift was just around lunch time, it was really busy. My mom sold raffle tickets and my dad helped out with the bake sale. Drew was originally going to sell t-shirts but it was really slow when his shift started, so he ended up selling raffle tickets with my mom. We had so many food donations that they couldn’t all bring them inside.
Since this fundraiser involved my mom’s co-worker, I was able to meet her other friends from work. They were so inspired to help out their friend in need. People that were working the bake sale couldn’t count money so my dad had to do it for them. Drew went around and asked people if they wanted to buy raffle tickets while they ate. Many people bought them and went to look at what they wished to win.
While Bella and I served chili, a guy came up four times to try many different kinds of chili. As we awkwardly served him chili, we were secretly dying of laughter. We also met so many amazing people there while working the stand. You probably think that serving chili isn’t fun at all, but I had the best time ever. I was so lucky to share that day with such great people.
It really warms my heart that so many people did this for Logan. We made him feel so special and we showed him that he is not alone. Logan was very happy and so was his dad. The fundraiser went from 11:00 am - 5:00 pm.
After we were all done working, we decided to stay and buy some raffle tickets. We bought four sets of yellow tickets and two sets of blue. There were different colors for the different prize areas. Later on after we put our tickets in the buckets, Drew decides to take a look at the silent auction that was going on.
Drew ended up putting the first bid on season tickets for three sports at Creighton, you had to increase the bid by five dollars and his opening price was $90. The sports ended up being: Women’s volleyball, Men’s Basketball, and Men’s Soccer. As some time passes by, a guy puts down a higher price than Drew’s. After men go back and forth including Drew, the time slowly slips away and Drew ends up losing the auction. He wasn’t too happy about it, but it’s okay, he will get over it.
It ends up being 4:00 P.M. before they start drawing the raffle tickets. It went pretty slow because half the people that won were in a different room or had already left. It also was slow because there were so many things you could win. One lady won three things, another person won about five things. After they were done naming the yellow ticket winners, they went on to the blue.
After about five or so names, it comes to my attention that I put my ticket in the one they were drawing next. The item that I put my name in for was a Mary Kay makeup set. As I mumble my name; as a joke, they literally speak my name and I jumped right out of my seat. I was super excited for no reason at all, but I was still really happy that I won something.
As the rest of the raffles went on, we all clapped when someone won something. It was about the 
end of the event when Logan comes up to the microphone to say thank you to everyone who helped 
and/or came to support. This event raised about $13,000 all together. We said our goodbyes and left 
feeling so great because we just took the time to help out Logan and his family.  

I Don't Know Anymore


Depression
Depression is a sadness,
Sometimes it can’t be cured,
It might drive people insane.

Voices
Voices in my head are screaming,
Screaming my name,
Saying it’s a warning.

Demons
I see their dark shadows following me,
They are chasing me from room to room,
I can’t hide, because they will always find me.

People say
People say too forget the sadness and pain,
How could I if the words follows me everywhere,
It’s sinking in my skin like it is acid.

No feelings
I feel numb without feelings,
I have no emotion, but a straight face on,
I fake my smile everyday.

Thinking at Night
I lay awake at night thinking about my life,
I think about the names they call me,
I start to think how could I make myself perfect.

Darkness
Darkness comforts me,
I can feel the demons watching me sleep,
whispering in my ear.

Rain
Rain is the perfect day for me,
I can go outside and look at the grey depressing sky,
I can look outside and think about my life.

Understanding
People say they understand my pain,
They lie to my face everyday saying they know what to do,
They say to think about good things, but the good things turn into bad memories.

Crying
Tears running down my face,
I can’t stop them from going down my face,
They stop when my mother calls me down stairs.

Happiness
I can't feel happiness anymore,
I miss being happy,
I know, That if I’m happy I'll be hurt again.

Caring
I could careless about myself,
I don't care about anyone or anything,
I wouldn't care if I die one day.

Black
Black the color I see in my head now,
I only see black and white for memories,
I like the dark depressing colors.

Names
People calling me names everyday,
They don't know how the names could wound me,
They thought I would forget, but it’s a scar in my memory.


Parents
Parents screaming or yelling at you,
It’s just telling us how much we mess up,
We know it’s not wrong, because it helps us from suffering,

Alone
You know you're alone forever,
Why not just put on a fake smile,
Say everything’s fine everyday.

Fake Smile
It’s like a mask everyday,
I'm putting on a lot of makeup,
I'm doing this so everyone won’t notice my pain.

Happy Thing in Life

Realize
I have great friends,
I have an okay school,
I have my best friend Fishy aka Brayden.

Life
Depression kinda like a video game,
It the boss level if you can beat that you can beat anything in life,
Don’t put game over.

Joey
He my best friend for life,
We been friend for eight months,
He been there for me through thick and thin.

Autumn
She been my friend through the year,
I don’t think I would’ve gone this far without Autumn here,
She will always and forever be my best friend.

Anthony
He my  best friend I couldn’t have ask for,
He knows when Autumn lying,
which is all the time.

Hot Topic
Hot Topic the best store for me,
Have everything I love in there,
It heaven for me, because I want to buy the whole store.