May PPOW

One Ordinary Night

Just as it always happened, two girls, Rachel and Mary, were going to stay at one of their houses this weekend.  They always stayed at each other’s houses.  The two girls were the best of friends. They always had a blast when they were together.

This weekend was going to be like any other weekend,  as so they thought.  The girls rode the bus to Rachel’s house that Friday.  Rachel lived on a farm north of town that was five miles from the highway.  They got off the bus, took their stuff inside and grabbed a quick snack before they headed outside.  They had to go check on the animals and make sure everyone was all right so Rachel wouldn’t get yelled at by her dad.  As they were walking out to the shed to get the gator, they heard something.  They stopped to listen, but they didn’t hear it again.  As the were pulling the gator out, they saw a shadow, but they thought it was just their own.  They didn’t really think much of it.  When they were done, they headed inside to get ready.  They were going to a bonfire that night about a mile away from their house.  

Once they were all ready to go, they asked Rachel’s dad, “Can we take the gator to the bonfire?”

He said, “As long as you’re very careful and don’t mess around with it when you get there.”

“We will be careful, Dad, and we won’t mess around,” Rachel said.

The girls headed out the door and went down the road on the gator.  They showed up at the party just in time.  Everyone else was just arriving as well.  They got out and stood by a group of their friends who were eating hotdogs, so they decided to grab one too.  After everyone ate, they all separated and played games.  Rachel and Mary got some of their friends together and went and talked by the gator.  Rachel thought it would be a good idea for them to leave and go hang out at her house, so the six of them all got on the gator and left.  

When they got to her house, they parked the gator and Rachel went and told her parents that they were going to hang out outside for a little bit.  They all went and sat on her trampoline to talk.  After awhile they got bored and wanted to do something.  They decided to play ghost in the grave yard.  Rachel and Mary were it first.  When they were done counting, they headed to the shed.   

On their way, Mary turned to Rachel and said, “Did you hear that?”

Rachel stuttered and said, “No, wait that noise?”

“Yeah, that!” exclaimed Mary.

The girls walked closer to where they thought they heard the noise.  They stood there for a little bit thinking that they would move again.  

All of a sudden someone yelled, “Ghost in the graveyard run, run, run!”

Mary and Rachel saw someone and ran at them.  They got really close and tagged them.  Everyone else came running out of the shed too.  Rachel and Mary tagged everyone.  Everyone was tired, so they stood there for a second.  Todd, one of the guys, saw a shadow moving.  Everyone looked around to see who was missing.  

Rachel said, “What is that? I don’t think it’s my dog.  That shadow is way too big to be my dog.”

“Maybe someone from the bonfire came over,” said Todd.

Mary said, “Maybe.”

They all started to walk closer to the object.  Suddenly Rachel stopped.  

She whispered, “Maybe we should try and scare it.”

They started out again, but this time went to the back of the shed.  They were sneaking along the backside when they heard a big crunch.   They all jumped and looked at each other.  

Rachel asked, “Who was that?”

Will, who was the last one in the line, said, “None of us did that.”

They continued to walk towards the figure and see it better, but still had no idea who it was.  They keep sneaking up closer, then suddenly the figure turned and faced them.  They all shrieked in terror.  The man was a stranger and didn’t look the friendliest.

“Who are you?” questioned Rachel.

“Why do you want to know?” asked the man.

Rachel shrieked, “Because you are in my shed!”

“How long have you been in here?” asked Mary.

The man said, “ A few days.”

Will whispered to Todd, “Let’s get out of here.”

Todd nudged Mary and pointed out of the shed.  They all started running, and when they got the the door of the shed the man was standing in front of them.  He pushed them all back in the shed and shut the door behind him.  

April PPOW

The Wreck

One ordinary summer day, I was at Lizzie’s house.  We were going to go paddle boating and do some other things.  The day didn’t turn out as planned. We were having a blast.  Lizzie and I were paddle boating just like we had been doing on and off all day.  Lizzie’s mom comes down to take a picture to send to my mom.  As she was going to send the picture to my mom she gets a call.  The call was from my mom.  She answers and is talking for quite a while.  That was a usual thing for our mom’s to be talking, but we tied the paddle boat up anyways.

We walk up to Bernadette and she says, “It’s your mom.”

I exclaimed, “What a surprise!”

As we were standing there talking, Bernadette’s face seemed worried.  Lizzie and I didn’t know what was happening.  As soon as Bernadette got off the phone, she turned to us and paused for a little bit.  

When she began to speak, she said, “Your sister and Felicia were in a car wreck.”

As soon as she said that my heart began racing.  I didn’t know what had happened at all or anything.  

She began to speak again, “Your sister and Felicia were heading home from Felicia’s parents on a gravel road since the bridge was down.  Sidney was driving and they came over a hill to two cars racing.”

I was probably sheet white by then.  Anyways my mom didn’t know much by then, but was going to call Bernadette back.  We went inside and while I was getting vinegar put on my legs, since they were so burnt, my mom calls back.  She talked to Bernadette and told her what was  happening.  

When she got off the phone, she came into the kitchen and said, “Your sister is going to be fine and so is Felicia, but Felicia has a concussion, and she hurt her ankle.  

I sighed and was kind of happy.  My mom had asked Bernadette to ask me  if I wanted to go home or to the hospital to see her.  At that very second I wanted to go see her, but I thought about it and didn’t want to be a pain.  I wanted my parents taking care of my sister and not worrying about me.  So I stayed at Lizzie’s house another night and of course, I had a blast because we always do.  The next day I spent most of it at Lizzie’s until Holly took me to the baseball game that night because that is where my sister wanted to go.  She wanted to get out of the house because she was stuck there all day.  She was all bandaged up and got asked a million questions.  

The next morning, I woke up to a sheriff at my house.  I didn’t realize that till I came down the steps and went to turn the corner and saw a sheriff. I turned around and went back up the stairs to get some better clothes on.  Felicia and my sister were in sitting on the dining room couch.  I walked into the kitchen and Felicia got up and was really happy to see me.  Happier than usually, I think because of the concussion.  The sheriff asked them questions and talked to them about the girls racing and how they were probably at fault.  

***************************

This is the story of the accident I got from my sister when we sat down in our bedroom and talked about it.  Felicia and Sidney went over to Atlantic to Felicia’s parents house.  They had to take a gravel road to get there and on the way back because the bridge was getting fixed.  Felicia asked Sid if she wanted to drive on the way home.  Sid had her permit, so she drove.  They were headed home on the gravel road.  They were coming up on a hill and they saw a red car coming over the hill and it was going very fast throwing rocks at them and making quite a bit of dust.  Sid slowed down and got over to the side a little.  Right after that red car passed and the rock hit the windshield Felicia looked up at her windshield to see if it was cracked.  Sid glanced over at where the rock hit and glanced up and saw a green car right in front of her.  The next thing she knew was they had been hit and spun quite a ways.  

Felicia and Sidney both looked at each other and asked if they were alright.  They both thought they were fine.  They both tried to grab the handle to get out, but they were to smashed. The steering wheel was smashed up against Sidney and so was the front dash.  She says her adrenaline rush came to her, and she had to get out.  She said that her door was bent in, so she could reach her hand in and pry the door open.  While she was trying to do that Felicia was moaning about her ankle, so Sid thought she really needed to get out so she could help Felicia. Sid got out somehow and went over to Felicia’s side.  She helped her get out and they both just sat there by the car leaned up against it. They looked at each other, and Sidney was bleeding all over her legs, and Felicia’s ankle was swollen and slightly bruised at the time.  They thought they needed to call someone. So Felicia grabbed her phone and called her mom.  Her mom answered, and Felicia started to talk, but she hung up on her.  

She turned to Sid and said, “I don’t want to worry her.”

Sid said, “But Flea we need help, we were just in an accident.”

So Felicia called back and told her mom.  Her parents were on their way.  Their house wasn’t that far from where the accident happened.  Before her parents got there, the cops were already there.  The red car that passed first must have called.  

Shortly Brenda and Alan came running up to them, they each hugged the girls.  Alan asked Sidney if she had called her mom or dad. She hadn’t so she called dad and told him that her and Felicia had been in a car accident.  He started to ask all these questions, so Alan took the phone and talked to him. My dad left work and headed straight there. They let my mom know and she also left.  

The driver of the other car was hurt pretty badly.  When my dad got there they had they road blocked off, so he went around and he saw a helicopter.  He said he was thinking that on the phone they told him it wasn’t that bad.

So he parked his car to the side and started up the road and the officer stopped him, but he kept walking and said, “That’s my daughter.”

 He started running up there.  My dad doesn’t run very often.  

The driver of the other car got life flighted to Creighton.  Felicia had to ride the ambulance to the hospital because she didn’t really know what was happening and didn’t understand that she was in an accident.  That was because of the concussion. Sid rode in Felicia’s brother’s truck, since it was the first one there besides the cops.  They both got checked up by the ER doctor and got bandaged up.  Felicia had to have a scan to make sure she didn’t have any brain damage, and it was just a concussion.

Sid ended up having huge cuts all over her legs and a few deep ones.  She had a couple bruised ribs from the steering wheel, and her nose was sore from the air bag.  She also had tingling in her knees for a long time, so she went to a specialist to get them checked out.  They were very swollen and they said that they are just going to have to heal. It will probably take a year or so.  She was in pain for a while.  She has huge scars from the cuts still and her knees swell up and hurt occasionally.  Felicia had a concussion, a little cut, and a very badly bruised ankle. Her ankle still hurts her and she is finding pinched nerves and that, but they are both doing very good.  

The driver of the other vehicle ended up having some broken bones.  We all thought that everyone would have learned a lesson, but we found out that driver was just caught doing something with alcohol.

Even though the other girls were caught at fault, they didn’t get charged with anything.  It happened to be that they were racing on the highway and turned onto the gravel road.  Someone had reported them racing and passing each other on the highway minutes before the wreck. On a hill the green car was coming over and trying to pass the red car, but Sidney and Felicia were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Considering it was a head on collision.  All the sheriff’s said that they are two very lucky girls. They said most of the time when they see this stuff happen, they do not survive.  We are all very happened that Sid and Felicia aren’t badly injured.

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.

Carrie Underwood- January PPOW

Carrie Underwood

Carrie Marie Underwood was born on March 10, 1983, in Muskogee, Oklahoma.  She was born and raised on a farm.  Carrie said, “Growing up in the country, I enjoyed things like playing on dirt roads, climbing trees, catching little woodland creatures and, of course, singing.”

Once graduating from high school, Carrie attended Northeastern State University.  Carrie majored in broadcast journalism.  She put aside her dreams of becoming a singer.  Her senior year, she decided to try out for American Idol.  Carrie passed that audition, and also went on to be the winner of the show’s fourth season.  She went on to win multiple awards.  Those awards include Grammy, Country Music Association, and Academy of Country Music awards. Her hit albums are Carnival Ride, Play On, and Blown Away.  When Carrie was a child she was very shy.  Now she has became a very popular female country singers today.     N      

Carrie came out with her first album, Some Hearts, in 2005. It was certified triple platinum. Then it became fastest-selling female country album.  Carrie’s very first single was “Inside your Heaven.”  It the top of the Billboard charts.  Her single “Jesus, Take the Wheel” hit the top of the country charts. It came to be a very great success winning her lots of awards.  Those awards were the Academy of Country Music Award and the Country Music Association Award for single of the year, and two Grammy Awards.  The two Grammy Awards were for best female country vocal performance and best new artist.

Carrie also had a great success with, "Before He Cheats."  It won her a Grammy for best female country vocal performance and a CMA Award for single of the year. Her album Carnival Ride was released that same year. The album reached the top of the album charts and scored many Number 1 country hits.                                                                                          N         NN  Carrie was inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry on May 10, 2008. SHe became the youngest member. She was inducted by Garth Brooks, a country star. That same year Carrie won the CMA Award for female vocalist of the year.  That was the third time that she had won that CMA Award.  Carrie was nominated for album of the year, but lost the award to George Strait. Carrie hosted the CMA Awards with another country star, Brad Paisley, for the first time.    N Carrie won a Grammy Award for the best female country vocal performance, in 2009.  She won it with her single “Last Name”. Carrie had received four Grammy Awards by now. She received two more CMA Award nominations. One for female vocalist of the year and another for musical event of the year. For the second time, Carrie hosted the CMA Awards with Brad Paisley. N In the mean time, after a year of dating, NHL athlete, Mike Fisher popped the question and asked Carrie to marry him.  They got married on July 10, 2010. N A few weeks before hosting the CMA Awards for the third time, Carrie released her album, Play On.  She then followed that success with her album Blown Away.  That following year it had more than 1.4 million copies. NN The announcement that Carrie would be singing the Sunday Night Football theme song was announced on May 2013.        NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN   NNN   NNCarrie released Greatest Hits: Decade #1 in the fall of 2014.  The album featured her new material such as her hit, “Something in the Water.”                                                   N       Carrie has 79 songs and five albums out.  She has sold 64 million records worldwide and has had 18 number one singles. N        Not only did she release Greatest Hits: Decade #1.  Carrie and Mike released that they are having a baby.  She used Instagram and their two dogs to announce it.  She posted a picture saying, “In honor of Labor Day, Ace & Penny (their dogs) would like to make an announcement. Their parents couldn’t be happier……….” Carrie also captioned a photo of two puppies wearing “I’m going to be a big brother” and “I’m going to be a big sister” shirts.  Mike also announced it on twitter.  N                    NNCarrie showed her bump off while performing outside of Chicago.  She also so shed some tears while getting an award at the ACM Honors in Nashville.  While hosting the November 2014 CMA Awards, co-host Brad Paisley spilled the beans that her baby is going to be a boy.  They are expecting their first child together in Spring of 2015. NNAll this has happened in just ten years after auditioning for American Idol. Carrie stated that, “I can’t believe it’s been a decade since I auditioned for American Idol.    So much has happened since then.  In some ways it feels like it was a million years ago; in some ways it feels like it was just yesterday.”

December PPOW

Basketball

Basketball is fun,

but you have to run.

It is one of my favorite sports,

and I just got new basketball shorts.

You have to be tense

to be good on defense.

Good basketball sense

will help you on offense.

If you have a good shot;

you could get a spot.

Basketball is an aggressive sport,

and you can play, even if you are short.

You have to do a lot of dribbling,

so it might help if you practice with a sibling.

Conditioning isn’t the best,

but it can help if you are getting pressed.

You might have to dive,

but you will survive.

Driving is key,

but you might hit someone that seems like a tree.

You have to jump to rebound,

and you have to stay inbounds.

You might get a fast break,

so hopefully you haven’t eaten too many milkshakes.

In a game you might feel a little rusty in the beginning,

but you will warm up after the first inning.

Games can get exciting,

and hopefully there is no fighting.

Softball

Softball is a blast,

and it’s summer at last.

Going out for softball is no doubt,

but hopefully there isn’t a drought.

You practice for weeks,

and at the end of every practice you have red cheeks.

Then games start,

and you’ve got to play smart.

You might be first at bat,

so put on your hard hat.

Then you will go to the field

and use your glove like a shield.

When at bat you might get walked,

or get hit by the ball and be shocked.

You might strike out,

or hit the ball far out.

When you are up at bat

don’t act like a brat.

When you run to first base

act like you are getting chased.

Watch for the double play,

so you can get away.

Also watch for the fly balls,

so it won’t be a close call.

When you go into the dugout

be prepared to shout.

You better have your glove broken in,

so it doesn’t feel like tin.

To catch a ground ball

you might have to fall.

Being an infielder

is just as important as being an outfielder.

Volleyball

Volleyball games always start with a serve,

so be ready for the curve.

You might start on offense,

or maybe on defense.

Either way it starts, you got to be ready,

and always be steady.

You have to be aggressive

to be impressive.

If you get a dig

it can be big.

If you get an ace

you can still keep a straight face.

Having a good approach

can make a happy coach.

If you need pay back

just have a good attack.

Having a good back set

can be a threat.

Having a good block

doesn’t mean you are a jock.

You can’t get a good bump

if you are being a slump.

You might have to strive

to have a good dive.

You don’t need to blame

if you don’t have a good game.

Just work hard,

and be on guard.