Thoughtful Thursday: Happy Thanksgiving!

Thoughtful Thursday

It's Thanksgiving! I hope everybody has a wonderful day today!

Since it is Thursday, I figured I needed to do a Thoughtful Thursday so I will. And, since it's Thanksgiving, I'll make it a little Thanksgiving related.

Here is a poem that my sort-of-sleep-deprived self is coming up with off the top of his screw-loose head.

What are you thankful for?

Is it family, friends, or something more?

Is it the snow on the ground, or the tornadoes also on the ground.

I sure hope it's not the second one, then you're a horrible person... to be around. (Got a rhyme!)

What will you eat on this wonderful day?

What will you have? Some may think to say:

"I'm having turkey, and ham, and mashed potatoes, too."

"I'm making butt-hole bread for me and you!"

I'm thankful for this blog, and the people who read it so.

I'm thankful for the dinners that I've had, and the very little snow.

I'm thankful for the band I'm in, the so much fun we've had.

I'm thankful for my classmates, the ones who are so rad. (Rad? Really? I'm getting old...)

I'm thankful for my family, my mom and dad are two.

There's also my grandparents, and my aunts and uncles, too.

But there's one person I love, more than any other.

If I'm thankful for one thing, I'm thankful for my video games...

What? Ugh, fine. I'm thankful for my brother.

Have a wonderful thanksgiving everyone!

PS: Aren't you glad I ruined stuffing for you?

Real Stuff

Among recent events, I have been extremely inactive. I have had so much on my plate and so much going on that time would just pass before my eyes. Soon enough, I didn't have anything going for this blog.

I'd promise that I'm going to become more active when updating this blog, but I don't know if I can make that promise yet. I will promise that eventually I'll reach that goal, but it may be in the distant future.

Anyway, I hope you all have a good weekend and are prepared for Thanksgiving. I'm really excited and hopefully I'll be able to post more then!

This has been a depressing post but I don't really know what else to say...

Hopefully, I'll be back soon.

A Ton of Fun at Camp Fontanelle

Me, My Brother & My Sister in the Corn Maze

Well, it's been a busy week with Marching Band wrapping up (except for playoffs). I wanted to tell you all about the fun we had at Camp Fontanelle and give you a discount so you can go, too. They are open 1-7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through November 3. There are also some special event days and times so check their calendar for full details. (Check out movie nights and scary maze nights.) I want you to make sure you get your discount so be sure to print this coupon and save some money there. My mom likes that they keep prices down so we can do more for less money. Admission is only $6 adults and $4 for kids. 

First we went into the corn maze as they had trick or treating in the maze that day. I managed to photo bomb a picture of Rebekah. 

Then we saw some of the 'creepy guys' that are throughout the maze for the Scary Maze nights. You go through in the dark and there are these fake guys followed by real ones who jump out at you.

The main event for us that we had been waiting to do was the Laser Tag in the corn maze. They use a headband and so you take head shots to score. These lasers even have a light scope on them so you can get a better aim at your target. I got Nathan while he posed for a picture. 
  

 Rebekah is serious about this...her headband wouldn't stay up at first so--go figure, she hardly got shot.  

 My mom managed to catch this awesome photo down the scope of Rebekah taking aim. And with Laser Tag only costing $3 per person for a 10 minute adventure, we got to go a couple times. It was a blast. 

Camp Fontanelle is just past Nickerson, NE (just north of Fremont) and we have had more fun there than I can describe. There's a corn maze (short and long tracks), laser tag in another small corn maze, jumping pillow, snacks, hayrack ride, petting zoo, fire pits, zip line, trike track, bounce houses, and much more.


My dad didn't get to go with us, but my brother, sister, mom and I had a blast. The snacks are only $1 each except S'mores Kits and caramel apples. We got s'mores kits and roasted marshmallows over the free fire pits. They even have a whole rack of roasting sticks you can use (no additional charge). 





I like the petting zoo so while mom watched Rebekah jump on the jumping pillow, Nathan and I went to the petting zoo. We spent time letting the geese and ducks get to know us. Nathan was pretty nervous for a long time and stayed outside of the gate. Eventually, he came in but stayed away from the birds. By the end, he was walking right up to them and petting them. I didn't get any good pictures of Nathan with the ducks and geese, but all animals are hard for him. He doesn't like it if they move to fast--it spooks Nathan. He doesn't really like petting them or getting licked by them and he really does not want to hold them. But I helped him and got a picture of him holding a rabbit and feeding an alpaca. He actually let the alpaca lick the food off his hand without flinching. He's even smiling in this picture. 








I also got a picture of my sister on the trike track. She had a good time on it...although she's getting to the height limit. 


Disclosure: I received free passes in exchange for my honest review. 

Project Greenflick: VOTE NOW!

Homecoming plans were changed, I signed up to review a Corn Maze, yeah yeah. I'll get to that Wednesday, hopefully.



HEY GUYS! Voting begins for Project Greenflick TODAY! Be sure to vote for my video at THIS LINK and click on the little "Vote" button. This is that video I've been talking about for a while, but I don't know if I ever linked it. (Oops...)

Vote DAILY until October 27th to help me and my group win the Fan Favorite Vote!

Be sure to share it, too! Share it to your Facebook, your Twitter, however you share, share this with all your friends! You guys have no idea how happy it would make us if we won this!

Check it out and vote daily, guys. And if you really want to watch the video because you don't want to "give a free vote to a bad video" (pssh!, weirdo... (Just kidding, love you guys!)) then you can watch it either in the above link or watch it here!

You can watch it in better quality on the OPPD vote page.

Please, guys! Please please please vote! I love you guys and this would mean the world to my group!



I will be talking about my apparent homecoming plan change and more Wednesday! Would do it tomorrow, but there's band rehearsal, so, that won't work...

Okay, bai!

Review: Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch with Camp Fontanelle!

Do you want to take your family somewhere that's not only family friendly, but Autism (and other disorders) friendly too? Do you like corn mazes, pumpkin patches, petting zoos, or zip lines? Do you want to have fun without blowing your budget and donating to a church camp?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you'd love Camp Fontanelle! They're located just north of Fremont, NE. They have a large Corn MAiZE, and a Laser-Tag Corn Maze, a pumpkin patch, a petting zoo, fire pits, tractor rides, and a brand new 350 foot zip line! Many donations go into having the ability to have camp for students to learn more about God. They're open from now until November 3rd!

I'm super excited to be able to review this! For one thing, Nathan and I both LOVE Corn Mazes! Nathan will always track his way around yelling things like, "We have to find the treasure!" or "The X is over that way, matey!" (He's obviously very in love with pirate stuff.) Plus, Rebekah and I are really adventurous, which means we'd be having fun with the zip line all day if we could!

Computer image of the 2013 Corn MAiZE (Larger maze) and Laser-Tag Maze (Four leaf clover)

From Camp Fontanelle's website:

Come and enjoy God's beauty on 183 acres of wooded hills.

 Camp Fontanelle is a facility of the Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church camping ministries working as partners with Comeca and Camp Norwesca.   The Camping Ministries of the Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church provide unique settings for INTENTIONAL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY where persons may deepen their Christian experience, grow in understanding, and respond in faith joyfully.  Our camps offer opportunities for intentional Christian Community through hosting retreats, reunions, community events, group activities, and summer camps for all ages.  Camp Fontanelle invites you to visit Camp Fontanelle, "A Place To Grow With God In Any Season".

Read more at http://www.campfontanelle.com/

Want a special deal on entry? Of course you do! You can get a coupon for $1 off the maze, pony rides, laser-tag, or the zip line just by going here! All thanks to US Family Guide!

I know I'm going to have lots of fun participating! I hope you join me in the fun!

Thoughtful Thursday: MY FACE! NO!

Thoughtful Thursday

So, today's Thoughtful Thursday came a little late. I know, I'm sorry. I stayed after school today and then I had a ton of homework to do. That's all done (thank God) and now I'm here to post a Thoughtful Thursday. But what to post...

As much as I hate showing my face, I'm going to do it. I mean, if you've watched my Project Greenflick video, you've already seen me...

So without further ado, here is me with some awesome glasses that I recently got. (Thank you, Gillian)

I can hear the horrid and cliche pick-up lines now...

Hey! There I am. Yup, that's me. 16 year old teenager whose life has never been normal. I know it's not much of a Thoughtful Thursday, but I'm trying to keep up! So now you can put my face to my words. (Sadly...)

Short post, get over it. I won't see you guys tomorrow, I won't be home until after our football game, and then I'll be too tired to do anything. So see you guys on Saturday!

Band and Greenflick

So, we had our band competition last night. It was a lot of fun to perform in and so cool to see all the other schools and what they have for this year. I think our band performed amazingly, and it was good to show the other schools in the area what we're made of.

One of the best parts about these band competitions is the fact that you see SO many people that you know from places like middle school and band things you've done around the city. In this specific competition, we were kind of hosting it so I (being drum major lackey) was doing all the work that we had to do while there were no officials there. At one point, I'm getting a extension cord for the bands to use if they have a sound system or something, and a band comes over and asks if they can check the sound. Well, out of the four students there, I knew two of them. So we kind of chatted as they tested everything, and then, while they were headed back to their band and me to my band, I ran into about 7 people within 50 feet. It was awesome!

I'm really excited to see these schools perform more and I'm also excited to surprise them with a little secret we've been working on behind-the-scenes. Shhh... :)


Also, our Project Greenflick video is up! You get to see what I look like. (Yay....) Anyway, it should be up soon and if it's not, check back later. But, voting begins October 14, so make sure you vote daily for our video so we can win this! You want to check out our video? Why, of course! You can check it out here or go to the OPPD Facebook Page, go to Project Greenflick, See Entries, and ours is titled "Saving Energy." Please vote for our video when the voting begins on October 14. We would be ecstatic if we won this competition!



That's all I have for today! Thoughtful Thursday tomorrow, still haven't gotten Adventureland pictures loaded but I should have them soon, be sure to share this blog with your friends, it's really nice to get the views, and I'll see you all tomorrow!

Achievement Unlocked

Oh, hey. It's been a while. How have you been? Good? Good, good. Sigh Me? Oh, I've been... okay. Just been super busy. Feeling crushed, I guess. I mean, I guess I deserve some of it for not working and getting stuff done on time... Yeah.

Anyway.

So, in my busy busy times, some pretty cool things have been happening! First of all, I finally found the time to actually beat Portal 2 (I've had the game for about 6 months but I haven't played it a lot.) Kind of cool. I thought the game was really fun. I've been told that if I actually would have played Portal, I would have enjoyed the storyline a lot more. I really enjoyed the storyline, but, he was probably right. Maybe I'll just play it backwards. I don't know. But I really thought it was fun, and the last few levels were pretty difficult, but I eventually figured it all out.

Another thing. The Omaha Public Power District (the biggest power district in Nebraska that kind of branches throughout the state) is having a video contest called Project Greenflick. First place is $1,000, second is $500, and third is $200. All of the prizes are split in half going toward the school and half to the creators of the video. Of course, I'm entering (with some help). The video is called Saving Energy and it features me, and my two partners, Catherine and Haley. It's a stop motion animation and it took a lot of work to do. One of the perks of the contest is that OPPD is having a "Fan Favorite" vote and the winner of that gets $100. The "Fan Favorite" is where people vote for their favorite video on Facebook. Then winner, as said before, gets $100. So, can I get some help on winning? I know it's super early and voting hasn't started, but you can vote for the videos on OPPD's Facebook Page when voting begins. It begins on October 14 and ends October 27. Vote every day and hopefully we can win! I'll post the video here when I enter it.

Third thing. It's homecoming season! I get to march in a dumb parade with the band and I'm not going to the dance. Next thing.

Speaking of the band, our first competition is coming up and, as it would turn out, we're trying to incorporate a story for the first time. The story has little monologues in between each song and guess who is taking care of them? Me! So now, when we get this year's t-shirt, I can go under as "Frontline Section Leader" and "Sound Technician" or something cool like that. I'm really excited for that.

Finally, I managed to find enough time to post something to update you people. Are you happy now?

Just kidding, I love you guys.

What sucks about all this is I've done so many difficult and cool things, but I'm still swamped with stupid stuff that actually matters.

Well, would you look at that...

Anyway, still working on uploading AdventureLand stuff and I could still use some ideas. Check out how to give me ideas here.

Also, I could use some more eyes on my blog! I'm trying to sign up for review sites where I can actually get paid for the blog, but I need more viewers. So please, spread the word about my blog! Tweet about it, post it on Facebook, do whatever you can!

Thank you guys for sticking with me through all this!

Thoughtful Thursday: America Isn't the Best Anymore

Thoughtful Thursday

There have obviously been some events with the Federal Government and them closing down. I'm not super into politics and I don't really like getting into debates with people about politics, but this video has surfaced and I think it really needs to just be watched and thought about.

This video is from some movie, but I don't know what movie it is. The video really tells more truth about the US in 5 minutes than any official, whether that be working or retired, running or sponsoring, or even dead or alive, would tell you about our country in a lifetime.

Anyway, the video has surfaced recently, I found it on Facebook. I just think everyone needs to watch it and just let it sink in.

There is some foul language in the video, I apologize for that, but there is ultimately nothing I can do about it.

BlogThis: What Should I Talk About?

I haven't posted in a while and there are a few reasons for that.

One, I have been SUPER busy with school and band and things like that and I haven't been able to find time to post.

B, I have been getting home later and going to bed earlier, so I haven't exactly figured out when I can fit posting into my schedule.

And tres, I have kind of been too busy to actually think about what I'm going to post about when I have time to post.



This is where you guys come in. I'm asking everybody to leave a comment in the comment section of this post or the update on Facebook, post on my Facebook page, or tweet me @LiAutisticF and include #BlogThis.

I will pick out my favorite things to blog about and will post about them with the name of the person who gave me the idea.

If this becomes popular, I'll make it a regular thing, maybe every Wednesday.



There is one thing I'm going to post about, eventually. My family and I took a vacation to Adventureland this last weekend, and I want to post about it, but I need to get the photos uploaded, and, like I've said multiple times, I don't have the time.



So, send me ideas, new post coming as soon as I can, and stay in school so you don't fail at counting like I do.

Thoughtful Thursday: Band Sprinklers

So, here's a new thing that I've seen on other blogs in variations so I'm going to try it. Every Thursday, I'll post something that kind of really strikes me and just let you enjoy it.

So without further ado, here's the first Thoughtful Thursday.

Thoughtful Thursday

Being in a band is hard enough, I can tell you that without hesitation. Though I can't say much about the people marching, I know that being in the frontline sucks because of all the moving and rolling and you have to guard those instruments with your life. We have had rehearsals where the frontline would stay in the Band Room to practice because it appeared that it was going to rain and they didn't want to get the instruments wet and filled with water and things like that. That's all hard, but this is just crazy hard. This band was in the middle of a competition performance (Yes, this happened during a COMPETITION) when the sprinklers for the field turned on and started spraying everyone. I have to say, I have some serious respect for these guys. That's fantastic that they didn't move or anything as they got pelted with water and they even finished the song with the sprinkler spraying in their faces. WITHOUT BREAKING ATTENTION!! So some serious respect to these guys. If you want to check out the full video you can go here and watch the video.




Also, new information about more ways to follow me. If you look on the sidebar to your right, there's a place where you can put your email and it will automatically email you whenever I post. I'm also setting up a Facebook page and a Twitter account. Those are still in the making, so there's nothing really on them. If you want to, you can come and like and follow me and wait for the improvement.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ATeeninanAutisticFamily
Twitter - https://twitter.com/LiAutisticF

So do what you will. Thanks for sticking with me so far. I'll see you next time

Lazy Day and Movie Night

We had a long weekend this weekend thanks to a teacher work day. I spent all Friday and Saturday working on homework and trying to get caught up. Today, everybody (but me) was sick and so we didn't go to church or anything, so it was a lazy day. Nathan, Rebekah, and I got out some board games, but we only played Monopoly for about half a game. Tomorrow is part two, and it is on!

I was impressed by Nathan's ability to understand everything that goes on in something so seemingly difficult as Monopoly! And Rebekah did fantastic (even though she never stops buying properties) and is showing more ability than I thought she would have with this game!

After Monopoly was over, we took a break to work on homework, and then we ate dinner. Then, to finish off the night, we had a little Lilo and Stitch marathon! (May not be a marathon, considering we only watched two movies.) Rebekah has only seen the original movie recently.

I managed to catch a picture of the munchkins watching Stitch Has a Glitch.

By far, our favorite scene was the "She's Touching Me Scene." That's always been a laugh.

And, of course, the scene where Stitch dies in Stitch Has a Glitch. Rebekah started sniffling, and suddenly she walked away. We told her to come back and we saw tears flowing down her face. For a new fan of Stitch, that is really hard! I had her come cuddle and I tried convincing her that it was going to be okay, but I couldn't even get the word "okay" out, I was crying so hard! Strangely enough, Nathan was the only one who didn't cry!

After Stitch Has a Glitch, we watched Leroy and Stitch. Thought it was another amazing movie. Haven't seen either of them in so long, it was ridiculous! I'm really glad we got to watch the movies. I hope we get to have more of these marathons, maybe even with the series!

Aloha!

Hey, keep spreading the word! I got an incredible amount of page-views after my first post! I hope I can keep that up. Thanks!

Real Post, Birthday, and Advertising

So I haven't posted anything since I first got this blog started. Now that I'm more into the routine of high school this year, I think I'll start posting.

My birthday was recently, and that was a lot of fun. I got some awesome presents like a letterman jacket and some Whataburger items, and an awesome drawing from my best friend, Gillian. I also got a total of $100 in birthday money!

We went to Olive Garden for my birthday dinner. It was AMAZING! Nathan was even very good at ordering on his own and not freaking out, even though it was a little noisy. I always get so proud of him when he does the simple things like ordering his food.

I look forward to a great year. 15 years down, plenty to go.






Before I go, I'm going to start advertising this blog to my friends and everyone and I ask that you guys start spreading the word. The more people I can reach about living in an Autism family, the better. It's time the world knows what it's really like. Hopefully, I'll also eventually be doing things like contests and everything like my mother does at her blog. So please spread the word and I'll see you on my next post.

The Beginning

Hey there! I'm Andrew. I started this blog to show the life in the eyes of a teen in an Autistic family. If you want to know more about me and our family, click the "About Me" tab above. I'll be posting a lot soon so follow me! I hope you enjoy my blog!