The Star Valley Middle School Talent Show

Last Friday, Was the middle school talent show. For my talent, I sang while mom played piano.  We performed "I  am his Daughter" by Stephanie Mabey. I performed in the talent show last year too. I did "Dream" by Priscilla Ahn. I was really nervous but I think I did a good job. In both talent shows I've gotten a standing ovation.

This year for the talent show, Mr. Saunders invited me to be a part of the square dancing group. My partner was Jordan Jeffs. We had a lot of fun. My brother Anthony, did this very same dance when he was in 8th grade. Except, he did the boys part.

So, This is me square dancing, and singing. Enjoy!

Ruby Goes Bye Bye

So, for the past few weeks I have been riding a horse named Sweet Pea instead of riding Ruby. Because, Ruby is too much of a problem for me to ride her. Last time I tried to ride her didn't go very well. We finally caught her after 30 minutes of chasing her around. When we did catch her we saddled up and went into the coral. She moved when I would try to get on, and threw her head when I attempted to stop her. You know, typical Ruby behavior.

When we kinda got Ruby under control we went into the bigger field. ( Of which two of the gates were wide open.) I tried to stop her to wait for Melanie and Dakota. She wouldn't stop. She would just walk side ways. So, naturally I got off her. Then when I tried to get on her she wouldn't stand still. Then, she just took off! So Melanie chased her on Dakota while I ran to close the gates. After I closed the gates I went over to Ruby and Melanie and Dakota. Melanie had Ruby cornered so I went and grabbed her reins. (Which thankfully she did NOT step on and break.) I had both of the reins in my hands. I tried to get on her again but she jumped away. I held on to the reins with both hands so she wouldn't run off again. She jumped and reared back a couple times, and pulled me on my butt. I didn't want her to trample me (Because I was on the ground) so I let go of the reins. Melanie finally got a hold of her and handed the reins to me and told me to walk her. WITH OUT getting on her.

So, needless to say, I am NOT riding Ruby any more. I am now riding Sweat Pea.

This is me and Sweet Pea! She is definitely a very sweet horse!

She is the BEST horse! She is very obedient. She gives me no trouble. She's just a really slow walker, and she's snitch. She'll take any chance she get's to grab some grass. I don't mind. It's MUCH better then being on a problem horse.

It is becoming winter here. (Again) So Melanie and I have been riding bare back. It's really fun riding bare back! And I am learning to trust Sweet Pea more. Last time we rode I went down a small hill on her, and I went thru a small river on her bare back. I love bare back more than saddled. It is more comfortable, and you can absorb the body heat from the horse much better than when you are saddled.

I'm sad I can't ride Ruby any more, but I'm glad I get to ride Sweet Pea.

 This is Harrison and I on Dakota.

(He's dressed like a ninja.)

Sweet Pea and Me.

Honors choir

This last Saturday I went with the eighth grade honors choir class to honors clinic. It was really fun! I got up at a quarter to four, curled my hair, got dressed, ate breakfast, and got on the bus and drove to Mt. View, Wyoming. I saw the sun rise for the first time! (I've never gotten up earlier then six-thirty)
It took two hours. Actually a little more. We were a little late because we hit a deer on the way there! I saw it roll under the bus and to the side of the road. It made me want to cry. When the bus driver slammed on the brakes I had just opened a bag of gold fish so they spilled everywhere! We got a good laugh out of that.  When we got there, we sang for an hour, then took a half hour break, then sang for another hour, then took a fifteen minute break, then we sang for another hour, and then took an hour lunch break. Then, we sang for another hour and a half, then took a fifteen minute break, then sang for another hour, then took an hour break for dinner, and to get dressed for the concert. Then at five- thirty, we warmed up our voices. Then at six we were sent into the auditorium and performed the concert. Here is a picture of me and my mom after the concert.

After the concert I quickly changed my clothes, and hurried to get on the bus. The bus ride home was pretty boring because everyone just slept. I just sat by myself and played games on the phone. 

Here is the first song we performed at the concert. We just learned it that afternoon so we weren't the best at it. We are singing in African. 

Auntie Judy Visits from Guam

This past week my great auntie Judy, came to visit us. She flew into Jackson, then rented a car and drove to our house.  It had been 7 years since we saw her. While she was here we made batiks. Auntie Judy is an artist. She paints all sorts of things. Any way, she showed us how to make one kind of the paintings she does. What you do is melt some wax, then use a pencil and draw on silk paper. Then you trace the pencil with the wax. After you finish with the wax you put your colors on. The wax prevents the paint from going ''out of the lines.'' After you get the colors on then you let it dry. When it's dry you iron the wax off. Then viola! You are finished! Then, with the melted wax you can do all kinds of things. My little siblings and I covered our hands in wax. Porter and Nicole put wax on their noses! Here are some pictures of our batiks and my wax hand.

 This is my boutique.

 All of us. From left to right: Nicole, Auntie Judy, Porter, Me, and Mom.

This is mom's.

 This is Auntie Judie's.

 My wax hand.

Us in the making of our batiks.

Getting over fear

For the past 4 weeks I have been riding horses with my friend Melanie. We ride her and her dad's horses, Ruby and Dakota. Ruby is 6 and Dakota is 14.  Melanie has had many experiences with Dakota that have made her very scared to ride a horse. Since the first time I rode with her she has been making a lot of progress. The first time, She wouldn't even consider trotting. Now, this week she has been loping as much as possible. Last week we went to the arena at the Lincoln county fair grounds. We had tons of fun and that is where I got her to lope. Here are some videos that she recorded of me loping on Dakota.

 The guy on the other horse is Melanie's dad. He is riding Ruby.

I discovered I can lope without my hand on the horn!






 

Lving in Star Valley, Wyoming.

I was born and have been raised right here in Afton, Star Valley. It is a very wonderful place to live! It is a small town but that's just how I like it. I would not like to live in a big city. In Afton, there aren't any Walmarts, or JC penny's, or any big shopping stores like that. We don't have any hotels, or casinos. I like it like that. I also like the fact that we have long winters here. I don't like having hot days. I would rather be on a snow machine in the snow, than on a beach in Hawaii.

I also like living here because it's not hard to find a horse. There are horses everywhere! I have loved horses for as long as I can remember.  I have many friends who have horses. I ride at least once a week. This week I rode a horse named Ruby. While I was riding her she bolted, reared, and bucked.

Wyoming is a very beautiful place. Here in Afton we have the largest intermittent  spring in the world. My dad told me that when he was a little boy, he and his brothers would jump into where the water comes out of the mountain when it would stop and they would get crystals and get back out before it started again. It is very beautiful to hike up to and see.  

We have mountains here. Many of them. They make a bowl around us. I think of it as a wall of protection. Protection from tornadoes, and other storms.

Some of my family on a mountain with the valley behind us. 

Fields of hay bales just as you are coming into Auburn. 

I took this just as we were coming out of Thayne. 

My house during the winter!

Animals aren't JUST animals

To me, Animals aren't JUST animals. They are people. I talk to animals as if I was having a conversation with my sister, or best friend. Especially my dog. 
 To me each animal has its own personality. Just like humans. I have more friends that are animals than I have friends that are human. 

I have had many close relationships with horses. The best friendship I had with a horse was with Bucko. He was a buckskin quarter horse. He was the prettiest horse I have ever seen. We were buddies, but then one day when I was visiting him, he died. He was 4 years old almost 5. 

This is the story of when it happened. 

 There was a thick cloud of fog on the way to Bucko's field. When I got there I couldn't see any of the field so I called him. After I called him three times I saw him coming out of the fog. I gave him the apple I brought. Then I started walking towards the barn at the other end of the field. Like he always does Bucko followed me. When we got to the barn he came in like he normally does. He watched me get his oats very excitedly. (As usual.) I gave him his oats then went and got some brushes. Bucko's coat was way cleaner than normal! But his mane was all tangled so I started brushing that. When I was done brushing Bucko's mane I took it a section at a time and tied it around itself. It looked very pretty. Better than a braided mane. When I was done fixing up Bucko's mane my toes were really cold so I wanted to go home. I started walking down the four-wheeler road. Bucko usually walks me to the gate but he was busy eating spilled oats. So I said,  “Aren't you coming?” He ignored me so I said,  “Well, OK then. I see how it is.” And started walking away. When he saw me walking away he lifted his head up and started following me. To reward him I blew in his nose. (Horses think of this as a favor.) Then, I started walking again. When we reached the gate I gave him some grass that didn't have snow on it. Then, my friend McKenzie saw me and yelled hi. I ran over to her and gave her a big hug. She had her dog with her so she took him back inside so we could talk. While I was waiting for her I climbed onto the fence so Bucko could put his head in my lap. I wrapped my hands around his neck and gave him a hug. He hugged me back. When McKenzie came back out I hopped down from the fence and went over to McKenzie on the other side. Bucko stayed for a little while then started acting weird like he wanted to run but couldn't because someone was holding him back. I didn't worry. I just figured he had a whole lot of energy bottled up. McKenzie and I kept talking for a minute. Then, I saw Bucko start galloping with his tail high up in the air. He looked so pretty and he bolts all the time so I didn't think anything was wrong. But, little did I know he was running to try and get away from pain. After I had stopped oohing at Bucko's gorgeousness,  McKenzie and I kept talking and I saw Bucko calmed down in his corral eating from one of the piles of hay. I kept watching him. After about ten more minutes of talking I saw him tense up. He then fell over still tensed up. As soon as I saw that happen I told McKenzie we need go check on him to make sure he is okay. While we were walking up there Bucko was twitching and turning in a circle. His legs were squared up and still tense. When we got to him he had stopped turning and twitching but he was still tense and his legs were still squared up. I told McKenzie to stay by the gate while I walked up to him. I didn't dare touch him because I was afraid I might put him in shock or something. His lips were pulled back like he was smiling really big. His eyes were wide open, and his ears were back. Not pulled back like he was mad but back like he was listening to something. He looked really scared. I called his name to see if he would respond but he couldn't. I could tell he was listening to my voice but couldn't do anything to respond. I freaked out and told McKenzie we need to go get an adult. We ran back down to a neighbor's house and knocked on the door but no one answered. McKenzie's parents were gone so her sister in-law was there babysitting. She was a horse girl so we went to her. She walked with us back up to Bucko while we explained everything. When we got there Bucko looked mostly the same but His eyes weren't blinking, his ears weren't twitching, he wasn't smiling anymore, and he was no longer tense. He was dead. I immediately started crying. McKenzie cried a little but no one in the world would have cried as much as I did because no one in the world loved that horse as much as I did. No one. 

Rylee Jo Galloway 

 This is my best friend Dog. 

This is a picture of Bucko.

This is a picture of a horse I drew.

A special love for music.

As I have said I have been playing guitar for almost 4 years.  It has been really fun. I have learned many songs. I am learning a song right now in fact. Over the years I have gotten guitars for Christmas, and birthdays, and other occasions. Now I have 1 electric guitar, and 3 acoustics. I'm hoping to keep getting guitars until I move out.

As well as playing guitar, I love singing too. I have been singing as long as I can remember. (Which isn't that long ago. Maybe around the age of four.) My friends often show me songs that I can learn to play and sing on my guitar. For instance, my best friend just told me about a song called
"Make this leap." by the Hunts.




I love music. I listen to it, and sing it, any chance I get. I often annoy my family by singing so much. So, I go sing for someone else. Like, I go to the care center in the hospital and sing for the people who live there.

Music is a wonderful thing. If someone were to tell me I couldn't listen to music anymore, it would crush me. It wouldn't destroy my life, but I wouldn't have anything to look forward to when I have to clean the kitchen, or go to work. Music makes me happy, and I would love to share that happiness with everyone possible.

These are 2 of my guitars.