June 14

Heya, me again...



Sky learned to walk! ;D Now we can't keep up with her.



The other day I took a tour of my best friend Kayleigh's huge horse ranch up in the mountains. And it is big. I'd never actually been here but I'd heard about it.



"Wanna see the horses?" she asked.
"Sure!" I squealed.
"They're out back. C'mon, let's go."



This is Kayleigh's unicorn, Shadow Dancer. Magnificent stallion. Too bad I'm scared to even go around him.



This is their Arabian mare, Epiphany. Lovely as well.



And their half-unicorn, half-Arabian filly Sun Dancer. I asked Kayleigh if I could ride Sun Dancer but she told me she was her sister Cammie's horse.



When I got home Max was at the stove, singing a little ditty as he was baking something that smelled awfully good.



My parents and I were eating Max's scrumptious lime pie and talking about my chemistry assignment when I heard a siren outside.



We ran to the door and we found a police car by our house. I peered inside and Sierra was in it. Sigh. What did she do? I wondered.



AJ said more than he'd said the entire time since he's been back. "What did you do, Sierra?" he asked. "Answer me!"
"I didn't do nothing."
"You're a d**n liar! You wouldn't be riding in that car if you didn't do anything."
Sierra then admitted that she'd thrown eggs at this elderly woman's house.
"You don't want to end up like me!" AJ thundered. "Seriously, you don't want to be away from your family, your friends, getting up at 4 in the morning, being barked at, cleaning dung and running 7 miles a day and doing a thousand pushups. You don't want that life. I know you don't want that life."
"I don't care!" she cried.
"Go to your room," mom said finally.



Just then something unbelievable happened. AJ passed out! Fell hard to the floor.



My mom was shocked and the rest of us couldn't say anything. We all ended up cramped in the ambulance with AJ. While holding his hand I uttered a silent prayer to whoever is up there.

Please let AJ be ok.

Love, Sage <3

June 10

Well, I'm still working on my parents regarding horsey camp. Dad says he'll consider it but mom...



I'm not sure what mom is afraid of. Her attitude is like, "You know, Sage, I'm not sure we should do horse camp right now. There's a lot going on."
What does she mean? I hate when mom talks in these cryptic tones. I know there are a lot of cards she's keeping close to the vest. There's a lot we kids aren't privy to.



The art show came and went, and yay, I won! My prize was an autographed painting. I ended up submitting a watercolor of Azzie the Magnificent in his watery grave trick. Man versus the elements I called it. My art teacher loved it. I didn't tell her it was a performing magician.



Even though my sister Sierra is a teen now, she's still a royal pain. Just last week she and I discussed who would sleep on the top bunk. Because I didn't want to get into any issues, I let her sleep there. She tried out for the school soccer team, and of course, she got on. She's the only girl.
Right now she wants to take riding lessons, so I promised I'd take her to the equestrian center to sit in on one of the seminars. Either that or she gets herself in trouble and heads to Fort Starch just like AJ and Sety. I can't let that happen.



I came home after school the other day with Spencer Chase. He just got in town because he got a job working at the Huff stable on the other side of Hidden Springs. We were put together for a school project. The teacher asked me to help him with his biology assignments. I said, okay, I'll help.
Even though I've barely had enough time for the horses and Bitsy, even though I'm up to my neck in schoolwork, even though Skylar and Sawyer's screams and yelps cause none of us to sleep, and with us teaching them how to do everything from talk to walk to put pegs in round holes...I still agreed to tutor Spencer.
You know how you form your lips and you make the nnnn sound and then you form the oh.... I have a big problem with that. I'm a helpful person, I really am. I don't like seeing people in need, and if I can do something about that, I'll try my best.



Of course, Spencer isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. AJ told me that he saw Spencer with his boyfriend at the spa. He was telling me a little more about the camp in Appaloosa. He said he'd gone two summers in a row and really learned about horses from that camp. He told me that he enjoys dressage and show jumping and thinks I should try it.
Lol, he's the second person who thinks I should try dressage, even know I don't know one trot from the other.

Gotta go, getting tired here. Talk more soon,
Love, Sage

June 5

Hello everyone! Guess who's back! It's me, Sage Margaret.
Sorry it's been so long, it gets crazy around here sometimes. Especially with the new baby and prom and graduation. Gonna tell you guys all about it but it's going to take some time for me to do it.
Ready?
Here goes.



First of all, my brother AJ graduated from Fort Starch Academy! Had the whole ceremony and everything. Mom and dad threw this huge party for him. He did look a little nervous through the whole thing ... I wonder why? He still won't talk to me about this stuff. I wish he would.



The second thing is my little sister Sierra had a birthday party... she turned teen.



We invited all her friends, including Camberleigh (who turned teen 2 days before Sierra did) and this other girl, Lily Richards. Lily's mom is from China and her dad is Chinese and Irish I think. Even Uncle Bassy showed up. You know whenever he comes around it's a big stir as everyone is trying to get his autograph. I laugh at it. He's only Uncle Bassy to me and to the rest of us.



Kayleigh and I went into my parents bedroom, where she dropped a bombshell on me while we were watching this horse show on TV.
"I think your brother is hot!" she squealed.
Gulp.
AJ, hot? Seriously?!? He's my brother, not a TV star.



My stomach turned as I watched my best friend turn on the charm in front of my brother.



I felt awkward the rest of the evening as I couldn't be around either of them, lol



And the next day, I popped the question of riding camp in front of my mom.
There's this huge summer riding camp in Appaloosa Plains and I really want to go. But mom is nervous about it.
"You know, Sage," she said, "your father and I have to talk about this. This isn't a decision we take lightly."
I know that it's mom-speak for 'I don't really want you to go.'



The other day I went to this meet and greet at the equestrian club and I saw HIM.
Braden Cooper. ;D Ahhhh.
My heart was pounding about five hundred times a minute as he walked up to me. I knew he was in my algebra class but I didn't think he knew who I was.



"Hey, Sage."
I nearly melted. Braden Cooper is probably THE hottest guy in all of Alpine Community School.



He was telling me about his horse and how he got into riding after his mom died. "It relaxes me," he said.
I totally get that. That's how I feel when I'm on my horse.
Omigod, omigod, he's cute and he rides...I'm in simmy heaven...

Ta-ta for now! xoxo
Love, Sage

Sierra

This is my little sister, Sierra.  She is basically a pain.  But I also think she's headed for big trouble.
She missed the bus. Again. I'm beginning to suspect she is doing it on purpose. I know if I tell mom she will fly off the handle, so I stay silent. For now. If she keeps this up though I will definitely tell.



The other morning she got caught trying to skip school, but it was not because of me. Dad caught her coming out of the house at 9:15 on Thursday morning. I tried to yell at her to come on and catch the bus but apparently she got too busy playing submarine in the bathtub.





She complained to me after getting caught, too. "Look I understand you don't like school. Why don't you like school?"
"It's boring," she said. "We don't do nothing!"
"How about your scouting classes? I know you like those."
"Yah but they're so strict. I don't like rules."
"You know if you keep this up, Sierra, I'm going to have to let mom know about it." That is, if dad doesn't tell her first.
The last thing we want is for her to end up like Sety and AJ. 



Then, the other day, she got into trouble again. This time she apparently let the frogs out of their terrariums in the science lab, and they ended up all over school, even in the cafeteria. She claims that when she was cleaning out the frog cages she forgot to close them, but I don't believe her for a second. Dad doesn't believe her either, which is why she was put in time out.
I'm not sure what mom believes, but so far Sierra is getting away with murder. I know I sound like a brat when I say that. Heck, even before AJ and Imsety went off they got punished way more than Sierra ever has. Even though she gets on my nerves sometimes I don't want to see her go away like the boys did. 




Mom says she, like Sierra, was a tomboy growing up, and that Grandma Plumb HATED it. I think that's why Sierra gets away with what she does, which is A LOT more than AJ and Imsety ever did. She asks the same question to Sierra, and Sierra goes into a huge thing about what the teacher said and how she and Camberleigh took the frogs out of science class.
"You know," mom says, "you really aren't supposed to have done that." 

Beginnings

 

I started writing in my teens, after a few visits to a counselor in Hidden Springs.  He suggested that I keep a journal of my experiences and feelings, to help me work out some of the things I had been going through. 

When I was a young teenager, I had written this letter to my mom, pretty much begging her to spend more time with us.  When she found the letter, she took me to see this counselor in town...

 

I was happy to talk to someone. Speaking to the four walls and the voices in my head wasn't exactly the best thing.
"Sage, how old are you?"
"Just turned teen, sir."
"You're the one who wrote the letter to your mother?"
"Yes, sir, I did."
“Why did you write the letter to your mother?”
"It was the only way I figured I could get through to her. She -- she doesn't listen otherwise."



"You don't think your mother listens to you?"
I took a deep breath. "It's -- it's not just that I don't think she listens. I'm not sure she even cares. I mean, we're strangers in our own house. We hardly know each other."



"Why do you think you and your mother hardly know each other?"
"Because she's working all the time."
“What kind of work does your mother do?”
“She’s – she’s – she’s an adventurer.”
“Adventurer?”
“Travels all over the world. Archaeology, paranormal studies, history lectures.”
“She’s in academia.”
“I guess you can say that.”
"I'm sure your mom cares. She -- she just isn't sure how to show you that she cares. If I get her some classes to help with you and your brothers and sisters, do you think that things will get better?"

 

Next Dr. McGaw called my mom in. Mom, as usual, was defiant. I heard nothing in her voice that made me think that she actually thinks like a parent. At least at first.
“I think I’ll cut right to the chase. I have spoken at length with your daughter – and I have to tell you – she is very – I can’t say she’s angry, because anger is not the emotion I’m looking for here – but she’s quite frustrated with you.”
“I don’t see why. I give that girl – and all my kids – I give them everything.”
“Except yourself.”
“Are you kidding me? I don’t come home from work until three in the morning. The kids are in bed by then.”
“What kind of work do you do, Savannah?”
“I’m a paranormal expert. Right now I go around town collecting spirits and detecting paranormal activity.”



“Tell me this truthfully, Savannah. Has your job interfered with your ability to be a good parent?”
I took a deep breath. “Well, I haven’t spent as much time with my children as I would have liked due to my career, if that’s what you mean.”
“Would you consider yourself a workaholic, Savannah?”
“Uh – I, uh, happen to enjoy my work, if that’s what you’re saying.”
“Do you bring your work home?”
“Sometimes.”
“Your daughter tells me that they don’t see you for days at a time. Sometimes weeks, all because of your job.”
“My career requires me to travel a lot.”
“And you enjoy traveling.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Do you enjoy traveling because it takes you away from your children for long stretches at a time?”
“I like traveling because it allows me to learn things about different cultures.”



I liked that Dr. McGaw actually called her out on these statements, in a way I never could. "You never wanted kids, didn't you?"
"What are you talking about?" she yelled. "Of course I wanted kids."
"Tell me the truth, Savannah. You never wanted children. You wanted to continue to live your free adventurous life and you resent your children for ending that life. You continued to travel after AJ was born and you had to quit traveling after this girl was born --"
Finally I heard some tears from my mother. So that was it. I ended her adventuring life when I was conceived in China.



"I had taken AJ to term and everything was fine," mom began, "I was in the middle of a very important quest in China when I got pregnant with Sage. I had developed a virus there. Both she and I were in danger of dying. I had to go back home to Sunset Valley, have her --" In that one split second, I actually heard her cry. My mom NEVER cries. I mean, dad said she didn't even cry at her wedding or at her brother's funeral. She's my mother and I love her... but I wish she would be more honest.

Meet the Parents

Most evenings, it was Dad who was home eating dinner with us.  He was the one asking us about our day, what we did, etc.  Someone had to.

I mean, Mom sure didn't.  Most of the time, anyway. 



Her idea of family time was ghost stories at 3 am. 

There are times when I'm completely mystified how they got together in the first place.  I mean, they're so different.  Night and day different, to be blunt.

Dad is more laid-back.  He's a cheerful, friendly sort who would give you the shirt off his back.  Mom, though, mom is a tiny woman, but she can give you this look and it's over.  She can intimidate with just a scowl on her face.   

I dug into Mom's old diaries and found that she wrote about her first encounter with Dad.  Apparently, he'd just moved to the Valley and the teacher assigned Mom to be his lab partner so he could catch up with the rest of the class.  Dad says she was a bit of a snob, a spoiled brat, and a know-it-all and that at first, they couldn't stand each other.  He said she was so smart, she used to correct the teachers in class.  The first night, she was brought home by the police, and Dad was standing there laughing!  Mom says Dad still jokes about it today.  They called each other all kinds of crazy names like Cheesebutt and Cheesebreath. 

Mom also wrote about the first time Dad told her he loved her.  She had been missing for days in Egypt, beyond any contact, news reports all worried, and when she returned, Dad realized that not only did he love her, but that he had always loved her.  Mom, who didn't believe him at first, accused my uncle, her brother Noah of trying to set them up.  On their first date, Dad took Mom to his favorite fishing hole down in the Valley.  Mom, being Mom, hiked up the hill in spiked-heel shoes in an attempt to keep up with him. 

My parents are still together, and they are still madly, deeply, wildly in love. 

Moving

When my family first moved to Hidden Springs, I didn't know a soul.  I was pretty lonely.
But three things happened that started to change things.  First, my dad got me this gorgeous Hanoverian stallion called Eager Traveler.  First time I saw him, I fell in love immediately.

 

The second thing that happened was, I got this awesome golden retriever puppy I called Bitsy.  When she first came, she was so small she fit in the palm of my hand, quite literally. 

 

Now, though, she's a great big dog and seems to know when I need her.  

 

The third and last thing that happened was that I met this cool new girl at school. Her name is Kayleigh. Her family raises UNICORNS! I wanted to get to know her better but I wasn't sure how. I'm really shy around people I don't know well.

When my dad moved the whole family to Hidden Springs, he said he wanted a change of scenery after all the bad press my brothers got. Because mom's family is who they are, we've always been followed by paparazzi. It's been a fact of life that we've had to get used to. 

Kayleigh and I became great friends after that.  Because of her, I learned how to ride horses.