they walk alike, they talk alike...

I love my sister. Her name is Rachel Ellen Phares, and she's going to be 16 this December, which is beyond me. I still remember bringing her home from the hospital (or rather, watching as my parents brought her home) and she was soooo small! Now she's huge! Heh heh, just kidding.

I was talking to her yesterday on the phone (she lives in Wichita, KS.......and I only talk on the phone to people who live out of state, which is why I felt the need to clarify) and she was updating me on the joys and the trials of being a sophomore in high school, and believe you me, they are a-many.

First let me say that when she started school this year, she was telling me about all the extracurricular clubs of which she is a part, and they are as follows:

1. Book Club (awesome! we(e) Phares love to read)
2. Scholars Bowl, which she described as a "tournament of knowledge" (golden!)
3. (I don't know if she's doing it again this year, but she did last year) Jewelry Club....not to be confused with the ever growing Jewry Club.
4. Orchestra (she auditioned and got 2nd chair! In 10th grade!!! Woot woot, Rae!)

I think that's it. Rachel if you're reading this and I've left any out (or misrepresented these clubs), please feel free to leave me a comment with a corrected list. Or you can fax it to me at 214.747.2716. Thank you.

Anybuns...we were talking yesterday and she was telling me about her accomplishments in school, and that she got a progress report at school saying that her class rank as of yet is 1/400-something!!! I told her I was so proud of her and that if she ever fell below number 1, I would still love her, but less with each passing day. Aye Juz Kideeen!! No, I am so proud of her, and she's so bright, but I did tell her that it's okay if she's not #1. Plus, she's really freaking cool. She likes The Faint, Marc Cohn, Beethoven, Queen, Ben Folds and Bobby Mcfaren.......AND she wears converse!

Well, she also told me that she was talking to our dad the other day about school, and she said:

"So, yeah, I think I may have accidentally joined a cult."

Whaa?! When I asked her to explain, she said that in her book club, they haven't read any books yet (since august) and all they do is eat lunch and make voodoo dolls for people to burn at the football games.

Holy crap! We talked about it - after I finished laughing hysterically at the absurdity of this group that has so cleverly disguised itself as a group of people merely intersted in literature, when really....really all they want to do is kill people (ha!) - and when I asked her if she had to stay in this group, she replied that she wasn't planning on going back. That's crazy! Even as I type about it now it's making me laugh. How weird.

Here are a few pictures of her:

Rachel, in the lab solving the mystery of "the polymer:"















Rachel competing for the scholars bowl:















Rachel accepting her scholars bowl championship award:










Come on.....you'd be proud, too.