Text Box: Lily’s Pad! Text Box: Lily’s Pad! Text Box: Welcome to Lily’s Pad! Have fun reading my work!

Text Box:                  Sunburns       The bright beam of the sun pierced the darkness in my room, waking me up. I yawned, stretched, and glanced over at the small digital clock on my dresser. “9:15” it read in bright red numbers. I didn’t bother changing out of my pajamas to go into the kitchen. Smiling, Mom gave me a hug and said, “Good morning.” My whole family and my cousin Amanda were in the kitchen, either eating or talking. We all wished each other a good morning and Dad pushed a plate towards me which held two hot, fresh pancakes. “These are for you,” he explained happily. “Thanks!” I replied. I took a seat next to Amanda and we chatted about our plans for the day.            We were at Edisto Beach, South Carolina, in a beautiful beach house that we were renting that was right on the water. We had invited Amanda, my 14 year old cousin, to join us in the fun.            After I finished breakfast, I raced back into the turquoise bedroom that Amanda and I were sharing. I got dressed, making sure that I was wearing my polka-dot swimsuit under my t-shirt and shorts just in case we went swimming in the ocean, which was highly possible. Just as I opened the door to walk into the hallway, Amanda burst in, saying that I needed to get my bathing suit on so that we could go swimming. Laughing, I skipped out onto the front porch where Mom was slathering sunscreen on my sister’s back. Once I got my share of sun block, I ran around the house trying to find my towel, flip flops, and boogie board. Finally, we were ready to hit the ocean.            It was incredibly fun to  attempt to ride the small waves on my boogie board, and my sister and I splashed in the waves for a long time.            We stayed in the water for countless hours, until we were so hungry that our stomachs were growling like starved lions and we had to go inside the house. Pizza and soda tasted good in our empty bellies, and though we wanted to go back outside, we decided to relax. I was just getting into my pajamas when I saw my back in the mirror.            It was red. Completely red. You could see where the straps of my bathing suit ran across my back. I cried out in pain and Amanda came running. “What’s– Oh my goodness look at your back!” I dived onto the bed, showing my burn.            I don’t really mind sunburns, because a sunburn isn't really a burn. A burn is that hot, swollen blister that appears on your finger when you accidentally lean in too close to the campfire at camp and one of the flames licks your finger. No, a sunburn isn’t like that. You get a sunburn when you’re splashing in the pool with your friends and the sun comes an inch away and kisses your bare back.            Amanda had already started to pour some wet blue gunk on my back to relieve the pain, and I was grateful for her attention.            After a long time of trying to get comfortable, Mom came into the room and said that I could have some pie but I had to eat it in the kitchen. Slowly, I put a baggy T-shirt on and trudged into the kitchen.            As I was enjoying the homemade apple pie, I forgot about my back and the sunburn. I was just so happy to be with the family that I pretended that everything was great, which it was.            I didn’t hurt again until the lights in my bedroom were turned off and my normally soft sheets were scratching into my sunburn and I just couldn’t get comfortable. After about an hour of grumbling to myself, I decided to look on the bright side– I had had a great time outside! Thinking about my adventures of the day got me to sleep quickly. I slept soundly and peacefully that night.            Even though I don’t like sunburns, I don’t mind if I get one. Yes, it hurts. Yes, it looks bad. Yes, it’s hard to sleep on. But the next time that your face is bright red and peeling, remember that you’re just showing the world that you had a fantastic time at the beach and that you love summer.           

Text Box:                   Green   Green is the soft, wet grass on an April morning that grows longer everyday   Green is that favorite shirt with the daisy design, hanging in your closet, it’s silky cloth a rose petal on the tips of your fingers   Green is that ripe, squishy avocado sitting on the counter, waiting to be eaten   Green is that unripe banana that was picked too soon, a bud waiting to blossom   Green is that feeling that you get when you want something so bad, but someone else gets it   Green is that excitement that you get when school’s out, the bright, citrus taste of a lime   Green is a color of many shades  

Text Box:    Young Writers' Camp  

Text Box:           Water   Water is lovely Splish, Splash, it rolls around me Refreshingly sweet                    Fall Great days of the year The leaves fall off their branches A wonderful time  

Text Box:       Poems!

Text Box:                      Happy                   Happy              Lovely, fun      Nice, beautiful, cool Super, bright, great, sweet      Pretty, electric, love            Awesome, glad                  Smile