Oliver Blake McDaniel is my name.  I am ten years old.  I live with my family in Medford, Oregon.  I've lived here all my life; I was born here.

I am in the fifth grade at Parkhurst Elementary School.  I'm one of the shortest kids there: I don't look like I should be out of second grade.  Let's face it: I'm a regular pee-wee, a shrimp!

I hate being so short; people can be rude or mean to me, and sometimes (okay, more than once!), they pick on me.  I find it to be a drag!

I do have friends, plenty of them, but I sure hate dealing with the bullies day in and day out!

I have two sisters (Caysie and Caysa; they're twins; they're six) and two brothers (Cayden and Corey, who are four years and six months in age).  I get along with Cayden okay, but the girls and the baby can drive me crazy at times.  The girls are always in my things, and Corey cries too much.  He has colic; he cries just about every night, and his cries hurt my ears.  I'm ready to stuff a dirty gym sock into his mouth, just so I can quiet him and we can all have some sleep pr piece of mind!!

When I am not dealing with my family or at school, I like to play soccer, go hiking with my dad on the weekends (Saturdays are "guy-time" while mom takes care of the sprouts at home), play football, baseball, or basketball with my friends, draw, read/write stories, collect manga comic books (manga is a type of comic from Japan, and it's really, really popular right now all over the world), and go to church.  When I grow up, I want to be a graphic artist who specializes in manga art or join the United States Marines.

I have an uncle who was in the Marines; I've seen pictures of him in his uniform, and he looks sharp!  I think Marines are cool!!  I do want to be a graphic artist more; I'd like to put my drawing muscles to work and make some serious dough!

I like to watch the manga comic programs on television (I also watch the sports channels or CSI).  Other than that, I really don't watch television as I'm too busy playing outside or trying to avoid my sisters and the baby!  I don't want to get stuck babysitting when I could be playing outside or being with my friends!  (I usually do.  It's a pain in my rear!)

Well, mom wants me to see if she can have me entertain Corey while she's doing the laundry, so I'd better go.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Oliver McDaniel saying so long and God bless!

~Oliver.

We had some storms recently; here's a picture of the lightning that I took during one of the storms.  I also love to take pictures.  That's another one of my interests/hobbies!