The Knight’s Helm 16 November 2017
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OCHS
Volume XV Issue II
I Am A Knight
By Haley Huntsinger ntario Christian has always been pegged as a small school, where everybody knows everybody. When walking around campus, it is rare for you to see a face that you have never seen before. Many people would say that the staff and students are a community and a family. But how well do we really know each other? Other than our immediate friend groups, we do not really hear the stories that people have to share about life, love, and faith. The ‘I am a Knight’ article is for that exact purpose. Every month we will focus on a single individual and ask them about their story so that we can better understand who and what makes up our family here at OC. Everyone has a story, they just have to be willing to tell it. A senior on campus this year, Emmarae Arensdorff has quite a story to tell. I got the chance to interview her for this month’s issue, despite her busy schedule, and I must say I was very humbled by her story. From the outside, Emmarae looks like she is very laid back and stress free, but the routine that she goes through each morning to get her brother, Zeke, ready for school is far from easy. Every morning, Emmarae has to get up at 5:45am to start breakfast for Zeke while she gets dressed and brushes her teeth, then she has to get him dressed and fight him about going to school each day. Since Zeke is a very picky eater because of his autism, he gets distracted when trying to eat breakfast so Emmarae has to sit down with him and feed him herself. “Sometimes I won’t wake up at 5:45am exactly and it throws off the whole schedule,” she explained. Emmarae also has to drive him early in the morning to meet his school bus at 6:55am on the dot ever since she got her license last year. “My parents both get up at four o’clock and leave the house by five.” She explained why her parents can’t pitch in on weekday mornings. Emmarae admitted that it takes sacrifice, responsibility, and efficiency to make everything happen in the mornings. “I usually put him before me. So, I won’t do my hair, so he can eat or I won’t turn on the car so that I can get him dressed or he can sleep in longer.” On top of taking care of Zeke in the morning, she also helps out with him in the afternoons, on top of soccer practice, work, chores, and school. Emmarae has to clean the house and make sure Zeke is fed dinner when she gets home from school. Now of course, with Emmarae being a senior this year and wanting to go to college out of state, it raises the question of what is going to happen at home? “Of course I want to stay near my brother, but at the same time I want to live my own life too before I have to give up my life for him when he gets older,” Emmarae stated. Emmarae explained to me that she not only wants to get a better education for her, but also for Zeke. Going to college would mean a better job one day so that she can provide for Zeke. So, even regarding her future she takes into consideration her brother, which shows the love she has for him. “I know that when he gets older, he’s not going to be able to fend for himself because that’s just the way God made it,” she explained. “Me and my brother are so close, he’s basically my son.” Emmarae plans on going to college and getting her career started and then living with Zeke and taking care of him through his adult years. She explained that she wants to make enough money one day to provide for herself, Zeke, and maybe her future family. “He’s my top priority no matter what,” Emmarae stated. When I was finished with my interview, I was in awe of Emmarae’s selfless heart and love towards her brother. Even though she said she just started taking care of Zeke last year, her commitment goes all the way into her adult years. She explained to me that there is not anything she would not do for little Zeke, that even taking a bullet for him would not be too much to ask; so it’s no wonder that she is able to balance her life so well and make sure Zeke is taken care of every day. It is that kind of love and dedication that makes this crazy world turn.
Photo courtesy of Emmarae Arensdorff
Proof Of Power
Testimonies Straight from the OC Campus
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By Emmarae Arensdorff s a very open type of person, Mr. Rivera is willing to tell people everything and anything, from stories about his younger days, to something that happened just last week; we have all come to love his adventures. But Rivera was not always this friendly, outspoken man we all know and love. Through his life, he faced many trials that stretch from drug abuse to anger issues. Having grown up within a Catholic family, Rivera often went to Catechism—a learning introduction to the 7 Sacraments of being a Catholic —but growing up around the era of the 60s, with rock and roll blasting on the radio stations and the drug scene becoming more popular, he also became a rebel, “I remember ditching Catechism when I was like eight,” said Rivera. Living in the 60s, Rivera got first hand experience with those on drugs. With his brother being a heroin addict, Rivera recalls his brother abusing him each time he cried, causing Rivera to show less emotion. This eventually led him to never shed a single tear. Thus began the trials of his childhood. Not only did his family have an influence on his change of outlook on life, but so did his grade schooling. “When I hit 4th grade and got beat up by my teacher, that changed my whole world and outlook on pretty much everything. I couldn’t trust teachers anymore; [my siblings and I] were raised to respect our elders and trust older people and that just changed my whole world. It changed my whole world about God.” As he continued to grow, Rivera continued to rebel; he did all the things that benefited him and made him feel good. He began to drink alcohol and do all kinds of drugs and when he began his own family, he did not stop rebelling. Rivera became a drug dealer and would often keep some on the side for his own personal pleasure, “I didn’t want to give my life to God because that means I would’ve had to change and life was going pretty good. I was making a lot of money. I could give whatever I wanted to the kids, so why would I change,” said Rivera. For a long time Rivera did prosper—he began working in the construction trade, making good money along the way until he hurt his back in the trade. But that did not stop him as he kept working because once he got a taste of the high lifestyle, he would not stop for anything. Eventually, his injury caught up to him, “My back kept getting worse and worse over the 15 years or so. Then one day it went out on me and I had to quit,” Rivera stated. From there things began to fall out of place. He had to keep switching jobs to support his family. Through all this, Rivera was also going through a divorce. During these trials he also met his current wife who had two of her own kids, making his own family even bigger. Rivera’s kids from his last marriage wanted to stay with him—making work a priority to support his family—and when he could not work, because of his back, he began fighting with his “I came to Christ because he knew how to get me” insurance company and then was later hit with identity theft in 2002. With all these events he became a to-Mr. Rivera tally different person, “I was a depressed and angry person to the point that my kids and wife didn’t want to be around me…. [my kids] didn’t even want to come around or bring my grandkids around,” said Rivera. But one event would change his life for the better. Since Rivera was out of work he could only do one thing: tend to his yard. As per his routine, Rivera would go the back and care for his yard. With his routine he had to have his one escape: music. For Rivera music is everything, “ I’ve always been into music and that’s how I like to say God slapped me in the face because I was a stubborn person,” said Rivera. Since he is the youngest of 5 he would always go through similar phases as his siblings, “With [my older sister] going through the 60s music and my brother going through his music and so on and so forth, music was always there. My mom also played the piano all the time.” While going to the back he grabbed his radio and began tuning it to listen to his stations, only to find that one station was functioning properly—the Christian station. At first he was reluctant to listen until he gave up on finding another station. As he continued to listen, the Voice of Truth by Casting Crowns came on. Within the lyrics it talks about the parables of Peter walking on water and David and Goliath—making Rivera recollect to his catechism days. This brought him to search for his Bible and he began reading it daily to find these two stories. In the process of reading, a friend of his lent him Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ”. This movie brought Rivera to tears, as he realized how Christ had died and suffered for him on the cross. Right then and there Rivera came to Christ and turned his life around. As many of you know Mr. Rivera has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and when I had the chance to ask how he has seen God through this tough time he replied with, “I’m not freaked out about it.” As I continued to talk to Rivera I noticed how often he thanked the Lord; he thanked Him for the doctors finding the cancer, for how they caught it, and for every step of his treatment. “Why are you so thankful”, was my final question and his response was honest and relieving. “What I used to do was pretty bad stuff and He never let go. He made a promise, and that’s why I am so thankful. He let me do my thing and he protected me the whole way. He opened my eyes more and more.” Even through all the struggles in his life, Mr. Rivera was able to overcome his trials through the power of Christ, showing others that no matter what the Lord conquers all.
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A Different View...
By Shaun Grady hen we are going through the motions of attending school, turning in our work, going to chapel, and going home to do more work, we sometimes are doing more than that; we are impacting our own teachers that we see every day. When I went to one of our very own, Mrs. McKee, I asked her how students have impacted her life to become a better teacher, person, and mentor to us. “When I think of students that impacted me, a couple come to my mind. Maddie Madewell graduated in ‘14 and she actually came back to do athletic training with me. Me and her have gone through some pretty heavy stuff together. She battles depression and because of my battle with it and how open I was about that, we were able to talk with each other about that. She went into athletic training because of me and there is something really powerful when you impact someone’s profession like that. She also asks more questions than anyone I’ve ever met and her ‘Whys?’ always make me think about why I’m doing something and why I think the way I think,” said Mrs. McKee. She went on by saying, “Jill Henry (‘16) has impacted the way I care for people because Jill just truly cares. She loved everyone she came into contact with. Despite everything, she was always so kind, so that definitely impacted me,” Mrs. McKee went on to say, ”I think a couple of my knucklehead athletes do the same thing though because they just challenge my faith in ways that are interesting because of their questions and it reminds me that no matter what I’m doing with them, I can still make an impact.” I asked her if that’s one of the great things of a teacher and an athletic trainer and she said, “I think so because I get to have these experiences that teachers don’t have and I see students at their lowest points; we have walked through some hard valleys and that vulnerability we share opens up doors. I don’t see the student, I see more aspects of the student which I think helps me have a better understanding of them and then I know how to speak with them. Those conversation we then have are special because they are conversations that other teachers don’t have and I know I haven’t had those conversations with any of my teachers. I have really honest conversations about faith and questioning and I’ve had conversations about everything so I think that vulnerability allows me to see a different side of you guys than by sitting in a desk”. Many of you who are in sports and have dealt with an injury or just emotional moment, have probably had Mrs. McKee there by your side. Sometimes what goes on the field gets to you, all the trials and tough moments are hard to overcome. I asked Mrs. McKee how she deals with that on the field. “I just hope that you don’t feel judged when you are like that and that whoever is going through their tough time will know that it is it going to be okay and I just hope I can project that. Again I think it goes back to the shared vulnerability between us. When I see kids that are out there on the field, they experience this pain and then they experience the highlights and these are all things that bring out this grit within them and just makes them a better athlete and a better person. It’s part of the reason why I love football so much because it definitely does bring that out of you and I just see some phenomenal men and women athletes because of it.” Now, sometimes we don’t think about it because we are just students, but there are teachers that impacted our own teachers when they were students, so I asked Mrs. McKee who impacted her when she was a student. “I had an English teacher named Ms. Van Dyke and she was the most amazing English teacher I’ve ever had. She challenged the way I wrote, the way I thought; she challenged everything in such a phenomenal way that it made me feel like I can handle anything. She just asked questions and just let them sit there and she was comfortable with them not being answered and that was just comforting in a time where I am just trying to find all these answers because I’m a high school girl. I think she really impacted me for sure.” When you are going to class next period, or maybe you’re in class right now, just think that you might be influencing your teacher.
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SARCASTIC TEACHERS
By Luke Lin
Sarcasm is hilarious when it comes to making fun of someone in a joking way and when they know not to take it to heart. The dictionary definition of sarcasm is, “The use of irony to mock or convey contempt.” However, this exact definition does not seem to capture the truth behind sarcasm. Sarcasm can be executed in many different ways. It can be indicated by the tone of voice or the posture of the person giving the sarcastic comment. Sarcasm in a conversation could lighten the mood. For example, in a conversation I had, I said, “It was nice meeting you! I hope you have a good day.” My friend replied back in a sarcastic tone, “It was nice meeting me, wasn’t it.” At first I was confused, but then I looked at him and saw his facial expression and then recognized the tone of his voice. Here at OC there are some teachers who are known for their sarcasm, such as: Ms. Stutz, Señor Slager, Mr. Rivera, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Brocco, Mrs. Peters, and finally Mr. Juarez. I’ve gotten the chance to interview a few of them. Q - Do you think that sarcasm can occasionally be offensive or at the expense of others? -Señor Slager: -“Some people don’t understand sarcasm, so when you hear sarcasm, they take it as an inappropriate joke, and take offense .” -Ms. Stutz- “I believe you have to know your subject well, and you have to know their personality.”
-Mr. Meeks- “ It’s a powerful tool, and it could be very hurtful.” Q - Do you personally think sarcasm is a good thing? -Señor Slager: “ When used appropriately, yes.” -Ms. Stutz: “That’s a tough question, I mean, it can be hurtful. You don’t want to use it to tear someone else down.” -Mr. Meeks. “In general, no.” What makes sarcasm so funny? -Señor Slager: “The only way that sarcasm is funny, if people have a sense of humor and get sarcasm.” -Ms. Stutz: “What makes sarcasm so funny, is witinesses.” -Mr. Meeks “I guess when it is used in context in an unusual way, saying things in a positive way, but sounding negative.” Overheards -Mr. Meeks: “Can I go to the bathroom, I hope you can. It’s more like may I go the bathroom. “ -Ms. Stutz: “ I was born and raised in Compton.” “ You can be mean only if you’re quiet”
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Photo courtesy www.pinterest.com an www.oxforddictionaries.com
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Who’s Holiday isadvertising it Anyw ay By Tate Kiledjian for Christmas. They know that Christmas, in
ctober is over and Halloween has passed, which means it is finally Christmas time. At least that is what seems to be the case. For many people the transition from Halloween to Christmas is almost immediate with no time given to stop and ponder Thanksgiving. Our society is fine with this metaphorical bulldozing of Thanksgiving and it stems from a deep rooted evil that greatly plagues our society today: materialism. Materialism, in terms of business, is an individual’s desire to acquire and obtain more objects and goods that fulfill them for the time being. Many materialists are compelled to own more because they want to denote their wealth, or feign an image that obscures the reality of their situation. The more you have, the more you will want, and the more you want the more unhappy you will be. Society is driven by this desire for more, and business owners know this. Advertisers constantly advertise because they know that no matter how much people have, they will always want more. Entrepreneurs feed off of the fire of materialism because it makes them money. When more people buy their goods, they do two things: They satisfy their need for the acquisition of a product and they ensure that the company’s efforts to exploit materialism is successful. However, businesses don’t just feed off of this idea of materialism, they also feed into it. It is in the best interest of businesses to make sure that our society remains in a constant state of wanting. If nobody thought they wanted more, businesses would go out of business or lose money. Therefore, the smartest thing for businesses to do is to make sure to stoke the flames of materialism and keep the embers burning. Well so what? Who cares? What does all of that even have to do with Thanksgiving? Well, Thanksgiving is a holiday where people come together to celebrate and appreciate all that they have been given. It is a holiday where we give thanks, not gifts. We give appreciation for the things that we already have, not the things that we are receiving. On the first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims and the Indians came together to give thanks for the first successful harvest in the New World. Thanksgiving as it clearly states in the name, is a day of giving thanks. This is why society and businesses bulldoze Thanksgiving by
Photo courtesy of www.s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com
it’s popular but pagan interpretation, is a holiday that celebrates materialism. Everyone begins to ask for the goods they want, while their loved ones scramble to please their needs. This is absolutely huge for businesses because they make bank over Christmas due to it being centered around materialism. To even further the assault on the minimalistic appreciation that Thanksgiving represents, advertisers have created a fake holiday designed to be the epitome of materialism. Imagine that you want something that costs an amount of money that you are unwilling to spend at once. Now imagine there is a day where all of the things that you want that are normally really expensive are suddenly cheaper. Now you have Black Friday, which just so conveniently follows Thanksgiving. Over the last few years even Black Friday has begun to intersect with Thanksgiving. Each year the start of Black Friday keeps moving further and further into the Thursday of Thanksgiving. It’s also always fascinating to see how some people can sit and declare their appreciation for all that the Lord has blessed them with, and then be frantically shopping the next day in order to once again fulfill the want that eats away at us. Thanksgiving should be a day where we praise God for the many blessings that he has given us. We are living, breathing, walking, talking, reading, writing, and loving creatures of God. He did not have to be so kind to us. In the first place we should all be suffering for eternity in Hell. We, the people of this earth who are plagued from conception by sin, have been granted life. We have been granted salvation because God had mercy. He sent his only son to die on the cross for our sins and we should be praising him this Thanksgiving for such a blessing. In the second place, God is not required to be kind to us throughout our life. However, every day I wake up and I’m breathing, I’m thinking, I’m moving, and I’m loving. God is so good to each and every one of us in ways that we cannot and will not understand. But for this Thanksgiving, let’s make sure that we are giving God the proper thanks that he is due. After all, he is the one who saved us, made us, loved us, and watches over us.
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What Is Your Favorite Part about Thanksgiving? By Natalie Salas
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“My uncles making fun of me.” - Sienna Bernal ‘19
“The food.” - Thomas Darney ‘20
“Cooking the turkey.”Richard Hamilton ‘18
“Mash potatoes, Christmas music, and ice cream.” Maddi Voitsberger ‘18
“Going to Vegas to see my grandparents.” Micchi Berry ‘20
“Spending time with my family.” -Nick Colon ‘20
“Seeing family, and being thankful for everything and just feeling blessed.” - William Mouw ‘19
“That you can celebrate not only with your family, but also with friends.” - Mr. Overstreet
“Time to relax and be thankful.- Mr. Brocco
Photo courtesy weclipart.com, clker.com
Totally Thanksgiving
By Blake Demoff
I asked 10 people around our campus, “What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory”, and got some pretty good answers from our Knights.
“Not having to go to school, and being stress-less from school work.” - Hannah Zeeman ‘19
“Traveling to New York with my family every year which is really fun.” - Serenity Contreras ‘20
“Hanging out with family, and doing activities like hide and seek and playing tag with my younger cousins.” - Andrew Shuhaibar ‘19
“Besides spending time with my family maybe defeating Markizan, the number one team in state, during the thanksgiving tournament for basketball.” - Mr. Fischer
“Hanging out at home when my family came over, and some of my relatives came and showed up by surprise.” - Cody Laidlaw ‘20
“Probably watching football, bonding, and hanging out with family when we don’t have any school.” -Jacob Monarrez ‘21
Photo courtesy of www.soueich.info
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By Tyler Ingalls
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Game of the year
By Shaun Grady
The legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild
CUPHEAD
The Legend of Zelda: BOTW may be one of the most brilliant games of all time. The game was introduced to a new audience on a new console the Nintendo Switch. The game follows Link, the protagonist that you play, and from there his fate is up to you. The beautiful, open world mesmerizes a gamer like no other game has done before. It is massive, truly charming, and a brilliant step in game design that no other game has accomplished. The Legend of Zelda: BOTW is a masterpiece for gaming and a hard hitter for Game of the Year. Metacritic Score: 97
Cuphead is a Xbox exclusive that might be the most unique art style of any game you have played. The art of Cuphead is an entirely hand drawn animation that resembles 1930s cartoons, and it is absolutely beautiful. Cuphead isn’t just about the art though, it is also brutally hard. It is a platform that has dozens of boss fights through the game, and these boss fights are downright unfair. The game offers this unforgiving difficulty but still makes you feel that it was your fault for dying because of the tight controls. Cuphead is a absolute gem and cannot be missed for Xbox and PC owners Metacritic Score: 89
Player unknown Battlegrounds/ Fortnite
Now its up to you!
Now I know that this is sort of a hot topic between these two games of not being actual complete games and Fortnite stealing the idea from PUBG, but never the less, lets give this a go. PUBG has taken the gamer world by storm. Anyone on PC has ate this game up and cant stop playing. The community around it is huge and continues to grow each day with 18 million copies sold. Now for the console gamers we don’t have the luxury of playing on PC so instead we have Fortnite Battle Royale for free. The concepts are the same as its a massive PvE map with your only objective to be the last man standing. As its not really doing anything new, both games are managing to take peoples hours away from them Metacritic Score: TBA
As the year comes to a close, more games are still coming to us. For example, I already know you got Battlefront 2 per-ordered or might put in some Super Mario Odyssey hours in. Whatever game you do play: LET US KNOW! I will be sending out a Google forms on what you, the reader, think should be Game of the Year. You can fill the form out and vote for any of the games listed on this article or games that weren’t listed here. The year has been incredible for gaming and there hasn’t been a year like this in awhile. So, I encourage you to keep playing, and keep playing something that makes you happy because at the end of the day if we are sad we can put some hours into our favorite game and still have fun. With that being said, play on
Info courtesy metacritc.com
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Different Backpacks
By Luke Lin
The first backpack with a zipper was created in 1938, when Gerald “Gerry” Cunningham invented it with a zipper. I have asked some students about what has been the most popular backpacks at their schools. They replied: Jansport, Nike, Adidas, and Herschel. What makes backpacks so different from what I have perceived, are how many items that you can carry inside, and what is inside the backpack. Think back, to when you were in elementary school. Backpacks were all about cool designs, who had the most erasers inside their backpack without the teacher noticing you were making a fort with them, and who had the newest toy. Most of the items that I’ve named were always kept inside a backpack. Backpacks don’t always come in the usual shape as a student like myself would normally see it. Senior, Tate Kiledjian, has a backpack that he uses for his laptop mainly, but he also stores his worksheets inside. What makes Tate’s backpack different is that not most people have this, and it has a one strap shoulder. The backpack that I personally have always wanted was the backpack from a T.V. show called Jimmy Neutron. The backpack he had was a jet-pack. This was fascinating to me because, who wouldn’t want a backpack that could fly? Some ideas for backpacks have been manufactured for children, like the Barbie Backpack, and others related to it. Backpacks are an essential part of life. They have been used for what seems like forever, and they are very useful. In conclusion, I believe backpacks will be used for many more years to come for the enjoyment, and usefulness of others.
Barbie Backpack
Backpack-Chair
O’neil Backpack
Herschel Backpack Jansport Backpack Adidas Backpack
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Photo courtesy of www .Jansport.com and www.Herschel.com and www.Adidas.com and www.Amazon.com and www.Iconix.com and www.Target.com and www.Trend-Hunter.com and www.O’Neill.com
Mock Trial: Competitor of the Month
Coach Stutz:
By Mikaela Mouw
Who is the competitor of the month? “Emily Wookcock is the competitor of the month.” How long has she been on the team? “She has been on the team since her Freshman year, so for three years.” How does she contribute to the team? “She is a witness this year, and she is the defendant on trial for murder. She is an excellent witness; she goes up there and gets totally into character. She is able to frustrate the other team by the way she answers questions, which is excellent.” How does she stand out amongst the others? “She leads the team by example, and she also helps the other team members by providing them insight on how to get better with their roles.” How has she improved over the season/years? “She has improved because she just works really hard. She has grown in her ability to get into character, and she is always prepared, and knows her case well.” Photo courtesy Emily Woodcock
DIY Skin Care
By Jessica Leos
As the holiday times are rapidly approaching, the weather is changing as well. One of the coldest and driest seasons is coming up. Although it might be fun to have a weather change, it is important to care for your skin as well in this time. Here is an easy DIY face mask to help you out and keep your skin glowing this holiday season!
The Hydrating Avocado Mask • 1/2 ripe avocado • 1 teaspoon plain organic yogurt • 1 teaspoon of honey • Mash the avocado until it’s soft and then mix in the yogurt and honey until it forms a paste. • Apply to your face and leave on for 10-15 minutes. • Once you have completed these steps, rinse the mask off your face and you are done.
Info/ Photo courtesy of self.com & google.com
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By Tyler Ingalls
Thanksgiving Mad Libs
Overheards
“How does the sun stay in the air?” - Serenity Contreras “It feels like the devil farted in my eye.” - Alexis Baraza “You pathetic, pitiful seniors.” - Mr. Schaap “Okay, what is pushing up against my butt cheeks? Oh, it’s a pen cap.” - Josiah Ayres “You can yeet all you want.” - Mr. Meeks
Staff
Melody Stutz, Advisor Emmarae Arensdorff, Editor in Chief Jessica Leos, Print Editor Meagan Whalen, Digital Editor Blake Demoff Shaun Grady Haley Hutsinger Tyler Ingalls Tate Kiledijan Luke Lin Parry Lin Mikaela Mouw Natalie Salas 12
Photo courtesy hobbylark.com, lovethispic.com, theholidayspot.com