Ethan Phillips                                                                    9/13 /06        
                                              Memorable Events 

	Last summer I got to spend a lot of time with my parents and friends. We did a lot of activities like going swimming, going to the zoo and just hanging out. I also learned a lot of valuable skills like how to be a smart shopper and how to barbecue the right way. Then late in the summer a huge windstorm hit and knocked out all the power in entire city. During that time I really got to spend a lot of time with my parents.  
One of the activities I was able to do was go to a water park with my mom and my friend Keith. We had lots of fun riding on the water slide, floating on inner tubes, and just lounging around in the pool. Later on that summer we also went to the zoo and saw all of the new exhibits and great animals. We got to ride on the train, see a sea lion show, and pet some baby animals. We walked all around the zoo and saw the lion, tigers and bears. Then we stopped at the food court a got some lunch. After that we stopped by the gift shop and then went home. That was one of the best trips to the zoo I had ever been on.   
I also learned many valuable skills. One is how to be a smart responsible shopper. I learned to never let any salesmen mislead me and to shop around for the best deal. The second was my dad taught me how to barbecue. I learned to always watch the meat and keep it moist. I also learned how to do an even paint job. I needed to have a good amount of paint and all the right tools: paint brushes, rollers, and towels to clean up messes. I also started to workout again and eat healthier.  
	During the second to last week of summer on July 19 a huge windstorm knocked out all the power in the city I remember this because it was my mom’s birthday. During this time was able to spent a lot of time with my parents. Almost all of our food had spoiled; we could not drink our water, or see any thing because all of our lights were out. We spent hours looking for food, water, and ice. We also spent a lot of time looking for batteries for flashlights.   Our power was off for six whole days. On the night of July 25 around 10:00 PM our power finally came back on. I like to call this time the 2006 St. Louis Blackout. These are the most memorable experience of the past year. A year I will never forget.