Old and New

With no book to write about, I decided to turn to something that's been on my mind. I've been looking at Mom's screen saver, waiting for it to get to the latest pictures. My favorite photos are the old photos. When I was younger, we could go to Disneyland. Old memories of my first time on Splash Mountain come back to me. And newer ones when we went to the condo at the San Diego Beach, with the bay a short walk down the street. That's why I have a scrapbook. I'll always remember when I met old friends, or how we celebrated last year's Christmas. Old and new, our memories are dear.

The Thirty-Nine Clues: Vesper's Rising

This is a really good book. Here is the general plot: The Vespers have already come out. They're ready to fight. Nobody knows who they are, and if they can be handled. Amy and Dan aren't ready. They can't have expected the clue hunt. They can't have expected it to change them. And now, with their normal life back, they're not ready.  Now Amy and Dan are expected to keep something safe. A Madrigal treasure.... I really liked this book.

100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards is a really good book. It's very mysterious. I also like the fact that the cupboards are magic. I like magic. I'm going to get the second book and the third book. I think they sound interesting. But I don't exactly understand where the witch, Nimiane, comes in. She's from Endor, but what does she have to do with Uncle Frank and Dotty? I'm sure she'll be explained in the next book. So until next time!

American Girl Story Contest

Based on the new girls created, this contest is definitely a fun one. I have already started my story. It has to be submitted by September 9. It has to be between 500 and 1000 words. I am nearly done. I could get it finished today! I might just do that. The prize is one of 20 doll collections. I am so excited. I can't wait to see if I win anything. If I don't, who cares. I just won the Kay Snow and eventually I'll get my very first book published. And that's the way I like it. So, till tomorrow...

Kay Snow Competition Awarding

I'm feeling pretty good. I just won third place in the Kay Snow Competition. I loved the fact that I got a cash prize (despite the fact it's only ten dollars). I have a certificate with my name on it and the title of my story. I am so excited! Half of it will go into my treasure chest (made to keep the money for my graduating year) and the other half will go to my Christmas shopping money. And, of course, one dollar is an offering for the Lord. He blessed me more than I could have ever imagined this year. Winning that competition (1-5 grade, when hundreds of people were entering) was a miracle. So I'll buzz by tomorrow. Bye!

Konos: Determination

Determination! I will be determined to make my dream, to be the youngest novelist ever, come true. Competing athletes in the Olympics have determination. People with handicaps are determined to live a good life despite their problems. Builders working are determined to finish.

In our Konos unit study, we are talking about determination. While studying the Olympics, we did our own mini games. I sort of won the crawling race (instead of a foot race). For discus, we threw a paper plate. I won again. Then for javelin we did a toothpick. I won a third time. In wrestling we did arm wrestling. I did not put my heart into it, and eventually gave up trying (I really didn't want to do arm wrestling) and Noel won; she is pretty strong. Of course it was the younger children against each other and I against Noel. For handicaps we watched a video on deaf people and watched a cartoon without any sound. "It was so odd," Lina said. When studying blindness we had to close our eyes and Mom described something and we had to guess what it was. When we learned about Joni Erik Sentada we had to paint with our mouth! It was fun and hard. It taught us to appreciate all the abilities most of us take for granted. Today we learned about different bridges. Wow! Some are amazing! Well, I'll write tomorrow...

Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story

Sootface is a good book. It is one of the many versions of Cinderella I've read. This retelling is suspenseful. I wonder every time I read it what the young "prince" (or magical cheiftan) looks like. In this version a test is given to determine who will marry the prince, it was interesting. Each young girl was sent to speak with the "prince's" sister and asked an important question. If she answered correctly, she would be wed. I loved the fact that the "prince" had a bow made of rainbow and it was strung with white fire. "Like the Milky Way, the Path of Souls," Sootface said. In the end Sootface and the "prince" all live happily ever after. But what version doesn't she? I think this was one of the most interesting versions of Cinderella.

Into the Gauntlet

Into the Gauntlet is the last of The 39 Clues series. I've read it before, but I really like it and decided to get it again. Now I currently am trying to join on the website. It's ridiculous. We can't get on to Yahoo. com to read the email so I can officially join, so I am really annoyed. Frankly, I don't know what you can do on there once you join, so I'm not too ecstatic about the whole thing. But, hey! Reading the book was fun, so at least I get that out of it. So, write tomorrow!

Summer Stuff

The summer has been very interesting. Packed with swimming days, field trips, and visits from friends; we have had the time of our life. We watched some new movies this summer and did the Summer Reading Program. At the beginning of summer we went and watched Cars 2. Joseph was lucky, he got a Cars ™ toy (he's the youngest, mmpphh)! We said hello and goodbye when our Tia Nene came for a week and left. She left before my birthday on July 10th. Then it was my birthday....

Now we have a new tradition. For each of the girls' tenth birthdays, we will go to American Girl Place. Woohoo! On my birthday, Pop and Mom decorated. I usually make decorations for everyone's birthdays, and for my birthday they put up streamers (pink and white ones), white stars (with a pinkish sheen and short streamers hanging from the bottom), pink and silver balloons all over the floor, and the rock things (Mom says they are used to hold down balloons) wrapped up in paper.  It was soooo amazing. Mom and Pop gave an awesome present: they gave me a Kit Kittredge outfit. I got two shirts and a card from Yaya & Yayo. Tia gave me a hand-made card. Nana gave me a book and a Ruthie ™ doll. Also, I thought we were going to eat at a Chinese restaurant. Pop and Mom had another surprise for me: we ate at the American Girl cafe`! I never had eaten there before! I got my own magazine with my photo on it and I showed Nana all the historical American Girls. I read books and then we rode the trolley and explored the Farmer's Market.

After that week, Pop's B-Day came. I decorated, we gave him presents, were lazy and watched movies all day. The rest of the summer we swam, played, did workbooks, and basically all had fun. Plus, last week we went to a drive-in! We had airheads, popcorn, granola bars, and an occasional sip or two of Pop's Mocha Frappuccino. Pop made a picture of what the drive-in looked like. I enjoyed this summer!