The sun and the moon

The Sun and the Moon
By Amelia Staats

"Fast asleep" the moon calls out
Go to bed don't yell or shout
Run So fast inside your dreams
If you don't you'll surely scream

Sleep until the mourning rays
When your in a spinning daze
"Come get up" cries out the sun
The day had just yet begun

You've been sleeping all the night
Wake up I say! It's nice and bright
Feel the breeze it's all awake
Take a look at the sparkeling lake

Dawn has come look at the stars
Watch the planets, up so far
"Go to sleep" calls out the moon
The sun will wake you up so soon.

Sunny Spring Days

Sunny Spring Days
by Amelia Staats

Sunshine streams through my window
Lightly shines on my clothes
Sparkling rays that dance on my wall
Feeling the heat on my toes

Miraculous, splendid sensation
As warm as a scorching fire
Like swirling in a sunny frenzy
Or rollin in a golden spiral

Delightfully, staring at the sunlit lake
And holding the sun in my hand
Brightly the sunlight curls around
Awakening our beautiful land.

Amsterdam....The Venice of the north

My dream city has always been Venice. I loved the idea of the canals and the city on water, I thought it was the most magnificent picture in the world. I haven't been there but now I think I have a pretty good idea of what it would be like. Amsterdam, Holland seems to have many similarities. We arrived in Amsterdam 11:00 in the mourning we were all so drowsy as we went through customs and got on the bus with the rest of the United employees. The bus went to a hotel where we wondered down the street until we convinced my dad to go back and ask for directions to our apartment. It took about 20 minutes until we got to the apartment. We saw all the amazing canals, house boats, and gorgeous buildings. We walked over a bunch of bridges until we came to a small street where bikes were everywhere! There wasn't a clear spot on any of the bike racks or buildings or railings. We went in and the owner of the apartment, Vladimir (also the name of my Halloween bouncy ball) gave us a tour of the small house. There was the living room where Isabel and I would be sleeping, there was my mom and dads' bedroom, a kitchen (which my mom loved!"), and an outdoor patio that was enclosed by the other 3 walls of the apartment building. We were so exhausted but my mom and dad insisted on us going for a walk to stay awake and get used to the time so we walked around for about 2 hours. While we were out we decided to find the famous pancake bakery. There we had the most amazing pancakes in the world!!! Isabel had an animal one, which is pretty much a bunch of candy and a stuffed animal, my mom and I split a Thai pancake. It was so good it had chicken, vegetables on a crepe like pancake. Finally, we headed back pretty much right when we sat down we all fell asleep, we slept for an hour then we got up and my mom, dad, and I had tea. Isabel was still asleep when we decided to go out walking again so we woke her up, then headed out. (Let me just say Isabel was not the happiest person in the world.) On top of trudging around half asleep, it started to rain. I actually enjoyed it, we searched for the 9 streets where we ate burgers at a restaurant nearby. We walked down some streets and saw a bunch of cute little shops including a toothbrush shop. It was so funny it even had a toothbrush Farris wheel with toothbrushes in the seats. It reminded us of Gabe who brushes his teeth like crazy. When we headed back I wrote in my journal, then went to sleep. The next mourning we woke up fairly early because it was not only our second day, but our last. We first walked to the Anne Frank House. It was the most sorrowful moment in our trip, we saw Anne Franks' room and her mom and dads, people that new her talking about her. I had a lot to think about in that museum. After we left we headed to the flower market, it was gorgeous we saw all kinds of flowers, and souvenir shops (I'm sure they make a lot of money off tourists). Finally, we just walked around until we went back to the apartment. Isabel and I found our souvenirs at a local shop, Isabel got a singing bird and I got a paper mushroom to hang on the ceiling. It took a while to get home, but when we did we were both sad and happy, but mostly sad. I think I can say I had a wonderful time in the Venice of the north!

Beginning another year of homeschooling

Finally, another school year! I hate to disagree with my peers, but I must admit I am beyond ecstatic that school has begun. For the first few weeks summer vacation is fun, Lake Hudson, trips downtown, sleepovers, seeing friends again. Then it turns to just plain, nothing to do. Technically, I don't start school until my things get here, but my time is mostly filled with reading books, then writing reports about the books, and drawing/painting. Right now my mom is in New Hampshire visiting my Aunt Tricia, she comes back tomarrow. While she was gone, and my dad was at work, my grandparents stayed with us. The first night Isabel and I kind of had a sleepover in the basement. My dad was sleeping in my bed (he was leaving for work in the mourning) so we slept on the basement couches. We watched "Blades of glory" then "Gilmore Girls, then we recited Bruce Lansky poetry to each other while we acted it out and wrote in our journals. Finally, we went to bed. The next mourning we slept in late, then had waffles. It was hot outside so I read on the trampoline, then went and read in my room. That night Isabel and I played night tennis. By night tennis I mean, the lights were out so I stuck my racket out and guessed where the ball was, it was fun though. When we got home we went to bed at maybe 10:00 after having taco scoops, which are everything you would find in a taco on a tortilla chip in cup form. The next day was filled with reading again, as well as New Albany tennis with Charlotte and John, recently they have not gotten along! Charlotte then had a private lesson so John and I just hit for a little while. When I got home I had Chinese food from early that day. That night I finished my book "Bronx Masquerade" the next day we went to the library and I got a new book called "Angel Isle". Now, I'm exhausted...Goodnight to all!

Final Farewell

In 2 days now we will be heading back to the United States. I'm both happy and sad. Sad to leave the beautiful, serene, islands of New Zealand, but also happy to see friends, family again. (also my bed) The think that I will miss most about New Zealand is the scenic views over the estuary of mountains and grassy hills. My favorite memory was the time our family spent at Rabbit island, sand castles, cartwheels, tepees, and daring my sister to lay down in the freezing water. Also hikes at Abel Tasman, farewell spit, and many others. On one of our last days we went to Rabbit island and my sister and I built faerie houses, another day we went swimming, or just drew pictures in the wet sand. Today we stayed at the house most of the day, built a fire, and played outside, then in the afternoon we went to Rabbit island and played in the sand. Overall, New Zealand has been one of the best experiences of my life and I think it has brought our family a whole lot closer.  

Trip to Golden bay

The following days we took an overnight trip to Golden bay about two hours from where we are staying in Mapua. We started off at about 11:00 and started driving on the windy roads up the mountainside. It was a spectacular view of blue mountains, treetops, and the wide valley below. We drove until we got to a little town called Takaka. We ate at a cafe, than we walked around the town for a little while before continuing. Soon we came to Golden bay where we stopped at a little shop for chocolate, after that we drove around the town a bit. It was getting late so we found a campground that rented cabins so we got a seaside cabin for the night. (later found out BIG MISTAKE!) We got in the cabin and it was awful. The floor was cement with chipped paint and there were spots of mold on the wall. There were two sets of bunk beds, with no blankets and a big bed. Since my dad had been snoring he and my sister slept together in the big bed. I got top bunk and my mom and brother took the other two bottom bunks. Might I add that it was FREEZING. Just to warm it up we had to turn on the stove burners and a tiny little heater which we all gathered around. The gas station store was closed so we walked over to a little cafe across the street. It was just what we needed, it had a warm fire place and sofas with books. We got hot chocolate and after we ate, Gabe played with a cat that was sitting on a chair and I read about the titanic. After we left we started walking back to the cabin. My dad, Isabel, and Gabe went for a walk on the beach while my mom and I read our books. When we woke up Isabel and I took a walk on the beach and than went to go get snacks at the gas station. When we came back we found that my mom caught a cockroach under a cup. (she left it where the owners could see it) I also left them a note, which mom made me throw away, but I put it face up in the trash. ha ha ha. After we left we headed up the road to a cafe to get breakfast. Then we went up to a trail where we would hike to a lighthouse. It was a beautiful trail with grassy hills and great scenery, the lighthouse was a bit of a disappointment considering it was no more then a piece of medal attached to a light bulb. The next hike we went on was one of the best hikes ever! It went into different pens like for sheep, and cows but then it came to a beach, the beach was amazing there were pretty big sand dunes (not as big as the ones in Colorado) and a little pool with baby seals playing in it. they were adorable like little puppies with fins. They would dive and jump and play with each other and they would waddle across the sand to get to a little cove. A few times they came up and touched you. one also chased Gabe because he got in the way when it was trying to get to the cove. They would inch there way up to you and sniff you toes. They were very cute. once we left Isabel, Gabe, and I went to the top of a sand dune and started jumping off them. We didn't get very far but we had competitions to see who could jump the farthest. Finally, we had to go we started hiking back in our bare feet since some of the path was sand. Once we got back we started to drive back to Mapua. On the way back we stopped at a little pathway which led to different cave like paths, my brother and I climbed up into some. It lead to a big 30ft rock which Gabe, my dad, and I rock climbed up. it was really tough getting down mostly because Gabe kept trying to get us to go down a steep edge onto a post, soon my dad found a different way. on the way back we made our last hiking stop we went up a hill to see the Abel Tasman memorial. It was not very impressive except for the spectacular scenery of the ocean, mountains, and a sunset. overall it was worth it. Our last stop was at a restaurant on the way back where we got food and ice cream. Then we headed back to our cottage in the orchard, there we made a fire and went to bed. 

Swing bridge, pancake rock on the drive to Greymouth

Two days ago we left for Greymouth. Near Greymouth are the glow worm caves, and the glacier. As we drove we looked at the scenery on the windy road, as we twisted and turned around the mountains we considered the thought that maybe the builders tried to make the roads as sickly as possible. Finally, we pulled over into a parking lot and we visited the largest swing bridge in New Zealand. The first few steps across it were Ok, but then we got to the center then my dad started swinging it, and then there was the fact that we were walking across over an 100 ft. bridge. once we got to the other side we went on a short hike and then Gabe, Isabel, and I went on a zip line beside the swing bridge. It wasn't actually that scary, more slow and scenic. Once we left we kept driving for a while until we came to the glow worm caves. The last tour had already left for the day so we just decided to eat there and Gabe and I played pool. He beat me. (just like chess) After we left we went to a bed and breakfast that we were staying at, it was in the middle of a farm. It had sheep, horses, cows and the owners had a pet pig, his name was piggy. He was kind of cute, I felt bad for him though because he had no company. When ever he hear someone coming he would start snorting and become very ecstatic. After we brought our stuff inside my brother and I played tennis at the lit tennis court. Pretty soon I got to tired and went to bed. The next day we woke up and we ate at the cottage and then started to drive to the glacier. Once we got to the glacier it took us a while to find out if we wanted to take a helicopter up or to the heli hike, which was where we went up in a helicopter and hiked down. It was pretty expensive to do the heli hike so we were going to go up in the helicopter, walk around on the top of the glacier then ride the helicopter back down. Finally, after waiting a while we got up in the helicopter put on headphones because of the noise and than we were off. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen, there was snow and ice everywhere yet it was still kind of warm and below there was an ice river slowly moving about 4 meters per day. At  the top we walked around on the solid ice that was a lot layers thick. After we got back down we ate lunch and than we went on a hike to where you could see the bottom of the glacier. My sister and I made a giant S in the sand out of rocks and than while Gabe and dad went to get a closer look at the glacier, Isabel, mom, and I went back to wit in the car because it was to cold. Once we left we went by a store to get flashlights  because on the way home, we were going to see glow worms. We got to the path and it was pitch dark. We turned on the flashlights but kept them down so we wouldn't disturb the worms. Finally we got to the end of the path and  we turned off the flashlights. There were a bunch of little dots that looked lie stars. They were so pretty and they just hung there all peaceful. After we got back to the cottage we all went to bed. 

Sunday market, jester house and tennis at last

Today we got up pretty early to go to the Sunday market in the town of Motueka. We arrived there and we saw tents up in the town, we finally found a place to park and then went to look around. My sister and I went off on our own to look at jewelry, clothes, and other stuff. We found bracelets, a necklace and my sister and I both got my mom a gift. My sister got her a green necklace (with a ton of bribing it will soon be mine!) and I got her green earrings to match it. We also bought some licorice that was in tiny cubes and a lot of different flavors like raspberry and kiwi. We also got soap that was shaped and designed to look like cake, cupcakes and fudge. If you just picked one up you would try to eat it, trust me. (I didn't try to eat it) Once we left the sunday market we went by the Jester house which has tame eel, and a live sized chess board. When we got in we got to feed the eel bits of raw meat. The eel literally got out of the water to try to eat the meat. They were kinda cute. We also ate at the cafe there and my brother and I played life size chess. He beat me. It was kind of a work out carrying the big wooden pieces over the board. Once we left we headed back to the house to put away the food that we got at the market then my brother, sister, dad and I went to play tennis. My brother and I started to hit on a blacktop court and my sister and dad went and played on the playground. My brother and I hit for a long time then I went to get water at a nearby store, then we started hitting again. Not to long after to men started hitting on the court over and they asked Gabe and I if we wanted to play doubles with them. It sounded like a good idea so we started to warm up with them and we took some serves. We lost the first set 6,0 and then in the second set we started to make a come back we were up 3,0. We ended up losing 6,0 3,6. We played pretty good though. After we left as we were driving home we saw the most beautiful, glorious sunset with pink, orange, and yellow spread across the sky. We ate dinner and built a fire before going to bed. 

Hiking, swimming, and fish and chips!

Today was both planned and unplanned. It started out with us driving on the windy road to the place my brother, dad, Isabel, and I went the other day to try to hike, but it rained. This time, unlike last time my mom came this time the road wasn't as windy because we went a different way so no side stops. When we got there we started walking on the path, there was a lot of mud where the tide came in. In the mud lots of people had put rocks that said in giant letters, so and so was here. We kept walking until we got to the forest, the trees were pretty dense and we started walking by the ocean. We stopped at the sights along the way, and also a really nice beach with really soft yellow sand, and the best part of it was it was deserted. My brother immediately decided he wanted to go swimming, i immediately decided I did not. We still had a long hike ahead of us and I didn't want to go walking on the trail sopping wet, and the water was crazy cold. My brother got in and then was soon out, he said it was freezing and he wouldn't go in again unless either me or my sister got in. I went over to explore the rocks that went out into the ocean a ways. We explored some of the tide pools by the rocks and my dad and I discovered a little cave like crevice in the rock and a lot of snails. My mom and dad started to walk down the beach and I started to look for shells in the sand. Gabe, kept begging us to go in the water, I continued to say no! Then out of nowhere, my brother said and I quote "chicken, why don't you get in and become a man". That was it I flipped off my shoes and sprinted towards the water, what the heck was I doing, dooming myself to a whole lot of COLD! Oops, to late I was up to my waist in water. My shorts were soaked and half of my shirt but guess what Gabe kept yelling. "Chicken, chicken I'll only go in if you go under water. I thought about it, I was already cold now, freezing, or just cold. OK, one, two, three and I went under. It was a mixture of two thoughts, oh crap it's cold and wow long time since I've been in the ocean. But then I started to get used to the water. My brother ran in and under water then we played Marco polo and we raced in the water and ran as far out as we could without tripping in the water. I can honestly say that this was one of the happiest moments with my brother. After my sister finally got persuaded to come in but she was wearing long black cotton pants so she took her pants off and went in her underwear, ha ha ha. But she only went in for two seconds before my brother splashed her and she ran out. Then after five minutes she ran in again but then my brother splashed her and she ran out again never to return. Last my brother, sister, dad, mom, and I played spiders and flies. If my brother and I made it past the spiders we had to dive in the water and go under. After we started to get bit by sand flies so we started to leave. I was sandy and wet so I put my socks on over my disgusting sandy, dirty feet and then put my shoes on. My brother let me use his sweatshirt so I wasn't that cold. Once we got back to the car we went into the cafe and my mom, dad, and brother got coffee and my sister and I got hot chocolate. Then we went to get fish and chips. (chips=fries). We got home and ate tons of fish and chips and then my sister blogged and listened to Grease songs. Goodnight!

Making friends, aquarium, and Rabbit Island

Today we didn't have big plans. We woke up, ate breakfast, then my mom and dad went out on a date leaving us to do our work and just hang out. We were out on the porch when we saw two other kids playing at the other house. our conversation went something like this.
Gabe: you go meet them
Amelia:your always saying you have social skills, you go meet them.
Isabel: I'll do it.......... never mind
Amelia:common, I'll give you 5 kiwi dollars.
Isabel:no
Amelia:ten
Isabel:no, I want someone to go with me.
Gabe: Stop being chickens.
walks up to them, Amelia follows, then Isabel
AND SCENE.
After we went up and Gabe helped them build there bike ramp, and then went off it. After that we went and had an acorn fight and went up on a barn roof.
Finally, we went back to the cottage for lunch and after we ate a sandwich we got these weird marshmellow things that were in the shape of a bird. After that we went in the hammock and swung for a while. When we got in we were going to go to an Aquarium and then to play tennis and then to Rabbit island, which is an island that is on the other side of the estuary. When we got to the aquarium we went in and started looking at all of the fish. It was a touch aquarium so anything you could reach you could touch. We got to touch and eel, turtle, starfish, and even a stingray. The stingray kept following people, it was like he wanted to get touched. He was very slimy, he was a very social stingray. We also got to touch a shark, he was a very small shark so he wasn't dangerous. Beside the eel tank there was a sign that said "When you touch the eel use your fist because they can bite." After we left the aquarium, we went over to the tennis courts, we couldn't find any store that had tennis balls that were decent so we just wnet straight to rabbit island. When we got to Rabbit island, my Gabe and dad went running. Me and Isabel went looking for shells and my mom read on the blanket. then Isabel and I built a sand castle. Before we left all of us were doing carwheels. Even my mom. Once we got home, we had dinner and then Gabe and mom played scrabble, and isabel and dad played astroids, and old arcade game. I just sat knitted, and now i'm blogging.

2 things
Mom is finally done with her work
Happy belated birthday Grandpa

Hike, fly swat, and 100% new zealand yarn

Today we woke up to a horrible buzzing sound. We walked into the kitchen, looked up at the ceiling, and there they were. Lots and lots and lots and lots..... of flies! They were everywhere on the counter on the ceiling and in our food. Also we found ants in the honey and peanut butter. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Once everyone woke up and ate we decided to go on a hike at a park by we I mean everyone but mom, she had to work again. We drove for a while on a really twisty road that was very similar to the Hana highway in Hawaii. We had to stop on the way because I got dizzy on the plus side the stop we made was a beach and I found a cool shell. Once we got there it started raining, instead of hiking we went to the cafe and had a panini and green mussels. Green mussels are a specialty to this part of New Zealand we agreed that we had to at least try one. When the got there, they looked disgusting, they had a green outer side but a silver in the middle. Gabe went first, and he liked them, then dad and he liked them to. I  then put the little chewy mussel in my mouth cringing. It was actually kind of good. Last belle, she took the clam and held it in her fork for a while examining it. Finally, very slowly she put it in her mouth, squinted her eyes. SHE HATED IT! She later talked about how much she hated it all day. We all laughed and I snapped a picture. After we left we decided even though it was sprinkling to walk up the trail a little. We walked along the path, it was a really pretty view of the coast and a lot of multi colored grass. After we got back we started along the windy road again. We passed a stand that looked like kiwi but it was pear so we got a bag of pears for two kiwi dollars. After we got back we swung in the hammock for a while and then my mom and I raveled up yarn from the sheep show. After that my dad went in a fly killing phase. He smacked one on the ceiling then laughed. We then went to bed. 

museum, ferry, and new house

Finally we made it to Wellington after driving 8 hours. on the way we ran my mom just happened to be reading about a geyser that we were passing at the very moment and how in fifteen minutes it was going to blow up. we decided to stop, and when we got there we had to move quickly  because it was erupting in 10 minutes we walked over to the geyser and there was already a huge  crowd so we just kind of stood in the back finally it was time and after the person explaining what would happen dropped some soap into the geyser it started bubbling. Gradually it started bubbling more and more until it was shooting out and into the air. We watched it for a while and pretty soon we decided to leave. At the same park there were paths where you could see sulfurous pits that contained boiling mud. There were also a lot of thermal pools, and creeks. After we left we started our drive to Wellington. Finally, after lots of sleeping, fighting, complaining, and playing video games we arrived, and went to bed. In the mourning we walked over to the museum across the street. We waited until 10:00, when the museum opened and then went in. First we went into and exhibit about mostly the earth's core, tectonic plates, and Pangaea. I found out that dinosaurs Jurassic age, also gigantic shellfish. We also saw the sea life which included a giant squid. (kinda gross.) After the squid we went in a simulator where you would get in a chair and it would shake you around and twist you as you did different New Zealand activities, like bungee jumping, and swimming with dolphins. After we left the museum we went to catch the ferry. Once we got onto the ferry we ate at the cafe and then spent most of the time on the deck watch in the water and the North Island land pass. (and played d.s) When the ferry docked we drove off and then drove for like 2 hours to a little village outside Nelson where we would be staying. We were staying in a place surrounded by orchards. There is A LOT of mud here when the tide is down but it's still really pretty. Today we played outside a lot and swung in the hammock. Goodnight!

A day at the farm, and lots of hiking

Today we got up early to go to the farm. We were going to see a sheep show at a world famous farm. After we got there we sat into a giant barn sort of room and waited. There were different kinds of sheep names like the marino which was a giant sheep that was had a lot of wool and  had giant horns. As the show went on we saw sheep sheering and sheep dogs rounding up ducks, then sheep. After the show was over we saw a performance with one sheep dog and three sheep. The sheep dog listened to the whistle that the farmer had and his voice. When the farmer said go right the dog went right or go left, or walk. The dog had to get the sheep over a through two posts over a bridge and into a pen. Once the performance was over, the sheep were in the pen and we went over to a tour tractor for the farm tour. As the tractor started we saw lots of different animals. First we saw cows, then pigs, then deer, then alpacas, sheep, and lama. We got out for a while to feed the alpacas, sheep, and lama. At first they were scared but then when they saw we had food the started coming closer and eating out of our hands. After we got back to the barn we went into a little shop that had gifts and wool. I picked out a ball of yarn and some needles so I could knit a scarf out of 100% real New Zealand wool. We also got a giant bag of wool for Ginises. After we left the farm we went home and my mom had to work again. The rest of us went looking for a place to hike. First we went to a place that had a geyser. We were going to see it but then we saw the admission prices and the were lets just say A LOT! Instead we looked for another place but when we couldn't find it we found another trail and we started hiking to it. It lead to the green lake, after taking pictures we walked back up a little and up some stairs. It lead to a real pretty trail and we kept hiking it until it lead back to the parking lot. Then we kept riding until we came to the blue lake. Around the blue lake was a 6 mile walk, we all started walking on it, it went on, and on, and on, and on. Until we finally came to a road we started walking along the road and then down another path. That path lead down to another beach that was across from the beach we had started at. We kept walking through a jungle type path until we got to another road. We had been walking for about a hour and a half and then we finally got back to the parking lot. We got in the car but then we  also wanted to see the green lake, (we didn't know we had already seen it) in between the green lake and the blue lake was a little hill which from the top you could see the green lake and the blue lake. The blue lake was actually really blue and the green lake was actually really green. As we came back to the motel my brother and sister went swimming at the pool and my dad went and got pizza. My mom and I stayed and watched "Over the hedge" and "Lord of the rings" because tomorrow we would be going to where Mordor was filmed. Then we went to bed. 

Zorbing and stinky springs

Today was one of the best days in New Zealand. First it started out with us driving to Roturua. We then found out that Roturua contains lots and lots of thermal pools and steam vents so that makes it very very stinky. As we entered we found a zorbing place and we just wanted to watch. We saw someone go down the hill strapped in and another two people go down not strapped in but with tons of water in it. We instantly decided that we wanted to do the water one so we went to the car, changed into clothes that could get wet, and then waited in line to zorb. When we got to the top of the hill, there was a little line and people were going down together and alone. How you got in to a zorb was dive into the little tunnel and in. When it was our turn my sister dove in first. I expected it to be freezing cold since there was a little cannel near by that was freezing, but the man said it was warm water. Once we dove in we had to sit there for a little while and then we took off down the hill. It was so fun the water was falling and we were tumbling all around and spinning and doing somersaults, I wasn't panicking just screaming "were gonna die!". As we got near the bottom I noticed we weren't slowing down but then we went up a little tiny hill and then went back down. Before we got someone was leaning in the zorb to take our picture, then outside the zorb. We were drenched and cold but it was all worth it just for the 50 seconds inside the giant ball rolling down a hill. After my brother went we found are motel and then we went to see the hot spring. my mom had to work again so we drove for a while and saw steam vents that were very very very "smelly", "stinky," disgusting odor". Finally we came to a thermal heated little pool where people were dipping there legs in. After we sat there for a little while my brother and I climbed a giant jungle gym. It had little tunnel looking ropes that you could go through and the highest one was about 20 ft. After we left we got groceries and had spam (yummy) and then we watched shrek 3 and went to bed. 

NEW ZEALAND, WERE IN NEW ZEALAND AHHHHHHHHHHH

Today, we the Staats family had our second day in New Zealand. First of all the plane ride, was soooooooo long. I'm sorry, I mean the plane rides. First from columbus to chicago, then from chicago to Sanfrancisco, then from Sanfrancisco to Australia, and just when you think it's over NO! Then three more hours to New Zealand. a grand total of........20 hours of flying. Ok, finally we landed in Aukland, New Zealand. Once we got our car and rode to our house it was very dark so we pretty much, went to bed. The next day we all got up really early, I know what your thinking, WOW! but we wern't very tired because we went to bed so early. We ate breakfast and then my sister and I went to explore outside. It was beautiful, there was tons of ferns everywhere and lots of trees. We took tons of pictures and also found a path with really steep dropoffs. We went down it a little and passed a waterfall, and a wierd picture of a tiger on a little fence. Then we headed back. Once we got back, my mom, dad, sister, brother, and I walked downtown and found the library. It was a really pretty town and a really pretty library. We didn't have internet connection at the house so we used the library computers. When we left the library we went to a little coffee shop and got hot chocolate. it was goooooooooood. After we got back to the house my mom had to work so the rest of us went back to the path my sister and i had found and we took a picnic. We hiked for so long in the rainforest then finally we came to a rode. we followed the rode to the BEACH! where we found shells and lots of birds and ducks and a giant swing made out of a log. We ate lunch and ducks came up to us and ate bread out of our hands. Then we rode on the giant swing. then it started raining. We ran under a shelter and waited for it to calm down but finally we made a run for the forest path again. in the path the trees were so dense that barely any rain hit us. Finally we got back and my brother, sister and I walked downtown together and went to the library and read for and hour, then went and got pastries at the bakery. another suprising detail-(my dad now has a new favorite dessert, it's not donuts. it's pastries!) After we ate we went to bed. The next day we got up early again. Today we were going to see the aquarium. We drove for about 45 minutes into Aukland (on the left side of the rode) and finally found the aquarium/Antarctica museum. Inside there were stingrays, and turtles, and lots and lots of penguin. we took a little cart around the penguins and saw them eating and even a baby penguin. Then we walked through a giant tube that had fish and sharks and stingrays. We also saw sea horses, moray eel, and giant lobster. After we left the aquarium we drove around for a really long time looking for a way out of Aukland and food. Finally we found our way back, then decided to visit a beach where the movie "The piano" was filmed. It was the most beautiful beach in the world. It had sand slopes, a river leading to the ocean (that was freezing and we had to walk through) and huge cliffs that we ended up climbing. After we left we were freezing. it was pretty cold outside, and because we had taken a wrong path we had to walk through knee deep ice cold water. (i would have swam in it) Then we got pizza when we went back into town, now i'm blogging and gabe is asking if we want to watch t.v. C YA!!!!!!!!!

Tennis Match
By Amelia Staats

Pressure’s on
Palms sweat
Grasp racket
Run to net

Tie shoes
Gulp drink
Back and fourth
Do not sink

Watch ball
Into strings
Hitting, hoping
Nervously

Hit hard
Reverse back
Waiting to pounce
Like a cat

Match’s over
Finished set
Shaking hands
Over the net

Day of Hearts

By Amelia staats

Sparks of love

Cupids’ wings

Wedding bells

Start to ring.


Candy hearts

Lots of hugs

Valentine’s and

Love bugs


Kisses, kisses

Everywhere

Gazing with a

Loving stare


Arrows shooting

In the sky

Valentines’ day

Has flown by.

Gold

Gold. This valuable, shiny, dense element has been admired by billions of people for generations. One of the most common way to mine for gold is gold panning. The gold panning process consists of simply putting sand and gravel in a large pan and running water through it. The pans are then shaken and the sand and gravel fall out leaving any gold. The obsession for gold started long ago from the Indians to the Spanish to present day and years in between. When Cortes came to the America's he came in search of three things land, slaves, and most of all gold. Pizarro conquered the Inca empire killing nearly all of the Indians including the chief for gold. In 1849 the gold search continued when gold was discovered in California by James Marshall, this was the start of the California gold rush. Thousands of people came from the U.S (Mexico still owned California), Australia, and parts of Europe for a chance to find gold. Gold is an obsessive mineral that billions of people have searched, killed, and died for.

My dad

My dad is my hero

My dad is my hero
He’s honest, brave, and strong
Flying hundreds of passengers
Back and forth all day long.

Studying and studying
All day long to pass the test
Cramming books and note cards
Doing his very best.

My dad is my hero
Also a great friend
He’ll always be there for me
Forever until the end.
Love Amelia

Snow by Amelia Staats

White dots filled the pale sky
Quiet, peaceful sailing high
Twinkling in the bitter night
An icy, silent bit of light

Coming from the clouds above
Like a flock of glittered doves
Landing in the bare trees
Bringing happiness to all that sees

Cheerful laughs play in the snow
Rosy cheeks and frozen toes
Swiveling all the way down
Hitting the white, icy ground

MY BIRTHDAY FLOWER

My Birthday Flower
By Amelia Staats
When I was nine years old I can remember it was one of my favorite birthdays. It started when my brother, sister, dad, and I were in Low’s shopping for mulch. My sister and I went outside to look at the fountains and flowers until we had to leave. As we were leaving to go to the car a flash of color caught my eye. There behind me were about fifty groups of beautiful flowers that were orange, yellow, and red. I read the price tag 4.50. I reached into my pocket where I was keeping my birthday money and pulled out my five dollar bill. Quickly I sprinted back and bought my birthday flower. The whole way home I was jumpy and anxious to plant my new flower which was called a mum. As we parked I through open the door and ran to the garage to get a shovel. As I was planting my beautiful red and orange flower my mom came out with good news. We were going to New Hampshire in a week and my grandparents wouldn’t be able to see me for my birthday so I was sleeping over tonight. I was exited I patted the ground beside my flower and ran inside to pack.
Finally, we arrived at my grandparent’s house and then watched my mom drive off. Then my grandma and grandpa took me to the pool in Apple Valley. I swam almost all day until we went back to the house. I went to bed that night very tired. The next day we started to drive home we stopped at the velvet ice cream place in Utica on the way back where we got ice cream and fed the ducks. We finally made it home I ran inside but the house seemed empty. I figured they all must be outside. Right when I opened the screen door about six of my friends, my brother Gabe, and my sister Isabel ran out from behind a bush at me. I was shocked and very happy. Then I realized everyone (besides Gabe) was wearing bathing suits and hula skirts. I also saw that the whole yard was decorated. There was a piñata, hula hoops, cake, and a volleyball net and ball. We got to crack open the piñata and hula hoop and eat cake. My favorite part was the presents. I got an American girl doll, a bracelet, photo album and a licorice cat (from the American girl magazine). It was a great birthday, and it all stared with my little birthday flower.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 8
After the Colosseum we thought nothing in Rome could be as cool as that, but then we arrived at the Spanish steps are last sight in Rome. The steps were beautiful and in front of theme was a beautiful fountain. While everyone else sat at the bottom of the steps my dad and I went to the top of them. The others were missing out, the view was amazing. We could see streets going everywhere. After we left we had a picnic in a park that my dad had found and then on the way back home we got gelato. It was a perfect last day in Rome.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 7
Finally, it was the day that we were going to see the Colosseum, we started walking down all of the streets, until we came to a giant hill and looking over the hill we saw a giant valley like thing that looked like it was full of bricks and old arches. We then walked down the hill and got tickets to go inside the ruins. Now looking closely it didn't look like just a giant pile of bricks it looked like old houses and caves beneath the soil. This turned out to be one of my favorite sights in Rome. Next what we had been waiting for the Colosseum! We got to go ahead of the line since we had already bought our tickets which was great because the line for tickets went on forever. Once we got in the sight was amazing. It was huge, there were old seats made of stone and in the middle the floor was all taken off and underneath were sells where they kept the animals and gladiators. My dad said they use to have a cover to put ontop. We went upstairs and it was an even better view of the ground and there were little balconies where we could look over the street and over the colliseum. It was finally time to go home. We decided to take the metro which didn't take long then when we got back to the apartment, my brother, sister, and I played hide and go seek for the rest of the night until it was time to go to bed.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 6
As we entered the Vatican we saw many people dressed in funny outfits. It turns out they were the guards for the pope. It was a good thing Gabe wasn't wearing shorts because to get in, you had to have your knees covered. We walked around a big fountain for a while and my mom took some pictures then we headed inside. Everywhere there were little markings and pictures made of glass. We headed down a long hallway where there were a bunch of stone coffins one for each pope. After we were out we went inside a different part of the church where the walls were covered in stained glass and the floor was decorated with swirls and colorful shapes.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 5
As the van came into the city we saw old buildings of hundreds of different colors. The building we were staying in was pink and yellow, and the building across the street was orange. We had nothing to do because the man that owned the apartment wasn't expecting us for another hour so while Gabe, Isabel and my dad went to look for a grocery store my mom and I watched the stuff on a bench outside, well she did, I slept. Finally it was noon and we walked up to our apartment to drop off our stuff then we were going to walk around. We walked down the streets and everyone was moving fast. People whizzed by us or biked or rode smart cars, and scooters, it was a familiar feeling like in Paris. Then we saw in the distance a huge wall the wall that surrounded the huge Vatican.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 4
Finally we were off the plane. my ears felt like two big balloons and my stomach felt sick, but when I glanced out the window the beauty of Italy amazed me, and I hadn't even saw the city yet. Next we had to find a way to get to our apartment so we went to a stand where they were selling train tickets. Only 11 Euros each, that would be 75 dollars here. We went to another stand that said tourist information and the lady there told us we could take a van straight to our apartment, so we waited and a driver came and led us to a big white van with two other people. Most of the ride nobody talked Gabe, Isabel, and I were just staring at the scenery. Out of the city there were fields and lots of trees and in the city was much different.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART 3
Finally we were on the plane and off to ROME!!!!!!!!! but, unfortunately we had 3 seats in business and 2 in coach. Because Isabel couldn't sit in Business because she was to young, I got to sit in business. Of course Gabe didn't want to sit in coach so my dad said he would pay me 20 bucks to sit with Isabel in coach, of course I wanted 10 Euro to spend in Italy so I went on the plane happy. 4 hours later... tired, need sleep, would give up 20 dollars, but I couldn't. Finally after 6 movies, 4 chapters, 1 minute of sleep we arrived in ROME. YESSSSSSS.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART TWO

While we waited in the airport we thought that we would catch a bus to the air and space museum. Of course mom and me didn't want to look at old planes so we went to a mc donalds and mom worked on her achievment test that she was writing and I read my book. After a while we got hungry so my mom and I got together some dimes and nickels and quarters and got hot chocolate and french fries. When my Isabel, Gabe, and dad got back we ate, and then my sister and brother went to look in the old control tower. While they were gone my mom, dad and I played Rummy. I beat my dad twice.......YESSSSSSSSSSS. There were also these people there who I talked to about a the book I was reading called the city of masks. Finally we left and went back to the airport.

3.00pm- bedtime in Rome

PART ONE

Last week we went to Rome. Waking up at 3:00 is much tougher then it sounds. As a picture, I
was still in bed until 20 min before we left. On the way to the airport I ......slept. Once we got there we got our tickets and then walked half asleep through security, on the other side we boarded our plane. Some how I didn't sleep on the plane, my sister on the doze off as soon as she sat down. The whole ride to Dullas I just read my book. When we got to the next airport we found out some information we should have known much earlier, Guess what kids, our flight leaves at 6:30 tonight.

Obama rally

Today my family and i went to an Obama rally. we got up pretty early and drove to Columbus where it was taking place. Right when we drove up i knew it would be pretty crowded. Finally, we found a parking spot and started to walk to the park where Obama would be speaking. AS we walked there were tons of people selling Obama shirts, pins, and hats and a bunch of people standing in a long line..... the line to get in. It turned out the line didn't take very long soon we were through the security and fighting for a place to watch. Soon it started to get real hot and we wanted a place to sit down in the shade, bye bye spot. After we saw it getting crowded we decided to head back to our spot it was to crowded so we found another spot a little further back, then it started to get too hot again so we went to sit in the shade again, we lost that spot to. Finally, people started to talk on the stage with the music playing in the back ground of course I couldn't see anything because of the crowd but i could hear the people talking and the crowd cheering. Then after the last person spoke (the mayor of Columbus) we heard a giant cheer and people started to put there cameras in the air because at last Obama started to talk. My brother got onto a truck to take pictures and when we all went over to join him i got a spot on the truck to where I had a perfect view of the stage. Finally, it was time to go. After we ate we went to the Easton Mall to see a movie, after the movie we headed home.

bee beard

A few days ago my family and I decided to go to a bee festival. My parents said that there would be a man there that had bees all over his face like a beard. It took a while to get there because my parents got lost but finally we entered the small town of Lythopolis. There were tents everywhere and stands selling, pottery, honey, honey candles and a lot more. We kept following the signs that said bee man. The signs led us to a small tent
surrounded by a bunch of anxious people. Finally two men arrived one wearing a screened hat and another with nothing but a tee shirt and shorts on. Then, "in my opinion was the craziest thing ever" they started to dump the bees into a grocery bag. As one man was doing this the other was putting a little box on his chin, this box held the queen bee. After they had gotten enough bees in the bag the man started to pour the bees towards his face! Soon they were covering hes chin, neck and part of his shirt. That still wasn't enough, the man kept scooping up bees with his bear hand and putting more bees on his face. After he stopped, there was a giant bee beard on his face. The crowd applauded and the bee man walked around for everyone to see the cluster of honey bees. Pretty soon the crowd died down and the man started to get the bees off. Before we went I decided to take a look at the library there, it was huge and amazing. To me it looked just like a castle, with paintings on the walls and sculptures. After I was out of the library I watched the band play for a little while and my mom bought some honey. Then we left, it was a great day at the bee festival.

New Hampshire

I have recently come back from my trip to New Hampshire. This was my first time going on a trip alone. First, I had to ride the plane alone, the whole way there I pretty much did two things read, and sleep. When I arrived my Aunt Tricia was waiting at the gate. After we got to the car we started on our way back to Warner where my Aunt Tricia lives. On the way we stopped by Panera's and even though it was 80 degree weather we both got a bowl of hot soup. When we arrived at the house I got a huge welcome by Sammy and Pippy my aunt's two white and fluffy American Eskimo's. The whole week I got to read and write a ton, mostly fantasy. Another thing we did was go to the book store (bookends) there I picked out a Spanish board game since we are going to Mexico soon. I also explored some poetry books by Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson. Next, we made a stop at Wing doodle. Wing doodle was a store like no other they had exotic crafts and toys, beaded animals, jewelry and giant pipe cleaners. Here I found my mom and my sisters presents earrings for my mom and giant pipe cleaners that you could bend and twist and connect to make all sorts of different things for my sister. The next day we went to books by the lake (another bookstore) where the books were crammed onto the shelves and there were tons of different rooms and aisles. Here I picked out a book called Esperanza rising about a girl who lives in Mexico and has everything she ever wants until she is forced to move to the united states with her mother. We kept hoping that it would it would rain because we both agreed it would be fun browsing books while it was raining. It rained. Right as we walked out the door. When we got back I read for the rest of the day since my aunt had to teach one of her students. After he left my uncle Melvin and I played bad mitten. Lets just say I didn't do so well. The next day my aunt and my uncle had to meet a real estate agent because they are selling there house so while he was there taking pictures, I took the dogs for a walk around the yard for a while, when I came back in I watched a movie called Bear with me about a girl who tries to save the bears from men cutting down the forests. After that we headed to lake massasecum. There me and my aunt Tricia used the paddle boat and went around the island in the middle of the lake. We started to think that people say yeah to much and so we tried to say yeah the whole way around the island. We couldn't do it, one way or the other it sounds weird to say "I agree" or "exactly". I also had a giant pickle, and got a floating raft for my brother. When we got back we all started to pack to come back to Ohio. We were driving. Unfortunately, we couldn't take the dogs. Of course they were exited for doggie daycare. While we were dropping them off the next day we saw a dog show there were little shelties and on American Eskimo named Chili. The Shelties made me miss daisy. I now hate new york 4 hours 1 in which it was raining. when it started to get dark we went to the Microtel to sleep. I can see how they got the name the room was.... a pipsqueak. I got to sleep in the windowsill which was like a little bed. I went to bed fast that night. The next day we arrived at my grandparents house. There I sat staring at the window waiting for my mom, sister, and brother to arrive. I was so happy, it was a very fun vacation!

Thank you Aunt tricia and Uncle Melvin.

Global warming

Causes
Today I read an article about global warming. Carbon dioxide is entering the Earth's atmosphere but not enough of the Carbon dioxide isn't escaping back out of the atomosphere. This is an example of green house gas. With a greenhouse, the sunlight comes in through the glass trapping heat inside and not enough heat is excaping back out. Another cause is big industries are realeasing carbon dioxide into the air. Big industries are also polluting the Earth by realeasing so many toxic chemicals into the air.
Effects
The Effects of global warming are ice caps in the arctic are melting. Because the ice is melting, it is causing many animals that live there to starve or begain to lose their homes. For example, most penguins live off krill, krill usually live underneath the ice, if the ice is melting there are less krill for the penguins to eat. If the penguins die out, animals such as the lepoerd seal will have nothing to feed on. On of the main animals losing food and homes are the polar bear. There home is the ice and if the ice is melting, where do they live? Polar bears where made to live in the cold with there thick fur and layers of fat, if the earth heats up they will be stuck in warm weather where they can't survive. Global warming is even effecting humans. Because the ice is melting that is causing sea level to rise, the land that we live on is gradually being replaced with water. I think that something has to be done before it's to late.

A sad day in Paris

We were very sad today since it was the last day, in paris. We were exited since we got to get our souveniours. Since my brother gave me the fever and got my mom sick, my mom didn't want to walk that day so she decided not to come. We first walked a while and until we got to the metro station which we would take to Sacrecour, a church with one of the best views of paris. Once we climbed the stairs to the church we saw the most amazing view. We could see almost all of Paris, then we went into the church. The church was bigger then most churches but not as big as notre dame. There was a lot of stained glass just like at Saint Chapelle but not at all as much. After we left the church we went down back to the street and since my dad wasn't feeling good we went to the pharmacy to get medicine. After we left we went got on another metro to a station towards the Seine river. After we found a stand to get lunch we ate by the river before heading to the Holocaust museum. At the holcaust museum we saw names of all the french people that were killed by the nazi's. There were four or five walls listed of people that were killed. There were also pictures of children younger then me that were killed, even infants. After we left the holocaust museum we walked to the red wagon bookstore and my brother got a book to read. Finally, we went to the pompidou (an art museum) to pick out souveniours. My sister got a striped purse and my brother got his face drawn in a funny way and I just got my faced drawn. I had to stay perfectly still as he sketched for twenty minutes. Once we had all gotten our things, we headed home where my brother and dad got food from the grocery store for dinner. After we had eaten, we all blogged for a while while my mom and dad went to cafe. When they got back we went to bed.

Versailles

Today we woke up pretty early to go to Versailles. We were going to take a metro since it was so far away, even the metro ride would take 45 minutes. On the metro half of the time I was sleeping and half of the time I was reading, finally we got to Versailles. Versailles is where king Louis 14th, 15th, and 16th lived, also the Queen, Marie Antoinette. Once we got there, we noticed that the line was huge. It swerved across a large patio and you had to go across the patio 3 times and around swerves 3 times. finally we got to the entrance. As we walked into the palace we saw what seemed like a thousand different rooms, all with different themes. There was the bedrooms for the queen and king, the apollo room, the war room, and many more. Once we had looked at some of the rooms, we decided we'd had enough fancy, fluffy, and velvet for one day so we headed out to the garden. The garden was actually where King Louis had big parties. There were fountains everywhere and the best part, ice cream. After we had eaten, we headed down to the big lake to see the sail boats that were sailing in the water. We walked through the hedges for a while and looked at different fountains that had sculptures in them after that we headed back up to the palace to the a fountain where everyone was gathering for the ending event, a fountain show. For the water show, there was a giant fountain that sprayed up really high into the air. We left early so the metro wouldn't be very crouded and on the way we ate dinner. Once we finally got on the metro it wasn't very crouded so we all got seats. We had to get on and off three times until we finally got back to the right station where the apartment is. Once we got home my mom and dad went out together and we all read and blogged until they got back. Looking forward to another fantastic day in paris.

Some imformaton about the Versailles:
marie Antoinette wanted to live a peasent life as an escape from the queen world but she didn't want to starve or beg for food so she built a village in the country where she just had her friends visit.
Louis 14th was also known as the king of sun, when he grew peaches in his green house underground all his peaches turned out good and thats how he got his name.

Bones, Bones, and more bones

Today my brother, sister, dad and i went to visit the catacombs of Paris. The Catacomb was a mile long tunnel underground. First, you would walk down 60 feet of stairs until you came to the tunnel. As we started to walk in, we saw no sight of the bones that we were told we would see so we just kept walking and pretty soon we got used to the cold, dull, tunnel. There were little coves in the tunnel that were blocked of and a couple fo times we flashed a light in them seeing if there were any bones, but still none. Then all of a sudden...tons and tons of gross, dirty, and disgusting, bones. The bones were just sitting in piles forming walls. There were skulls, and a bunch of arm and leg bones. My brother and sister actually touched the bones! For me i was scared to death, I wanted out, but it was a mile. We kept walking through the walls of bones until finally we got out. i later found out that all of those bones actually used to be in the graves of a cemetary in Paris. The people that lived near the cemetery were getting deseases because of inproper burials, open mass graves, and decomposing bodies. The people were probubly drinking the water that had gone through where the bones and bodies were, thats why they moved the bones to the tunnel. After we were done looking at gross bones, we went and ate before going home. On the way home my we stopped and got frozen food to cook at home. After dinner we had ice cream and gradually went to bed.

Today we woke up fairly early, we were going to the Orsay meseum. my mom wasn't going with us since she just wanted to relax since we were going to walk quite a bit and see...bones. As we started to head out my sister and I went down the stairs, there we leaped up and grabbed on on the bars and swung on them trying to beat the elevator (which held my dad and brother) down. Once we had gotten down we started walking down the street and before we got to the museum, my dad let us stop for chocolate creps. (A thin pancake with chocolate melted inside of it). After we arrived at the orsay museum we showed the guard our passes and then started walking in. My favorite section in the museum was the section with Claude Monet's paintings. One of his paintings is the le bassin aux nympheas. This painting shows a a bridge over a lilly pond in Monet's garden. Since Monet was known as the impressionist this piece shows a lot of unrealistic details. for example the lilly pads aren't really resembleing real lily pads. I think that Monet wasn't just painting the lilly pond, I think that he was painting how he felt and that is why Monet was known as an impressionist he didn't just paint what what he was looking at but much more. I think that Monet was inspired a lot by his garden and he uses a lot of detail from the lily pond and flowers. Although I think that some of his paintings are exaggerated, I think that he had a creative idea for each painting. I found out that nymphea's mean water lily's and that that is where the name for the painting came for since the water lily's are one of the main section's in the painting. Monet was a great artist and an inspiration to many people.

The Lourve.

Today we visited the Lourve. The Lourve is a museum in Paris that holds the Mona Lisa and many other interesting and beautiful paintings and sculptures. My favorite piece at the Lourve was a sculpture by Antonio Canove which he called Psyche raminmee par le baiser de l'amour. This sculpture shows an angle holding a women nad leaning down on her. The womn looks to me like she is either in pain and the angel is saving her, or she is in love with the angel. The angel is actually supposed to resemble cupid and thats why I thought she might be in love. Antonio Canova was born in 1757 and started this sculpture in 1782. The first copy of the Psyche raminee par le baiser de I'amour was first donated to the Louvre in1802 by Joachim Murat. I liked this sculpture because I felt like not only is it beautiful but every single detail means something like the expressions on the faces and how there positioned. I also think that this sculpture had emotion in it, like for a while you would think that the women is crying and the angel is trying to comfort her. What it really is supposed to be is a psyche lying on the ground and she is awakenend by cupids kiss. After we left we all looked forward to the rest of the lourve.

The holocaust momorial and the lady and the unicorn tapestris

Today we visited the Holocaust momorial. Once we got to the Momorial we saw a sign that said to say silent. we found out by silent they ment no talking at all until you were out. We walked down a steep staircase until we got to a room with either dirt of rock for the walls then we entered a little chamber that held the momorial. There was a small pathway in the chamber with 200,000 little crystal lights that represented all the french lives that were taken during the Holocaust. Right when you walked into the cold chamber you could imagine what it was like for all those jews, gysies, and many more different races that were killed in the concentration camps. After we had left the holocaust momorial we went to Musee de cluny which held the lady and the Unicorn Tapesris. The Lady and the Unicorn tapestris are basically a bunch of quilts that have ladies and Unicorns on it and they are representing all the different senses like they have the ladies eating for taste or smelling for smell. There is one quilt that doesn't represent any sense and you are supposed to say what you think it means. it shows all the unicorns and ladies and animals together being happy and loving just gathering together. I think that it represents love and happieness. I think that it is supposed to make you think about what that picture means to you. After we left the lady and the unicorn tapestris we went to some more museums before going home. Once we got home my sister and I went to the Pitisserie while my brother went up to the apartment. when we got back we found out we were stuck in a middle room and my brother had to come open the door. He ended up forgetting the key in our apartment so we were locked out. We spent a long time just sitting on the street for a few hours and one man even let us try his key. Finally, my dad got on the roof {which was on the 5th floor} to go through the window. he did finally get in. After we were all in, my brother, sister, and I went to the grocery store and got dinner for us. We got onion rings, we thought, but it ended up being squid. After our dinner we blogged and went to bed. Another great day in Paris.

The Thinker

Today we visited Musee de Rodin. One of the pieces kept at the Musee de Rodin is a sculpture by Aguste Rodin. This famous sculpture is called The Thinker. The Thinker was originally called the Poet and is part of another one of Rodin's sculptures called The gates of hell. The gates of hell is a sculpture that shows a gate with some of Rodin's other pieces on it, creatures that look like black demons. Rodin first made a plaster copy of The Thinker in 1880, the first bronze copy was finished in 1902. The Thinker was not shown to to paris until 1904. It was moved to Hotel Biron in 1922 which was later made into The Musee de Rodin. The Thinker was supposed to be of a poet named Dante and each of the different parts of the Gate of Hell represent the main Charactors in Dante's poem "Epic Poem". To me The thinker represents a man thinking of words and thoughts as if in a poem I also think that he is thinking about what will happen in the future, like when he dies. Thats why he was put on the gate of Hell. The Thinker was an inspiring and unique sculpture that makes you wonder what exactly he is thinking about.

The arc de Triomphe, Monet, and the Louvre.

Today we woke up pretty late and because my mom never got to see the arc de Triomphe, we decided to go. We wanted to take the metro since we had other plans that day. Once we had gotten to the metro station we got on and rode to a station near the Arc de Triomphe. We walked in an underground walkway under the street until we were there. My dad had gotten museum passes so could go to the top of the monument. We learned that the Arc de Triomphe was built in napolean's honor. The stairs took forever. They winding stairs and they went around in around over and over, when you thought you were at the top you would only be about half way. After we had gotten to the top there was a small exibit at the top with statues and a screen showing underneath the Arc de Triomphe. The stair nightmare had just begun. There was another staircase to the top. Once we had gotten to the top I decided it was worth the climb up. There was a view of the Eiffle tower and a semetrical street that looked almost perfectly the same on both sides. After looking around at the view, we headed back down the winding staircase and to Champ-elysees, where everyone was shopping and eating lunch. Since my my mom wasn't feeling good we stopped at a pharmacy to get medecine, then we stopped for lunch and got sandwiches. After we had finished our lunch, we started to walk down the street toward's the Louvre. As we got nearer we saw a big gold post that had Egyption symbols on it and it turns out it was brought here from Egypt. After we had gotten to Monet's museum we saw a bunch of paintings that monet painted. We also saw paintings by Picasso. Once we were done looking at the paintings we headed to the front of the Louvre. There were statues everywhere. There was also what we called the "Mini Arc de Triomphe" you could see the real Arc de Triomphe right through it. We didn't go into the Louvre that day since it would take a whole day to see the whole thing. We started to walk until we saw this couryard that had a bunch of small and giant poles in it, big enough to stand on. We went around trying to get up on the big ones and jumping from one to the other on the small ones. When we left my brother, sister, and I were disappointed when we had to leave. We started to walk back and when we got back to another museum where we sat on a brick patio infront of the meseum while we ate our ice cream, then we headed back home. We went to bed pretty early that night.

The art mueseum and Luxembourg park

Today we woke up late since we had gotten back to the apartment late the night before. We decided that we couldn't go to monet's garden since we woke up to early so we decided to go to an art museum that was nearby. We started to walk down the street, which was already so busy, and headed towards the mueseum. Once we had gotten there it took us a while to get inside since we didn't know how to get in. Once we had gotten in we saw a giant spider sculpture and a gold ball swinging around a giant ball that was hung to the ceiling then we started up to the escalator which was in a giant tube going to the higher floors. Once we had gotten to the top floor we found out that you needed tickets to go and see the art on that floor so we headed down to a lower floor where we got to see all kinds of modern art. Some of the art looked like a giant blotch and you would think that it would be easy to paint and some art just had no meaning but would amaze you with there color and different patterns. We saw so many paintings and sculptures of humans, animals, and just designs. Once we started to get hungry we started to head down the escalator. After we were down and outside we saw a bunch of people playing exotic insruments and painters. We than headed to a greek resaraunt to eat. After we had ate we started to head towards Luxembourg park. As we kept going we saw some french performers playing the guitar, drums, and singing. Once we had gotten to the park they were selling icecream and we got melon, kiwi, and mango icecream. There were performers at the park too, there were trumpet players, trombone players, and drummers. After we ate our icecream we headed deeper into the park where there was a pond with romote control boats in it and ducks. Around the pond were a bunch of people sitting, talking, and picnicing. Once we had sat at the pond for awhile we got to watch some people play tennis at the park. We than left the park and sat on a bench for a little bit before going on the metro back to the apartment. Once we had gotten of the metro we sat at a little cafe for a little and had tea, orange juice, and water then we had chinese food for dinner. Once we had gotten back to the apartment my mom and dad left to get groceries while we rested. We looked forward to the next day.

The Eiffle Tower

Today once we got up we quickly got ready because we were all exited to go to the Eiffle tower. We decided to walk there and not take the metro since it was a beautiful day and warm outside. My dad kept checking the map and then we would walk and then finally we came to a bridge that went over a river. We walked down to a river path until everyone started to get hungry, so we started looking for a place selling baguettes. We had no luck so we just stopped and got sandwiches and brownies at a cafe. When we had finishe our food we headed on looking for the Eiffle tower. It wasn't very hard to find since it was so tall. Once we got there we layed down in the grass and stared up at it. My brother took lots of pictures. We started to walk towards the long line of people waiting to buy tickets. My mom, sister, and I waited in line while Gabe, and my dad got water bottles for the walk up. We decided to walk up the stairs instead of the elevator. On the way up there were signs that told how and why the Eiffle tower was made. It turns out an arcitect named Gustave Eiffle designed the Eiffle tower for the worlds fair that was to take place in France. The Eiffle tower was finished after the world's fair had already taken place. Gustave Eiffle died before it was finished. When we got to the 1st floor we were already really high we walked around and took pictures before going up to the second floor. When we got to the second floor the view was already magnificant but it would be a lot better at top floor which there was a long line since you had to buy more tickets on the second floor to get to the top of the Eiffle tower. Finally, we got into an elevator and rode up to the top floor. The view there was better than anything I had ever seen. From up on top you could see the Arc de Triomphe, the lourve, the tons of lines below and even the river that we walked by. After a while we decided to head back down so we waited in another line and went back to the second level. The walk down was a lot easier than going up and when we got to the top we layed in the grass again. My brother, sister, and I walked over and got chocolate crepes. It was the first time I got to use my French in a long sentence. We then walked over to another street and got sandwhiches and cookies. After we ate we saw the Eiffle tower light up. It was an amazing sight then at 10:00pm it started to flash over and over again all over the tower. After it stopped we headed to the metro to get on the subway. After switching trains 3 or 4 times we got home and went to bed.

Paris

Today we arrived in Paris. The plane we rode in was a 767 and really cool since we sat in Business. We had are own individual T.V's and my sister and I stayed up really late talking and playing with our flashlight. When the plane finally landed we unloaded and walked around until we found where the baggage area was. We waited there for along time until we decided to ask someone about our bags. We found out they had been left in Chicago and that they would have to come on the next flight. After we showed the security our passports, we got passes for the subways that went all over paris underground. We rode and rode for a long time and then when we got off we still didn't know where we were. We finally after walking on the streets of Paris for a while we got on the right subway and got to our hotel. Later after we had eaten. My dad, sister, brother, and I all went out and saw the Arc de triomphe. We walked in an underground passage until we got right under it the Arc de tiomphe. There were beautiful sculptures and detailed carvings in the Arc de Tiomphe. There was also a fire burning with flowers surrounding it. As we walked back we stopped at a bakery and my dad spoke french as we bought some dessert. when we got back we all started to fall asleep and eventually we did. In the morning we went to our apartment that we were renting. We had to take a subway but after that it was a pretty short walk. When we got there the man was still cleaning so we left and had lunch. My sister got a egg and cheese crepe and the rest of us got Panini which was a large bread with different foods in it like cheese, tomato and a lot more. Once we got back to the apartment my dad, brother, sister, and I went to the grocery store and got a bagette which is French bread. We also walked downtown and to look for a dry cleaning. When we got back we had bagette, apples, and sausage.

Godessess

I have recently read a book about godesses. It shows the godesses that the people in each country beileve in and that there weren't just men. The first goddess is a goddess beileved in by the people of china. Her name was Chang o. The story of chang o begains when her husband Yi, shoots down 9 suns leaving only one to heat the Earth and so Chang O and Yi are forced to live amoung the humans. After being depressed for some time Chang O sends her husband to another goddess named Hsi Wang Mu to get magical peaches which will turn them imortal again but not enough to make them a god and goddess. When he returns with the peaches, Yi asks his wife to wait and guard the peaches while he went hunting and then when he got back they would eat the peaches together. Chang O thought to her self it wasn't her fault her husband shot down the suns. She thought that possibly with her peach and Yi's peach she would become a goddess again. She was tempted and then ate both peaches. She instantly floated towards the heavens lighter then ever and was then a goddess again but couldn't leave the moon since she was to light. Her husband was at first angry but forgave her since he loved her so much. He built her a palace on the moon but could only visit her once a month. Another goddess that I learned about was a Nigerian goddess named Oya. Oya was said to once be an antolope who could take off her skin and look like a human and spend time with humans. A thunder god named Shango imediately fell in love with her. He hid her skin and then asked to marry her. She new that he hid her skin and when she found out she was furious but her husband begged her to stay with him. It is also said that Oya could make the river overflow when she is mad and make it dry up when she is mad to but when she is happy she makes it flow peacefully for the village. The last goddess is a Hawaiian goddess named Pele. Pele is said to rule all fire from the volcanoes. Pele was said to have used to live with her sister in the ocean but when Pele made her sister angry, she was kicked out of her sisters home. After searching the oceans for a long time, Pele came to the Hawaiian islands and settled into Mt. Kilauea, Hawaii's most active volcano. Pele later married the chief of an island and Pele had to return to her own home. She said she would be back soon but she was gone to long and the prince thought she abandoned him and died. There are many more goddesses with more interesting stories and tales.

rainy tennis and sleepovers

Today we had to get up pretty early to go to our tennis lessons at Denison University. Since it had warmed up quite a bit since we got back we started to play tennis outside. I woke up and got all my things together and then we headed towards the courts. When we got there the clouds were getting darker but the courts were still dry so we could hit until it rained. We were just starting to warm up when it started to sprinkle we still kept playing and after a while it stopped but then towards the end of our lesson it started to rain pretty hard so everybody was running around picking up tennis balls and putting them under towels, then we headed to the advantage club. Since there were only 10 more minutes of my age groups lesson they just started isabels lesson when we got there. I just served on a different court until my brother came and set up the ball machine for us to hit with. When my sister was done with her lesson we started to head home. My brother stayed since he hadn't had his lesson yet. When we got home we just relaxed and watched t.v until it was time to go to are sleepover which was my sisters second sleepover. When we got there my friend and I went up to her room and played with her ginnypigs named curby and Leo. We got to take them outside and they ate grass, dandilions, and clovers. We found out that my other friend wasn't feeling good and wasn't coming and then went to get pizza and icecream when we got back right as the movie was starting my friend Kaitlyn gets a call that My friend Angie was going to come. When she got there we showed her the cats, dogs, ginnypigs, fish, and turtles and then got out fake tatoos and put them on. We also did our nails and played truth or dare. When we were done it was already late but we went downstairs and set up a two room tent and played until we fell asleep. The next mourning we ate breakfast and then went outside and to ride scooters and bikes before walking downtown and getting whits and webkinz. On our walk back Angie was picked up but the rest of us went to the Buckston in and looked in the fountains and found tadpoles which we saved from a tiny crevice in the cement. we put them into the pond with they others and cleared out the crevice so if they went in they could get back out easily without being stuck. When we got back home are friends stayed at our house for 2 hours then went home. Isabel and I had to clean are room and then we bounced on the trampoline before going to bed.

Out of the Dust

 In the book "Out of the Dust" Billie Joe's mother finally has the baby and dies because she was burned by an accidental fire. The fire burns her and the side of the baby, and then the baby dies too because of the burn. Now her father and her are barely speaking and everything seems dead until her father starts digging a hole which will soon be the pond that her mama always wanted to build. Because of the dust storms, many people's houses are being destroyed so one family has to stay inside Billie Joe's school classroom so they don't have to sleep in a truck. People start bringing in toys for the children and clothing for the pregnant woman's baby. Once the baby was born the family waited a few weeks before moving west towards California. Billie Joe chases their truck begging to go with them but they were already too far away. After a few days, it starts to snow for the very first time that year and everyone in the town is exited for the snow to melt into the soil for their crops. Everything in the town starts to perk up, Billie Joe enters a competition playing the piano and they go to the presidents birthday ball. Even though everything seems happier after Billie Joe's mothers death, there were still more dust storms waiting to turn her life back into a dull nightmare. 

Homeschooling, and some kickball

Today we woke up early to start are school work. We did our math, science, history, social studies, and languege arts before heading outside to the trampoline and the homemade swing that we put up. We were thinking of going to play tennis at Denison but we decided not to after a while. When we played on the trampoline for a while my sister and I decided to make a homemade swing on the pole in our yard. We first took a pole and secured a rope around it extra tight. Then, we took the other end of the rope and attached it to the top of there pole and after a while of work it was finally made, our invention we called a swirl swing. You woud sit on the pole and then wwing around the giant pole around in around. When the bus for the public school came to let off the kids our friend Lyndsey got off and stopped by to play for a while. We bounced on the trampoline and swung on the swirl swing until she had to go home to do her work when it was dinner time she came back to eat with us and then after dinner we bounced on the trampoline again. After bouncing we went into the front yard with the big bouncy ball and played kick ball for like thirty minutes with my brother and I on a team and Isabel and Lyndsey on a team. We played for a long time once my brother left to run with my dad until Lyndsey had to go home since it was a school night. My sister and I played in the room before going to bed that night.

seeing friends again

Today we didn't have any school work since it was Sunday. We have been recently reading an article on Joan of arc. We've read about how she lead France into winning many victories and help to crown king Charles. We are now at the part of how she was burned for committing heresy. That day we also got to go to are friends house. While we were at our f riends house we had to go to our friends uncles pet clinic and a little teacup chiwawa named Taco who had to get a shot for him to survive. while we were there my sister and our friends played tag and played with the cats and a dog called Frenchie. We also ordered a pizza to take to the park with us. The park we were going to was new and it had a club house and a lot of things to climb on. We also played lots of games there before leaving. Once we had left we went to get ice cream and marshmellow milkshakes before going home. When we got home we were tired and went to bed after reading.

Home sweet home

Finally, after a long plane ride we were home. when we got home we were all really tired. My sister, brother and I went right to the tramoline when we got home, while my dad went to the store and my mom opened the mail. The next day we all got up early as usual and started doing are work. My brother and I had to read an article about Joan of arc and how she fought in many wars and was said to of heard the voices of saints. We also read an article on global warming and all the co2 is being trapped inside the earths atmosphere and heating the earth causing sea level to rise. We also did our french, math, vocabulary, science, and history. My dad and brother then biked to the grocery store down town. While my dad and brother went down town my sister and I bounced on the trampoline and when my brother and dad got back my sister and I walked downtown. My sister got a new webkinz and we got candy which was eaten quickly. when we got back my brother got an idea to move the trampoline underneath a big wooden structure that my dad had built long before. It took a while but my brother and I finally moved it over and we took turns jumping off the fort and onto the trampoline. I was the funnest thing ever. That night are friend Lyndsey came over and jumped with us until it got really dark and the street lights were on lighting the trampoline. The next day my grandparents came over after we did our work and we did tricks on the trampoline for them and put up the swing that had broken down. When it came time for dinner we went to Olive garden to eat. After Olive garden my mom and dad went to Lows since our trees on the side of our yard had died and they were thinking of replaceing them with yellow bushes. Once they got home we bounced on the trampoline for a little longer before going to Whits for icecream. Once we got back my grandparents had to go home. After jumping on the trampoline for a little bit again, we all went to sleep.

Second day of skiing.

Today we went on our second day of skiing at winter park. My brother wanted to go off on his own to go off on his own in terrain park so my dad gave him a cell phone and he went off. First, we went and put our stuff in the lockers before heading out. We didn't have to go to the rental place since we got to keep our gear overnight. For our first lift we chose the main one that goes from the main level of the mountain up higher. We then went from there on a trail that was pretty hard on the snowboard since it was flat and we have nothing to pull ourselves along with. First we would go off and then when we ran out of speed we would crawl up hill to get more speed. When we finally got to the end of the run we took a lift up to Mary Jane which was higher up in the mountains. We then took a trail called Elderwiess which would lead us to the lift that would take us to the top point of the whole mountain. When we got there it was like an eight minute ride to the top and when we got there we were disappointed. The wind was spraying snow into our faces and it was freezing. We started down the hill and we ran out of speed again. Since it would take a while to get back up the slope we decided to just go down the mountain off the trail. I went through this forest path and got stuck a lot since the snow off trail was so thick. My board would slide underneath the thick snow and would get stuck there. When we finally got off onto a main trail we rode down to a lift and got on to ride back to Mary Jane. We were going to meet my brother for lunch so we decided to go back to a place called sunspot that was half way up the mountain where there was a lodge to eat at. After we ate we started down a path called March hare which lead down to another lift. After a whole day of snowboarding we were going to end with one last run corona. By then the snow had gotten a lot worse so without goggles you could barely see where you were going. There were a lot of turns on Corona so you would get stuck if you didn't have enough speed. After Corona we to a short trail back to the village at the bottom of the mountain, there we waited for my brother. The ski resort originally closed a 4:00 and even my dad, sister, and I were late but my brother was still almost on the top of the slope after closing time. He ended up getting a ride on a snowmobile down the slope. Once we had returned our stuff we headed back to the house. After eating dinner at the pizza restaurant with my mom we headed back to the house and went to bed.

Skiing at last!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we finally went skiing. We all had to get up really early because the skiing place closed at four o clock. The drive there was beautiful there were evergreen trees everywhere covered in snow. When we finally got to Winter park we parked and then got our rental gear. Once we had our gear, we headed to the slopes. The ride up was really long since the mountain was so big. We finally got to the top and went on the slope named the march hare, almost all the slopes had names from Alice in Wonderland like the mad hatter and the door mouse. It took forever to get to the bottom even though we really weren't at the bottom, we were just down the hill a little ways. The snow felt different since it was naturally there unlike the snow in Ohio which was manmade snow. Then we went up another slope that was surrounded with trees. Once we made it down the hill a little ways I started to feel bad since I hadn't eaten lunch yet and we were higher up so it was harder to breathe. My dad took us up another lift and to one of the lodges to eat. Since the mountain was so big there were lodges and cafe's on top of almost every lift. Once we had eaten macaroni in bread bowls we headed out on the slopes again. We split up with my brother one time since he wanted to go in the terrain park. We ended up losing him luckily we had a meeting spot and found him and went on another slope. We tried to get to the top but the lift was closed so we decided to go down the slope and back to the car since it was getting close to the closing time. When we got in the car we were all really thirsty and me and my sister finished a bottle of water each. Once we got home we ate dinner and went in the hot tub before going to bed. 

A hike, daddy, and downtown Denver

Today, since my dad was gone on a trip my brother, mom, sister, and I went on a hike. When we arrived at the hiking trail we started out all energetic and happy. A little way down the path we saw a giant rock slope which we all immediately wanted to climb. My brother first went to the very top of the slope which I at first were to afraid to go on but the realizing what a view I would miss headed up behind him. The way up was pretty steep and when you got close to the top there was a little walk way in between two giant boulders. It was worth the climb, the view was beautiful, you could see a few mountains in the back and the whole peaceful field which the path went through. As we carried on we headed into the forest which was full of green plants and sparkly rocks. Finally, we came to a river with a bridge over it. My sister and I went under the bridge on the rocks and came up the other side before crossing the bridge. By then we were really tired and were just thinking about nice cold ice cream which we were getting afterwards. Since we didn't have water with us we would scoop up fresh snow and eat it whenever we got thirsty. Finally we got back to the car and went to get ice cream. When we got back to the house we ate dinner, went in the hot tub and right to bed. The next day we went to pick up my dad at the airport in Denver. On the way there we played games and talked. When we got there we went to get the what was said to be the best pizza in Denver which was really good. Next we went to a bookstore which was really fun. we stayed there for awhile just reading books and laying around on the comfortable chairs. When we left we decided to take a walk around and go to get dessert. We took a bus over to a street where we walked to a bakery to get cake a brownies. Finally, we headed back to the car. We drove back to Evergreen and had dinner at the house. We went in the hot tub again that night before reading and going to bed. 

Hiking on sand Dunes

Today we all had to wake up early because we were going to hike at the sand dunes which were three hours away. We drove for a long time and in the car we had to entertain ourselves by playing thumb wrestling and rock, paper, scissors. When we finally got there we went to the visitor center. When we finally got to the entrance of the sand dunes we took off our shoes and put them by a bush. At the sand dunes you could walk anywhere you wanted there was no certain path because the wind would just cover up your tracks. My brother, sister, and I ran ahead collecting rocks and climbing all over the sand. For a while we thought nothing could go wrong just climbing over a huge sand mountain but then the wind came. Sand would blow into your face and it would sting but then after like 10 seconds you could continue on. My sister and I would run and crawl up the steep cliffs of sand and whenever the wind would come we would stay put and hide under our sweat shirts. My sister and I also ran down a big cliff even thought my mom and dad warned us that whatever we went down we would have to find away back up. They were right, going down might have been easy and fun but going up was tiring and hard. When we went up cliffs we would have to crawl on our hands and knees and when we would do it we always slid back down. My mom and dad didn't want to go to the top of the sand dune so while they walked to a lower cliff, my brother, sister, and I hiked to the very top. Since it was just sand and no trees wherever we went on the sand dune we could always see my mom and dad. When we got to the top we were so happy since next the fun part came, running down. Even though it was really steep you could still sprint down because it doesn't hurt when you fall on sand. When we got to my mom and dad. My brother and dad were jumping off the cliff and onto the sand. My brother even did a flip on the sand. When we were done jumping we headed back down the sand dune. On the way down the cliff my sister and I slid on our bellies head first down the sandy slope and our pocket filled with sand. Finally we got to flat ground and my sister and walked behind my mom, dad, and brother collecting rocks. Finally, we went back to the car. Once we started heading back we ate and went home and we were all tired enough to go straight to bed.