Our Opening

Do you know what our opening is? It's where we all sit together and memorize things. We have a song, a poem, and a scripture to memorize. We've memorized two poems already, and we need to find another one to memorize. The second one was pretty easy. But we haven't memorized any of the whole song or scripture. We just do little parts at a time. But before we do the song, we do the Pledge of Elegence. We take turns from oldest to youngest to hold the flag, and whoever holds the flag, after they have a turn to say the prayer. Then we do the memorizing stuff.
The first thing that we practice is and memorize is the song. It's called America the Beautiful, on page 338 in the Hymns book.  We've learned the whole first verse, and I think there's four verses. This is how the first verse goes: Oh, beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
After our song, we do the scripture. It's Helamen 5:12 in the Book of Mormon. (We haven't gotten the whole thing memorized, though.) Here goes: And now my sons, remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our redeemer, who is Christ, the son of God; that ye must build your foundation, that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds; yay, his shafts in the whirlwind. And that's all I've fully memorized.
Next, after our scripture, we do our poem. We've memorized two poems, and so now we need to find another poem to memorize. This is how the first poem goes: Keep a poem in your pocket and a picture in your head, and you'll never feel lonely at night when you're in bed.

The little poem will sing to you, the little picture sing to you, a dozen dreams to dance to you, at night when you're in bed.

So... Keep a picture in your pocket and a poem in your head, and you'll never feel lonely at night when you're in bed.
The second poem goes like this: I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one. But I can tell you anyhow, I'd rather see than be one. 
After we do our memorizing, we do flashcards. Sometimes we do science, and there's vocabulary words, and there's also math flashcards. They're all on my mom's tablet. We use it for school. And soemtimes I use it for e-mailing people. So, that's all that we do with our opening!

Fablehaven

Kendra just got back from getting the artifact, but the artifact isn't really there. Either somebody already took it, or the artifact was re-hidden. Someone that went with Kendra to get the artifact put something in his coat pocket and said that they could pretend that they already found the artifact, so that nobody would try and find it.
So they discussed the situation at the Sorenson's house.
When they were having pancakes for breakfast on Saturday, Kendra fell asleep and had a dream about her riding on a ferris wheel. Everybody that was on the ferris wheel were falling off. Right when Kendra was about to hit the ground, she woke up. Seth said that he wanted to help, but Grandpa Sorenson said that he couldn't be involved. Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson said that he'd told Kendra and Seth's parents that they were going to be sent home on Thursday, which was in less than a week.

Fablehaven: Homecoming

Kendra, Warren, and some other people have to  get an artifact, but, they found out that someone else had already taken it. So, they're trying to figure out who had taken it. They also had other problems, like, they didn't know if the Sphinx was a traitor or not. So, the Sphinx might have been the one that had already taken the artifact So, what they did was pretend that they had found the artifact, so that nobody else would try and find it. But, they also wanted to know if the Sphinx was the captain of the knights.
Back at home, Seth, Tanu, Coulter, and Grandma and Grandpa were trying to figure out how and why Tanu and Coulter changed into shadows, and why only Seth could see them.

There are a lot of weird things that are happening in Fablehaven, and there's a lot to figure out, before Fablehaven is destroyed.

Kendra
Q: Do you believe that Vanessa is saying that the Sphinx is a traitor?
A: Yes, I do.
Q: Do you think that your people believe Vanessa?
A: I'd say they're still thinking about it.
Q: Would you rather give up, or try and try again:?
A: I'd rather try and try again.

Seth
Q: Do you think that Graulas is telling you the truth, or is he lying?
A: I think that he put in some truth, and some false.
Q: What do you think is false, and what do you think is truth?
A: I don't know yet.
Q: Why do you think that you are the only one that can see Tanu and Coulter, the shadows?
A: I don't know about that, either.

To Arches

A few days ago, we just got home from a fantabulous trip. We went to Arches, National Park. Did I tell you it was fantabulous? It was! When we first got there, it was about eight to ten o'clock, so we didn't have any time to play. Just unpacking and going to bed. The second day, we climbed rocks and chose different rooms. I shared a room with Tyler and Mykel. (Chloe is Tyler's middle name, so we call her TC.) Mykel is two, and Tyler is ten. But then, TC found a better room. It had a bed with a HUMUNGUS pillow. But then TC decided to go back to the old room, and I had that room all to myself. Kenyan also had a room,  and a lab, but then he changed his lab to another place. But he didn't tell us for a while.
But, there were also rules that the grown-ups made, and one of them was that if we couldn't hear them when we were in a certain place, then we weren't allowed to go there anymore if we didn't have a grown-up with us. Another was that we had to have a buddy. One day, Kenyan went without a buddy, and he didn't come when the grown-ups were calling him, because he was distracted, so my dad made up the rule that we were allowed to count thirty steps and that was how far we were allowed to go, so we counted thirty steps.
we also went on two hikes. One was on the third day, I think, and the other one was on the last day, which was Wednesday. The first hike, we hiked to Delicate Arch, and when we were still hiking, there was a rock that we climbed that was like a big hole.
The second hike was to the Delicate Arch. TC thought it was the most unique rock, because it looks like a pair of pants. Then we went to the Cookie Bowl, and had lunch there. Then, we went home.

Annie in the Air: Part Three

Annie got home and again told her mom what happened, but she still didn't know what the problem was. So they decided not to worry about it, and the next day, another weird thing happened.
While she was at school, doing her math, her chair's legs started walking over to the door. Her desk's legs, too, and she didn't notice until the legs of her chair and the legs of her desk started walking away from each other. but everybody in the class was staring at her. "Ahhh! said one of the students. "Annie's chair and desk are alive!!" The teacher went to Annie and said, "What is making you do this?" "That's what I don't know," replied Annie. "Well, I think you're pretending. If anything else happens like this, I'm sending you to the principal's office."
So, when Annie got home from school, she told her mom what had happened. But she still didn't know what was wrong.

Annie in the Air: Part Two

When Annie and her dad got to the house, her dad asked her how she went up so high and why she went up high. "Well, one of my friends from my class at lunch asked me if I wanted some orange juice, and, of course, I accepted it, and then I started to float up in the air." "How did that happen?" asked her dad. "I don't know," replied Annie. "I just floated up in the air, and there was a window that was open, and I just went right through it. Then I saw you, flying in the air, and so, then, you saved me." "How do you think you started floating?" asked her dad. "I think it had something to do with the orange juice that I ate, but I'm not exactly sure." "Okay, well, let's go ask Mom and see what she thinks," said Dad. So, they went to ask Annie's mom and told her what happened. Mom didn't know about any of it, and so they just didn't worry about it.
The next day, when it was lunchtime, another one of Annie's friends, named Emily, asked her if she wanted to have her orange juice. Of course, Annie accepted it, and then, when they went to their classroom after lunch, Annie started to hiccup. Hic, hic, hic! she went, and she tried to sit quietly in her seat, but soon the hiccups were so bad that she was jumping in her seat! "Why are you jumping up and down like that?" asked her teacher, Miss Manny. "I-hic! I--"Okay, so you have the hiccups. Now why are you jumping in your seat?" Before Annie could answer, (or at least try to answer) she jumped so high that all of the rest of the kids couldn't focus on their work. Soon, Annie jumped so high that she flew right through a window again! But this time, instead of floating, she was bouncing! Then, she bounced right into the house, where her Mom was.
Annie couldn't say anything. She had too many hiccups. But, when she'd gotten in the house, her mom was scared, so she yelled, AAh! which scared Annie and took away her hiccups.

Annie in the Air

Annie loved school. She loved her friends and how she could learn new things every day. Some days weren't as good as other days, but that was also one of the reasons she liked school. Every day was different.
But one day was a bad day, and she couldn't stand that one. Normally, she got to control if she had a good day or a bad day, but this wasn't that kind of a day.
It all started in the lunch room. There was a lunch lady that didn't like her for some reason, (Nobody knows what reason,) and her name is Mrs. Martee. She decided to do something, and so she thought and thought of what she could do.
When she got home, she made a magical spell on Annie, and it made her look like a kid. She knew that Annie loved orange juice, and so she got a bottle of orange juice, and she put a clear potion in it that makes people float.
The next day, Mrs. Martee went to the school when she looked like a kid, so she went to Annie' s table and asked her if she wanted the orange juice. When Annie drank it, she started to float up into the air. There was a window in the ceiling that was open, so Annie went right through it.
Annie was frightened, and she couldn't get down."What if I get hit by an airplane or a bird?" she thought. But then, she remembered that her dad was a pilot, so if he were flying right now, he might see her and get her somehow.
And that's exactly what happened. He stopped in the air and told her to hold onto the wing of the airplane, and so he flew slowly, and Annie safely got to the airport with her dad.
Then they drove home, and they lived happily ever after.

To Temple Square

My mom's cousin and her family went over to our grandma and grandpa's house. Her name is Cindy, and her husband is Russ, and Emmy is her daughter. We  wanted to welcome them to Highland, so we decided to go on a bunch of field trips.

One of the field trips that we went on was to Temple Square. (We go there each Christmas and see all of the Christmas lights that are hung up.)

Anyway, we went there yesterday and it was fantabulous.

We got to go upstairs and two missionaries brought us into a little room that had a TV in it, and we got to watch a little video all about family. Then we would move into the next room with a TV in it, and we watched a different video in a different room. All the rooms had things in them that were related to the video.

We also got to go to the , too.

One of my favorite parts of it was the beehive house. It was where Brigham Young lived. Two people showed us around the house. Some rooms we had gates in front of them because we weren't allowed to  go in them. Do you know why it was called the "Beehive House"? It was called the Beehive House because bees work hard together to make honey, and we have to work hard together to get what we need. After we got hungry, we went to the food place and ate sandwiches.

But there's always more to see at Temple Square.

What I learned at Temple Square is that family is very important, and that Jesus and Heavenly Father made it so that we can have a family. I also learned that our savior made it so that we could be resurrected and live with Heavenly Father again.

Gulliver's Travels: Chapter One

Lemuel Gulliver wanted to see the world and learn more, and so he went to London with a carrige. He said goodbye to his dad and went off to see the world.
He soon became a doctor, and then he went to study medicine. And someone asked Lemuel if he wanted to  go on a ship. Lemuel said that he wanted to do that, and so they did.
When they were on the ship, Lemuel's job was to take care of the sick people.
One day when they were on their ship, Lemuel heard a call saying, "Help! We're going to crash!" Lemuel looked up and saw a big, huge rock in the sea.
The driver tried to avoid it, but they were too late. The ship hit the rock and broke in half.
Lemuel was in the middle, so he fell into the ocean, and he finally bobbed himself up to the surface. Then he swam and swam and swam, and finally touched the ground, and got on the beach. He was there! On the other side!
When night came, he was extremely exhausted.
                                                          And that is the end of the first chapter.

My Freedom

I am very, very glad and thankful that my country is free and that I am free. I know that God made it so that I could be free and there are very wonderful people in the world that worked very hard to make it so that I would be free.

If I were not free, I would have to be a slave, and other people would make choices for me. My mom also said that if people were lame, deaf, blind, of something like that, then they would be killed because the people that made choices for the other people would think the deaf, lame, blind, or something like that, were not valuble, but that's not true. Everyone's valuble.

My mom is partly deaf, so she might've been killed if she were not in the United States of America, and she were not free.

I am very thankful that I can be free, and that I live in the United States of America.

The Things We Did

I have not written about much that we've done in school for awhile, so I'm going to tell you a little bit about the things we did.
One of the things we did was that we went to a dinosaur museum and got to see a bunch of fossils of dinosaurs, and one of my favorite ones was the t-rex's skull. It was really, really, REALLY big. Another favorite one was the-oh, I forgot the name of it, but it has a horn on its nose, and it has these curvy things on its head that are sticking up. That was another one of my favorite ones. But one of the things about that museum is that it's kinda small.
Another thing that we did is Daisy (our dog) had puppies! There are three of them, and they're all chocolates (in color) and, they're all girls! I'm really excited for when they open their eyes, and I hope they aren't all gone very soon, but they are a lot of work to take care of. One of my favorite things to do to take care of them is taking them outside, especially in the spring and the summer, when it's warm enough to climb trees, ride my bike, and do cartwheels in the grass.
Another thing that we did was a Doctor Seuss party, on March first, and we read a bunch of Doctor Seuss books, and after each one, we would do different things, like someone would do their favorite character, and someone would do the setting, the problem, the solution, and so on. Then we would pass the papers around and read the next book. Soon, we would have a list of things on each line, and we would take turns closing our eyes and pointing to a line, and then we would circle it with a crayon. Then, we could make our own Doctor Seuss story! (That is the story called "In my Mouth".) it was silly. My mom also made a grinchy cake. She makes really good cakes. (And bread, and soup, and everything!)
Another thing that we did was we finished reading The Wizard of Oz, and so we got to watch the movie of The wizard of Oz, with popcorn for lunch while we were watching.
I think that is all of the things that we did since the last time I wrote. I hope you can reply! Thanks for reading!

The Time Machine: Chapters Two and Three

The same people were having another dinner, and the time traveler had just came back from the future of his time machine. So, he was going to tell the story of what happened in the future, but we don't know the story yet, because we didn't read chapter four.

My mom doesn't think we should read the rest, and so we are going to read the book Gulliver's Travels instead.

Do you agree with this? Have you read this book? If you've read this story, tell me (us) what you think of it. (You can comment on the blog for this post.)

The Time Machine: Chapter One

There was a dinner at a time traveler's house, and the time traveler said that he could travel in time. Nobody believed him until he was going to get it, and then the people there started to get more curious.
The time traveler got a model of his time machine, and came back to show the people.
All of the people gathered around the table that the time traveler put it on to get a closer look.
One person that hadn't believed the time traveler was asked to push the lever, and he did.
When he pushed the lever, the model was gone, into the future.
                That is the summary of Chapter One.

The Wizard of Oz: Chapters Fifteen, Sixteen, Seveteen and Eighteen

The first difference in between the movie and the book of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the whole story was a dream, but in the book, it had happened for real.

The second difference is that in the movie, there were no heads that poked out of a hill, but in the book, there were people with heads that would stick out with very long necks, and push the people that were climbing the hill.

The third difference is that in the movie, Glinda the good witch came to them to help Dorothy, but in the book, Dorothy and her friends went to Glinda.

The fourth difference is that in the movie, Dorothy and her friends didn't meet anyone chineese, but in the book, they met chineese people that were very fragile.

The fifth difference is that in the movie, Dorothy was already in the balloon when her dog got out and tried to chase a cat, but in the book, Dorothy wasn't in the balloon yet, and she couldn't find Toto because he was chasing a cat.

My Sea Turtle Notes

Species? Seven types sea turtles: Flatback, Green, Logger-head, Leatherback, Kemp's Ridley, Pacific Ridley, and Hawksbills.
Food they eat? Leatherbacks eat jellyfish; Hawksbills eat sponges, shellfish, jellyfish, and seaweed.
Are they prey to other animals? Coyotes, raccoons, foxes, feral pigs, and birds eat babies or eggs
Where do they live? depends on what kind of turtle it is.
What kinds of bodies do they have? Sea turtles: no teeth. Leatherbacks with no sharp jaws.
Vertebrate or Invertebrate? I don't know.
What do they do all day long? I don't know.
What is interesting about turtles? They are almost extinct.
Why do you like them? I don't know. I just like them.

The Wizard of Oz: Chapter Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen

The first difference in between the movie and the book of The Story of the Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the friends only had to go into the room of Oz twice, but in the book, they had to go in there three times.

The second difference is that in the movie, they all had to go in at the same time, but in the book, they had to go in one at a time.

The third difference is that in the movie, Oz gave everybody real things, but in the movie, he just gave them fake things, telling them that they really did have the things that they thought that they needed.

Chapter Seventeen

The first difference in chapter seventeen is that in the movie, the witch of the North was the one that knew that Dorothy could get home by herself (without the Wizard of Oz) but in the book, The Wizard of Oz was the one that knew that she could get home.

The second difference is that in the movie, Dorothy knew where Toto had gone when he'd went to chase a kitten, but in the book, she didn't know where he was.

Chapter Eighteen

The first difference in chapter eighteen is that in the movie, Oz didn't make the scarecrow the new ruler of all the people that Oz used to rule.

The second difference is that in the movie, Dorothy didn't call the winged monkeys to help her get home, but in the book, she did.

The third difference is that in the movie, the same witch (of the North) came to help Dorothy, but in the book, a different witch (the witch of the South) came to help her.

The fourth difference is that in the movie, 

Jack and the Beanstalk

Jack and his mother were very poor. All that they had to eat from was a cow, and they didn't have enough money to get anything else besides the cow, and so Jack's mother sent him off to sell their cow.
When he went into the city to give his cow, he saw a man that called his name. Jack didn't know how the man knew his name, but he didn't dare ask.
"What?" he asked. "I would like to trade the cow for a bag of beans," came the reply. "Um...what do they do?"
"Plant them, and you'll see," said the man.

So when Jack got home, he told his mother what had happened. His mother was angry. She threw the beans outside the window and sent him to bed without supper (besides the fact that they had no supper to eat).
The next day, Jack looked out the window and saw a long row of pumpkins. "Look, Mother, look! Outside the window! Pumpkins! Pumpkins!" Jack was really excited. He'd never tasted pumpkins, and he was very anxious about what they could do with them. He soon found out what they could do with them; things like pumpkin pies. His favorite thing was a jack-o-lantern, because it had his name in it.

With their first batch of pumpkins, they ate ate them and made things out of them. With their second batch of pumpkins, they sold them, and soon they had enough money to buy two cows!

In My Mouth

In my mouth, my tongue has a name. His name is Thidwick. But he's a junk-food guy. He loves the taste of junk food. But there's also something weird that Thidwick has. He has horns!His horns are just like moose horns.
Every year they fall off (in the winter). One winter, Thidwick dropped his horns.

Then one night, he just ate and ate and ate junk-food. So he didn't get any sleep! That morning, Thidwick wanted to sleep and NOT be up! But every time people tried to wake him up, he just shouted,"Go Away!" and nobody would bother him.

The Wizard of Oz: Chapter Fifteen

The first difference in between the movie and the book of the story of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the friends showed the Wizard of Oz that they had killed the Wicked Witch of the West first, but  in the book, they showed the guard of the doors of Oz.
The second difference is that in the movie, Dorothy wasn't sorry when she had killed the witch, but in the book, she was sorry.
The third difference is that in the movie, the Great Oz wanted the friends to bring the witch's broom to prove that they had killed the Wicked Witch of the West, but in the book, the Great Oz only wanted them to kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
The fourth difference is that in the movie, the cowardly lion was really scared, because he didn't have courage, but in the book, the lion had scared Dorothy's dog almost three times.
The fifth difference is that in the movie, the wizard of Oz was just a very bad wizard, but in the book, he was a humbug.

The Wizard of Oz: Chapter Fourteen

The first difference in between the book and the movie of the story of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, there was a road from the Wicked Witch of the West's castle and the Emerald City, but in the book, there wasn't.

The second difference is that in the movie, there was no “Golden Cap”, so the winged monkeys didn't bring the friends to Emerald City, but in the book, the winged monkeys brought them there because Dorothy had called for them with the magic charm on the crown that the Wicked Witch of the West used to own.

The Silly Duck

A car moves on wheels, but I like to travel on a train. One time, me and my family wanted to go camping in Zion, because it was WAY too long to drive, and it would take days if we wanted to drive, because my parents needed their sleep. So we went on a train and we finally got there. My little brother,  Sam, likes to play the piano, but we couldn't bring a whole piano for him to play. First of all, it's WAY too big to fit in our van, and second of all, it's WAY too heavy for even my mom, and my dad to be carrying it all the way to the van, and third of all, camping doesn't require piano.

So, anyway, instead of bringing a piano, Sam decided to just bring a xylophone. Did you know that there's a pond there at Zion? Well, there is, all right. But you can hardly see it. I call it 'the secret pond'. And guess what? There's ducks in it! So, when we went to see the ducks, we saw a duck that my brother really wanted.

My mom and dad said it was okay, and Sam let it play with the Xylophone, and guess what it did? it somehow made the xylophone change the sound! Instead of a Ding, ding, dong! it made a Quack, quack, quack! So, now, instead of a "ding, dong" says the xylophone, it's "Quack" says the xylophone! 

It's really funny. At least I think it's funny. But I think that you think it's funny. Do you?

The Wizard of Oz: My Ending

Dorothy and the lion went to go and get the tin woodman and the scarecrow. When they got to the scarecrow and the tin woodman, they were all right. "I thought you guys were destroyed by the winged monkeys!" exclaimed Dorothy. "Well, my straw got pulled out, but the tin woodman got out of his cuffs. So he got my straw back stuffed in me," replied the scarecrow. "Oh. Well, should we get going?" asked the lion. "Going where?" asked the scarecrow and the tin woodman. "To kill the wicked witch of the West?" asked the scarecrow. "No," said the lion. "Where else would we be going, then? Don't we need to kill the wicked witch of the west before we go and get our things?" said the scarecrow. No, because Dorothy already killed her!"
Everybody was really surprised. "How did she do it?" asked the tin woodman. Well, I really didn't mean to do it when I did, but it is true." I believe you," said the tin woodman and the scarecrow.
Dorothy went on. She really wanted to have my shoes, because I had taken them from her sister when I killed her. So she put a metal bar that was invisible on the floor so that I would be tripped, and so when I tripped on it, my shoe came off and she snatched it away before I could get it. Then I got so mad that I threw a big bucket of water on her, and she is very, very horrified of water. But I don't know how it killed her.
Well, that's really good that both of the witches are killed," said the lion. "I didn't know that Dorothy killed both of the wicked witches," said the tin woodman. "That's wonderful!"
So they started their journey again, going to the Wizard of Oz.
When they were about halfway from in between the witch's castle and the building of the Wizard of Oz, a skeleton jumped out at them. Toto just kept barking and barking at the skeleton, until Dorothy told him to stop. But Then he started to try and chew on the skeleton's legs. The lion was already running away, because he didn't have any courage to jump back out at the skeleton.
When Dorothy heard the skeleton yelling, "Get this dog off me!" she pulled him away, telling him that it was a shame to bite a skeleton, even if he thought  I wish I could have skin, like you guys do,so that I ," he said.
We're going to the Wizard of Oz to get all different things," said Dorothy. You can come with us to get skin!" "Okay, I'll come with you." When they found the lion, they told him that the skeleton was going to go with them to get skin.
They soon got to the building of the Wizard of Oz, and told him that Dorothy wanted to get home, the scarecrow wanted brains, the tin woodman wanted a heart, and the skeleton wanted skin.

Wizard of Oz: Chapter thirteen

The first difference in between the movie and the book of the story of the Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the friends worked together to kill the wicked witch of the west, but in the book, Dorothy only killed the witch of the west because she was so angry at her for taking her shoe.
            The second difference is that in the movie, the lion didn't cry because he was so happy, but in the book, he did.
The third difference is that in the movie, there were no winkies, but in the book, there was. (The Winkies are the slaves of the wicked witch of the west.)
The fourth difference is that in the movie, there was no golden cap that the wicked witch of the west used to use to get her monkeys, but in the book, there was.

The girl who wanted a kitten

"Hmmm," she said. "I could... no, I won't do that." I'll ask her again and see if she says yes," she said. So she asked her mom, "May I have a kitten, please?" "No, you may not," replied her mom. "Why not?" asked Janet. "Because I don't think you're ready for pets, sweetheart," she replied.

"I have a fish!" Janet exclaimed. "But the only thing you do to take care of him is feeding him, and we do all the cleaning in the tank and putting more water in," said her mom. "And besides, taking care of a fish is not the same as taking care of a kitten. And kittens will grow up before you know it, and they will become a cat."

That night, Janet thought more about how she could persuade her mom to get her a kitten. I know! she thought. I'll ask if I can learn to take care of a cat! My friend has a cat! I could borrow him and learn to take care of a kitten.

The next day, she asked her mom if she could do that. "Okay, you can try it." So they went to her friend's house and told Janet's friend about what they wanted to do. She said that it would be okay. The kitten's name was Gerald.

Janet's friend told her what he could do and what he still needed to learn. Well... she thought. Maybe it isn't a very good idea to get a kitten. And so she told her parents that she was okay without a kitten. And that is the end of the

he story.

The boy who wanted a pool

But then he started to worry. What if the babysitter notices and tells my mom and dad? he thought. "I know! he said aloud. "I'll lock myself in the basement! That's what I'll do! But he said it so loud that the  babysitter heard him.
"What did you say?" asked the babysitter. "Oh, I was just talking to myself," said Bill. "I know that, but what are you talking about? Did you say you were going to lock yourself somewhere?" she asked.

"Are you mad at me?" asked Bill. "No, not exactly," but what did you say?" "Uh, I-I said that I was going to lock myself in the basement," said Bill. "Why would you do that?" the babysitter asked. "Um, I'll only tell you if you don't tell my parents," Bill said. Well, I'm not sure about that, but I guess I won't tell your parents." "Um, okay." I want a swimming pool," he whispered.
"A what? A swimming pool in your basement? I've never heard of that! Why not just ask your parents for a swimming pool? that would be much easier than having to clean, heat, and way more all by yourself. "And how would you be able to eat and take care of yourself?" "I never thought of that," said Bill. "All I thought of was having a pool."
Soon,  Bill's mom and dad came home from the store, he and the babysitter told his parents that he wanted a pool, and his mom and dad said that it would be fine. It was a lot of hard work for them to dig a hole, put the water in, and much more, but he worked hard, and soon they had a big, huge pool, just as he'd imagined. :)

Why Flowers Don't Talk Anymore

"Ouch!" said Beatrice, in a weak voice. "That hurts!" "Ha, ha, ha, ha! You have a cold!" Wyett  would reply. "Would you think it's fun to have a cold and then just be laughed at all day?" asked Beatrice. "Why even ask? I don't have a cold!" said Wyett. "Oh, never mind," said Beatrice under her breath. She sighed. Why couldn't she just get rid  of her cold and be like the other flowers? she thought. I'll just go out there and say that I don't think it's okay to laugh and be mean to other flowers. She tried that, but that didn't work. Wyett just ignored her. "I'll do something," she said to herself. "If I think of something." The next day, something very strange happened. Someone was calling for help, in a weak voice, like when Beatrice talked, because she had a very bad cold. She couldn't figure out if it was a boy, or a girl calling. But she soon found out what it was. It was Wyett! And he was calling for her help! "Why would I do that?" she asked. "Because... Because..." said Wyatt, realizing that he wasn't very nice to Beatrice. "Because why?" asked Beatrice. "Because I can't-- when he was about to say talk, he could not. And niether could Beatrice, or any other flower. And that was the end of the flower talk. Flowers never talk anymore because they used to talk too much. Beatrice already knew that cows used to hear them talking, but she isn't worried now, because they won't hear them talking now! So now the cows eat grass (dead, or alive).                           THE END OF THE STORY

The moral of the story is: if you want people to be nice to you, be nice to other people. 

The Wizard of Oz: Chapter Eleven

                                       

The first difference in between the movie and the book of the story of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the friends all went in at the same time, but in the book, they had to go one at a time. The second difference is that in the movie, the friends never slept over, but in the book, they did. The third difference is that in the movie, the people would never warn Dorothy and her friends that the great Oz was terrible, but in the book, they did. The fourth difference is that in the movie, the friends found out that it was a man that was talking in a microphone, but in the book, the great Oz could change into lots of different things. The fifth difference is that in the movie, the friends were scared of the great Oz, but in the book, they were not scared (except for the lion). The sixth difference is that in the movie, not everything was green, but in the book, EVERYTHING was green.

Lehi Leaves Jerusalem

Today I read in 1 Nephi 2:7-22, about when Lehi had been taught in a dream (from Heavenly Father) that he needed to leave Jerusalem, and tell the other people that they needed to leave, too. But they didn't listen. Lehi told his family about his dream, and they packed their tents and other things to survive, but left their gold and things like that at home, and had to leave jerusalem, into the wilderness. Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi were Lehi and Sariah's sons. They camped in a valley near a river after traveling for three days. Lehi prayed and said thank you to God for saving Lehi and his family from being destroyed. Lehi called the river Laman and the valley Lemuel. He wanted his two sons to be like the river and the valley, continually flowing to God and steadfastly keeping the commandments. Laman and Lemuel thought it was silly for Lehi to leave their home and their gold and silver. They didn't believe that Jerusalem was going to be destroyed. Nephi didn't understand the things that Lehi had seen. He prayed and asked if Lehi was doing the right things by leaving all their riches and going into the wilderness. Jesus visited Nephi and told him that Lehi was doing the right things. Nephi believed that his father had done the right things and didn't rebel like Laman and Lemuel did. Nephi told his brothers what he had done and seen. Laman and Lemuel didn't believe, but Sam believed. The Lord promised Nephi that he would be blessed because of his faith. He would become a leader over his  brothers.

The Day the Not-Very-Busy Boy Bee Learned to Work

"Why not work with us?" asked another bee. "Because I don't want to," said Spencer (the bee who didn't want to work). "Why not?" asked the bee. "Because I think it's silly of you other bees to work so hard," he said. "Oh." Soon, the news was spread all around the hive, and all the bees had to have a big vote. The queen bee quieted everybody down, and they all agreed that whoever didn't work didn't get to eat the honey. Spencer had stopped eating for a month, until he couldn't stand it any longer. He didn't want to look dumb, just working and working and working all day, but he had to be able to eat. He asked the same bee that had asked him why he wasn't working yet, "What job can I get?" "I thought you didn't like to see us working, or do it yourself," he said. "W-w-well, I am also really, really hungry, because I haven't eaten in a month," said Spencer. "Okay, you can put away the honey when the other bees bring it to the storage room, if it's okay with the queen. They asked the queen if it was okay, and she said yes, so he finally got to eat when the bees got together for dinner.
                                                         THE END OF THE STORY

Wizard of Oz: Chapter Ten

                                                                       Chapter Ten
The first difference is that in the movie, the lion woke up before Dorothy, but in the book, the lion woke up after her. The second difference is that in the movie, The witch of the North made it snow, so that the friends would wake up, but in the book, they just woke up on their own. The third difference is that in the movie, a man answered the door, but in the book, a lady answered the door. The fourth difference is that in the movie, Dorothy didn't ask to sleep over, but in the book, when she knocked the door, she was already in the Emerald City. The fifth difference is that in the movie, when they got into the big building, they got to ride a carriage with horses that would change colors. The sixth difference is that in the movie, the friends never ate dinner, but in the book, they slept there and ate dinner. The seventh difference is that in the movie, the Emerald City wasn't in the sky, but I guess in the book, it was. The eighth difference is that in the movie, the witch came before the friends were at the Emerald City, but in the book, she came probably after they got there, or she never came again. The ninth difference is that in the movie, the friends never had to wear the blinding things, because in the movie, the Emerald City didn't glow.

The last frog to fly

"Oh, no!" said the heron. "I can't fly!" "Ha, ha! you can't fly! You can't fly!" teased George. But soon he himself found out that he couldn't fly, either. "Help! I can't fly, either!" he cried. You can't fly, either? repeated George. "No, I can't! Splash! the heron and George both landed in the pond.
When  they got out, they noticed a bunch of other frogs, poisonous, red, green, striped, dotted, and all kinds of different kinds of frogs. Soon, the whole pond was filled with frogs. "You can't fly, either?" said George and the heron together. "No! didn't you hear the news? No more frogs can fly anymore!" said a dotted frog. "What?" they said together again. "How did it happen?" asked George. "I don't know," said a striped frog. "Can we fix it?" asked the heron. "I'm afraid not," said the striped frog.
Soon the frogs grew long tongues, and they were sticky at the end, so that they could catch bugs and food when they learned how to use them.
                                                                  THE END OF THE STORY :)

Wizard of Oz: Chapter nine

                                               Chapter Nine

The first difference in between the book and the movie of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, there was no Queen of the Field Mice, but in the book, there was a Queen of the Field Mice.

The second difference is that in the movie, the way that the friends helped the lion was that they just woke him up, but in the book, they made a big truck that they put him on.

Wizard of Oz: Chapter Eight

                                                          Chapter Eight

The first difference in between the movie and the book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the title is The Wizard of Oz, but in the book, it's called The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The second difference is that in the movie, there was no river, but in the book, there was.

The third difference is that in the movie, they went right to the flowers, but in the book, they had to cross a river first.

The fourth difference is that in the movie, the scarecrow never got stuck, but in the book, he did.

The fifth difference is that in the movie, the friends never said Tol/de/ri/de/oh/, but in the book, they did.

The sixth difference is that in the movie, the witch was the one that made them fall asleep, but in the book, it was the flowers.

The seventh difference is that in the movie, the tin woodman had cried, which made him rust, but in the book, he didn't cry.

The eighth difference is that in the movie, the poppies were white, but in the book, the poppies were red and pink.

A Hike With My Mom

My mom gave me the assignment to write about last Sunday, (2-5-13) when we went on a little hike with our family and we had a great adventure! Part of the assignment was that my mom had to write about the same thing that we did, so we could see it from different points of view. I learned that everything that is written (or read) has a tone. A tone is like the feeling behind a message or the feeling that you express when you talk.

My Story--

Two days ago, we got to go into the mountains and go on a little hike. But it was a fast Sunday, so it was hard to go on a hike without much energy. But it was still fun. My favorite part was when me and and Mama were both behind, (when we were going back down the mountain) and Sam and Daddy were ahead. So, we found a little shortcut trail right to our left. We didn't have sleds, but I asked if I could use my coat for a sled. She said yes, and so I took off my coat and started to sled down the hill. And guess what? It worked! It was awesome. But I don't know how it worked when my shoes were in front of my sled (coat), instead of inside of my sled. I also found a perfect stick that I could walk with, before I found the shortcut. We also found a huge, flat rock that was perfect to sit on, and so we took a few pictures of us sitting on the rock, with Glenn, our baby. There were a lot of plants on the rocks and not that much that weren't on the rocks. The mountain that we went on had a trail that kind of looked like a spiral that went around the mountain. That was a pretty cool part. After we went on a little hike, we got to go to our house and the home teachers came over. After our home teachers were done, we went to our Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the Super Bowl. Guess who won? The Ravens won! They had Fifty-four, and the forty-niners got fifty-one points.  

My Mom's story--

It was a beautiful, winter day on Sunday, February 3, 2013. Daddy had a strong desire to take a scenic drive through the canyon. Since we didn't have time on Saturday, I suggested that we go as a family on Sunday. The sun was shining on the pure-white snow, creating glittery sparkles amongst the trees and rocks. “This is gorgeous”, I uttered as we drove around the winding roads. The kids rested happily in the back seat and made little noise, except for the periodic sound of innocent, cheerful words, “Look Mom, a big rock!”

As we travelled in silence while enjoying the views, I felt myself starting to fall asleep. The next thing I knew, the car was parked and Daddy exclaimed to all of us, “Want to go walk around?”  We all did, despite not having boots on. Quickly after we began zipping up our coats, we realized we were not very prepared for the extra chill of the wind in the mountains. “We won’t be gone too long, so we’ll be fine”, Daddy stated.  I carried Glenn inside my coat and put his hat on. He did not complain, but rather enjoyed the ride and seeing all the snow. We found a trail that led up the side of the mountain and found that it wasn’t too slippery, but had been packed down by previous hikers. That was especially nice, since we had no desire to wear the snow in our shoes.

Sam sped up to the front and led the way. With my camera (on my phone), I quickly started taking pictures of the kids as they traversed up the hills. Elle stopped for a few minutes and sat on her coat trying to see if she could slide down, but quickly learned that it wasn’t steep enough in that spot. We continued on for about 15 more minutes and then I convinced the clan to lean on a rock so I could get a picture. Daddy and I took turns and got a few decent pictures. Soon, we decided it was probably a good time to head back. Again, Sam led the way and Elle and I stayed back. As we were heading down the hill, we came to the perfect sledding spot. Elle promptly took her coat off, sat on it and slid down. It was obviously prepared by hikers who had the same desire in mind. Excitedly she exclaimed to Daddy, “I got to slide down the hill!”

We loaded up and began our scenic drive back down the canyon, only having increased our desires for going sledding again this year before the snow melts. To experience sweet moments like these together as a family, helps us to express our desires and accomplish them. What a beautiful, winter day it was. 

Chapter Seven: The Wizard of Oz

The first difference in the movie and the book of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the friends didn't ever stop in the middle of the journey, but in the book, they stopped about three times!

The second difference is that in the movie, the tin woodman only cried when the Wicked Witch of the West had cast a spell on Dorothy and the lion, which made the tin woodman cry, which rusted his jaws, but in the book, he cried at least two times.
The third difference is that in the movie, there was no ditch, but in the book, there was a huge ditch.
(I wonder what they'll do.)
The fourth difference is that in the movie, they didn't have to deal with a ditch, but in the book, the lion could jump across the ditch with somebody on his back.
The fifth difference is that in the movie, the lion didn't find kalidahs first, but in the book, he already knew about it.
The sixth difference is that in the movie, the kalidahs were flying monkeys, but in the book, they were all different kinds of animals mixed.
The seventh difference is that in the movie, the kalidahs didn't come until Dorothy fell asleep, but in the book, they came when they had just started to walk after the lion had jumped everybody to the other side of the ditch.
The eighth difference is that in the movie, there was no river, but in the book, the tin woodman had to make a raft with his ax, so that they could get to the other side of the river.

Field Trip

Last week we got to go on a field trip, and it was awesome! You probably know where we went if you read      my last writing (called science/cousin home school). We went to Fat Cats to go bowling. And guess what? I got second place! My aunt M. got in first place, and I was in second, then my aunt B., and I don't know who  got in next, after that, and all the rest of people. Aunt M. got 129 points, I got 100, and I don't remember who got after that, the next, and all the rest of people. My mom also videoed about 1/3 of the time we were playing. Aunt M. got like three spares and about two strikes. I got about two spares. Better than nothing, right? My mom said that she was doing good at the beginning, but then she kept thinking that the kids were right behind her, and so she didn't throw her ball very well. Guess what else? Our cousins, the A.s have Wii sports on their Wii, and so if you play bowling, then you can go bowling without having to change shoes, nor having to pay money! But bowling out in the public is fun, too, because you can have more people playing the game than just up to four. Field trips are fun, aren't they? I think they're awesome. Well, it was fun talking to you. What do you think?

Science/Cousin Homeschool

Today our cousins came over a second time, to do science with us. They came over last night, and slept                           over. We also got to play the Wii. But today is going to be a really exciting day, because we get to go on a field trip after we go to a bunch of other places. But we still have to do our math and we did science, too. We drew pictures from the first thing to the last thing that God did when he created the earth. First, he created light and separated it from darkness. That is called Physics.Second, he separated the water above and below, creating the sky. That is called Meteorology. Third, he created land, seas, and plants. That is called Geology, Oceanography, and Botany. Fourth, he created the sun, moon, and stars. That is called Astronomy. Fifth, he created the sea animals and the birds. That is called Zoology. Sixth, he created land, animals, and people. That is called Zoology, Human Anatomy, and physiology. Seventh, God rested. One of the things that I learned was that when God created the earth, that is science. Do you know where we are going for a field trip? We are going to go bowling at Fat Cats. But, like I said, we have to go to a lot of other places before we can do our field trip; there's five other places we have to go to, and Fat Cats is going to be the last place we go to! But I'm still excited about it. All the babies are making sounds and aunt M. (our cousins' mom) just came over, and Sam won't stop bothering Mykel. (She is one of my cousins.) Well, it was fun talking to you! Bye!

Wizard of Oz: Chapter Six

 CHAPTER SIX

The first difference in the movie and the book of the story of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the lion didn't ask what Toto was, but in the book, he did. The second difference is that in the movie, the tin woodman only rusted again later in the story, but in the book, he rusted his mouth when he was crying, because he accidentally stepped on a beetle. (Poor thing.) The third difference is that in the movie, Dorothy slapped the lion on the tail, but in the book, Dorothy slapped the lion in the nose.

Why I Didn't Type

The reason I didn't type last week is because our blog was broken, but we didn't exactly know why. I was really excited to type on the blog and do all our learning adventures, but our blog was broken. But now it's fixed! I am really excited about that.
I am also especially excited about the videos. We have two videos in our blog so far.
One of them was when I asked mom to help me with a math problem, and she was talking to Sam, so I just said, "Mommmy!" and that was a really funny part.
Another video was about Glenn, when he was learning to sign "milk.
I love home school.
Today we had a good day. We got to make wands for our "No More Stinking Thinking" project. it was  fun. Sam made a blue star on his wand, and I made a purple star on mine.
The way we did it was we first taped two pencils together, and then we wrapped tinfoil around it, and stapled two stars that are both the same shape, so it doesn't show the white on the other side.
Well, it was fun talking to you! Bye-bye!

Chapter Five

 CHAPTER FIVE

The first difference in the movie and the book of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is that in the movie, the scarecrow could eat, but in the book, the scarecrow couldn't eat.

The second difference is that in the movie, when the tin man asked for help with his rust, he asked for them to do his mouth first, but in the book, he didn't even need help with his mouth.

The third difference is that in the movie, the tin man was called a tin man, but in the book, he was called a tin woodman. 

The fourth difference is that in the movie, there was no curse, but in the book, there was a curse on the tin woodman, to make him not mary his true love.

The fifth difference is that in the movie, the tin woodman didn't tell the story, but in the book, the tin woodman told Dorothy and the scarecrow how he turned into a tin woodman.

The sixth difference is that in the movie, the oil can was on a tree trunk, but in the book, the oil can was in the tin woodman's cottage.  

Homeschool with friends

My mom has to babysit Isabella and Jack today, so today was a little different than other fridays. We started school a little late, and we had to go and pick them up. My mom met their mom at my mom's wedding. Anyway, I am now here typing on my blog with two other kids playing hide-and-seek, and it's really tempting to just get up and play with them. But if I just type faster, then I'll be able to play with them. But I don't want to just type two lines and then just be done, because the last time I typed on the blog was two days ago. Oh, I forgot! I just wanted to say that I finally finished my Fablehaven book that I was reading! Me and my mom were having a contest to see who could get to the fourth book first, and it's still on, because I just finished the second book, and my mom has already started the third book, but she's kinda slow at it. Not to brag, but I'm pretty fast at it. OK, I want to play hide and seek with my friends.

Our Timeline

Today we are making a timeline and are going to use a beanstalk on the wall for our timeline.
Beanstalk is a compound word in two ways! One way: bean and stalk, the other way: beans and
talk. That's why I love that word so much.
Anyway, our goal is to at least bring our beanstalk
upstairs into the bathroom, if not, the office, if not, into the up-up stairs, if not, the attic! I'm so
exited. I wonder how much of the house we can fill with the beanstalk? Do you like painting
stuff in your house? We already painted a tree and grass in our schoolroom.

We were surprised
when my mom and dad showed us the tree. On christmas eve last year my mom and dad painted
a tree when they put the presents under the tree. We got hammocks that hang in the trees for Christmas,
and we can hang them in the basement schoolroom. I got a bunch of books, so I usually read in my
hammock. If not, I flip around in my hammock and talk to Sam. The grass we did together. My formatting is weird because I push enter at the end of the lines. I'll try to stop that. Anyway, I'm excited to do the beanstalk in our schoolroom. Are you? OK, bye, bye!

Chapter Three

The first difference in the story of The Wizard of Oz is that in the book, Dorothy found the apples

before she found the scarecrow, but in the movie she found the apples after she found the scarecrow.

The second difference is that in the book the munchkins told her that white is the witch color and

blue is the munchkin color, but in the movie, they didn't tell her that.

The third difference is that in the book, when Dorothy got tired, she went to one of the munchkin's house and stayed overnight, but in the movie, the wicked witch of the west made her tired in a big field of flowers.

The fourth difference is that in the book, Toto didn't bark at the scarecrow, but in the movie, he did.

The fifth difference is that in the book, dorothy and the scarecrow just walked to the Emerald

City, but in the movie, they sang a song as they walked.

School Today

Last night my cousins slept at our house and are going to sleep over for two more nights, until Sunday.
It was fun. It was a sleepover, right? And sleepovers have pillow fights, right? So we got to
have a pillow fight and we got to watch Toy Story 2. We also got to have anather pillow fight
this morning. (The date is Jan. 11, 2013.) Then we played "Apartment" until my mom told us
that we were going to start school. Sometimes it's hard to focus on school when babies are
crying and other people aren't focusing, though. Today was a day like that. The first part was
when TC asked me, "Do you know what Jack;s name is in Chineese?" (It's Jack son.)
That's when we started goofing off. But we started to cool off after my mom came in
and told us to stop. Hopefully I can talk to you tomorrow! (Even if it's Saturday tomorrow.)
OK, see you tomorrow. MAYBE!

Wizard of Oz: chapter two

Each day we read a chapter of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and we have to do a writing asignment.
We have to describe the differences between the book and the movie. Today we just read chapter two.
Do you like it when your teacher reads to you in school? Does your teacher read to you in school?

CHAPTER TWO

The first difference in the movie and the book of The Wizard of Oz is that in the movie,

the ruby slippers were red and sparkly, but in the book the ruby slippers are silver. The second

difference in the movie the cellar is outside the house, but in the book the cellar is inside the

house. The third difference is that in the movie the witch of the north puts the ruby slippers on

Dorothy by magic, but in the book, Dorothy puts on the slippers herself before the wicked

witch of the west comes. The fourth difference is that in the movie the witch of the north

Was taller than Dorothy, but in the book the witch of the north was about Dorothy’s size.

The fifth difference is that in the movie the munchkins sing a song to Dorothy, but in

The book they just tell her that they were so happy that she killed the wicked witch of the

West.

Today

Today we did home school and we were with our cousins, and we were planning to play the Wii, but
I guess the rest of the kids forgot that we were going to do the Wii. So now here I am, typing on
my blog. Do you do home school, public school, or any other  school? I do home school. I really like
to do our school, but I gotta go.

cousin home school

Today is Thursday, the tenth of January, 2013. Our cousins just came over and are going to stay for four days, until Sunday, the fourteenth of January.
In school, first of all, we do math. Then, we do our language arts. Then, we do our blog.
(That's what I'm doing right now.) Next, after that, we do our typing. Then we get our free time. (We can even go outside and play!) After that, school is done!
But today is even better.
Our cousins came over and the thing I really want to do is play the Wii!
We just got it for Christmas as a family. It's awesome. My favorite game on the Wii is De Blob.
Some other cousins gave us some games that they didn't want. De Blob was one of the games that they
gave us.
What do you like to do for free time?
Well, it was nice talkn' to you, but I gotta go, cause' I don't want to have to do all this stuff
while the rest of the kids are playing, do I? Well, I don't. See ya! Bye.

What I Did

Today I just finished my math, my literature, and my language arts. Sometimes it’s hard, though.

Do you think it’s hard sometimes? My mom just hung up the map and I’m typing my paragraph

for today. Isn’t it just so exiting to type and home school? That’s what I think. Do you think that?

I think that. Do you? I do. Well, I can’t think of much to say, so I’ll just say  this: I hope you had a

Merry Christmas and a happy new year! OK, got to go. Bye! See ‘ya tomorrow.

Hi, I'm Elle. Today is Monday, the seventh of January, 2012. It's the first day of our homeschool! Sam keeps on dropping his flip-flops! Isn't that funny? There's a lot of work
to do before we get on our regular schedule for homeschool. But I'm really exited!
Are you exited?

My typing assignment for today:

Wizard of Oz Reading Summary

the first difference in the story of the wizard of Oz was when in the book the people and backround turned gray because of no laughter. But in the movie the things were already gray in the beginning and in the end. (Dorothy didn't turn gray because she laughed with her dog, Toto.) The second difference was that the book was longer than the movie (Most stories' books are longer than the movies). I don't remember much more differences between the book and the movie.