My Rodents

Last week I bought three cute little mice. I named mine Rita. The others were my mom’s (Gypsy), and my brother’s (Lucy). They’re all girls. I also had to buy the cage but I think it was worth it because the mice are so sweet. My brother and I put them into plastic balls to exercise. At first, they didn’t exactly know what was going on and they bit us when we tried to hold them. But once they got used to their new home, they stopped biting us and became very lovable.

Night is day for rodents and so they make a lot of noise when they’re exercising in their “exercise wheel." They’re so small that you can hold them in one hand, and they still have room to move around. Sometimes, when they don’t want to be picked up, we pick them up by their tails. And if you’re going to get one, I suggest only holding the front of the tail, not the end.

I also have a hamster named Sadie. Her and Rita look the same, they both are white with light brown spots. I think the mix is very pretty. Both my rodents are always wearing a cheery face. I like to hold Rita and immediately after hold Sadie to feel the difference. Sadie is much bigger because she is a hamster. My brother has a hamster named tawny and she happens to be a tawny brown. Tawny is the biggest rodent in the house. I will never get tired of my rodents.

Schoolhouse Rock LIVE!

A couple weeks ago, I performed in a show made up of all the Schoolhouse Rock songs. I was cast as a swing dancer in the song about gravity. It was a 50's-style song, so we wore letter sweaters and khakis, while the girls wore poodle skirts and button-up blouses.

The first week when I learned the dance, I got nervous. At call backs, they just showed us little kick step moves and that was easy, but when I learned that we had to flip these girls over our shoulders and do big moves like that, I was terrified!

So for a while, I just gave up. I thought eventually the directors might take me out of that number because I was doing so badly, but they didn't. Instead, the director came up to me and told me that I had to have the dance down by next week, and that scared me. So I went home with a friend, who also was a swing dancer, and he taught me all the moves correctly and when to do them in the song. I went home and practiced, and practiced, and practiced until I got the dance down cold. Oh, and I worked out . . . a lot. I needed to be able to lift my partner over my head.

So the next week, when I performed it in front of the directors, they were proud that I had it down. And so was I, because I learned that I can have fun with the dance if I got it down first. I ended up having a great time in that show and now, I miss doing that dance!

Autumn

One of my favorite seasons is autumn. The air of autumn is perfect because when you take a walk in a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, you don't freeze to death like you would in the winter, and you don't sweat so much that you have to take another shower. In the autumn, the temperature is just right. Also I think we will all agree that the autumn leaves on a tree are the most scenic part of the season. My favorite time of the year to be in the car is autumn because of all the colorful leaves that I can look at while we're driving. Of course, I also love taking walks in the autumn to look at all the beautiful, different-colored leaves. My favorite kind of leaves is the purple kind because that happens to be my favorite color, believe it or not. There are so many reasons why autumn is great!

My Thirteenth Birthday Service of Blessing

Last Saturday my parents had a special service for me. We called it a bar mitzvah even though we're not Jewish; it's for a boy becoming a man. We invited some friends over that were either really good friends or someone that had known me since birth. For example, my relatives and grandparents came. After everyone had arrived, all the men went downstairs to my dad's office, while the women and children stayed upstairs with my mom.

During the service, we prayed and talked and read from the Bible. Speaking of Bibles, I received a Bible and some other items such as a rosary, a special prayer bracelet, a small crucifix, a cross that my dad blessed and an icon of the Holy Trinity. After the meeting with the men was over, everybody ate dinner, and everybody talked. Then, because I'm learning guitar, my uncle taught me some guitar chords and a song too! I had one of the best weekends ever!

The Ultimate Foam Sword

Last Thursday my brother and I went to a class where we learned how to make foam swords. First of all, he showed us the items we were going to use to make our sword. The inside is a PVC pipe and the outside is a foam swimming noodle. The reason why it is foam is so that when you hit someone with it, it won't hurt.

If you were to make one, you would cut the noodle so that you still have a short piece left over for the bottom of the handle, the pommel. At the top of the handle you will put another part of the noodle so that you have a hand guard like it shows in the picture. Next, you would wrap it in duct tape like in the picture to keep it together; but don't put too much on, because then it would hurt when you hit someone. Trust me--I know from experience. Then, if you like, you can decorate the handle like I did with mine. And now you have a sword that you are free to hit anyone with, without getting in trouble, because it won't hurt them!

Our Vist to The Water Treatment Plant

Today I visited the water treatment plant with some friends. The first thing we did was enter a loud room with a couple of big pipes that pumped water from Lake Michigan to the water plant. From there we went to the operator's room where we met the operator, and he told us what goes on in that room. Then we saw the laboratory where they tested the water. Then we went through another loud room where the water from Lake Michigan went through a certain process that cleaned the water. After that, we went through a tunnel-like bridge, but with windows, to another building. There we went down to the bottom of the building and saw another room with two very large pipes that pumped the freshly-cleaned, crystal-clear water into the city of Kenosha.

Harry Potter's World

Harry Potter is the best! The author of Harry Potter makes this series so detailed and intriguing. Once you start, you can't put it down. It just pulls you in. I stay up so late because I don't realize what's going on around me. I seriously think that I am Harry Potter and that I'm in a world of magic! I would suggest this series for everyone.