Tournament News!!!

Today I went to another TaeKwonDo tournament. I got to do board breaking, sparring, and stick fighting. I did pretty well at the tournament, I earned two second places and one third place. I was mad that I got third place but it is okay because next year I am going to do much better.

This is me getting ready for my first sparring match. I was watching some of the girls I would spar against. You can see the girls that I did get to spar against in the picture with the green background.

I like doing TaeKwonDo because it gives me self defense, self control, concentration, confidence and I have also learned about the indomitable spirit. The indomitable spirit means that I always try my best and I never give up. My mom says this is a good thing to learn early in life.

Volunteering

My mom and I are volunteering at a horse rescue place. We learned about some horses that did not have any homes or the homes they had were really terrible. The horses have not been taken care of and just need someone to love and care for them. We enjoy being able to help these animals. Hopefully someday they will all get a good home.

Last Sunday my mom and I went to volunteer at the horse rescue near our home. We got to clean their stalls. We also cleaned their water buckets. First we took out all of the buckets from the stalls. Then we dumped out all of the dirty water and then filled it up with clean water and washed out their buckets. Then my mom put all of the empty buckets in each of the stalls and I came around with a hose and filled them up with clean water.

Then we had to add more shavings to the stalls, so that the horses would be more comfortable.

I have a few favorite horses that we get to take care of on Sundays, Kat and he foal Cloud and Stormy and Promise. Kat and Cloud love to be together and brushed. Kat was so nice, she let me brush her and brush her. She looks so pretty now. Cloud fell asleep in some pooh and when he woke up we brushed him so that he would look much better.

I am looking forward to going next week.

Summer Vacation

Summer break is coming. I am going to have a very busy summer. In August I am going to go on a plane by myself to visit my cousin, Milana and Alek. I will be staying with them and going to horse camp for two weeks. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. I will also be going to my Gran's house for Camp Grandma. We will spend three weeks there and I will also get to do some horse back riding as well. After my mom comes home from her trip we will all go to Priest Lake and camp with my cousins for a week.

Milana and I will have a great time at horseback riding camp. It will be so exciting. I will get to take care of a horse for the two weeks that I am there.

Spring Break - Disneyland

On Friday I went to Disneyland with my family. I have been to Disneyland six times.

I went on the Indiana Jones ride just after dinner. I went with just my mom. Mia and my cousins stayed with Uncle Dima and Auntie Faith. Instead of being a rooler coaster they used a car with a seat belt. The scary part was with a skeleton and the skull was stacked up into piles. It was a awesome ride.

The tree house was awesome. Tarzan lived in the treehouse. We saw books and a lot of fake stuff. We ran up and down the tree house a few times. It was very high. You don't get to go in the tree house, but you just get to look at it.

Space Mountain took a long time to wait in line. I rode with my sister. We screamed at the top of our lungs. We had a great time. There were stars and it was dark and we would go up and down, and make quick turns. It was really scary but I loved it.

Spring Break - SeaWorld

SeaWorld is in San Diego. My mom took my us, my cousins and a friend named Sophie. We did many things at SeaWorld. My favorite thing was to pet the bat rays. They were in a little pool. One of the bat rays would put his head up on the side of the pool and I got to pet him. They felt soft and kind of slimy.

One of my favorite rides at SeaWorld was the return to Atlantis. It was my favorite because it went really fast and I screamed at the top of my lungs!!!! My oldest cousin was very sad because she does not like fast rides. Everyone else wanted to ride it so she had to.

We also saw the Shamu show. It had some killer whales in the show. The trainers would swim with the killer whales. They also wore black and white suits that looked like killer whales. I also went to the dolphin show. During the show one of the moms fell into the pool. She was not a real mom she turned out to be a trainer dressed like a mom. It was pretty funny. We also saw a show called Pet Rulz. There was a pig in this show and a bunch of dogs and cats. We got to pet the animals after the show.

GeoCaching

Today we did something new as a family. We went geocaching! What you do is get locations on a map where a little treasure is hidden. Then you hike to find it, and leave a little treasure of your own. We went geocaching with Uncle Mault and Aunt Carole since it was our first time. We went to three places and found two of the caches. We had a lot of fun and I hope that we can do it next weekend.

Butterflies

We are writing about butterflies. Butterflies have three body parts, head, abdomen and thorax. They have six legs and two wings. They have two antennae for feeling, hearing and smelling. They have a long curly tongue to suck the nectar out of the flower. Wings can be a lot of colors. Butterflies lay a lot of eggs. The egg hatches into a caterpillar. It grows into a pupa and then into a chrysalis. Then it grows into a butterfly. After hatching out of a chrysalis they have to let their wings dry. They like to live where it is warm. This is what I have learned about butterflies.

My Teacher

I like Miss.Rotz and Mrs. Scott. Miss.Rotz and Mrs. Scott are a like. They are both nice. I really like them both a lot. They are both very fun. They are so,so nice I cant believe that I have two great teachers in my heart.

My Pets

I have two guinea pigs, named Pooka and Squeakers. My sister also has two guinea pigs, named RoseBud and Shivers.

My guinea pigs are very small because they are still babies. I got them a few weeks ago. Pooka has crazy hair and she has started growing up. Squeakers has smooth hair and she is still pretty small. They like to stay in their house and eat hay. They do not like their pellets. They also like to crawl on our shoulders and hide under my hair.

My sisters guinea pigs are big and they have crazy hair. They have not met my guinea pigs yet but I hope they will be friends.

Happy New Year a little late!

On January 1st, 2009 we celebrated the New Year with my cousins, Alek and Milana. My uncle Dima lit fireworks for us to watch. We were celebrating the New Year with our family. This was the first time they have been able to come and visit us. We had such a great time!

It is also great to be back in school.

My Family

I like my family because they are so fun to be with. My Aunt Faith and Uncle Dima are fun. They are coming to Spokane today with my cousins. I have a cousin named Milana and Alek. They live in California and they like it there. They can not wait to get here and play in the snow. I like my cousins and the rest of my family very much.

My Gram is Molly. She lives in Spokane on a little farm. She keeps busy with her four dogs, Muggies, Johnny, Zoe and Yeager. I like my family because they are cool to be the're with me.

It's Snowing in Spokane

We drove to Spokane on Friday. When we got here there was a lot of snow everywhere. My Gram says there is 35 inches of snow on the ground. It is very very cold here in Spokane. We can't play outside for very long time because it is so cold. My shoe has even come off outside when I was playing and it is too cold for bare feet.

My dogs Otis and Callie are liking the snow a lot. Callie plays with my Gram's dog Yeager. I have to watch Otis here because he is blind and he does not know about my Gram's farm. Callie enjoys the snow so much she likes to put her face in the snow.

I hope it will warm up so that we can go skiing!

Holidays with my family!

Pretty soon I am going to Spokane to spend time with my family. My aunt, uncle and cousins will be in Spokane as well. I am so excited. I can not wait to see everyone. Last year we went skiing and this year I am going skating in the park. I like spending time with my family. We always have so much fun!

Test Day

Yesterday was test day for my biggest Taekwondo test yet. I was a low green belt yesterday and now I am a high green belt. For my test I had to break adult boards with my side kick. I also broke two kid board with my hammer fist. I also showed Master Jay that I was focused on my board breaking. I like test day because it is hard to do. It challenges me to be better. When I take my next test, that test will be different and more difficult. Someday I will be a black belt. This year I would like to get to a blue belt. I have a lot of work to do this year!!!

My Sister

My sister is a great sister. I love her very much. Her name is Mia and she is two years younger than I am. She is in kindergarten this year and I am proud of her. I am taller than my little sister. I think that my sister screams alot and it is very annoying to me.

Hanukkah is Coming!!!

Hanukkah is coming and I like it! It is a fun holiday to celebrate with my cousins and the rest of

my family. During Hanukkah we eat special foods like latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts) or anything cooked in oil. We also do special things like light the mennorah with the shamash, we play games like dreidel (and Wii maybe) and we also sing songs. The most important thing we do is remember why we celebrate Hanukkah.

Hanukkah is a holiday that is sometimes around Christmas. Hanukkah is always celebrated on the 25th of Kislev. We celebrate for eight days and eight nights. It is also known as the festival of lights.

We remember that Judah Maccabee beat Antiochus and we got our temple back from the Syrians. The Maccabees took back their temple and burned oil that lasted for eight days and eight nights. Two miracles happened here! We remember them every year.

Sunday Morning in the Dog Park

Sunday morning, I went to the dog park with my mom and our two dogs, Callie and Otis. We met our friends, Serenedy, Mike and Porter and Mannish, Matriya and their dog Keke. I like Porter and Keke because they are so nice to our dogs. They are labs just like Callie and Otis. They love to play together and I enjoy throwing the ball for all of them.



The first picture is of me and Otis. We adopted Otis a few months ago from the Humane Society. Otis is a great dog and he is blind. He was blind when we got him and the vet said he probably has been blind since he was a puppy. Otis likes to be loved and to have his toukas scratched. Otis is five years old and he loves to play. He likes to play with tennis balls and stuffed animals. Otis likes to find toys in my bedroom and play with them.


The second picture is of me and Callie. Callie is a shy dog but she always loves to play tackle with Otis. Callie is a great dog but she has been known to chew my toys. When she does that it makes me feel mad at her. But I have to remember she is just a puppy still. I like Callie because she is a good looking dog. Sometimes she likes to sleep with me, but when I sleep she still likes to chew on my toys. Someday she will stop chewing, I hope! It would also be great if she would stop wrestling in the house.

Callie and Otis are friendly dogs. They enjoy the dog park because there are lots of dogs to play with in the park. They get to play with tennis balls, sticks and run around like crazy. Callie and Otis always sleep well after going to the dog park. Today they were so muddy when they came home. I had a fun time but now I need to go and give them a bath!!!

Rock Climbing

I was rock climbing at the Stone Gardens in Seattle. I climbed to the top. I learned how to rock climb in Spokane. When I returned Bellevue I wanted to continue and so my mom found the Stone Gardens. I was very proud of myself for reaching the top. In our family, we always say, "We never give up and that we will always try our best!". On this day I gave it my best.

My Thanksgiving

My Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt came to our house for Thanksgiving. I was so glad that they were here because I was proud of my family. I like Thanksgiving because we get to invite all of our family to dinner. This year was very special because my dad gets to be home on Thanksgiving day. My mom and Grandma help each other cook dinner for all of us. It was the fist time our family gathered at our new house for a holiday.

I am so proud of everyone who helped make dinner. We had a great time as a family. The next holiday we will celebrate is Hanukkah. My cousins from California will be here then. This is always an exciting time of the year.

Taekwondo Tournament

On Saturday, my sister and I went to a Taekwondo tournament in Lynnwood. I am a low green belt and Mia is a white belt. This was my second tournament and my sister's first. There were a lot of people there. My mom and dad and my aunt Cathy came to watch us.

At first I was nervous. After we were there I started to get excited. I competed in sparring, forms and board breaking this time. I really wanted to do stick fighting but they did not have it this time, maybe in the spring. I broke both of my boards and was really proud of myself. I brought home two trophies and a medal. I am really glad that I did it. Someday I would like to earn my black belt.