Peng's Family
Lucinda Peng
Lucinda’s Adventures
The Biggest Birthday Present Ever
As you know my family went to Orlando, Florida for my birthday, okay not just my birthday, it was mainly because my dad had a meeting there, but still I think it was for my birthday. When we got to our hotel which was Coronado Springs, a hotel inside Disney World, we got to pick which building we wanted to stay in (Coronado Springs was like a park that had paths to different buildings, it was cool). We chose the quietest one for Mom, and it was also pretty close to the biggest pool called “The Dig,” so, that was good news for everyone because Mom could relax there, and Dad, Naomi, and I could play in the pool. Once we got to our room I hurried to find my swimsuit and jumped into the pool. “The Dig” had a waterslide called “The Jaguar”. It was really exciting to ride on it. It curved this way and that, at the end I went “kur plop” into the pool. Dad, Naomi, and I had a blast in the pool, then later Mom joined us in the hot tub (we really didn’t need it). It was around 80 degrees, really sunny and nice out there. This is in big contrast with Milwaukee’s cold and stormy weather. On the edge of “The Dig” or I should say all round “the Dig” was a garden with loquat trees, pretty flowers that I forgot the name of. They look like something that grows in Hawaii, and have 5 pedals and things sticking out of the middle. Just like we predicted Mom liked it there because it was beautiful, relaxing, steaming, and fun.
Naomi and Lucinda at Disney World's Coronado Springs, Feb 2006
With Dad at "The Dig"
“Next stop Downtown Disney.” The bus driver was saying. I looked out the window and saw lots of people singing, jumping, and screaming with joy. Since it was my birthday we were going to the Rainforest Café to celebrate. It was a really popular restaurant, so they gave out tickets that said what time to come back. Ours said in one hour! I was half starved to death and ready for dinner at that minute, and yet we still had to wait a whole hour! When we were waiting for an hour to pass we went to a place full of legos. There was a lego thing made into a sea serpent! It was bigger than my whole family put together! It took someone a few months to build it. There was also a playhouse made of gigantic legos.
Naomi and Lucinda at Disney World's Coronado Springs, Feb 2006
Lucinda playing legos at downtown Disney
At the Rainforest Café it was “thundering and lighting”. There were different sound effects to make the thunders and the lights were dimmed with special effects lighting “the sky.” All of the sudden the “gorilla” next to us started pounding its chest with anger. The “elephant” in front of us started “spraying water”. Everyone was under the vast “mushroom”, and in some parts of the “rainforest” it stated raining. For dessert I got a “volcano” which really was brownie with ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge. It was delicious!
Lucinda's Birthday treat, a "Volcano" cake
Lucinda and Naomi at Downtown Disney
The next day, we went to Magic Kingdom, where we saw lots of characters from Disney movies, like those from Alice in Wonderland and Robin Hood. At midday we say a parade with all of the main characters. There were very weird and special things that I never saw in my whole life except in the parade! There were so many people there. All the heat from the sun and ground made it feel warmer than 80 degrees.
Naomi and Lucinda with Characters
Watching a Disney parade
We chose the wettest and coldest (air conditioned) rides and movies. There were long lines everywhere! Just for ice cream there was a 15-20 minutes wait. For the Splash Mountain (the wettest ride) there was a 90 minute wait. There was a three-dimensional movie, which had a “flying” orchestra, cymbals crashed everywhere, and strings popped off of the string instruments. It was like in Fantasia, when Donald Duck made the mops come to life, but this time he did it to an orchestra! When the movie was over we went to Stitch’s Great Escape. I didn’t like that one at all! We were watching Stitch “the monster” escape. He breathed hot air down to our necks, and then he spit at us! I was ecstatic when it was over. Next we went to the Big Thunder Mountain, once we were settled it shot out of the place like a rocket. Up and down we went, I had no idea where it would go, it went faster and faster but suddenly it went slower and slower. Finally it stopped, but we were in the middle of the track! I had no idea what just happened, then a shrill voice filled the cave, and the boulders started to fall a little! The shrill voice said, “Please stay seated while we get the coaster started again.” I was scared to death, and when I looked up I thought, “Did the head of the train fall off because the railroad tracks had broken?” A bust of motion interrupted my thoughts. We sped through the tunnel and saw springs that were lighted in different colors, blue, yellow, red, gold, silver, green, pink, orange, purple, and even all the colors mixed together! Finally we came to an end. We then settled in for the Cinderellabration show and fireworks.
At the Cinderellabration we saw Cinderella being crowned queen, and Tinkerbelle flew to the top of the castle. They had a big party and showers of fireworks. The fireworks lighted up the sky, blue, green, pink, and light yellow. The grand finale was so bright I was almost blinded by it. It was a wonderful evening. By the time we got to Coronado Spring it was past midnight. I was so exhausted that I felt asleep without brushing my teeth.
The third day we woke up with excitement, I could not wait to go to the much talked about “Tower of Terror.” On the way there I kept thinking what the Tower of Terror is all about. Is it fun, scary, or electrifying? I had some clues since I had heard so many terror stories about it. When we got to the MGM Studio, we went to the Tower of Terror, but there was a one and a half hour wait, so we went to watch the Beauty and the Beast show first and saw a parade pass by. We saw characters like Ariel and Belle. Then it was time for the Tower of Terror. First we took the “elevator” straight up to the 12th floor. The “elevator” then stopped and turned sideways and fell right into the pitch black hole. My stomach flew up to my throat. We went up and down, and I just felt like it was going to never stop. Then it suddenly stopped. It was scary, thrilling, but also fun. We quickly walked out of the Tower of Terror to catch the fireworks show on the water at the Fantasia Stadium. There was also a water show that shows all the main characters of all famous Disney movies. In the end, all the characters were on the boat to celebrate the evening with mammoth fireworks.
The Fantasia Show at MGM
The Tower of Terror at MGM
The fourth day we stayed at the pool laughing and splashing until 3:00 PM when mom said “Come on girls.” We knew what that meant. It’s time to go to the Sea World. At the Sea World we caught the last Shamu Show for the day. When it started we did not see any killer whales. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a black moving thing. That thing was Shamu. She burst out of the water with a splash. Everyone was soaked! When Shamu splashed out of water, she landed on a platform and made her body into a smile shape. She was so cute with her baby at her side. Shamu was great; she did so many tricks and purposely sprayed the water to the audience. Next we went to the dolphin show. We saw dolphins spinning, jumping and even “talking”. When some trainers dived from diving board the dolphins caught them and dragged them through the water. It too splashed water at us. After we watched that we went on the Shamu Playground. There were ropes everywhere and you could climb the ropes to the top. We climbed for so long my knees started hurting when we went into the tunnels. Finally we got to the top and there was a huge slide waiting for us to go down. It twisted and turned, we went on until “kur plop” and we were down to the ground. Right when we got off the slide we heard the loud speaker said, “5 minutes till closing!” We found Mom and Dad and left the park, knowing that we would return tomorrow.
Dolphin Show at the Sea World, Orlando, FL, Feb. 2006
Shamu Show at the Sea World, Orlando, FL, Feb. 2006
The next day we came back bright and early. We first went to the Nautilus Theater to see an Odyssa, a performance with no voice. There was a traveler that went to the different parts of the oceans, even to an ice burg! The penguins greeted him with tricks. They also purposely bumped him into the wall of ice, and put an ice cube hat on him! After the show we just enjoyed the view while walking, and then we found a forest of bamboo. In the forest we saw cranes and swans. It was really beautiful! It was a nice way to end our trip by visiting the pretty flowers and birds in the garden.
The Whole Family at the Sea World
With Dad in the Bamboo Forest
It was a really, really fun, exciting, and cool (actually hot) way to spend my birthday. I had a blast there.
Lucinda at Sea World
Lucinda and Naomi in Sea World, Orlando, FL
Amazing Trip to Hawaii
Lucinda and Naomi at the Hotel Balcony, April 2006
The hotel we stayed at (the Hilton Hawaiian Village) was marvelous. Our tower, the Rainbow Tower (painted with all different colors), was the best. It was right on the beach, and looked out to the Pacific Ocean. The next day I woke up at 2:45 a.m.! Sort of kidding it was really 6:45 a.m. Milwaukee time but it was 2:45 a.m. Hawaiian time. Once everyone was up we went to the balcony to “explore” the hotel on the 23rd floor. From there we could clearly see the swimming pool, the water fountain, and the beautiful ocean view. Right under us was the white sand beach and light blue sparkling ocean. We went down to the beach and waded into the ocean. It felt good against the warm sun pounding on my back. We swam out into the ocean. It was really cool when the seaweed brushed my skin, and the water was not too hot, not too cold, it was just right. We took a lot of pictures, played Frisbee, and ran with my dad.
Lucinda in front of the Hawaii Hilton Village, April 2006
After breakfast we learned that we could feed different animals at different times. So we went to feed the penguins, ducks, and fish. I bet you’re wondering how penguins live in Hawaii. In fact, only 2 out of 17 penguin species live in the cold all year (they are the most well known, Empire and Common penguins). Five other species migrate between cold and warm places, and the other 10 live in warm places. The ones they breed come from South Africa! The turtles live with the penguins and we got to feed the turtles too. We fed the ducks neo-worms and roly-polies; they were slimy! We got to feed the fish in the end. This made me feel at home because I feed my fish at home every day in the morning.
Resting with Mom
Running with Dad
The next day we went to the Haunalua Bay to snorkel, the best place for snorkeling. Under the water I saw a lot of different colorful fish swimming in the coral reef. There were orange, red, yellow, blue, green, purple and just about any colors except for gray. Some of the fish we saw looked like a zebra fish, except it had dots of black instead of black and white stripes. Another kind of fish was like the Blue Tang but smaller, and one silver fish looked like a sharp knife. I couldn’t get my eyes off of the fish until the most exciting thing happened; it was when I saw a gigantic fish! It was so big that the fish was almost as big as banana leaves (I call it a banana leave fish)! I was scared at the first sight of it.
The whole family at the Haunalua Bay
Lucinda and Dad snorkeling at the Haunalua Bay
After snorkeling we went to the Polynesian Center where different Asian Pacific Island cultures were displayed. We first went to a place called Samoa. The people of Samoa are called the “happy people” because they like to make others happy. That was where I got picked to go up to the stage to make fire with two sticks and to crack a coconut. The fire did not just come out like that by itself. You first have to get smoke to come by rubbing the sticks from the same tree, next you have to get the husk of a coconut to catch the smoke. When there was a little spark coming from the husk, you have to blow quickly and it spreads into a fire.
Lucinda at Polynesian Center, April 2006
Lucinda at stage helping to make fire at Polynesian Center
When you crack a coconut you have to have a good tool to crack it open with. You have to really bang the coconut hard on the tool (a pointed stick and something to hold it up right), then you start to see something like dry corn husks and that is part of the inside. You keep on cracking and pulling until you have only the inside left. Then with a final crack you get the coconut juice. As a reward I was given a hat made out of palm tree leaves and Hawaiian flowers like the ones we saw at Florida!
Lucinda helped to crack a coconut
Lucinda and Naomi with a person from Samoa at Polynesian Center
Next we went to Tonga, Dad was up on stage now, and he got to play the drums. He was called Wisconsin!?! He was given a hair thingy; it was sort of like a headband with a “Nemo” at the top. At the stage he was acting wacky, like shouting at the top of his lungs, and did hilarious dialogs with the other people on stage. He tried to repeat the person’s drumming exercises in an entertaining way.
Dad at the stage.
Mom at Polynesian Center, April 2006
When that was all over, we went to see a show. In the show there were all the villages in one place where the people showed off their best things they could do. For example, the Samoa people did tricks with the three fires. They “sat” on the fire, but never got burnt! They had balls of fire and they swirled them around and around. They couldn’t make one mistake or else they would get badly hurt. Next the Tonga people came up. They did a lot of cool drumming songs, it was wonderful.
Naomi and Lucinda at the Japanese Garden, April 2006
Mom at Dole Farm (pointing to a pineapple plant)
The next day we flew to the Big Island. At the Big Island we went to the volcano park. We saw a lot of trees in their natural habitat -- the rain forest. We got a lot of mosquito bites, but our tour guide showed us a natural antibiotic, which was soft skin of a certain kind of fern. Unfortunately nobody knew its usefulness during the Civil War. People sent it to California to get made into the stuffing for beds just because there was not enough cotton! After a few months people started saying it felt like they were sleeping on dirt, and they were because the stuff was decaying. Later people found out by accident that if there were mosquito bites, and you rubbed it on that place and it would stop itching. So, people started to use it as a natural antibiotic.
The Guide talking about natural antibiotic
Naomi is acting strong
After the guide finished the story we went to see an old volcano which now became a crater. She showed us a wedding picture with an eruption in the back. Fortunately no one was hurt because the wind blew the other way. There seams to be an eruption every 200 years for that particular volcano and we are now at that time period. If there are a lot of sudden earthquakes that means there may be a volcano eruption soon. Also if the crater is going down or going up it means that there may well be an eruption. On the way down to the crater we saw steam vents coming out of the earth. The steam vents felt good until Dad said they had sulfur dioxide. That made me sick to my stomach, because sulfur dioxide is very poisonous. I didn’t know if it was because of the heat or sulfur dioxide, but something made the metal around it rusty and melting.
Lucinda and Naomi In front of a Volcano picture
In front of steam vents from the Earth
We drove toward the crater, with little cold drafts of air coming in. Then we were at the highest elevation where there was a road led to the volcano park. Now we could see everything from up there, the crater looks like a vast dried-up lake bed with a lot of stones and rocks. What interested me the most was that there were plants starting to grow again! When we descended to the crater I felt like we were on an airplane that was landing. When we got to the bottom, we were looking straight down at the crater. Well, OK, there were a few levels that had no roads on them, so that was the farthest down we could go. We had gotten a good look around, now I could see other plants like ferns and some saplings starting to grow out of the rock-solid lava (I counted more ferns than anything else, so I made a guess that the easiest plant to make grow there is a fern).
Lucinda and Naomi by the old Crater
New plants coming to life
There was still more fun to come, because our main goal was to see real live lava. But, where is the live lava? Dad said, “You will see, just sit tight.” I thought I might have an answer for my question as we drove down to the ocean. On the way we saw some smoke-like thing that comes out of the ocean’s beach. I thought that must be the live lava hitting the ocean. We could not wait to get down there. As soon as we parked, Naomi and I ran as fast as we could on the old lava to get closer to the smoke thing which is actually the Vog, a special kind of fog produced by lava hitting the salt water. It looked like steam at first, and then it became large and billowing. We hiked on the old lava, and saw the Vog clearer and clearer. Last time my mom’s friends went there and the volcano was sleeping, so we were really lucky this time. We couldn’t get too close or else you could get killed from so much sulfur dioxide. When we got as close as Mom and Dad said we could we stopped, took lots of pictures and enjoyed the fantastic view. Occasionally, we could see something like fire going directly into the ocean. My dad made a suggestion to use our binoculars to see it better, but that was the only thing we forgot in the car. We just borrowed someone else’s. I think that “the fire” was really just a stream of lava sometimes seamed bigger and sometimes seamed smaller. It started to get dark. So we, joined by lots of others headed back.
Naomi by the vog
When we returned to our car it was pitch black outside, but Dad wanted us to go to see the lava tube! It was scary, but Dad said it was nothing compared to when he was little, so we got to the lava tube. In the lava tube we learned how it was formed, and saw all those different textures of the walls and floors inside the tube. Lava tubes were made out of lava obviously, the outside gradually cooled and hardened, but the inside was still holding active lava and was still floating around. When the last active lava drained out it became the lava tube. At last we reach the end, how good it felt to be outside of the tube.
Family at the Hilo Botanic Garden
Family at the Akaka Fall
Naomi and Lucinda enjoy beautiful sunset while watching the live lava
Inside the pitch dark lava tube
The next day we were off to the other side of the island. We went to a garden to have a break from the car. The garden was so beautiful. There were a number of different birds and fish. It seemed so peaceful. Everywhere we looked there was always something special about it. In the park we found lots of tropical flowers like the Gardenias. On our way to the Rainbow Falls, we found a really windy place with water crashing against the rocks. It was really fun watching the water fly up and down. We sadly had to leave, but I knew Rainbow Falls would be just as fun as discovering black crabs under rocks and minnows in tide pools. At Rainbow Falls it was a beautiful hike and the sight was just marvelous. You could see rainbows over the fall, and how often could you see like 10 rainbows at once? We could only see the rainbows from a special corner of the falls. On a hiking path, we saw all these cool things like palm trees and different plants. One path branched off to the forest, after a few feet you can reach a really good climbing tree. It has millions of roots and plenty of branches. We even saw some people eating lunch on the tree! Then I started noticing how hungry I was, so we stopped hiking and got to the car for a quick snack and a chance to get going.
Lucinda at the Rainbow Fall
We are finally here at the other side of the island. I am starving! We are going to go to Food World now. After we ate we went to the hotel, and Dad and I are learning how to snorkel, I like snorkeling in the pool, but there is nothing to see. Dad likes to snorkel in the ocean where you can see lots of neat stuff, but I always get salt water in my mouth. We went back and forth from pool to the ocean and back to the pool. In the ocean we saw other fish, not as many as Hanuman Bay, but just as pretty. There are mostly dull colored ones, but there was one which really caught my eye. A rainbow colored fish. It is so pretty I do not want to leave it, blah a ton of salt water got in my mouth, after a few spits I get it all out. I am getting used to spitting water out of my mouth now. When we get deeper, I see some black sea urchins and other poisonous things like moray eel holes which are pretty far out. Since it is too deep for me to stand, we headed back to shore. When I went to get a drink of water I forgot my shoes, so I raced down the lava that was smoothed out and looked like a black top and my feet were burning. We had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. It was beautiful with spectacular sunset. We had the fresh caught fish. It was a delicious and the music was peaceful.
With Dad at Kona Beach
Snorkeling at Kona Beach
It was a very enjoying time at the ocean snorkeling and learning how Hawaii was born out of volcanoes. I also liked learning how the island was discovered by the Polynesians and all other things I learned there and everywhere on the islands. It was a great, relaxing, and exciting trip.
Sunset at Kona Beach
Dinner at Kona Beach
Traveling to Lake Superior
Lake Superior is by Wisconsin, but it took us almost seven hours to drive there. The drive there was pretty boring, playing our Tamagotchis, but when we got there the fun started. The first night we stayed at my dad’s friend’s house. Then the next day we went to Duluth, Minnesota, and saw a huge ship going under a seemingly “tiny” bridge that went up and down for boats to pass through. When we couldn’t see the ship any more Naomi and I went jumping in the icy cold waters of Lake Superior. Later in the day we went on a mini cruise under that bridge too. It was the best.
When we woke up refreshed we started out our long journey to the Grand Portage, Minnesota. Since it was a nice day we stopped here and there to hike and to enjoy the nature. We saw a lot of trees, small and big, and different kinds of waterfalls, and rugged paths. There was a particular spot where we saw foams on the water, which was shaped like a birthday cake and had dirt on it for “frosting and sprinkles”. There was a small waterfall that led to a “caldron” where the “birthday cake” was, which also led to another small waterfall. The current of the first waterfall kept the “birthday cake” from falling down to second waterfall.
Cruising Lake Superior, August 2006
Fall, falls, everywhere.
We also got a tour of the Split Rock Lighthouse. We got to see a humongous light generator that had to be wound so the light would keep turning around lighted so that sailors would not crash to the shore or get lost. At the house which the caretaker would stay, we got a tour of the old house just to see what the house looked like and the stuff the caretakers used in the past, and we got to eat fresh baked cookies.
When we finally reached the Grand Portage it was very late at night. Our hotel was really cool; it had pictures of deer and other wild life. The bed frames looked like antlers of another wild animal. It was really early when I got up in the morning, and I got to see the sunrise from the lake.
After a quick breakfast we went to Canada, when we got there we saw the Sleeping Giants (mountains looking like HUGE people laying down), waterfalls (huge, big and small). When Naomi and I tried to imitate the Giants, we looked like we were 10000 times smaller. We also went to a lot of gardens, including an International Friendship Garden. They were pretty even though we didn’t see too many flowers.
Family at the Split Rock Light House, August 2006
What's so funny?
Lake Superior was very enjoyable. I liked sightseeing the best.
Splish Splash at Wisconsin Dells
We stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge at Wisconsin Dells, a place where we have never been to before. It was more fun than the other hotels that we already have been to. At the Great Wolf Lodge we went on all the slides and had the fun of our lives. The Mat Racers was pretty cool, Naomi, Dad, Mom, and I raced against each other. Then we headed over to the Howlin’ Tornado. We almost touched the ceiling of it when we were in the big spinney thing, and then poof we were shot out of there like a gunshot. Mom liked the ride, but said it was not worth carrying the big tube up the stairs. When Mom and Dad went to the hot tub we went in the animal pool, at least that’s what I called it.
Mat Racer, ready, set
Go!
We made it!
When we got back to the park after the lunch it looked different, a little more crowded and noisy. The Mat Racers looked ten times longer, and the Tornado looked one hundred times scarier than before. I thought that maybe it was because I had more energy or something in the morning. What ever the reason, I noticed the lines were undeniably longer, and it was getting noisier by the minute. As the people and voices started to get quieter I become aware of the fact that I was really hungry. So we went to a nearby restaurant for a big dinner, and headed back to the park, and played there until it closed. By the time we got in bed it was midnight! I fell asleep the moment Dad finished the story.
Splish, Splash
The wave is coming, hold it tight.
I had a blast at Wisconsin Dells. In the end I didn’t want to leave.
My Trip to Portland, Oregon
I went to Portland, Oregon to visit Grandpa Ted and Grandma Ele over the summer all by myself. I did a lot of things there, some were very exciting, and some were very bad. For instance, I learned how to play the violin, and, I won’t tell you it all, not yet. The time I was on the airplane, I was pretty scared. I kept thinking how at Girl Scout Camp I had cried every single night when I was out camping without Mom and Dad, so I was afraid that it would happen at Portland, Oregon. It ended up being a really awesome trip, going to OMSI with my friend Sophia and her father as well as with my American grandmother (Grandma Ele) and her granddaughter Lizzie (my cousin).
When I went with Sophia and her Dad we went to the bottom floor exhibits like the ones where we made boats and sailed them across the pool. We also made something that could stay up in the blowing wind out of paper cups. We also felt what an earthquake feels like (a small and big one), it was very cool. Then we made a house out of legos and put a ball on it and saw how long it could stay on the moving “ground”. Ours lasted three minutes! It ended with a loud crash as the “house” toppled over and spilled on the ground. We had a lot of fun at OMSI. The next day that I spent at Sophia’s house was enjoyable. We went to climb mountains, see waterfalls, and go to Chuck E. Cheese’s.
When we were half way up the mountain we found a spot where it looked like a tree was saying “come and sit on me.” We did. All four of us (including Joy, Sophia’s friend and Sophia’s Dad) just managed to get enough space for everyone to sit down. When we were done resting we got to the top, oh my, was it a nice view! We could always see everywhere. We even saw some waterfalls! On the way down we saw stepping stones in a river! I was amazed at how we could just simply walk over (with a bit of jumping) we managed to get across. The waterfalls were beautiful; we counted twelve waterfalls in that particular spot. We also got a chance to play in the water while Sophia’s dad rested. When we were splashing and playing we found a little blue crab! It was adorable. We let it go on the shore line so it could get a break from the water and then crawl back into the river whenever it wanted to. When we got back to Sophia’s house we played a computer game that we all liked, and then Joy called her mom to see if it was okay to have a sleepover, and she said yes. We had a lot of fun.
Lucinda at Multnomah Fall at Portland Oregon, August 2006
Sophia, Lucinda and Joy at Portland, Oregon, August 2006
Three friends playing at a creek, August 2006
When I was at Grandma Ele’s house I learned how to play the violin. It was easier to learn violin since I played the piano so I already knew the notes. All I had to do is getting used to not letting my bow go crooked and changing the finger numberings. For instance my second finger for piano is my first finger in violin and so on. One day I found it really hard to keep track of which finger was which, so Grandma Ele wrote the numbers on my nails. I learned a lot of songs in my Suzuki book and then I learned “Boil the Cabbage” something not in my Suzuki book. I also learned a lesson not to go bike riding too fast while going downhill. On the fourth day I was there I fell down from an adult bike that Grandma Ele usually rides, and scraped my knees very badly. It hurt.
At Grandma Ele’s house I sort of had an agenda. In the mornings I would wake up and drink hot chocolate while reading with Grandma Ele until Grandpa Ted woke up, and then we would have breakfast. After the breakfast Grandma Ele and I would practice violin. Sometime soon Lizzie would be over to play, and we would ride bikes or play some other games. It was like Lizzie was Naomi, but in Portland because they were born three days apart in the same year. We would have tons and tons of fun playing games and violin together. In the afternoon we would go somewhere fun or stay there or go to Lizzie’s house. At Lizzie’s house Lizzie and I made a mud soup using weeds for “vegetables” and dried flower petals for the spices. When we dumped the water out it turned into a mud pie, a really messy and wet one. Later we found a place in the fence where Lizzie and I could go through into the front yard. There was a canoe which we climbed and then we could easily jump over into the back part of the tree and then we would be stuck. I thought that we could spy on people on the street, but then Kelly said it was time to go back to Grandma Ele’s.
One day I went to Canon Beach with Lizzie, Grandma Ele, and Grandpa Ted. We visited Bob and Mary Lou, Lizzie’s other grandparents. Lizzie and I spent most of the time with Bob. We watched Little House on the Prairie, went to the beach to make sandcastles, and made huge bubbles. The first day Lizzie and I were at Cannon Beach we went straight to the water, it was freezing cold. When we went back to Bob and Mary Lou’s house Lizzie and I were wet up to our knees. After dinner we went downstairs to watch Little House on the Prairie. Bob had a lot of different DVDs of all parts of the book. We didn’t know which one to pick first. I liked the one where Nellie, a mean girl, gets married, because I read the book and liked this chapter a lot. So I chose this one to watch first.
When we went to the beach with Bob, Grandpa Ted and Grandma Ele, we made a huge sandcastle; it was so big that I couldn’t reach the top of it in the end! When we came back we had lunch, and then played with the bubbles. These weren’t just any bubbles either. It had a place where there was string and the string controlled how big the bubble would be. We made some bubbles that went all around us! Bob calls those donuts. He also called himself a “kid” and said when he “was” he felt younger. After dinner we went outside for a walk to the beach. It was beautiful to watch the sunset, and birds flying above us.
The next day we woke up bright and early, and since there was still moisture in the air we did a few big bubbles. The moisture in the air helped make the bubbles bigger and last longer. We then walked to the beach to build another sandcastle. This time we had other people helping us, so it was much taller than me. When we got back it was time for breakfast. We had cereal, and fruit. After breakfast Lizzie, Grandma Ele and I played violin together. Lizzie had to go to her Cousin Annie’s beach house. When Lizzie was gone we went to the place where Louis and Clark camped for the winter. At the store there I got a leather bag and got Naomi two bags of beads that were the kinds of beads Lewis and Clark used to decorate their clothing. It was cool.
I loved it at Portland, Oregon. I didn’t cry either as I thought I might have. When my mom called and asked if I missed home I answered “Not much.”
I had an awesome year. I am excited about next year too. I am not sure what we are going to do yet, but I am looking forward to visiting China next summer.