Our Beach/Sand dune Adventure

Now we are officially in Los Testigos. There is a cute little town right off
our bow with about two or three houses. Independence successfully made it
into the harbor, last night around dinner time. So now that both boats are
together again, we decided to go on a little adventure to the sand dune.
Indi (Independence) were in an area that was really rolly, so they went to
re-set their anchor, while we started looking for a path near the village.
We came across a man who spoke only Spanish. So we spoke Spanish/English and
he spoke Spanish, and he finally figured out that we wanted to know if there
was a trail to the sand dune. He said kind of and showed us how to get
there. After pointing us in the right direction, he went back to his little
town and we started on the trail. For a while it was just a little path with
a couple plants sticking up here and there. About half way it started to get
a little rougher. ¾ of the way it got pretty bad with lots of rocks,
cactuses, and plants we weren't supposed to touch because they made you
itch. Finally, we could see the sand dune, which made us know that we were
still on the path. At last, we made it. The sand was about a zillion
degrees, and it was on a pretty good slope, that was hard to climb up. At
first I started to think that the hike was totally not worth it and this was
going to be super boring. But then I saw a path and decided to go down it.
When I got to the other side, my thoughts of the sand dune totally changed.
Before me was a huge beach/sand dune. For a while I climbed on the roots of
a tree with Cole and waited for Mommy and Daddy. Once they got there we all
went full blast into the perfectly clear water. The bottom was just sand,
and there were awesome waves, but no undertow. Soon Mommy and Daddy said
that we had to start heading back to the boat. Of course no one wanted to go
back on the trail, so we hoped that we might be able to get to the ocean and
swim back. Luckily, there was a path leading strait towards the ocean. There
were a bunch of rocks at first, but then it turned to sand. About half way
there, we saw the Indi crew walking on the path! We were so excited to see
them that after talking for a while (more like yelling) we decided to go
back and hang out for a while with them on the dune. After playing and
swimming some more, we had to go back. So we went down the trail and jumped
in the water. After swim/walking for a while it started to get deep and more
like a reef. So we found a floating piece of Styrofoam and put Sammy (the
two year- old on Indi) and Indi's back pack. Soon we got to a place where we
could go ashore from rocks sticking out of the water. Then we found a little
goat trail to get back to the little village where we had both beached the
dinghies. Now we are back on the boat and Mommy is cooking a fish that Indi
gave us since they caught so many. Gotta go. Bye!

9/25/08

Today started with waking up at 4:30 am. I woke up to the sound of the
engines, and Daddy closing my hatch. First I freaked out, but then I
remembered that today is the day we sail to Los Testigos. (Los Testigos is a
bunch of small islands off of Venezuela. They are totally deserted except
for one, that has a coast guard station.) Our plan was to sail along side
Independence, one of our friends, all the way there. This all changed when
at about 4:45 am, they informed us over the radio that they were having
difficulty lifting their anchor (this is called a fowled anchor). Since our
goal was to get there before night came, we had to leave them in the harbor.
Since we had no success calling them over the SSB, or long distance radio,
we don't know when they left, and how far behind us they are. Daddy guessed
about 4 hours. Any ways, when the sun finally rose, I could see that the
trip was going to be really calm with enough wind. Perfect weather for
sailing fast. The weather lasted for about half the trip. Then the wind
died, and we had to put up our light wind sail, the code zero. This sail is
absolutely huge, and is perfect in light winds (and blocking the sun, so you
get some shade). Cole and I soon got bored, and so we went to watch a movie.
On my way down, Daddy told me to run and get a water pump, bucket, and
sponge, because he overflowed the starboard water tank. So for the next half
an hour Cole and I mopped, pumped and sponged all the overflowed water.
Finally, I get to watch the movie. About fifteen minutes into the movie we
had to take the DVD out because Mommy's computer (what we were watching the
movie on) had 9 minutes of battery power left. As soon as we went upstairs,
we were given sandwiches and yogurts for lunch. When I went outside to eat
on the trampoline, I was so happy to see Los Testigos, even though it was
really far away. Now, at 4:40 pm we are in between all the islands and 25
minutes away from the anchorage. Daddy has to use the chart on the computer
now, so I have to go. Bye!

Video Chat

One of our favorite forms of entertainment is video chatting with our
really close friends. After we come back from a day full of
watersports, we check on Skype to see who's online. Next, we connect
with them online. If they are able, we do a video chat. This is when
your screen is kind of like a television and you can see the people
you are talking to. Sometimes it's really confusing when everyone
talks at once or if you move really fast and then the screen gets
fuzzy. But, it's really fun because it's the closest thing to talking
face-to-face. I have been hoping to set up the computer and put it
near the dinner table so we can eat dinner with our friends. But
momma and daddy don't like that idea because it uses up all the
laptop's battery. Daddy just said, "How much do you guys think I
weigh?" Cole said, "Six hundred and ninety nine pounds." Of course,
we all know it was a mistake, but it was really funny. He actually
weighs 188 lbs. That was kind of strange, totally off subject, but
that's OK. For the next 2 weeks, we are going to be doing lots of
sailing. But, we are going to new places and out of Grenada, we have
been for the past month. Much longer than I ever thought we'd be
here. Today we started school really early so we could have a full
day of playing with our friends on Beach Magic and Panache, since it's
our last day with them. I ended up doing extra school work since Cole
was still going, but I still got to play for a long time. I'll
probably send another blog in a couple days after we get to Los
Testigos. Bye to Laurianne, Max, Marshall and Parker!!! We'll miss
you!!!

9/16/08

Today was a really fun day. I got up at around 7:30, and played my DS for a little while before Daddy came down to tell us to start school. Math and history each took about half an hour to 20 minutes. Reading took a long time because I did two lesons, and finished my book. It was really good. In art history I read a chapter and drew a picture of a helmet. Finally for composition I finished my news article and put it on the blog. After school we had a great lunch of tuna casserole and lots of fruits. I was about to start a bracelet, when the kids from the boat Beach Magic drove up in their dinghy. They said that they wanted us to come over to their boat, but when Daddy said that Max was allowed to wind surf, that plan was canceled. So for a while we swam around and jumped off the back of the boat. All of a sudden we saw Panache drive into the anchorage. After a lot more swimming Cole went to Panache to ask the kids if they wanted to come over and swim. Of course, Cole came back with both boys in the dinghy. When Max was done wind surfing, we all jumped in the dinghy to go tubing. It was so much fun. Everyone decided to just laugh at the people in the tube while they were in the dinghy, but Marshal and I decided to laughed at. After I went, Parker, the driver of the dinghy, said that he was going to pull Marshal at full speed. He deffinitly did. We were all laughing so hard when he wiped out (more like flipped out). When we went back to Zen, Marshal and Parkers' parents were there too. As soon as we got aboard, Mommy brought out a bunch of homemade pretzels. They were amazing! Before we knew it, it was 6:30, and everyone had to leave. Today was a great day.

Another School Project

Here is another school project that I had to do. It is a newspaper article on the chocolate factory I wrote a blog about a while ago.

 

 

     Belmont Plantation Chocolate Factory

If you have ever wondered how or where chocolate is made, here are some of the answers. At the Belmont Plantation, in Grenada, chocolate is all anyone thinks about.

 

Starting 360 years ago, by the Swiss, sugar cane was grown. When the Swiss left, the French took over with coffee, then the British with nutmeg, and finally the Indian, who still own the plantation now, started chocolate.

 

A while after the Indian took over, they started growing all different fruits and vegetables. All the new products were then distributed around the island.

 

Most visitors of the plantation agreed that it was a very educational event. Monique Burgess says "It was very educational, and I loved how everything is done by hand."

 

When you come to plantation you can first be given a tour, and watch a quick movie on how the chocolate is made. After the film is done you are given a free sample of the chocolate, and an opportunity to get your own bar.

 

"The chocolate is awesome," says Cole Burgess "and I have never seen so many different fruits and vegetables."

Weather in the Tobago Cays

If you looked at our main blog, you would have seen the weather chart of the
hurricanes. If you read the actual blog, you would know that we are NOT
going to get hit by one. Even though we are not in a hurricane, we are in
twenty five knots of wind with thirty knot gusts, pouring rain for the whole
day, and a huge current. Weather down here sounds great doesn't it (ha ha)!
Despite the weather Cole, me and the kids on the boat Cataway (Nick and
Tim), went to the beach to go exploring. In the pelting rain the four of us
went on all the trails and little paths possible. Finally, we decided that
we were absolutely freezing, and that we should go jump in the water, which
was surprisingly warm. We swam for a while, until Nick and Tim's dad came to
pick us up. When we got to Cataway we decided that we were way to cold to
get out of the water, so we swam for about an hour. Tim came up with the
idea to try and swim through the two hulls and to get to the bow of the
boat. It was really hard with a good current, rain, and waves smashing on
us, but we finally got through. We went back and forth about three times
until the current go too strong, and we gave up and got out of the water to
dry off. Since the weather was not getting any better we settled on playing
their PS3 (a game you play that is connected to a TV). When we got bored of
that we played the electronic game of Life. It was really fun. We didn't
play until the end, but Nick won with the most money. After that we played
the PS3 again for only a couple minutes until we had to go back to Zen. As
it is getting darker, the white caps on the waves aren't as clear, but I
know they won't be gone until late tonight when the squall has passed. Daddy
says that we have great weather coming our way in the next couple of days.
Now I just half to wait. Bye!

Puppies and Dogs

I've been meaning to write this blog ever since we went ashore in Greneda. There are now two puppies and two mothers. Both puppies belong to one mother. The other mother had two little girl puppies until yesterday. We were all on the boat and Cole and I were playing with the puppies, when a car drove up and parked in front of the boat. A woman got out and said, "You two kids look like you have been playing with the puppies here so I was wondering if you could help me. I was looking for a little girl puppy". Then Mommy and Daddy came down off the boat with us and the three adults started talking. In the mean time Cole and I kept playing with the puppies until Mommy told us to come say hi. The woman's name is Jenny and she is the owner of a foundation for saving stray dogs. Both Cole and I knew the person must be nice, so we went and got the little girl puppy like she had asked. Once we got the puppy, we told Jenny that we had named her Amanda. She said that the woman that would be buying the puppy wasn't American, so she probably wouldn't keep Amanda's name, but that she would let her know. By that time Amanda's little sister, Jelly Bean, had come up and was walking around our feet with her momma. Jenny looked down and noticed the little puppy. She picked her up and looked at her gums. Jenny said that Jelly Bean was sick and that she would love it if we could give her some medicine while we were here. We automatically said yes. In return she offered Momma some vegetables from her garden. Mommy said that she would love that, so Jenny said she would stop by later to drop off the vegetables and medicine for Jelly Bean. After Jenny left Momma, Cole, and I went back to the house while Daddy stayed on the boat a little while longer. When he got back he said that Jenny still hadn't come back. After dinner and desert we all went to bed. The next morning (today) we woke up, started school, and Daddy left for the boat. About twenty minutes after Daddy left, he radioed us. He said that there was a "special package". The package we soon found out was from Jenny. There was a note inside that he read to us, it said something on the lines of: Here is a ton of vegetables I thought you would like. You will not find the puppy medicine because I have taken the puppy to my house and will care for it there. Have a great time, Jenny. We were all very happy that she had taken Jelly Bean to her house because she would get better sooner there.  We all hope that Jelly Bean will get better soon. As for the other two puppies, we named one very lively girl puppy Betty, and her crazy brother, Rody. Betty and Rody come to Zen every day and hang out in the shade, under the two hulls. Cole and I both wish that we could take Betty or Rody with us, but we know the answer of Mommy and Daddy: no. Oh if you are wondering, the dog in the picture is Amanda.  I'm going to go read now, bye!

Homeschooling

Today was a big review day. I reviewed all of my subjects for a test that we will have tomorrow. We already had our math test two days ago since we are ahead in math. When we finished the test, Mommy gave Cole and I chocolate cake since ti was our first big test. The cake was originally for celebrating a full month on the boat, but since we had extra, we were allowed to have some. For our next test Mommy is going to do something different since the cake is gone. Anyway, I am really prepared for my science part of the test because I studied for two hours on it today. I am most scared for history because I have to remember a lot of people and I am not very good at that. Oh well, I will find out how I did in a couple of weeks (or months), whenever Calvert sends us our grades. 

Here is what I am doing in the rest of my subjects on a regular day.

 

Spelling:  On Thursday Cole and I did our chapter three post-test and today we did chapter four. Spelling is not all that interesting for me and I just fly through it. Not much is going on in spelling.

Science: I really like science. I get to do really cool experiments (when we have all the stuff we need). Also, when Cole has an experiment to do, we wait untill recess and do the experiment together. One time that we had to improvise for materials was when we tried to use gum instead of clay to hold up a penny in vinagar. It didn't work very well, so we abandoned that experiment.

History: In history I am just kind of reviewing all of the stuff I did last year. Most of it is easy because I allready learned all of it, but some of the discussion questions are a challenge.

Geography: I was really excited when I first found out that I had geography because I have never done it before. I like some parts but other parts I don't. The parts I don't like is the vocabulary words. There is so many and I have to memorize all of them for the test! The parts I do like is that I am learning a lot about things we have or are getting on the boat. Some of the things are maps, wind generators, and solar panels. 

Reading: I love to read. Right now I am reading The Swiss Family Robinson. It is a really great book. Some of the words in it I have never heard before in my whole life, but I look them up in  the dictionary (luckily we got a dictionary from Calvert Homeschoolings' program). I am also reading Selected Poems by Emily Dickinson. Poetry questions are kind of boring, but I like reading the poems.

Math: Math is different every day. One day I might be multiplying decimals, and the next I am doing mental math (mental math is when you there is word problems in the book and you can't use paper to figure it out, not my favorite thing to do in Math).

Composition: In composition I wrote the story called A Surprise Audition which I posted on the blog already. Also, I just finished a poem that will also be sent in with my test. Oh and if you want me to post me poem you have to tell me, because I don't know if it is very good.

Well, that is everything I am doing in homeschooling. I'm going to go to the pool now, bye!

The City Of Ember

       The City Or Ember by Jeanne DuPrau was a really exciting book. It was about a town that is underground. Two kids, Lina and Doon, set off to find a brighter world than their own (our world).

       One day in the city of Ember, while Lina was doing her messaging job, she found out that her best friend had supplies that hadn't existed for years. Lina became supiscous and told her friend Doon about what she saw. A couple days later she found something that said "instructions". She could not read all of the instructions because it had been torn and weathered, so she went to her friend who could. After deciphering most of the instructions, Lina and Doon set off to find the "bright world". They found out the journey was to long to do in one day, so they had to wait for the next day to complete their search. Since it illegal to venture out of Ember, Doon and Lina were being searched for when they started off the next day. Luckily they both got away and found the knew world.

       The book ends when Lina and Doon throw legible instructions down to Ember on how to get to the "bright world", from the "bright world". It was a really amazing book. 

A Surprise Audition

This is a school project that I am doing and will be sent in with my test. Please tell me if you like it!

 

 

      "Bye Tory!" I yelled as I jumped in my Mom's car at school pick up. It was a Monday and I was getting ready for my dance class. It had been a regular day, and I had no idea what a surprise there would be for me that evening.

       As my Mom dropped me off at the corner of the street, she told me to have a great class. I ran into the hot and sticky dressing-room to get changed into my leotard and tights. After chatting for a while with my friends we tip-toed into the studio to stretch. My teacher, Miss Karla, wasn't there yet, so I knew something different was going to happen that class.

       Finally, Miss Karla came in and took attendance. By then I had warmed up and was ready to dance. As usual someone was absent. Miss Karla looked worried that not everyone was there. This was very strange. Next she told us to line up from shortest to tallest. I was very excited because I thought we were going to start our dance. Miss Karla then proceeded to walk us into the Grand Studio. Once there the Director told us to do all types of different combinations.

       After two hours of dancing we were dismissed to our conditioning class. I heard whispers all around me wondering what we had just done. Before we left Miss Karla told the class to go to the Grand Studio. "Class" she said "you just auditioned for Swan Lake"

       Two weeks later I got a letter in the mail, that said I had been excepted into the performance. I was shocked.

Tobago Cays

Today we arrived in the Tobago Cays. Yesterday we had to leave after dinner
so that when we got to the Cays the sun wouldn't be in our face and we would
be able to see the reefs. The wind was really light so we put up our new
sail. It was huge! It looked like a spinaker, but a lot lighter. Cole and I
set up beds for ourselves in the salon so that we could sleep there as we
were sailing. I fell asleep at around nine and woke up at about seven-thirty
and saw the island. We anchored at around eight. As soon as I saw where we
were going to anchor I was amazed at how many catamarans there were. I
counted 13 cats. Once we were settled Daddy jumped in the glass clear water
to check the anchor. Then he told Cole and me to come in and look at all the
fish he saw. There is also a little reef really close to the boat that we
swam to and saw a turtle! It basically took us on a tour of the reef. When
it started to swim away Daddy, Cole and I went back to the boat to get Mommy
so she could see all the fish. Before we even got to the boat a huge
stingray swam underneath us. It was awesome! After a little while I didn't
see anything else interesting so I got out of the water and played with my
piano for a while. Then Daddy saw a catamaran with a wind generator, and
since he is on a hunt for one he and Cole dinghy'd over to the boat to check
it out. It ended up to be the exact one that Daddy wanted, so the owner of
the boat said that Daddy could come over tomorrow and get on board to
measure it. I don't really care, but Daddy is very excited. For lunch Mama
told us that she wasn't going to make anything so we she gave us chips and
salsa instead. I'm going to go eat lunch. Bye!

8/6/08

The most exciting thing today was meeting another cruising catamaran! Onboard was two boys, both older than Cole and I. While we were there Cole and Nick, the younger boy, did Garage Band, the exact thing Cole is doing right now. Other than that here is my day. This morning I woke up and finished my book, So You Want To Be A Wizard. Then at around seven I started math. It took me a while to finish it, but I got it done. At around eleven Mommy and Daddy went ashore to pick up the doctor. He was coming to look at Mommy's elbo. A couple minutes later Mom and Dad took the doctor back ashore while Cole and I stayed on the boat and finished school. Once I was done I helped Cole finish. It had seemed like a really long time since Mommy and Daddy left the boat, but as soon as I said it a dingy that looked just like ours started to come into view. As the dingy got closer we realized that it was two boys in the dingy and it wasn't our dingy. They came up to the boat and said that they were suposed to pick us up, and that our parents were on thier boat. I freaked for a second, but then I realized that I had seen their dingy next to a boat on the dock. After they picked us up and took us to their boat we hung out their for a while so that the parents could talk. When we left their boat we went to lunch and they went to a beach. After lunch wwe went back to the boat. Then Daddy went windsurfing for a while. I jumped in the water with him to swim for a couple minutes, but I got stung by something so I jumped out. When Daddy finished windsurfing we went in to the dock to meet Cataway so that we could dingy over to the place that we were going to have dinner. When we got there the people that tell you where to sit said that they didn't have enough room for eight, so we headed back to the marina and had dinner at the same place we had lunch. After I finished I went to hang out with Cole and Nick. After talking for a little while I fell asleep. When we had to go Cole woke me up by screeming in my ear. As soon as I laid down in my bed on the boat I fell right asleep.  

7/31/08

Today was very eventful. The day started in Mamora Bay at a resort. At about four that morning there was a really loud thunder and lightning storm. Cole and I both woke up and hung out for a while until the storm quieted down a bit and we were able to fall back asleep. After doing a math lesson at around 9 am, we started for English harbor to get a couple things we forgot back at home. It was such a short ride (30 min.) that we didn't even put the sails up. As soon as we got out of the little bay we were in, we saw three different dolphins. They were really big! They did a show of flips and jumps out of the waves for us. Also they liked to swim under the two hulls and jump under the boat. I really liked watching them. Once at English Harbor we docked. Mommy, Cole and I had to dingy in to the dock on the other side of the harbour to check out of customs. When we got back to the boat, Daddy had been talking to this guy with really good food, so we bought lunch from him. It was great. Mommy even let us get ice cream! After Daddy got the packages we needed we started for Falmouth Harbour ( where we are now). I read my book underneath the boom on the deck above the salon for the whole ride. It was also really short, so we motored the whole way. When we got to Falmouth we had to go grocery shopping. It took us under an hour to get all of the stuff we needed! After putting all of the groceries on board Daddy had to go return the car that we had borrowed. When he got back me, Cole and Mommy had finished putting away and cleaning all groceries so we all went for a quick swim. I can't believe my day started with a thunder storm and ended with an awesome dinner that Mommy just finished making, and is serving right now. I am starving, so I'm going to go eat dinner. Bye!

Hell's Gate, Hiking and Snorkeling

Today we went to this other island with lots of really loud birds. I have no
clue what the island is called, but it is 45 minutes away from Long Island
(where we just were). There is no people on the island since it is so small.
There is also two super tiny islands right next to it. Also, the water here
is really clear and you can see the bottom in 13 feet of water.

After we anchored we went in on the dingy to this little island
called Hell's Gate. When you first look at it, it looks really scary with
jagged rocks. Mommy, Cole and I ended up climbing to the bridge type thing.
We had to climb through a hole that had a snake type animal living in it. I
luckily did not see it, but Cole and Mommy did. While we walked to the rock
bridge you had to step on grass, and it looked like you were going to fall
through. Going down was also pretty scary, but we got to walk through water
to get to the dingy where Daddy was taking pictures. It was so cool.

Next we went the island we anchored in front of to hike. When we
got to the beach Mommy realized that her camera had run out of battery, so
Daddy had to go back to the boat while Cole, Mommy and I stayed at the beach
and swam. When Daddy came back we started our hike up a little path. It
didn't take long to get the top. Once there we saw two huge blow holes. I
really liked looking down into them and see the water splashing around in
the bottom. The trail went farther so we kept going and saw the other side
of the island. Then we went back down to go snorkeling.

As soon as we got back to the beach Cole and I took off our
shoes and sunglasses and replaced them with flippers and masks. We swam
around and waited for Mommy and Daddy to get their stuff on and then we
started to swim towards the reef. Their wasn't tons of fish but we did see
some. Daddy swam up to this one fish and stuck his hand out and the fish
moved back. When he took his hand away the fish came closer. Daddy did this
for a little while to make Cole and I laugh. It was really funny. On some
parts you had to wait for a wave to come and carry you over the coral
because it was so high.

Finally we swam back to the dingy. We went back to the boat to
rinse off and now we are motoring back to Long Island so we can go to dinner
their. I'm going to go sit on the trampoline. Bye!

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Our Driving Adventure

Before I get to the story, I want to tell you something really cool. Two nights ago I saw a shooting star! It was so cool. It was the first shooting star I have ever seen. Anyways, here is the story.

 A couple days ago we decided to go to this place called Devils' Bridge. Just the name told me things were going to get bumpy. Well they did, literally.

Since everything is backwards when you drive (where you sit to drive and what side of the road you drive on) it already scared me to drive across the whole island. Anyways, Mommy got a map so we knew how to get there and then we set off on our mission.

First we had to go to a friends' new house so that Mommy could see it then we started heading for Devils' Bridge. We were on a road that lead to the road that took us to the bridge when we took missed the turn. We ended up at a beach and had to turn around. After going up and down the road a couple of times we decided on one road we thought was right. It was a dirt road with lots of rocks in it. When we got to this one part that looked like it went straight and completely down, Cole and I both said we should turn around and go back. But no, why listen to the kids and turn around? Of course we had to keep going. We then came to a really tall and steep hill. Cole and I said "turn around please!" but no, we had to keep going. When we got to the top of the hill there was a huge cliff. There was a really nice view but it was really scary looking over the side of the cliff. We had to avoid a bunch of goats while we tried to turn around. When we got down the hill Cole and looked out our windows again, since we decided not to while going down. After we got down the hill we went down a different road that looked more promising than the last, it was. We actually got there that time.

The bridge was so cool. It was made completely by erosion from the waves. When you walked across it you had to be careful though because it was really slippery from all the water. Mommy and I took lots of pictures. When you looked of the bridge into the water you could see the different layers of rocks on the wall next to the bridge. We had so much fun.

            For dinner we went to this resort called the Verandah, but that is a whole other adventure.

 

Hurt Go Happy

Hurt
Go Happy
My favorite part in the book Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby was when
she meets a chimpanzee that uses American Sign Language.
Joey Willis is a 13 year old girl. When she was six her father
attacked her and caused her to be deaf. After that Joey and her mother
moved away from him, so that they could be safe. Since then Joey's
mother has forced her to read lips instead of use sign language.
One day when Joey was out mushroom picking for her mother, she bumps
into an old man named Charlie. After he realizes she is deaf he takes
her back to his house. There Joey met his pet chimpanzee Sukari.
Charlie explained to Joey that he had taught Sukari sign language and
was willing to teach her as well. Against her mothers' wishes she
started going to Charlie's house as much as she could to learn sign
language. After the birthday party that Charlie threw for Sukari and
Joey, her mother finally gave in and let her use the scholarship fund
Charlie had set up for a school for the deaf.
Joey woke up one morning to an earthquake. As the family met up in
the cition Sukari suddenly jumped through the door and was signing for
Joey to come. Unfortunately, Charlie died in the earthquake and Sukari
had to be sent to live with his niece Lynn. Life with Lynn didn't last
long for Sukari and she was sent of to a zoo. Joey's mother called her
one day while she was in school to tell her what happened to Sukari.
Eventually Joey met a person who could help her save Sukari. In the
end Joey gets to save Sukari so that she can live with other
chimpanzees.
I really liked the book Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby because she
never gave up on anything even though she is deaf.
By,
Cameron Burgess

A Cool Moonlight - my first Zen book report

A
Cool Moonlight
My favorite part in the book A Cool Moonlight by Angela Johnson was
when she was surrounded by hundreds of fireflies at her ninth birthday
party.
Lila is an eight year old girl who was born with a severe allergy to
sunlight. Their house has tinted windows that aren't allowed to be
opened at all during the day. All shopping is done in the night as
well as any play dates Lila might want to do. Her older sister, Monk,
always drives Lila to the city to see Monks' friends at Lila's
favorite cafe.
Since Lila does homeschooling she only has one actual friend. She
knows two angel type girls who only she can see. Allysa and Elizabeth
try and help Lila be able to go out in the sun by giving her a "sun
bag". The sun bag is a bag where they choose a bunch of things that
remind them of the sun and put them in. It was supposed to make her
allergy go away when she put the bag on with all the stuff in it. Lila
soon found out that it was impossible for that to happen.
If you find angel type girls, a girl allergic to sunlight and
something called a sun bag interesting, A Cool Moonlight by Angela
Johnson is the book for you.
By,
Cameron Burgess

My new look

Today I decided to cut my hair. Since there is no hairdresser that we are familiar with in Antigua, I asked my mom if she could cut it for me. She said, "Sure, let's do it right now." So, we went onto the dock to cut it. We ended up having to go behind a shack on the dock to hide from all the wind. I cut it because it was sticking to my back and that really bugs me. I love the way it looks!

The Barkmans-Last 5 Days

I told you I would right about the last 4 days so here it is. Day 6:
We didn't do much except for go to the Dunn's house that evening for
dinner. It was so much fun playing in their pool. Day 7: This was
deffinitly my favorite day. Around noon Katherine, me, Darlene, and
Mommy got in the car and started driving to New Haven. Once at New
Haven we got on a train and started going to New York City. Our
original plan was to get to New York, see a American Ballet Theatre
(ABT) performance and than leaving right after. Luckily, we made the
early train, so we were able to go to the American Girl Place for a
while. While we were there we got Lauren, Katherine's little sister, a
birthday gift. When dinner time rolled around we decided to go to the
American Girl Cafe. After dinner we walked all the way to Lincoln
Center to see the performance. Since we only had two tickets,
Katherine and I went while the mommys went to a fondue place for
dinner. That night we left and got home at around three AM. We had so
much fun. Day 8: We went to the circus with Nonna that day. It was so
much fun. We met up with Nonna, Auntie Dana, Giordan, and Sophia in a
parking lot so that we could carpool to the circus. Giordan and Sophia
are my two little cousins. At intermission Cole and Lauren had to be
picked up by the mommys so that Cole could get to his karate class in
time. Nonna drove Katherine and I home. The circus was awesome! Day 9:
On Friday Miss Erica ,my babysitter, took Katherine and I to get our
nails done for my birthday. After that we went back to the house to
get our bathing suits and we went to the beach. We had so much fun
boogie boarding! Day 10: They left at nine AM that morning we were all
very sad.

The Barkmans-first 5 days

On July 3rd my best friend Katherine and her family came from
Pennsylvania to stay at our house for 9 days. This is our jam packed
schedule. Day 1: After an awesome day at sailing camp we went home to
wait for them to come. They arrived around midnight and so Katherine
and I stayed up until 1:00 AM talking. Day 2: We went to the beach
with hopes to go swimming and windsurfing. Once we got there we say
about 12 pink foot wide jelly fish just lying on the beach, so we
decided to go home. After lunch me, Cole,Thomas,Cole's best friend,
Katherine, Daddy and Pete, Katherine's dad, went to see the movie
Hancock. It was really funny. Before dinner one of Mommy's friends
came with her family. The kids names' are Juliana and Blaire (I don't
know if I spelled that right). Day 3: My Birthday! For my birthday
gift Mommy and Darlene, Katherine's Mom, took Katherine and me
shopping to get 2 or 3 identical outfits so that while I am on my trip
we can look the same in different places on the earth and think of
eachother for the whole day. My favorite one was the yellow polka dot
tankini we got. After dinner we got to go out to frosty freez, an
awesome ice cream place. Day 4: The Big Party. As soon as we woke up
Daddy told all 4 kids to help clean out the garage. After breakfast
around 9:00 the people bringing the big blow up slides came, and at
9:30 we were playing on the most awesome water-slide I have ever been
on that was blown up. At 12:00 guests started to come. Sometime after
lunch channel 10 news came to our house to interview me, Cole, my mom
and dad. It was so cool. We were on the news at 6:00. Everyone was
gone by 8:30. After dinner the kids pulled the adults on the water
slide. We had so much fun. Day 5: We didn't really do much that day.
It was our only somewhat relaxing day. Except for making a dance store
with Katherine, and pretending that costumers were coming to buy stuff
at our store. My hands are tired of typing, so I'll tell you about the
last 4 days later.