A Birthday Treat

Looking through my solar eclipse viewer.

Adam launching my rocket

Birthday, you say? I will be looking forward to my birthday with extra anticipation this year because I learned of a once in a lifetime event that will be happening a few days before I turn 7.  Mom took me to the NC Museum of Natural Sciences on Saturday where I learned about a total solar eclipse that is happening on August 21, 2017. It is a very special event that I hope I will be able to experience. I made a solar eclipse viewer and we enjoyed the museum for a bit, then I colored wings to put onto a rocket that I got to launch into the air! A man counted down 3-2-1, and I pulled a string to launch it into the air. Daddy and Adam met us while I was launching my rocket so I let Adam do it a couple of times. I enjoyed my morning with Mom.

The next day, the weather was nice enough to go out and enjoy a new park in Raleigh. The park was really fun! My favorite activity at the park was the zip line!

New Year's Firsts!

It's been a whirlwind past two weeks, including the weather! As soon as the ice melted, it was warm again and we were back to outdoor things. On Martin Luther King day the I was out of school, Adam and I went for a nature discovery walk back behind the greenway. With our binoculars in hand, we traversed small streams, sand and tree branches to see what we could find.

The day before that, we had our first McDonald's Happy Meal! It was fun finally eating at McDonald's, we hear so much about the place it's nice to know what it tastes like now. I don't know that I have to go back anytime soon though. The apples didn't have any flavor my cheeseburger was okay, but the french fries were good! The little container they came in was so cute!

A week after our first McDonald's experience, we packed up and I left school early to drove north.  We were going to visit Richard and Louisa in Woodbury, New Jersey for the baptism of their baby Winnie! During our visit we drove to downtown Philadelphia. As we approached the city we crossed over a cool bridge. We parked the car and walked around seeing some cool pieces of artwork, my favorites were the paintbrush and oversized game pieces spread out in a plaza. I helped push Winnie in the stroller and helped Carmendy walk through the city. We stopped by Reading Terminal, a crazy place with LOTS of different foods for a bite to eat before walking to see the Liberty Bell. We passed by Independence Hall on the way back to City Hall. It was cool how you could walk through the building and hear all sorts of echoes! It was a short visit, but I had tons of fun! On the way back to Richard and Louisa's house we stopped at a place called Gino's where Mommy and Daddy ate steak sandwiches. I had no interest in eating one, but they seemed thrilled to be eating them. Luckily, Daddy got some french fries for the kids to munch on while they devoured their sandwiches.

I loved being at Richard and Louisa's house. They had so many fun toys! Plus I had the opportunity to hold baby Winnie when we got to their house! I love babies! We got some dinner there and stayed for a bit playing, relaxing and having a light saber dance party before we had to go back to our hotel. In the morning we would wake up and go to church to celebrate Winnie's baptism; Daddy is her godfather. People I didn't even know commented on how well behaved Adam and I were during mass. We drove back to Richard and Louisa's house for a short stint, and before I knew it our weekend was over and we were driving back to North Carolina. 

2017!

Happy New Year! We rang in 2017 with a fun activity in Downtown Raleigh! At First Night, we walked around watching lots of people and activities, saw the People's Parade and finished off the chilly evening inside Daddy's office building with a cup of hot chocolate as the crane dropped the acorn into the plaza below. 

When it was finally time to go back to school, I wasn't excited about it because I was having so much fun at home with my family. Only one week into school, I got my wish. A snowstorm came on a Saturday and kept us inside and out of school for 3 days! The first day of the storm we had fun outside sledding, but then it got really cold and icy outside and we couldn't go outside. Finally it got warm again and we got to throw ice into the iced over pond water, and make thousands of footprints in the snow covered backyard. One day Mommy made us some play clay so we could make snowmen and other "snow" like shapes, plus we played lots of games and did plenty of puzzles. I think perhaps this snowstorm has convinced me that maybe it is time to go back to school!

Merry Christmas 2016!

The Christmas festivities kicked-off Thursday afternoon when Grammy and Gramps arrived! We enjoyed the afternoon with them, going for a walk to enjoy the warm weather, taking them to my last dance class of the year, eating at a restaurant followed by a drive around town to see Christmas lights!  Friday, we spent decorating cookies, playing Christmas bingo and spending time with Grammie and Gramps. They brought us the Good Dinosaur DVD which we watched that night.

Saturday morning it was Christmas Eve! We had a relaxing morning spent with Grammie and Gramps while Mommy and Daddy prepared for the upcoming festivities of the holiday. In the late afternoon we changed into our church clothes and prepared for Christmas Eve Mass. When we got to the church we saw Mimi and Papa there! I felt so special sitting in the pew between all of my grandparents who came to be with us for Christmas! We had to get to church early so that we could get a good seat but that didn't bother me, there were so many people to spend time with. After church we headed home for our traditional speatzel soup and salad dinner. Following dinner we retired to the living room where I played a concert for everyone on the piano. I chose a couple of songs from my theory book to play and then I played jingle bells. We also sang some other Christmas carols too. After that we had our family gift exchange. I was happy that Mommy and Daddy got me curtains for my bedroom! I opened a board game from Grammie and Gramps and I got a Yellowstone gemstone, binoculars and a t-shirt from Mimi and Papa. I also enjoyed watching the grown-ups open presents too! We put out milk and cookies for Santa before going to bed. Adam and I had no problem falling asleep that night, even sleeping in the same bed!

Christmas morning was magical! After Adam and I woke up all of the grandparents, we crept downstairs to find that Santa had come during the night!! With everyone watching, Adam and I tore into our presents! I got the art set, Barbie doctor and Legos that I had asked Santa to bring me! I also got some binoculars, unicorn slippers and new knee and elbow pads to wear when I rollerblade! We opened our presents in no time! We enjoyed a late breakfast, then got to spend some time playing with our new toys. Later on in the day, we went outside to test our new toys and show the grandparents how well I can rollerblade. When we went back inside, there were more presents under the tree from the grandparents!! I got more great gifts - doll clothes for Samantha, a new dress, a Penn State chair, and a goody bag with a ToysRUs credit card (gift card)! It was so wonderful getting to open all of my presents with them. I could hug and thank them each time I opened a gift!
 The morning after Christmas, Grammie and Gramps left. Mimi and Papa would stay a few more days after Christmas. We played games, went outside, dressed up Samantha, slept in (we stayed up late lots of nights) and enjoyed spending time with them. The last night they were here, we went out to eat at the mannequin restaurant and after dinner we got to see the really cool Christmas lights display that we saw a few nights earlier with Grammie and Gramps. The following day, we had to take Mimi and Papa to the airport. While we were at the airport, we stopped by the observation deck and watched some planes arrive and depart with our new binoculars!