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This is what the little children do when we put lids on their cups so they can’t spill.
What is the most funny about this leak is that it happened at a little chinese restaurant where we are notorious for spilling. Every time we go there someone spills some water.
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We went to the zoo last Saturday. It was extremely fun and interesting, for the zoo had added many new animals including peacocks, meerkats, and bats.
These peacocks are lovely, aren’t they?
This snow leopard decided to check Dad out.
This tiger doesn’t look very fearsome.
Joseph found some bird poop on the fence.
He accused this bird of doing it:
Now we were in the African Savannah.
These meerkats are the foraging team.
This meerkat has been assigned the job of keeping watch for predators.
This is the regal trumpeter swan.
The camel was chewing his cud.
King vultures are grotesque looking.
The mother gibbon is nursing her baby. Can you see it?
What good posture they have!
The mother gibbon is baring her teeth at the other gibbon for getting too close to her baby.
This swan does the same things Clover and Penelope do.
They have a really nice merry-go-round at the zoo. I helped Joseph
I can remember a few years ago, this baby rhino was nursing.
This is a huge stuffed walrus in the museum.
These are stuffed wolves. They did have live wolves in the zoo, but all the pictures turned out blurry. There were even pups.
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It was the afternoon Monday, June 16. One moment I was planting tomatoes, and the next moment I was running around the house like crazy, getting ready to go chase Mr. Wilson’s balloon. A little while later, we were in the car driving to the park in Brandon where we would soon launch the balloon. For a detailed description of the launching process see http://sarah.frederes.com/2007/11/09/the-keebler/. This post will be mostly pictures. Mr. Wilson’s children, Jacob, Adam, and Anna joined us for this launching adventure.
It’s amazing to think that the huge balloon fits into this tiny bag. Well, at least the bag is tiny for the size of the balloon.
I caught Joseph in a cute yawn.
Setting up the basket.
Landon and Adam were assigned the job of getting the balloon out of the bag.
This is the fan.
Joseph observes the goings on.
Dad and another lady are holding open the balloon for the fan to blow into.
We aren’t the only ones setting up balloons.
Jacob and I are velcro-ing the top to the rest of the balloon.
Maria is going to try to hold the balloon steady until Jacob and I are done. I am not sure how much the balloon was pulling her, but it looks like the balloon is dragging her. Anna is behind Maria
The balloon is more rowdy this time than last time. It was swinging from side to side, and Jacob and I, who were now holding the rope Maria held earlier, did our best to steady it. Easier said then done.
Dad and Adam took a ride this time. He got into the basket, and it began to lift off the ground.
If you look closely, You can make out Dad’s hand waving at us in the car.
Night is falling, and it is time to land.
Maria and Anna climbed over the fence you can see in the picture to join Mr. Wilson and Dad. Unfortunately, they had a dilemma. Anna was caught on barbed wire by the seat of her pants. Landon climbed through waist-high grass to the girls, and he freed Anna.
Afterwards, we went back to the park. Mr. Wilson had cookies, carbonated juice, and champagne for the adults. The cookies were from the Keebler brand. Mr. Wilson explained the history of the hot air balloon.
A few hundred years ago, people noticed smoke rising upwards when fire burned. They also noticed that little bits of grass and sparks would be carried upward with the smoke. They wondered if they could harness the smoke and use it to carry people. They believed that the blacker the smoke, the more weight it could carry. So they would pour dirt, tar, and other black filth into the fire, and then they caught some of the smoke in a bag attached to a basket. Because of the hot air, the basket went up. Eventually, they sent up some farm animals inside the basket. They also put a bottle of champagne in the balloon to prove that the ballon wasn’t a dangerous animal from the sky, but was actually made by men from earth. Each bottle of champagne from France included the name of the town it was made in. To this day, people still take up a bottle of champagne with them to give to farmers as a gift for using their land to land the balloon.
Just before we left the park, I am pretty sure I heard a coyote howl. We ate Taco John’s for supper. and then it was time for bed.
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Joseph, with his vocabulary overflowing with new words, has decided to fight crime in this household. His major target: me. Yesterday, I had an orthodontist appointment. Today, my teeth are extremely sore. I am only able to eat a little bit of watery soup or soft, mushy things like apple sauce. Naturally, with tiny meals, I am very hungry later on. Mom told me I could find something to eat. There was nothing in the inside refrigerator, so I went to check in the garage fridge. Joseph followed me out, and startled me by muttering some unintelligible sounds in a stern voice. His face looked angry. I asked, “Should I be inside?”
“Ya.” he stated. I went inside, and he followed close behind, shutting the garage door tight behind me.
Later, I had found something soft to eat: tapioca pudding. As I was making the pudding, I put a little sugar in it. I again heard Joseph’s voice. “No sugar.” he scolded. I put the lid on the sugar in surprise, preparing to put it away. Joseph opened the cupboard door for me, and then shut it. after I had placed the sugar inside with a suspicious look on his face and walked away. I hope he remembers his own rules when he is older.
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Drama camp takes place every year at the beginning of June. Over a hundred homeschooled children meet from nine to eleven for four-to-five days, depending on the age of the child, and rehearse plays. This year, I was in a play about St. Genesius of Rome, the patron saint of actors. He was an actor in the emperor’s band of actors, until, that is, it was found out he became a Christian and was beheaded. The play was a play within a play, so at times the actors were rehearsing the play of Saint Genesius, and at other times, the director, who was played by me, was talking to them about how the play could be better. I successfully avoided getting a bad case of the vomiting sickness going around the house (everyone but me and Dad got it bad) and was able to be in the play on friday night. Everything went really well, and I spoke loud enough that everyone could hear me in the back row. That can be difficult because the acoustics aren’t very good in the school gym where we perform the play. I was very thankful that I was able to avoid the sickness and take part in the eighth annual drama camp.
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These are foxgloves
This is columbine, my favorite spring flower
The last of the bleeding hearts. The bush still had quite a few branches of flowers on it last Sunday, the feast of the Sacred Heart. I wanted to take a picture of these then, as I thought they were a good flower for the feast, but what could I do when it was raining?
This is my newly planted butterfly bush.. It has already attracted a few Monarchs to its nectar. I saw one up close while I was mowing past it today.
My little garden on the side of the house.
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Landon found an injured male Monarch butterfly. As you can see, the left forewing is missing. I brought it home to show the little boys and feed it. I took these pictures of the butterfly eating peach juice.
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I just couldn’t mess up the loveliness of the flowers with some ugly writing. The roses are from my grandparents on Mom’s side, and the daisies are from the physical therapist who I worked with to fix my feet troubles.
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Well, I am both happy and sad to end this week. With two dress rehearsals, two recitals, and a friend’s recital to watch, I have been busily occupied, and it is always nice to have a little break. I am sad to be done with ballet for this school year, sad to be done with this year’s dance that I shall no dance again, and sad that I will not wear my costumes again. But next week, next week is the Homeschool Drama Camp, and I am looking forward to prepare a play for my parents to see. Tomorrow is June, and Summer’s beginning.
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Here are some good pictures of me and my bird. The starfish earrings in the last pictures were gifts from my grandparents on Mom’s side. Thanks!
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Today I had dress rehearsal. I feel pretty proud of myself for putting on all of my own makeup. To contrast the paling stage lights, I need foundation, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara and lipstick. In previous years I have been so afraid I would mess up I have had Mom put on my makeup.
I brought along my camera, and Dad took these pictures of me. Note my shoes.
Goodnight!
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Here are the pictures Dad took of the Baltimore Orioles that stopped by a while ago. We haven’t seen them since, but I did see a few more when I was at a friends house for a birthday party. (She lives out in the country.) Aren’t they lovely little birds?
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I have always wanted to hear frogs singing, little did I know I can hear them all summer long. It wasn’t ’till I listened on a spring night when there weren’t any crickets or other insects singing that I realized that I could hear the sound of frogs very loudly. I also figured out that the song was from upland chorus frogs. It was a wonderful experience for me to hear the sound of frogs croaking in the distance
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