Halloween

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J+M+J

It is the tradition in our family to go to the St. Margaret’s Homeschool Group all saints eve party, but this year, it was cancelled, so at the last minute we decided to go trick or treating for the first tim in our lives. Joseph and I had costumes from the store, but Landon, Maria, John and Alex were wearing homemade costumes.

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Joseph is dressed as the High King Peter from the Chronicles of Narnia. (I love the books and the movies so I told Mom to get that costume for him. Isn’t he cute?)

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Maria and I put together this bride costume.

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Johnathan made this costume out of boxes all by himself. Later Mom puts tin foil on his costume.

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I am dressed as a Japanese geisha.

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Alex is Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier.

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Landon made this Obi-wan Kenobi costume.

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Here is John being outfitted in tin foil by Mom.

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This is my candy pile after coming home from our trick or treating. Much of the candy was things that will give me a headache so I ended up giving most of it away.

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Maria had more candy than any body.

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Landon’s candy.

A+M+D+G

Pie Business

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J+M+J

I have loved baking things, especially pies, ever since I was little. Each and every time I made a pie I changed something just a little. Finally, one evening in early October, I was satisfied with the filling of three different pies: pumpkin, apple, and pecan. They were so delicious that they inspired me to go into a little pie selling business. I mentioned the idea to my Dad and he liked the idea. He even said he would help me make a website with pictures of my pies and an ordering system. It isn’t quite finished yet, but you can look at it at www.sarahskitchen.biz. So far, the pie business has been a lot of fun and I have sold eight pies. Here are some pictures of me making them.

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A+M+D+G

Echo

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J+M+J

Mom was leaving to take Maria and Landon to ballet and tap. Joseph was protesting strongly, as usual. Mom walked out the door, and he began to cry. Exhausted, I pleaded with him, “Don’t cry, be happy, please.’ Joseph looked up with a puzzled look on his face. I had used a new phrase and he just had to try it out. With the reason he had been crying gone from his mind, he asked slowly, “Be-e-e, ha-a-appy-e-e?” I smiled, thinking to myself, I will use this trick more often.

New Ballet Slippers

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J+M+J

I was badly in need of new pointe shoes. My current pair was too small, so I was tugging at my shoes and my toes were curling at the end. Not only that, but my shoes still had a broken shank, (the shank of a pointe shoe is the wooden sole that makes it easy to get up onto full pointe, with the toe box, which is the hard wooden tip of the shoe, flat on the ground), so I was at a disadvantage with the rest of my class, who had full shanks. So, Mom, my ballet teacher, and I went down to the store called the dance line to get pointe shoes fitted. I tried on three different pairs of shoes and tried to pairs on twice before I found the shoe that fit me right. When trying on a shoe, My teacher and the woman who worked at the store observed me on pointe and picked out a shoe that helped to keep my left foot from curling into what is called a sickle. I was told that the shoes that worked for me are really stiff and painful until they are broken in, but when they are broken in many good dancers choose them above other shoes.

I don’t care if they are a pain until I break them in. I have been looking forward to this day for three weeks. Another bonus is that they are my favorite color and style of shoe. They are a light cream and the opening comes to a stylish V in the front of the shoe. Here are some pictures:

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These are my feet in fifth, or cinquième position. It is the easiest position to hold in pointe.

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This is fourth, or quatrième position. In my opinion, it is the most awkward and hard to hold position in ballet, on pointe or otherwise. I also think it is a beautiful position.

A+M+D+G

Scattered Tidbits

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J+M+J

It just seems that nothing around here has happened that is worth writing a whole blog post, so I’ll just mention them all in a breif summary of the last few weeks. On September twenty seventh, Landon, John, and I slept out in a tent in the backyard. I peeked out the tent window and saw the constellation of Orion, which is only visible during the cold months of the year, gleaming in the South-East sky. This, along with the fact that I just pulled out my first long-sleeved shirt today, is a sure sign that winter is coming.

Landon turned twelve on October 1st, and he got a radio controlled car for his birthday. He couldn’t make up his mind about what kind of cake to have until the last minute, so Mom had to pick him up a cheese cake from the grocery store.

Tuesday I am going to get a pair of new pointe shoes, because i have grown out of my old shoes. I can’t wait to dance in the new shoes, the satin outside of the shoes is so shiny when they are new. We are now doing exercises away from the barre (without holding on to anything) in my pre-pointe class.

That’s all the things I can think of, so I shall close this post.

A+M+D+G

First Day of Autumn

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J+M+J

Happy first day of fall everyone! I really like this season, with the colors of red, orange, and brown, the taste of pumpkin, pecan and apple pies, and the feel of sweaters warm and soft against my skin. Winter is not my favorite season, but fall, though it signifies the coming of winter, is lovely.

Wooly Bear Caterpillar

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J+M+J

Landon found this little guy curled up in a corner of a friend’s barn. His stripe was brown rather than reddish, I was surprised to see. I took it home to take some pictures, but as it turns into a boring creamy white moth after hibernating all winter, I decided to let it go out in the back yard.

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A+M+D+G

Tomato Harvest

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J+M+J

I have the weeds to thank for these tomatoes. I know that sounds funny, but it is true. Last year gophers marauded my tomatoes and left none whole. This year, however, thick thistles and cockleburs that pierced even my thickest gardening gloves grew around the tomatoes. It seems that the gophers can’t reach them.
I also have some proof for this theory. I did have a few more tomatoes that were bigger than my two fists put together, but I foolishly removed the weeds a few days before they were orange enough to harvest. The very next day, they were demolished.
These tomatoes came from a volunteer tomato plant that I left surrounded by the weeds. Besides the tomatoes in the picture, I have harvested three more tomatoes that we have already eaten. Mom says that they are delicious tomatoes, packed full of flavor. I am not a tomato fan, but I can taste more flavor than store tomatoes as well. I even ate a thin slice on a chicken, lettuce, tomato, and mayo sandwich.

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A+M+D+G

Painting Class

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J+M+J

Maria and I went to a painting class this morning, and I found it a very fun experience. My painting turned out pretty well, but I have to admit, I feel a little like a cheater because the horse outline was traced on. If it hadn’t been, the horse would have been terribly misshapen. However, I learned a lot of useful painting techniques like highlighting and shadowing. Here are pictures of out paintings

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Mine.

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Maria and her painting.

A+M+D+G

Pocket Pillow

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J+M+J

My friend and I made two cute pillows together out of an old pair of jeans. This is mine. The ends of the pillow were hand sewn, the butterfly was fabric paint and micro-glitter, and the rest of the things were glued on.

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A+M+D+G

Ballet has Begun

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J+M+J

I took my first ballet class for the season today. This year I am working on grade three, and I am planning on taking my exam in the springtime.

J+M+J