On Thursday, March 10th, it was cold, wet, and rainy as we headed out to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY. When we got there, it was still raining. We went into the lobby to get our tickets for the movie and the museum. We walked around and explored. The movie was about how the KY Horse Park began. Then we went to the museum.
Statue of a Horse
We saw skeletons of prehistoric horses and how they evolved into modern day horses. In the arabian horse exhibit, Greta led me through windy halls until we got to a room with a game we could play. We got a card and put it on the screen of an “oasis” thing. All of a sudden ten horses appeared. You could pick a horse, choose its name, and go on adventures with it. I played over and over and then me and Greta found the rest of our family. We rushed outside to tell Stella about the game. We all played it.
They have big geese in Kentucky
After that, me, Stella, Ana, and my mom went to the Hall of Champions. In there, we saw some horses. Two were named Funny Side and Cigar. We went back to the lobby and looked at the gift shop. When we left, the rain turned into snow.
We left Lansing on Monday morning, March 7. We went to visit our friends–Emma, Noah, and their parents, Scott and Beth–in Indianapolis on the way to Louisville, KY. We ate dinner downstairs in their basement, and when we finished, we hung out with them. Before we left, Beth gave me a water-color pencil set and an artist’s bag (thank you so much, Beth!). I use the pencils all the time, and I’ve already drawn and painted lots of pictures. It was really nice to see Emma and Noah.
Hello Indiana!
Then we drove down to Louisville, and me and my sisters fell asleep. When we got there, everybody was asleep except me. I was only half asleep. I heard Daddy say, “If anyone has to go to the bathroom, come now.” I pretended like I was asleep so I wouldn’t have to get up out of my bed. I didn’t know exactly where we were, but in the morning we were at my grandparents’ house!
One more post regarding our three-week stay in Lansing, IA. We spend many hours at the Lansing Library whenever we are in town. This visit was no exception–the cozy library was a favorite spot for reading, working, schooling, and occasionally napping (it was just me doing the napping). Greta even did some volunteer work, helping them transfer their catalog into the computer system.
When we were kids, one of our few and favorite treats were Mom’s cinnamon roles. It has been year’s since she has made them but the day before we left Iowa I asked and she agreed to do her best to remember how she used to make them, and to teach me and the girls her magic.
Learning How to Make Grandma's Cinnamon Rolls
We mixed up a huge mound of dough, let it raise, punched it down, and let it raise again. Stella, Ellie, and Luciana helped us role out the dough, spread the melted butter and cinnamon, and role it all up in a nice even roll. Missing the kind of the string she used to use to cut the dough, Grandma taught us how to cut the dough with a scissors and to make nice even rolls. We then baked them up and frosted them. They were as delicious as I remembered them being!
On Wednesday, March 2 2011, we went to a circus in LaCrosse, WI. I went went my friend, Nell, her mom, my sisters, and my mom. When we got to the circus, we saw elephants, tigers, and ponies.
Here is a dancer on an elephant
You could ride on elephants and ponies. Me, Nell, Stella and Ana almost got to ride an elephant, but the line got too long.
We had to wait for about half an hour for the show to finally start. Suddenly the lights went out and a lady walked out in a light, fluffy coat. She was the ringleader. First she told us her name and then she told us some tigers were performing. When the tigers came out, Nell hugged me really tight and told me they scared her. Then the tigers started performing. They jumped over fences and they rolled over and did tricks.
After the tigers, there was a woman on the moon. She would do handstands and cartwheels on the moon. The lady on the moon would jump and twist and twirl and glide on the moon.
Out on stage walked a very funny looking clown. He had a stuffed elephant. The ringmaster gave him some more stuffed animals. The clown decided to play with his new toys and he got bored with all of them except the elephant. The clown had no clue how to get the elephant to start working. The ringmaster told him he had to wind it up to get it to start. He put it on a rail and it started walking. Then it stopped and fell over. He wound it faster and faster each time, until it broke. The clown cried huge tears that rained on the crowd. Then, to our surprise, out of the stuffed elephant costume jumped the cutest little dog.
I had a great time at the circus and I hope we can go again next year.
Grandpa Bill taught the girls this chicken song one summer. They sang it all summer long, often as quickly as they could.
A few nights ago, many family members joined together to sing songs at Grandpa’s bedside, and someone started the chicken song. Bill, who had been speaking very little that day, suddenly burst forward with the chicken song at breakneck speed, to everyone’s surprise and delight.
Grandpa passed away Thursday morning. We shot this video of the girls singing it as a tribute to him.
Last summer (2010) we went out to our Uncle Gary and Aunt Kim’s farm. There was a photographer on the farm for Organic Valley, so we went out there with Grandma and Grandpa. The photographer was really nice. He took lots of pictures of the piggies and the cowies. We didn’t get a picture of the cows, but here is one he took of the pigs.
Piggies on the Farm
While the photographer was busy taking pictures of the pigs, Ellie, Greta, Ana and I got our picture taken on the fence in front of the manure pile. It smelled really bad but the picture turned out good.
Hanging Out by the Manure Pile
Dad says they use the manure to fertilize the crops. It’s gross! I didn’t know that all the carrots I’ve been eating are planted in stinky poop! But Dad says all the best vegetables are planted in poop.
We arrived in Iowa exactly a week ago! It’s so different from Atlanta- yet I like it. School is nice; not nearly as big as Shamrock/Druid Hills. The middle school has less than a quarter of the people at Shamrock/Druid Hills, but my school here is middle AND high school. There are also trimesters here instead of semesters. Some of my new friends are Alanna, Rylee, Naomi, Emily, Erin, Nicole, and Sydney. But don’t worry, Atlanta friends, you’re not being replaced! I miss y’all a lot. (sob)
It was the end of the trimester on Thursday, so we celebrated by watching Secretariat and having popcorn and soda. My Granddad is in that movie, and so everyone around me was asking me to point him out. It was a good day.
On Friday, we did a little schoolwork, and I thought of a good survey question for all you blog readers:
Which comes first: the chicken or the egg?
Jean thought I should write something in Spanish for the blog, so soon, I will figure out how to say that phrase. As for which one you think, just leave your answer as a comment under this post, and the results will be posted in a week.
Here is what a few people I’m hanging out with right now think about this question:
Ana: the chicken
Dad: the egg
me: I think the egg just fell from space, and it hatched the first chicken.
Stella: the egg
Ellie: the egg, “since the chicken HAD to come from an egg”
Jean: the chicken
Aunt Janice: the chicken
Aunt Mary: the chicken
Grandpa, who’s sleeping, would probably say something like, “the cow.”
Miss you all. Bye!!!
Thursday was first day of school in Lansing, IA. There were some girls in my class I already knew from our summers here and from the swim team. But I met lots of new friends, too. Since my teacher (my Aunt Lisa!) wasn’t there on Thursday, we had two substitutes and I didn’t know their names.
My friends had to help me through the day. They helped me open my locker. I’ve never had a locker before. And they helped me with my lunch tray at lunch. I had never bought a school lunch before. It was kind of scary. They went really fast through the lunch line and I didn’t know my lunch number so Ms. Mary told me that she would give it to me later.
We played a division game and my table won.
At recess, my old friends and new friends invited me to play jumprope, four square, and volleyball. I had fun. Jumprope was my favorite. After recess, we went back to the classroom and got to read a book.
Then we went to the gym to watch a movie called Secretariat. I was excited because my grandad had a small part in the movie. I pointed out to my friends where my grandad was in the movie. They thought it was so cool. But other people in my class told me the movie was just a dumb horse movie and it kind of hurt my feelings. There were a few boys that were picking on me.
When I went into the school, I saw a drawing by another student of Taylor Swift. It was posted in the hallway. I thought I could draw one, too. So, yesterday Greta and I went to the library and got a magazine with a picture of her on the front. I want you to know I did not trace it. I drew it. This is my drawing…
Yesterday was my first day of school in Iowa. My school is in New Albin, Iowa. We have to take a bus to get there and get back at the end of the day. Me and Ellie’s friend, Nell, takes us to the bus in the morning and the afternoon. Sometimes we might get confused and get on the wrong bus. That’s why she helps us on the first two days.
Lansing and New Albin are towns on the Mississippi River. The river is frozen right now and our camper is winterized since it is so cold and there is lots of snow.
The Frozen Mississippi River
I got to buy lunch in the cafeteria at school. I have never bought lunch before. The lunch is better than the lunch in Atlanta. The lunch in Atlanta was like hot dogs and fries, but the school lunch here is better than hot dogs and french fries at my old school because hot dogs and french fries are bad for you. We have lettuce and french salad dressing and we have hamburger thingys that were kind of like hamburgers but they were not hamburgers. At our Iowa school we get to go for seconds.
I met a friend named Regan. My teacher is very very nice. She lets us get up and get a tissue if we want or do something else. We do some work that is just right for me.
On Thursday (today) school was delayed because it was really foggy outside.
Lots of Fog on the River Today
I was sort of glad that school was delayed so we would have half a day, so soon it would be lunch time. I like lunch time.
