California Trip

TOYchallenge over!!!

2008-06-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last saturday was the TOYchallenge competition at Qualcomm Stadium. Each team had nine minutes to display their game and answer questions. Everybody got something (a jobs in engineering book and a certificate). Everyone on the winning team got a round trip ticket to anywhere in the continental United States. The top teams in each category got a trophy and a game, and the honorable mentions got medals. We didn't get anything, but I didn't think we would.

Belmont

2008-05-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to Belmont Park, a small amusement park on the ocean. It only has a few small rides, but they are fun and there are a lot of games. They have one big wooden rollercoaster, The Giant Dipper, and a few small thrill rides, like the Beach Blaster (which rocks you back and forth while spinning you), and Chaos (where you spin on a giant wheel). It was really fun, and we won some prizes from the games. They also have an endless wave that you can surf on, but it was closed when we were there.

Joshua Tree

2008-05-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my Dad and I went to Joshua Tree National Park. On the way there we saw a wind farm that had over a thousand wind mills. We stayed at a place called 29 Palms Inn. It was separate adobe houses with cool names. We stayed in the Dark Room. When we got to Joshua Tree, we saw thousands of Joshua trees in rows that went on for miles. We went on two short hikes, one through Cholla Gardens, which had hundreds of cacti, and one through a sandy canyon. It was really fun.

Homeschool

2008-05-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a video I made about my cat.

Palomar

2008-05-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to Palomar observatory on Palomar Mountain. It is seventy-five miles from San Diego, and my dad biked all the way. You can't actually go inside the main room where the telescope is. You have to go around it in a room with a glass wall. It is a lot smaller than I expected, but it is really cool.

Pittsburgh

2008-04-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to going back to Pittsburgh. I miss my friends and house. Our apartment here is too small and nobody is visiting us for a while. One of the only things I don't miss is the weather there. In the summer it is too hot and it is too cold in the winter. We are going to be back at just the right time.

Goliad

2008-04-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

I am doing a report on the massacre at Goliad during the Texas revolution. While I was in Texas, my grandfather took me there. There is a huge fort, Presidio la Bahia, that has a chapel in it. My grandfather got married in the chapel. During the Texas revolution, the Texians surrendered and were brought to the fort. They were all killed, even though they surrendered.

Ranch Pics

2008-04-10T09:34:00.001-07:00

Ranch

2008-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I flew to Texas by myself to see my grandparents. My cousins just bought a 24 acre ranch, and we spent two days on it. I was one of the first people to sleep there, because it hadn't had electricity before that. They have two cows on it, and over ten haunted buildings. It is creepy but very fun.

Cruise, SSBB, and Colonial Day

2008-03-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

My Mom went on a cruise last Friday with her two best friends, who live in Washington and Colorado. They went down to Mexico from Los Angeles. Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out last Sunday. Today at Sophie's school her class had a "Colonial Day" where they dressed up in colonial outfits and told people about their "jobs." Next week we are going to Death Valley.

Animal Island Election

2008-03-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

We have some puppets and almost every night my Dad does the voices for them and me and my sister talk to them. So this year we decided to have an election for them. Sophie wrote most of the things for the website, and I made it. We have people all over the country voting. Last Sunday we went to Anza Borrego State Park because the wildflowers are blooming. It was really windy and sandy but it was fun.

www.cs.cmu.edu/~lafferty/aie08

February 2008

2008-02-28T10:48:00.000-08:00

Sophie's friend from Pittsburgh, Madeline, and her family visited us in California. My mom just makes us go places when people are visiting us. I'd rather visit those things when people aren't here. We went to LEGOLAND, the Wild Animal Park, and Balboa Park. Super Smash Bros. Brawl comes out for Wii in ten days, and I already reserved it. I actually do kind of want to go back to Pittsburgh early. Not too early though.

TOYchallenge is over!

2008-02-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

TOYchallenge finally ended last Thursday, unless we get accepted to the finals. My friend from Pittsburgh, Matt Kunze, is coming soon. My friend in California has been over at my house every day so far this week, but we have to work the whole time. I really like my school here. Mt. Everest Academy is a public homeschool...school. We might have to leave California early, because the people who are renting our house want to leave sooner than they agreed on. I want to stay here for a long time.

Ice skating

2008-02-08T14:31:00.000-08:00

Today I went ice skating again with Mt. Everest. TOYchallenge is STILL going on. The meetings last so long and we never make any progress. I wish I could quit. I got a new Wii game, LEGO Star Wars, today. Tomorrow Sophie's friend Madeline is coming to visit from Pittsburgh.

Jan 08

2008-01-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

For my birthday (Jan 19) I got three new Wii games, a Wii sports set, a juicer and a few books. The sports set is three different sports...items...that you can clip onto your controller. It has a foam baseball bat, tennis racquet, and golf club. The games I got are Carnival Games, Mario Party 8, and Endless Ocean. Every friday this next month I have ice skating with Mt. Everest. In TOYchallenge, we are about 15% toward the final report that we have to submit in less than two weeks. And we have been working on it for a month. I am saving up for Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, which comes out on march 9th. The first month of this year was good.

Birthday

2008-01-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

This Saturday is my birthday! On Friday (tomorrow) I am having a party with the people from my TOYchallenge team at Mt. Everest. In TOYchallenge, we have to design a toy or game, and if we win a competition, we get to make it into a real product! We are going to Coldstone Creamery tomorrow to get an ice cream cake for my birthday, and all we are going to do at my party is play games! It's going to be fun.

SeaWorld

2008-01-10T10:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my Mom and I went to SeaWorld again with my school, Mt. Everest Academy. It was much less crowded than the first time we went (Dec. 28), but we weren't supposed to go to any of the shows or rides except Wild Arctic. We got to go to an educational show instead. They showed us how they train some of the animals. Even though we weren't supposed to, we went to one of the shows anyway. They have this once a month so we will probably do it again. It was fun. I got my Wii for Christmas, but it wasn't a good present because I had to pay $125 to get it. I have Wii sports, Wii Play, Dewy's Adventure, Super Mario Galaxy, and Elebits. Sophie has Petz Catz 2.

Field trip

2007-12-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we went to a boat parade with some of our friends. It was nice. The theme this year was pirates. Yesterday we went on a field trip to a haunted house. When we got there, we found out that it was closed on Wednesdays. Instead we went to a Mexican restaurant and got Bunuelos, which are bread balls rolled in cinnamon sugar. Then we went to a store called Del Sol, that sells things that change color in the sun. I got a shirt, frisbee, and keychain. Today is Sophia's birthday, she got a Vermont Teddy Bear from her aunt and uncle and a Homestar Runner T-Shirt. Tonight we are going to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner.

Christmas

2007-12-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Only 12 more days until Christmas! And only 8 more until Sophie's birthday. Yesterday she and her friend went to a bead class for an early birthday present. We are going to stay in San Diego for Christmas this year. But the day after, my grandparents are coming! I still have the same amount of work though.

Canada

2007-12-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

This week my dad and I are in Canada! For the first three days, we were in Vancouver. Then we took a 2.5 hour bus ride to Whistler. Whistler is a ski resort near Vancouver. Tomorrow we are going to go skiing. Well actually my dad will ski and I'll snowboard. I went with him before three years ago. So far it's been really fun.

Balboa Park

2007-11-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Today I beat my Mom again, 15-1. Yesterday my Mom, Sophie, and I went to Balboa park. It is a huge area with tons of museums and gardens. We went to the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. It had huge layouts with mountains, a lot of trains, and little towns. They also had a special LEGO exhibit for christmas, with a big city, trains, and a snowy mountain. Afterwards, we went to two gardens. The Zoro Garden and the Japanese Garden. It was really fun. I'm getting a Wii in exactly 15 days.

Halloween

2007-11-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally beat my Mom in Racquetball! 15-12. Yesterday we went to Sophia's school for a Halloween parade. All the kids dressed up in costumes and walked around by grade. Sophie was a gypsy this year. Later we went to a mall to Trick-or-Treat. They advertised that they were giving out a million pieces of candy, but a lot of stores were already out. Sophie gave all her candy to me.* It was really fun.

*Not really. I took it.

Wildfires

2007-10-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

The wildfires are really close to us. We almost got evacuated. Sophie's school (Doyle) was off Tuesday through Friday, and on monday they just played games and watched movies because many of the teachers had been evacuated. Yesterday we went to the aquarium for a halloween "haunted aquarium." Kids were supposed to dress up and trick-or-treat and do special activities. The outside part was supposed to be closed because of the air, but it was ok yesterday. We start school again on Tuesday.

Califonia

2007-10-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Two days ago we arrived in San Diego, California. We are staying in Valentia Apartments. The trip was really fun. We went to three national parks, and stayed with two friends. We went to Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Death Valley National Parks. Today we are getting the furniture for our apartment. Sophie and I get our own small room to ourselves. Sophie and my Mom arrive tomorrow.