TOYchallenge over!!!

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

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

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

Here is a video I made about my cat.

Palomar

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

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

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

Ranch

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.