Back to School– at Home (for the 3rd time)!

I love school. I used to dislike it as much as a– oh, I don’t know. A smelly sock? Anyway, that was before Mom decided to homeschool us. Now, I LOVE IT!!!!! Mom makes everything fun. Even the tests seem easy when she teaches.

That was in August 2007. Now, it’s August 2009, two years after we started homeschooling, and Mom is still teaching us. (Thanks again for taking on the trouble, Mom, just so we can have education. Not that I’m part of the trouble, anyway… oh, boy…) This time we’re using the Workbox System.

This is a reason to celebrate! Hmm … just let me switch to bold … aha!

IT’S THE 3rd YEAR OF MOM HOMESCHOOLING US!!! (um…applause?)

I’m kind of getting Ruff Ruffman’s personality, except I’m not a dog.

Also, I’ve put up my first poll on my site. Vote which of my book characters is the most adventurous!

And, finally, the winning Crazy Summer Story will be posted here, right after I get more people to enter.

Adventures on the Buffalo!

A few weeks ago, me and my dad went for a float trip in Gilbert. I thought you might like to know what happened, but then I thought that maybe I shouldn’t put it here, because I had way too many stories to tell! But then again, maybe I could break it up into different sections, each one with a different story. So, here it is!

Morning Routine in Gilbert

At the hostel, I woke up to the smell of an old-fashioned oven being lit. Danny, the hostel owner, was making breakfast. I went downstairs and sat on the couch. It was freezing! 10 seconds later, I was burrowed under an adult button-up shirt. I was not only waiting for breakfast, but also for my friends Calvin and Jacob. They were going to go canoeing with us. Dad came downstairs. Then Deacon Paul came downstairs. And finally, Ryan came downstairs. We ate breakfast, told stories and jokes, and waited. While we were waiting, Danny told me that Gilbert was the coldest city in Arkansas. That explained why it was cold. We were still waiting for the other boys. Then suddenly, they were pulling up in the gravel driveway. We got together our stuff and got in our cars. We were on our way to the Buffalo River!

The Canoe Trip

We started the canoe trip somewhere outside Gilbert. Then, we loaded up and were off! We paddled on calm waters and I was just getting used to the peace and quiet when my dad yelled, “Rapids, dead ahead!” I shook myself awake and saw that we were headed right for rapids that could tip your boat over! I pulled in my paddle and held on as we entered the rapids. Ryan was steering hard and letting the rapids push us. Then, all of a sudden, it was over. We were out of the rapids! “All right!” I yelled, “We’re done with rapids!” But I had spoken too soon. We were headed for more rapids! I had to pull in my paddle again and hold on again, and Ryan steered hard again and let the rapids push us again. And again, it all was suddenly over. This went on and on and on and on until we landed in Gilbert. We hopped out and started to swim. The water was so shallow, I could walk in the river to the other side and back! Then we went back to the hostel, changed, went to The Gilbert Cafe, ate, went back to the hostel, and got ready for a campfire.

The Campfire (OR Misty’s Gift)

We already had a huge teepee of sticks, so we lit the fire, then added newspaper, small sticks, and other things that you can put in a fire. We were getting a good fire, but needed one more thing to put in it. Just then, Misty, the yellow lab, came along. She had something in her mouth. She gave it to Buddy, the black lab, who gave it to Danny. It was a hot dog package! It was empty, of course, so we put it in the fire.

Going Home

The next day, we packed up and went to Fayetteville. We had missed the English mass, so we had a little time to eat before the Spanish mass. We picked up some popcorn chicken and some waters at Sonic, then went to Arsaga’s Espresso Cafe. I got a hot chocolate, and Dad got an espresso coffee. We went to the Spanish mass, then went to Harps to get some strawberries for a pizza party. Then we went on to the party. After that, we went home.

There were supposed to be pictures and videos on here, too, but it will be a while.

Oh, and the Crazy Summer Story Contest will close on the 10th day of August. So hurry!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

My Mom’s birthday was on the 25th, and guess what I did? I inserted a secret agent handbook that I made into her favorite cereal like a cereal box prize! This morning, we had oatmeal for breakfast– Darn, I thought– so I brought out the cereal with the prize and said, “Look at this, Mom!” Oops, I forgot to mention that I had put a sticker saying  “You won a Prize!” on it on the box, so Mom would know that she was supposed to fish through it. She did, and she found the prize. Happy Birthday, Mom!

1 Month Late for Earth Day

Ever get the feeling that something good has gone by, but you never got enough of it? Well, that’s how I felt this Earth Day. I hadn’t really done anything good for the planet lately, and I had hoped that on Earth Day I would get a better chance to be easier on the environment. But on Earth Day– well, it was shorter than any normal day, that’s for sure! But let’s just say that I woke up late and went to sleep early. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like. Now Earth Day was 1 month past, and I was going insane! I had to help the planet somehow!

Then, on Tuesday, I thought about setting up a litter watch around the neighborhood. Members of the litter watch would snoop around, looking for litter. If they saw any, they would radio me and I would get my cleanup team and go to the littered area and– well, I’ll just explain it with two words: Opperation Cleanup!

The litter watch will start on June 5th. If you can help, get a radio from me and look around the neighborhood. Good luck!

Adventures in “Animal Land”

I’m the kind of guy who loves to read books.

Correction: I’m the kind of guy who loves to read and write books.

When I was a little boy (but I’m still a boy), I wanted my mom to never stop reading to me. I loved books then and I love books now. Now, I want to go to the library as much as I can.

A few years ago, I started writing comics to show to my friends at the playground. They kept asking me to write more. So I did. Then, I thought about creating a book series called Animal Land. All of the books would be about an island called Animal Land, located somewhere between North America and Africa. Only animals would live there, but talking animals, living the same way humans do.

So I did.

I am in great need of ideas for my books. If you have an idea and would like to share it with me, please e-mail me at:

telong2009@gmail.com

I’m really looking forward to writing your idea(s) in my book(s)!

Moving Successful! (But handling Sugar isn’t)

Hooray! We’ve moved to Alma, Arkansas! We’ve already met some of our new neighbors. Sugar, the dog, will probably never stop jumping! And, thanks to some good friends, most of our stuff has been moved in. Now our focus is to not let Sugar loose before the gate is closed. She was on a chain Monday when it happened. Monica and Maria came through the gate just as I was letting her off the chain and FOOM– Sugar was off to explore! Boy, I’ll never do that again! But we eventually found her. I put her back in the yard very carefully.

Moving Day (coming closer)

We’re soon going to be moving to Alma, Arkansas. It’s exciting! Big problem, though. Since the recent 2009 Ice Storm, our yard was a wreck! (We don’t like a wreck!) So, we’re all– repeat, all– doing yard work. And we don’t like that. (I’m sure you don’t like doing that, either.) We will all be glad when it’s over. Here’s a picture of our future home.