Summer Baking Lessons

Troughout the summer my Mom's been teaching my cousin Ashley and me, how to bake certain things. We started out by going to Walmart to get cookbooks to hold the recipies in. Then we spent that day's lessen decorating them, and sorting through pictures to decorate it with. We; canned jelly, made pies for the fourth of July, made cinnaminn rolls, made regular (homemade of course) rolls, all sorts of stuff. Both of us were pretty good in the kitchen beforehand, but got a little better, plus we got to learn life skills, and got to eat all the yummy stuff we made. I'll hopefully post pictures later.

Camp Diagon Alley

This summer I went to Wah-Sha-She for a Girl Scout Camp called Diagon Alley. It was all based on Harry Potter.
It was at the same time as some other Girl Scout Camps, so we were a lot of girls who saw each other about 4 times a day. At meals, and at night when we showered in the showerhouse. That was the only thing we had in common, and it was the only time we saw each other. The leaders of the camp are apparently Christien,because they had us singing a grace before every meal(blllbblaaaaa(that's me throwing up in case you didn't know)and ahhhuuu(sigh) and augh(groan)).

I also got another Camp Diagon Alley. Nana always does this thing where she takes all the grandkids for about a week. She has us stay in the upstairs guestrooms as our cramped little bedrooms and we get to do fun crafts and get one on one time with Nana. She does this every summer and calls it Camp Nana. This year I tried to get into the real Camp Diagon Alley, but every time we tried to contact the camp directer, somthing went wrong, either she wasn't there, or all the spots were filled,then we'd hear that someone dropped out and there was an opening. After a while of all that riffraff, it started to look like I wasn't going to get to go, so Nana (trying to let me still have the fun of Camp Diagon Alley) said she'd be willing to let Camp Nana be based on Harry Potter. However, when we tried one last time to get ahold of the camp directer, it worked,and there was an opening, so we sent the papers in right away!


Camp Diagon Alley started on a Sunday, and I missed all the camp rules and such, so I got it like five minutes instead of getting up for the day. I was the last one there, so I got the house that had the least amount of people on it. Slytherine.(did I spell that correctly?) Everyone else got to draw from the sorting hat.(it was a whitches hat--cool!) I kindof was jeolous of the other members, because they got a bigger chance of getting a toleratable house and got to draw from a cool hat. After my first breakfast, we went to make wands, and trying to get in the spirit of things, I decorated mine with green and white adhesive tape(who would've thought that they would give us somthing like that to decorate our wands?) and with yellow ribbons shooting out of it for sparks. I was the lucky one to get the special wand that the instructer was holding because its comfyist 'cause it's round. My wand actually looked like a wand, instead of a square rod covered in tape. Later on in the week, we made Harry Potter school hats,(they don't wear hats) Harry Potter glasses,(what's the point?) butter beer,(vanilla rootbeer mixed with carmel) and chocolate frogs(no-bakes shaped by us into the form of froggies--fun and yummy!).

Camp Nana Diagon Alley was differant, the older gandkids came over every day for a little while for about an hour before Camp Nana actually started, to make signs for the different shops we were going to have, and once to watch Harry Potter #1 to get in the Harry Potter mood(ok fine it was more to see what the signs looked like) We had; Olivianders wand shop, where we got our glowstick wands, Obscurous Books(I did that one!), just for senery, Grimmline's Bank, where we got to have a sampling of what real money was like(2gallos, 4 sickels and 6 knuts--I think), Florine Fortiscue's Ice Cream Parlor, where we could buy candy after lunch,(there were caldron cakes, Weaslys Wizarding whezes, painterze, eye of newt, licorice wands, and after we had made them, chocolate frogs) a welcome to diagon alley sign, a platform 9 3/4 sign(I made this sign), Dumbledore's Office, where the bad kids go, complete with gorgoels(I made these signs), a girl's dormatry(I made this sign as well) and a boys dorm. I made more signs than the others because I came over one day when they weren't able to come.

The first thing we did was the sorting into houses. We actually put on a witche's hat covered in crincled brown paper,to make it look old, and Nana sang in a deep voice what the sorting hat actually said in Harry Potter #1. Then she called us by name one at a time and had us put on the sorting hat, and she would say words about our character and pronounce if we were in house A or house B. Xander even got a turn, but because there were 6 grandkids without him and because he wold only come be a part of Camp Nana for an hour every day he was put in house C. Next everyone decided which colors they're house would be and we had to come up with a name. My house decided on "Duckbill" with green and blue. We made our posters with our name and mascot, and Aunt Bonnie did Xander's. His was "Banana" with yellow and brown, because he practically is a monkey. We got to play Quiditch on broomsticks kicking a ball into the other team's goal. We had a keeper, who was like a goaly, a chaser, like everyone else on a soccer team, and a seeker, who would run around looking for the snitch(a rock painted gold with gold sparckles). Our team didn't have anyone who had ever played soccer, so we were losing by a lot when nobody had found the snitch and Nana finaly said "Ok let's to a boy scout search fo it, it's in the part of the field", so we searched and searched for it, and then finaly Aunt Bonnie found it and said "Oh I found it, I guess I get the points for it!" then Logan who was on the other team said "Oh no you don't" and ran at her and took it from her hand. His team was awarded exta points for quick thinking. We also made baby mandrakes, which were like dirt babies, and I still have mine. Each team gets one dinner that we get to make by our selves, and while we were making our mandrakes, the other team was planning their dinner,and vise versa. As I mentioned earlier, we made chocolate frogs. These frogs were made with molds and chocolate and peanut butter. They tasted like holiday recess you know, the ones shaped like a christmas tree, or pumpkin or easter bunny. While one team was making them in the kitchen, the other team got to envent a board game that is like an other board game, but Harry Potter. The game we invented was a traditional game but the obstacles were different. Oh, I forgot to mention the hourglasses that held our team points we earned by doing nice things for people, Nana kept track of the nice things with little cicles of cardstock.She wrote what we did on the back of the circles. Each of us got a paper owl with pipe cleaner feet. The feet were made so that a note could be written and snuck into the owl's feet,so that the person who owned the owl could receive notes like they did in Harry Potter. In the end, the two teams tied, but Xander received the House Cup(a sippy cup)

5th Grade Promotion

For my 5th grade promotion, as you probably know, Dad came out to Oklahoma to see my Promotion (and ME!) I hadn't planned to wear my dress on the bus, so I told my mom I was just going to take it to school with me and change before the promotion. But she knew Dad was going to surprise me that morning so she coaxed me into getting dressed early, saying she wanted to take pictures of me in it. He took me out to Eggbert's for breakfast and then drove me to school where I found my class way out of order with nervous jitters. We had been practicing the way we were going to do the promotion for a couple days and got better and better each day, so I wasn't really nervous. We met in the cafeteria right before it was time to go in, and we waited until it was time to start. After the promotion, and after changing into more casual clothes, we went to the YMCA (which Dad had volunteered for---awesome!) At the YMCA, and I hadn't planned it that way but one of my friends, a really close friend, had the exact same schedule as I did. The teachers made us sign up to do certain activities at certain times. We had to do all the activities except for swimming, and we signed up for what times we wanted. The parent support group had arranged for certain parents to be at certain places, but that didn't go so well---the parents were kind of all over the place. Being at the YMCA lasted all day and everyone, I doubt there was a single person who didn't, but everyone loved it! They gave us all a membership that lasts a year free and a little key chain to put that membership card on and a little whistle/flashlight thing to keep us safe, which is also attached to the keychain. When we got back to school we did yearbook signing and that took us to the end of the school day. All in all it was a great day---all play and no work!

Washington D.C.

me at the Lincon Momorial, the Washington Monument, and me in the stalks at Williamsberg

the American History Museam,and me with a scared squirell

Our family went to D.C. for my Uncle's graduation. I will post pictures later. In order to catch our plane, I was pulled out of school early, and got to miss three days of school. We all had our suitcases packed, so we could just go. Grandaddy picked me up from school, then we went to the house-selling place and got my parents, who were with someone who might buy our house(keep your fingers crossed). Our plane was small!!! It held about fifty people in twelve and a half rows. Kinda funny considering that our second plane had first class and second class with a rope to divideing the two. We got home after dinner and went to bed (I was the lucky one who got to sleep in the lovesac).
On our first day in Washington D.C., we went to Williamsberg. There we saw what it was like to live in the seventeen hundreds and how some jobs were done. For example at the wigshop we learned that a fancy wig would take about a month to make and would cost as much as a team of oxen. Did you know that people didn't have hair under their wigs? They shaved their hair all off before putting a wig on! We saw a squirell standing still on a garbage can, so we took a picture of it and we also saw a baby one walking--- not running, not skiping, walking.
On Thursday we toured the Washington Monument,(did you know that there is a law that says no building in D.C. can be taller than the Washington Monument?)we saw the Lincon Momorial, the Vietnam war momorial, the WWII momorial, the museam of American History, and the museam of Nateral History. When we first got into town, we were taking our own sweet time. We talked to someone who works at an information booth, and decided to get our tickets for the Washington Monument, first. Boy golly, we had still been dillydallying, and if we had waited any longer we wouldn't have gotten tickets! We got the last ones! At the museam of American History there was a hands on learning lab and I had tons of fun down there,(it was the lowest floor), and we saw Old Glory, the flag that inspired Fransice Scott Key to write the National Anthem.
On our last day of touring D.C., we saw the Burro of Printing and Engraving,which was nothing like I had pictured it to be, the National Archives, where we saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, which I can recite the preamble to, and several other documents and petitions,and the Air and Space Museam.
On Saterday we went to Uncle John's graduation. The first part of it was with the whole school, and basically telling the audiance how hard the students had worked throughout the school-year. When we sang the National Anthem, people were still arriving, and they didn't stop walking to sing it! Other people didn't put their hands on their hearts! The students broke up into what they were earning their degree in, for the second part. The announcer dude was funny, and everybody enjoyed listening. When someone was called, whoever was the teacher of that class, listed that persons acheivements, and told the audience something personal about that person, like what they had been planning to do after college, or that they had just had a baby. They served us lunch there and I had a feeling that they didn't have many people bring food and they didn't talk about what they would be serving because they served pop, these little bitty sandwiches, and gynormous cookies. After the graduation, we went to see the Arlington National Sematary, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the changing of the guard for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
On Sunday we went home.

ps I don't know why my last sentence is in italics, but apparently it's gone now,and sorry for the wierd way the pictures are set up, but it's not my fault!

Saturday and Sunday

Sorry about the pause between posts; I don't just post on holidays. I try to post more than that, but I can't always do it. Anyway, as you know, I think--do you? I celebrated Easter bunny Easter on Saturday. My girl scout troop also went to a camp where you can pay to ride the horses there. It was more than you're probably thinking. They taught us how to get on the horse and how to control the horse and then they gave us the reins. I got the biggest horse; his name was Duke. They used him to do the demonstrating too. Because there were so many girls, we had to go in two groups (8 at a time). So while the we were going, the other girls had to just sit or walk around. Between the two groups, we had lunch on the grass beside the arena. Then it was our turn to sit and twiddle our thumbs. Except that we didn't twiddle our thumbs. We went down to see the camp and there was a volleyball net there so we played some volleyball! When we came back we found out that the leader had somehow been thrown off her horse because the horse in front of her had stumbled and it scared her horse. On Sunday, we went over to my Aunt's house to take some Easter pictures and then went to church. My mom teaches the Yound Women so we went a little early to set up the classroom and the library wasn't open. We could hear the people in Sacrament meeting, which wasn't right either; they should have been in class by then! That's when we realized it was before ten and church starts at eleven! So we had to go home and then come back at the right time. On Saturday when we got back my mom said that I could munch on my Easter candy Sat and Sun without having to ask and so I've been enjoying that although I really don't know why and I guess that brings this post to an end!

My Valentines Day

Well as you might already know, I didn't go to school on Friday. Actually, I did, a little,the last half.In case you don't already know,I'll explain. Friday was showday for the Missula Children's Theater play.Because we didn't have a lot of time to practice throughout the week, we spent Friday practicing. From 8:45 til about lunchtime we went over it. At lunchtime,we took a break and ate lunch. It turns out that my mom had left-over cookies from Uncle John's birthday, and snuck cookies into my lunch(okay so she didn't sneak them in, she's the one who packed it, however I had seen the lunchable in the fridge and I didn't know the cookies were there). Mine was a stage with the words 'Break a leg Ali!'. After lunch we did our first performance. It was for the fourth graders who were learning about theater plays. Yes, all fourth graders learn about it. After that, we all went home/school( we got to choose).I chose school because I didn't want to miss the Valentines Day party.Plus that ment less make-up work. I just have to say this, all the boys were asking all the girls "Do you want to go out with me?"I think they were partly wanting to know who liked them, and they party wanted to freak us out. Another girl thinks it was a dare, or vow, or something.What's the vote? At 5:45, we went back to the community center for our second show. My mom was scedualed to go to the temple at the same time, so she went the noon show. I went home with Aunt Jessica, and spent the night. The next morning(Valentines Day) we went to Oklahoma City, to see a child in our ward who is handycapped, and sick enough to not be alowed to go home, but well enough to not be in a hospital.That's how we spent our Valentines Day.

My days

Before I get started, I want to ask a few questions. First, can you post a comment on your own blog? If not ..................No, I didn't eat the whole ice cream by myself because 1: I can't eat that much ice cream by myself, and 2: it was made up of melted ice cream drowning in chocolate syrup, and disgusting, hard, very large pieces of brownie. Doesn't my last post make your mouth water? School is fine, and yes I got card you sent me Aunt Catherine. My second question I forgot, but I might remember later.A while ago I got to decorate a whole cake my mom made,(she messed up when she was taking the cake out of the pan, and it had to be cut to look good) and you can see it in dropshots if you go to droshots.com, then type in Christie Block. On Friday I MCed for the school talent show. I didn't have to use my script, and you can see me MC on dropshots as well. Today(Sunday the 8th) a girl in my class and her mom came over to my house to learn how to make and decorate cookies the way we do. The mom had tasted the same kind of cookie at my winter party, and now that she had a project to do, she wanted to bake cookies.And we did all 75 of them. Now 32 of them are for girl scouts, because I'm in charge of treats, and each girl gets two cookies.We had a busy day.