My Awesome Family

I have lots of family that live all over the United States! I, however, live in China. I was a grumpy troll for Halloween. I was a grumpy troll because trolls are mainly grumpy.

My brother also lives in China with my family. Often times I think that Phoenix's smile is weird. It looks a little like the elf guy's smile. You should know him if you have ever watched the movie Elf.

I have also been to Thailand with my family. My mom is feeding the pumpkins. You were able to feed elephants at the park we went to! Apparently, this elephant did not like pumpkin.

My dad is in China also. We bought a keyboard that dad is playing on. He has one of my books up, but he is playing by ear.

Warning: This newt is not part of our family. He is not in China either.

My grandma on my Dad's side, Grandma DuBravac (That's what I call her. My parents call her something different), is not in China. She is in D.C. It is awesome that she gives us candy!

Grandma Terry, my grandma on my mom's side, is at our house in America in this picture. She lives in Fullerton, California. She is a great artist. She paints chairs and they look awesome.

This is Scott and Irena, my new aunt. Beware of Scott; he is an ogre. I could not get a picture of Monkey on here though. In February, we will have to see what he looks like.

I have other family members, but I didn't have pictures of all of them, and they were not available to get pictures of right then. I am sorry if I did not include you.

My family is totally awesome and each person has different talents. I am lucky to have such a great family.

The Creation of the Swans

I know how to do origami! It's really fun. So far I've memorized how  to make swans, envelopes, and boxes. One day I decided to make origami swans, and when I say "make" I really mean it! I 1) cut, 2) colored, and 3) creased. Talk about  the three Cs!

Alas, I did not have a picture of the first stage! (cut). But I do have two of coloring!

This is my flock of swans. It's all finished! (For now)! I will make more! I will never be defeated!

p.s. Can you think of any names for these swans? They are all girls. Hey! Don't ask me!!!! Most of my animals are boys!!!!!!!!!!

The Greatest Dumplings Ever

A couple of weeks ago, I made dumplings with Phoenix, my brother, and Lareina, our friend. First, I mixed the filling for inside the dumplings.

 Next, I rolled out the dough for the skin of the dumplings. Nice rolling pin, ehhhhh?

Lareina helped me lay out already rolled dough so it doesn't stick together. We put flour over it so it didn't stick.

 

Finally, we put the filling inside of the dough and closed the dumplings up. We laid all the dumplings out on a big flappy plate. We had so many dumplings, and all we needed to do was cook them! They were some of the yummiest dumplings I have ever eaten!

The Secret Storage

Does the table look too messy for eating on? That's ok, because we're not eating on it. We're painting on it. I bought a wooden desk for 5 yuan (90 cents) with my allowance. I decided to paint it in a really kooky way!

Here is what my desk looks like so far. The sides were supposed to look like a pufferfish, but it didn't turn out right.

This is the shelf in my desk pulled completely out. Treasure time!

 

This is the main part of my desk finished! The second drawer up is supposed to look like a treasure chest. I would put the drawer back in the desk, but the lava isn't dry on the bottom shelf.

The desk was DEFINITELY worth 5 yuan! Not only could I paint it, but now I can put stuff in it.

Oh My! Amazon Birds

Here are all my Amazon birds.In fact,not all mine. The toucan in the middle is Phoenix's, my brother's and so is the macaw next to the red ibis.

This is my red ibis. Do you see the pool of water? It helps keep him standing up.

I can't think of a name for this white ibis. Can you? (Put your ideas in the comments.)

 

This is Phoenix's macaw that is named America.

This is my macaw that I am still trying to name. So far I've thought of Yellow Leg. I got the style of these names from the Warriors books, if you're interested. If you think of any names, put them in the comments.

I'm also trying to name this macaw. This is my favorite one because of all the colors. If you think of any names, put them in the comments. Same with the green-billed toucan down there. I've thought about naming this one Red Tail, but I didn't like that very much, so I thought about Fire Tail instead, or Fire Bird.

 This one is Phoenix's. Her name is Precious.

This is the green-billed toucan that I'm trying to name. My hand is in the picture because the toucan doesn't stand up very well.

These are all of our Amazon birds. Maybe they'll have names soon!

The Great Game of Solitaire

Yea! Solitaire . . . my favorite! I played Solitaire on Thanksgiving while we were waiting for the dinner to be ready. Phoenix was my helper with the game. He set up the game, turned over the cards, and took the cards away when I got a run.

 This is Phoenix turning over the cards for me.

 Phoenix is giving me a hint, even though I didn't ask for one. If you ask me . . . sort of annoying.

 Yea! Only three more cards to go on this run! (It only goes up to eight.)

My first run! I usually don't get this far in Solitaire. Maybe that's because whenever I play Solitaire, the cards go up to more than eight.

Phoenix is straightening out the cards in all of the runs I've gotten.

This is the first time ever I've won playing Solitaire! It's more fun playing Solitaire when you win than when you lose.