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April
2006 Journal
Spring
has sprung...even though we had a day where it snowed,
hailed and rained...odd?
April has a lot in store for us. Daddy will begin
construction on a few wood projects. I am going to
learn to ride that bike! Mommy is going to start
adding exercise to her diet program and of course...Easter
is this month!
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April Fool's Day!
April 1, 2006 |
I learned about
the best thing EVER...and it's called April Fool's Day! I
spent the whole day playing trick's on Mommy and Daddy. I got
Daddy a couple times telling him that something was on his head...he
is so silly. It didn't matter if what I told him made sense or
not...he would always look!
I think April Fool's day is awesome and should last the whole month!
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Chocolate
World
April 1, 2006 |
I know what you
are thinking...haven't you been to Chocolate World enough times?
Well, each time is like a new adventure for me...you never know what
kind of chocolate you are going to get at the end. Also, the
ride has been closed for the last couple of months...as they were
re-doing parts of it and today was the grand re-opening! We
decided to check it out. The place was crowded, but not bad at
all. The changes were nice. There is a new mural behind
the beginning of the ride than just the plain black wall...and there
are singing cows...lots of them! They really updated the ride
to make it look more modern and like the real factory. You
will have to check it out...I am not going to ruin the experience
for you!
Oh yea, we got a packet of Hershey's Colored Kisses....yummy!
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Kindergarten
Registration
April 3, 2006 |
Mommy, Daddy and
me all took the day off. I had to register for Kindergarten.
There was not much to the process today other than dropping off
papers to pretty much prove that I exist. I met the principal
and he asked me if I was ready for school...I told him, "no".
I ended up at the doctors today too. My throat glands were
pretty swollen. Mommy thought I had strep or the mumps!
Nope, neither....actually, an ear infection. Go figure.
Guess it was good we went. Now I have to take this yucky
medicine...thanks Mom!
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Letter U
Day
April 4, 2006 |
I took my
unicorn puppet that I have for letter U day today. My
friend, Patrick, brought in a unicorn too. The letter U was a
tricky one. Other friends brought in umbrella's...but
everyone's was different.
We cut out and colored letter "u's" and made them look like
umbrellas too.
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Daddy's Wood
Arrives
April 5, 2006 |
I got to stay
home this morning with Daddy to wait for our delivery of wood to
come. It was neat watching them unload all of it from the
truck. They had to do it with a forklift and then it wouldn't
fit in the garage...so they had to figure another way to get it in.
It all worked out and they managed to do it all during the craziest
hail storm I have ever seen! All of that after we already had
a layer of snow on the ground.
Isn't it supposed to be Spring?!
Anyway, Daddy got a lot of wood. He is going to be building a
workbench for the garage, cabinets for his saws and a new
entertainment center for the new TV. I can't wait to help get
it started!
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Oreo and
Milkshake ~ Our Gerbils at School
April 6, 2006 |
Well...we have
been enjoying taking care of 2 gerbils in our classroom, Oreo
and Milkshake. Their days have come to an end. Milkshake died on March 27th
and Oreo died today. They were both very old for gerbils and
sick. Miss Carol said it was their time to go. We were
all very sad.
We won't be getting any new pets for our class anytime soon.
However, I've been talking a lot about me getting something for my
birthday! (hint-hint)
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Picture Day!
April 7, 2006 |
Today was
picture day at school. Mommy got me a new Spring outfit to
wear and I did look pretty handsome. I smiled nice for the
camera and laughed a lot because he made me say, "pickle face!".
Little did he know...that I AM a pickle head! hee-hee.
We don't know when the pictures will be in...hopefully soon.
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Letter R
Day!
April 11, 2006 |
Today was
letter R day and I came up with my choice all by myself. I am
taking my Transformer "Robot" toy. I was the only one to bring
a robot. Other friends brought: reindeer, Rescue Hero
toy, rabbits and a race car.
We cut out our letter R's and made them look like rabbits.
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Easter Holiday
April 13 -
16, 2006 |
This year we
broke away from our "traditional" Easter for a few reasons.
Daddy has the garage a complete mess with wood projects and Mommy
hasn't had time to get to her Spring cleaning. We decided to
go to Grammy & Pap's since we haven't been there since July!
It was a nice visit and we had a good holiday.
Thursday ~ April 13th: After my fun day at school, we
had our egg hunt and party, we got on the road early for Kittanning.
We hit no traffic and I enjoyed watching movies the whole way there.
I do much better on long trips than short ones...odd? Anyway,
Grammy & Pap-pap were excited to see me and we visited for a long
time. I stayed up real late...my secret...no one really knows
when I went to bed. I told Mommy I would go to bed "after I
was done playing". She didn't seem to care and just said that
we were going for breakfast and she would get me up in the morning.
Friday ~ April 14th: I was woken bright and early, but
I didn't mind, we got dressed and went for breakfast with Grammy's
gang, "The Breakfast Club/Red Hat Ladies". Mertie, Susie and
Larissa joined us. I had yummy French toast and bacon, oh yes,
and chocolate milk! Everyone was all impressed with Mommy's
weight loss. She has been doing great...she really needs to do
a journal update on that. I'll get on her about it.
Anyway, we went to Wal-mart and did some shopping...Grammy got me a
Transformer. It is so cool! We went home and I played
and Mommy & Daddy did some geocaching at a spot in Worthington.
I guess there is a "mass grave" from the 1918 flu epidemic.
Mommy said it was interesting but strange being in that spot.
They aren't sure how many bodies are buried there exactly, but that
they were all immigrants that had no identification or family.
Sad.
Mommy and me spent the afternoon playing soccer in the backyard.
I am getting pretty good at kicking the ball around. I also
spent a good time digging up worms and building them a house.
Pap is probably glad he will have all those sticks to gather up when
I leave.
Anyway...I wanted to know when Uncle JG was coming...so, I called
him. He told me he would be here tomorrow. I can't wait.
Saturday ~ April 15th: Same routine this
morning...breakfast with "the girls". I had yummy chocolate
chip pancakes and bacon this morning. I usually am a good
breakfast eater. Anyway, we had to get ready for the egg hunt
at the YMCA. I was excited...there were soo many kids there,
but it was really nice. Mommy said that they must have gotten
wise to how to run a successful egg hunt. First, we were
divided into two age groups, no parents were allowed in, and we all
lined up around the field so we all had the same starting advantage.
There were eggs and candy treats everywhere! I filled my
basket up quickly, only after being choosey about what I put in it.
Daddy had to empty some things out so I could get back in the game!
I came out with a lot of good things.
Aunt Kitty caught up with us at the hunt. She can't believe
how big I am and kept going on about how cute I am. We do need
to visit more often, I didn't remember who she was.
It was a pretty cloudy morning....until....Uncle JG arrived...clouds
parted, sun is shining! Well....that what it was like for me
anyways. I love my Uncle! He brought me my very own REAL
soccer ball! We played in the backyard with it for a long
time. We even teamed up....Mommy & Daddy vs. me and
Uncle JG. I bet you can't guess who scored all the goals?!
I got 7 points! Uncle JG taught me how to stop the ball with
my foot before kicking it, how to run in front of it, dribble with
my feet and to remember NOT to use my hands...that was a tough one,
but I did pretty good.
After dinner, we colored Easter eggs. Daddy of course, made an
ugly egg. Uncle JG said it's probably been since he was a kid
that he colored eggs....silly Uncle JG, don't you know what fun
you've been missing. I liked dipping them into all different
colors. They came out all interesting colors.
It was a long, fun day of playing...JG had to go back home, but said
he would see me in the morning.
Sunday ~ April 16th: HAPPY EASTER! I woke up and
found an empty basket in front of my door with a note on it from the
Easter Bunny! It said that he hid 20 eggs and my basket full
of goodies. That's all I needed to hear and I was
off...finding the eggs. I only needed a little help to find
them all. I kept counting as I found them...so, I knew when I
was close to having them all. Then, wa-la...pay dirt...my
basket! It had a HUGE chocolate bunny in it and it took me 2
seconds before I was munching on the ears....mmmm...mmmm....it was
soo good. I got a chocolate Jeep too. Mommy put that in
the fridge for later. I got a cool twirling bunny toy, some
other candy treats, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe DVD, and
two games, Twister & Monopoly Jr. Thank You Easter Bunny and
also family & friends. I got money and 2 more Transformer
guys.
We ate a yummy dinner, well...the grown-ups did...I had some corn,
pickles and a roll. That's enough for me.
We played my games...only Mommy was brave enough to do Twister with
me. We were playing Monopoly when we got a nice surprise visit
from Jen, Todd, Jessica and Pat. It was good seeing them, it
had been a long time.
Well...soon it was time to pack up and head for home. We
didn't really hit any traffic back either. It was a nice trip
and visit with everyone.
We hope
everyone's Easter was a "hoppy" one!
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Letter E
Day!
April 18, 2006 |
Letter E Day.
First, I told Mommy that I wanted to take "that Ear book". She
thought I meant the Dr. Seuss one that we have, but I was thinking
of the "ear" book we were reading at the doctor's office.
Oops....we don't have that one. So, I thought and
thought...and decided to take my singing Easter Bunny that Grammy
gave me. He is so cute, it's to the music "Rockin' Robin" but
the words are different and there is a baby chick in the egg that
pops out and sings too. It makes me smile every time I hear
it.
Anyway, my friends thought it was great too. Other "E" things
that people brought were eggs, elephants, Earth (globe), engine
(train) and earrings.
We cut out our big letter E's and made them into elephants. I
gave mine a red trunk...not sure why...just did. :)
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Earth Day
Clean-Up!
April 21, 2006 |
Today, we
celebrated Earth Day at school. Miss Carol took us for a walk
around the daycare property and we picked up all the trash we could
find. We did a really good job and as we walked past the
catering business...the owner came out and gave us some freshly
baked cookies! Boy, they were yummy and she thanked us for
helping to keep the Earth beautiful!
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Grandparents Proper Visit!
April
21-24th, 2006 |
Friday, April
21st ~ I was soo excited all day today at school, because
I knew that Grandma & Pa-Pa were going to be coming to see me.
I couldn't wait to get home! They didn't get here until late,
but I was wide awake and waiting for them! I get to spend the
whole day tomorrow with just them because Mommy & Daddy have a
Geocaching event to go to!
Saturday, April 22nd ~ Mommy & Daddy went to an Earth
Day Geocaching event called a CITO (means cache in and trash
out...kind of the geocaching motto, which we practice a lot).
I spent the day with the grandparents...although it was rainy, we
had a fun time building all kinds of things out of Lego's, we went
to the movies and saw "The Wild". It was okay, not as good as
Madagascar. I was really well behaved, so we hit McDonald's
for lunch. I have been telling Pa-Pa that they were going to
take me there...heehee. Daddy and Mommy got home a little
after 4, so Pa-Pa and Daddy started working on the wood projects in
the garage. I think Mommy took a nap and I wore Grandma out!
Sunday, April 23rd ~ Today, was another busy day of
building in the garage. The weather was rainy again, so we
played inside a lot and just enjoyed each others company.
Daddy & Pa-Pa got a lot built and I helped too. I got to use
the nail gun!
Monday, April 24th ~ Daddy worked from home, Mommy went
to work and I stayed home to...and we played all day. Mommy
actually got home from work early so everyone had a nice visit.
We went out to eat at "Apple-Gee's" for dinner...I had some yummy
pizza. Grandma had this big drink called a Margarita!
We had a nice visit...got lots of work done and Mommy was happy to
just relax! Grandma wanted to go to the Hershey Gardens but
the weather just didn't cooperate. They will have to come back
done in June and we will go there...the butterfly house will be open
then!
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CITO Event ~
Conestoga Trail/Wind Cave Clean-Up
April 22, 2006 |
Mommy & Daddy
went on an adventure today...although it was rainy and cool...it was
an important event. They went with a group of geocachers to
clean-up the Conestoga Nature Trail and Wind Cave (one of the
largest tectonic caves on the East coast). The cave is a local
teen/or other disrespectful persons, party site and was just
littered with garbage. Mommy & Daddy, along with about 40
other people hiked along the trails and cleaned up all that they
could carry out. Mommy & Daddy did a hike on the lower end of
the trail and brought out a lot of bags of trash, most of which had
been carried by the creek during heavy rains. Unfortunately,
some was obviously just thrown there. Sad. Daddy helped
to carry out a huge (and he said to be sure to say...HEAVY) propane
tank of some kind. Mommy wasn't around to get a picture of
that! After a few hours, the crew was done and it was time to
meet up with everyone for lunch. The rains held off for the
most part of the day. Daddy said that they only got really wet
while they decided to do a geocache before lunch. The
trickiest part for them during the day was actually finding the
pavilion everyone was at....Mommy & Daddy were in one of the first
groups done, and the last to get to the pavilion...haahaa!
There was sooo much food that everyone volunteered to bring that
they could have fed about 100 more people! DocDitto, the
fellow cacher who set this whole wonderful event up, had gotten
donations for door prizes from the official geocaching website and
it's sponsors. He gave away special CITO (oh, by the way
means, "cache in and trash out) geocoins, CITO t-shirts and the
final prize was a GPS Phone! Trimble Outdoors donated that and
only chose 20 CITO events in the US....how great for ours to be one
of them! Mommy did win a t-shirt...yay!
I am glad that they had a fun day. I wish I could have gone,
but the trail was a bit tricky at times. We do practice
"cito-ing" while we geocache, whenever we can. We once carried
out 3 bags from the game lands we were on! I can't believe
people litter like that!
Mommy & Daddy thought they would go back to the area and camp
there....then explore the other half of the trail and cave that they
didn't get to see. I hope I can go along but it may be too
hard of a hike for me. We'll see.
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TangleWood Cabin
April 28-29, 2006 |
Thursday
evening, we got a phone call from our friends, Jen & Darrin...."hey,
we are going to the cabin this weekend, do you want to come along?"
SURE!
Friday, April 28th ~ Mommy packed up the stuff we needed and
we headed to their house after work. I was so excited to go!
It took us about an hour to get there...and we managed to beat the
traffic and get there before dark!
The cabin is in Pine Grove Furnace and it is a beautiful, quiet and
a State Park. Darrin and Daddy couldn't wait to cook up the
burgers on the grill. This process however, seemed to take
FOREVER! We later concluded that the charcoal must have been a
bit damp. We ate yummy burgers and hot dogs. Jen made
baked bean, macaroni salad (from scratch!) and fruit salad.
I had fun playing frisbee with Jen and digging up patches of moss
and building things with it. It got cold quickly while we were
eating...almost by moonlight...the grill took so long! We
headed inside and Darrin lit up the fireplace. I then asked,
like I always do when I see a fire blazing..."where are the
marshmallow sandwiches?" Jen must have known I was going to
say that...she had a bag full of everything we needed! Before
we could make the "sandwiches"....Jen threw a marshmallow at Darrin
as he came around the corner...and that was IT....GAME ON! I
thought this was the greatest thing as the marshmallow battle went
on. After everyone was all sticky and we cleaned up our
mess...the fire was ready. We made some yummy s'mores.
We figured out the proper technique to get the chocolate melted just
right. Mmmmm. It wasn't long after that, when
everyone started getting pretty tired and we knew we were going to
have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow. I camped out on the
couch with Jen's sleeping bag, while Mom and Dad slept on the futon.
We got to sleep with the fire burning...that was neat, pretty too.
No body made a peep when lights were out. I think everyone
fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows...Zzzzzz.
Saturday, April 29th ~ We woke early to the smell of Darrin
and Jen making bacon, eggs and coffee. Chocolate milk for me,
of course! After a good breakfast, we all headed down the road
to a local trail called "Tumbling Run". It is on private
property but the owners of the land allow hikers to enjoy the
beautiful scenery. Boy, was it ever! The trail was nice,
mostly clean, we only gathered some trash out. It was winding
along a creek that had all kinds of little and some larger
waterfalls along it. Be sure to check out our photos.
You had to cross the creek on make-shift bridges at times. The
hike was fairly easy...I was able to do it with really no problems.
I had fun crawling under and over the logs that blocked the paths
and climbing up and over rocks! I did take some time to splash
in the water and boy, was it cold! We spent a few hours there
and then it was time to head back to the cabin for lunch!
After lunch we packed up our stuff, cleaned up the cabin and it was
time to go home. We decided to stop and see the actual Pine
Furnace remains and read about them and how they worked. There
wasn't much left but the large furnace is still standing.
Then, we thought we would do a geocache while there, and Jen was
interested in learning about it too. We found one that we
thought would be a quick and easy one to do....little did we know
what adventure we would embark on. It was a multi-cache,
which means it has 2 or more parts, but it was only 400 feet from
the road, so we decided on trying it. As we were walking back
into the woods, this structure caught our eye...obviously man-made
of stones and glass....looked like what used to be quite an
elaborate fountain...hmmm? Then we spot a few yards away, some old
stone foundations and obvious rows of trees that were probably
once lining a road. We are intrigued, forgot about caching for
awhile and decided to explore the area. We figured we better
get back to the 1st part of the cache, because it may eventually
send us back here. Dad shows Jen how to work the GPS and she
gets us to ground zero of the first part. Funny, she was the
first to find it too! Good job, Jen! I was too
busy playing with some ants I found. Anyway, it did head us
back to where we were but closer to the car. The cache was
called Camp Michaux Nostalgia and inside was a written up history of
the area. We really found a neat place, with a neat history
and THIS IS WHAT GEOCACHING IS ALL ABOUT! Follow this link to
read more about the place...(visit
link - scroll past the top part of the
site)
In a quick summary: It was originally the Bunker Hill Farm
owned by the Gardner family, Camp Michaux later functioned as a
CCC camp and a WWII POW camp where the inventor of the German
buzz bomb was reputed to have been held! In 1947, the compound
was converted for the use as a church camp and conference center.
It last saw service in 1972.
After reading this...we headed back to explore some more and see
what we could find! We spotted a lot of neat things...we found
the arrow on the ground that used to hold the flag for the POW camp,
the POW marker, old swimming hole (pond), the aqueduct system and
dam, the new swimming pool and lots of old foundations. It is
hard to believe that something so run down and grown over has only
been out of use for 30 years! There are still some ruins that
we missed and we are hoping to come back to the area and do some
more exploring. Darrin said his family has been camping here
for years, and he never knew that it was here...and I think Jen is
hooked on geocaching now!
On the road again....we stopped for ice cream and then took the
Hartley's back home. I didn't want them to leave. I
enjoy their company...as do Mommy & Daddy!
Thanks
guys for inviting us on your weekend trip! We had a blast!
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