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May
2008 Journal
It's May what
more can I say? We are ready for the sunshine, Mom wants to
plant some flowers and get her porch ready for summer.
Dad and me got some new video games we want to play.
We want to start camping, not sure if the weather will cooperate
with our schedules.
School is winding down...wow, that first year went fast and I have
learned A LOT!
We have both Mother's Day and Memorial Day to celebrate this month!
I'm sure we will do something fun for both!
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Quick Visit from
Grandparents Proper
May ,
2008 |
May 1st:
A quick visit is better than no visit! Grandma & Papa were
headed down to see my cousin Nickoli for his birthday - HAPPY
BIRTHDAY NICKOLI! And we just so happen to be the half-way marker
for the long drive to Virginia! Can't get much better hotel
service than that! They got in pretty late on their trip down,
so I didn't see them until the next morning but we visited until I
had to go to school. I knew they were here, so I was up EARLY
for me on a school day! I was sure to show them all of my
Captain Underpants books, show off my newly learned karate moves and
wrap up Nickoli's gift for them to deliver.
May 6th: I knew Grandma & Papa would be on their way back home today and would reach our house shortly after I got
home from school. I was excited to see them. We played
Lego's, PaPa and I made paper airplanes, I read to them and we all
went out to eat at my favorite place - Friendly's. We all ate
too much but still devoured some ice cream! YUM!
It was fun seeing you - too bad we couldn't have gone to a karate
class. I need to figure out when I am going to come stay
with you ALL BY MYSELF this summer! Can't wait! Hmm,
think I just heard Mom and Dad say that too........hey!
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Kindergarten Field
Trip Day!
May 7,
2008 |
All of the
morning kindergarten classes had a special field trip today! I
had to pack a lunch to take because we were going to be having a
much longer day than we are used to.
First, Mom let me sleep in because Grandma and Pa-Pa were here and I
wanted to stay up just a little while longer and play with them.
Plus, Mom thought it would be a much better idea for her to take me
to school so I didn't have to spend half of my morning on a school
bus! I agreed. I had a nice breakfast, said "good-bye"
to the grandparents and got ready to go. It was going to be a
fun day...the weather was perfect too, which was nice.
Mom dropped me off and all of my friends were outside playing...so I
was excited and took off running.
We rode the bus to Harrisburg to see the show, Max and Ruby. I
sat with my good friends, Scout and Nick. I got to sit with
Miss Neiswender on the bus too on the way there, I promised to mom
that is wasn't because I was misbehaving! After the show we
all went to a local park for our picnic and to play. It was
fun and tiring too. I got to sit with my other bestest buddy,
Drew, on the bus on the way home. So, I had a great day.
We didn't get back to the school until 2 o'clock and Mom came and
picked me up.
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Karate Class #5
May 7,
2008 |
I LOVE KARATE!
I do and am already feeling more confident - well, Mommy thinks I
am, she said she can tell by my body language and behavior in class.
Tonight was just a great night....I had a fun field trip and now a
fun karate class. I love my teachers - Sensei Justin and
Cory.
Tonight's class was bigger than any of the others, around 7 kids.
I participated in answering questions, talked on my own without
being questioned - that means I told Sensei Justin about my day at
school! I volunteered to be a "leader", Sensei Justin asked me to do
"tricky push-ups" so I showed off my best one-handed push up.
He asked me if I was superman...heehee...and we did 100 push-ups,
well...the Sensei Justin way, this is how he counts 1, 35, 47, 89,
99, 100! Tonight we worked on getting our "Universal One"
looking better, last week we worked a bit on speed but since this
month we are learning "focus" we need to get the moves right.
We all did a great job, I remembered to bring my angry face this
class! Sensei Justin wonders why I am always smiling!
Just a happy kid, I guess. HA!
So, I am practicing at home to get my moves just right. We
also need to work on saying our Student Creed. It's a lot of
stuff to read and remember...we repeat it after Sensei Justin, so I
guess I need to get the marbles out of my mouth (that is what Mom
says) and say it like I mean it! You want to hear it?
I WILL DEVELOP MYSELF IN A POSITIVE MANNER AND AVOID ANYTHING THAT
COULD REDUCE MY MENTAL GROWTH OR PHYSICAL HEALTH.
I WILL DEVELOP SELF DISCIPLINE IN ORDER TO BRING OUT THE BEST IN
MYSELF AND OTHERS.
I WILL USE
COMMON SENSE BEFORE SELF DEFENSE AND NEVER BE ABUSIVE OR OFFENSIVE.
THIS IS A BLACK BELT SCHOOL - WE ARE DEDICATED - WE ARE MOTIVATED -
WE ARE ON A QUEST TO BE OUR BEST.
That last part is my favorite and I know it!
We ended our class with board breaking again. I seem to always
miss it on my first try and then I broke the white board with ease
followed by a quick break to a yellow one! What a feeling of
power that is! We end our class with a nice bow to our Sensei
and a WE ROCK!
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Week #37 ~
Kindergarten News
May 9,
2008 |
We have been learning
and doing a lot of activities about "bugs"! We have talked
about caterpillars and butterflies, and even made a class book that
I was able to bring home and share with everyone. We also read
a story about a little boy who was deciding whether or not he wanted
to squish an ant and wrote what we would do - I said I would squish
him!
We started a new science lesson on Fabric...odd, I know...but we
have been doing some cool things. We have learned where it
comes from, different types there are, how it looks and how it
feels, and we made a collage with all different types of fabric.
We are almost finished with our Math books! Our last chapter
is on spatial relationships and position. The rest of the
school year, Miss Neiswender said we would use for "review". I
have really enjoyed Math!
Our centers are, of course, "bug-themed". Some of them
include: putting mixed up sentences in the right order,
building a bug with KNex and writing about it, painting a bug and
writing about it, labeling parts of a fly and writing the missing
word, throwing beanbags on a ladybug's spots and adding the numbers
together (I liked this game), and looking at different bug books and
choosing 4 to draw and write about.
Other interesting things that have been going on are: we had a
special visitor form the Commerce Bank come and talk to us about
money and saving/spending it. I like getting it and spending
it. Guess I need to start saving it!
We are finished with our take home and guided reading books that we
have been doing all year long. Miss Neiswender is getting
ready to assess me for the year so she can send home a report.
I read over 80 Take Home Books this school year!
We have a few more exciting days coming up at school in the next few
weeks! Can you believe that there are only 20 days of
school left! WOW!
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Baby
Bunnies!
May 10,
2008 |
We have baby
bunnies in our yard! I am so excited....Daddy, not so much.
They are living in the tall grass under my swing set in the
backyard. Mommy thought she saw them the other day so today,
we snuck out to see if they were still there. Yup! They
were probably scared to death, as they did not move at all with us
messing around them. We thought there were 4 of them but after
a much closer examination, we counted 6! They are so
tiny and cute. I wanted to feed them but Mom said it probably
isn't a good idea to give a wild animal "people" food. I named
them, "Ichi", "Ni", "San", "Shi", "Go" and "little Cole". HA!
Mom and I were just joking around that those would be cool names,
incase you wondered what all that is, it's counting to 5 in
Japanese! I am going to leave the little bunnies alone, but we
will check on them and Mom said that she and Dad will have to be
extra careful when mowing around there! Not that we are big
fans of bunnies taking over our yard, we really don't want to chop
them up with the mower! Ugh, that would be awful!
Dad did say he wanted a pet rabbit!
UPDATE: Well, only a few days later Mom went to check
on the bunnies and all were gone and one little guy that "didn't
make it" still in the hole.
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Karate Class #9
May 17,
2008 |
Not sure how
long I will be able to keep up knowing what number karate class I
have gone too...but we'll see.
Anyway, I said I would do some updates with my karate and right now
it's pretty easy since everything is all new and exciting to me.
I have learned quite a few things in the last few classes.
Quite a few new blocks, a side block and a head block. Sensei
Cory taught us a thing called a "star block" today. It was
challenging. You have to stand weird with your legs out, feet
out and knees bent then you need to move both your hands . It
was tough, but looks oh, so cool!
We have been doing a lot of basic skills that require "focus".
It will be very soon that I will test for my first stripe. I
am both nervous and excited.
Other things we learned was what it would be like if I was in a
tournament, how we stand at the "square" on the Dojo floor and how
we bow to everyone then show off our best "Universal One" moves.
I wonder if the school will be having a tournament anytime soon?
Sensei Justin taught us something very cool at the end of class
today - we learned how to and GOT TO FLIP HIM over! It was soo
much fun! He was a bad guy that snuck up behind me and I need
to: Step Out, bend down, hand down (facing up) on the mat with other
hand up behind my back, wrap my hand around his leg - grab his
back(shirt) with my other hand, then "stand up and drive the bus".
This sounds confusing huh? I will just have to show it off
when you come to see me....now, I just need a volunteer to be the
bad guy!
I am learning so much stuff in just a short time. Mom said she
wishes they would give her some papers or she needs to start taking
notes to remember it all herself!
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Science
Showcase
May 19,
2008 |
My kindergarten
teacher invited all of the parents to come to visit school today and
watch our science lesson on fabric "in action". I guess the
school had just received some grant money and were able to purchase
new science materials and they wanted to give the parents a chance
to come in and check it out. Anyway, my Mom came! We
were sitting in circle talking about where fabric comes from, what
you have to do to it, how it travels to where it needs to go before
we can buy it. We all had picture cards and arrows and we
built a "chart" by putting the pictures in order. I had the
truck that shipped the clothes to "Wal-mart"! After that
lesson, Miss Neiswender read us a story called, Corduroy's Pocket.
Then the grown-ups got to help us sew our very own pockets. I
did a pretty good job all by myself, Mom just had to help with the
long thread in the beginning and help to hold the fabric for me.
It was fun. I think I will use my pocket to hold my Lego's!
I like when Mom is able to come to my school and help out...it had
been a long time since we have had parent helpers, so it was nice!
Mom said that I did a good job being an active learner. I was
answering questions and participating in circle time as well as
being "focused" and "respectful" too!
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School Fun Day -
Jelly Bean and Cougar Prowl
May 23,
2008 |
Today was just
an all around fun day at school!
First, my school held their spring fundraiser - Cougars On The
Prowl. My entire school (as well as the other 2 in the
area) collected donations for improving our playgrounds - even area
businesses helped out with marketing and supplies so all our the
money could go toward it. My class went in the morning and we
walked for 1/2 hour! We did 5 laps around the whole school!
It was tough but a fun time. We even got bright orange
"cougar" water bottles when we were done! My mom thought this
fund raiser was a great idea...a great way to get money for our
school and to incorporate physical fitness! She said she would
much rather give a donation than buy a bunch of "junk" that we would
hardly make a profit from! *UPDATE: So far, our
schools raised almost 13,000 dollars! The PTO is still getting
last minute donations so maybe I will have a new number to tell you
at my "end of the year" log! Oh, and I know some of YOU sent
in donations - and for that I say THANKS!
Jelly Bean day was next! What is that? Well, it
is a day organized by my gym teacher for all the grades in the
school, kind of like a mini-Olympics except everyone competes and
wins a "prize". K-2nd grade went first. There were about
20 different stations set up of some kind of physical activity for
us to do. If we were successful the volunteers colored in the
"jellybean" on our paper. The activities lasted about an hour
and when we were finished, we turned our paper in for REAL
jellybeans. I had 13 tasks on my paper and I completed 7 of
them - I did a lot of them twice! My mom was volunteering that
day, she worked the Penny Toss booth. I forgot she was
coming...and didn't get over there, was too busy running around with
my buddy - I was quite upset with myself later when I realized this!
I cried and cried when she picked me up. She gave me a hug and
said it was okay and asked if I had a fun day. I was too
emotional to answer at the time but looking back - yes, it was a
really fun day! Next year, I won't forget she is coming!
Besides - we were off to Grandma and Pa-Pa's house next and I knew
my DS would be waiting for me in the car!
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Memorial
Day Weekend with Family & Friends
May 23 - 26,
2008 |
This year our
dear friends the Hartley's joined us!
Friday ~ May 23rd: We all met up together around 1:30
and were on the road. We wished we all could have traveled
together but there are too many of us for one car! This was
one of Grey's first long car rides so we were hoping that he would
nap most of the way. I was content, not a peep from me when I
have my video games to keep me busy. Mom can't understand how
I can play that thing for so long! Anyway, no traffic, travelling
smoothly - got a call from Jen saying we need to stop at next rest
area...found a Sheetz. It was about time to stretch the legs
anyway and we needed to refuel! Stop to find out that Grey
only slept an hour and was getting antsy. Good thing we
stopped...this Sheetz was selling FIREWORKS! We needed
those....we bought the biggest box they had! All is good back
on the raod - to be at PaPa's around 5:30, around the bend and we
see a police car sitting on the shoulder and signs about
construction....ugh. Our first bump...and it turned out to be
a biggie. I didn't notice - head still in the DS.
Traffic crawled...we passed a truck that said something about
mowing...and that made Dad make some comments. Once we got
moving and up there....we noticed (oh and by "we" I mean Mom and
Dad) that there must have been some kind of accident that called in
the Haz-Mat people, as they were all suited up in the right lane and
getting hosed down. So, of course everyone was rubber necking
to see that! Can't really say that we blame them...we did
too...you don't see that every day. Okay - rest of the trip
was smooth sailing - got to Grandma's around 6:30 - yes, we were
stuck for that long! Darrin and Jen were wondering just where
we were taking them once we got on the "roads" to Grandma's!
They were excited to see us arrive....Grandma was just finishing
cleaning off the porch. We ate a yummy supper of home-made
bread and chili. Grey liked Grandma's chili - I tried it,
that's all.
Saturday ~ May 24th: Everyone was up early
today...excited to have some fun! We knew we needed to run to
the store to get some stuff so we did a few geocaches on the way.
Mom had found an interesting one that had just popped up, just a few
miles from Grandma's house. It was called The PitchFork Tree.
I'll share the story:
What an
interesting story - this is why we enjoy this hobby. There was
not much left of the pitchfork but so nice that the story is being
preserved. Okay, a few more geocaches - some in the big
"city" of Sparty - a trip to the grocery store which included buying
me some sparklers and poppers - yea! We got home and
soon it was time to load up the wagon and head up to the woods.
I love tractor rides at Papa's house. It was muddy near the
bottom of the field, some beavers had built a dam and had things all
backed up. Papa and Dad checked it out a bit closer and they
think the beavers have moved out - no signs of newly chewed trees I
guess. We explored a bit, the Hartley's heard all about
Grandma's childhood playground and they found her geocache she has
on her land. It was fun but I was ready to get back down to
the house, ride the little John Deere, make some s'mores and light
up the fireworks! Is it dark yet? However, I did do
something more exciting that ALL of that first! I DROVE THE
BIG TRACTOR!!! I sat right up there, Dad told me what to
push/turn. I was so excited when I heard things start up,
couldn't believe that I was doing it myself....and then off we went!
It is a lot harder to steer than the little battery operated thing I
buzz around the yard in! We took it around the yard once and
then Dad thought it may be better for the grass if I was in the big
field! Oh boy, look out people here I come! Dad stood on
the side so he could use the clutch if we needed it...we drove all
the way to the end of the field and back....heehee...our trip was
short lived when all the sudden I hear Dad yell...."there is a bee
in my pants!" Mom says "take them off!" Dad stops
the tractor and is fidgeting around and mom asks again, "are you
okay?" Dad says, "NO!" Mom says "take off your pants!"
We are in the country, Dad is behind the tractor, no one can
see...so Dad takes off his pants! Where is a camera now?!
HA! Just one little sting - a dead bee - no swelling (my dad
is sometimes allergic) - and the end of my tractor ride. But I
was okay with that...it was fun and I was done. We were
getting hungry, time for fire and to cook up our hot dogs.
Papa bought me special foot long ones, but I didn't eat them!
I thought they were pretty funny though. After we all filled
our bellies on dogs and s'mores - I was ready for fireworks.
It wasn't dark yet....grrr! I did a few of my sparklers
anyway. I give quite the show. Finally - it was dark
enough for the fireworks. I picked out which one to do and Dad
lit them up! Some were really loud and annoying...but most
were pretty good. We aren't allowed anything that goes up in
the air in PA so they just sit there and sparks fly out. One
got kind of crazy though, it kept getting bigger and bigger and
closer and closer. Everyone was laughing and moving - I
thought Grandma was gonna squish Mom! Jen and I high-fived
after that one! I finished the show with some more sparkler
antics and it was time for bed...after a bath of course! :)
Sunday ~
May 25th: Today was another nice day. We spent most
of it outside playing ball. Monkey in the Middle was my
favorite. I liked when Darrin was the monkey! I took
Grey on a few little tractor rides. He figured out how to
drive it too! We took the tractor/wagon down into the "lower"
woods to show the Hartley's and Grandma and me took our buckets to
gather "interesting" things! Dad showed Darrin the creek where
he used to be able to swim in and float on rafts all the way down
the road from his house and he said they would come back with
leeches! Yuck! He said the first time that
happened Grandma freaked out and ran him to her mom's house (great
grandma used to be a nurse!) because she didn't know what to do!
We played around in there for awhile, it is all pine needled covered
so it's nice to walk around in. Dad always tells the story of
when he and Uncle Allen were kids and Uncle Allen shot a porcupine
out of a tree and it charged at them and he shot it again just in
time. They were down there to get rid of the animals because
they can chew on the bottoms of trees and kill them. The trees
planted down there are to be harvested and sold for lumber some day.
Dad calls it his retirement fund! Time to head back and get
ready for lunch....Grey fell sound asleep on the tractor and took a
great nap! He had been playing hard all weekend! HA, the
grandparents took a nap too after we grilled burgers for lunch - oh
and more s'mores! We played a challenging game of croquet too
before the Hartley's needed to leave. They wanted to travel
with Grey at night so he would sleep in the car and then have an
extra day to recuperate. We are glad they came with us,
we had a fun time and they said they did too and would love to come
back! Our night ended with more s'mores and just visiting
around the fireplace - I fell asleep sitting by Grandma!
Monday ~ May 26th: HAPPY
MEMORIAL DAY!
Everyone
slept in today! Grandma & Papa went to "town" to get our
annual support the fire hall BBQ Chicken for dinner while we got
packed up, cleaned up the house and got the rest of lunch ready!
I love BBQ chicken! I like eating it with my fingers ever
since we went to Medieval Times in Florida! It was a nice
weekend, we had a great time (as always), the weather was great!
I am planning a trip back to stay with Grandma by myself again this
summer, we just aren't sure when. I wanted to stay this time
but can't because I have school! Dad decided we would go a
different way home and do some geocaches across the top of the state
in counties that we have "no finds" in. It was all going well
until we hit a detour that messed up his plan and created a normally
4 1/2 to 5 hour trip home into a 9 hour one! Again, I didn't
notice...thank you Mario! However, one fun thing we did do was
to stop at
Kinzua Bridge to do a cache. Mom and I had never been here
before, Dad was as a kid - when you used to be allowed to cross the
whole railroad bridge! That thing was HUGE! Not sure you
would have gotten me out on it anyways! However, a few years
ago(2003) it was damaged by a tornado - it was too costly to repair
the bridge but they just left it sit so you can see what the tornado
did. WOW! What mother nature can do when she is angry!
Glad no one was hurt.
It was pretty late when we got home....so mom let me sleep in and
took me to school in the morning!
Thanks to Grandparents for the lovely time and visit! Thanks
to the Hartley's for joining us!
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Karate Class #13 -
Black Stripe
Testing(Focus)
May 28,
2008 |
Tonight was my
very first karate "test". We had been learning all month
about FOCUS. What it means and how to do it and why it is
important. Every class Sensei Justin, Nate or Ann ask us
questions....every week I answer them. Tonight Sensei Justin
called me the "focus master". He called me that because I am
always raising my hand to answer!
There were quite a few kids in class tonight...we were all anxious
to earn our stripe! I was a little nervous but did just fine.
I had to stand up all by myself, in front of everyone and show off
my very "focused" Universal One. Have I told you what that is?
It is a series of karate moves done in a special order. I'll
explain:
Attention stance, "Universal One!" Guard Stance "hi-ya!"; Back Fist;
Front Punch; Front Kick; Side Block; Down on one knee; Punch -
Punch; Sweep Block; Karate Chop "hi-ya!"; (standing - hands
together) "Set"; (hands-up) "Victory"; (step out - hands down)
"Humility" ; (hands together, hands/arms circle around and bow)
"Courtesy".
Did you get that? HA! You will need to come see me or
have me show you!
Some other kids in my class are yellow, yellow-white, and
yellow-black belts! They had to do Universal Two. I am
anxious to learn that! It looks a little harder but I think I
can do it.
Next month we will test for our yellow stripe. I do not know
what it is for yet.
I turned in my Respect Newsletter and next month I will get a black
star for my Gi pants. Sensei Ann said when I turn in a good
report card I can get a red star for my pants too! She said
hopefully I will get as many of those that go all the way up to my
chin!
I really like karate! I get to go to Karate Camp for a whole
week this summer too!
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Hershey
Park Summer!
May 30,
2008 |
It's gonna be a
Hershey Park summer for Mom and me! Grammy & Pap-Pap got us a
Season Pass to the Park! This means we can go anytime we want
for as long as we want! We have been there 2 times already and
I just got my pass on Wednesday!
I did not have school today so Mom and I got up, had breakfast and
were at the park by 10AM! One great thing already is we do NOT
have to pay the ridiculous fee of 10 dollars to park! I just
thought tat was the coolest thing ever when Mom showed him her pass
and we just drove right thru!
We got a great parking spot on the end, right near the Tram pick up.
One of my favorite rides - the Tram! heehee. We started
our day with a trip to Chocolate World for free chocolate - yummy!
Nothing tastes better than chocolate at 10 in the morning!
It was a perfect day, weather wise, not too hot, not too cold.
The crowd was perfect. We weren't' sure how it would be as we
passed bus load after bus-load of kids (teenagers) headed into the
park. Lucky for us, they don't ride my kind of rides! We
stood in line for one thing for awhile and that was the monorail!
Only because they were only running one train at a time.
Everyone enjoys this ride because you get to see the whole park and
anyone can ride it! We rode all of my favorites and past by
some of my old ones, I didn't want to ride by myself. Mom did
get me on a new ride, not sure if she will trick me into that again,
it went a bit too high for me. I cried getting on the
Trailblazer roller coaster. Mom said that you can barely call
it a coaster...so I am sure she looked like the worst mom ever, but
at least people saw me smiling when we got back to the station!
I doubt she will get me on that again...not a thrill seeker here!
I did volunteer to ride the Frog Hopper! Mom was shocked.
I forgot how high it goes but I was okay. We drove the
speeder cars instead of the classics and I love to go up in the
Kissing Tower! Figure that one out! I ate a whole cotton
candy all by myself and I played a few games - cried when I lost.
Mom tries to explain the whole arcade game thing to me...but it's
not sinking in. We ate lunch and I got whacked on the head by
the napkin holder thing, they didn't have it attached. I was
more embarrassed than hurt, since people saw and reacted to it.
Mom and me had such a nice time, we walked the entire park...some
places I don't think I had ever been. We found the Tilt
O'Whirl and rode that but our car didn't spin too much, Mom was
glad. We walked around and watched the new Roller Coaster
Fahrenheit - ugh - gulp - is all I can say about that...when it goes
over that one hill, it seriously looks like the back end is going to
flip forward! Mom isn't even sure she wants to ride it.
We also, walked around the new Boardwalk (water park) that Hershey
put in last summer. We are going to go a day and just spend it
there...it looks like a lot of fun and there are even water slides I
can do down with Mom. Can't wait! We even watched a show
and I thought it was fun. They sang and danced to all kinds of
"rock'n roll" songs....my favorite was when the guy did Elvis!
He came out and sang to some ladies in the audience. I wanted
him to sing to Mom!
It was a fun day - we left around 5:30 but not without a last stop
at Chocolate World - start and ending the day with free chocolate,
it doesn't' get much better than that!
SUPER THANKS FOR THE SEASON PASS!
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