NaNoWriMo Winners!

This is a guest post by Mommy.

Congrats to Thing 1 and Thing 2 for winning NaNoWriMo!
Daddy and I are so proud of you!!

Pterodactyl Story

Hi!
On Webkinz (which is a website where you can take care of pets) there was a contest where you had to write a story about a mischievous Pterodactyl. I wrote one then had to cut out a bunch characters (not the person kind) until I only had 1000 characters.
Here is the original (my favorite):

I’m a Pterodactyl named Misty! (To me that’s short for Mischievous!) I am a real troublemaker! I get grounded a lot! I jumped on the bed on Monday even though my mom said, “Misty, if you’re extra good tonight I will give you a cookie.”

I decided I would rather jump on the bed than get a cookie.

And then on Tuesday I got grounded for stealing all the Triceratops Crackers. I snuck out to my Triceratops friend’s (Three-Horns) house to play video games.

Oh! And there was that one time I watched a movie instead of reading a book on Wednesday. I got grounded again.

Then there was that absolutely nasty Thursday I went to the movies with Three-Horns and the new Allosaurus in town named Sharpy to watch Dawn of the Dinosaurs. But at the same time my mom came home from the grocery store and when I got home she grounded me for a whole week! Can you believe it?

On Friday I decided at the library instead of whispering I wanted to shout out a funny joke and then the librarian didn’t let me check out any more movies at the library for a week or two until I learned to use my inside voice when telling a joke.

On Saturday I used more time on the PS2 than I was allowed then I wasn’t allowed to use it with friends for another month!

Then finally on Sunday I sold my bed for $200.00 and I used that money to buy four new PS2 games. Then my mom made me sell the games back and buy the bed back and made me buy lunch with my allowance that day!

So by now you probably think I’ve learned my lesson by now, and you’re absolutely right! I have completely learned my lesson! Uh-oh. Gotta go! My mom’s yelling something and I think it’s about the ant farm I let the lid off of in the kitchen. Well see ya’!

Here is the shorter version:

I’m a Pterodactyl named Misty! I am a real troublemaker! I get grounded a lot! I jumped on the bed on Monday even though my mom said, “Misty, if you’re extra good tonight I will give you a cookie.”

I decided I would rather jump on the bed than get a cookie.

And then on Tuesday I got grounded for stealing all the crackers. I snuck out to my Triceratops friend’s (Three-Horns) house to play video games.

And there was that one time I watched a movie instead of reading a book on Wednesday. I got grounded again.

Then there was that nasty Thursday. I went to the movies with Three-Horns to watch Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Then my mom came home from the grocery store and when I got home she grounded me for a whole week!

On Friday at the library instead of whispering I shouted out a funny joke, and the librarian didn’t let me check out any more movies for a week until I learned to use my inside voice.

So by now you probably think I’ve learned my lesson by now, and you’re absolutely right! I have! Uh-oh. My mom’s yelling something. It’s about the ant farm. I let the lid off of in the kitchen. See ya!

I hope you like it!

And please post a comment saying which one you liked better!

Road Trip!

Hi everybody!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while but we went on a BIG road trip! Any guesses where we went? UTAH! (I'm sorry but no pictures this time! I didn't bring my camera! I should have!) It's hot there and we went to a family reunion! It was on my dad's side of the family. I saw my aunts, uncles, grandmas, grandpas, my great grandma, cousins, second cousins, etc. etc. etc.

We had a lot of fun going there to see them. We drove and it took 3 days! When we finally got to Utah we didn't go straight to the reunion. We stayed at my aunt and uncle's house for a few days. I got to see my almost two-year-old cousin Emerson. She is SO cute! She's 19 months old. She can already talk a little. She can say all of our names plus some other ones my brother taught her: condor, eagle, falcon, hawk, and vulture! (She can also say tree. I taught her that! I also taught her brick!)

The next day after we arrived we got to babysit her for the morning. It was so much fun! But a LOT of work! I got to feed her, help dress her, even hand my dad wipes to change her diaper! But the easiest part is making her laugh and playing with her! I made her laugh so hard SO many times!

The hardest part after that is getting her to take a nap. She SCREAMS, and SCREAMS, and SCREAMS! I tried reading her some books and handing her some of her sleeping time stuffed animals and dolls. That worked for a little while. (What I mean by a little while is two seconds.) Then she goes back to screaming. But then after a while she calms down and talks to herself. (We can hear that from the baby monitor downstairs.) She never went to sleep but she calmed down. Then my aunt came home.

We ate take out from Subway. We got Emmy to come down for lunch. She never really went to sleep.

We went to a park called Park Discovery. It's a HUGE wooden park with monkey bars, slides, swings, and secret forts! We had so much fun but then it got so hot we had to go back to my aunt and uncle's house.

We watched a movie called "Shark Tale" while Emmy slept. (We call Emerson "Emmy.") Then we watched a little bit of "Shrek the Third." Emmy woke up and we had dinner. We watched a little bit more of the movie and then we went to bed.

The next day the morning was the same thing. We babysat Emmy.

We went out to St. George for lunch at In-n-Out Burger. Their burgers are SO good! So are their shakes and fries. Then we went ot my "cousin-in-law's" house. I made such good friends with Sidney and Hannah, my "cousin-in-laws." We changed into swimsuits there and everybody went to the splash pad close by. Sidney and Hannah even went!

After that we went back to my aunt and uncle's house. Then the boys went out for pizza with Emmy while the girls went out for sushi and ice cream.Then we went out to eat sushi my aunt was even brave enough to try RAW sushi! And she learned how to use chopsticks! She tried everything on the table!

After sushi we got ice cream to go! We took it back to my aunt and uncle's house to eat it. The boys beat us there and were already playing the borrowed Wii system. I got to play too!
Then we went to bed.

The next day we saw more cousins from Utah. I don't get to see them much. When I got there my aunt gave me and Maxim presents. I got 4 nail files, two bottles of nail polish, two books, and study cards!

My cousin Anna,who is also nine, and I made a "bird nest." It was really a bunch of mud, which is really disgusting, grass that stuck to it, and leaves we ripped up and put on. I got so much mud on my fingers and hands that the water I washed it up with got TOTALLY brown. We left it on the ground afraid it would get messed up. Then we took pictures and left.

Then we kept driving for a little bit and went out to lunch. (Emmy was asleep.) Then Emmy woke up and started walking around. We left my aunt and Emmy there because her mom and dad were going to pick her up and she was going to go to their house. We were going to stay at their house to; but first we were going to visit some friends.

First we visited some friends I hadn't seen in a VERY long time. By a very long time I mean I havn't seen them since I was 2 or3! Their names were Brita, Leah, and Megan. Brita is 9, Leah is 7, and Megan is just a baby. She's really cute! We went there and talked and then Brita showed me her room. She's reading Harry Potter and The Hobbit! I like those books a lot! And I LOVE Harry Potter! Then I figured out they have Webkinz! I have Webinz, too! Brita and I played on Webkinz for a while then we had to leave; but we would be able to sleep there! First we were going to see more friends then we would get dinner and sleep there!

We went to my dad's friend's parents house to see them. They had books Maxim and I read and then we went outside while the grownups talked.

Then we went to a place called Panda Express. After dinner we went back to Brita's house where Brita and I played Littlest Pet Shop. Then Leah informed us her mom had made homemade treats. We went up and ate them. They were a nice, warm, bread and the inside was filled with hot, gooey, chocolate! They were SO good and SO yummy! Then Brita and I went back to playing Littlest Pet Shop. We had SO much fun! Then we had to go to bed. We slept in sleeping bags near each other in the downstairs of their house. But then we had to sleep separately.

The next day Brita and I played some card games and Webkinz. I had breakfast and then we said goodbye and left. We all drove around my mom and dad's college campus. It was really cool! We got to see where EVERYTHING is! Then we had pizza at the Brick Oven. It was really good!

We kept driving and then we picked up my aunt and Emmy. (We were driving to a barbecue.) Then we finally arrived! I saw my second cousins; Kaden, Tanner, Luke, and Megan!
They had all sorts of stuff to eat: hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni salad, olives, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc. They also had some good drinks: root beer, Sprite, water, ginger ale, etc.

After eating Kaden taught me how to stand up on a two person swing and 'surf' on it. It's really just standing up on a swing and swinging without holding on. Afterwards when everyone started leaving we played frisbee. Then more people left.

Then Kaden and I took out his dog named Nora and let her play outside. She's a big black dog that's really jumpy. Not a good combination for Maxim. Then we had to leave. We went to my aunt's parent's house. They had this really calm dog named Corky. He was fun to pet! They also had this place called the grandkids clubhouse! It had all sorts of fun things to play with!

The next day we went to the park for the reunion Amy the Great (that's my great grandma) had set up. On the way we got to watch a movie on a borrowed TV that plugs into the car! I had never tried one of those before!

I saw Kaden, Tanner, Megan, Luke, Abby (another cousin), my grandma, and a whole bunch of other people I hadn't met before! It was SO much fun! The park also had some pretty cool things too! It had monkey bars that spun when you held on to them, really fun slides, more monkey bars, and seats that spun when you sat on them! Then we had another barbecue with hamburgers and hot dogs!

After we left to go to our motel where everyone else exept Amy the Great was staying. We went to the motel pool. It wasn't that big and it didn't have a diving board! But it did have a hot tub! When I got in the hot tub for a few minutes I got out to do a cannonball into the colder pool. It was only when I was in midair of a cannonball when I realized it would feel freezing! But then . . . too late! I was in the pool and it was freezing! At ten the pool closed and we all went to our rooms to go to sleep.

The next day we went to the park again and I saw my cousins Patrick and Andrew. I also saw my Grandpa! We had lunch then I played volley ball with Abby! It was a lot of fun! Then I went over to play with Kaden, Isaac, Noah, Luke, Patrick, and Andrew. They were playing a game called Rescue Team! It was a game where you had to rescue people in the mulch. The mulch was a deep ocean with sharks and you had to stay on the play part of the park not the mulch. After that we had lunch. Same thing again--hot dogs and hamburgers. I also got a ginger ale.
Then we played bean bags where you got a prize. All the kids got Smarties. Then I started my own game of bean bags! I gave everyone one Smartie if they got over 100 points. If they got over 200 points they got two Smarties. If they got 50 points on their first try they got a Smartie. And if they got over 300 points--three Smarties!

Then we played baseball. The grass was wet. Perfect for sliding to bases. Afterwards Kaden found a frog and eventually caught it! I caught it too when it got away! After that everyone ate Sloppy Joes and told jokes. Here's one Patrick made up.

There was a guy named Sloppy Joe and he LOVED eating Sloppy Joes! He ate one for breakfast, midday snack, lunch, dinner, and dessert! One day some guy came up to Sloppy Joe and started asking a bunch of questions.
Guy: Hey! Sloppy Joe! What do you eat for breakfast?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!
Guy: What do you eat for midday snack?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!
Guy: What do you eat for lunch?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!
Guy: What do you eat for dinner?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!
Guy: What do you eat for dessert?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!
Guy: Who are you going to marry?
Sloppy Joe: Sloppy Joes!

What makes the joke funny is that Sloppy Joe is so used to answering by saying Sloppy Joes that he says Sloppy Joes to answer "Who are you going to marry?"

After eating Sloppy Joes we went to my Great Grandfather's grave to put flowers on it. After that we went to Amy the Great's house to change into nice clothes for the family pictures. After we took pictures we played and picked off snap peas from Amy the Great's garden! They were really yummy!

Then we went back tot he motel and Patrick and Andrew came to our room to play Apples to Apples Junior and Bakugon Adventures! We also played Bakugon Areana! We had a lot of fun!
The next day we went out to eat together. Almost everybody came! Afterwards we had to leave to go home. I wanted to stay longer but we had to leave. We said good bye to everyone and left.
But we took home my Uncle to come for the WHOLE SUMMER! It took us 4 days to get home!
The first day we saw Mount Rushmore! On the way up we saw a baby mountain goat! It was really cute! Mount Rushmore was really cool! It was HUGE! I couldn't believe we were actually there! I told my mom "Wouldn't it be cool if they added Obama to Mount Rushmore?" She thought that WOULD be pretty cool!

The second day we drove a bunch.

The third day we ate Chicago pizza! It was really yummy!

The last day we got home!

I hope you enjoyed my post! Sorry I hadn't written in a while again!

Writing Contests

Though The Magic Violinist doesn't post every week, she writes on a daily basis. In fact, she writes A LOT. She is constantly devouring all kinds of books, including books on writing and loves to do writing exercises. She is also part of a local writer's group. Writing, along with reading, is one of her favorite hobbies.

The Magic Violinist has recently entered three writing contests. Her little brother has entered two of them (he's not yet old enough for the third one). Here are their entries (and we'll update you on any wins):

April is National Poetry Month. Our local library holds writing contests and the winners are published in a book.


The Magic Violinist's entry:

Me, My Stuffed Cat, Sushi, and Harry Potter

Once I was at a store when I saw a stuffed cat.
I loved it a lot.
Then it was bought!
I was so excited I named it Menedy.
Here it is, you heard it!
Now let’s get on to Sushi!

Sushi sounds like a funny name.
If you don’t like it, it’s the cook who should take the blame!
It’s good I tell you!
You can eat it with chopsticks or soy sauce.
Fried or with a Japanese guy!
So when you eat it, oh please, oh please, don’t cry!

Harry Potter, Harry Potter! I love it a lot!
But be careful what you just bought.
You’ll cry in the 7th, you’ll be shocked in the 6th.
But be careful, you’ll be in a fix!

You’ve heard my poem, you’ve heard it, I’m done!
But one more thing, don’t suck your thumb!


Little Brother's entry:

Clone Wars: A Poem

Cad Bane is a bounty hunter.
General Grievous is Dooku’s cyborg.
Lightning force is my favorite kind of Force.
Plo Koon is the best Jedi ever.
Captain Rex is my favorite clone.
Gree is my second favorite clone.
Fox is my third favorite clone.
Cody is my fourth favorite clone.
Anakin is the second best Jedi.
These are my favorite Clone Wars things.


A local choral society is holding a spring concert celebrating freedom and using some works by various musicians and authors including Thomas Jefferson. They, too, are holding a writing contest with the theme "What Freedom Means To Me." The winning essays are read at the concert and there are cash prizes as well.


The Magic Violinist's Entry:


Freedom is a very special thing that I am very lucky to have. It allows me to run around in my backyard, smell the fresh air, eat whatever I want, drink lemonade, and to hear the birds twittering in the distance.

When my family watched president Barack Obama get inaugurated my mom started to cry. I asked her why and she answered, “The White House was built by slaves and they weren’t allowed to go inside it. So I think it is pretty cool that we get to see him be president and go inside it. He’s the first president that’s black!” I thought and I bet his ancestors were slaves once and are very proud of him.

Every time I read a book, watch a movie, hear a story, or if anyone mentions how poorly slaves and black people were treated I always think that is SO unfair! Everyone should have the right to choose what they want to do and have freedom! I always think, “Now wait a minute! Why does it matter if someone’s black? It’s just a color! How would you like it if someone treated you that way just because you were white?” It drives me crazy!

My mom helps run a home schooling group. And the reason she can do that is because of FREEDOM. I love to write stories and to read anytime I want! That’s also because of freedom. We can all do things that we love because of freedom! And I get so mad when someone says black people used to not have the right to be free and they would whip them when they tried to get free!

I really hope everyone realizes how lucky they are to have freedom and have the choice whether they wanted to come today.


Little Brother's Entry:


Freedom makes me very happy. It makes me happy because I get to see birds, spend time with my family, play the computer, watch TV, and play Wii.

There is an exciting movie about good and evil that takes place in space called Star Wars. In this movie there is a boy named Anakin who was a slave. He became free by winning a race. After he won the race he was free to be a Jedi. When I saw the movie I felt happy for Anakin. When he became free he helped in an important battle and got to train to be a Jedi. He also got to make new friends. He would not have been able to do any of this if he had not been free.

Being free does not mean that you can do whatever you want. It means that you get to make choices, but it does not mean you can control other people. When we make choices there are consequences. We are free to play and the consequence is that we feel happy. We are free to eat 100,000 lollipops, but we will have a stomachache. I am free to hug my sister and the consequence is that we both love each other!

I have a sister and we get along very well. She is my best friend. Sometimes we argue and I feel badly. I have freedom so I can choose to hit her, not play with her, or be mad, but if I do these things I would be sad. I have freedom so I can choose to kiss, love, and hug her. When I use my freedom to choose nice things I feel happy!

I am glad I have freedom to make choices because I get to learn and be nice.


And, most recently, our National Parks held a writing contest asking kids to explain why the parks are important to them and also asking them to share ideas on how to help protect and care for the parks. There is a sizable cash prize and winners' essays are published on the web. A really neat part of the 1st prize is that the winner gets to oversee $5,000 and direct how it is used to help National Parks.


The Magic Violinist's Entry:


National Parks are very important to me. There are a large variety of National Parks. I just can’t imagine what they would look like if everybody would litter or draw graffiti there. I really appreciate how much time the workers who built the National Parks put into all of this. I have had some really cool experiences with National Parks.

Visiting National Parks is a lot more interesting than reading about them in textbooks. They are very beautiful and some of them are very educational. Our homeschool group visited Washington, D.C. for two days and went on a 6-mile hike seeing all the different monuments.

I enjoy visiting Washington, D.C. because I get to visit so many neat monuments. For example, I’ve been able to visit the Lincoln Memorial. It teaches you a LOT about Abraham Lincoln. I really like the big statue; that must have taken a long time to build! I also got to visit the Washington Memorial and we learned about how the brick color changes where they took a break building it because of the war. At the FDR Memorial, the gardens and waterfalls were beautiful. We got to learn about the Great Depression through statues and quotes.

As we walked around The National Mall, we noticed that the grass was damaged. My Mom says that even though the grass is messed up it also represents history. For example, Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. We’ve watched that speech on YouTube but being there in person was even more exciting. All the messed up spots in the grass represent the history of everybody that stood there.

I came up with my idea on how to protect the National Parks overnight. I even had a dream about it! My idea is to hold a fundraiser called “Save our National Parks Day” and have games with prizes, souvenirs, and “Save Our National Parks!” T- shirts! Then use all the money collected to get rid of rotting trees (because termites could mess them up!), plant new trees, and plant flowers. Or you could use the money to buy space or grassy areas to build new National Parks!

My Vavó (that is the Portuguese word for grandfather) legally immigrated to this country and has always loved America. He also had very personal, spiritual experiences at Bryce Canyon National Park. When I saw pictures of Bryce Canyon, it was beautiful and I could understand why he really loved it. You see, most people just see it as beautiful red rocks, but I see it as a reminder of my Vavó. My Vavó died just over a year ago and I really miss him. Being able to help protect National Parks means a lot to me and I know my Vavó would be proud of me.

I am so glad I had the chance to share my thoughts and ideas with you about National Parks.

Happy Birthday, Magic Violinist!

Happy Birthday!

We Love You!

National Goof Off Day

We have a cool kids calendar and every day there is a really cool activity!
Yesterday was National Goof-Off Day so we wrote an essay about what we would do if we had a day all to ourselves and could choose anything we wanted to do the whole day!
Here is my essay:

If I had a day all to myself, I would wake up, get ready, and stay in my jammies. I would have dippy eggs and circle toast with milk for breakfast. Then I would play Wii. I would play all the games. Then I would have lunch. It would be sushi and lemonade. Then I would see Shavon and Shannel. We three would go bowling, go to Hershey Park, go to Chocolate World, and go see "Thumbelina" and "The Diamond Castle" at the movies. Then we would all got to MJ's to get sandwiches for dinner and split a milkshake. Chocolate of course. Then we three would all go to my house to play Apples to Apples Junior, Harry Potter Clue, and Harry Potter Uno. Then they would go home and I would stay up reading until midnight and go to bed.

I hope you liked it!
(Mommy also said she has been getting complaints about my posts not being here for a while. ;) )

Finish a ______________

My mom gave me this idea.

1. My uncle once: Read a story I wrote to my aunt and me.

2. Never in my life: Have I handglided.

3. When I was five: I don't remember much. I do know that Maxim was 2 at that time.

4. High School was: Something my parents went to and I will, too.
5. I will never forget: My birthday parties.
6. I once met: A girl named Sarah who wants to be on American Idol and be an author just like me.

7. There’s this girl I know who: Loves to make ragdolls. She, her sister, and I have a ragdoll club.
8. Once, at a bar: I don't know! I have no idea because I've never been to one!

9. By noon, I’m usually: Eating or starting lunch.
10. Last night: I fell asleep .
11. If only I had: a magic wand and wings. Boy would that make things easier!
12. Next time I go to church: I'll make a quiz during sacrament meeting.

13. Terry Schiavo: is somebody I don't know. Come on! I'm only eight!
14. What worries me most: is Maxim will break the chandelier doing his crazy flipping a sword into the air, in the living room, near the chandelier show!
15. When I turn my head left, I see: My mom typing on the computer as I am doing now.

16. When I turn my head right, I see: a towel in the shape of a bunny head on my messy computer desk.

17. You know I’m lying when: I lie!
18. What I miss most about the eighties: is I couldn't be born then to know how to answer this sentence!
19. If I was a character in Shakespeare, I’d be: Kate from The Taming of the Shrew.
20. By this time next year: I'll be nine, almost 10.

21. A better name for me would be: Nothing! I love my name! The only problem is people getting mixed up and calling me Katie or Katharine.
22. I have a hard time understanding: German.
23. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: Excuse me? I am in school!
24. You know I like you if: I smile any time I see you!
25. If I ever won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: The person who gave it to me.

26. Darwin, Mozart, Slim Pickens & Geraldine Ferraro: First Terry Schavio and now this?! I'll say this one more time . . . I AM ONLY EIGHT!
27. Take my advice, never: don't take my advice.
28. My ideal breakfast is: Eggs in a nest, toast, and sausage once every week with a big glass of lemonade.
29. A song I love, but do not own is: I don't know if I own this or not because my mom owns over 200 cd's and I own two but I love these song: "Manic Monday" and "Love Song."
30. If you visit my hometown, I suggest:
--> That you go to Kugo's Steakhouse! Yum! Wait a minute . . . Mommy? Am I drooling?!
31. Tulips, character flaws, microchips, & track stars: Tulips are pretty, character flaws are character flaws, I have no idea what microchips are, and I think I'm a singing star.

32. Why won’t people: Just stop being bullies?!
33. If you spend the night at my house: I will suggest to your kids (with whom I probably made friends) to sneak and hide so they can stay longer.
34. I’d stop my wedding for: Do I have to say this again? I AM ONLY EIGHT!

35. The world could do without: Guns, bombs, criminals. You know, the usual stupid stuff!
36. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: Jump out of an airplane, not wearing a safety harness, jump onto a trampoline being held by four naked clowns still wearing their makeup, who haven't taken a shower!
37. My favorite blonde is: Sarah Gooden.
38: Paper clips are more useful than: a piece of dust.
39. If I do anything well, it’s: Writing stories.
40. And by the way: Did I mention I AM ONLY EIGHT?!

Saturday at the Frists

Here is a story I just finished today. Enjoy!

Kate, Margaret, Helen, and Sarah were invited to their teacher’s house, Mrs. Frist’s, for lunch. Kate had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, a round face, and was very kind. Margaret had black hair, an oval face, bright light blue eyes, and was full of jokes. Helen had light brown hair, a round face, dark blue eyes, and had a very dramatic personality. Sarah had an oval face, blonde hair, bright green eyes, and enjoyed doing girly stuff. When the best friends found the invitations in their mailboxes, they called each other right away.

“Margaret, Helen, Sarah, I just got an invitation from Mrs. Frist!” said Kate.

“Me too!” cried Margaret.

“Really? Me three!” said Helen.

“I suppose you got one too Sarah?”

“How did you know?” said Sarah sarcastically.

Suddenly Helen shrieked.

“What is it?” asked Kate.

“We go on Saturday!” said Helen dramatically.

“Oh brother,” said Sarah. Kate thought she might be rolling her eyes over the phone.

“Well at least it’s just for lunch,” said Kate, “but if she asks us to stay for a little while, we will politely stay for a little bit longer. When we want to go this is what we will say: ‘We really must be going.’ When we leave let’s shake hands. Okay?”

Everyone agreed.

“Good.”

On Saturday, everyone met at Margaret’s house.

“Everyone ready?” asked Helen.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “It’s not like she’s planning to trap us in her cellar with ghosts!”

“You never know!” said Helen.

“I’m just saying!” said Sarah.

“You never know if she has ghosts or if her house is spooky and cold or welcoming and warm or if she has ghosts or pets,” said Helen.

“Didn’t she say she has a two year old daughter?” said Kate.

“Yes she did!” said Margaret.

“Then that means . . .” started Helen.

“She has a husband,” finished Sarah.

“If she has a daughter and husband her house must be welcoming!” said Kate.

“You never know!” said Helen once more with another roll of Sarah’s eyes.

The girls kept on walking until they came to an old-looking house. It had brown pieces of wood that were breaking apart, and the roof was all crooked. It was only 11:30 in the morning but it felt like midnight at the sight of the old house. Helen gave Sarah the “what did I tell you” look and Sarah rolled her eyes again. They went up to the beat-up, crooked porch and Kate rang the old-fashioned doorbell. It rang with a buzz. They politely wiped their feet on the unswept doormat. A handsome looking man came up and answered the door. Kate, Sarah, and Margaret looked carefully at his hands. There was a wedding ring on his left hand. “You must be Kate, Helen, Margaret, and Sarah! Oh, my wife has told me so much about you! Come in! Come in!”

They shook hands and stepped in as he held the door open wider. The house was so much different on the outside than the inside. There was a fireplace with two red, comfy armchairs and just enough space in between for a person to squeeze through. In the space sat a little girl in a purple dress with cookie crumbs stuck to her face. The girl was playing with an old rag doll. On the mantel place there were a few photos and a vase in the middle. To the left there were two picture frames. The first one was a picture of Mrs. Frist and her husband getting married. The next one had a picture of her daughter being born. Then there was a tall, gold vase holding daises, roses, poppies, and sunflowers. Then there was another picture of her daughter’s first steps at 8 months old. The last picture was a family picture at a studio. They walked to the left of the room where there was a brown easy chair and two sofas surrounding a coffee table. To the right of the room there was a couch facing the side of one of the armchairs.

“This is a lovely living room!” said Kate politely.

Mrs. Frist walked into the room. “Why, thank you!”

Mrs. Frist was holding two kittens that looked like newborns. Their eyes were still closed. One of the kittens was all black and the other one was gray with tiny, thin, black stripes.

“What are their names?” asked Sarah.

“The black one is Sweetpea. The other one is Shadow.”

Suddenly another cat walked in. It was the mother. The mother cat was a tabby cat. It rubbed against their teacher’s legs and purred.

“May we pet her?” asked Margaret.

“Of course! Her name is Tiger”

Margaret and Helen knelt down to pet Tiger.

“Would you girls please follow me?” asked Mrs. Frist.

“Why?! Where are you taking us?!” shouted Helen as she stood up very quickly. Tiger hissed at her.

Sarah closed her eyes, put her hand on her face, and shook her head. Kate looked humiliated, and Margaret gasped.

Mrs. Frist was shocked. “I am only taking you to the dining room for our supper!”

Helen blushed furiously, and her ears turned bright pink.

They walked to the dining room after the event was over. Mrs. Frist served tiny tea sandwiches, tea, cookies, and chocolate mousse pudding on a big, shiny, silver platter. Everyone ate quietly until Sarah broke the silence.

“Mrs. Frist? How long have you been married?”

“For fifteen years.”

“Do you ever feel lonely with just you and your daughter when your husband is at work?”

“Sometimes. But, I have Tiger, and now Sweetpea, and Shadow. I also have my daughter Samantha.”

Margaret fidgeted uncomfortably for ten minutes straight.

“Margaret! What ever is the matter with you?” asked Kate whispering to be polite.

“I need to use the bathroom!” she whispered back.

“Excuse me,” said Kate. “Could you please show my friend to the bathroom?”

“Of course! Follow me!”

“Don’t do it Margaret! She’ll take you to the cellar and . . .”

Kate covered her mouth so that she didn’t talk about ghosts again.

When Margaret came back, Kate began to speak. “We really must be going now! Thank you for everything.”

They pet Tiger and shook hands with everyone. Then everybody hugged Samantha.

When they came out Kate said, “Honestly Helen! Why did you scream like that and try to make Margaret believe she was taking her to the cellar!?”

“Because she would! She just heard me, so she didn’t take Margaret there to feed her to real tigers and get spooked out by ghosts!”

“But she does not have a cellar!”

“Huh?”

“I was trying to tell you before but you wouldn’t listen! I was there one time! She invited me to lunch! But you and everyone else were on vacation! She took me for a tour around the house! She only had an attic! And SHE DID NOT HAVE A CELLAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Kate screamed so loud that everyone practically jumped two feet in the air and all the birds flew out of their nests.

They all walked home and everyone, including Helen, knew that Mrs. Frist was just another normal person.

The End