I’ve been here for just over a week now, and have done SO much stuff! I’ve done lots of crafts, including decoupaging a big Z for my wall, painting a birdhouse, grouting, painting rocks, scrapbooking, and sewing a sundress. It has been so much fun! We also went to a place were you can paint ceramics, which I’ve done so we did clay instead! You buy a pound of clay for twelve dollars an make whatever you want! Then they fire it, you come back to paint it, and they fire it again. All for twelve dollars!

We followed a very simple pattern to make a birdhouse. They have tons of stamps to decorate your house. I did mine celestial themed. It has suns and clouds on one side, and moons and stars on the other side. There is a 3d roof of layered stars, and a half moon handle. All ofthat came from my own mind!!!!!

Wednesday, we went raspberry picking. Today is a very busy day, we are going back to paint those bird houses, and are going to a Scribes meeting, where you do crafts practicing calligraphy. Sunday, we are going to the beach to pick up driftwood.

During the evening, we play poker. Texas Hold Em to be specific. It is really fun. So far my trip to Sequim Washington has been a blast!

Posted: August 8th, 2008 under Review, Trip Report.
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Today, I am leaving California to go to the glorious state of Washington!  I am going to visit my grandparents in Sequim. Sequim is a small town two hours north of Seattle. It is so pretty! The trees, lakes, and the town all together! I go there two weeks a year to visit. I am very excited to be there for two solid weeks this year! Usually it’s one week two times a year. I am going to have so much fun!

My grandparents have a huge house with beautiful property! They have fields with trees and swings to hang out. They also have a big lake with a fountain. Sometimes, they have baby quails and/or ducks running around! Deer come around to. There is so much wildlife!  They also have a little stream and a bridge. My favorite part of the out door property,  has trees, a stream, a bunch of plants, and is kind of deserted. The sun just barely shines in through the trees. The tree is very easy to climb and sit up in to write, listen to music, read, or relax. It’s great!

My grandma loves to sew. Her sewing room is covered in Mary Engelbreit stuff! It is really nice! We sew when I’m there to! I’ve made ponchos, soap bags, scarves, blankets, and soon to be, A DRESS! It is a great way to bond!

My grandpa loves the piano. He’s got a big black one in the living room. It is so shiny! I love listening to him play! This trip, I’m going to ask if he likes Backgammon.  He also likes taking walks. He is really cool.

I am really excited to see my grandma, my granpa, and their cats Luke and Stella. Keep reading for updates!

Posted: July 30th, 2008 under Trip Report.
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We just got our old time photo taken again. This is the fourth year. We get it taken every July at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It is really fun to get all dressed up and take pictures together. On the left is our first picture.

This is our second picture. We brought in our first picture and asked them to come as close as possible to the first one. They came pretty close! We didn’t get a third picture because we messed up. We were not finacially able to get it but we remember that for future years!

This is our fourth and most recent picture. Two people there thought our idea was so cool! They triend do hard to make it perfect! They had us move over an inch because we weren’t covering the bar enough! They changed out the bottle on the table 3 times! They had to put two headbands on me beacuse they didn’t have the right one! Thank you so much Sarah and Carney for doing that for us! We had so much fun and hope you did to!

Posted: July 28th, 2008 under Amusement Parks, Trip Report, Weekend.
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On Friday night, I went to my very first official pin trading night. It was so exciting! I walked in with my wimpy little lanyard, looking at people spread out all over tables with their books of pins. That didn’t discourage me.

First I went into the Kid’s Corral. There is a board of pins where you can take one, and leave any one you want. There are also a bunch of kids ages four to twelve wandering trying to trade. It’s a really nice little place.

I made several trades at the tables. I listened. I talked. I learned. It was cool. Then I discovered the pin boards. There are four boards. You wait in line, and then randomly pick a board. Then you have thirty seconds to trade up to two pins. After the thirty seconds, you point to the pins you want, and the person takes them off, as you walk away (hopefully) happily.

The only rules are that you only have thirty seconds, can trade up to two pins, and can not touch the pins to look at the back.

 We also went to Downtown Disney, where I got an awesome Jack Skellington pin bag, and traded a few more pins. We also bought some mystery sets. Mystery sets are a box that contains two pins out of a possible ten. They make good traders!

If you are interested in trading pins with me, go to my website, The Pin Traitor.

Posted: July 24th, 2008 under Trip Report, pin trading.
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I have been to well over a dozen amusement parks in California! I’ve ridden about 50 roller coasters , half a dozen tilt a whirls, a dozen or so swing rides,  roughly a dozen dark rides, about7 drop towers, and a ton of others, all in all atleast 150 rides! You could say I’m a ride junkie! Here are my  top 5 rides:

5 Insanity - Stratosphere - Las Vegas, NV

Yeah, I know it isn’t in California. But it is in my top 5. All the others are in California though. This is such a cool and fun ride! It is at the very TOP of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas! It is kind of like a swing ride, but 906 feet obove the strip, with nothing underneath you!!!!!! There are 5 “arms” with 2 seats on each, all facing in. The gate of the Stratosphere disapeers, as the “arms” open up and you rotate over the strip. Such a cool ride day or night.

4 Toy Story Midway Mania - Dinsney’s California Adventure - Anaheim

This is a dark ride/ shooting game.   Two people sit side by side with a pull string gun in front of you. You put on 3D glasses and are on your way!  The whole point is that you area toy playing with a toy midway. There is a paintball on bullseye  game, a ballon dart game, a baseball game, a ring game, and a kid dart game. The same gun works for all games and you get points. At the end, it adds up all your points, and you get a virtual prize.

This ride made it on my top 5 for several reasons. One, it is cool that it is a midway. Midways are awesome, and this one is realistic! Second, I think it’s well done. The prize thing is cool, The games are realistic, the set, the other toys and games around you, etc. The only bad thing, nis that it doesn’t have a ride photo. Otherwise, it’s great ride!

3 Gravitron - Santa Teresa High School Fundraiser Carnival (Butler Amusements) - San Jose

This was my first Gravitron.  I watched it first and it just looked like aspinning top. When I went in, it just lookedlike a spinning ride where you stood up and felt the gravity. Dad told me to watch the other people, and I quickly learned. The centrifugal force pushes you against the wall so you can climb around, lay upside down, twist and turn, and not fall! It was such a cool experiance. I wish they were at every amusement park! I would have no problem waiting in line because they are so FUN!

2 Ghostrider - Knott’s Berry Farm - Buena Park

This was in my opinion the best woodie (wooden roller coaster) in California. Atleast in the front. This coaster just blew me away with it’s speed, drops, dips, airtime and almost everything else about it! It also has a ride photo. Unfortunatly, the back of the car sucks. It is extremely jerky, unfomfotable and just bad. Dad and I rode in the very front once, and 2 cars from very back the second time. This coaster is really awesome, just make sure you ride in the front!

1 X2- Six Flags Magic Mountain - Vallejo

Wow! This ride is so amazing! It is the craziest roller coaster I’ve ever been on! With it’s max speed of 76 miles an our, it’s 2o story height, and 3,610 foot long track, you don’t know what’s going to happen next. Not to mention the fire and ice special effects, high tech audio, and spinning seats! Yep spinning seats! Your seat turn 360 degrees while on this crazy coaster featuring loops, corkscrews, drops, spins, and everything in between!

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Amusement Parks, Trip Report, Weekend.
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I just got back from a week long trip from LAS VEGAS, with my mom and brothers. We visited my grandparents and uncles.

We visited the Excalibur. It’s a giant castle. There is a casino, an arcade,  and a midway inside. We played some games at the midway. I got a stuffed rose, and my brother got a plastic sword.  We played  in the arcade long enough for me to get a big sour pixie stick (to share) and my brother to get some tattoos. We walked to strip a little longer, seeing the Luxor.

It was so hot, the next day we bought an inflatable pool. we set it up in the backyard, and cooled off in that. It  was 113 degrees outside! we also went to Texas Station, and ate a buffet! There was SO MUCH FOOD! It was like 10 times as big as Home Town Buffet! Not to mention, it had a dessert bar! HOW COOL!

At night, the next day, we drove to Buffalo Bill’s in Primm NV. There is a roller coaster there. It does not  go upside down, has no picture, is steel, sort of jerky, 95 miles an hour, with a 225 foot drop, it’s DESPERADO!!!!!  It was fun, but 8 dollars a person. I got a smashed quarter from it.

There was also a log flume with a twist. You take a peaceful ride down a river in a log, while SHOOTING TARGETS!!!!!!! It is a shooting game and a log ride mixed! at the end, there is a big drop, but you don’t get soaked! I thought that was a cool idea.

Also at Buffalo Bill’s, there was a candy store. (Woo Hoo) This candy store had an interesting way to make us buy their candy.  If you buy five dollars worth, you get to write on the wall! Every September they paint over it. There was Sharpie all over the walls and the only rule, is that you can’t use bad words. My brother and I got to write on virgin wall because there was no other space. I wrote my name, my age, my city and state, the date, and my website www.zairabear.com in 5 different colors!!!!!!!!!!!! I also drew my heart symbol. My brother just wrote his name. My mom wrote that she loves all her children.

We went to Peter Piper’s Pizza with my mom’s friends the next day. It is like Chuck E Cheese. There I met J a 6 year old little girl. She is my mom’s friend’s daughter. We got pizza and 35 tokens each. We played in the arcade and crawled around in the playground. I got over 300 tickets!!!

After that, we dropped off my brother’s and picked up my uncle CJ. We went to the Stratosphere!  CJ and I went up 1000 feet in an elevator moving 21 miles an hour, while my mom and her friend’s stayed in the casino. We could see all of Vegas from up there! It was amazing! The first ride we went on was XScream.  It is like a teeter totter that lets you slide off the side of the Stratosphere! It was cool. then to ride INSANITY!!!!!!!!!! You are sitting and spinning over Vegas with nothing under you! It feels like your flying almost! It was SO much fun!!!!!!

The next day, my mom, my brother’s and I went to Circus Circus. We saw really cool circus acts. we even got to go on the stage to take a picture with an awesome juggler, and no one else did! We played in a giant midway, where my brother got a guitar and I got a bear wearing a circus circus sweater on him, that I named Vladamir.

Then we went to Fremont Experience.  We walked around and saw cool stuff. We also ate at another buffet. My mom showed us where she grew up and where her and her Dad’s old business was. We also saw Chip and Dales handing out Mardi gras beads. It was e=fun! We left just as the light show was starting, but saw it  from the road.

We had a GREAT trip to Vegas!

Posted: July 18th, 2008 under Amusement Parks, Mommy, Trip Report.
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Dad and I went to Pacific Park amusement park at Santa Monica Pier! The first thing you see when you  walk in is a GIANT WONDER WHEEL! I has a 3 and a half minute light show! It flashes, spirals, stars, spurs, and has an electronic sign n the middle!  The best part, it’s ALL SOLAR POWERED!!!!! The lights, the sign, the moving, EVERYTHING!!!!! I thought iot was awesome!

     I had never  been on a Wonder Wheel until about a month ago. Dad scared me by saying, I could clumsily trip, tip over our gazebo, fall, and DIE! He didn’t say all of that, but it was implied. I was scared to go on this awesome somlar powered wonder wheel. He then said he was messing with me. I felt relieved, and rode the ride, being very cold! A cool amusement park ride!

Posted: June 9th, 2008 under Amusement Parks, Trip Report, Weekend.
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Man have I had a crazy couple of weeks! My dad and I went to Hard Rock Park in South Carolina as a surprise. We were one of the first riders on a ride called POny Express at Knott’s Berry Farm. My mom and I slept overnight in Magic Mountain, and were one of the first riders to ride X2. Here is a brief summary of them.

South Carolina was awesome! My dad and I flew out there for 5 days. We went to a small park called Family Kingdom. That was really fun. We also went to grand opening of Hard Rock Park.  It was amazingly themed! Disneyland level theming! Everything was music! Their front gate restaraunt is The Whammy Bar, they have the Guitar in the Stone, themed rides, and rockin’ mascots! It was so cool! What a cool experiance!\

Pony Express at Knott’s Berry Farm was cool, but not… We got to stay in the Knott’s Berry Hotel vs. Motel 6. Cool. We ate breakfast at a GREAT restaraunt! We got to get in early in the morning. There was a huge continental breakfast. Then it got bad.  Kiss FM winners got to ride before us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then, we get to ride. While in line, we were interviewed. Then we got on. What a bad ride! You sit in an uncomfortable position with a bar squishing your back. The ride starts with a nice launch, then slows and ends. It is like a 20 second ride! Bad.

The next weekend, my mom and I had a great experiance! We drove all the way to LA in 4 hours, when average is 5and a half hours! We only had 1 bathroom break. We got there, and got to ride X2 for an hour. IT WAS CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watch this video to see! We then set up camp and went to bad on the sand after some free midnight snacks. The next morning, we got a HUGE buffet breakfast, and got to ride again. Wow was it great! We also got Flash Passes for all day on the ride! How cool!

I have had a great couple of weeks, and thank you Mommy and Dad for helping and sharing it with me!

Posted: June 3rd, 2008 under Amusement Parks, Mommy, Review, Trip Report, Weekend.
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My cousin H and C came to my house for a “play date” on Sunday. We couldn’t decide what to do. Great America? Gilroy Gardens? Water Park? Beach? Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk? None of these ideas worked. We decided to go to H’s house and swim in her pool.

My mom hauled us 5 kids to Wallmart. We bought chips, soda, and baby sim diapers for baby J. Then we went to Subway for lunch.

We sunblocked and ate lunch in my cousin’s backyard. We then began swimming in the pool. It was super cold but felt so good in the hot sun. Great day for swimming! My mom and baby brother stayed in the shaded hot tub while us kids splashed in the pool.

My cousins, my brother, and I played lots of games including noodle wars, Marco Polo, Fish Out of Water, diving, jumps, races, and just plain messin’ around! It was a fun day.

Posted: April 27th, 2008 under Trip Report.
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