DOG DAYS AND PARADES

Since we moved to our new house we are a lot closer to things then we were when we lived at our old house. We are so close to everything including the DOG PARADES. My dad and I went to this year’s parade with my big dog Patch. Almost every dog there had a costume. Of course, we left ours at home!!! That’s ok. Patch looked cute anyway. That does not mean that the other costumes did not look funny.

We saw clowns, pirates, butterflies, bees, and lots more! We got a new leash for Patch, and we got dog lollipops for both Patch and Skipper (the dog who jumped in the pool from last time). Skipper was a little jealous, but we took him to the parade last year. We had a great time and can’t wait to go again next year when Dad says we can take TWO dogs. I’m writing this down so he won’t forget!


Here's my movie from the day:

WOOF BAWOW WOOF ROOF BAWOW

box.box.box.box...unbox.unbox.unbox.unbox...

I know I have not written in a long time. That's because I moved to a new house in Allentown. Moving was like this: box. box. box. box. box... unbox. unbox. unbox. unbox. unbox.


I liked the one day when Dad and I packed the big rental truck. I got to ride in the front (yay!). The rest of moving I got tired of. I got tired of packing too, but now we are here.

Our new house is big! It has three fireplaces and lots of other nice things too. We even have a great pool. I can't wait for summer so that I can jump in it.

Speaking of the pool, we have found out that not all dogs can swim. My little dog, Skipper, jumped in after some birds. My Mom had to almost jump in to rescue him! In the spring, we will teach Skipper how to swim. Maybe we can teach him the backstroke.

I'm still getting used to my new house, but I like it a lot. Here is a little movie of my new room:

That's all for now. I hope that you can come and visit us in Allentown. If we don't answer the doorbell, maybe we are in the backyard rescuing the dog.

The end.

Making Things

It’s fun to make things. Some fun things to make are: stuffed animals, kites, toolboxes, dog houses, and stories. I know how to make all these things. And more!

If you make things, you should have a toolbox. Here’s a picture of my toolbox!

It’s special because I made it with my Dad, and I painted it myself. Some tools I have are a hammer for BANGING in nails. I have a measuring tape for measuring things, and I have a screwdriver for tightening (or loosening) screws. I hope to get a wrench, a saw and A JACKHAMMER someday soon.

When I make crafts, I use different tools. I use glue, paper, pencils, markers, pens, fabric, old boxes, and other things I find around the house. Right now, I am making a kite out of straws. It’s not finished yet, but here are pictures of what it looks like so far.

The thing I made today is a story. The tools you use to make stories are your imagination plus a pencil and some paper. You can use those tools to put drawings and words together so that they tell a story. Here’s the story I wrote today. I hope you like it!

On the Farm
By Gabrielle

As the moon faded and the sun rose, the rooster crowed. Around the farm, people and animals woke up. All the people left to go and take care of the crops in the fields. When they were all gone, the dog, whose name was Skipper, thumped his tail, stood on his hind legs, and yelled, “SAFE!”

At that, all the animals looked around and cheered. They all stood up. They played chess and horseshoes and pool and darts. At the end of the day, the dog thumped his tail again, and yelled, “HERE THEY COME!” Every animal ran to the fences and closed the gates. Just as the moon rose and the sun faded, the people came back and started dinner.

It had been a great day.

The end.

My Trip to Arizona

My Mom and I went to Arizona in March. We visited friends and family in Phoenix and Tuscon. We flew from Pennsylvania then to Texas and finally to Arizona! It took a really, really, really loooooong time because Arizona is really far away from my house.

While we were in Arizona, we visited a lot of places. We went to Sabino Canyon, a T-Rex Museum, an ostrich farm, a pony show and even more. I saw a javelina, prickly pear, quail, lots of snakes (including a rattlesnake!), millions of saguaro cactuses, and lots of other deserty things that I don't see in Pennsylvania. We also went desert horseback riding and Desert Dog riding. The Desert Dog was a humongous, bumpy jeep kind of thing that went up and down rocky canyons so we could see cactuses and plants and other desert stuff. It felt like we were going to take off like an airplane!

I love seeing all kinds of new things, but my favorite part of the trip was seeing my friend, Ryan, his parents, and my Uncle Hank, Aunt Diane and Uncle Tim. I can't wait to see them all again!

Here's some pictures from my trip!

Winter

Right now it's winter.

There's a lot to do in winter like playing in the snow, giving valentines on Valentine's day, skiing (see video of me skiing for the first time below!), building a snowman, celebrating Christmas, building a snow fort, throwing snowballs, skating and having my birthday party!

But I don't like everything about winter. I don't like the cold and ice. I don't like how it gets dark early, and I don't like getting dressed in a thousand pounds of clothes to go outside.

Even though there's snow outside today, I'm all ready for summer. I'm looking forward to swimming, gardening and biking. Most of all, I'm looking forward to warm, sunny weather.

Lucky for me, I'm going to Arizona this month! I'll write about that soon!

Mutts Rock at Dog Expo

We went to the DOG EXPO on Sunday! I went to the Expo because I LOVE DOGS! My favorite dogs are Golden Retrievers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Shelties and Mutts. There was only one mutt at the dog Expo. That mutt was our Skipper.

Skipper was very shy at the Expo even to the Chihuahua! In fact, the Chihuahua jumped on Skipper's nose and scared him!

I got to pet lots of dogs at the Dog Expo. Here's the way to pet a new dog:

• First you ask the owner for permission.
• If it's okay, then you let the dog sniff your hand.
• Then you start to pet the dog by scratching his chest and shoulder.

DON'T meet a new dog by sticking your hand in his face. The dog won't like that. Would you like that?

I saw a lot of purebred dogs at the Dog Expo. They looked awesome. I wish I could have every single one of them, but I still think that MUTTS ROCK!

My Day In New York City

I went to New York City the day before New Year's. We took the bus there and walked around the city all day. While we were in the city, we saw the New Year's Day Ball, the Christmas windows at Macy's, the HUMONGOUS tree next to the skating rink at Rockefeller Center, and lots of Elmo's too.

It was very funny to see all those Elmo's walking together. What would you think if you saw three Elmo's walking together?! (You can tell me in your comments.)

One of the nice things about going to New York City is talking to people on the street. I talked to a man with a tiny dog in a sweater. One thing I don't like about cities is the crowds. It was especially crowded that day. I also don't like loud noises.

At the end of the day, I got a giant pretzel. It was very good.

I like visiting New York City for a day, but I don't want to live there. I like where I am living right now. I have to admit though that we don't have windows like these!