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Hope's Diary
Day 73
January 2, 2009
Dear Diary, Our New Year's Day party was good. We had a ton of people come in and watch some football and eat Mom's homecooking. I have no idea what game they were watching, but it was still fun. Ooh, that reminds me, tennis lessons start again on Monday. I haven't played at all over vacation, so I'm happy to get back to it.
Day 72
December 30, 2008
Dear Diary, Since we're from the south, New Year's Day is a big party with all kinds of southern food. Mom is making things like collard greens, pig jowls, and black-eyed peas. Delicious! We always have an open house and invite everyone we know to come by at whatever time they want. We never know exactly how many people will come, but it's always a lot of fun!
Day 71
December 27, 2008
Dear Diary, Okay, now I know what Boxing Day means in America. Apparently it means major shopping day because everyone is home from school and work. Oh my gosh, we went to the mall, and it was crazy busy. I did get these new super cute boots though! I think they were worth waiting in line for so long.
Day 70
December 26, 2008
Dear Diary, Boxing Day? I saw that on the calendar and had to look it up on the internet to find out what it means. Supposedly it's a holiday celebrated in Canada, Australia and a couple other countries. The tradition is to give gifts to people in need. Okay, that I think sounds like a neat idea, but I still don't understand what "boxing" has to do with that!
Day 69
December 16, 2008
Dear Diary, Brianna can be so full of herself sometimes. Lately it seems like everything is all about her. Mom drives her everywhere she wants to go, etc. Then, when heaven forbid, I need our mom to help me with something, Brianna gets all upset, like "how dare you!" Sometimes it's tough being the younger sister. We usually get along pretty well, but I guess siblings sometimes don't.
Day 68
December 8, 2008
Dear Diary, Well, I got my assessment scores back from my teacher. I did really good in reading and writing. My math scores were so-so. I'm better than I was at the beginning of the year, but still need to keep practicing, especially with algebra. Ugh!
Day 67
December 4, 2008
Dear Diary, It didn't seem like it had been that long since I last wrote in my journal, but flipping back the pages I see its been a few weeks! Time goes by so fast sometimes. We've been busy doing these assessments at school. It's kind of boring, but the teacher says she needs to see what we've learned so far. I should find out how I did in a few days. Keeping my fingers crossed!
Day 66
November 18, 2008
Dear Diary, I've been playing tennis for a couple years now. I think I'm getting much better, but sometimes I wonder if I'll be good enough to compete someday. I'd love to be as good as Serena Williams, or maybe even Maria Sharapova. They're like the best female tennis players in the whole world. I wonder if they knew when they were my age how awesome they would be at tennis when they got older.
Day 65
November 13, 2008
Dear Diary, My sister Brianna is really annoying me today. We usually get along really well, we hardly ever fight. But for some reason she's really grumpy right now. I didn't even say anything to her, and she glared at me when I walked by her in the kitchen just now. Um, hello? That's kind of rude. Mom said maybe she just had a bad day at school. Who knows.
Day 64
November 12, 2008
Dear Diary, Mom must have felt inspired by that cake decorating show we watched the other night. She baked a cake for dessert tonight even though it wasn't anybody's birthday or anything. It was a carrot cake, not quite as fancy as the ones on t.v., but it was delicious. My mom rules!
Day 63
November 8, 2008
Dear Diary, Mom and I watched the coolest show on tv last night. It was a cake decorating contest on one of the food channels. These cakes were huge! And they were so pretty, I can't imagine that anyone eats them. They looked more like art. I wish I could do something like that. Mom says no way because I'd eat all the batter and frosting before it ever even made it on the cake!
Day 62
November 6, 2008
Dear Diary, I did end up asking Mom for help with my homework, and it's a good thing, because I was doing it totally wrong! Rounding can be really hard. I do okay rounding to the nearest ten, but sometimes the other ones are tricky. Next we're working on place value. Yikes! I hope that's not too hard.
Day 61
November 3, 2008
Dear Diary, I'm taking a break from my math homework. Sometimes it just gets very frustrating when I can't figure it out. Our teacher goes over it in class and I think I understand how to do the problems. Well, then I get home and it's like I totally forget how I'm supposed to do it! At least my mom is a teacher and she can help me, but I hate to always have to ask for help. I'd like to just be able to do it on my own.
Day 60
October 29, 2008
Dear Diary, Getting my haircut yesterday ending up going better than I thought it would. I told the woman that it hurts when she combs my hair out. She said "no problem", and used this spray stuff called detangler. It made the combing so much easier, no ripping my hair out, no tears. I should have told her it hurt a long time ago!
Day 59
October 28, 2008
Dear Diary, I'm going to get my haircut this afternoon. I haven't had it cut in a while, and it's getting pretty long. I don't mind getting it cut, I just hate when the stylist washes it, and then tries combing the knots out. It makes my eyes water. Is it really necessary to feel like my hair is getting ripped out?!?! Wish me luck-
Day 58
October 24, 2008
Dear Diary, We learned in social studies today that October 29th was the start of the Great Depression, which was 79 years ago. It all started with the stock market crashing and a lot f people lost a lot of money. Our teacher said we're going to have a homework assignment to try to interview someone who was alive in 1929 and write about what they remember. I think my Grandma was alive then, maybe she can help me.
Day 57
October 20, 2008
Dear Diary, After school Mom said it was time to clean Gala's aquarium again. It seems like I just did it, but I don't want Gala to get sick from swimming around in dirty water, so that was my afternoon. While she was out of her tank, I put Gala in a clear glass bowl next to the window. I'm not sure how well she can see outside, but I thought she might enjoy the sunshine. I don't think fish can get a sunburn, can they?
Day 56
October 18, 2008
Dear Diary, When I woke up this morning my finger was really itchy. Well, I started scratching it and noticed that there's a huge bug bite right on my finger, and now my finger looks all swollen. Dad put some anti-itch creme on it, and that helped. I have no idea when a bug bit me though. Maybe it was while I was sleeping. Hopefully it will go away soon.
Day 55
October 15, 2008
Dear Diary, It was raining this morning before school. So instead of riding my bike like I usually do, I drove with my mom. The only bad part is that she has to be there so early since she's a teacher. On days when I come in with Mom, I either read or play on the computer. Sometimes I help her pass out the papers on her students' desks. But today I decided to write in my journal instead. Oops, there's the bell!
Day 54
October 10, 2008
Dear Diary, I had tennis lessons this afternoon and I am beat. My coach has been working on my backhand and serving a lot lately. I'm so glad it's Friday, because I don't feel like doing anything right now. I still have the weekend to do my homework, so tonight I'm being a couch potato.
Day 53
October 8, 2008
Dear Diary, I asked Mom if she could guess what I want to be for Halloween and she guessed right away! Of course I want to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. I already have the ruby red slippers. Now all I need is the rest of the outfit. I'm going to ask Sarah if I can borrow her dog when we go trick-or-treating too. Her dog is a little Yorkie that could pass for Toto.
Day 52
October 4, 2008
Dear Diary, I went to the mall today with Mom and found a new trinket box to add to my collection. It's a ladybug! I never would have known it was a trinket box until I picked it up, you can't see the lid. I love that it looks so different from all my other boxes. Wait until I show Sarah.
Day 51
October 3, 2008
Dear Diary, Yuck! I just don't like tacos, and that's what we had for dinner tonight. I like meat and cheese, but I just don't like anything that's at all spicy. And now I'm still hungry because I only ate one taco. I'm going to ask Dad if I can have a snack in a little while. A tuna fish sandwich with tomatoes sounds really good right now.
Day 50
September 30, 2008
Dear Diary, Sarah made me laugh so hard today at lunch that milk was coming out my nose! She was just acting goofy like she always does. Sarah and I have been friends for so long that I can't remember a time when we weren't best friends. We even have friendship bracelets that we made together last year.
Day 49
September 28, 2008
Dear Diary, I don't understand how there can be a national Wizard of Oz musical that doesn't come to Kansas. Dorothy was from Kansas! Anyways, there's this musical traveling all over the country and they're even letting kids tryout to be munchkins! Mom and I looked online, but no tour dates are anywhere in the entire state of Kansas. I guess they could always add more tour dates, but so far they have them listed all the way to the end of the school year.
Day 48
September 25, 2008
Dear Diary, Tomorrow we have a really big test in math. I've studied for it, but I still don't feel ready. I keep getting the rules for fractions mixed up. Am I ever really going to need fractions when I grow up? Mom says she uses fractions for cooking and shopping when there's a sale. Alright, alright, I guess I might need to know fractions.
Day 47
September 21, 2008
Dear Diary, We went over to Grandma's house for lunch. I picked a couple of roses from Mom's rosebush in the backyard to bring to her. Roses are Grandma's favorite. They're pretty, but I don't like the way they smell. Grandma loves the way they smell, and she's always so happy when I bring her the flowers.
Day 46
September 19, 2008
Dear Diary, I have a wart on my thumb. I know, kind of embarassing. At first I thought it was a scab or something, but it's not. Mom tried to put this freeze off stuff on it, but that was awful. I told her I'd just rather leave it on there until it falls off on its own, which supposedly they do eventually. Maybe I'll just hide it with a bandaid until then.
Day 45
September 13, 2008
Dear Diary, Today Mom showed me an article and photo in the newspaper about how the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz is coming up soon. To celebrate, some company made these amazing pairs of ruby red slippers with Swarovski crystals. I guess they're supposed to be the modern version of what Dorothy wore. Afterall, the movie did come out in 1939. That was a long time ago!
Day 44
September 10, 2008
Dear Diary, Right now I'm just sitting here waiting for my mom to finish her work in her classroom. Every day after school I come to her class until it's time to leave. Usually I do my homework, but today I didn't have very much to do. I should probably go study my vocabulary words though, we have a test Friday.
Day 43
September 6, 2008
Dear Diary, We spent the day at the Sunset Zoo. It's not too far from where we live. Brianna and I loved the baby giant anteater the best. It was so cute watching the momma anteater carry her baby around on her back. The zookeeper said she will carry her like that until she gets much bigger.
Day 42
September 4, 2008
Dear Diary, Now that school has started again I'm back to taking tennis lessons. I'm glad. It's not as much fun playing on my own in the summer. Our coach has enough kids that we can practice with each other. It's a good way to tell how well you're doing. Sometimes it stinks to hear coach tell you you're doing something wrong. But it does help make you a better player. I've gotten way better than I was when I first started tennis.
Day 41
September 1, 2008
Dear Diary, When I was in kindergarten I used to think it was neat that my mom was a teacher at my school. Now it's a little awkward at times. The teachers all know me, and I feel like they expect a lot since they know my mom. Sometimes I'm afraid if I don't do an assignment or talk a lot in class that the teacher will run and tell my mom after school. Not that I know its happened, but it could.
Day 40
August 31, 2008
Dear Diary, Sarah and I are going to go over to the rec center to play tennis. We like to go late in the day, but it's supposed to rain later. So it's now or not at all. I'm just glad she can come this time. Last time I had to practice by myself. My backhand needs the practice using just a wall, but it's not as much fun without a friend.
Day 39
August 29, 2008
Dear Diary, This week has been so hectic now that school has started. My backpack is so heavy with books that I have to bring home everyday for homework. And it's not like we're in highschool yet! Oh well, at least Mom and Dad decided I can have the later bedtime I asked them about. All I have to do is keep my grades up. That shouldn't be too hard, except for math maybe.
Day 38
August 24, 2008
Dear Diary, Now that school is starting, my math deal with my parents is ending. You know, the one where I got to stay up later at night if I practiced my math during the day. So I asked Mom today if I can stay up half an hour later at night for the school year. She said she'd have to talk to my dad about it. I think that's fair, Brianna is only a few years older than me and her bedtime is a whole hour later than mine.
Day 37
August 20, 2008
Dear Diary, I love, love, love my new haircut! Instead of a trim I decided to try something new. My hairdresser said she had an idea she thought I would like. I was a little nervous, but I figured it's just hair, it would grow again if I didn't like it. It's still the same length so I can still put it up in a ponytail when I play tennis. But now it has a few layers to it, and the woman showed me how to style it. I'm really glad I let her try something new.
Day 36
August 18, 2008
Dear Diary, Mom is taking me to get my haircut this afternoon. I want to be ready when school starts next week. Mom wants me to just get it trimmed, but I'm thinking about doing something different this time. I feel like I've had the same style forever. We'll see if I see any pictures in her book that I like. My hair is really fine so some styles don't work for me.
Day 35
August 15, 2008
Dear Diary, My grandma came over this afternoon and then stayed to have dinner with us. I think she gets lonely living by herself. When she has all of us around she smiles a lot. My big sister Brianna always makes Grandma laugh with her silly stories. I think someday Brianna will be a teacher. She loves telling stories.
Day 34
August 12, 2008
Dear Diary, Nobody wants to play tennis today. I think I'll just head over to the courts and practice my backhand against the wall. It's not quite as much fun as playing against another person, but it really is good for practice. I think I'll bring a big gallon of lemonade too.
Day 33
August 8, 2008
Dear Diary, Sarah was supposed to come over this afternoon to hang out. But she called earlier and said she's grounded for the day. Sarah said that she had asked her mom to borrow a pair of her earrings. When her mom said no, Sarah took them anyways. Well, I guess the earrings got lost. So now Sarah is grounded and has to buy her mom new earrings.
Day 32
August 5, 2008
Dear Diary, I was a little nervous about bringing up what I noticed about Grandma to my parents. But I knew it could be important. I did it while we were in the kitchen getting ready for dinner. Dad said he had noticed it too. Then he told me that sometimes that happens as people get older. And Mom added that that's the reason we stop by to check on Grandma and call her so much, just to make sure she's doing okay.
Day 31
August 3, 2008
Dear Diary, I did have a good time staying over at my grandma's house. I'm a little worried about her though. I know everybody said she's better, but she doesn't seem quite the same. She kept forgetting what she was talking about, and told the same stories a couple different times. I'm kind of wondering if I should tell my parents. I don't want them to worry, but I feel like they should know.
Day 30
July 31, 2008
Dear Diary, Now that Grandma is doing much better I'm going to sleepover her house tonight. It's so cute that she gets all excited to have me stay with her. I have my own room there with all my stuffed animals and games to play. Grandma isn't big on cooking though. We usually have some kind of frozen dinner or go out for fast food. I don't mind, it's fun just to spend time with her. I love when Grandma tells stories about my dad when he was little. He sounded like quite a troublemaker!
Day 29
July 27, 2008
Dear Diary, Game night was so much fun! We ended up playing Bunco. It's a dice game I never played before. It really wasn't that hard and it's all about luck. We had door prizes for the top two winners. I didn't win, but I sure had a good time. Sarah's mom was one of the winners.
Day 28
July 24, 2008
Dear Diary, My parents are finally planning a game night. It's going to be at our house this coming Saturday. We invited Sarah's family and a couple other ones we know. I hope everybody can come. Once we know how many people are coming we can plan what games we can play.
Day 27
July 22, 2008
Dear Diary, I think I'm finally getting fractions! My mom is such a good teacher. She was very patient with me when I asked her for help. Once I did it quite a few times I started to get it. Now I guess I better keep practicing so I don't forget how to do them again!
Day 26
July 17, 2008
Dear Diary, I haven't done my math work yet today. Mom has already asked me about it a couple of times. I know I'm just putting it off. This section is really hard though. There are lots of fractions to add. Those are always hard for me. I always just want to add the numbers instead of finding the least common denominator first. I'm just going to ask Mom if she can help make sure I'm doing it right.
Day 25
July 13, 2008
Dear Diary, Four times! That's how many times Sarah and I watched the Wizard of Oz yesterday. We were going to try one more time, but I was starting to fall asleep on the couch. We had a lot of fun, and ate way too much popcorn. I love hanging out with Sarah.
Day 24
July 10, 2008
Dear Diary, I feel bad. Now that my Grandma is home and feeling better, she wanted me to come spend the night Saturday. I told her I'm already spending the night at Sarah's house Saturday. She sounded kind of disappointed. I love spending time with Grandma. I hope she understands. I told her we could do it another night.
Day 23
July 8, 2008
Dear Diary, Sarah and I want to have a Wizard of Oz movie marathon this coming weekend. We're going to do it at her house. And stay up as late as we can watching it as many times as we can. We'll have lots of popcorn too. I wish Saturday would hurry up and get here!
Day 22
July 4, 2008
Dear Diary, Now that I'm getting to stay up later, I've realized there's not even anything good on tv in the summer. So lately, Mom, Dad and I have been playing games at night. We play games like Monopoly and Sorry. It's pretty fun. So now we're thinking about having a game night party with some of our friends. We'll see...
Day 21
July 1, 2008
Dear Diary, Good news! My grandma came home from the hospital today, so we are going to visit her this afternoon. I made her a get well card, and we're going to stop and buy her some flowers too. Mums are her favorite. I think I'll pick purple mums.
Day 20
June 29, 2008
Dear Diary, The last couple days have been very busy. My Grandma has been in the hospital. They think maybe she had a stroke. She's doing better now, but still kind of dizzy and confused. So Mom and Dad have been taking turns staying with her at the hospital to make sure she's okay, and not lonely. The hospital says I'm not allowed to visit her in there because I'm not old enough. That doesn't seem fair. Mom says I can visit her as soon as she comes home, hopefully in the next couple of days.
Day 19
June 27, 2008
Dear Diary, So far, my parents plan seems to be working. Every day Mom helps me start a new section in the math book. She makes sure I understand how to do the problems. Then she gives me an "assignment". Unfortunately, she figured out that the odd number problems have the answers in the back. So now I only do the even problems.
Day 18
June 24, 2008
Dear Diary, Alright, so my parents made a deal with me about my bedtime. Every day that I work on my math during the day, then I get to stay up until 9:00 that night. That's a little better I guess. But Sarah's mom lets her stay up till 9:30 in the summer. And she doesn't even have to do any math work! I guess I shouldn't complain. At least my parents are trying.
Day 17
June 23, 2008
Dear Diary, When are my parents going to understand that I'm not so little anymore? My bedtime has been something we've never agreed on. What I don't understand is why I can't have a later bedtime in the summer. There's no school right now, so why do I still have to be in bed by 8:30? It's not like I can't sleep later in the morning. It's so frustrating sometimes being a kid.
Day 16
June 20, 2008
Dear Diary, Today I have to clean Gala's aquarium. It's not a fun job, but I like to take good care of her. I usually put her in a glass cereal bowl while I empty out her tank and make it all clean again. I'm not sure how it gets dirty since she's just a fish, but it does. At least I only have to do it every couple of weeks. That's not so bad.
Day 15
June 18, 2008
Dear Diary, Finally the rain has stopped and Sarah and I have been playing tennis again. She's a much better player than I am, but I keep trying. At least she's not conceited about it. She just plays for fun, and that's okay with me.
Day 14
June 14, 2008
Dear Diary, There's been so much rain lately that the streets have been flooding. And Sarah and I saw hail outside that looked like golf balls. Then you add in the wind, and this is definitely not good weather for playing tennis. Sarah and I have decided to try to make trinket boxes this afternoon. My mom says she has some beads and other things we can use. Sounds like fun!
Day 13
June 10, 2008
Dear Diary, Okay it's only 5 days into summer vacation and I'm officially bored. I wonder if this is how my fish Gala feels just swimming round and round the same old aquarium. I hope not. My dad says this is the perfect chance to practice my math for next school year. I miss school, but math is not exactly what I had in mind. Dad even went up to the school and checked me out a textbook. Gee thanks Dad.
Day 12
June 5, 2008
Dear Diary, Today was our last day of school! I can't believe the year went by so fast. Now I don't know what I'll do all summer. I know lots of kids can't wait for school to be over, but I like school. I guess I like everything except math, but that's only because math has been hard for me this year. I get all confused with fractions. Anyways, I'm not sure what will happen this summer. Dad says he probably can't take any time off for us to go on a vacation till later in the year. Oh well.
Day 11
June 2, 2008
Dear Diary, See, I told you Mom would pick a bathing suit that only she thought was cute. It's a two piece with ruffles and flowers. Totally not me! I picked out a blue one piece with no ruffles and no flowers. Blue is my favorite color. Hopefully Mom won't find the other one hiding in my room.
Day 10
May 31, 2008
Dear Diary, My mom is taking me shopping for a new bathing suit today. She always wants me to get a cute bikini, but I like a one piece better. I'm just more comfotable that way. What usually ends up happening is we get a bathing suit I like and another one my mom likes. Then I end up hiding the one she picks out in the back of my closet!
Day 9
May 30, 2008
Dear Diary, I've been feeling much better today. I hate being sick when it's so hot outside. It just makes me feel even yuckier. Now that it's the weekend and I'm better, I can get back to playing tennis! Sarah's mom is going to take us with her to the tennis courts so we can practice.
Day 8
May 26, 2008
Dear Diary, No school today and I have to stay at home. I have a bad cold that has me coughing a lot. Mom says no tennis until I'm feeling better. What makes me sad is that we were going to go tubing today. Dad says we can go another weekend. I guess I just have to stay home and be bored. Maybe I'll rearrange my trinket box collection. I have so many of them! At least that would be fun.
Day 7
May 24, 2008
Dear Diary, We just got back from the Wizard of Oz performance. It was fun, but I still like the movie better. The theater's witch just didn't look scary enough. And we didn't even get any popcorn or drinks! At least when we watch it at home I get popcorn, as long as my brother Ben doesn't hog it all. he can inhale an entire bag all by himself. Brothers!
Day 6
May 21, 2008
Dear Diary, This weekend our community theater is performing The Wizard of Oz. I know it's not the same as the movie. But I'm still excited to go watch it. My parents said we can bring Sarah too. Next year I'll be old enough that I can be in shows too. Too bad I wasn't old enough this year to be Dorothy.
Day 5
May 17, 2008
Dear Diary, I want to play tennis outside. Mom says I have to do some math work first. But it's Saturday! I don't know why I have to do math today when there's no school. Gala is so lucky. She's a fish and fish don't have to do math. Sometimes I wish I was a fish. But then I wouldn't be able to play tennis!
Day 4
May 15, 2008
Dear Diary, Today my class went on a fieldtrip to a kids art studio called Kaleidoscope. We had a lot of fun! We got to use any art supplies we wanted to make anything we wanted. I made a funky hat. I hope we get to go there again!
Day 3
May 12, 2008
Dear Diary, I got a C on my test. My friend Sarah got an A! Mom wasn't mad, but she said we're going to have to do more practice. I want to get a good grade on my report card and there are only a few more weeks of school. Time for dinner, we're having tacos tonight.Day 2
May 9, 2008
Dear Diary, Today we had a math test! I studied, but don't think I did very good. Math can be hard sometimes. Hopefully mom won't be mad. Next time I'll try harder, I promise!
Day 1
May 6, 2008
Dear Diary, I'm soooooo excited that today is the first day of my diary! My mom gave it to me when she came home from the store. She says she had one when she was my age too. Well, I have to go to tennis practice now!
