Hello, today I’m going to talk about Colorado. There is a place on a mountain that has summer tubing, so instead of snow tubing, it’s in the summer with no snow. Then we also went white water rafting and the guide that was with us, it was his first family float. I loved getting stuck on rocks and then spinning over them. I loved hitting the waves and going so fast!

One weekend we went to Moab, Utah and took a hummer tour through an area called Hell’s Revenge. Hell’s Revenge is a place where it’s kind of like Arches National Park but it’s a trail that you can drive on with ATVs. We took a hummer tour there and it was super fun, and we were also on our backs while driving up at 50 degree angles — those tires were very strong! One time he stopped at a steep decline and pretended that the brakes had failed, so we took out and went so fast down the mountain while he was talking in the middle of a sentence.

We also did an escape room where you have to solve puzzles and we got out with about 7 minutes remaining. It was so fun! At one of the hotels we stayed at there was a 400 foot water slide. We went down it about 200 times! Near the end of the trip, we stopped at a real gold mine. We got to pan for gold and then took a tour of the mine where we were able to use a chisel out our own pirate’s fool’s gold that had some real gold in it!

That was our fun trip in Colorado.

Hello guys, can I tell you about surfing? My family and I went to Hawaii over Spring Break. We had a great time. I really enjoyed watching people surf but I thought my sister and I might be too young. One day we were swimming at the beach and saw a kid going out to surf. My dad asked his dad how old he was and he was only 6! Right then we knew that we could do it! My dad found us surfing lessons on our last full day in Hawaii. Surfing is easier than it looks. When I did it, I was able to stand up completely on my first wave! I ended up doing about 30 waves total. My last wave was actually my best! I was able to ride the wave all the way to the end. What a fun experience! Talk to you next time!

Well we didn’t go back to school in November as previously hoped… My family and I ended up doing another workcation in November in a different city before returning to “normal” in Chicago for December. We hosted Christmas at our house with my grandma and grandpa that drove up from Memphis. It was the first time we’ve hosted in years, so we had a lot of fun decorating the house and my parents say they went a bit overkill on presents, but I don’t think so! The latest school update is that we’re supposed to go back in-person for two days a week in February. I’m not getting my hopes up this time though!

Happy 2021 friends!

Lydia

I really enjoyed seeing and playing with other kids in small groups over the summer, and I’m now about a month into 3rd grade! Initially we were supposed to go back a couple days a week, but the schools ultimately decided to go fully remote for at least the first couple months. I’ve become a computer whiz on my new fancy Chromebook and I often help my sister on hers. We’re currently on what my dad calls a “workcation” to get a change of scenery while not missing any work or school. We’ll be heading home soon and fingers crossed be back in school in November. It’s not looking good right now, but we’ll see!

See you later friends!
Lydia

Well everything didn’t snap back to normal in a month as I previously hoped. School ended up switching to remote learning which was challenging at times but did give me a little more structure to the day. I’m now officially done with 2nd grade and things have started to open up a little bit. I’m currently in Memphis visiting my grandparents this week. The rest of the summer is mostly virtual camps with a a few in-person weeks in small groups. I’m looking forward to this new normal. No official announcement on what will happen in the Fall when I start 3rd grade, but I’m enjoying the extra family time while I can!

Update from my last post — I did get a skateboard for xmas! We celebrated in Memphis, so I got to learn the ropes in the nicer weather there. Back in Chicago, I haven’t had as much time to learn, but with Spring around the corner and suddenly a ton of family time, I’ll be an expert in no time. While school is closed, I’ve been learning a lot at home with worksheets and reading, and the occasional educational video. Best of all, I love spending time with my family! I hear that school is closed for about another month, so hopefully everything is back to normal the next time you hear from me!

Take care my friends,

Lydia

So last summer, I really wanted roller blades, roller skates, or a skateboard, but my dad said I couldn’t have any of those until I learned to ride my bike on my own. In just a few short days of practicing every day, I finally did it and now I can fly around on my bike with no help at all. I’ve been dropping lots of hints that I’m ready for my skateboard now and I hope that my parents or Santa get me one. Fingers crossed!

Wow, another two years has flown by. One day soon, my parents will give me the password to my account so I don’t have to go through them anymore! Everything is going well with me. I just started 2nd grade last week. I’m still at the same school, but I might switch next year depending on if my little sister can get into my current school. My favorite class is math and my favorite lovey is a platypus named Platty that I got in Australia. I’m going to keep this short and sweet in hopes that I’ll actually post more often. Take care dearest readers!

Hello everyone!

It’s been almost two years since my last post.  Apologies for the delay — it’s been crazy around here these days.  My little sister is now almost two and a half years old.  I’ve been such a great big sister to her.  I show her the ropes on everything and I am even teaching her manners.

I’m writing today because I’m very excited about a recent development.  I am all registered for kindergarten in the Fall!  After an afternoon of testing, and applying to a myriad of honors, magnet, and neighborhood schools, my parents had narrowed it down to two primary schools.  They toured a highly-rated magnet school but decided it was too loud, overly strict, and a little too focused on technology.  Next, they toured our local neighborhood school and it was refreshingly different and just felt right for me.

I was secretly hoping my neighborhood school would be selected because it’s so close we can walk there and I’ve already played on its playgrounds many times.  I’m counting down the days until I can begin.  I even told my parents today that they should try to get me in sooner because I’m getting too big for my nap-time cot at preschool.  Man, I’m going to miss nap time.  Besides that, I’m looking forward to everything else!

That’s all for now!  See you all again soon my friends.

Lydia

Hello dear readers.

It seems that I have some competition around here these days.  I got a new little sister named Edie about six months ago!

It took some trial and error but I’m shaping up to be a great big sister, if I may pat myself on the back a bit.  I help feed her, change her, give her blankets, and I really enjoy making her laugh.

In solidarity with my little sister I have stopped doing some things I used to do all by myself, such as getting dressed, sleeping through the night, and getting in the car.  I figure if she can’t do it who I am I to show off?

Besides that, it’s been a pretty smooth transition.  We are a happy family of four and I’ve shown Edie all my neighborhood haunts.  We also recently went to Toronto and while Canada is old news to me, it was still a great time exploring a new city.

Looking forward to more adventures with the fam!

Lydia