5/31/2008

Fun Days At Sea

Today is the last night at sea.

Sad, but yet true.

I had oceans of fun in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman and on the Carnival Valor! Shopping, buying, swimming, snorkeling, hiking and more! The week zoomed by like a roadrunner!

I had a fantastic with a capital F week! Swimming in the ocean four times, riding on the water slide on Lido deck which is deck nine. Eating at Rosie's Restaurant and Washington Dining Room.

The time just doesn't seem possible. I cannot believe that the week was SUPER short! The people who work here can fold tons of towels creations and the room steward even folded a monkey out of towels and hung it on the top hanging down from the lights!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had fun at Coral Garden and Stingray City yesterday. I also watched cartoons on TV.

We're going to Miami where we started tomorrow. We're going to stay at Miami at who knows where. And we're taking the United Airlines back to San Francisco the day after tomorrow.

THE END

5/30/2008

Coral Garden

Today, I went to the Cayman Islands.

My parents and I took a tour bus to a small boat. I also learned something in the tour bus: In Cayman, the driving wheel is on the right side instead of the left. (which is surprising to me) We got to the boat and had two stops: One, Stingray City and two: Coral Garden.

At Stingray City, you got to swim with the stingrays! My dad actually held one up and kissed it, disgusting! Even though Stingray City is in the middle of the ocean, it's totally shallow. The water only came up to my bellybutton!

After we finished swimming, we went to Coral Garden and the water was awfully deep! That's everyone (well almost) wore life jackets. Everyone also snorkeled. My mom and I brought our own so my dad borrowed on from the boat. Many other people borrowed one too. I saw so many fish and coral under the water! That's why it's called Coral Garden. I even saw a fish half a foot wide! Fat guy. I didn't see any jellyfish today, though. I also saw brain coral and coral with long thingies floating above them. It was weird. My parents and I saw little colorful fish and big colorful fish. It was like a rainbow under the sea!

Then we took the boat back to the tour bus and the tour bus drove us back.

THE END

5/29/2008

Snorkeling

I had a fantastic day when we went to Roatan, Honduras. We took a taxi with a taxi driver named Eddie.

We went snorkeling I mean my mom and I because I think my dad was scared. When I ducked my head under the water for the first time that day, I saw plenty of little clear fish. As I went deeper into the ocean, I saw bigger fish. I even saw a clear fish that was about a foot long!

We snorkeled some more and it started to rain so my dad went inside for shelter. My mom and I sheltered under the water. It was warm. As we went to shore, it was raining really fast so we ducked our heads under the sea. Guess what! We saw a small jellyfish that had only 4 tentacles! My mom and I swam a little longer and went inside for shelter.

We still have two tickets left - each one for one free soda and I got a Fanda drink and my grandfather got a diet coke. (My mom didn't get anything)

Then we all went to use the bathrooms. The we went back to the taxi. Eddie was already there. We drove to a small mall and my dad and I bought t-shirts again. Then we went back to the ship. And ate dinner.

THE END

5/28/2008

My Day

Today, when I woke up at who knows when, I got dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, my dad and I went downstairs to eat breakfast.

After breakfast, our family met together and got our Carnival Valor cards. You need those to get in & out. We walked to the front of the ship because that's where the entrance that were the closest to us was located. I say this because we are going to some place called Belize. When it was our turn, we stuck our cards through the slot and the machine beeped once. We got our cards out and went outside.

When we went outside, I was surprised that we weren't next to land. Instead, we were in the ocean! Then I noticed a way smaller boat than Carnival Valor. I realized that probably that boat will take us to Belize. Just as I predicted, it did!

When we went on the bank, there was a mall, just like in Mexico, but smaller and way hotter. I was sweating. So we went inside the mall to cool off.

We were about to go on another taxi tour, but we can't find any. Even though there were taxi tours, I figured it wouldn't be exciting. My grandparents and I went around the mall, searching for souvenirs. While my parents went searching for good taxi tours. About an hour later, they came back.

Before they came back, my grandmother bought me a souvenirs that looks like this (see picture at bottom). When my parents came back, my mom went shopping for a bag and my dad and I went shopping for t-shirts with the word Belize on it. We're wearing them right now. Then my mom took almost half an hour in the shop while my dad helped her find a nice bag. After my mom finally picked out one for 45 bucks, we took the swan boat back to the cruise ship.

We put our cards through the slot to enter. We had dinner. After dinner, we walked around for half an hour and went swimming. Then we took showers.

That is my day!

THE END

5/27/2008

Cozumel, Mexico

Today when the Carnival Valor landed in Cozumel, Mexico, our family got dressed and put on sunscreen. We also put on sunglasses. When we got out of the ship, it was like 100 degrees F! We walked until we got to a mall. We went inside because it was shady.

After a short while, we got a taxi tour. Our first stop was a park. After the taxi driver drove through the entrance, we saw an iguna perched on top of a stack of rocks. The driver stopped so we could take a look. The taxi stopped as we got to the place where you pay so you can get inside the park. We paid and we took off. As we walked along the path, we saw an iguna nearly on the path. My dad took pictures and the iguna wasn't even afraid!

Then we saw several huts. The roofs were made out of grass and the rest -- stone!My dad told me that, the Mayan people built them. Actually, the Mexican people did because the Mayan's huts were ruins. We walked on and saw giant mouse holes. The perimeter was about a yard! Since it was so hot, my grandmother and I walked back to a small hut with a bench and rested in the cool shade.

Five minutes later, my grandfather came to join us. Five more minutes later, my parents came. Then we walked back to the taxi. Our taxi driver was chatting with some other taxi drivers. When he saw us, he came over and helped us in.

Then he drove for a while and we came to Paradise Beach. My parents and I changed clothes and got blue floatie things because the ocean was too deep. We swam in the ocean. there was some water trampolines. We swam there and bounced on the trampolines. After that, we swam a little more and took a shower by the bathrooms.

We put on our regular clothes and went back to the taxi. My grandfather was already there. We drank some juice from a fresh coconut and got into the taxi. The taxi driver came and we drove back to the mall. We shopped around the mall and bought a few souvenirs. Then we headed back to the cruise ship.

My adventure in Cozumel was fun, bit hot.

THE END

5/26/2008

Into the Water

Wow! I had a lot of fun!!! I went on a water slide. I had to get in a long line.

Here are three rules: First, you have to be 47 inches tall to ride the slide. Next, you must be wearing bathing suits to ride. Last, you need to take off your shoes.

Here's one of my advice: When you get close to the bottom, pinch your nose and close your eyes. I didn't pinch my nose and I got water up it. The water slide was blue and slippery. It gets faster and faster as you go down. But I thought it was cool!

My parents went on the water slide too. Halfway through the slide, my dad thought it was scary. He told me he wanted to get out but he couldn't. Dad also said that he choked at the bottom of the water slide. I think it was he didn't follow my advice I gave him. My mom rode the slide and she thought it was cool, like me.

Tell ya what. Both my mom and I left our shoes somewhere instead of keeping them by us. when our bare feet touched the deck, it was like well, pretend you're a small bug that's stepping in a oven that's baking a pie. That's how hot it was. I had to jump up and down. The slide's water was salty instead of regular water. Except it's less salty and less colder than the ocean water. The water slide was a ton of fun. That's all I can say about the fun of the water slide.

THE END

5/25/2008

Learn About Right Whales

When a Right Whale is born, it's fifteen to twenty feet long. A Black Right Whale's maximum length is sixty feet. Pygmy Right Whales grow not any longer than twenty feet! The Right Whale's spout is divided. It looks like the letter V. Right whales can be big. They have a thick, solid body and a huge head. Some Right Whales can be small. Pygmy Right Whales are the smallest of the baleen whales. The Pygmy's maximum wight is 10,000 pounds! Some Right Whales have white spots on their backs. Their white spots are different patterns. Some people think that's how they identify themselves. Do Right Whales have teeth? No way! Instead of teeth, they have thousands of thin plates called baleen. Their baleen helps them eat. The shrimp and plankton goes in and the baleen brushes most of the seawater out. Well, I can't really tell more about how does a Right Whale look like so let's move on.

How did the Right Whale get its name? Well, whalers once sought him. Then the whalers harpooned him, caught him. He was slow. Had no teeth. He also had the oil the whalers were looking for. Then they said, "He's the right whale!" The Black Right Whale got its name because it is black. The Pygmy Right Whale got its name because it's small. Right Whales belong in a group called baleen whales. They are called baleen whales because instead of teeth, they have thousands of thin plates often called baleen. No one is allowed to hunt right whales, blue whales, etc. anymore because they are endangered species. So you are lucky if you ever see a Right Whale! Wait, don't stop reading yet! Still one more to go!

Hi again! There are three types of Right Whales. There are Black Right Whales, Pygmy Right Whales, and Bowheads. They all belong in a group called Baleen Whales. There are other types of Baleen whales that I'm not going to mention. Right Whales have an area of roughened skin. When you're looking from the top, you can't see the fin of a Right Whale. If you go underwater, you might see its fin from its side. There really isn't much information to say more. Anyway, I learned a lot more about Right Whales when I wrote this report.

THE END

Carnival Valor

Last night, after dinner, we went to the ariport to the United airlines. It was usually my bedtime when we got to the SF airport so my mom said that I had to go to sleep on the airplane. So I did.

I woke up to switch airplanes. I felt really dizzy.

The next day, we got to Miami. I still was really dizzy. We got in a cab and the taxi driver drove us to the big stadium where you sign up to the Carnival Valor (our cruise ship). Here's the ship's symbol...

As we boarded the cruise ship, we ate lunch. Since I was still pretty dizzy, I only ate four deserts. Then we explored the ship. After that, me, my parents and grandparents went back to our rooms and rested.

When I woke up, I felt completely better. We met together for dinner. I ate fruit cocktail, cheese pizza, and strawberry ice cream. I also snick some strawberry ice cream from my mom.

Then we set off to explore again. Me, grandmother, and mom were swimming while my dad and grandfather went to a show. I learned a bunch of new tricks.

After swimming, we went back to our rooms again. After we took showers, everyone in our family went to get deserts (from all that swimming) except for grandfather. Then we went back to our rooms, and started to do things. Like I'm writing in this journal. My parent are reading. That's all I can say because I'm still writing in this journal.

Bye!

5/19/2008

If I were Given $1000

If I Were given a thousand dollars, I would donate it for the earthquake in China. I would give it to my mom and she would send it there. I don't know how. It will help the children whose parents have died. They can buy new clothes and food.

5/16/2008

A Thank-You Note

Dear Ms. Peterson,

Thank you for helping Wind. We appreciate that. I think Wind is getting better now. Thank you very much. Ms. Thayer will be glad that you helped.

Sincerely,

Amy T.

5/13/2008

Unknown

Hi! I'm Daniel (Dan) Jetsen and I'm in second grade a the Wakefield Elementary school. I'm in room 235.

One day, when my stupid alarm clock woke me up, I opened the curtains and saw that it was a bright, sunny day. So I got out my ghosts and thunder bolts t-shirt, my "sunny day" shorts, did my things, and walked to school.

Since the bell didn't ring yet, I hung out with my best buddy, Michael Lee. He just got to school, too! Michael was my best friend since we were toddlers!

"So Michael, whussup?" I asked him. Michael groaned. "Nothing. Last night, my parents made me and Abigail, my little sister eat cabbage and tomatoes." Then he added, "Which we hate." "Oh, " I replied. "It was great for me, I went to my cousin's birthday party and whoever gets picked out of the basket (my cousin wrote the names of people who are coming) gets a mini radio - you know, the kinds that fit in your pocket and guess what?" "What?" Michael cried. I grinned, "I got picked out of the basket! Oh yeah, and my cousin Sebastian also has one, of course."

"Cool," Michael said with envy. Then, he must have noticed my pockets were bulging because Michael asked me, "What do you have in your pocket, Dan?" I glanced at my pocket. Just as I was going to tell Michael, the bell rang. So everyone lined up. I was 3rd in line. Michael was 4th. Jane and Charlotte were ahead of us, chattering. Calvin, Kathy, Nicolas, Jared, and a couple of other kids were behind us. When Mrs. Park came out, Michael whispered to me, "What'd ya have in your pocket, Dan?"

"I'll tell you later," I whispered back. Michael made a long face. He wanted to know now.

Mrs. Park made a following motion with her hand and we followed her into the school.

Lots of us lined up by the water fountain to get a drink. When it was Theo's turn, he accidentally got water up his nose and Kathy made the cukoo sign at him. Kids who saw that laughed including Theo's friends. Theo shook his fist at Kathy and Kathy said, "Duh!" Everyone laughed again. "I'll get you for this, Kathy Jackson!" Then Kathy replied, "It's not Jackson, it's Johnson!" And we all burst out laughing. Kathy did a bow and said, "Thank you, thank you!" After everyone got a drink, we headed back to the classroom. Mrs. Park and Jared, Luke, Cassandra, Jane, Doug, Sarah, Nicolas, Calvin, and other students were already there.

Mrs. Park said, "Please sit down at your desks." So we did. "Class, we will begin the day with --" but she was interrupted by a preschooler who asked, "Where's my mommy?" Just then his mother rushed in. "Sorry for the interruption!" Then she quickly led the little boy out saying, "Don't sneak into anymore classrooms, Tom!" We all laughed. "As I was saying, we will begin the day with math." We all groaned. who knew math was going to be so exciting?

"Doug, what is 7X7?" "49," Doug answered. "Good," Mrs. Park said. Then she turned to Cassandra Day but Cassandra wasn't paying attention so she called on Kathy. "Kathy, what is 11X8?" "88," Kathy answered. But who knew we were going to be interrupted again? I raised my hand. "Yes, Daniel?" "I think I hear barking and pounding outside our door." I told her. Michael and the rest of the class listened too. Mrs. Park opened the door. Before she can see who it was, a small, cute puppy leaped in and licked Luke Stormer's faced over and over again. Luke groaned.

"Stop it, Spike!" Spike got off him. Then all the girls started saying, "Aww, isn't it cute?!"

A scaredy-cat boy named Brad hid behind me while I petted spike. Almost everyone in our class had a puppy, or a dog or kitty or cat. Doug and Jane both had a puppy and a kitty. Everyone else had a dog or cat or both except for Brad. Michael has a cat named Sherman and I had a dog and it's puppy. My dog was Abby and my puppy was named Dave. I have fun with them a lot.

Mrs. Park asked Luke, "How did he get in here?" Luke answered, "How should I know? Spike followed me to school this morning and I petted him and told spike to go home but I guess he got into the building." Then Luke added, "Somehow."

Then Spike looked around at everybody and started panting. Then everyone except for Brad, Mrs. Park who was talking to Luke formed a circle around Spike and started petting him. Jared backed away because he was getting squashed. Nicolas (Nick) Boomersen and Cassandra Day pushed in front of Jared Douglas.