My First Concert

Daddy took me to my first concert this week. I was stoked. Of course, when Daddy first asked if I wanted to go to a concert, I said, "What's a concert?" But now I know.

We drove out to Athens and saw Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. It was an awesome show. They did a lot of Christmas songs from their album "Jingle All the Way." You should check it out.

The concert was on a school night, so I was up kind of late. I almost made it all the way through the concert, but I lost steam toward the end. Luckily there was an empty seat by me so I could stretch out.

All in all, it was a great show and a cool experience. I'm ready for my next concert.

Labor of Division

I figured out how to do division today. I've been doing addition, subtraction, and multiplication for a while now. I know that 3 times 4 is 12. I even know that 3 squared is 9.

But today, Daddy tried a new one on me. I told him that our lesson in Primary was on tithing, so he asked me how much tithing I should pay if I got $10. I told him $1. Easy enough. Then he asked me how much tithing I should pay if I got $20. That one stumped me, so he asked it a different way.

"How many tens are in 20?" he asked
"Two," I said.
I think that surprised him. "Whoa. How did you know that?"
"Because of that song I sing: ten... twenty... thirty..."

Then he gave me another one.

"How many threes are in six?" he tried. I think he thought I could only do division for multiples of ten.
"Two," I said after thinking about it for a second.
"How many fives are in ten?"
"Two."
"How many threes are in nine?" I guess he wanted to make sure I wasn't just answering "two" for every question.
"Three." I said.

Daddy says I learned how to do division. Next up: square roots. After that: derivatives.

The Park

It was 75 degrees today, so Daddy took us to the park.

I hear they're getting snow out West. Anyone wanna come visit?
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Playing with Josie

I like to play with Josie. She likes to play with me. She smiles whenever she sees me.
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Hello Again

I haven't posted in a while. I got pretty busy there and then I fell out of the habit. What could keep a five year old kid so busy that he can't find time to blog? Let me fill you in.

In my last post in June, I mentioned my new baby sister. She keeps us all pretty busy. She's a good baby. She likes it when I hold her, sing to her, and read to her.

In August, I had my birthday. I'm five now. Grandpa, Uncle Luke, and Aunt Sam came out for my birthday. Actually, they were probably here for Josie's blessing (the same day as my birthday), but I gladly took in all of the extra attention.

Later in August, I started school. That's right, I'm a kindergartener now. I ride the bus to school everyone morning and ride it back every afternoon. I've learned a lot since I've been in school, like how to color inside the lines. I learn a lot at home, too. My dad gives me math problems: addition, subtraction, and multiplication. Today, I correctly answered "What's three times four?" I'd tell you the answer, but I figure you'll appreciate the challenge of figuring it out yourself. On a good day, I can even tell you what three squared is.

At the end of August, I started soccer. The season is now over. During the season, I progressed from hyperactively running circles around the ball, to carefully dribbling the ball, to almost scoring a goal on a breakaway. Next year, I'll work on my post-goal celebration.

As you can see, I've been pretty busy. But I'll try to squeeze in a few posts more often for my loyal followers.

Josie

I'm a big brother again. My newest baby sister was born today. Her name is Josie. She's a pretty baby. I'm going to take care of her.

Disney World

We just got back from Disney World. We had a blast. We stayed at a hotel in Orlando with a sweet pool. We got in a good sunny day of loafing at the pool before the storms came. Orlando got record rainfall while we were there.

Luckily, the rain let up just in time for us to get in a day at Disney World. And what a day it was. We took a spin in a teacup, rode roller coasters, flew in elephants, and drove race cars. I even let Daddy come with me on Splash Mountain and on Thunder Mountain. Thunder Mountain was a scream. Literally. I screamed like a little girl.

The Graduate

I'm a graduate now. I graduated from pre-school this week. The finals were rough, I had to sing songs and eat cake, but I passed. On to bigger and better things.

"Justin Eastman, you just graduated from pre-school. What are you gonna do next?"

I'm going to Disney World!

Actually, it's true. I am going to Disney World. We leave tomorrow.

My Memory's Faithful

Last night while Mama was pouring me a cup of Sprite, I noticed the sign on the Sprite bottle that said "100% Natural Flavors". (I've been noticing numbers a lot lately.)

"100 dollars?!" I asked.

"No. See this little symbol here?" Mama answered, pointing to the %. "That means 'percent'. It's 100 percent."

"100 percent! Like Horton at Grandma's house in Salt Lake City!"

The full quote, for those of you who don't know Horton, is: "I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful 100%."

Salt Lake City

I went to Salt Lake City last week to get a new Aunt. I'm glad I did. She's a good aunt.

The night before the wedding, Uncle Hebe and soon-to-be Aunt Carley put on a dinner for family and friends. It was sweet food and good company. After a great evening, Mama said it was time to go.

"Is Carley going?" I asked.

"Not yet," Mama answered.

"I want to stay until Carley goes."

The next day was the wedding. I asked Carley if she would be my Aunt. She got down on her knee for my proposal. Otherwise, I'd be proposing to her knees.

She said yes!

I told Mama I want to live in Salt Lake City when I grow up.

"Why's that?"

"'Cause that's where Uncle Hebe and Aunt Carley live."

The rest of our time in Salt Lake City was cool, too. We spent some time on Temple Square, visited family, played some whiffle ball, and stayed up late every night. It was a great vacation.

Salt Lake City

I'm going to Salt Lake City!

We're all going to Salt Lake City on an aeroplane. I'm getting a new aunt (translation: my uncle's getting married). We'll be there the weekend of Apr 24.

I was so excited when I first heard we were going, I started packing the very next day. It took Mama a few tries before I finally realized that it would be a while before it was time to go.

I Can Wait

I've been reading with Daddy every night before I go to sleep. I'm reading Hen's Pens. We read a page every night.

After we read tonight, Daddy showed me that we only had one page left.

"I'm so excited. I can hardly wait," I said.

"Do you want to read it now?" Daddy asked.

"No. We can read it tomorrow. I can wait."

Sunshine

Last Sunday, we were making a snowman. This Sunday, we're wearing shorts and t-shirts.

Snow

Those of you who are more accustomed to snowy climates might be tired of winter by now. But we're just getting started and I'm excited as can be. It snowed today!

We took advantage of the rare occasion by putting on long underwear and rain boots and playing in the snow. We made snow angels and snow men. We weren't prepared with coal for eyes or carrots for noses, so we improvised. I named him Jack.

We also had a snowball fight, which was a lot of fun until some of the shrapnel from a snowball that hit Mama ended up on my face. I mean, I like the snow and all, just not on my face.

Blowing Up

A few weeks ago, I had a dream or something that my bed puffed me up. It felt like the bed was pushing me up and it felt furry like a bear. I walked out of my room disoriented and told Daddy that my bed puffed me up.

He took me back in my room and we said a prayer that I would feel safe and sleep well. It worked. I slept great that night and my bed didn't puff me up any more.

Ever since then when it's my turn to say prayers, I pray that "my bed won't blow me up." So far, so good. I haven't been blown up again yet.

Tour de Playground

Yesterday was a nice day, so Daddy took me and McKenzie to the playground in our neighborhood. I decided to ride my bike there while Daddy and McKenzie walked.

There are a few hills between our house and the playground, so it was a bit of a challenge. Actually, going down the hills was the scary part. I'd inch forward and then put on the breaks, a few more inches and then the breaks. Going up the hills was easier. I huffed and puffed, but I made it.

When we got to the playground, I missed a turn and found myself hurling down a hill. Luckily a tree stopped me. I hear it was like the time Grandpa used a tree to stop himself when he was skiing. I got a few scratches on my face to show for it.

96 Years Fast

Today Daddy took us to the park. We took our bikes with us. The park gave me more room to ride than what our driveway allows. I raced around the sidewalks.

Afterward, Daddy commented on how fast I had gone. "Yeah, I went 96 years fast," I said. That's fast.

Something New

In my school today, we got to listen to Barrack Obama. I was excited. Every time I hear someone say "Barrack Obama", like if Daddy's listening to NPR, I say "They said 'Barrack Obama'!"

I thought it was pretty cool to be able to listen in today. I'm excited that Barrack Obama is our new president.

Merry Christmas

I've been so busy playing with my Christmas toys that I haven't had time to post. Sorry for the delay.

Along with lots of other cool stuff I got for Christmas, I got a new bike. At first, I had a hard time pedaling and watching where I was going at the same time. That's how I wound up darting down the hill at the side of our house, with Daddy scurrying after me.

But by day two, I was a natural. Check it out.