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.

I Just Called to Say...

My friend Ashley from Charlotte came to visit. We were buds when we were only two years old. We used to hang out together at the gym while our mamas worked out.

Actually, Ashley lives in Oklahoma now. Her family moved there when we moved to Atlanta. I guess she couldn't stand the thought of living in Charlotte without me.

Last week, Ashley's family stayed at our house on their way home from Disney World. It was cool to hang out again. After they left, I kept talking about how funny Ashley is; how she made me laugh. I think Mama noticed I kept talking about her.

Mama: "Do you like Ashley?"

Me: "Yeah."

Daddy: "Do you wanna kiss on her?" (He means "kiss her". He throws an "on" in there to improve the cadence.)

Me: mumbling

Mama: "Huh?"

Me (sheepishly): "Yeah..."

Mama: "Do you want Ashley to come visit again?"

Me: "Well I can't kiss her over the phone..."

Smokey Mountains

We spent last weekend in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. It was about a three hour drive from our house. We had to drive through North Carolina, my home state, to get there. I was excited to see my home state again, even if all I saw was pavement.

The place we stayed in Tennessee had an indoor water park where we swam the first day. It also had an outdoor playground where we played every day. Other than that we just slept in and hung out.

On our drive home through Smokey Mountain National Park, we pulled over and took a little hike. While McKenzie fell in the mud, Daddy and I took pictures.

After we got over the mountains and were driving back through North Carolina, I got the urge to go. Daddy said he'd pull over when he found a respectable looking gas station or restaurant. There wasn't much to choose from, though. A few miles later I warned him it was an emergency. "I'm bound to go in my pants," I urged. He pulled over at the next station. Crisis averted.

I'm Thankful For...

Daddy asked me what I am thankful for. Here are the things I told him.

• Daddy & Mama
• McKenzie
• Grandmas & Grandpas
• friends
• teachers
• the trees
• the sky
• clouds
• the sidewalk
• the sun
• the moon
• the stars
• flashlights
• colored leaves
• cars
• pencils
• books
• houses
• walls
• fences
• stairs
• running
• stickers
• fish
• sharks
• plugs
• things that go into plugs
• the oven
• the microwave

Hartley's

We went to Whole Foods last week. One of the things we got there was some Hartley's Strawberry Jam. That's the kind of jam we used to get in London. We'd put it on Mama's homemade biscuits. It's delicious. Whole Foods is the only place we can find it here in the States. They have it in their "international foods" aisle.

The funny thing is, we used to go to Whole Foods in London (the one on Kensington High Street) to get stuff that was hard to find over there, like pumpkin pie filling so Mama could make a pumpkin pie, or aji amarillo so Daddy could make lomo saltado and papa a la huancaina.

Speaking of pumpkin pie: Happy Thanksgiving.