George W. Bush Presidential Libray

Recently, I went to the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, TX. I learned that, for only the second time in our history, a father and son became president. The first time was John Adams and John Quincy Adams. Then the second time was George H W Bush and George W. Bush. George W Bush was president during the 9/11 attack on the two twin towers in New York City. In that attack on the World Trade Center, two planes crashed into the towers. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed into a field in Philadelphia.

George W. was also president during Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In the museum, we got to do an exercise where we got information about the disaster. We got to then decide whether to send in troops to help.

George W. also had two dogs and two daughters. One of my favorite parts was that he met the Queen of England for a dinner party. It looked very fancy.

Lastly, I learned that George W. signed the No Child Left Behind Act. This was a program about  Education and did not  turn out the way he wanted it to.

Overall, i think he was a respectable president.

John F Kennedy at Dealey Plaza

While we were in Texas we went to the Dealey Plaza Museum. Dealey Plaza was where John F. Kennedy was shot, and the museum describes what those days in 1963 were like.

John F. Kennedy became president in 1960 when he defeated Richard Nixon. JFK's wife was named Jackie. They were very popular.

Durning his presidency Kennedy made several famous speeches, including his famous "Ask not..." speech, and a speech announcing the space program.   He also dealt with the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, where the US was defeated.   Later, he dealt with the Cuban missile crisis, where he showed his strength and got USSR to back down and remove their missiles from Cuba.

Kennedy was in a motorcade in Dallas in November 22 of 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy. Kennedy was pronounced dead about half hour later at the hospital.  Lee Harvey Oswald was killed two days later as he was led from the court house.

Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office on the presidential plane, Air Force One, before they left Dallas. Normally the president takes the oath of office in Washington, D.C.

The museum was very well done. I felt very sad while watching the funeral. The things i will remember most is that the spot where Kennedy died and seeing the window where the shot came from.

Seeing everyone in Minnesota

When we went back to Minnesota lots of people wanted to see us and we said yes. We had people over and playdates and other stuff. One of my favorites things was going to Murray's Restaurant for lunch. another day we went  to lunch at the new Eagle Ridge school  . Yet another day we went to a   Gophers game to see my big brother march . One day me and Erin went to a friends house for playdate and we did Nerf gun wars. Another day our family went to Canterbury to see the wiener dogs race which we always enjoy .

At Canterbury  some friends came to watch it with us and we had pizza and we had ice cream and my brother was there too and I also had gummy worms which were so yummy.

Seeing a total eclipse

In August of 2017, there was a total eclipse of the sun that crossed the United States. We went to Missouri  to see it. 

On the morning of the eclipse, we checked the weather and it was going to be cloudy, so we had to drive 2 hours to find clear skies.   We all wore special glasses to see it or we would be blind. When the moon blocked the sun it turned dark outside and cold as well  and some of the house lights outside turned on and the sun looked like a black hole.   We saw Venus during the day.

We also saw a stealth bomber fly in front of the partially eclipsed sun which was awsome to see.

It was worth it to drive 2 hours to see the eclipse.

Another country!

After my grandma's house we went to Devil's Tower. We went for  two hikes near Devil's Tower. Devil's Tower was a left over volcano that eroded away around it. We watched Close Encounters which is a movie about aliens landing at Devil's Tower.

Single cloud over Devil's Tower

After Devil's Tower we went to Yellowstone. We meet up with some friends. We saw geysers. The biggest one was Old Faithful which reaches up to 185 feet in the air it was very stinky. We also saw lots of animals too like mama bear and a baby bear, buffalo, elk, and big horn sheep.

Yellowstone hot spring with colored bacteria

After Yellowstone, we then went to Canada.  We had two stops in Canada, Cranbrook and Banff.

Cranbrook: biking, hike along stream with waterfall, train ride into a mine
In Cranbrook, a couple of the days I went on a bike ride and it was fun and long and hot, too, but we made it and after the bike ride we went to Dairy Queen for lunch and ice cream. One day we went to see a water fall up close. It was a short hike. It was very scenic and the water was cold because it came from glaciers. Another day in Cranbrook, we went on a train ride to an old mine and it was very cool because it was underground. After the mine we saw the power plant for the mine and it was amazing because the machinery was so big.

Gondola over Banff

After Cranbrook, we went to Banff.   One day we went on a long hike to a waterfall that was about 3 miles in each direction.  The first part was flat and easy, but the second part was hilly and rocky. It a warm day and after the hike we had ice cream bars and our feet were in pain.  But the waterfall was beautiful.  The water was so clear we refilled our water bottles.  Another in Banff I went on a gondola to the top of a mountain to eat and the food was good. The also had a museum, and was fun to learn about the area and the mountain.  On our last full day we went to hike on a mountain which was cold and we saw a glacier. After that we went for ice cream (we do that a lot).

Bow Lake Falls north of Banff

Back to the Minnesota

After a couple of weeks of visiting family in Wisconsin, we made it to Minnesota and boy we were busy. It seems like every day we had something going on.

We got to visit with lots of people. One day we went to a greek restaurant with Uncle Pete and Aunt Beth for a good buffet.  That same day we  we also went to a Twins game and brr it was very cold. Another day we met my mom's cousin Colleen at Cheesecake Factory. The food was so good there and the cheesecake was so good as well.  We met another of her cousins, Rachelle, and her husband, at their house for a cookout, and we played with their kids.  If you have been to the restaurant which is called Murray's you know they have amazing steak there. Well, on yet another night, we got to have some at a backyard cookout because my parents know them.

I got to hang out with my friends from my old school, too. One day we saw our friends from school at Jessica's house for a party she threw for everyone. Another day I went to to my friend Henry's house and it was so fun there we played games and played on the Wii.

I also got to spend time with my big brother and i kicked his butt on Mario games (don't tell him I said that) and we had a fun time.

Another fun day was when I went to a private dance lesson with my favorite dance teacher and she made me work hard. I was very sore the next 2 days.

After the Twin Cities, we went to my Grandmas house in Hoffman (outside Alexandria). We got to play with her dog who will chase a ball forever. We got to make cookies and eat the dough. We played in the sprinkler.

I have been waiting for ever to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales. It was a good movie.

Kansas City World War I Museum

While we were in Kansas city we went to the World War I Museum. Most of the museum was underground with a large tower above.

World War I Musuem

When we were there we got an audio tour. It taught us all about the war. We heard that the war started when Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was killed in Serbia. We saw the uniforms and weapons that the soldiers from different countries used in the war. We learned about the trenches and how dangerous and horrible it was. There were a couple of short movies to watch also.

After the museum we went outside to the tower. We took an elevator up to the top of the tower. It was scary to look over the edge but we had a great view of Kansas City.

The view of Kansas City

The museum was very well done. There was a lot of information about the war. If you are ever in Kansas City go to the World War I Museum.

saddest story

Recently we went to a Oklahoma City Memorial Museum about the bombing of the federal building that was destroyed by Timothy McVeigh. While it was fun to learn at the museum, it was very sad to read about the innocent people and children that died.

Timothy McVeigh was a bad person who bombed a federal building and there was a daycare and  it killed many people, including children. It was devastating.

In the museum there was stuff about the bombing and about McVeigh and Terry Nichols. They talked about McVeigh's arrest and the weapons and things he was carrying.

Outside the museum, there were a bunch a chairs to represent the people that died in the bomb and there was reflecting pool and it was just so sad.

This is a very sad place to be and deep down I was crying.

Oklahoma City Bombing Museum

late blog

Since our last blog we went up the coast and down the coast. Here are some highlights of that trip.

We stayed at a nice RV park in Buellton, CA. It is near the town of Solvang. Solvang is an old Danish town and it was very cute and very fun and we got candy and ice cream.

We visited two beaches while we were in Buellton, Gaviota and Jalama. Gaviota was under a train track and Amtrak trains go by and we found dead animal meat. Jalama was very rocky and we built a skeleton out of rock and it was very cool.

We found a real human skeleton at Jalama Beach

We also took a day trip to Santa Barbara. When we got to Santa Barbara we went  for a bike ride, and then to an art show and it was very pretty art there. Then we played on the beach and we made quicksand and it was hard to get out. This is how I made it: I went on wet sand and stomped in place and I could feel the sand get squishy and I started to sink slowly.

Our next stop was near San Jose. While we were there we went to the Tech Museum. I got a card to play the games there it was really fun. We got to build a robot and play a cyber detective game. We got to try a jetpack chair that was used to train astronauts for space walks.

Erin and I build a robot out of blocks at the San Jose Tech Museum

While we were near San Jose we went to the Monterey Aquarium. We saw an octopus climbing on the glass. He seemed to be curious about us. We also saw jellyfish, which were very beautiful.

Jellyfish at the Monterey Aquarium

Still another morning we went on a ferry boat to San Francisco, and from there we took a boat to Alcatraz. Alcatraz is an old jail on an island in the bay. We had a tour of it and it was very interesting.

Erin and I try a cell at Alcatraz -- not a good place to live!

Our next stop was near Modesto, where we saw Bill and Joy and Joy's mother and their dogs George and Rosie. I helped cook and I went on walks in the morning with the dogs.

After Modesto we went to Cayucos, CA. They had a pretty beach where we played every day.

Digging a hole at the beach in Cayucos

Cayucos is near Hearst Castle. The Castle was a house for William Randolph Hearst. We took a tour and we saw the rooms and the Roman pool which was a very fancy pool. At the visitor's center we watched a movie about how the house was built.  Just up the coast from the castle we saw elephant seals which were very smelly and fat.

After Cayucos, we headed back to Escondido, near San Diego.   We went to a beach and a marina in Oceanside where we played at the beach and walked around the harbor. Another day, Dad took me out for supper to Hooters, which is an owl-themed place.

My server at Hooters discussing owls with me.

San Diego

After Amarillo we went to Tucson. While in Tucson we went to a light parade. A light parade is when all the floats and people are covered in Christmas lights, it is their annual Christmas parade. It was very bright there.

Another thing we did was get new bikes and bike on a long trial. Tucson is building this trail and when it's done it will be around 150 miles long. We did about 11 miles of it and we saw two coyotes.

Another fun thing we did in Tucson was we went to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. When we got there we got to touch some baby stingrays and they were very slimy.  They also had a raptor display where birds flew over our heads and it was cool.

After Tucson we to San Diego and we are staying here for a month. There is so much to do here.

San Diego

We got to see the Safari Park. We saw many animals and my favorite part was we went to feed some lorikeets, which is a colorful bird and one climbed up my arm and landed on my head. There were flamingos, monkeys, elephants, and a cheetah running full speed.

A lorikeet on my head at San Diego Safari Park

We also went to Balboa Park.  The first thing we saw was a model railroad museum and it was soooooooo coooool. The trains were small size and there were lots of tracks and little towns and people. There had Waldo (from Where's Waldo) being arrested by Storm Troopers.

After the train museum we went to a photography museum and a art museum and there was a lot of things to see and learn. After that we saw a organ concert. The Spreckel's  Organ is the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world and they have free concerts on Sundays. After the organ concert there was a bell concert and is was a very pretty sound.

One of the reasons we came to San Diego is because the University of  Minnesota band was here to see the Holiday Bowl. My brother Reese played in the band. We went to see them play outdoors at a park in down town San Diego. They also marched in a parade the next day.

After the band left  Reese stayed with us for 2 weeks. When Reese got here, he, Erin, and I played games and do you know who won? It was Reese. Very disappointing.

We visited Point Loma. There is a light house there on the cliffs. You can also walk on the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

Point Loma

Another day we visited Coronado Beach. When we got there me and my sister made a sand castle and we played in the water. After the beach we went biking and my mom's tire went flat.

This week i got 4 new toys including a drone that flies but that fourth toy will come this Monday. The  three I already have are a hummingbird, Blinky from Pac-man, and last but not least is the Freddy plush from the game Five Nights at Freddie's.  The one I am waiting on is Toadsworth from Super Mario Bros on the Wii

My new toys