Christmas with Burtts / New Years with Curtins

Mom, Dad and I are going to Aroostock county to see my grandparents and cousins for Christmas. My Mom just finished making truffles to bring. It is going to be the best Christmas ever because I don't see my relatives often.
Next week we are going to New York to see my grandmother and cousins for New Years. That's going to be fun, too. Yay!

Christmas Party in Freeport

My mom and I went to a Christmas party at the YMCA in Freeport. We swam for an hour in the warm pool. Afterwards, we had some pizza. Then Santa came for a visit and gave the kids presents. I had a good time. My favorite part was swimming.

Survival Class

Yesterday I took a survival class. It was about living in the wild. I built a fire with a match and kindling. I also found some fox and rabbit tracks in the snow. I ate some red berries and pine needles. You can also eat cattail tubers, but you have to dig them up from the ground which is very tricky.
The survival class was the most fun I ever had in the woods.

Favorite Holiday

What is your favorite holiday? Mine is Christmas. I love snow, the colorful lights and decorating the tree. I enjoy setting cookies, carrots and milk for Santa and the reindeer. Most of all, I like spending time with my friends and family.

"star wars the force unleashed ultimate sith edition"

I bought a new game called "Star Wars The Force Unleashed Ultimate Sith Edition." It is so awesome you feel like a real sith. The storyline is you are a sith lord and you find the remaining Jedi and assassinate them. You are the most powerful sith lord of all time.

Badminton

Last night I played badminton with my new found friends. It was so dark and spooky, but fun. After a couple of games they went home and I ate my warm meal that my mom made.
That was my best Tuesday night ever.

My Coins

I have a display at the Windham Public Library. It is full of foreign and domestic currency. So come on down and see the really cool money. Tell me your favorite coin. My favorite coin is the 1810 Mexican coin.

Halloween night

On Halloween mom and I were zombies. We went trick or treating with our friends and then went to a scary stories walk in the woods. It was the best Halloween ever.

Tiger's friend

One afternoon my cat, Tiger, found an orange and black spotted cat. They played until the full moon lit the sky. They tagged each other, chased after squirrels and birds and meowed at the moon. When they began to yawn, it was time to go to sleep in their owner's warm, cozy beds. They purred, "Goodnight" and went home.

Tiger had found a true friend.

Not Funny... No Joke

My mom told me a joke. It was not funny. It went like this: "Knock. Knock." "Who's there?" I asked. Mom said, "Boo!" and I asked, "Boo who?" She said, "Don't cry! It's only a joke!" Lame, right?!
What's the lamest joke you've ever heard?

AFV Moment

Dad and I had watched "The Caddy" starring Jerry Lewis. A few weeks later while playing miniature golf I mimicked Jerry. On the thirteenth hole, Dad lined up and hit the ball, but it didn't go into the hole. I said, "Dad, you did it wrong." I put my ball where his was and said, "You do it like this: You line it up, swing back and hit it." And my ball went in. On another hole I did the same thing. He hit the ball, missed the hole and then I hit it and it went right in. But, in the end, Dad won!!

Hollween Costume

I am going to be Sweeney Todd for Halloween. I saw the musical "Sweeney Todd" starring Johnny Depp and I loved it. What are you going to be for Halloween?

Maine State Aquarium

I went to an aquarium and I petted a shark called a dogfish. It felt rough, but cool. There was a anther touch tank with scallops, crabs, horse shoe crabs, sea stars, hermit crabs and sea cucumbers. In another tank was a giant lobster. It could probably feed about 20 people!

You should go there. http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rm/aquarium/index.html

Wolverine

My dad and I went to see "Wolverine". It was sweet and it was full of action. My favorite character is Sabertooth because he is super fast and he is half brothers with Wolverine.

You should see the movie.

The Farm Animals

My Mom and I went to Steeplebush Farm with some homeschoolers. We saw one llama, two dogs, three ducks, four sheep, and five or six lambs. I learned that llamas are used like sheep dogs. I also found out that llamas never forget things.

It was a fun field trip! I want to go there again.

Audubon society

My friends, mom and I went to Audubon society to look for frogs, tadpoles and small fish. It was so much fun and awesome. We saw a turkey, ground hog, gray and red squirrels. This was an excellent field trip. We learned so much.

Sparta

Have you seen Sparta the cat? The cat is the main character in the video "Mean Kitty Song". It is so funny and has a good tune. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qit3ALTelOo Ok? Enjoy the show!!

Crocuses

Yesterday I saw crocuses in our neighbor's woods. There were two purple batches and one white with purple veins. The purple is an awesome color.

I love spring and I love flowers. Roses are my favorite flower. What's yours?

Easter Eggs

On Tuesday my mom and I colored Easter eggs. It was fun until the vinegar was eating the egg shells. ha ha ha ha ha. I love spending time with my mom.

Easter 2009

Mom, Dad and I went to a seal release on Easter. The seal's name was Harvey. He was cute and fast. Then we went to the movies and saw "Knowing". It was a good, sad and scary movie.

The movie was about a girl writing down numbers and putting it into a time capsule that is put into the ground for fifty years. When the time capsule is opened, a boy gets the girl's note full of numbers. His dad, played by Nicolas Cage, uncovers the secret to all the numbers. That's all I'm going to say.

Robert E. Lee, Civil War 1861-1865

Robert E. Lee was the southern general for the Civil War. He was born in Virginia. Lee took risks because that's how he thought the south could win. They had so few men compared to the North. Lee was on a winning streak until Gettysburg when he told his armies to attack in the center of the enemy's line. Most of the south got blown up by cannons or shot.

After that battle, Lee wanted to quit. He talked to Jefferson Davis who was the President of the Confederacy, but he wouldn't let Robert E. Lee resign. After that talk, Lee kicked Union butt in several locations.

Towards the end of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee was under siege in Petersburg, Virginia. He escaped, but his men were hungry. Grant caught up with them at Appomattox Courthouse. The Confederates held up the white flag. Lee and Grant talked about the south's surrender and a peace treaty.

You should see the movie "Gettysburg". We borrowed it from the library. Other good movies are "Glory" and "Gods and Generals". Also, a great book is called Civil War for Kids.

The Badger

Badgers are mammals and in the mustelid family. Mustelid means that they have musk which is a stinky, vulgar spray. Some of their relatives are otters, wolverines, skunks, ferrets and weasels.
Badgers have a white stripe on their nose, have a bushy tail and are short. They live in burrows.
They use the musk which they spray from a back gland for marking their territories and to keep predators away. Badgers' eyesight is not great, but their hearing is excellent.
They are omnivores, but mostly eat meat. Their favorite meal is worms because they are easy prey. At night the worms pop out of the dirt and that's when badgers hunt.
Badgers are not in Maine, but they are in other parts of North America, Europe and Asia.
Would you like to run into one out in the wild?

The Newton Letter

Dear Aunt Deb,
I met this man in a book store. He reminded me of Uncle Phil because of his long, wavy hair and because he loved to read. He bought so many books I had to give him a hand back to Trinity College where he works. He offered me tea as I sat and listened to him talk about light and gravity.
Before going home, he showed me some of his experiments. He held a crystal (which he called a prism) up to the sunlight. I saw beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, blues, violets, and indigos. He claims that white light is made up of these colors. Black is the absence of color.
At dusk I got to look through his reflecting telescope which is made with mirrors. I looked at stars in the sky.
Accidentally I dropped my tea cup and it shattered into a million pieces. I thought he’d be upset and I apologized, but he seemed excited. Newton said it was an example of gravity. He said gravity is a force that pulls an object to the ground. He just couldn’t explain why.
After that I went home. I saw flames in the distance and discovered my home was burnt to the ground. Newton has been kind enough to let me stay with him at Trinity College for a while, but I was wondering if I could live with you until I get my home rebuilt.
Your nephew,
Austin Burtt

Bounce Zone

I like the Bounce Zone. We go once a month. It starts at 10am and ends at noon. It's really good for both of us because Mom can just relax and I can play.

It's in a big gymnasium. There are lots of homeschoolers that go. We play tag, run around and climb up ladders and go down slides.

I give this place a 100% thumbs up. It's a great place for kids.

Birthdays

For my twelfth birthday Mom, Dad, Grandma and I drove to New Jersey to a restaurant called Medieval Times. It’s a place where you use your hands to eat and eat. We ate soup and chicken and drank Coke and ate birthday cake. We saw a king, queen, knights and jousting.
For my thirteenth birthday we went to a New Hampshire theater. We saw “Little Shop of Horrors”. The actors were good. I have the actors’ signatures.
I wonder what we will do for my fourteenth birthday…

The Joker Cookie II

A month and a half after Batman ate the Joker cookie and fell asleep, thousands of girls went to the mansion to kiss him. Nothing happened. Girls came from everywhere: Germany, Belgium, France, England, Ireland, Russia and China. Nothing happened. All the gorgeous girls went home empty handed.

But finally a girl from Scotland came. Her name was Elizabeth. Her brother Scott came with her. When Elizabeth kissed Batman, Elizabeth fell to the floor asleep and Batman began to stretch and yawn.

"What happened?! What's today's date?" Batman asked.

The butler said, "Today's is Valentine's Day 2009, sir. You ate the Joker's magic cookie and fell asleep for a month and a half. You needed true love's first kiss to wake up."

"Well, where is she?" asked Batman.

"Behind you, sir," replied the butler.

Everyone looked behind Batman. There was no woman there. There was a frog.

Scott, Elizabeth's brother, was crying. He picked up the frog and held it in his hands. While he was crying, the frog began to change back into the girl. Reddish hair began to poke out of the frog's head. Then at once she was human again.

Batman, Elizabeth and Scott became the best of friends. They lived in the same house sharing the chores.

Everyone lived happily ever after.

THE END!!

The BIG Jump

One afternoon my friends and I went to "correctional center" hill to go sledding. I went off a huge sky-rocketing jump in our inner tube. When I landed I had a mega headache that hurt like heck. Then Tom went off the jump. He hit his side and it looked like it really hurt. My mom and I were laughing because it's funny. It's like AFV (America's Funniest Videos) when people do crazy stunts and hurt themselves.

Movie: Marley & Me

Marley & Me is a must-see movie. It is sad and funny. I think you guys would really like it. Out of a possible 10 stars, I give it 8.

A really funny part was when Marley, the dog, ate ten pounds of kibble when he was a puppy. When he was a little older, Marley jumped on the dog trainer. That made me laugh so hard I cried.

When Marley was older his stomach turned and he had arthritis. I felt sad because he couldn't sleep upstairs with the kids and I just cried when they put him to sleep. This was the very first movie I cried at.

Little Grey Cells

On Thursday night Mom and I were sitting on the cozy couch. I was flipping through TV channels. One of them was Hercule Poirot, a show about a fictional private Belgian detective. We both gasped and jumped up and down. Hercule Poirot is awesomely awesome.

I was smarter than Poirot. Me! Me, the Austin was smarter than Poirot. During the show he said that all birds could fly. Then I said, "Ostriches... they're a bird. They can't fly. Penguins... they're a bird. They can't fly either. They swim, glide and waddle."

I felt excited and happy because I was using my little grey cells.

My Bucket List

Every New Year's Eve I write in my special notebook what I would like to do. One year I wrote that I would like to ride in a limo. I rode in a limo 8-3-07 and it was awesome. I got to cross that off my list.
I really want to go to Ireland. I want to meet Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore because they're my favorite actors. I want to swim with the dolphins because I've heard they're really good with humans. Except for on the Simpsons where the whole world nearly got destroyed because Lisa saved a dolphin leader. I still want to swim with the dolphins. I also want to visit another aquarium because I love sea creatures. They're interesting which is why I like them.
If you had a bucket list, what would you write on it?