Saturday, January 28, 2012

Pen Pal

Hey everyone!
School has been pretty interesting lately. You know why? My class is getting pen pals! I already have the best pen pal ever; Emily (from Everything Emily), but I am happy to have a new long distance friend too! We each got assigned a pen pal from a class in New York City! Yesterday we got our pen pal matches, with a little bit of info about them. We have to write to them at least five times before the end of the school year. I hope my pen pal likes me enough to write to me longer than that. My pen pal is named Hannah. She's ten, in the same grade as me. She has a big family! She has a little brother, a half-sister, and four step-siblings! They don't all live in the same house, though. Her parents are divorced. Hannah also takes ballet lessons and plays soccer. I think she sounds interesting. I can't wait to write to her! I started my letter today. Mr. Reese said that as an "icebreaker" we have to write something interesting about ourselves. Here is my letter so far:

Dear Hannah,
My name is Francesca. Everyone calls me Frankie. I'm happy to be your pen pal! I am eleven years old, and I have light brown hair and blue eyes. I live on a farm, and have two older brothers. Something interesting about me is that I'm adopted. I was adopted by my mom and dad when I was a baby. I think I have a pretty fun family.

Do you like animals? I do. I have a dog, a horse, peacocks, and lots of cute chickens. Plus a few barn cats, but they aren't very friendly. My mom says we might also get rabbits this Spring! I hope so.

I also take piano lessons, even though I'm not very good at piano. I have been taking lessons for a long time, but my teacher says I don't practice enough. But there is always so much I want to do at once! I also like to draw, play outside, and read mysteries. What are your favorite things to do?

I think we will be good friends. I'll tell you all about my life as a country girl, if you tell me all about your life in the city.

Your new friend,
Frankie

What do you think of my letter? I think it's pretty good.

Frankly,
Frankie


Monday, January 16, 2012

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Today is my best friend, Paige's birthday! We have been planning the party, which was today, for a few weeks. Paige wanted a polka dot themed party, so her mom got polka dot printed paper plates, napkins, and balloons. Paige and I also made polka dot garlands, by stringing colorful pompom balls on long pieces of thread. We hung them around the dining room yesterday, and they looked really cute.

So, today was party day. Mom was also going to her friend's baby shower. She was leaving for the shower the same time I was leaving for the party. Paige's present and the baby gift were on the kitchen table. I grabbed Paige's present and left. I felt so excited, because I knew she would love her gift. I got her a Hello Kitty purse!

Since I only live next door, I was the first one at the party. The other guests started arriving not long after. Lanie, Beth, Rebecca, and Sunny came. Six girls total. We played Twister, and Sunny won. Then it was time to eat. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Paige. Then we had pepperoni pizza after that. We also got goody bags, that had bead kits, mini journals, colorful pens, and lots of stickers in them. Then it was time for cake and ice cream. Paige's mom doesn't let Paige have a lot of sugar, so she decided to get cake pops for the party, instead of a big cake. I guess cake pops are the newest craze, but I've never had one until today. Now I am officially obsessed with them! They were so good. Cake pops are little balls of cake on a stick, like a lollipop. Paige wanted the cake pops to have blue and purple coating (her favorite colors), with yellow cake. The neat thing is, the cake pops also kind of matched the polka dot theme!

Then, it was time for Paige to open her gifts. First, she opened her presents from her mom and Bill. They got her some clothes for her American Girl doll, Julie. Then, she opened Lanie's present, which was an art kit. Then, she opened Beth's gift, earrings. Then she opened Rebecca's gift, a sweater. Then she opened Sunny's gift, which was a stuffed cat that looks like Paige's cat, Jade. She loved everything she got. Then, it was time for her to open my gift. I could hardly sit still waiting for her to open it, because I knew she would love it. She tore open the shiny blue wrapping paper slowly. Then, she opened the box and held up the gift. It was a rattle! The kind babies play with! I realized then, that I had grabbed the wrong gift on my way out of the house. They both had the same wrapping paper. This rattle was supposed to be for the baby shower! I turned beet red. So did Paige. Everyone laughed, and Paige shoved the rattle back into the box. My ears burned with embarrassment. I gave my best friend a baby toy for her 11th birthday! And I knew that at the baby shower, mom's friend was opening Paige's Hello Kitty purse. The baby is a boy.

I explained the mix-up, but our friends had a good time teasing me about the rattle after that, anyway. It was the most mortifying moment of my life (so far). Then, the party finally ended, and everyone went home. I told Paige I was sorry about giving her a baby toy and embarrassing her at her party. She said it was okay, because at least she'd never forget her 11th birthday. A few minutes later, I saw mom pull in the driveway from out the window. She was home from the shower! I told Paige I'd be right back, and I grabbed the rattle and ran over to my house. Mom was waiting for me by her car, with Paige's real present. We traded gifts, and I ran back to Paige's house. I gave her the box, and she opened it. There was the Hello Kitty purse. Paige loved it, just like I hoped she would. And I was so happy to give it to her. The gift Paige opened at the party may not have been the perfect gift I planned on bringing, but it definitely made an impression. Sometimes, when you try to give someone a "perfect gift," it doesn't turn out the way you expected. But it's time like that when you remember that it really is the thought that counts.

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Frankly,
Frankie

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Hello and Goodbye

Hi everyone!
I haven't written in a while. Things have been crazy around here. For one thing, Mischa and Alexis's family moved closer to us. Now I will get to see them more often, even though they don't live super close. My family helped them move, so we've been pretty busy. The twins' family used to travel a lot, and Mischa and Alexis and their siblings were home-schooled, but now, they are going to go to private school after the January break. So, the downside is, they won't go to the same school as me. But I am happy that we will get to spend more time together. That's the "Hello" part of this post's title.

The "Goodbye" part is that Beth is moving. Beth's parents want to be closer to her sister, who is in college. But this isn't the end of our friendship, of course. We can still talk all the time! I'm still going to miss her, though. I asked her what she was going to do with Bailey, her horse, when they move. They are taking Bailey with them! She gets to ride in her own little horsey trailer. I'm going to miss Bailey. She's such a beautiful horse. We have a horse, Carmel, but she's not like Bailey. Carmel is my mom's horse. She's pretty old and doesn't move very fast anymore (Carmel, not my mom LOL), so little kids ride her when they visit the farm, because she's so gentle. I learned to ride on Carmel when I was little, too. I like our horse, and mom adores her, but sometimes, I secretly wish I had a fast, playful horse like Bailey. Then, I feel bad for thinking that, because Carmel is like part of the family. I wonder if Carmel will miss Bailey too? They were best friends (at least, I think they were).

Frankly,
Frankie