My trip to New Orleans

    My family and I got to take a trip to see my grandparents this weekend in New Orleans, Louisiana. They were very happy to see me in my new flat form! While I was there, I got to eat some great food and see some really cool things! 

   First, we went to visit the Chalmette Battlefield. My grandfather knows a lot about this battlefield, and the Battle of New Orleans that was fought here in 1815. My grandfather said that the Battle of New Orleans wasn't really necessary, because the treaty between the United States and Britain was already signed. General Andrew Jackson and his troops didn't know that the treaty was signed, and he fought anyway. The battle was won by the Americans. We got to see real cannons from the battle, and a huge monument honoring the soldiers that fought in the Battle of New Orleans.

 

I even got to sit ON the cannon! My mom held me up, because it was very windy, and I did not want to blow away! We got to walk around the battlefield, and it was really cool knowing that a battle was really fought where I was standing! We walked over to the monument, and I got to stand next to it. It was very tall!

My grandfather told me that Andrew Jackson had a smaller and less experienced army, but his troops still triumphed over the British.

 

   

    After we left the Battlefield, we headed to my favorite doughnut place: Café Du Monde! Café Du Monde is so special because chicory is used to make their coffee! I have always wondered what that meant, so I asked my grandparents when we went to get coffee and beignets, which is a French word for doughnut. My grandmother told me that chicory is part of a plant that makes coffee have a bitter taste. During the Civil War, coffee was scarce, which meant that there wasn't a lot of it around. So, the Acadians from Nova Scotia (Canada) brought this and other French customs to New Orleans. Chicory is actually the root of a lettuce plant. When it is roasted, its able to make an almost chocolate flavor to Café Au Lait, which is what I call the "sweet coffee." While we were waiting on our beignets, we watched the chef make them! First, he makes a giant piece of dough with flour and beignet mix. Then, he cuts the dough into small squares. Next, he throws them into a BIG fryer with oil and the beignets become fried doughy goodness! Finally, powdered sugar is sprinkled over them, and we get to eat them!

I had such a fun time getting to eat beignets with my family and visit the Chalmette Battlefield this weekend! I really enjoyed the tasty beignets the most. My mom even let me buy some Beignet Mix so we can make them at home! I looked up the recipe, with mom's permission of course, and I can't wait to make them for dessert!

 Here is the link to the beignet recipe: Café Du Monde Beignet Recipe

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

 

 

 

Field Trip to Vulcan Park and Museum

Today, I got to go on my first field trip since I became flat! I got to go to Vulcan Park and Museum in Birmingham! I got to go with my old class, and it was such a fun day! First, We walked up, and I immediately saw a giant statue! It was the Vulcan! We got our tickets, and started our hike up the hill to the statue and museum.

 

 

When we were almost all the way up to the statue, we stopped and looked out at the view of Birmingham. I was looking at an informational sign about Jones Valley Urban Farm. The sign was there, because we were looking over the railing at the city of Birmingham, and through the binoculars, we could see the Jones Valley Farm! While we were looking at the informational sign on Jones Valley Farm, I met another flat person! He said his name was Farmer Flat Jack, and he was a farmer at Jones Valley farm! It was so cool to meet another flat person, just like me! He said that he was picking up a large pumpkin in his field one day and was squashed! He said that now, when he isn't farming at Jones Valley, he travels around and tries different foods from different countries, and he even blogs about his experiences, like me! He gave me his blog address, which is right here: Farmer Flat Jack! He also invited my class to his farm whenever we wanted to come visit! I told him that we would definitely be coming to visit soon!

After talking to Farmer Jack, I got to look out over the beautiful city of Birmingham. My class all got to stand up and use the binoculars to look out and see the city!

 
 
 
 
 



 

We continued to make our way up the hill to the museum, when we were met by our tour guide, Phil Ratliff. He is the head of the Department of Education at Vulcan Museum, and he started to tell us some interesting facts about the statue of the Vulcan man. Phil said that the Vulcan statue is made from the iron that was found in Birmingham. He also told us that Vulcan is the largest cast iron statue in the world! We also found out that the Vulcan was designed by an Italian artist named Guiseppe Moretti in 1904. The Vulcan statue is 56 feet tall!

My class got to walk into the base of the statue and take pictures in the marble lobby! Some students went up to the top of Vulcan, but some, including me, stayed at the bottom and watched because we are not to fond of heights.

 

 

Once everyone was safe on the ground again, we were able to walk through the museum! The museum is currently hosting an exhibit called, "La Storia: Birmingham's Italian Community." Phil, our tour guide, said that this exhibit and event was recurring, and it would still be open in September 2015! He started to take us around the Italian exhibit, and told us a little about each picture or artifact. The exhibit mostly was about 20th century immigrants that came from Sicily, which is an island in Italy. Phil also stopped at part of the exhibit that honored the Feast Day of St. Joseph. Phil told us that St. Joseph saved the town of Sicily when their crops were destroyed by a drought, which meant that they had no rain for a very long time. St. Joseph provided the town of Sicily with food to keep them from starving, and so every March 19, which is the Feast Day of St. Joseph, the Vulcan takes in can goods and food to give to the poor in honor of St. Joseph. I thought that this was very special.

 

 

 

 

 

 After we learned about St. Joseph and the Italian exhibit, we got to stop in the gift shop, where we ran into Flat Jack the farmer, again! We took a picture next to a bobble head of the Vulcan statue. My other classmates were too big, but now that I'm flat and small, I was just the right size to stand with this Vulcan. I had such a great time on this field trip, and I can't wait to come back with my mom and dad!

The admission to get into the Vulcan park and museum was $6 for adults, and $4 for kids. With my mom's permission, I got the link to the Vulcan website, and found out more fun information about different events and fun things to go see there again!

                        The link for the Vulcan is here: The Vulcan Park and Museum

Tigers and Camels and Elephants! Oh my!

I had the best time this weekend! I got to see 16 tigers. I saw camels. I even saw elephants that danced! I went to the circus! My mom and dad surprised me with tickets to the circus. I have always read about the circus, and even seen the circus portrayed in movies and on TV. I was so excited, and I couldn't wait. I didn't know what to expect! When we first got to the circus, my mom bought me a snow cone that was almost as big as me!

We took our seats and the lights were dimmed. A spotlight was shown on a man. He was wearing a shiny blue and orange and yellow cloak. He announced to the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages..., Welcome to the circus!" He said his name was Adam and he was the ring master. He said that the ring master's job is to guide the circus and to announce all of the different acts that would be performed throughout the night. He said that during the circus, we would see tightrope walkers that needed extreme balance, intelligent elephants that learned dance routines, and even a man who spun upside down in a wheel! I couldn't wait for the first act! The ring master even waved to me!!





















 Then, all of a sudden, the lights came on, and dancers and clowns came out in the circus ring! They all danced to a song about the circus, and it was such a fun song that I even started to dance!

 The clowns ran around and bounced on balls. They even balanced on unicycles and rode around really fast. I was having so much fun already! The dancers and clowns went back through the exit and the lights went down again. I got a little nervous, because it was really dark, and I couldn't wait to see what was next. Then, the spotlight sparked to life, and it shown on two poles in the middle of the ring with one rope tied between both poles. The ring master announced that the tight rope acrobats were going to attempt something very scary. Everyone in the crowd became quiet. Then, two acrobats stood on the tight rope. Then, another acrobat stood on a pole that each acrobat was holding between them. If that wasn't scary enough, then a girl acrobat stood on top of the other acrobat's shoulders, and this was all while walking across the tight rope! The whole audience clapped and cheered for the acrobats on the tight rope as they walked across! It was incredible to see how these acrobats could balance.

 

After the acrobats were finished on the tight rope, then the ring master came out and announced that some of the smartest animals in the world were coming out to perform for us! I couldn't wait to see what animals were coming out to the ring! Then, the music started playing, and elephants came running out! The elephants were following each other by holding the tail in front of them with their trunks! The elephants were so big! I've seen elephants at the zoo before, but now that I am flat, I thought they were much, much bigger!

 

 The elephants were so funny! The ring master asked the trainer, Ryan, to tell the audience some information about the elephants. The elephant trainer told us about how smart the elephants were. He told us that "an elephant NEVER forgets!" He said that when elephants learn a new trick or dance for the circus, they can perform this for many years! I wish I remember some of my math facts from last year, and now I know who to help me study!

 

 

  The elephants danced to the music, and they even stood on their back legs and waved to the audience! For the grand finale, the elephants all finished dancing together, and stood with their front legs on each other's back! It was like they were all getting piggy back rides! I gave the elephants a standing ovation, because they were my favorite!

    
The elephants had to leave, but I was only sad for a second, because then came the camels! The camels rode around the ring while the clowns danced and waved to the audience. The spotlight was on the clowns and camels and people dancing, but I could start to see a big cage being set up on the other side of the ring. I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen next! To make sure that the audience wasn't looking at the big cage going up, another spotlight came on and focused on a big pendulum. That is what the ring master called it, but it kind of looked like a big wheel on a stick to me. The acrobat in the pendulum went round and round, and even upside down! The ring master explained that the acrobat was not falling out, because gravity was holding him in place! I wasn't sure who this "gravity" person was, and I definitely couldn't see him. The ring master cleared everything up for me, though. He said that gravity is like the Earth is pulling you and keeping you on the ground, instead of letting you float off into space. Gravity is what was holding this acrobat down in the pendulum as he spun around and around. I thought that this was so cool!

 

 

I was so caught up in the acrobat's performance, that I completely forgot about the cage that was going up on the other side of the ring! The lights dimmed again and all you could hear was the ring master's voice. He asked for the audience to be as quiet as we could be, because 16 of the jungle's most ferocious animals were coming out to the center ring. I was so nervous that I jumped straight into mom's lap! The spotlight came on all of a sudden, and I couldn't believe my eyes! There were 16 tigers in the ring with a cage around them, and a man in the middle! The ring master introduced Tony the tiger tamer! He said that Tony trains with the tigers every week, and the tigers trust him to reward them with treats after doing all of their tricks that they would show us. I couldn't believe my eyes! Tony got the tigers to roll over, sit, stay, and even jump over each other!

The ring master announced that Tony and his tigers would be the grand finale! My mom told me that the finale meant that the circus was almost over, so I knew that the tiger act would have to be really good!  Tony did tricks with all of the tigers, and taught us about the tigers, too. He said that each of the tigers had a name, and the tigers were trained to respond to their name when he called them. He said that tigers were smart animals, but sometimes very dangerous. Tony told us that it took a long time to train the tigers, because the tigers had to gain his trust first. Now, the tigers and Tony are like family. I think that this is a very cool job to have. After Tony talked to us about the tigers and showed us their tricks, he sent the tigers back, except for one. He said that this tiger, named Judy, knew a very special trick to end the show.  He told Judy to sit, and Judy sat. He told Judy to stand up, and she stood up! I was so impressed that a tiger could do this! Then, he said, "Judy here!" a few times, and Judy hopped to her trainer! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A tiger was hopping like a bunny rabbit!

Tony exited the cage with Judy the tiger, and everyone stood up and clapped! The circus ended with the clowns and dancers, and even the camels, coming out to dance and sing and wave goodbye to the audience one last time. I had the best time at the circus, and I learned so much! I hope that everyone gets to see the circus. Since I wanted to show my family where the circus would be coming next, in case they wanted to see it, I looked up the tour schedule online. I found a link, and with my mom's permission, I sent this link to all of my cousins, so that maybe they will get a chance to see the circus, like I did! I learned so much at the circus and had so much fun! Here is the link to the circus tour, in case you want a chance to see the circus, too!

 

Circus Schedule

 

The Iron Cup: Hockey time!

Over the weekend, I got to do something that I've never done before. I went to a college hockey game! All of the University of Alabama home games are held at the Pelham Ice rink. It was so exciting, and I learned so much! First, I saw this big machine riding over the ice rink. My dad told me that this is called a Zamboni. A Zamboni is a machine that makes the ice smooth for the skaters. My dad played hockey when he was little, and he told me a lot about hockey during the game.

 

My dad told me that the players would come out from each side of the rink and practice before the game. He said that, just like all sports, hockey takes much practice. Hockey players must each healthy and stay in shape by exercising and practicing. Also, I found out that hockey players are on skates the whole time they are playing! This takes balance and coordination, so that they don't fall. The hockey players sit on the same side of the rink, but on two different benches. The coaches stand behind the players the whole game, and tell the players to switch with other players so that everyone can have a chance to play. The ice rink makes the whole area cold, so everyone there was bundled up! The players came out onto the ice, and started to practice.

 

 

The players practiced for a few minutes, and then the game began! The players would skate from one end of the rink to the other. They were chasing the puck, which is small, but heavy. The goal was to get the puck into the other team's goal. They could only use their hockey sticks, which seemed to be really hard. There were three 15 minute periods in this game, and the teams got breaks in between each period. Alabama was playing Auburn, and this was the third game in the series that these teams were playing. Alabama won the first two games, and they also won this game. It was very exciting, and I'm glad that I got to go today. Ice skating is something that I think I would like to try! I would definitely have to practice with my balance! 

My Trip to the Bank

Today, I got to go to the bank with my mom. Sometimes, she has money or checks that she needs to put into her account, and I wanted to go for a special reason today. My mom usually goes through the drive-thru at the bank. In the drive-thru, my mom puts her money in this cylinder-like compartment. Then, the compartment and  money are vacuumed up the tube, and to the window to the bank teller. The bank teller puts the money in mom's account, and then puts the container back in the tube to send my mom her receipt. I have always thought that this was so cool! Today when we went, I decided that I wanted to see what it was like to ride in the tube....

 

      My mom finally agreed, but only after making sure with the bank teller that it would be safe. She talked to my mom and I about some cool facts about the bank. She said that people count the money that they want to put into their accounts, and they write it on a piece of paper to make sure that the teller knows how much they want to deposit, or sometimes withdraw. Then, the money gets vacuumed up the tube and the teller puts the money in the bank account. Mom carefully let me climb in the tube, and I heard this loud wind. All of a sudden, I was sucked up the tube! It was like a big slide, but going backwards! I dropped down the other side of the tube and I got to meet the bank teller. Her name was Amy, and she was very nice. She told me that I was a very brave flat person. She also asked me if I wanted a sucker, and of course I accepted the offer.
      She also gave me two gold dollars! I asked about the special looking coins, because I had never seen these before. Amy said that these coins were called "Sacagawea dollars."  These gold dollars are named after the Indian woman who guided two explorers named Lewis and Clark into the American West. Amy also told me that the "gold dollars" are not actually made of gold. They are really made up of different metals, such as copper, zinc, manganese, and nickel. I liked learning from Amy, and she let me have the gold dollars.  Amy put me back in the cylinder-like compartment, and I waited. I heard the strong wind again, and all of a sudden, I was vacuumed up the tube and back to my mom!

 

I had so much fun exploring at the bank today. I learned a lot about the Sacagawea dollars, and I can't wait to bring these back to school to show my classmates and teacher!

Time For Your Check-Up!

    With my new flat shape, I decided that it would be best to go to the doctor sooner or later. Well, I decided that today would be the day!  My doctor was definitely surprised to see me in my new flat form! First, Dr. Keith said that he would check my ears and my throat. He let me see the tools on the wall that he would be using. The one to the left is what he would use to check my ears and throat. He said that this tool is called an auriscope. An auriscope is a fancy word for a small flashlight. This is used because your ears and throat are dark, and this tool helps the doctor see better. I've always wondered why it was important that the doctor shines a light in your ears during check-ups, so I asked. Dr. Keith told me that it was important to check my ears, because he knows what the inside of the ear is supposed to look like. If there is any fluid or redness in my ears, then he knows that there might be some infection or illness that he would need to look further into. He said that everything in my ears were looking great! He then shined the auriscope into my mouth. He was trying to see my throat, but my tongue was in the way! So, Dr. Keith used a tongue depressor. A tongue depressor is a fancy term for a big popsicle stick. Dr. Keith made me say "AAHHH" and explained that he wanted to make sure that my tonsils looked normal. Dr. Keith told me that everything looked great in my mouth and throat and asked me to sit back on the examination table.

Dr. Keith checked my breathing by using his stethoscope. He put one part to my chest and the other parts to his ears to hear my heartbeat. He said that this was important during a check-up, because he needs to always make sure that my heart is healthy! Dr. Keith finished my check up by checking my temperature, weighing me on a scale, and checking to see how tall I have grown (or in my case, shrunk!)

The check up was over, and I got a sucker for being such a great patient! Dr. Keith told my mom that I did a great job, and gave her a pamphlet with some tips for staying healthy. There was also a link on it to a website called "Kids Health." My mom let me look on this website when I got home, and I found the coolest things about health and safety! This website shared great information about how the body works, staying safe, first aid, and even some healthy recipes that I can use at home to cook great meals that can be good for my body! There were even games for me to play and quizzes to take on nutrition and safety!

I'm glad my check-up with Dr. Keith went well today, and I'm even more excited about this new website that I can use at home with my mom's permission. I am sharing the link with all of you so that you can learn about health and safety, too!

 Here is the link:

 Kids Health