Friends

Katie loves lunch time, where she gets to hang out with her friends and even spend time outside if she likes.

I love my friends!

Sharing School Work

We were at my sister's house, and Katie was so excited about her school presentation that she asked to share it with Jennifer.

At first I wasn't happy with how our project was going, but I was proud of it in the end!

Her Passion

Katie's passion continues to be art. She goes through the art journals like crazy!

I could clean my desk off, but I'd rather use my time for art!

So Proud

Katie was so proud on Picture Day to get her first ever Student ID card. She loved it and felt so grown up. Then a couple days later she misplaced it. We looked through her room over and over and over and finally found it in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. She was so relieved to find it and was determined to never lose it again.

I ordered myself a special holder for my ID, but until it arrived, I put it in my lanyard.

Just Watching TV

Sometimes Katie and I do not define "comfortable" the same way.

I don't know what's wrong with watching TV like this.

Picture Day

Katie had so much fun choosing her outfit for Picture Day this year.

My favorite color to wear right now is yellow!

A New Jacket

When Jennifer and Katie were at Comic Con, they stopped at one of the vendors to buy something. When they bought it, they found out that they could choose something to take with them at no cost. Katie chose a jacket, which was a pretty good freebie!

It was perfect timing to get a new jacket.

I had just lost my favorite Disneyland jacket at school, so this was my new favorite!

What? Homework?

For the most part, Katie didn't have homework in elementary school. So far, there isn't a lot in middle school, but she is getting used to the idea of having to remember to do her homework when she has it.

I've never missed completing my homework, but sometimes I remember it at bedtime.

Meeting Some Famous Actors

After the panel for The Lord of the Rings, Jennifer and Katie got to have their pictures taken with two of the stars of the series, Elijah Wood and Sean Astin. 

Aunt Jennifer was excited about both actors because she loves The Lord of the Rings! I was especially excited about Sean Astin because I knew him from Stranger Things.

One More Day at Comic Con

Katie and Jennifer went to Comic Con one more day. They had to wait in line when they were trying to see a panel about The Lord of the Rings.

Sometimes you've just got to sit down and make yourself comfortable when you're waiting in a hot room!

A Comfy Bed

Katie thought it was so funny when she went to bed and discovered Mr. Limpet had found a comfy bed for himself.

Mr. Limpet found a bed in our dirty laundry basket!

New Goodies

My sister was very generous and bought Katie some new things while they were at Comic Con.

I got this new stuffed animal, and the Animal Crossing blanket was part of a mystery box. Thank you, Aunt Jennifer!

Meeting the Droids

My sister, Jennifer, and Katie decided to go to another Comic Con for a weekend.

I was excited to find the droids!

Enjoying a Book

Katie has found several friends who enjoy reading the same types of books as her, so lately, they have been loaning books to one another, and she has loved it.

It's fun to have new books to read!

A Special Gift

Katie was so surprised and happy when one of her teachers gave her a birthday gift!

I could choose from a few different things. I chose the light-up llama necklace!

A Lazy Weekend Morning

What's better than relaxing on a weekend morning?

Mr. Limpet likes weekends as much as I do!

Trying on Clothes

Ever since Covid hit, it seems hard to find an open fitting room at some of the stores. When this happens, I usually have Katie just put on clothes over her current clothes when it works out.

I really don't like trying clothes on this way!

All Wrapped Up

Even though Katie tends to run on the hot-blooded side of things, she still loves being all wrapped up in blankets. The llama blanket made her so happy!

It's fun to hide in a blanket!

A Blanket

My sister, Debby, sent Katie a wearable llama blanket for her birthday. Not only did she love it, but the cats loved it too.

Mr. Limpet usually waits for an invitation to get on my blanket, but he drops some pretty big hints that he would like to join me!

A Birthday Picture

 Why not get your picture in front of the birthday sign?

My 12th birthday was fun!

Opening Gifts

 After Katie's sleepover, she opened her birthday gifts.

People have caught on that I love llamas and alpacas!

Thank you to everyone who gave me a gift or a gift card!

A Birthday Sleepover

As Katie was planning her 12th birthday, she really wanted to have a sleepover with her friend. They planned the whole thing together and mostly wanted to have fun in their cosplay costumes.

We have so much fun together!

Time for Middle School

Katie is an official middle schooler. Like most people in that situation, she fluctuated between being excited and nervous as she approached her first day at her new school. She had her orientation the night before school started, and she was given her schedule and we were able to locate all of her classrooms to make her more comfortable.

Another change was that Katie now had access to riding the school bus. She was a little nervous about it, but decided to try it out on her first day. She was so excited to recognize someone from her elementary school at her bus stop, and the two of them have become fast friends.

Her first day was great! She loves her new school. She put her feelings into words much more eloquently than I could have. "I realized it was like I was reading an amazing book, and I had been on page one for seven years. Now I can turn to a brand new page and finally see what exciting things will happen next!"

My mom almost forgot my first day of 6th grade picture.

She made me stop for it right when I was about to get to my bus stop, so this was the most natural smile she was going to get!

A Little Friend

We had a frog living in our flowers in front of our house this summer, but we were excited to find another one on our zucchini plant.

I think these little frogs are so cute!

Rats

We have been lucky enough to not have any houses next to us. Recently, ground was just broken for a new neighborhood.

We think the houses will be nice, but we will sure miss the empty land!

The Trip Home

The trip home had a lot of traffic, which slowed us down somewhat. Katie found a way to pass the time.

I slept for over half the ride home!

Presentations

In between checking out all the vendors and riding the many, many escalators, Jennifer and Katie went to several presentations. One featured the movie, The Mummy.

Some of the presentations were really crowded, and some had plenty of space.

Another Day of Fun

Katie was ready to head back to Comic Con the next day.

My costume took a long time to get into each day, but it was worth it to me!

I had never played a pinball machine before.

I had also never played a video game like this!

It was a lot of fun!

Time for Cosplay

Katie wanted to join all of the people who take part in Cosplay when she went to Comic Con, so she got a costume of one of her favorite anime characters.

I wasn't expecting to pose for a picture in the hotel lobby, so this was the best smile I would give!

Comic Con

Katie has never been to Comic Con, so Jennifer got her a ticket to go. We all went to Seattle for a long weekend trip!

I was excited to get started at the convention!

We got views of the Space Needle every so often as we went out walking.

There was so much to look at there.

I could also get photos in front of these picture screens.

Aunt Jennifer bought me some new pins!