I am so excited for Christmas!

Hello! 
I soooooooo excited for Christmas!!! On the 23rd, we will open our presents in the morning, and after church we will drive down to Grandma and Grandpa's house to stay for Christmas. I can't wait till we have meatballs and rume..... whatever that creamy white stuff is, I think it's spelled Rumegrod? Not sure.... But anyway, and then we will probably go to Granny and G-pop's house, and then we go home, and then for New Year's we will go to Uncle Howard's! And go sledding down the driveway!! I WANT TO OPEN ALL OF MY PRESENTS RIGHT NOW! I think that is the hardest thing of waiting for Christmas. Waiting to open presents. Well, next Saturday we will make Gingerbread Houses!! And also on that day is a Katie McMahon show, that we  have to go to because Sonja and Sese are dancing in it. And tomorrow is the annual church Christmas Program. And there is the Corda Mor Christmas Party right after morning church. And yesterday, we didn't get home till 10:06 because we had to do caroling with other church people at a nursing home that is nearby, and after that, there was cookies and soup and other stuff at the church, so we had to stay for that, and then after that we had to clean the church, and then we FINALLY got to go home. Boy, that was a long sentance. Well, I will give you an update on everything else that will happen!! 
~Izzy~

Another Update

Hello. 
Well, today I'm just going to give a short post about our trip to Michigan. Here we go. We all got up at about 5:30 AM and left at about 7:00 AM. We drove 8 hours until we got to Chicago, where we stayed at one of dad's friend's house overnight. The second day, we drove 3 hours till we got to Grand Rapids, where we got Sonja, Sese, and mom to their hotel. It was called the J.W. Marriott. We stayed there for a little bit and then went over to Dad, me, and Miranda's hotel, which was called the Baymont Inn & Suites. We stayed there for about 3 hours watching TV, and then we went back over to the J.W. Marriott to have supper. Then, we went back again to Baymont, and went to bed. The next day was Sonja's day to dance. She did very good. I think that she got something around 28th. The next day we just relaxed, watched TV, and went swimming. The next day was Selena's day. she also did good, but she got 57th. And the next day, we traveled about 6 hours. We stopped at a little beach beside Lake Michgan, and I picked up a few souvenirs. (three smooth stones) Then we drove a little more till we got to Rockford, IL. We got supper at Steak 'n' Shake. And we drove some more, till we got to Madison, WI. We stayed overnight at the Clarion Hotel. We watched TV, went to bed, and the next morning got up and packed the car, and drove about 4 hours home. So, that's all. Now, about normal life. Today, us girls performed in a show called 'Sharing the Season', at the Lakeville High School. Tomorrow, Sonja, Sese, and I are going to play the piano at a nursing home. So that's that. By the way, has anybody noticed my little critters? You click to feed the fish, and for feeding to hedgehog, you roll your mouse over the little tab that says, 'more' in the lower right-hand corner. If you click the hedgehog, he will jump. So, that's all I have to say. 
Goodbye!
~Isabel

This is just an update

Hello. Nothing really has been happening at our house, except that last Saturday or something Sese had to get stiches on her chin. But today we might go to the mall!!! After mom and dad get home from being election judges. But I think they will be home soon. Yes, we are alone in the house, but we don't do anything bad. We just do our school, practice piano and dance, or just read. By the way it is my mom's birthday today!! I not really sure how old she is turning, but I think it is somewhere around 43 to 45. I made her a pretty card. Well, in about 3 weeks, we will be travels to Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the Oireachtas. (otherwise known as Regionals.) In two years, Oireachtas will be in Minnesota, so we won't have to spend any money for the hotels. Guess what? I did not dress up for Halloween. I did not go Trick-or-Treating and freeze my caboose off, either. We (everybody in our family except dad because he was feeling sick) went to a really fun Reformation Party at our church!! We all got lots and lots of candy. There were these little booths (aka Sunday school rooms/fellowship hall/outside/coatroom) that had games in them. There was only one outside though. You were supposed to throw these indulgences (tickets to heaven)  into the fire. That was pretty easy, and you got 3 pieces of candy for every one that you threw in. But when the wind was blowing, you couldn't quite get it in. Now we go inside. The first game that you saw was a booth called 'Alms for the Poor', where you tried to get a penny into a little tin cup. Even if you didn't get your penny into the cup, you got two pieces of candy. The next one was pretty fun. My Sunday school teacher from last year ran this one. You were supposed to 'translate' scripture verses. My old Sunday school teacher was supposed to be a mute, but he kept forgetting about it and talking. The next one was a calligraphy booth, and you traced bible verses that were in calligraphy. The next one was the Tailors' shop. You dressed up in these pretty princess dresses (but there was suits of plastic armor, too) and then got your picture taken. And you got a piece of candy. The next one was called the Sanctum Sanctorum, where you went up the back stairs on your knees and collected words from little pie pans. Then, you went back to the table and put the words to make a scripture verse from the bible. And you got some candy for that, too. Then next one was this jousting thing. You got some beanbags and tried to knock over dolls that were wrapped in tinfoil off of their horse. The horses were also wrapped in tinfoil. The next one was I didn't do, but Miranda did it and said it was pretty easy. You got three beanbags, and you tried to knock down books that were bad, and not knock down the good books. And you got candy for that.  The next booth was kind of like musical chairs but it was called Musical Tiles. My mom ran this one. We taped small foam squares to the floor. Then you would turn the music on and people would walk around and around until the music stopped. Then, mom would take a color out of a paper bag, and whoever was standing on the color got a piece of candy.  And lastly, there was this little 'Carpenter's Shop', which wasn' t really a carpenter's shop. You just hammer a little nail into a two-by-four. And no, you did not get to keep the two-by-four. Aaaaand you a piece of candy for that, too! Well I think I did about 300 sentances, so I will stop now. 
Bye!!
~Izzy~

My 11th Birthday!!

Hello.
Last week was my birthday!! I turned 11 years old. We had a nice day. This is what I got for my birthday:
A shirt (which you will see me wearing in the pictures)
Some colorful athletic shorts for dance class
The stationary that I wanted
And the 6th Tintin book!!
 Miranda and mom made the cupcakes we had. Chocolate cupcakes with mint frosting, topped with mint and dark chocolate chips!! We also had mint chocolate chip ice cream. We watched a really funny movie called Despicable Me! We would of had Junior Mints while watching, but we forgot about it. Here are some pictures. 
 Me, Meema, and Dad.

Us and Mom holding our cupcakes. 

And today was my Great-Grandma Esther's 100th Birthday!!!
We drove down to Madelia at about 10:15, and went to lunch with Granny, G-pop, and Auntie Emily at this Mexican restaurant that used to be called, "The Chandeliers" or something. So, we just call it "The Chandeliers". We did not have very good food. 
Then we went to this little antiques shop and looked around there for a little bit, and then we went to the party. We were about the 3rd ones to arrive. We had some cake, ice cream, and a couple of chocolates. We stayed and talked for a while, and then we went back home. So here we are. Tomorrow we have piano lessons. I just started with Sonja and Selena's piano teacher, a friend from church. This will be my second lessons with her. I think that is enough of a post. 
Goodbye!!
~Izzy~ 

The Minnesota Feis and Other Matters

Hello!
I did not qualify for Oireachtas. But I still had a pretty good day!!!! My first dance was the reel, which Miranda won!! Next was the Treble Reel. Only Miranda danced in this dance, and she won again! She got a really pretty crystal vase. Next was the Treble Jig, and Miranda got a fourth. And then the Hornpipe, in which I got 2nd!! And lastly was our Set dance. I won it!! Miranda got Second. *hee hee*.  Here is Miranda, me, and Dad right after she won her Treble Reel. 

 Moi and Miranda.

 Sonja won her group!!!

 Here we all are right after Miranda and I danced our set.

And today, guess what I did?!?!?! I got my hair cut!!! Before.....

                                                          ....And after!!

 Anyway, I need to go now to get ready for dance class, so goodbye!!
~Izzy~

Tomorrow is the Minnesota Feis!!!!!

Hello. Tomorrow is the Minnesota Feis, and my last chance to qualify for Oireachtas!!! I hope I can make it. I need to qualify in my two soft shoe dances, my reel and my slip jig. We had 3 hours of dance class today. With NO break. But it was a good class, anyway. I have to wake up at 7 in the morning, and leave by 9:00. I wish I was at the very end of the day, so I could sleep in a lot. And another bad thing is that my dances are REALLY far apart from each other, so you have to wait a really long time. But after the feis we have a feis party to go to, so that will be good. Anyway, I am really excited and I hope that I will make it!!! Wish me luck!!!
~Izzy~

A nice poem I found....

Hello. A few days ago I when I was reading my poetry, I found a poem I liked, so I am going to share it with you. 

LONE DOG
Irene Rutherford McLeod

I'm a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone;
I'm a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own;
 I'm a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep;
I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.
I'll never be a lap dog, licking dirty feet, a sleek dog, a meek dog , cringing for my meat,
Not for me the fireside, the well-filled plate,
But shut door, and sharp stone, and cuff and kick and hate. 
Not for me the other dogs, running by my side, 
Some have run a short while, but none of them would bide,
Oh, mine is still the lone trail, the hard trail, the best,
Wide wind, and wild stars, and hunger of the quest! 


In my poetry book, there are poems about cats, dogs, and flowers, and other such subjects. There are even a few poems about housekeeping!! Another day I read The Brook, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, and I liked that poem also, but I am not going to post it today. Now, I am going to read a few plays by Shakespeare.