My week in Aspen, Colorado.

Even though I had a lot of fun in California, I was really excited to get to Aspen. I was tired of being in the car and I knew that in Aspen I was going to get to stay in a really great town and a really special house. At the Aspen house, which was not ours, there was a really cool tv that came out of the ceiling. It was awesome!

This was my first time going to any mountains. Did you know that the air in Aspen is dry and thin, so every time I ran up the stairs, I was tired and fell on my face. Ok, I am exaggerating, but it was close and I was pooped. I would like to tell you some of the highlights of my week.
I got to:
go on a gondola up a ski run
hike
play in a freezing creek
go in a deliciously warm jacuzzi
explore ice caves (My dad fell, hit his head, knocked himself out, and hurt his tailbone but I thought the place was beautiful!)
hold my first snow ball
eat my first snow (I thought it was good.)
jump off a cliff that was 30-40 feet high into freezing snow water
meet my dad's college friends, the Jackson Family
go mountain biking and get a huge blister (I wasn't very good and ended up on the fire road instead of the trail. I don't think I want to do that again but it was a great experience.)
attend an Harry Connick Jr. concert that my dad got us into for free. The music was so boring I slept through it! My parents thought it was good, but I didn't really agree.
go to the Aspen Farmers Market and meet an author (more about that in a minute)
watch my dad and sister rock climb way up in the Rocky Mountains and
stop at an old ghost town and mine

Then we went to Canon City, Colorado Springs, and Denver. I went to:
Garden of the Gods
visit my mom's friend
Focus on the Family
Yogurt Land
Toy Story 3 (it was sorta intense but cute)

All that's left of our trip is a wedding and a long long long drive home. It's really not that long, only a day and a half.

So, let me tell you about the book that I bought at the Aspen Farmers Market from author Jill Sheeley. First, I got to meet her, and she signed my book. Jill writes books about her yellow dog Fraser who is an amazing dog. The book that I bought was about the world according to Fraser. This book told about his adventures working at a hospital, visiting schools, and having his home ransacked by bears. I really really enjoyed the book and I think I will keep it for my children to read someday. The book taught me aboutwhat it is like to live in Colorado, and I like it. It is totally different than in Texas, I can tell you that.

As you can tell, my vacation has been really great so far. I hope that you are having a great vacation too. Keep reading! I am almost to book 60 and I am about 10 books ahead of my goal right now. That makes me really excited!

So long,
Gracie

ps. I have a puzzle for you. You will have to unscramble the letters to find out my secret. Please DON'T leave me a comment with your puzzle answers. It will give it away! You can send my mom an email at swathen@pcsclassical.org if you think you know the answer! Who knows, maybe I will give a prize to anyone that can figure it out. Sorry that it's a hard one, but it's a really great secret.

mmvooooodattrgheiilc
The last hint- it is 5 words. Happy puzzling!

Tea with Teah

Today for my 50 books celebration I got to go have High Tea with my best friend Teah. We met in Long Beach, CA and I had peach tea. We had five courses which were delicious and we were there for three hours. It was a delightful date with my friend. Teah is a loving and charming friend and I have missed her.

I've noticed something about Roald Dahl that I want to share with you. The main characters in his books, are ususaly children who have something sad about them. For example in "The BFG", Sophie was an orphan. Charlie from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" was very poor. James from "James and the Giant Peach" was an orphan who had to also work for his evil aunts. My mom and I wonder if Roald Dalh may have had some sad things in his childhood. Let's hope he didn't have a fat and skinny evil aunt problem! Roald Dahl has become my new favorite author. I like that he uses made up words like "whizpopper" which is the word he uses for tooting (gas) and "snozcumber" which is a little like our cucumber but it's bigger and tastes like rotten fish. I think that this is hilarious.

California has been fantastic. I have enjoyed everything. We still have another week here and I have so many great plans. Did you know that vacations are a great time to read? My favorite place to read so far has been on the porch at the grandma's house with the sound of the hummingbirds and the wind chimes. It's beautiful and fun.

California...you can see I'm too busy to post right now!