My Telescope

I got a telescope with money I saved from my allowance. I think I bought it in March. We have looked at a bright speck close to the moon that we thought might be the international space station. But it was not - my mom thinks it might have been Venus because it was so bright. We have seen Venus before. We have looked at the moon before and we were able to see the craters on the surface.

We were looking for the international space station because my Maw Maw called and said it might be visible on the night we were looking. We didn't really know what we were looking for or what time we should have been able to see it. It was already past my bedtime. My dad found a link on the NASA website. (You can click here to go directly to the page that takes to where you can look up sightings for your city). We won't be able to see it in Fairhope except early in morning (5:53 a.m.!) for the next few days.

Today (on Sunday) we went to a family reunion at my Aunt Jack's church. We go there one time every year. Me and Jaclyn and Eleanor and Shelby and Jane Whitney and Blaklee played Wildlife Rescue.

Our Summer Vacation

We went to Cheaha Mountain (in central Alabama). We hiked some there and even found two cliffs where we were able to look over the edge. There were so many trees it looked like the whole world was covered with trees!

We stayed in a chalet there - this is a picture of the chalet:



















We also went to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. We saw the GIGANTIC Saturn V display. This rocket was used for the Apollo moon missions.





One of our favorite things was a ride called "Lunar Lander" in the Kids Cosmos section. This is a picture of me and my sisters riding - it was fun! It took you 8 feet up and then bounced you back down. The woman who turned it on and off was trying to take off our shoes!

On the Go-cart

When we went to Mamaw's house (in Mississippi) I went to my Aunt Kathy's house (next door to Mamaw) and rode on the go-cart with Brandon. One time when we were riding, we chased Eleanor, Wesley, Dailyn and Laura. They were hiding in the woods and we decided to go into the woods on the go-cart. When they saw us they were running as fast as they could out of the woods!

(This was written by Zachary.)

Health Tips

It is important to prevent diseases - either ones we get easily (likes colds and flu) and more serious illnesses (like heart disease and lung cancer).


There are ways you can prevent some of these diseases.

1. Wash your hands: washing your hands can prevent the spread of germs in the home. If you wash your hands while you are sick, even though you are washing your hands you will still help the spread of germs because the germs land on the handles and the towel.
2. Don't smoke: smoking can lead to lung cancer. Lung cancer is very dangerous.
3. Eat healthy foods: healthy foods can help clean out your system. If your system is not clean it may lead to a clogged intestine.
4. Eat pepper: in men, eating pepper can prevent prostate cancer. Please read this article for more information.

The Third Entry (About a Book About Animals)

I got a book from my grandmother. It is about animals. One of my favorite animals in the book is Horseshoe Crabs. One of my favorite sections in the book is World Explorer.

The Horseshoe Crab has 10 feet - two of the feet are used for cracking the shells of the animals on which it feeds.

One of my favorite sections in World Explorer (it is also my dad's favorite) is the Arctic Tundra. Another favorite is Yosemite National Park. On the back of the Yosemite National Park section is a picture of
Yosemite Valley.

This summer we are planning to visit
Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.

Bird Cake Recipe

The Second Entry

I read a book today about astronomers that lived a long time ago. I got some ideas from the pictures and I drew blueprints about the pictures. They are blueprints for reflecting telescopes (they are also for spectroscopes - a spectroscope is an instrument that is used to see spectrums - that is why it's called a spectroscope).

The astronomer I read about most Kirchhoff. Kirchhoff used a spectroscope but he did not invent it.

I want me and my dad to build spectroscopes and telescopes while I am still young so we can experiment with them.

A Gardener's Journal

I found this article in one of my favorite magazines. It is about gardening. (You can read the article by clicking on the image).

It has real good tips for good gardening and this magazine has a list of plants that attract birds, butterflies, dragonflies and bees.

The First Entry

Me and Dad decided to start a magazine, along with this Blog today. This is the first entry. We are going to talk about and discuss things we do and would like to do.

I've decided to put a section called games. In this section of the magazine there will be instructions for different games. I have designed a game called "Journey Across the Island". In this game you have go across an island without having to go to the repair shop. You are given two game pieces at the beginning of the game - a horsecart and a boat. The two players travel in opposite directions across the island. If their paths bring them to the same "docks" or "stops" at the same time, the person's boat or horsecart that was there first will have to go to the repair shop before continuing on their journey.