Hello everyone!  For my eleventh birthday I got to go on a trip to Washington D.C.  We had to wake up at about 5:00am and leave at 5:30. We were in the car for about 6 hours and it got really boring at times. But it was so worth it!

When we got into D.C. we went to Union Station and had some lunch there. There were lots of choices but we decided to have some conveyer belt sushi at a place called Yo Sushi. It was really fun to try and get the sushi off the conveyer belt. The spicy tuna rolls were excellent. We also got to have real Japanese soda which is awesome!

For my birthday I asked for a tour of the White House. I didn't get my tour of the White House (sequester!), but I got one of the capitol building by our guide, Kevin Mooney, who works for Congressman Tom Reed.This is Kevin.

Kevin guided us through a tunnel that took us from the House of Representatives to the Capitol. He was very good at walking backwards. When I got to the Capitol I learned that there were two statues of American people from each state. There were many references to the original 13 colonies. It was an absolutely amazing tour! 

In Washington D.C. there is a lot of walking, and I'm pretty sure Pallas barely walked any of it. Dad, Mom, and I all carried her at least once on our trip. Dad carried her a lot more and she likes to make faces at us over his shoulder. This is Dad carrying her in the tunnel between Congressman Reed's office and the Capitol.

While we were in D.C. I got to see my cousins Aidan and Deirdre and my Uncle Brendan. We all went out for thai food. It was great to see them because we only get to see them once or twice a year.

The next day we went to the American History Smithsonian.  There were lots of exhibits but my two favorites were the ones about the presidents (of course) and the first ladies. In the presidents exhibit there were presidents memorabilia and lots of facts. In the first lady exhibit there were lots of first lady dresses and tea sets.

This was a collection of street signs named after presidents.

The next day we went to the Washington D.C. zoo.  When I first got there were big letters that spelled zoo so Pallas, Trin, and I got in them and took a picture. There were lots of animals so I'll just name a few. There were elephants, pandas (they were all sleeping though), gorillas, and lions.

Once again Pallas was carried throughout the zoo. We did about a million miles of walking that day, because we had to park very far away.

For breakfast on one of our last days we went to dim sum. I love eating all of the yummy foods. Some of my favorites are chicken feet, shumai, shrimp dumplings, rice noodles, and crab lollipops. This is Trin with her favorite, sticky rice steamed in lotus leaf.

One of the best things about our hotel was the pool. It was really big! My favorite thing about it was it was nice and warm. Pallas liked the toys they kept at the pool. There were floaties that we pretended were surf boards and a dolphin inner tube. I loved being in D.C. and hope to be back real soon.

Peace and love,
Rowan

What does being Irish mean to me? I think it means that my ancestors are from Ireland. I think St. Patrick's Day means that you celebrate being Irish and the history of Ireland and it doesn't just mean dressing up in green clothes and trying to find leprechauns. I think being Irish is really cool because I get to try things some people might not get to try.  It also means I did Irish dancing because I'm Irish and not just because it seemed fun.

I'm Irish in two ways. On my dad's side my Gran is 100% Irish. She's part Murphy and part O'Brien. On my mom's side my Grandpa, Eamonn Finbarr, was born in Kilrush, Ireland. This is a picture of him when he was studying to be a priest. My grandpa came to America in the late 1950's after deciding not to become a priest and met my grandma there. When he was studying to be a priest he went to many countries in Europe and learned 8 languages so he became a language professor at St. Bonaventure University. 

These are my great grand parents. My great grandpa fought for Irish independence and my great grandma was a gunrunner for the Irish. Once the republic won independence he was a policeman for the republic, and they had a family.

I asked a few friends and family what it means to be Irish. He's what they said:

"Having a Irish ancestry and it was difficult having the O' in front of my last name." Gran

"Being Irish means family and friends are stronger than any real or imagined sorrow." Dennis

"I love the spirit of mischief and wit, and a keen appreciation for language that being Irish brings. Being Irish also gives me an appreciation for old things, mossy things, and all things abandoned, preferably made of stone and in a state of decay, found after tromping through a field, Cadbury bar in hand. And I appreciate the fact that I instinctively love rain, and wind, and the sea." Anne

"I appreciate being able to wear an Irish hurling jersey instead of green on St Patricks Day. Clare!" Drew

"It means to have a connection to an ancient people who have a rich hisotry, a colorful storytelling tradition, and the gift of gab." Kerry

What does being Irish mean to you? Or what does your heritage mean to you?

Peace and love,
Rowan

Hello! I'm going to be writing about my all time favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)! I love him so much in school I did a project about him.  He was born in Hyde Park, NY. FDR was our 32nd president. FDR was democratic. His first term started in 1933 and his 4th ended in 1945. He was the only president to serve more then 2 terms--he served 4!  He married his distant cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt. She is one of the most famous first ladies. She wanted everybody to be part of the New Deal. After they were married, FDR got a disease called polio and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. FDR did not want to have the United States to go into war but when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, FDR declared war on Japan. Then Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. I will always admire FDR because even though we were in war with three countries he stayed calm and led our country to defeat all three countries.

Peace and love Rowan :)

Hi! Rowan again. A few days before Halloween we went pumpkin carving at our friends Sean and Lisa's house. It was so fun! Trin's friend Alli came with us First we got all our tools and pick out what we wanted to use. Then we could get started.

First we had to get all the guts out. We ether used ice cream scoops or our hands. I found using your hands was easier but more disgusting. The seeds and guts were slippery and slimy. It took me and Trin a lot of time to get everything out. Then we could start designing and carving our pumpkins.

Carving the pumpkins was a little tricky but lots of fun. Sean brought gourds so we could use them for noses and ears. I came up with the idea for using them for ears. Trin, Gavin, Lisa, and I did faces. Alli did a picture of a wolf howling. They were all really cool and funny.

This is Gavin, Lisa's son, with what we call the pumpkin top hat. After we were done carving we went in for pizza and apple cider. It was delicious.

Sean really wanted to throw to throw pumpkin guts at Trin but sadly didn't. (Funny picture.) He loves pumpkin carving. When Halloween comes around he has everything set up. We've been doing it together for years. When it was dark out we got glow sticks and played tag.

This is Pallas's and Alli's pumpkins all lit up. I loved pumpkin carving and can't wait to do it next year.

Peace and love,
Rowan :]       

Hi, it's Rowan. Over the summer my mom,Trin, Pallas, and I went to Rock City Park in Olean, NY. It was lots of fun. Here is where our adventure began.

When we got there Trin and Pallas had to go to the bathroom. While they were in the bathroom Mom and I saw this bear. When Trin and Pallas got back from the bathroom we got on it and took a picture. Then we went inside the gift shop and looked around. It had the biggest rock inside. Right in the floor.

When we got to the rocks, Pallas got a little scared but she decided to go down with some help. It was weird seeing how big the rocks were. They're bigger than my house. When we were walking we even saw an old sawmill. It was so cool!

Sometimes we would have to go up big stone stairs. You had to work very hard to get up. But it was still fun. That's Trin at the top, waving like a maniac.

When we were walking right around here, we saw a porcupine squeezed between two rocks. Trin and Pallas got really scared so we all ran away. Mom tried to get a picture of it but it started hissing and she screamed and ran too.

The view from the rocks was amazing.There were swings to sit on. They were so peaceful because we had been hiking and walking and were really tired from running from the porcupine.

When we were done we called ourselves the conquerors of Rock City Park. Wow! It was a great way to spend the afternoon.Thanks for reading!   

Peace and love,
Rowan ;]

I want to tell you about when my family, and family friends Dennis, Ray, and Lauren went to the Wellsville Balloon Rally in Wellsville, NY. I'll start at our house. We all had to wake up at 4:30 in the morning in order to get there on time! After we got out of the house we headed to Tim Hortons so mom could have her morning coffee. I got a bagel. Our order took a long time. It took us a long time to get there--I mostly read and talked to Mom and Dad. When we got there it was 6:15. My favorite one was black with a checker pattern of many different colors. The first one to lift off was a rainbow checker one. (The first one in the picture.) We found out there was a contest to see which could go closest to river in a ditch.

These are balloons blowing up. They were right behind us.

I loved watching them blow up and fly away.

Here are Dennis,Lauren,and Pallas eating the picnic. While waiting for the balloon rally to start, we had a delicious picnic breakfast with doughnuts, orange juice, quiche, sandwiches, and strawberries. During our picnic we watched the balloons blow up and decided which were our favorites.

After it was over we went to our friends house without telling them and finish our picnic. Sadly they were not there, but we had lots of fun otherwise. We threw frisbees and footballs and we swung on their swing.

Pallas and I ate lots of doughnuts while we were there.

This is a picture of Ray, Trin, Dennis, Pallas, Lauren, Dad, and I in their pool. I really loved our interesting adventure.

Peace and Love,
Rowan :)

One week ago we got two new cats! Their names are Lucy and Uncle Kevin. Lucy was already named. We named the kitten after our Uncle Kevin, who just visited from WashingtonWe had to drive up to Buffalo to get them. We got to meet Uncle Kevin's dad. His name was Dakota and he was huge! I was the first to hold Lucy and Pallas held Uncle Kevin first. On the way home we all got to hold Uncle Kevin. Pallas tucked Uncle Kevin right next to her as you can see. I held him on my lap and when he was with Trin he went into the cupholder next to her. Once we got home we let them relax and after a little bit we went up and played with them. After that we loved and played with them all day long.

This is Uncle Kevin! He is a gray fluff ball of joy. We love to play and snuggle him.To show you how small Uncle Kevin is, we put him by a teacup and he was only a little bit bigger. Uncle Kevin is a maine coon ragdoll. That means he is going to be really big!

This is Lucy! Lucy is a ragdoll. She is white and brown. Lucy loves to explore, be snuggled, and be with Uncle Kevin.

This is Trin snuggling Lucy.

This is me holding Uncle Kevin. I really love our new cats and hope we have them for a long time!
   
Peace and Love,
Rowan :)

Hi Rowan again. In the past two weeks I went to Allegany State Park twice! The first time I went with Trin and Pallas, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Val, my cousin Kieran (from Washington state), Uncle Mike, Aunt Rosie, and our cousins Sean and Dom. The next time I went with Trin, Pallas,and Mom when we decided to have an adventure. We weren't planning on going to Allegany State Park. We were actually to go to Long Point State Park but when we got there we found out that swimming didn't open till the next day. We were upset but decided to go to Allegany State Park instead. That's how our day all started!

When we got there we had to decide where to sit. We chose a shady tree. I wanted to jump right into the lake but I had to get sunscreen on first. Then I jumped right in. It was cold at first but after a while it felt nice and warm. Trin and I did lots of different things in the water. After a while we got out and had a picnic. There was chicken, cookies, raspberries, nectarines, and lots of other stuff. After that we got right back in and after a while we got back out and painted the scenery. Then we went up to get ice cream. I got a scoop of cake batter and a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough. Trin got a scoop of mint chocolate chip and a scoop of dutch chocolate. Pallas got a strawberry kiwi slushie. Mom got a scoop of chocolate peanut butter. (In the comments, tell me what you would have chosen!) After that we went to a playground and I accidentally left my favorite soccer ball there.

This is Trin, Pallas, and me. We had lots of fun in the water. Pallas almost drowned when trying to swim to Mom.

The first time I went (with my cousins), I swam for just a little bit and then we built a big sand castle village. The picture you see isn't all we built. We also put in a huge stick and we made a little lake with a dam, or as we called it, a darn. And in the far left corner there is a deep hole that my cousin made and Pallas fell into it so we called it the hole of doom.

We even got to go kayaking with Uncle Kevin. First Trin and Pallas went and then I went. When I went, we tried to find a beaver who lives at Allegany State Park.

This is us having a scrumptious lunch. I will name everybody from left to right. First is Uncle Kevin, then Pallas, me, Trin, Sean, and Kieran. Those two adventures were really fun! I really love going to state park.

Peace and Love, Rowan :)

Today I interviewed Julz Wilson, my mom's long time friend. They have known each other since my mom was 4 and she was 5. She is married to Paul Wilson and has 2 kids. Their names are Adam (16) and Erica (13). Julz' favorite kind of coffee is a Tim Horton's medium double double. She also told me she is addicted to it. She lives in Brockport, New York. She has a pet yorkie her name is Millie. She has had glasses since second grade and really likes her red ones. She has a career in teaching. She teaches fourth grade. She is Democratic, with a capital D. Her favorite book is The Secret Life of Bees. If she could have one meal for the rest of her life it would be her Thanksgiving Dinner. Her favorite color is green and she likes giraffes and hippos. Her favorite day of the week is Friday. She also told me she liked being interviewed by me. I think Julz is nice and funny.
Peace and Love:) Rowan