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 :)

No, I don't want to write about Brave. I did NOT like it. I'm not telling you why. I did NOT like the girl. Her had pretty hair. The mom her had pretty hair too. And the horse had pretty hair. That girl was so pretty and helpful. Her so brave cause it was called brave. I liked nothing. Nothing! I did not like the bears. They were scary and mean. The brothers were cute bears, but NOT the mom bear. Her scary. I will never ever see that movie again. I like the drive-in. Good french fries and snuggling. That's it. Naptime.
Pallasgrean

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 :)

Kale is one of the healthiest things you can eat. I've never really been a salad person, but once I made kale salad I was interested in what other things you can make with kale. I'm the chief gardener, but I like to take my sisters on tours and let them help. I like to explain how everything works. My little sister (Pallas) comes out to see what I'm doing in the garden and so does the cat. That's Pallas with some swiss chard.

Harvesting is one of the best parts of gardening. Even though it's simple, it's fun too. I love the way kale feels and looks. It's like five leaves layered together. In the salad we put a little mix of every part of the kale--the stems, leaves, and even the flowers. But make sure that you get everything that might be bad for your salad out. Like snails.

Cutting and washing is very important. When you cut it (or tear it) you want to make sure that it is bite size and not too big or too little.The first time I made this was with my aunt Val (that's her in the picture, visiting us from Washington state last week.) She's interested in gardening too. I followed her instructions carefully. Take your time to cut. Sometimes you could miss a leaf. When you wash your kale let it soak in the water so the leaves get softer and the dirt falls off.Then put the kale into a salad spinner or just dry it yourself. Once you dry it, it will be time to make the salad dressing.

It was my first time making salad so I didn't know what salad dressing I liked, but my mom knew I liked malt vinegar so we tried that. We used olive oil, Season All salt, a little pepper, and the vinegar.We mixed it in a bowl and poured it all over the kale and let it set overnight.

So what else can you make with Kale? I love my mom's soup. She likes to put kale in her soups. Yummy! You can also make kale chips. I wonder how they taste? We're going to try them soon.

The next night at dinner I tried the kale salad and fell in love! Everything tasted so good! Kale salad is now one of my favorite foods. Go try it for yourself and grow a garden.

Peace out! Trinity :D

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

Attard's Restaurant, Olean, NY
Attard's french fries have always been number two on our top ten french fry list. It's true they are one of the best. Last time I went to Attard's I was visiting with my aunt Toni and uncle Larry.When the waiter came around take our orders for appetizers I was looking at the menu and saw garlic fries. The waiter didn't take my order sinse I was a kid, but lucky for me my mom wanted some too. When they came we looked in shock.They looked so good. I was the first one to try one. It was a perfect mix of garlic and french fries.(I really do love my garlic and french fries). They were crispy and airy. I love them. Surprisingly the garlic really sank in.   
Peace out! Trinity :D 

I love piggies. They snore. I love the smell good of them. I like to sleep with them. They snore. One of my piggies talks a lot. My smelly piggy comes from Aunt Toni. I like to run them around. I'm all done now.
Pallasgrean

Chester A. Arthur was the 21st president. He was born October 5, 1829 in Fairfield, Vermont. He was a Republican. He was in office from September 20, 1881 to March 3, 1885. He had no vice president. He was married to nobody. I know you're thinking--who was the first lady? It was Mary Arthur McElroy, his sister. Sadly he died on November 18, 1886. He was the first president to hire a personal servant. Arthur had more than 80 pairs of pants and changed several times a day. He dedicated the Washington Monument on February 21,1885. After he took office he learned he had kidney disease but he kept it a secret. I think he was a very brave man because even though he had kidney disease he managed to survive one term as a president. He truly was an amazing president.

A few years ago we started a garden with our family friend Dave. I planted many different things such as potatoes,tomatoes, eggplants, and much more. But this year I planted herbs. I never planted herbs before. It's kind of cool--there are so many! Basil, parsley, cilantro, oregano, and thyme are some examples. But if you're going to garden you're going to get dirty.

For me I got very dirty because it just rained, but I would do it on a cool, sunny day. If you buy herbs from a store, you have to dig a deep hole and get dirty! An easy way to get the the plant out of the pot or whatever is holding it is to squeeze it twice upside down, put your hand on the top of the soil, and let the plant drop into your hand.

Gardening for me is one of my favorite things to do. Doing herbs is fun because I get to plant them and then eat them. (I sometimes don't get to plant some because Dave plants them when I'm not home.) But I love everything you do in gardening, even weeding. There' s no better vegetable or fruit than ones you grow yourself. And I say try it! It's something really fun to do. :D

Peace out! Trinity

I love her. Her so nice. Her so beautiful. And cute. And her nice and I love her so much. Her's my best friend and I used to love her when she was a baby. She's snuggly and rough. She's white. [Note from the mom...blanky is actually what we call peige--a grayish shade of pink/beige.] I swing her, I throw her, and I sleep with her. She goes to school with me and helps me nap. I snuggle her. All done.
Pallasgrean