NOVEMBER

Halloween was SO much fun…every one really made an extra effort with the costumes. Mia came dressed to the nines as Audrey Hepburn. RJ squeezed into a speedo cap, goggles and threw on 14 gold medals to be Michael Phelps—hilarious! Zoe was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and I rigged up my own costume this year and went as the golden snitch from Harry Potter. I know, total loser…but everyone loved it! lol

School’s pretty good. I’m looking forward to a few days off for Thanksgiving. Oh, and my favorite meal of the year!

OCTOBER

Well, it’s official. I’m going to host my second annual Halloween costume party. My mom said Zoe’s band can play a few songs…she is soo psyched. Zoe has more energy than anyone I know. Anyways, this year I will definitely be enforcing the "costume rule." So many people were slackers last year and didn't wear a costume. Where’s the fun in that? I have to think up a way to get everyone to participate. Maybe a raffle or something. RJ might have some ideas.

Oh, another thing is…I did decide to run for student council. I am the new treasurer! I didn’t really think I would win, but whatdya know? It was a close race, but I pulled it out in the end.

SEPTEMBER

Man! Did you guys see the Olympics? The opening ceremonies were so cool. Michael Phelps was amazing. That guy makes it look soo easy. You start to think, "Hey I could probably do that." But then you realize he’s shattering all these world records and maybe it’s not so easy.

It’s so weird getting back into school and stuff. It’s been a little crazy but I think things will even out soon. Class elections are coming up—I’m actually thinking about running for something. We’ll see…

AUGUST

Man. The summer always flies by so fast. Everyone’s always sorta off doin their own things and that’s real cool. But I have to admit I’m curious about what all my friends have been doing. It’ll be nice catching up with everyone. I’m betting Mia’s beaten like 3 new video games and redesigned at least one of her websites since the last time I saw her!

I am tryin to hold on to summer though. I love the chill atmosphere and it seems like everyone makes an extra effort to be in a good mood. Even my little brothers annoy me LESS in the summer time. Getting ready for back to school is always exciting—hectic—but exciting. But nothing beats summertime.

JUNE

So this year to go along with my garden, I decided to start a compost pile—Zoe’s helping since she knows a ton about recycling and ‘going green’ and all that. It’s a little difficult to start, but Zoe knows all the tips, like there’s this local coffee shop that is giving away free coffee grinds. My mom’s afraid my little brothers are going to make a mess of it—and themselves—but she’s goin along with it for now.

Can’t wait for school to be out...but that pretty much goes without saying. Summer is gonna be sweet!

MAY

I’m glad we have our May Day celebration coming up.  Mother’s Day is right around the corner and I can usually find my mom a pretty cool gift there. She really likes flowers and there’s usually a lot of arts and crafty-type stuff that mom’s like.

I’ll be painting faces most of the day, so I’ve been practicing. That’s when it comes in handy to have two younger brothers! lol

APRIL

The progress reports were all good…phew! I stepped it up just before spring break and the work paid off. If only I could always work like that…RJ’s much better about working ahead than I am. I gotta have the pressure.

Puerto Rico was awesome! Even hanging out with my two little brothers wasn’t bad. It went so fast, though, and I have no more breaks before the end of the school year. Bummer.

The comic I’m writing is sweet. I can’t wait until I have more time to work on it. Once I’ve got something to show, I’ll try to post it here.

MARCH

I know, I know. I just bought a bunch of charcoals, but I’ve really been into comics lately. In fact, I started writing one of my own last month. I’ve made a ton of progress already. Turns out I can be really productive when I turn off the TV…and computer…and video games…and well, you get the picture.

The only thing I’ve been worried about lately is progress reports! Ohh man... Spring break is early this year and my family and I are taking our annual trip to Puerto Rico. I’m stoked, but it’s not gonna be any fun if my progress reports aren’t good!

FEBRUARY

I’m still deciding how to spend all the extra cash I made by selling some holiday cards I designed. For now, I put the money in savings, but my parents said I can spend some of it on something I really want. Since it’s been getting colder, I might spend it on some new art supplies and try and learn some new techniques. I’m thinkin charcoal maybe.

DECEMBER

Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve written. I love fall, but it’s always really busy! So, the Halloween party was awesome, and Thanksgiving was even better. Our whole family came to visit, and we had a huge dinner. Turkey is my favorite … well, next to pumpkin pie anyway!

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been really busy making holiday cards. Last year, my mom asked me to design some for her, and everyone loved them. So this year all my aunts and uncles and a few of my parent’s friends ordered cards, too! Cha-ching!

OCTOBER

I can’t believe we’ve already been back to school for a month. This year is tough but it’s cool being in a new grade. Fall’s a pretty chill season and you can’t beat the colors of the leaves.

Plus, my mom is letting me have a big Halloween costume party. I’m pretty psyched to see all the outrageous costumes people come up with! I’m gonna have to get Zoe to help me plan the party because that is definitely one of her specialties. Maybe I can even get her to make some Halloween-themed cupcakes. Haha.