Lego Birds

Nonie gave me these great Lego models of real birds. They were a challenge to build, but I'm proud of the finished products!

Nerdy Christmas

I love my new glasses, and we all love books!

Gift Wrapping Mayhem

Christmas is coming! We got our tree and wrapped a bunch of gifts today. I like to play in the ribbons!

Jefferson Garden Work Day

I helped paint the outdoor classroom seats in the kindergarten yard. My favorite colors are blue and green!

Cats on the Run!

Today was the big 5K run for my Girls on the Run team. Our theme costume was cats. It was so much fun! Mom was my running buddy, and she did a good job keeping up with me, but now she's really tired. I'm going to let her sleep in late tomorrow!

Thanksgiving in Julian

We had Thanksgiving dinner at cousin Tom's new house (and bird farm) in Julian. The best part was getting to feed the chickens! Seeing lots of Nickel family members and eating extra desserts were good, too.

Farm Fresh Fieldtrip

I was in the green group. We made kale chips, with a shallot vinaigrette and some lettuce wraps. We had a limit of $7 to shop at the Ferry Building farmer's market. Chef Roger helped us. The first picture is of all of us working together. We worked for almost an hour.

The next photo is of our dish, which we all got to try! It was my favorite because (1) I made it, (2) The dressing was really good, (3) The flavors blended together really well. One tip (if you make lettuce wrap salad) is to drench it in your dressing. 

No School = Take Your Daughter to Work Day

On Veteran's Day, I got all dressed up and tagged along to help with site scouting for a corporate puzzle hunt!

Corny Art

Gramalicia came to my class to teach an art lesson. We all made paintings of flint corn (also known as  calico or indian corn). We are pointing to my corn. I'm so glad Gramalicia was here all week!

Two Immortal Beings!

For Halloween, I was a Goddess at school on Friday. I'm Athena, see my owl?

Then at Stephanie and Christian's house, I was a vampire. See my hip beverage from Bloods R Us?

Pedal Boat Selfie!

I spent the weekend having fun in SF while Mom and Dad were in Seattle. On Sunday, Dee and Martin took me, Max and Emma J. to Stow Lake for a boat ride. I sat in the back for 10 minutes and then Emma and Max wanted to sit in the back instead, so we traded places. 

San Diego Squirrel

Before the Punkin' Pickin' Party, Emma and I found a new home for Mommy's old squirrel friend. So cute!

Jabba the Hutt

Last weekend, I participated in the LEAP Sandcastle Contest at Ocean Beach. My class was matched up with an engineering design company and a construction company. Together, we designed and built this awesome Jabba the Hutt (the contest theme was Sand Cinema). It was really fun, and I got totally wet and dirty!

Camping Adventure

I've been so busy, I forgot to mention the trip we went on a couple weekends ago. A bunch of 4th grade families from Jefferson went to Sugarloaf (near Sonoma) and camped together. Grace and I explored the almost-dry creek bed!

The First Tee

I'm taking golf lessons once a week with my class. Daddy volunteers on our golf field trip days, which is fun. Coach Scott is teaching me putting.

Homework Project

Now that I'm in Ms. Peterson's class, I'm working on some really big projects on my own. This Presidio Brochure includes a nice cover picture and a Presidio history timeline on the front, and information about local plants and a native bird species inside. I did all the research myself, used both typing and cursive, and the cover and bird illustrations are my own original drawings!

Room 205 Camping

Ms. Peterson's class went on a really fun overnight camping trip to Rob Hill in the Presidio. We did several hikes and went birding, too! My favorite part of the trip was the campfire. Ms. Jessamin (our old music teacher) was there, and we all sang campfire songs. 

Escape the Classroom

As a grand finale to my month-long birthday festivities, Mom created an awesome escape room for kids! We played Escape the Classroom at the Palace of Fine Arts, and solved all the puzzles in 40 minutes. I give it an A+!

Stanford Sierra Camp

Nonie and Doc got a cabin at Fallen Leaf Lake near Lake Tahoe, so we got to visit for the weekend. It was so much fun! Emma and I went crawdad fishing off the boat dock.

Cool Birthday Party

At school, we had a popsicle party for my birthday. The San Francisco weather cooperated with plenty of sunshine. Lime is the best flavor. 

Swinging at the Ranch

Emilia and I went to a BBQ and tour of Stemple Creek Ranch. We got yellow rubber band balloons so we could bop them. 

Garden Day

The weekend before school started, Mom and I volunteered at the Jefferson garden work day. It's a great way to see the other kids and celebrate the end of summer.

Early Birthday

I began celebrating my birthday fortnight at Disneyland with Nonie and Doc. At California Adventure, I got this cute little cake. The syrup piles are Mickeys, too!

Beach Chalet Murals

Gramalicia's in town! We had a family dinner at the Park Chalet in SF.

Stuffies on Tour

Stan was our coach mascot. (It's a coach, not a bus!) He is a Welsh dragon. I also bought an Irish sheep on the ferry crossing. I named it Sheep-o.

At the end of our tour, Rachel (our tour guide) gave us baby dragons. I named mine Wafer, like the cookie. Emma and I found lots of our favorite sticker books on the trip, too!

No More Pictures

By the time we got to Ireland, I was pretty tired of everyone taking so many pictures. No pickie! No pickie! Although the scenery was beautiful...

Hello London!

On one of my first days in London with the Nickel family, we rode the London Eye. What a great view of the city, and a great start to our summer travels!

Palace at the Palace

While Shinteki was having a meeting, I built a castle! It's really big, but I had a lot of time to build it, so it wasn't as hard as I thought.

Visiting Papi and Mimi

I had a good time trying to decide what to order at Honeybee! They have lots of delicious breakfast there. I ended up ordering a short stack of chocolate chip pancakes. They were more than enough for me to eat! Thanks Mimi and Papi!

Marin County Fair

Stephanie's paintings won third prize and an honorable mention at the fine art exhibit! I also met R2D2 and got to pet a llama, pig, sheep, wallaby, chickens and goats. Mom might have enjoyed the petting zoo even more than I did!

Airport Day

We were trapped inside our plane for nearly an hour! There was a thunderstorm in Denver and the crew could not get out of the plane for safety reasons, then we were stuck in the airport even longer. It was pretty boring, but at least we didn't miss our connection. 

Telluride River Play Day

I had a great time at the river! I arrived two days ago after dinner. The water is so cold today. It is also overflowing because it is hot, so more snow melts in the mountains.

Zen and the Art of Holding On Tight

Uncle Christian took me for a ride around the cul-de-sac on his scooter. Matthew's old helmet is just right for me!

Tennis

After a week of tennis camp, we went to visit Rich and Kiki. They have an awesome back yard where I can show off my new skills. Summer vacation is off to a great start!

Fairy Door

Whenever I'm at the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park, I like to check on the fairy that lives there. I knocked on the door but nobody was home, so I left a note.

May is so busy

This month has been crazy, with Mom & Dad working long hours, all sorts of year-end activities at Jefferson and final exams in Mandarin. But we still had time for the whole family to attend the Junior Olympics. My relay team got second place in the 6 by 70 meter race!

Stone Soup

My class performed the musical Stone Soup today. I was a narrator, although I knew all the other lines and songs, too!

That's a Big Cat

The SF Zoo had an employee party last week, and we got to walk around after closing time. I got so close to the tiger! It was cool, although I don't think the tiger enjoyed having people around at bedtime.

We Escaped!

While we were in Seattle earlier this month, I played in my first escape room game, Puzzle Break - 20,000 Leagues. Our team, Will Bananas Blend, set the new record for fastest escape! The next day, Daddy's team (including Todd, Rich, Jonathan and the Youngs) won the Microsoft Puzzle Hunt. They're pretty good at puzzles!

Mom's Birthday!

This morning I surprised Mom with breakfast, coffee and a homemade present. After school, Daddy and I took Mom out for burritos and extra hugs.

So-Cal Weekend

Last weekend Mom and I drove to Southern California. I rode a pony in Griffith Park, and then we met up with Emma and the rest of the Nickels. I also went swimming and bird watching!

Easter Playdate

My new friend Emily lives just down the street from Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Christian. She stopped by on Easter and we ate cupcakes. Frosting first, of course!

Lunar Eclipse

I woke up at 4:15 this morning to watch the lunar eclipse. The view from our front steps was perfect!

Braces Half Off!

Today my upper braces were removed! I will still have the lower ones for a little longer, but I don't mind.

Secret Lake

I have been to Stern Grove lots of times, but I never knew that there is a lake at the far end of the park. Climbing a tree is the best way to see the lake.

Generations

It was so great having Gramalicia in town for the week. I got to see Stephanie a lot, too! We all like art projects and laughing too hard.

Style Consultant

While Gramalicia is here in San Francisco, I'm helping her pick out new glasses. I have a lot of suggestions!