My experiment by Huffjackie

My materials included 5 books. I used the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and 1 39 clues. A metal spoon and a rubber ball (meidum sized). The purpose of the experiment was to see if I could toss the ball up in the air and if it landed on the books, roll straight. I did my experiment 20 times and the ball rolled straight once out of the 20 times. The other times it rolled over to the left or right. I deemed my experiment a failure in that it did not go straight enough times, but it was a success because it annoyed my mom. :)

The Sorcerer's Apprentice by HuffJackie

So M'Kirsten and Caroline went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at the Winspear. Mom and I decided to spend the Mom-and-Son time by going to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice at the Studio Movie Grill. We got there a little early, but didn't have to wait too long. My mom had never been to the movie theater grill, so it was fun showing her the ropes.

The food was fine. She ordered the chicken quesadillas, but there were too many peppers and so I didn't eat much. The best part of it were the chips and hot sauce. They came with the quesadillas (go figure). I had a Dr. Pepper and my mom had a Diet Dr. Pepper. She let me get as many refills as I wanted (for the price we paid for the drinks, according to her, I could have as many as I wanted. )

The movie started with the previews and there's one I'm really looking forward to now, but that's another blog. When the movie started I was really excited. My mom had given me some things to look for during the movie (always the teacher)so that I could review the movie afterwards. So I'll go down the list she gave me:

*Bad guys - He was funny. You knew he was bad because he did mean things. He's the same guy that was in Prince of Persia (the ostrich guy). He was a very convincing bad guy. He had the apperance of being a very "cultured (as my mom said)" look and spoke good. He didn't talk like his apprentice, and he required everyone else to speak correctly as well. I think this is what made him a good bad guy. You know, he could be very nice but then next minute kill somebody. It was very unexpected. SPOILER ALERT(my mom made me put this in): I'm not very sure if he got away in the end or was killed. The way they ended it made it possible, based on if the bad guy lived or died, for another movie. So I'd give the bad guy (who really was just a helper of the main bad girl--but you didn't see her at all except for the beginning and the very end).

Main good characters: There are several so here it goes:

*Balthazaar - I liked him because he was funny in not a clown way. He could do some really cool magic and his main job was to train the "Prime Merlinian". Turns out to be this geeky guy who's in love with this pretty blond girl. He meets the kid when the kid's ten, but things got scary really fast and Balthazaar and the bad guy got trapped for 10 years. He was funny, but took his job seriously.

*David (Dave) was the Sorcerer's apprentice (the Prime Merlinian). He was geeky and kids made fun of him. He liked this girl named Becky. He ended up being a science major (I didn't recognize the type of physics he was in to, but my mom said it's kind of higher stuff). He decides to train to be a sorcerer because he realizes it's what he's supposed to do and if he doesn't the world will end as he knows it (why does it always have to be that bad in the movies?). Anyway, he trains and the whole point is that he can do magic only with the ring of Merlin on until he becomes the true "Prime Merlinian" and then he can do the magic without it.

*We'll call her the "Love Interest". I hope I don't get as sappy about girls as this guy was about Becky. She was a really cool girl. She looked past his geekyness to see what was inside. She gave him a chance and was open to his Sorcerer gig (plus he was smart in physics which she was not). She was really good and strong (not physically but mentally).

Lesson learned: I think, after talking to mom that there were several lessons. 1) If you believe in yourself you can do just about whatever. It may be hard, and it may be hard to understand, but if you believe in yourself you can do it. I learned that from the main character. 2) You can do anything you set your mind to. With the "end of the world as we know it" on the line, Becky got over her fear of heights to help Dave defeat Morgana. That took some guts.

Grade: I'd give it an A-. It should have gotten a B+ on Jack Huffman's scale of movies. They kissed 3 times. Balthazaar and Victoria kissed once (it was kinda long) and then BOOM! right after that Dave and Becky kissed--Twice! That moved it to a B+. It did move up on the scale because the effects were AWESOME! I wish I could change my car into a different one, that was cool. The really cool magic that kept showing up was the metal eagle that came from the Empire State building. That was kind of a funny touch through the whole movie. Just when you didn't expect it, the bird would show up.

I would recommend it to just about anyone. I think Caroline would have enjoyed the movie, but it was kind of scary at the beginning.

I liked it, despite the kissing.

Book Review by Caroline -- Ten Apples Up On Top!

The book was about a lion, and a dog, and a tiger and they all had 10 apples on top. They took some apples out of a bear's refrigerator and the bear came with a mop and tried to make their apples fall on the floor. Everybody in town was chasing the lion, dog, and tiger to try and get their apples to fall. The lion and his friends got an umbrella and scooped the bears to get away from them. The lion and company got onto a bike and had to get off the bike before they ran into an apple carriage. They then went "Kablooey" into the apple carriage. Then everybody had 10 apples on top of their head.

I liked the book. It was a good book to read, and it was fun. If you just practice long enough you can get good at reading the words. Some words were hard, and they were nonsense and real words. The rhyming words made it kind of easy to read. I would recommend the book to my friends. It will go on my Summer Reading list.

Prince of Persia Movie Review by HuffJackie

Tonight my mom surprised me by taking me to dinner and the movie, "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time". I was really excited and had to choose between doing that or playing in the sprinklers with my friends. I chose the movie. My sister had been asked at the last minute to sleep over with a friend of hers, so my mom surprised me with the outing. We came up with the review on the way home from the movie.

I really liked the movie. It was kind of slow at first, but my mom told me it was a video game first so I was glad they gave us some information. There was a lot of action, which I liked. There were also these bad guys that were nasty mean, but like most good movies they got what they deserved in the end. My mom thought there was one scene that would be really scary for me (she saw it with my aunt yesterday)but it wasn't really that bad because I knew it wasn't real. People (mainly adults) laughed at the ostrich races, and I think there was some meaning that I didn't get because I'm only 9. But that part of the movie was funny to watch. People rode the ostriches like horses, so that was funny to watch.

There were only a few places where my mom had to help me understand what was going on but it was because I couldn't hear what they said. It was a pretty easy movie to follow. I was really glad they did more than one time travel scene because that made the end easier to understand. I'm glad the main, really mean guy got what he deserved in the end. I was surprised it was him, but I kinda thought it would be somebody you didn't expect and boy I didn't expect him.

I'm giving the movie 2 thumbs up because of the action in the story and the sword fighting. It is also good because it is easy to follow. My mom asked if I should give it a letter grade based on my two thumbs up and I said I'd give it an A-. She asked why the A- and I said because the main guy and the main girl kissed once. It would have been a B if they'd kissed more than once. They almost kissed two times before the actual fake, movie kiss but some more action happened which was good.

Review of the lunch my mom packed

Today I took my lunch, but my mom came and ate with me. Here's the review of the lunch she packed for me.

The chips she packed were Fritos. They were kinda spicy. They were thin chips and were a little too salty. I almost had a heart attach (literally)when I read how many grams of sodium there were in that one serving. But, they did have a nice taste. It's a good thing she packed me some water because all of the sodium made me thirsty.
The bread for my sandwich was soft and peanut buttery. The jelly was grape and gooey. There was just a hint of raspberry, but mainly it tasted like grape.
My brownie was chocolatey with a hint of peanut butter. There were nuts on the inside (good thing I'm not allergic!). It was crunchy at the edges but chewy in the middle. The pudding however, was smooth and smushy. It was very chocolatey and creamy.
The fruit salad had strawberries, grapes, apples and blueberries. It had a nice sauce that added just the right sweetness. I only ate the apples because the strawberries were smushy. The blueberries were not yet ripe because they were too tart. The berry flavor was a little overpowering.
Overall I'd say my mom packs a mean lunch. I'll give her an A-.

Food Critique by HuffJackie (Huffdaddy's son)

Tonight we had dinner at On the Border.

The tacos were really meaty. The lettuce really made it crunchy, and the cheese had a lot of cheesiness in it. The meat was really juicy and it had a kick to it. It was really spicy. The tomatoes got in there, too; they exploded with flavor.

M'Sara's salad had a peach flavor with a really good taste. You could taste the lettuce; it was really, really crunchy. I could taste the tomatoes and the meat, too. The meat was the same as in my tacos, very juicy and spicy.

As for Mom's quesadillas, they really had a cheesy flavor. The cheese was creamy. The chicken was chunky and it exploded with flavor.

The chips with the queso, I could taste most of the queso because it was cheesy and meaty at the same time, but I could also taste a little bit of corn with the chips.

The waitress got my order right, and I had my Coke, so that was good. She offered to get me another Coke before I asked. She was really nice.

And that is my review. Satisfied.

PA PA

My sister lost Pa Pa today. She stuck by him when everyone else thought he was a goner. He always bounced back and was never in any pain. Today..this morning at 6:15 his heart finally stopped in his sleep. This is the email that my sister sent out today. We all love you PA PA




About 5 years ago I was at the city animal shelter registering my pets. The shelter staff walked an old dog by. I asked about him and they said he was a stray. However, he had a collar with a tag. The tag had a non-working phone number and the name "Sampson." I told them I would take the old dog. They discouraged me saying "Take another one. Something is wrong with this one. He walks in circles." I sat with him a while and then took him home anyway.

I kept Sampson's name because it fit him. Even though his face was already gray, with his barrel chest and big black nose, I knew he was something. He was a fighter - a street dog - the "John Wayne" of dogs. Sampson and I have worked though is physical disabilities, seizures, Cushings Disease, geriatric vestibular disease a heart murmur and a herniated disc. We have been to the dog ER too many times to count. His partially home cooked meals had more supplements than an Olympic athlete - and he was okay with that.

People thought Sampson was old and feeble. While he was on some accounts (15 years old best guess), he loved short walks, he was deceptively fast, and could run when he wanted. Just 12 months ago, he got out with all the other dogs, ran fast/far, and came home in the dog catcher truck.

A stroke this week was more than my tough Sampson could handle. I lost my big strong boy today. I trust he knows I did my best for him. True to his sweet personality, he made it easy on me in the end.

People say Sampson was lucky to have me....I say I was lucky to have Sampson. He made me laugh and smile. I love him and I will miss him.

TO SAMPSON: Run fast big man on four good legs and in a straight line! I love you and miss you.