Pleasant Piper

Valentine Crafts with Inky

2012-02-13T21:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

This weekend, Inky and I got out her craft supplies and set them up on her dining room table. We were making valentines for our friends!

I made pink valentines, of course! I used stickers with kitties saying "You're the Cat's Meow!" and stickers with honeybees saying "Bee Mine!" I think they look beautiful.

To help keep our energy up, Inky's Mom made us a plate of sugar cookies with pink frosting and sprinkles. Not only were they delicious, but they were the perfect cookies to eat while making valentines.

Inky and I dressed in our best Valentine outfits. I wore my valentine skirt and my special pink and red argyle tights. Inky wore her new narwhal tee. The dinner room looked perfectly lovely with all the heart garlands that Inky and I had made.

Before long, we had made enough valentines to send to our friends all over the country. (Of course we made some for our families too!)

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day! Make sure to give your family lots of hugs and your friends lots of high-fives!

National Zoo & Washington Monument

2012-02-10T12:10:00.000-08:00

Remember how Inky and I went to Washington, DC to see the Mariinsky Ballet with Inky's aunt? We actually got to stay for the entire weekend. While we were there I got to fulfill one of my goals for the year- I wanted to see a real, live Giant Panda! Inky and I had the chance to visit the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park- aka, the National Zoo.

We started out at the Panda Pavilion, where there is a big gift shop full of panda-themed items. There is a big panda statue outside, so we had to climb on it for a photo.

Then, we went to the Asia Trail- the section of the zoo where the pandas live. There is a big building with different exhibit spaces for both kinds of pandas- Giant Pandas (my favorite!) and Red Pandas (Inky's favorite!). We saw two big adult pandas eating bamboo. There were some little exhibits for kids to look at. In this photo, Inky and I are playing in one of the crates the zookeepers use to keep the pandas active and busy.

In the outside exhibit area, the red pandas were exploring their exhibit. Just like Giant Pandas, the Red Panda's main food is bamboo. Inky told me she loves to eat bamboo shoots in stir fry; we promised we'd ask her parents to make some for us.

There is a cute statue in the Asia Trail of two little red pandas, so Inky and I had to have our photo taken there too. Inky kept saying she wished she had a magic cupboard like the book Indian in the Cupboard, so that she could make the big panda statue come alive! I thought that might be a little scary, but a baby red panda would be pretty cute.

After we visited the pandas, we walked around the rest of the zoo. Most of the animals were inside, because it was very cold. Luckily, we found the Small Mammal House. There was a big statue of an aardvark outside. We had to take a photo to send our parents. The National Zoo really has a lot of animal statues!

As we left the zoo, we walked past the cheetah exhibit. Don't they look a tiny bit scary in their den? I bet they were cold- none of the other African animals were outside that day.

We stopped by the gift shop on the way out. Inky and I decided to buy each other a present- but we're going to keep them hidden until Valentine's Day, when we'll surprise each other with our presents.

After that, we rode the DC Metro to the National Mall. It was really cool! So far, I've only been on subways in New York City and Washington, but Inky said I was a pro. I figured out our route all by myself!

There's a ranger station near the Washington Monument; we went there to turn in our Junior Ranger workbooks. The Junior Ranger program is a little bit like Girl Scouts. Kids can do a little workbook about a National Park and then earn a badge. Inky and her friend Violet have about twenty badges each, but this was my first one. I was proud to earn it in our nation's capitol. When the ranger swore us in as official Junior Rangers, I knew I would keep my promise to protect our nation's treasures.

After we got our badges, we had to go to Union Station so we could catch the train back up to New York City, where Inky lives. Before we left, Inky snapped this photo of me in front of the Washington Monument. We had a great trip! I hope I'll be back someday!

A Night at the Ballet

2012-01-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

For the past two weeks, I have been visiting my friend Inky in New York City. This weekend, Inky and I took a special trip. We had tickets to see the famous Mariinsky Ballet, who had come all the way from Russia to perform at The Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

We packed our fanciest dresses and rode the Amtrak down to Union Station in Washington. It was my first time in the capitol of the United States! Inky had been before, but I was so excited to see all the different monuments and buildings as we drove through the city.

After we changed into our best dresses (from Melody Valerie Couture!), we left for The Kennedy Center. We had dinner in the Kennedy Center Café. It was delicious! I had Caesar salad and portabella mushroom ravioli with artichoke hearts.

After dinner, we sat down in our seats. We sat in the orchestra section, which means we were on the bottom section of the theatre. When the conductor walked in, everyone clapped and clapped. We listened quietly to the overture and waited for the curtain to rise.

When it did, I was thrilled! We were seeing a ballet called Chopiniana, which is also called Les Sylphides. It was beautiful. All the ballerinas wore long white tutus and there was one handsome gentleman dancing with them.

During the intermission, we had lemonade and cookies in the Members' Lounge. After that, there were two more ballets, Firebird, and Scheherazade. They were both very exciting, but I loved the first ballet the most.

On our way out of the theatre, we stopped to have our photo taken in the lobby. The big beautiful chandeliers gleamed above us. It was a magical night. I will always remember my first time seeing a world-famous ballet company. I'm glad Inky was there to watch it with me.

Have you ever gone out for a special evening? What did you wear?

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-01T18:00:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year, everyone!!!

Do you have any goals for 2012? My resolutions are to keep my room clean and to blog more!

I've been so busy over this Christmas break that I haven't had time to tell you about my Christmas! I got lots of great presents, I can't believe how lucky I am!

Christmas morning I ran down the stairs as fast as I could. I have a hard time sleeping in, but my mom makes me stay in bed until 8 AM.

There was a huge pile of presents for me under the tree!

I love wrapped presents. It's such a wonderful feeling when you're about to be surprised!!!!

Check out this cool book! Lots of great ideas for slumber parties. My mom says that this year I can finally start to have sleepovers!

I also got this fun game, it will be great for late night partying!

Next up were new roller blades!!! I'm so excited to go out and try them. Aren't they so cute?

My friend Inky sent over some presents from New York. I knew about one of them, but then my mom surprised me another package from Inky. It came a few weeks ago and she decided to hide it and save it for Christmas.

Look at these comfy moccasins. Inky always knows exactly what I'll like.

Oh wow!!!

These hedgehog babies match the hedgehog family I have in my room!!! Soooo cool, thank you Inky!!

Then there was only one present left..

Wait...! It can't be, can it??

This is Cécile's holiday dress! I told my mom I wanted Cécile for Christmas, but she said that I already have 2 American Girl dolls and that Santa probably couldn't bring me a third.

But then I spied a big box behind the tree, I hadn't noticed it before.

Looks about the right size..I am sooo excited.

Holy cow! IT IS!!

Isn't she beautiful?

I can't believe I got so many cool presents! I am so lucky.

Then I had to go get dressed for our big family Christmas dinner. I got Cécile dressed, too. :-)

Merry Christmas!!!

and...Happy New Year, again!!

Here is a behind the scenes picture from my New Years shoot, I wanted you to see my cool sparkly butterfly clip!

Can't wait to see what 2012 is like!

Paper Snowflakes!!

2011-12-16T17:22:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the middle of December, and we have no real snow on the ground yet! So I decided it was time to take care of that problem myself. I have made two new friends at my new school, so I invited them over and we made beautiful paper snowflakes together!

This is Kennedy, on the left, and on right is Jayda. I was nervous to start at a new school after we moved, but I shouldn't have been. Kennedy and Jayda are so much fun, I'm glad I met them.

Do you have any snow at your house yet? What fun things are you doing to decorate for the holidays?

Hooooooppy Hooooolloween!

2011-10-31T18:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, everyone!! I hope you've had an amazing day filled with lots of tricks and treats! It was the most beautiful day here today, blue skies and not too cold. Perfect for Halloween - I didn't need a coat this year.

I did something a little different with my pumpkin this year, doesn't he look crazy??

And this year for Halloween I decided to be one of my favorite animals - an owl! I worked so hard on this costume, and I love it.

What were you this year for Halloween? Did you get treats, or give tricks?

Shopping with Suzie!

2011-10-05T21:52:00.001-07:00

Fall means Back-to-School, and Back-to-School means time to shop! My friend Suzie and I went shopping for some fall necessities at our favorite shop, Georgell.

Suzie is the best shopping buddy because she has such unique taste - she is so fashion forward and she helps me be brave enough to try new things!

One of the most important necessities in anyone's closet is underwear. Shopping for undies can be a little uncomfortable sometimes, but you've got to do it!

Wearing clean undies is something you should always do, but I think something else we should all do is wear CUTE undies! Even though no one else knows, it makes a day that much more special.

One of my favorite things to shop for is SHOES!!! It's so fun to try all the different kinds on.

These boots are so Suzie. Doesn't she have amazing style?

Glad she was there to give me advice as I shopped!

But the very best part of shopping is enjoying a cupcake on the restaurant patio after it's all done. Suzie and I felt so grown up sitting out there!

Do you like to go shopping? What is your favorite thing to shop for?

I moved!

2011-09-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't blogged in so long - I had such a busy, busy summer! The busiest thing was that I moved! Have you ever moved before? It's such a long process - both the packing and the unpacking. The best part is getting to set up your new place though, want to see my new room?

This is my desk - where I blog! I love my bulletin board because I keep pictures with my friends there. See the picture of me with Inky? And the one with Lanie? I'm lucky because I didn't move too far away from Lanie, we'll still get to see each other sometimes. I am starting at a new school though, which makes me nervous!

This is my little hedgehog family, aren't they the cutest ever? I keep my games up on the shelf, too. Have you ever played Bop it!? It's so fun, but really tough.

I chose my bed crown above my bed because it reminds me of the outdoors - a big fluffy white cloud, blue sky and the beautiful stars!

I have my ipod and my silly little speaker-man on my nightstand so I can listen to my tunes whenever I want.

My doll trunk sits at the end of my bed. It's one of my favorite things - see how perfectly Samantha fits inside? And there is a perfect little doll-sized drawer for her clothes.

Sunny really isn't supposed to be up on the furniture, but sometimes I let him. Don't tell! He's so big and heavy he makes my bed springs creak!

It feels good to be back blogging again!

PS - you might notice some changes on the blog. The pictures are BIGGER, the background is a little different.

Picnic in the Park

2011-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:00

The weather here has been perfect! So perfect that Inky and I decided to go have a picnic in the park. We brought Sunny along to chase away ants.

We also brought along my teddy bear, Albert, and Inky's Icebat.

A picnic blanket...

and some sandwiches...

makes a perfect picnic!

It was nice and sunny, but super windy! Good thing we thought to bring along a kite - perfect kite-flying weather!!

Getting the kite up in the air is always the hardest part. Inky held the string,

And I threw the kite up in the air.

It took a few tries, but at last it was up!

Inky is such a good friend. I'm going to miss her so much when she goes back to New York. Hopefully I'll be able to visit her soon, though!

Inky loves animals and nature - this picture describes her perfectly to me!

Have you been doing anything fun this summer?

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T01:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter, everyone!

Inky and I had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We made ourselves some silly bunny ears by taping paper onto headbands. I even convinced Inky to wear one of my dresses for the holiday. (Inky doesn't really like dresses.)

Inky and I got fun Easter baskets - guess what was inside both of ours? Bubbles!!

Blowing bubbles is so much fun. It was a little windy, so the bubbles were going everywhere!

Inky and I pretended like the bubbles were magical fairy balls. We had so much fun blowing them and running around chasing them!

Sunny was really interested in the bubbles. He kept watching them and barking.

Then one landed on his nose! He was so surprised!

I think he was just as surprised when it popped!

We also got big delicious chocolate bunnies in our baskets! They were so yummy!

Sunny was really curious about my chocolate bunny too, but I didn't let him get too close. Chocolate is bad for dogs.

I hope you all had a fun Easter, too - with lots of candy and chocolate!

Making Spring Inside

2011-03-29T00:34:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited because my friend Inky is here visiting me from New York! I had so many fun things planned out to do with her, but it keeps raining and snowing here. I'm so tired of the snow, I'm ready for Spring and warm weather!

Inky and I wanted to take Sunny for a walk, but it was snowing again. I was so disappointed and feeling low, but then Inky suggested that we could make it Spring inside the house! Inky is so clever.

We pulled out a bunch of craft supplies and got busy.

We cut out butterfly shapes from pretty paper and decorated them.

Then we got really creative. I'll show you how to make a really cool butterfly!

You need two squares of pretty paper, about the same size.

Fold them up like a fan.

Then you need something that holds its shape. I used a twist-tie. A pipe cleaner would work really well, too.

Bend it in half, and then slide your folded up papers inside it. Pinch it together at the top of the papers, and bend the ends into curly antennae.

Now you've made a cute butterfly that you can put anywhere that needs a little bit of Spring!

If you want to see how to make another type of butterfly, visit Inky's blog!

Inky and I taped the butterflies all around my desk. Inky even hung one from the ceiling! Isn't it fun?

Now my desk is all about Spring, even though it's still acting like Winter outside!

My Facebook Fan Page!

2011-03-21T16:27:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! Just wanted to quickly announce that I now have a facebook fan page! You can fan me here !

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today is one of my favorite holidays - Valentine's Day! I love the opportunity to really show my family and friends how much I care about them.

Do you like my Valentine's outfit? I got the cute zebra graphic from Bunny Cakes blog, here.

Today Caitlin and I made oreo truffles to give out to our friends. They are so easy to make.

First you need a package of oreos.

Crush those oreos up with a rolling pin inside a plastic bag. Once they are crumbly, mix them with a package of cream cheese. Then roll it into little balls.

Chill them in the fridge for a while. Then melt some chocolate and dip away!

You can decorate them with sprinkles, more oreo crumbs, nuts, anything!

Then give them to your friends...

...or not.

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Spend it with the people you care about!

Playing Dolls

2011-01-29T18:44:00.001-08:00

I had such a fun time today. I was able to get together with some of my friends who also love American Girl, and play dolls!

Caitlin brought her Josephina doll, and Kanani played with Rebecca.

Nayeli has a cute Molly doll.

My friend Suzie is so fun and fashion forward. She has great style, and so does her Addy doll!

I brought my Nellie doll to play. I love playing dolls with my friends!

Winners!

2011-01-23T16:29:00.001-08:00

That's right, I said WINNERS, not just winner!

First, the winner of my mini 2010 photo album was chosen by a random number generator, called random.org. And our winner was comment #39 -

Congratulations, Rebecca! Please email me at PleasantPiper@gmail.com with your address so that I can ship you your prize!

I also kept track of which photos were mentioned as being reader's favorites, and thought you might be interested to know which one was the top favorite! The most popular image was "P" is for Piper!

So as a bonus, I'm also giving away a poster of "P" is for Piper, perfect size for a doll's bedroom!

The winner of the poster is comment #26 -

Congratulations, Rachael17! Please email me at PleasantPiper@gmail.com with your address so that I can ship you your prize!

Didn't win, but still wishing you had the album? You can purchase both my album and a doll size poster of "P" is for Piper in my new Etsy shop, HERE!

Thanks to everyone for entering and subscribing!

Last day to enter my giveaway!

2011-01-22T09:05:00.001-08:00

Don't forget to enter my giveaway - today is your last day! Tomorrow morning I'll be announcing a winner!

Enter in the post below this one.

My 2010 Album, and a Giveaway!

2011-01-13T20:15:00.001-08:00

I have something really special to share with you today!

It's an album of all of my favorite pictures from 2010. I have now been writing in this blog for one year. Thank you all so much for reading and following - I love all of my internet friends!

I included all of my favorite 2010 moments in the album.

Remember when I got Sunny? And my birthday?

The album opens up like an accordian!

Here is the front, and the back.

The album is 3"x3" -perfect size for me! It has a gorgeous cream suede cover.

And a nice slip cover to go over top and keep it safe.

I love my album so much, almost as much as I love my blog readers. So I wanted to share my album with all of you - and not just online!

Want a copy of my album?

I'm going to give away a copy of this album here on my blog!

There are three ways to enter:

1 - Leave me a comment on this post, telling me which of my 2010 photos you liked the best!

2 - If you follow this blog, leave me another (separate from the first comment) telling me that you follow!

3 - If you spread the news about this giveaway somewhere else - your blog, facebook, youtube, twitter, etc - leave me another (separate from the other two) comment telling me about how you spread the word!

The last day to enter is Saturday, January 22nd. I'm going to randomly choose a winner Sunday morning - the 23rd!

If you win, you'll need to send me your address so I can mail you the album. So if you are under 18, make sure you have your parent's permission to enter!

Good luck, everyone! If you have any questions, send me an email at PleasantPiper@gmail.com!

The Night Before Christmas

2010-12-29T15:02:00.001-08:00

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!

I had such a great Christmas. I can't wait to show you some of the wonderful presents I got. And guess what - it snowed here today, too! Finally I'll be able to go out sledding!

Christmas Eve is such an exciting time for me. We always read The Night Before Christmas before we snuggle up in our beds ourselves. And then I have the hardest time falling asleep because I'm so excited!

Do you have any fun Christmas traditions?

Making Gingerbread Houses!

2010-12-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

Today Caitlin and I made gingerbread houses! Caitlin loves to bake, and she's really good at it.

Some good friends of mine in Colorado gave me The (Mini) Gingerbread House Kit. It came with a wonderful book and cookie cutters to get the job done.

We made our gingerbread using the recipe in The (Mini) Gingerbread House Book. We used sugar, flour, molasses, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, shortening, baking soda, and salt! A lot of ingredients, but they made the yummiest gingerbread!

We rolled out our dough, and cut out our houses. Each house needs a front, back, two side pieces, and two pieces for the roof. We dusted our cookie cutters in flour so that they wouldn't stick to the dough. It makes it a lot easier.

Ready to go into the oven!

They don't take very long to bake. You know they're done when they are not too soft and they look golden brown.

Then we built our houses using sugar we melted over the stove. You get it really sticky, then dip one side of the cookie into it. It glues them together really fast. But be careful not to get the sugar too hot or let it burn!

While we waited for our houses to cool, we got our decorations ready.

And we made frosting.

For gingerbread houses, the frosting needs to be really stiff. It's good if it will form a little icicle when you put some on your finger.

Time to decorate!!
I love big swirls of frosting!

Caitlin put candy canes on each side of her house, sort of like a candy cane castle.

Aren't our finished houses fun? With so many yummy things on them, I just want to eat it! But we're going to save them to be centerpieces at our Christmas party.

This is my house, with an m&m roof.

And Caitlin's house, with an oreo door.

Have you made a gingerbread houses yet this year?

Haul out the Holly!

2010-12-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

Put up the tree before my spirit falls again!

Just kidding...my spirit isn't about to fall! Christmastime is one of my favorite times of the whole year!

My friend Caitlin is visiting from Nevada right now, so she helped me set up the tree. Lanie came over too, so we had a little tree trimming party.

Caitlin helped me tackle the lights while Lanie got out the trimmings. Isn't it crazy how there is always one light that just magically goes out every year?

Caitlin asked me if she could put up the star. I wanted to say no, because that is so fun and I love putting it up. But I thought that because she is a guest I should let her do the really fun things. I want her to enjoy her visit with me!

I need a little Christmas! Right this very minute!
I have so many fun things planned during December. I can't wait to share them all with you!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! I love Halloween.

In fact, I have a great Halloween joke to share.
How do you fix a jack-o-lantern?
I'll tell you at the bottom of this post!

This morning we found the most sincere pumpkin patch we could to pick out a pumpkin to carve. There were so many pumpkins there, all shapes and sizes! Some were so big I couldn't carry them!

I found the most perfect pumpkin to carve up. Nice and round!

I tried to carry it myself but it was a little bit too big. I had to just sit by and guard it until my dad came to carry it back to the car.

Then we went home and turned on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown to watch while I carved it up. First I took off the top and pulled out all the mushy insides. Then I drew on the face I wanted to carve.

Next I cut out the pieces really carefully with a sharp knife.

It looks pretty good, don't you think? But I have even bigger plans for it...

I took it outside and then I made it into...

A puking pumpkin!!!

My mom said "Ew" and said I was crazy. But my dad thought it was really funny, and so do I! It's sure different from any other pumpkins on our street!

Then it was time to go get dressed up and ready to go trick-or-treating!!

My Belle costume is so pretty. I took a picture inside, because I had to wear a coat over it when I went out - it was too cold! I'm pretty sure Belle wouldn't ever wear a coat over her pretty dress.

She probably wouldn't wear sneakers underneath either...

Once it got dark we lit the puking jack-o-lantern!

Then I set off to meet up with friends and collect as much candy as we could.

It was fun to see all of their neat costumes, and to compare our treats.

We had so much fun. Tricks or treats only comes once a year, and I can't wait until next October!

Ready for the answer to the joke?
How do you fix a jack-o-lantern?
With a pumpkin patch!!

Happy Halloween!

Ghost Suckers!

2010-10-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

Only 1 day left to vote on my Halloween costume! Vote on the right side of my blog!

Today I made ghost suckers!! They are made from white chocolate and are super delicious. I'll show you all how I made them, so you can make them too!

Ghost suckers are easy, and you don't need a lot of supplies.

First, put some wax paper down on your cookie sheets. This will make your clean up a lot easier.

Then lay out your sucker sticks. I used black sucker sticks because it's almost Halloween! But if you don't have sucker sticks, you could even use Popsicle sticks.

Set those aside for now.

The only other ingredients you need are chocolate chips! You need lots of white chocolate chips, and a few milk chocolate chips.

Put your white chocolate chips in a bowl. Make sure it's a microwave safe bowl!

Put them in your microwave for 30 seconds, take them out, and stir. If they aren't melted yet, microwave them for 20 seconds more, and stir. Keep doing this until they are just melted - they probably won't look melted until you stir them up!

Now that your chocolate is melted, start shaping your ghosties. Spoon out the chocolate around each sucker stick in the shape of a ghost. The best part is they don't need to be perfect - every ghost is different! After you've shaped them, push two milk chocolate chips in for eyes.

I gave some ghosts arms.

And I gave other ghosts mouths with a third milk chocolate chip.

Aren't they funny looking? They make me laugh. They also make me start singing the Disney song about grim grinning ghosts who come out to socialize!

Now it's time to wait for them to harden. In the meantime, I should probably clean my dirty dishes...

Washing dishes isn't my favorite thing to do, but it sure is nice to help the time pass! Time to check if they are hard enough! You'll know they're ready when they pop right up off that wax paper and look just like a sucker.

Mmmmm! So delicious!

Happy Halloween!!! I'm going out into the crisp fall air with my grim grinning ghost to socialize! If you make ghost suckers too, let me know!

Don't forget to vote on my Halloween costume!

My Herbarium!

2010-10-02T15:21:00.000-07:00

It's October! Can you believe it? I love October, fall, and Halloween! I have so many fun things I'm planning to do this month, and I will share them all with you.

But first, I have to decide what to be for Halloween. Will you help me? I have it narrowed down to two choices. I'm either going to be Hermione Granger, from Harry Potter; or Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Vote and let me know which one you think I should dress up as over on the right side of my blog. I'll leave the poll open until Wednesday, October 13th, when I'll tally up the votes and see which costume I should start making!

This week I've been working hard putting together my herbarium! Remember all of those beautiful flowers I gathered and pressed over the summer? They are all finished being pressed now, and ready to be displayed.

Making my herbarium was easy. I'll show you what I did, so you can make one too!

First I gathered together enough white paper all cut to the same size to be the pages of my book. I punched holes in the same place on the top of every page. I got a piece of green cardstock to be the cover of my book, and folded it in half so it could be both the front and back covers. I punched holes in that, too.

Then I gathered together some things to decorate my cover with.

After I attached my paper flowers to the cover, I wrote my name on it so everyone would know it was mine.

Then I got out my flowers. Be careful with them - you don't want them to break! I used clear tape to put them on the paper. Try to arrange them so you can see the different parts of the flower.

Write about the flower on the paper. It's important to include the common name of the flower as well as the Latin name. You can get books from the library to help you identify your flowers, or look them up on the internet. I put down where I found the flower, as well as when it was. You can also include anything interesting that you learn about the flower. For example, when I was looking up the lavender, I found that it does well even without a lot of rain. I thought this was interesting because I collected that lavender in the middle of the summer when it was so hot here!

Then put all of your pages together and use yarn to tie the book together. This way I can add more pages later!

If you make a herbarium too, let me know! I'd love to see it. Don't forget to vote in my poll for what I should be for Halloween!

Rollerblading!

2010-09-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Even though summer is over and school has started, it's still pretty warm here. Today after I finished cleaning my room and doing my other chores, I pulled out my roller blades. They were in the back of the closet and sort of dusty because I haven't used them in a long time.
My mom told me to wear a helmet, but I didn't really want to because I think it makes me look a little bit silly. But safety comes before fashion, I guess.

I was a little wobbly when I started. It took a few tries to really get my balance.

At first that funny Sunny would run behind and chase after me.

But after a little while he got worn out, and sat on the lawn instead. He barked whenever I came by.

I started going faster and faster. The wind felt cold on my face, and still I went faster!

I was going so fast I didn't even see the rock.

I fell down pretty hard, and both of my knees got scraped up a little bit. My left elbow did, too. It stung, and I could feel tears starting in my eyes.

But then Sunny came and comforted me. He knew just where it hurt, and gave me doggy kisses to make it feel better.

I'm glad I wore a helmet after all! Sunny helped me feel better and I got back up and skated back to the house to get my knees washed off.

Sunny!

2010-08-24T20:32:00.001-07:00

I have the most exciting news!
Today when I was walking home from school, I passed by a house that had a sign out that said "Free puppies" and I got so excited! At dinner, I mentioned it to my parents, and that got my dad really excited! I was not expecting that. We didn't even finish dinner, he had us all jump up and run over there.
Most of the puppies were already claimed, but there was this adorable one just waiting for us. I named him Sunny, because he's so bright just like the sunshine.

Isn't he adorable?

He was a little nervous at first, so I tried to be quiet and not scare him.

He warmed up to me pretty fast though, and decided I make a great playmate. I can hold his front paws and we pretend to dance together! When I do this, he usually starts licking my hands over and over. My dad says that is because he doesn't really like dancing with me, but I think he is wrong.

My mom says having a new puppy around is going to mean a lot more responsibility for everyone. So now I have new chores - feeding him every evening, and taking him for a walk every afternoon.

I can already tell Sunny and I will be best of friends.

Do you have any good advice for me? I've never had a puppy before!

Chasing Waterfalls

2010-08-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to hear about my great hike?

We went out to the coast here in Washington, on the Quinault Reservation. We went to have a picnic and hike around Lake Quinault.

My grandpa took us up on a hike, and guess what we found? A gorgeous waterfall!

I climbed up all the way to the top. It was a little scary, because the rocks were wet and slippery. I used a big walking stick to help me out. Waterfalls are really loud, too. I never knew that until I was so close to one!

The view from the top was definitely worth it!

After so much hiking, we were hungry and ready to have our picnic. We went to a place called July Creek. It was so beautiful, the water and sky were both so blue.

It was a lot warmer down by the lake, I didn't even need my jacket.

After eating lunch, we had lots of time to just play. We tried skipping rocks on the water - I wasn't very good at that. I pretended I was a gymnast walking a balance beam on the fallen logs, and I was much better at doing that! I only fell off once.

There were so many beautiful wildflowers around. The area is a rain forest, but it's a temperate rain forest, so it's different from the tropical rain forests that I usually think of. It seemed like everything was covered in green!

I gathered up a lot of flowers to press for my herbarium!

I really love hiking. There is so much to see in nature. Do you like to hike?

Visiting Washington

2010-07-29T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! Guess what, I'm on vacation up in beautiful Washington!
I love coming up to visit my grandparents, who live right next to a little lake, called Phantom Lake. I love the way it smells up here, and listening to the geese honk at nights. Once I saw a sea otter in the lake while I was out canoeing! Sea otters are one of my favorite types of animals. I kept an eye out, but didn't see any this year.

It's not as hot here as it is back home in Utah! And everything is so green because they get so much rain. My grandpa loves to garden, and there are so many fun places to explore in their yard. There is a little pond there too, with frogs in it!

I love going down to the dock to look out over the lake. In the afternoons it's warmer and we can go swimming, but the mornings are a little chilly!

Guess what I see?

A whole bunch of beautiful water lilies!

I'm having such a wonderful time! We're planning a hiking trip soon, I can't wait to show you pictures!

Pressing Flowers

2010-07-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Back in January, my good friends in Colorado gave me a beautiful flower press. Have you ever pressed flowers? Before people had cameras, they would press flowers from special occasions to help preserve their memories.

This evening I went to a nearby field to see what I could find. If you're going to press flowers, you shouldn't pick them from a neighbor's house or anything. People might be very angry at you, because they work hard to grow their gardens! If there is a specific bloom you want, you should always ask for permission first.

It is so beautiful here in Utah during the summer. Look at the pretty mountains behind me! We were up pretty high in the foothills, so I could look out over the valley.

And look at these beautiful flowers I found!

I gathered up a big armful and we headed back home.

With my flower press came this wonderful book, all about how to press flowers correctly. It even gives information on what different flowers mean.

In her book, Caroline Tiger says that it's important to press the flowers as soon as possible after picking them. This helps them to keep their color and shape better. She also says you might want to avoid picking flowers after it has rained. If the flower is wet, it will take a lot longer to dry in the press. Lucky for me, it has been hot! hot! hot! here, so I didn't have to worry about that.

First I laid a piece of cardboard inside my press, and a piece of blotting paper. The blotting paper helps to absorb the moisture in the flower and dry it out. I arranged my flowers carefully, it's important to help them lay as flat as possible.

I put another piece of blotting paper on top, and did another layer of flowers.

Then one more piece of blotting paper, another piece of cardboard, and it was time to close the press up! My dad helped me screw on the wing nuts really tight.

The flowers will probably take over a week to dry completely. Every day I have to tighten up the wing nuts even more. Tightening them will help to keep my flowers from wrinkling up as they start to lose their moisture.

I put them in a dry place that didn't get sunlight - our closet!

Did you know that you don't need a special press like mine to press flowers? You can use a big book instead - like a phone book! Make sure to get permission from your parents, because thicker flowers can ruin the binding of a book. Put paper towels around your flowers just like I did with the blotting paper, and spread them throughout the book. You can stack more books on top of your phone book to add more weight and help really flatten the flowers out. Caroline Tiger says it's okay to check the flowers to see if they are done, but be careful because they can rip really easily. She says they are ready to be removed when they are stiff and don't wilt when lifted up.

I can't wait for my flowers to be done! I'll let you know when they are, and show you how to mount them in a display book called a herbarium.

Today is my birthday!

2010-06-27T23:17:00.000-07:00

Guess what? Today I turn 11! I've been so excited for my birthday, and at last it is here!

I had a wonderful party this afternoon with several of my friends. I'm so happy they were able to come. My mom helped me put my hair in curlers last night so that my hair would be curly. Isn't it cute? Sometimes I wish my hair was always curly, like Lanie's, but she says sometimes she wishes for straight hair.

My mom bought this amazing chocolate cake - doesn't it look delicious? It tasted sooo good.

We had cupcakes, too. They were lemon flavored.

The best part of my birthday was having all of my friends over, but the second best part was the present Grandma Maxwell sent for me.

Guess what was inside?

A Samantha doll!!! I'm so excited! Now Nellie and Samantha are together as best friends again. Samantha is so pretty, look at her long hair. I just finished reading the Samantha stories, so it makes it even more special to have her. I think my favorite one was Samantha's Surprise.

Everyone wanted to hold Samantha and play with her.

My parents must have known that Grandma Maxwell was getting me Samantha, because they got me a present too -

- Samantha's birthday outfit!!

Now Samantha and I were able to dress up for our birthdays together!

I'm having such a wonderful birthday. I wish every day was my birthday, but then I guess it wouldn't be as special, would it?

P is for Piper

2010-06-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Remember to vote me for Little Miss Playthings 2010!

Eek!

2010-05-31T23:22:00.000-07:00

Our local movie theater was doing a special screening of Sleeping Beauty this week, so Lanie and I went to see it.

That movie scares me! Especially the part when everything goes all green and Aurora has to prick her finger - eek! The end is pretty scary too, when Phillip is fighting Maleficent as a dragon! I was so scared I accidentally knocked our popcorn into Lanie's lap..twice!

What's the scariest movie you have ever seen?

Pizza Gardening

2010-05-12T13:34:00.001-07:00

Lanie's family eats a lot of pizza - apparently it's all her little sister will eat. She was telling me all about how they do something called "pizza gardening" and plant pizza toppings - tomatoes, green peppers, oregano - and make pizzas from their own garden!

I think this is a terrific idea. So today I decided my mom's garden needed a couple of pizza toppings in it too.

Lanie rolled her eyes at me, but I'm dreaming of pepperoni plants...

A Spring shopping day!

2010-05-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go shopping with my mom and some friends! Lanie and her mom came with us, and we met up with our friends Caitlin and Ellie (and their moms) there. I love shopping - I tried on so many fun outfits. I finally settled on a beautiful black twirly skirt with sequins (Caitlin got the same one, so we will be twins!), a cute skirt with bright flowers, some fluffy pink slippers, and very sophisticated white headband. My mom let me wear the headband this afternoon. I love getting new things!

After shopping we went out for an afternoon tea, which was really fun. Lanie and I wore our best spring dresses. While our moms chatted afterward, we went out and ran around on the fairgrounds. It looks so different without the fair there! I'm used to it being filled with colors and lights.

Do you like my pretty new Spring dress?

We found these great rocks to climb on. From up top I could see such a long way!

Ellie told us a wonderful fairytale about a giant who lived in rocks like these.

Caitlin really loves trees. Her mom laughs and calls her a "tree hugger" - but we're not entirely sure why she thinks it's so funny. Maybe because trees can't hug back?

I had a really great time with Lanie. She's so funny, and she knows so much about nature.

Arches National Park!

2010-04-03T10:41:00.000-07:00

I had Spring Break for school this weekend, so my parents and I went down to Arches National Park. It was so beautiful!

I learned a lot about the arches while I was down there. Did you know that in order for a hole to be considered an arch it has to have an opening of at least 3 feet? I asked my dad why they called them "arches" instead of "holes" and he said that "Delicate Hole" just wouldn't sound as cool. He's so silly.

The arches are made by erosion caused by water, wind, ice and extreme temperatures - both hot and cold! I didn't think the desert could get so cold, but in the winter the park can get below 0 degrees. It was really windy while we were there, which made my hands really cold, even though the sun was hot.

It was a lot of fun to go hike up to the different arches. You have to be careful to stay on the trails so that you don't bother any of the plants or animals. The hike up to Delicate Arch was the hardest one, it was so steep and long!

I actually stopped to rest a few times.

But finally made it!

I decided to help hold up Delicate Arch for a little while. Someday the erosion that made the arch will also make it fall down. I hope not anytime soon!

Spring is coming, can you see the little green buds on the tree?

My trip was so much fun! Did you do anything fun for Spring Break?

Reading in the Garden

2010-03-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

My Easter dress this year looks just like Nellie's! I'm so excited about it that I keep trying it on and wanting to go out in it. If I do, I have to be super careful to not get it dirty. But today I went out in the garden and read with Nellie. It's so fun to match my doll, everyone who comes by has something nice to say about it.

I'm so excited that Spring is finally here! The weather is so nice, and I don't have to wear a big heavy coat anymore. I love the pretty flowers that will start to bloom soon. Are you excited for Spring? What is your favorite thing that comes with Spring?

My End of the Rainbow

2010-03-17T14:55:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone!!!
Lucky me, I found the end of the rainbow, complete with a pot of gold!!

Okay, I actually made this pot of gold myself with a Styrofoam ball, some pipe cleaners, and pasta!
I wove a bright green ribbon into my hair-do to help protect me from pinching fingers today. Holidays are so fun!

Keeping on my toes...

2010-03-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love ballet. I could dance all day long! This summer I'll be taking Ballet Foundations 2 at the Ballet West Academy. I can't wait. Every day I stretch and practice.

I always take time to stretch so I won't pull any muscles!

Then I practice my Pliés in each of the five positions - two Demi and one Grand. This is third position.

Miss Lisa always says to use pretty "ballet fingers"!

I'm working really hard on my turnout.

I love attending ballet class with my friends, and I love performing at our recitals! I also love to watch ballet, I got to see Cinderella performed last year and it was so beautiful. Have you ever been to a ballet?

Meet Lanie!

2010-02-24T21:41:00.000-08:00

After school today, I was eating my snack when I heard a knock at the door.

I answered it, and there was a girl there that I had never seen before!

"Hi," She said. "My name is Lanie Holland, and I'm new in Pleasant County. I heard there was another girl my age here, so I wanted to come introduce myself."

"That's great!" I told her. "Come on in - you must be freezing!"

She told me that she was. "The dress I wore here was definitely not right for this weather - I had to change as soon as I arrived!"

So I invited Lanie to come share my afternoon snack with me.

I told her all about me - my school, my ballet classes, how excited I am for spring to come.
In return, she told me about herself.

Lanie is a scientist! She said I could be one, too. She loves animals and being outdoors. And she's a really good artist.

After we finished our snack, I showed Lanie my Nellie doll. She loved her - but then again, who wouldn't??

I told her all about the American Girl historical dolls. She seemed really interested, so I loaned her Nellie's Promise and sent a catalog home with her, too.

I'm so excited to have a friend who lives so close by! Especially because Lanie loves being outdoors too - I can tell that we'll have lots of fun together this summer. By the way, my person wants me to mention that Lanie came to Pleasant County by way of Badger Wood and The Doll Wardrobe! Check it out!

Butterfly in the sky....

2010-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

In the month of January, Pinkicepanda had a contest on Youtube. We entered, and won second place! For our prize, we chose Lanie's Butterfly Outfit. Everything has been so busy that we didn't find time to take pictures until yesterday afternoon!

The outfit comes with such a cute little butterfly clip! I know it isn't real, but I like pretending. ;-)

Unfortunately it is still freezing here - it actually started snowing right after we finished taking these pictures! So right now I prefer to pair up the orange cardigan with a tee and some pants -

A big THANKS to Pinkicepanda! You should all go check out her youtube channel!

Cousin Molly Meets Her Mount!

2010-02-18T23:22:00.001-08:00

My cousin Molly lives in California with my person's aunt. She just sent me this letter about the wonderful adventures she has been having, and I wanted to share it with all of you!

Dear Piper,
Over President's Day weekend my person and I traveled down to Arizona! It was so nice and warm there. We enjoyed pools and parties, but my absolute favorite thing that we did was go horseback riding!

Early in the day my person and I worked on decorating some t-shirts. We made a pink on with roses, and a purple on with a big sunflower!

Here I am, working hard. Do you like my new glasses? They are just like the ones my person wears!

Afterward, we headed out to the stable where I got to meet Blaze, a beautiful, sleek black horse. He was so friendly!

I was a little bit nervous about riding, because this was my first time. But Blaze was so gentle and patient.

Blaze and I rode through the dry Arizona desert. The desert is actually really beautiful, and the colors are so different from sunny California.

I fed Blaze carrots to say "Thank you" for such a wonderful ride. I can't wait to get in the saddle again!

I miss you and hope that you are doing well!! Can't wait to see you again soon!
Hugs and kisses,
Molly

Happy Valentine's Day...a little late!

2010-02-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

I wanted to blog on Valentine's Day, but things have sure been busy around here!

I love Valentine's Day - chocolates and cute little cards! What more could a girl want?

My friend Corde sent me the funnest Valentine's package. Look at these amazing socks that she sent!

She also sent this adorable little bear and a Valentine she made all by herself!!

It's so nice to feel appreciated, as Anne Shirley says. Corde is hopefully going to come to Utah for a visit this July!

Rebecca's New (and Old) Dress

2010-02-11T11:47:00.001-08:00

Rebecca got a beautiful new (and old!) dress. The lace on it is antique - and absolutely gorgeous. My person found the dress on Ebay.
She told me she wanted to show it off to the world, so I offered up the blog. She didn't know what a blog was, though, and kept going on about silent movies and large stills that would show her off to an advantage. I finally convinced her that in this day and age, my blog would be the fastest way to share her dress with the world.

Sweet Surprises!

2010-02-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

Today I got something in the mail! I love getting mail, it makes me feel so grown up.
There was a small package along with a letter. I opened the letter first.

The cutest little envelope with MY name on it!

It's a letter from Inky! Inky lives in New York, and she's my new pen-pal. It's so much fun to have a pen-pal, because I get to hear about what life is like in other places. I love reading Inky's blog and hearing about the adventures she has.

And she sent a custom tee from AGPNY, just like I wanted!! It says "Life is full of sweet surprises" on the front.

That was so nice of Inky - now I'm putting on my thinking cap to think of something special I can send her! Life really is full of sweet surprises, isn't it? Have you ever had a pen-pal?

Winner!!

2010-02-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

Bet you thought I forgot about the giveaway ending, huh. ;-) Well, I didn't, but my person got really sick and so it's been hard to find time to get on and blog! She's all better now, just rushing to make sure everything for school is finished and caught up on.
So, without further ado, the winner is...
Comment #6! Avery V. !
Avery, shoot us an email with your info (pleasantpiper@gmail.com) and we'll get those right out to you!

I have sooo many things to blog about - keep watching this week for updates! We have several new things around here, and I can't wait to show you!

Julianna comes to play...and a giveaway!

2010-01-31T18:02:00.001-08:00

Today I was so excited because my friend Julianna came over to play! Julianna is also ten-years-old. My person's husband says that Julianna and I must be twins because we both have freckled faces! Julianna and I both love doing crafts, so the first thing we did was pull out the ol' fabric stash box!

After a little bit of goofing off, we finally chose on some fabric to do some more serious "playing around" with.

I cut out the patterns while Julianna threaded the needle and sewed.

When we were finished, we had fabric flowers!!
I helped Julianna pin hers in her long, blond hair.

Aren't they great?

It is really cute as a brooch, as well!

We had so much fun making them together, that I had a wonderful idea. I told Julianna, and she thought it sounded great, too!

We made an extra plaid flower to share with one of my lucky internet friends! When my person heard my plan, she thought it was great and made a plaid flower for the winner's person, too!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. Remember, if you win we'll need your address to send you the flowers, so make sure you have your parent's permission! If you win, you can choose whether you want your flowers as hair pins or brooches! Leave a comment by midnight on February 6th, and we'll randomly choose a winner on February 7th.

I had so much fun with Julianna. I can't wait until she comes over again.

All About Me

2010-01-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! I decided it's probably time me to tell you more about me.
My name is Piper Nicole Maxwell, and I'm 10 years old. I'm in Miss Parker's 5th grade class at Westland Elementary School. I love school, especially creative writing! I also love to read, my favorite book is The Secret Garden. I take ballet class two times a week, although my mom says I never stop dancing really - on the sidewalk, in the kitchen, anywhere! I cannot wait until summer, I love being outside and going camping. I'm also extremely talented at climbing trees and doing flips on the trampoline! My favorite color is blue, and my favorite food is pizza!

Yesterday I saw some pictures of the new custom tees at American Girl Place New York, and I wanted one so bad - they are so cute! But of course, we don't live anywhere near AGPNY. So instead I made my own! I love animals, so I decided to put an owl on my shirt. I was a little worried at first, because I thought appliques were for babies, but I love how it turned out! I chose all the fabrics from my person's big stack of scraps - she said that makes her feel better about her terrible habit of hanging on to every fabric scrap. It's really cold and gray outside, so we couldn't get a very good picture. Hopefully we can get a better one later on.
Here's a close-up of the owl -

A New Doll!!!

2010-01-14T14:57:00.000-08:00

A huge box came in the mail for me today! I was so excited!! I opened it up, and what do you think was inside?

That's right!!! My very own American Girl doll!!!!

Her name is Nellie, and she is the one I was wishing for! I'm so excited! I had no idea my person was going to get her for me.

Luckily my person was on hand to catch every moment of the excitement.

I know that Nellie and I are going to have so much fun together.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get started on reading Nellie's Promise!

I entered!

2010-01-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today I entered the Liberty Jane 2010 Winter design contest.
I really really want Lanie to come live here - I can already tell we'd be best friends. Plus she looks a lot like my person, which is really fun.
I sat down today and designed an outfit to enter the contest. It's a fun dress for the summer time - the type of thing you could wear every day. Made of a blue-green linen, with a white braided trim overlaid on the bottom portion in a floral pattern. I think it will really set off Lanie's eyes, plus the flowers echo her love for nature. I included a 3/4 sleeve white cardigan for Lanie, because I know those New England nights can be chilly. And of course some sassy yellow ballet flats and a yellow bracelet!
You can view it here.
I begged my person to try to make the dress herself if I don't win. She said she might try, but she definitely doesn't have Cinnamon's skills. :-)
Also - good luck to Cinnamon! Right now there are over 1,200 entries - that is going to take a while to get through!

A new top! Hurray!

2010-01-07T18:21:00.000-08:00

So, I spied a couple of adorably girly and sweet tops at jcrew - I wanted them all. Unfortunately they didn't come in my size. :-( Luckily I had one made for me, in a sweet pale yellow. It reminds me of Spring sunshine, which I miss. I get tired of all the snow - especially when it's old and mucky instead of freshly fallen.

I love the ruffles. So feminine yet sophisticated.

I can't wait to wear it to school tomorrow!
PS - there are some great things going on at the sewing table this week, can't wait to show you once they are done!