Rachelle - Duke, the Family Dog
When I lived in Texas, we wanted a dog. We knew some friends who had three female dogs with husbands and each had 14 puppies. We looked at all of them trying to find the right one, but we couldn’t find any that would do.
Then it happened. A little puppy ran up to me and knocked me down. He got into his owner’s perfume. I could tell because I could smell cocoa all over him. It was a cocoa perfume, because he didn’t get in hot chocolate. At first I thought he had gotten into hot chocolate, but I couldn’t see any brown marks on his fur so then I knew he had gotten into perfume. I was surprised that he liked me.
Just when we were going to go to the pet store I said, “What about this one?”
“Well,” my dad said as he looked at the puppy’s eyes.
The way the puppy did the puppy eyes was that he made big, giant, googly eyes and his head and his paws were down and it was like he was begging for food from dinner. He was adorable when he did that.
“Ok,” my dad said.
“Yay!” I yelled.
We named him Duke. At first I wanted to name him Blues Clues because it was on a show, and I thought it would be perfect for him. But my dad said it wouldn’t fit him and picked the name Duke. I said that was even better than Blues Clues.
At that time he was adorable sleeping under the couch. His paws would be out from under the couch so we had to be careful not to step on them. He also grumbles while he sleeps. The time when we found out that he sleeps under the couch was when we heard a grumble while we were watching AFV (American’s Funniest Home Videos). During a video a man was dressed up like a Viking was riding a motorcycle. He jumped off a skateboard ramp, then jumped a fence and knocked it down. In the middle of that video we heard grumbling. We looked under the couch and saw Duke! He was sleeping and was as cute as can be. Now he is six and sleeps ON the couch.
Gardens
See the sun.
See the fountains covered in orchids.
The roses smell sweet; they surround a pond.
The lily pads are with joy.
The statue stays with a smile; she is doing a pasa.
The flowers shine.
I see a vine covered in beautiful purple grapes,
White daisies cover the ground.
They are of a solid color.
I see some doves right above on a wall that makes flowers grow.
The water is sweet, as sweet as the smell of clean.
The gate is closed with the color of a rose.
I see the baby’s breath surrounding the gate.
I don’t want to leave at all,
I’m staying for the garden ball.
I know where it is; it is in the circle made of tulips.
And in the middle of the circle is a buttercup.
Also on the left side there is a different kind of buttercup,
They are as blue as robins’ eggs.
The ball has started and I stay until midnight,
Now I see the moon shining and shimmering in silver light
All through the night sky.
The water has changed, it sparkles now
I go back home and sleep in a rose bed.
And I dream about that garden.
Rachelle - Wild Rides at Santa Cruz
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is lots of fun especially the rides! These are some of my favorites: There is a hang glider that goes super high, and there is a car ride that goes forwards and backwards. These are my most favorite: The Logger’s Revenge and the Dragon rollercoaster.
The Loggers Revenge was the best one there! It was green with water and you would ride in logs. At the end, there was a big drop that would get you soaking wet, and it would also flip your stomach because it goes straight down!
The Dragon one was cool, too. At first, it goes way to the side, so you think you are going to fall, but you don’t. It’s sort of like the Toontown rollercoaster at Disneyland, but longer. Also on this Dragon ride each car is part of the dragon. Once I got to ride in the very front which is the dragon’s head. The second time I rode I was in the second car by myself. It was fun and when I got to the part where the car leans to the side I was sure I was going to fall out.
My other favorite ride is the … TORNADO! You stand up in this ride and hold on to handlebars, and of course you wear a seatbelt. Then someone comes and closes the door and you start to …SPIN AND SPIN AND SPIN! On this ride whenever you try to lift your head it bangs right back. This ride goes 45 mph. The people on the ride who were dizzy were my whole family except for me and my cousin Oliver. We felt just fine because we either held our heads to the side or closed our eyes.
Finally my last favorite ride is with swings. You go on a swing and you go up high and spin around. Zoe and I went on a two-person swing. It was a light-colored blue.
Santa Cruz is a great place to go and if you are going to stay there for awhile always, always go to the Boardwalk and ride the rides!