Geoffrey's birthday party

Hello everyone!

I am so excited because I get to go to Geoffrey's birthday party this Saturday! I just can't wait. It's only Wednesday today, so I have a very long ways to go. I like birthday parties because you get to eat cake and play games, and sometimes they give you a little bag of party favors to take home with you.

The only birthday party I ever went to that I didn't like very much was Mary Jane's (you can read all about it in my yellow book if you'd like!) I was the only boy at her party, so it wasn't very much fun for me, and all the girls did the entire time was giggle and play with their dolls. I do still like Mary Jane though, even if her party was boring.

But, oh man, Geoffrey's party is going to be great! We'll probably get to play cops and robbers in the house, and his Mum bakes the most delicious cakes you've ever had. Don't tell my Mum I told you, but the chocolate fudge raspberry cake she made last year was even better than the chocolate cake my Mum makes! And, my Mum makes GREAT chocolate cake, so you know it was really good. We've already bought a present for Geoffrey, and he is going to be so excited. It's a shiny red truck and it's so terrific that I really wanted Mum to buy one for me too, but she said that's not how birthday parties work and I should be a good boy and not complain.

Well, I hope all of you are having a great day! I can't wait for Saturday!

Your buddy,

Nicholas

Researching penguins for school

Hello everyone!

We have to write research paper for school on an animal that lives in or by the sea. Teacher said it has to be at least 2 pages! That seems very long to me, but Teacher said that if we do enough research, it won't feel long enough... I don't know about that. I am going to write mine about penguins, because they are such funny birds and they look like they are wearing tuxedos all the time. I especially like they way that they waddle around on land, and Jeremy and I had a lot of fun at recess pretending to be penguins ourselves. He is writing his paper on whales, but that's harder to play pretend at when you're not in the pool.

What I've learned about penguins so far is:

1. Almost all penguins live in the southern hemisphere

2. Penguins can drink saltwater, and the extra salt comes out their nose (gross!)

3. Penguins are usually not afraid of humans, and so sometimes they will walk right up to you!

I've learned some other things too, but those are my favorite bits so far. Writing this paper is going to be hard, but it makes me feel very grown-up. Maybe one day I'll be a scientist! Anyways, I should probably go get to work on it- have a good afternoon!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Jeremy's baby brother

Hello Everybody!

I don't know if you remember, but I wrote in my green book about the time that Jeremy got a younger brother, Lionel. He wasn't too happy about it then, because Rufus said that Jeremy wouldn't be able to come out and play anymore because he would have to watch his brother instead, and that he would have to share a room, and loads of other stuff that sounded pretty terrible. I have to admit, hearing that, I was very glad that I didn't have a younger brother - they just sounded like such a nuisance!

But, guess what? Now that Lionel is a little bigger, he's learning to talk, and his first word was 'Jeremy'! 'Course, he's really little, so it sounds more like 'Jermy' when he says it, but Jeremy's mum says he'll get better at it, and that it's a big honor for Jeremy because Lionel must love Jeremy very very much for that to be his first word. So now Jeremy is very happy with Lionel and says he's the best little brother a boy could have and he's very excited for him to get bigger so he can come and play with our gang. He even said he wouldn't mind sharing his room with him! So, I guess little brothers aren't so bad after all? I'm still not sure if I'd like one, but maybe I'll tell Mum that I wouldn't run away if it did happen, just in case she's not sure. Do you have any brothers or siblings? Let me know what that's like- I'm so curious!

Okay, hope you all are well!

Your friend,

Nicholas

A warm cup of tea

Hello everybody!

My mum always likes to drink tea and have a pastry in the afternoon, and sometimes I sit with her. I always eat the pastries, of course, but yesterday I finally had a whole cup of tea to myself for the first time. I never used to like it, but now I think it's delicious! Mum said it's called Earl Grey, and she says it's her favorite. I think it is my favorite too! It tastes wintery and warm, and I like to put a little bit of milk and a LOT of sugar in it. Mum says I should only have two sugar cubes, but I put in two extra when she wasn't looking - it just tastes so much better when it's really sweet!

I can't have tea today though, because after school I am going to play at Jeremy's house, and I don't know if they drink tea over there. Also, we'll probably be playing Cops and Robbers again, and I'm not sure if Robbers drink tea. Do you know if they do? Well, anyway, we're going to be very busy.

Okay, I hope everyone is having a really great day, and please send me a letters or pictures- I absolutely love getting mail from my friends!

Your pal,

Nicholas

Learning to type

Wow! I never thought school could be so fun! We're learning how to type now, and it is the best! Our computer's at school have really fun programs on them that are supposed to help us type faster, so we get to play games for 45 minutes when we have a typing class - and we don't even get in trouble for it, 'cause that's the assignment! We get to compete with each other, which is really great too. I want to win so badly, because Teacher said that whoever has the fastest typing score at the end of the year will get a special prize. Jeremy can type 51 words per minute, so he's winning right now, but I am going to practice until I beat him! I can type 47 words now, so I'm not too far behind. I'll let you know how it goes!

The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that Mom said she would consider letting me get a cat if I get really good grades! She says she's not promising, but I'm still very excited. I know that sometimes dogs and cats don't get along very well, but I think Rex could get along with any other pet- he's such a good dog. I want to get a cat because I can't get a lion and I think a cat would be the next best thing. Plus they purr when you pet them on the head, which is neat. Anyhow, I hope you all have a great week!

Your friend,

Nicholas

The Jewish new year and TOO MUCH HOMEWORK!

Hello everybody!

I am very excited because I get to go to my friend's house for Rosh Hashanah tonight! He told me that it is a holiday to celebrate the Jewish new year, and that we will eat apples and honey because it symbolizes a sweet new year to come. Also, he said there is something called a

shofar, which a kind of trumpet made from a ram's horn that his dad will blow into. Cool! I've never seen a ram's horn close up. I wonder if they will let me try it out, too. This is going to be so much fun!

My mom almost didn't let me go because I have so much homework to do these days. Sometimes it takes me two hours a night! Mom says I have to do it though, because that's how I will learn all of the things they are trying to teach us in school. I still think it's too much. So, I had to plan ahead and do all my homework yesterday night so that I could go to my friend's house tonight. It was worth it though- he says the food will be delicious!

Okay, I should go, but if you want to send me letters, I'd love to read them, and if you want to hear more about all the fun things that happen to me, you can read my latest book, Nicholas in Trouble!

Your friend,

Nicholas

Back to school

Hello everyone!

Well, it's time to go back to school. I am a little sad, because summer is so much fun, but I know I'll get to see all my friends again every day. Our whole gang always has such great adventures! (But you know that- you've read my books!)

Our teachers always tell us to "pay attention and behave this year!" on the first day of school. I do try to behave, but sometimes I just can't sit as still as Teacher wants us to! I like science though, so I'm usually very good during those classes. What's your favorite subject? And, are you excited to go back to school, or wishing that summer would last longer? What was the best thing that happened to you this summer? Write me a letter and I'll post it here to share with all my friends!

Rex has been very lazy these days because it's so hot outside. I want to get up and make him come play with me, but it's just too warm to do anything it seems! We drink a lot of ice tea and eat ice cream (well, Rex just drinks water, but sometimes I let him have a lick of my ice cream cone- don't tell my mom!) and lounge around the house, because it's a little nicer in here. That's one thing I won't mind about starting school- it means that fall is coming, and it will start to get a little cooler! I hope all of you are having a great end of summer, and I'll hope to hear from you soon!

Your friend,

Nicholas