Diary - May 2023

May 1, 2023

Today I know it is spring because I also know that is May! May does have its problems, though. I don't like flowers, and May is a time for flowers.  Blech. Yuck. Also, adults are addicted to those unpretty flowers. Then, they gobble up all of your precious time by making you take pictures and go to different places instead of doing other things, like:

May 2, 2023

Today I played outside at the middle school. It fist just was a stroll around the house, and then turned into a ride to the school. Usually, I get excited, but today, I got a little anxious about the boys that were playing soccer. I asked them if I could play, but they turned me down. So, me and Kyle practiced or own soccer. after the boys left, me and Kyle made up our own routine.*It was pretty nifty. Also, I showed dad some cool moves to deke around dad, again and again. He never got the chance to get the ball. 

*This was our routine: 

May 3, 2023

Today I went to my brother's swimming class. I found out that the swim things are easy–all you have to do is swim from the start to the end freestyle, swim to the middle line freestyle, and then swim back doing backstroke. Then, we swim to the other end and back doing breaststroke, and then jumps at the deep end. DONE! Easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

Also, just to say, I haven't swam in 2 months, so pardon me, I may suck. But, I actually did well! I got some new tricks, and just to say, I listened better to the coach than Kyle, and Kyle always comes here!

May 4, 2023

Today I volunteered for helping people that need help in math. I got picked with Yusef, and you are probably thinking, "WOW! So lucky!" Now I tell you, Yusef is the humor guy. He does Hero Smash pose, says "yo mama sucks" and "yo papi is a big fat noob". Even Felix was more focused than Yusef! I had to call the teacher to calm him down.  Finally, we were doing some work! But, when I told Yusef to write what I said down, he said it was too much, and that wasn't even as much as this diary!

May 5, 2023

Today I went to an indoor mini golf place! I first got a little putter, which is kinda like a mini golf putt, and a golf ball. I was ready to go! I really liked all the spooky stuff. First I got scared by a witch, then I whacked a ogre, and then I missed the last part. WAA!! I got really bored, so I just watched others play. And then, Shayne let me play for a little. Shayne is Kelly's little brother. Kelly is in my class, and she can be a little bit noisy. 

Then, I got a game card from Aiden's mom. Awesome! I started with the Jurassic Park thing, where you shoot dinosaurs. It was fun, but we ran out of money. Eventually, we had to recharge our cards 3 or 4 times! we had to pay a lot of times, and it cost us 40 or so dollars to pay. Eventually, we came home with a lollipop, a comet thrower, and two poop emojis.

May 6, 2023

Today I have William, Emelie, and Aiden at my house! Emelie came first. Her brother, William, was still at a swimming lesson. Then, Aiden came. He even brought a chess book with him to read if he got bored! Then, finally, William came! Me and Aiden had a chess game, and I won. Then, I had dinner. It was Pizza!! We literally get Pizza once a year. I always be REALLY greedy and ate most of the Pizza myself, although I had a stomachache. Then, me and Aiden played Catan, and he won. Then, Aiden, Me, and William played Catan. This time, I won! I had 8 victory points, the most.

May 7, 2023

Today I experienced having to wash my shoes, which where caked with MUD and MOSS. Grandma taught me how to wash my shoe. Here are the steps to washing your shoe nicely:

Now wash your hands carefully with loads and loads of soap. Better get them off your hands than to actually eat them when you're eating something like bread, toast, sandwiches, and cookies.

May 8, 2023

Today is grandma's birthday! We did a quick happy birthday song, and then took some photos. I don't really like photos. It's hard to stay still for so long and not blink. It isn't fun to just have a ton of photos that you can't have. I participated in so many photos, but I only got 1 or 2. I have one in my wallet. That's it. 

Okay, back to the cake. Grandma cut the cake (which was pretty small) and left a big slice for me. I ate the frosting first. It didn't taste so bad! Then, I gobbled up everything else. Very bad idea. I had to go to the bathroom, and my stomach hurt again. Next time, I'm not taking any chances!

May 9, 2023

Last last night, mom got mad at me for seeing how many missed homework assessments I need to work on. So, she made me make a sheet of paper to give the teacher. It tells her what math homework I have done (everything) and what Language Arts homework I have done (everything) . It looks like this: 

Module 5 Assessment: Language Arts|Can I have the WS for it?

......

Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Smeltzer sent a email to mom stating that I was talking and chatting nonstop. I also made fun of people when they make a little mistake. Mom says this makes people embarrassed. Next time, I will try to be more considerate and think about others.

May 10, 2023

Today I have a soccer practice with the coach of Argentina's National team!! Instead of boring practices, he entertained us by having games and using real athlete names like Kellan Mbappe and Lionel Messi. Then, we had a scrimmage. All of that wasn't normal–it was FUN!

Today I made up a new song. It goes like this: 

"Happy Birthday to you. You're o-o-only two! You still go to day-care, and you miss your mommy too!

Your mommy's at work. She fi-red a jerk! She hi-erd a monkey to do your homework!

The monkey got mad. He peed on your dad! He got really happy and crushed your iPad!!!

Funny, right? Oh yes! Sooo funny!

May 11, 2023

Today I got first place in RCC (Rebecca Chess Club) games!! Turns out, you have to win most of the games you were assigned to play. You have to take time to think about your moves and work hard. I also practiced more than some others. A When you lose a game, you can just rematch that certain person, and try to win that match. I thought you had to get the highest rating, which would be very, very hard for me. One of my classmates are higher than 900 rating!!!

Turns out, you also get free T-shirts and pens. You also can get a gold medal, too! But, I would want a trophy more. Then, I will get my own bookshelf. If I don't have bookshelf, I would have to leave the medal on the floor. What a waste! Maybe I might also get a room! I don't have a place to put the medal, so I might as well get a new room. Then, I won't be able to hear Kyle's farts, burps, and teeth grinding. I also will get more privacy!

May 12, 2023

Today I went selling Ice Pops to help raise money for the school magazine. I made lots of flyers about the Ice Pop selling objectave. Though we didn't hang them up, we shouted out what the flyers said, and asked people with kids if they wanted an Ice Pop. I even got bold and shouted a little, short speech about the Ice Pops. My idea worked! Two kids decided to buy some Ice Pops. They had five bucks, and they wanted to buy two. The problem was, none of the parents had enough money in cash to pay them back, so they just bought 5. They told us that they also had some siblings. Problem solved!

Tips to selling things:

May 13, 2023

Today I went hiking with Vincent, Summer, Lucas, Kyle, Dad, Mom, and 6 more adults. We went to hike a trail called Rattlesnake Ledge Trail. It started with a big rock, continued with a big fall of mine (that almost fell over the edge) , and ended with some gummy worms and Cheese Puffs. At the start of the trail, I saw a big rock. Then, I made a mark in my head: [when see big rock+moss=almost there] . I slipped when I tried to hang on a tree branch that was hanging. How foolish of me! At the top of the trail, we ate some Cheese Puffs that Vincent got. Not bad, but here are some major reasons Cheetos are better:

May 14, 2023 Book Review - Ungifted

This book is a very fascinating, exciting book. I think everyone should at least try this once or twice, and then suggest some feedback.

This book is about a boy named Donovan Curtis who pulls an epic prank that went wrong on the school. He ends up in the superintendent's office. Instead of getting punished, he got sent to the ASD (Academy of Scholastic Distinction) with a bunch of nerdy and high-IQ people. While everyone is struggling to get out of the Academy, Donovan is struggling to stay in. Will he make it or not?

I have good and bad opinions. Let's start with the good parts.

The good opinion is: I think the different points of view were really useful. Those little short thoughts really helped me understand what each character was feeling. They also helped me know how each person feels about each little thing. 

The bad opinion is: I think Gordon Korman could have made the Academy students less dorky and nerdy. I don't appreciate the fact that so many kids at the Academy are nerdy. Then again, Noah would never had discovered Youtube if it weren't for Donovan. Still, being called nerdy is not nice.

May 15, 2023

Today I decided to always play soccer in the backyard for at least 20 mins. I'm going to use some leftover (or new) chalk to draw a quick ladder so I can practice some footwork. Hopefully the footwork just takes up a little bit of my time, so I can focus on my dribbling. I will make a calendar to see what days I will practice and what free time I have. Also, the calendar will contain what move I will do. Each day of the week will have a different move. If on a day I have  soccer practice, I only do the drill for 10 mins. On saturdays and sundays, maybe I have games, maybe something else. I might just do the footwork on those days. Anyway, Every day I will at least do some exercises outside from NOW. 3, 2 ,1.

May 16, 2023

Today I just got a really fair (and fun) game. I even scored on a corner kick! (more on that later) I shot so many goals, and scored a terrific one. My friend William N. scored the highlight goal of the month! WOW!!  

I scored a terrific goal. Hamza (a person on the other team) tackled me, but I kicked the ball with my left foot, and I scored! I also scored by a corner. I thought about passing the ball to William, and so I did. I swear he could have headered the ball. But, the ball just zoomed right past him, and landed at back post! 

This morning, dad talked about how I don't listen. He told me that if I don't listen, I won't get into a good middle school or high school. I won't get a good grade for 2nd Grade, and those report cards go to the 3rd Grade. That means I could get kicked out! Daddy followed me to school. My friends all thought daddy was a giant.  He talked about me with the teacher of how he and mom can cooperate to help change my behavior.

May 17, 2023

Today I will start a competition between me and daddy. The competition is who can read more books? I think I will win because I can read faster than him, and that I have more fretime than him. I have 4 hours to read books, Daddy only has 30 or so minutes of freetime. That is staying up late. I'm sure that he has more time to read at work. That should cover a lot of his reading. I really read a lot today. I read about J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, Edgar Allan Poe, the person who made up "The Raven" , and J. R. R. Tolkien, the creator of the Lord of the Rings.

May 18, 2023 Teacher appreciation week notes

Dear Mrs. Suddendorf,

We miss you and all the fun activities we did together. Thank you for teaching me all the things I didn't know. I really hope you will come back as my teacher in 3rd grade. I appreciate all the patience and hard work you have done to teach all of us. I wish you and your family have a great time caring for the baby! See you soon! 

Sincerely, 

Jace

I love art and all the project I did, especially the starry night. You are the best art teacher I have ever seen! - Kyle Liu

Thank you Mrs. Choi for letting us use so many different kinds of art materials for our project. I have never experienced with so many tools. I really admire you make everything that looks childish into something realistic from drawings to paintings to watercolors. - Jace Liu

Thank you for teaching me all the stuff I don't know. You are the best teacher I have seen! You are so nice and helpful and kind to me! I love you! - Kyle Liu

Dear Coach Sturgess,

Thank you for being our awesome PE teacher! PE is one of our favorite classes! And ski program is the best! We would love to have more fun with you in the coming year! - Jace, Kyle and family

Dear Mr. Rees,

Thank you for making music so fun! We love your class! Also thank you for helping with the music show! We really enjoy the performance! Look forward to more fun and excitement in your classroom! - Jace, Kyle and family

Thank you for being kind, patient and supportive to us! I really like you use positive and fun actions to help us listen and focus better, such as the little fidgets that you gave to some students. You are such a resourceful, creative and smart teacher! 

Dear Ms Whalen, Thank you for giving us so many wonderful books! We love to spend time with you! You are an awesome librarian! - Jace, Kyle and family

Dear Ms. Reiner, Thank you for teaching us computer science and show us the fun of computer! We have fallen in love with computer! We like to spend time with you! We love the fun games! - Jace, Kyle and family

Dear Senorita Tovar, Thank you for teaching us Spanish! My dad loves the Spanish song you taught us so much that he asks us to sing it all the time! He has no idea what it's about! - Jace and Kyle

We would like to sincerely appreciate your great leadership over the years! Thank you for welcoming us everyday with your smile! We like our kids to learn from you and grow into strong leaders too! Your weekly communication is a great source of inspiration for the families! Thank you for all you have done for the kids, the staff and the communities! 

Jace, Kyle and family

May 19, 2023: Going Camping (sort of)!

Yesterday Dad told me today we were going to go camping! Mom went to buy lots of supplies to eat and use, such as supplies like:

May 20, 2023

Today I had 2 good memories: I'll start with the chess.

Those memories will stay with me for the rest of this year. But, writing it down makes it so that I can read this text again, and remember all of this. 

May 21, 2023

Today Dad hosted a chess tournament again. Me, Vincent (got a lot more funny) , Ru-shan (Dyed his front hair blond) , Gram (got taller) , Kyle (got better at chess) , and Lucas (not much changed) joined. Dad made two groups, A and B. He said the winner of A and the winner of B would play each other in the final match. I was in group B. I first defeated Gram with a endgame checkmate, beat Lucas with a Queen-and-helper checkmate, and became the Winner of group B. I first crashed Ru-shan, where I was up so much, but the board got restarted, so we declared me the winner. Then, I faced Lucas in the final match. He, this time, did a blunder, and I got his knight. Then, he resigned. I won again! Who-Hoo!

May 22, 2023

Today I had Art class, where we finished our little sunset project. My sunset was pretty good, that is. The best part was that the colors blended in really well. It looked really realistic, too. Then, I added a little hot air balloon that was floating out of the canvas. I also added a boat with a little flag on it, with the sails and stuff! I even drew a nice little palm tree with chalk! It looked so, so, so, so, so, so good! I loved it!

May 23, 2023

Today I did some soccer exercises with dad. I first did 50 [Outside, Outside, Stop, Jump over, repeat] sequence. I then complained that the grass was too bumpy and I wanted smooth grass. So, we moved to the place near the backyard gate where is was smooth, just how I wanted it to be. Then, I watched a video of how to improve your dribbling. The first one was easy: tic-tocks. The next one was a bit confusing. I think it was [inside(right), inside(left), Roll(right), repeat with other foot] . Dad and I tried it, but we agreed to just do a bunch of tic-tocks, and once in a while throw in a roll. I think this way is a great way to train myself, as it improves my concentration, dribbling, and agility. Those are my main weaknesses.

May 24, 2023

Today I finished my science project Invention Convention! I just finished doing my improve + reflect paragraph, and I was excited to start sticking things on my board. But, mom told me I had to color all the paragraphs and make them fancy and catchy, so people will stop by and look at mine. After I was done, Mom put borders on the paragraphs so they didn't look plain and boring. I chose yellow, because it stood out against the blue, and was considered a bold color. After we were done, we stook bubble letters that said: THE CLEAN-UP CLAW    BY    JACE. Mom said that I did most of the work and volunteered to help. I know that, because the teachers said to do is ourselfs.

May 25, 2023

Today at chess class*, I had the opportunity to be embarrassed about me when all the other people were better than me. I still listened well, and focused in class instead of playing around with my hands or playing games on the computer. After class, we were assigned to a random classmate to battle. I got paired with a 912, not that it's so easy. I first got his knight (free) and then traded bishops. Then, we traded queens, and the miracle happened. This would be a 1-in-a-100 game. I had more pawns on the kingside, and so I traded on the queenside and made a queen on the kingside. Then, I got my queen close to the pawns and captured one with check. After that, he resigned. What a game!

May 26, 2023

Today our class had one of the worst P.E. (physical education) classes in our history. 

It started out fine. We were using a parachute and nothing bad happened in the first game. But, we messed up in the second game, umbrella. When we were doing it, Felix got under the parachute and made goofy faces at us. 

When we were doing cloud, nothing bad happened. But, when we did igloo, Felix let the air out of our "igloo". The parachute started falling down on us. AHH!! He also pretended to be Woody the Woodpecker, and punched the "igloo", which also helped deflate the parachute [insert big AHH here] .

As a result, Felix got a think sheet, but not only that, he ruined the P.E. class for the rest of us. Wah.

May 27, 2023

Yesterday was gaming day for us. But, since we were stuck on Zelda's Master Sword test, all we could do was watch dad play Zelda and I command. My orders were to get on a tree and explode the monsters, or bokoblins, to be exact. Dad did well on the first two, but the problem was that we couldn't explode the monsters from trees, so I told dad to whistle and get their attention. That worked, and we collected loads

May, 28, 2023

Today, while playing Mario Kart Battle, mom interrupted our game, and told us to go shopping at 85 Degrees bakery. We both were upset, and wanted to keep playing. Too bad kids don't get the right to vote. 

Mom later found out the bakery was closed, so we couldn't go. I was ready to keep playing Mario Kart, but dad told us to play something that wasn't so fast. So, I chose Super Mario 3D world. But, Kyle complained that I was too good, and cried. So, I let him have everything. But, he wasn't satisfied, so I died. Then, I just restarted. I just tried to do the thing, but Kyle got in my way. Whose fault was it??? Please let me know!

May 29, 2023

Today I went to Whidbey Island by ferry. Tyler was also supposed to be there, so that was a plus. We first got to the ferry. On the ferry, we met Tyler, who was hastily chewing bubble gum (that actually could be blown into a bubble) . I got some, too, and blew a big bubble, which I popped. I thought it would not be a bubble at all! Well, I accidentally made it.

We then drove to Langley. We found Tyler, and we went to a whale spotting place. I liked, because there was a tree to climb, and there were lots of flat rocks to skip. We then climbed a tree, and I sat on the tree. The weirdest part was that it was comfortable! Most trees I climbed are rigid and rough. But not this one! There was a really cool stump to sit on!

Next, we ate some awesome, delicious, lunch. Tyler ordered two sandwiches, and I got a bowl of french fries I shared with Kyle and Tyler, a sandwich from Tyler, and some teriyaki chicken with rice and salad. Yum! 😋 Mom also promised us ice cream if we stayed good. Yah!

Finally, we went to Fort Casey State Park. This was a real war fort that had searchlights to bomb💣enemy ships. I really saw the cannons and I climbed up the ladders! I think this fort was a pretty decent fort. I highly doubt that most ships get past. I really like that the cannons can blast long distances. That would be pretty useful to blast enemy ships. I really don't like that there are ladders instead of stairs. Some people are scared of heights, such as me.

May 30, 2023

Today I volunteered to do my presentation FIRST! I know! Noth the normal kind of me! I usually am sporty, social, funny, and a little bit shy to new people or things. But, this was a special case. I already had my whole presentation planned before the teacher told us to do presentations. My presentation was about the cleanup claw, as you can see on May 24, if you read that one. If not, you can read it later. Anyway, my project was so far the best, as it was the most neat, the claw worked like I wanted it to, and my presentation was very colorful! 

May 31, 2023

Today I had my first (technically, everybody else's second because I went on a trip on May 29th) Elite training session! I came here finding Theo and Leo shooting on the goal. 

Our coach was Coach Sam. He actually taught me in Lil' Kickers! We first did the warm-ups. Then, we did a practice of rhythm. We had to trap with your back foot (foot farthest from the ball) , pass with your other foot, and then move. We had competitions passing with left and right. Then, we did the main focus of the day: switching the field. Center person: pass to winger. Winger: pass back. Center: receive the ball on the half turn and pass to other winger. REPEAT.

Then came the scrimmage. I was put as defender. My teammates were:

Joshua: stricker

Somebody:Left wing Elijah: center-mid Arick: right wing

Our team won the scrimmage 4 - 2. Though we won, here are some improving tips on which I could do better: 1. when being defender, stay active. Don't be walking sloppily.

    2. don't just boot the ball around. CONTROL THE BALL.

    3. next time, ask coach to try out a different position.