Merry Christmas Everybody!

Hello future readers!

Merry Christmas to all! I hope people still celebrate Christmas in the future, because it's the best day of the whole year! It's such a busy time, and a really fun time! This is gonna be a long entry, because so much has happened!

On the last day of school, before the Christmas break, we had a special Christmas assembly. I think our music teacher, Mrs. Johnson, was more nervous than us kids! Backstage, she was still giving us instructions just before we went onstage.

I think we did a really good job! We sang "Away In A Manger", "Go Tell It On The Mountain", "Jingle Bells", "Deck The Halls" and "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". Lisa was kinda shy about singing. She wasn't sure she knew all the words, since she only had 4 days to learn them. The rest of us have been practicing since after Thanksgiving. But I think she did really well.

I was glad we only had half a day of school that day, since I was having a tree trimming party that night. I had so much to do to get ready; set out the snacks, find the ornaments, set up the music, and put everyone's presents under the tree!

 

 

 

 

 

 

All my friends came over. My mom and I went all over town to find everyone just the right gift. I was a little nervous, because I wasn't sure everyone would like what I got for them. After everyone arrived, my mom started acting kinda funny. She kept looking at the front door and checking her watch. I asked her what was wrong, and she said nothing, but I didn't believe her. Then the doorbell rang. I wondered who it could be, since everyone was already here. My mom smiled and answered the door. When she opened it,  I couldn't believe my eyes! My friend Wendy was here!

I was so happy, I was crying! Wendy moved away last year and now she's back! I gave her a big hug!

She brought her sister April with her. I had never met April before, because she was in a car accident last year, and lived in another state with her dad while she was in the hospital.Wendy lived here in Springfield with her mom. I knew why she went away last year, but I was still really sad when she left. Her sister April is all better now, and I was glad to meet her too.

All of us trimmed the tree together. Danny got a little tangled up in the garland, and my friend Crissy's little cousin Velvet wanted to eat my gingerbread ornaments. But when we finally finished, the tree looked beautiful!

We ate and sang and opened our presents. Everyone loved what they got. I gave Crissy, Sabrina and Velvet dolls, Stephanie got a jacket, Sunny got a groovy toy van, Danny got a Superfriends record, Lisa got shoes, and April and Wendy got new outfits. I even got to open one of my presents early; an Operation board game! Outta site!

The next day was Christmas Eve. I was so excited I could hardly stand it! Santa was coming tonight! My mom always gives me a "Waiting for Santa" gift. This year it was Charlie Brown Christmas jammies and Santa slippers! My mom had Santa slippers when was she little too!

I put out some milk and cookies for Santa and went to my room. Since we don't have a fireplace, I hung my stocking on my bedpost.

The next morning, Boomer didn't have to wake me up it was Christmas! My stocking had candy inside! Yummy!

 

 

I ran into the living room to see if Santa had come. He did! Most of the cookies were gone and there were presents under the tree. I got a new Dawn doll with a hairbrush and extra outfits!

I also got a new poncho and a warm flannel shirt!

My mom loved the new blouse I gave her. I spent the morning playing with my new toys, eating waffles with my mom and watching TV specials.

I hope Christmas is just as fun in the future as it was for me today! Merry Christmas, future readers!

Until next time,
Your friend,
Julie Newman

Good-bye Susan and Raychel/The Nutcracker`

Well future readers,

Today is the day Susan and Raychel moved away. Even though I'll miss them, I'm not as sad as I thought I would be. We promised to write and call all the time. And who knows? Maybe someday, they'll be back to Springfield for a visit. We took one last picture together before I left for school. Don't they look nice in their Christmas dresses?

I'm glad we had our class field trip to see The Nutcracker, to take my mind off my friends going away. My mom came along as one of the parent helpers. We took a school bus to the Springfield Civic Auditorium. There was a big inflatable Santa in the lobby. He was almost as tall as I am!

We have a new girl in our class named Lisa. She's very nice. Miss LaSalle made me her "buddy" for the day so she could get used to things. Wow, is she lucky she started school on a field trip day! I sat next to her on the bus. She used to live in Florida, but her family moved here to help take care of her grandmother, who's been sick. My mom took a a picture of us together. I think she's really pretty.

 

 

The show was really good! I really liked the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy the best. All the costumes were so beautiful, and the Mouse King looked kinda scary! After the show, my friend Sunny and I bought Nutcracker ornaments to hang on our trees.

 

 

 

I just love Sunny's Chtristmas dress! It looks almost like the clothes The Partridge Family wears when they sing! Isn't it groovy?

 

So even though today was a sad day, it was a fun day, too. I made a new friend and saw a great show! And Christmas is next week! All right! My mom and I have some more shopping to do and then we're having our tree trimming party!

 

 

Until next time, future readers,

Your Friend,

Julie Newman 

 

 

Our Last Slumber Party

Hi future readers...

Well, Susan and Raychel came over this weekend for our last sleepover.  At first it wasn't any fun, because no one knew what to do. We weren't sure whether we should be sad and serious, or really go crazy and just have lotsa fun. My mom came up to my room because we were being so quiet, (and trust me, that's not normal for us),  and asked us what was going on. Well, we explained we just weren't sure how to handle this. She told us that just because Susan and Raychel were moving away that there was no reason we couldn't still be friends. That's what telephones and letters are for. And you know, she was right! My mom has a friend that she hardly ever sees. They write and call, and they've been friends for 10 years! Raychel and Susan will always be my friends. I can write them and give them the lowdown on what happening in Springfield. Mom even said I could call them once in awhile. And that's when we loosened up and started having a groovy time!

Raychel started digging through my records, and playing all our favorite songs. We kept changing the speed and making the singers sound like chipmunks! That cracked us up! Susan got out my Barbies and pretended to be sad that Ken broke up with her.  She sounded just like one of those soap operas on television! We stuffed ourselves with candy and Jiffy Pop and soda. I looked over at the door and saw my mom peeking in. I think she was happy we were making so much noise!

And of course, it wouldn't be a slumber party without a good spooky ghost story! I just got a new book of ghost stories from the Arrow Book Club order at school. Usually, Mom yells up the stairs that it's getting late and we should go to sleep, but not this time. We stayed up late, telling ghost stories, playing games and having fun.

And you know, even though I will still miss my friends, I feel better about things now. Raychel heard her dad say that maybe the move won't be permanent. Wouldn't that be something if they moved back here someday? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that one.

I hope I haven't bummed any of you out with all this sad talk. I promise all my entries won't be a downer. Christmas is coming, and that's definitely a happy time!

Until next time, future readers...
Your friend,
Julie Newman

My new Christmas dress!

Hi future readers!

I'm still kinda down about Susan and Raychel moving away, so I've been sitting in my room listening to music. Last week I recorded a bunch of David Cassidy and Partridge family songs by holding my tape recorder up to the television. I don't have any money for his latest album, since Christmas is coming and I'm buying my mom a new blouse. It's the first time I'm buying her a present all by myself! I can't wait to surprise her!

LIstening to David's dreamy voice usually makes me feel better when I'm down, but it hasn't been working that well. (sigh) My mom knows how bummed out I've been lately, so today she came in my room with a surprise! She went downtown to the department store while I was at school and bought a new Christmas dress for me!

Isn't it pretty? It's got red jewels near the neck, a shiny belt and a matching headband. My mom says I really needed a new Christmas dress and this year it's gonna get used a lot! My class is going on a field trip to see "The Nutcracker", and we have to get dressed up. Then there's the Christmas concert at school, and of course, our annual Christmas party. I'm really gonna look outta site! It's fun to get all dressed up, especially at Christmas time.

I will admit, this cheered me up a little bit, and is giving me something else to think about besides Susan and Raychel. They're coming over for one last slumber party tomorrow night.  On one hand, that's good, because we always have so much fun when they sleep over. On the other hand, it's kinda bad, 'cos it's our last one. (sigh again). Well, I'll try not to think about that right now. It's almost time for The Brady Bunch, (that's a TV show), so I gotta go now.

Until next time, future readers!
Your friend,
Julie Newman

I got some sad news today...

Well, future readers...

Remember when I said that some of my entries might be a drag sometimes? This is one of those times...

We just had a storm last night, and even though it was sunny, it was still too wet to go outside and play. I decided to invite Susan and Raychel over. We were in the living room, playing "Barrel Of Monkeys" on the floor.

Suddenly, Raychel got this really sad look in her face, like she was going to cry.  I asked what was wrong, but she wouldn't answer me. Susan told me that she and Raychel were moving away.

What??!! Was she kidding? Both of them had only moved here a year ago. Their dads work together for the same company. Susan and Raychel were best friends before they even moved into our neighborhood. Now they were moving away, because their dads were being transferred to another branch of the company in another city. I felt like crying. This just wasn't fair! I hugged Susan.

I was really gonna miss her. She always loves to come over and play dolls or listen to records or watch television. But what I really like about her is that she would never tease people, or let anyone else tease her friends, because she knows what that's like. Even though she's afraid of the dark sometimes, and didn't want to go in the Spook House at Halloween, she's never afraid to stick up for what's right. Then I hugged Raychel.

Out of all my best friends, I think I'm the closest to Raychel. She's not afraid of trying new things. She's the only one of us who isn't scared of spiders. She's really good at keeping secrets, and even likes David Cassidy, (but not as much as I do). And even though she's a bit of a tom-boy at times, she's still very much a girly-girl. She's the one who helped me realize that all boys aren't yucky, and that I should be friends with our new neighbor, Danny. I wiped my eyes and put on my "brave face", (that's what my mom calls it).

I told them that we're just gonna have to have all the fun we can before they leave, which won't be for a couple of weeks. I'm sad they won't be here for Christmas. But my mom always tells me that it's important to love the people we care about and appreciate them when they're around, because someday, they may not be.

Well, future readers, I guess that's it for now, because I really don't want to think about this anymore, because when I think about Susan and Raychel leaving, I get the world's biggest lump in my throat. Being brave is a bummer, and right now, all I wanna do is curl up in my mom's lap and have a good cry.

Until next time...
Your friend,
Julie Newman