The DJK Dog Washing Service

Hello future readers!

On Friday, Jason spread the word that he and Danny and Kyle were going into the dog washing business, and anyone who wanted their dog washed should come to the far side of the playground on Saturday at 1 o'clock. The boys were charging 50 cents a dog. That's my whole allowance! I dug around in the couch for some loose change and came up with 30 cents, so I only had to spend 20 cents. I met Cheryl, Stephanie and Melody and we walked down to the playground.

When we got there, the boys were all set up and Danny was giving his dog Muttley a bath.

Danny got Muttley out and dried him off. Kyle got up and poured more dog shampoo in the wash tub and asked which one of us wanted to go first. Boomer had gotten super dirty yesterday chasing Mrs. Nelson's cats, so I volunteered to go first.

I picked my pooch up and put him in the wash tub. He started to jump out, but Kyle was quick to grab him and put him back in. It's funny...Boomer hates baths, but he loves jumping in Springfield Lake. Anyway, Kyle got to work, and scrubbed my dog all over!

Boomer's so little that he just looked like a head floating in some soap bubbles. Haha! When he was done, Kyle dried Boomer off and handed him over. I'd give him a good brushing when we got home.

Stephanie and Melody's dog Snowflake was next, so Jason volunteered to wash her.

Snowflake kept turning around in the wash tub and sloshing water on Jason! I think she was happy when Jason took her out and dried her off.

Cheryl's dog Butterscotch was next in line, and it was Danny's turn at the tub.

Now Butterscotch is a pretty big dog, and Danny was having a hard time getting her to sit down in the wash tub.

All of a sudden, Butterscotch jumped out of the tub! She was covered in bubbles, and took off running around the playground. Danny yelled for her to come back. Cheryl chased her and tried to grab her back legs, but she tripped and fell down face first on the cement! OUCH!

I ran over to Cheryl to see if she was OK, and Kyle jumped up and ran after Butterscotch.

 He finally tackled her and held her down, yelling for her to stay.

Danny ran over and thanked Kyle. He said he was sorry for letting her get away in the first place, and that he shoulda been the one to catch her.  Kyle told him it was no big deal.

Cheryl was OK, just a little bump on her nose. She thanked Kyle for being so quick. She said she has the same trouble getting her goofy dog to take a bath.

All the boys felt bad for what happened, and that Cheryl got hurt trying to catch her dog, and agreed they'd give Butterscotch another bath for half price. After all that excitement, I decided to take Boomer home, (while he was still clean!), and meet the girls later. I think it will be a while before Danny, Jason and Kyle decide to going into the dog washing business again! Maybe they can find and easier and dryer way to earn some money! Haha!

Until next time, future readers,
Your friend
Julie Newman

Little Michael

Hello future readers,

On Saturday, Sunny and I were out playing in front of my house with her Barbie Camper. I was Barbie and she was Ken. I don't have any groovy accessories for my Barbies like campers and houses and things, so I really like it when my friends share theirs with me.

I looked up and saw Danny on his skateboard and another little boy I had never seen before riding on a tricycle.

So Danny said hi to us and introduced us to his 5-year-old cousin Michael who was visiting from San Diego.

Aww...I thought Michael was a cute little guy. He has this birthmark on his face that kinda made him look like he had a runny nose. Except for his reddish-brown hair, I thought he looked just like Danny.

We stood up, shook Michael's hand and introduced ourselves. I told him that I really liked his tricycle. It looked like the same trike I had when I was little. He just giggled and said thank you.

He asked me if I wanted to ride his tricycle. *giggle* I told him I was too big, but I could stand on the back and hang on. Michael clapped his hands and jumped on his tricycle, telling me that he drank all of his milk this morning, so he was strong enough to give me a ride! Haha!

Well, he wasn't as strong as he thought, so I gave him a little help. Sunny showed Danny her camper. Danny thought it looked a lot like the camper he has for his action guys.

Anyway, Danny asked us if we wanted to ride to the playground, but we told him it was too hot. I wondered where Kyle and Jason were. Danny said that Jason was on a camping trip with his dad, and that Kyle was at the community center taking a Karate class. Poor Danny. I knew he had Michael visiting, but I guess he wanted someone his own age to play with, and he was kinda missing Kyle and Jason. Then he asked if we wanted to come to his house and see his new Hot Wheels set. Sunny and I knew that Danny had gotten used to having guys around and felt bad that his buddies weren't there. So even though we're not really into Hot Wheels, we agreed to go look at them.

He had them set up downstairs in his basement rec room. I think if I were a boy, I would like this set-up. It had a Loop-Da-Loop and a finish line with flags.  He also had a neat carrying case shaped like a wheel.

Danny even had a cool Superman car. Michael held up an Oscar Meyer Wienermobile and said proudly "This is my car, Julie." Danny reminded him that it was his car and he was just letting Michael use it. Then Michael started singing the words to the Oscar Meyer Wiener commercial. Sunny and I thought it was cute, but I could see Danny rolling his eyes.

Just then, Danny's mom came downstairs with a plate of Oreo cookies. She set the plate down next to Michael. He said, "Oh boy, COOKIES!", and grabbed one. Mrs. Campbell reminded him that he had to share with all of us. So he asked me and Sunny if we'd like a cookie. Awww!

So then Danny asks, "Hey, what about me? Aren't you gonna ask if I want a cookie?" Michael told him, "I don't have to ask you, silly! You live here!" We all busted out laughing!

We had a good time, eating cookies, telling jokes and playing with Danny's cars. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a little brother or sister? Would I think they were cute, like Michael? Or would I think they were a pain when they got into my stuff, and tattled on me to my mom? A little of both, I guess. I'll probably never know. But I was glad Michael came to visit. I hope he'll be a Springfield for a while.

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

4th of July at Springfield Park

Hello future readers!

Happy Independence Day! (OK, so I'm a day late...but I had so much fun!)

This year, my mom and I went on a picnic to celebrate the 4th with Shante', Raychel, Lisa, and their folks. (Lisa brought just her mom, her dad stayed home to take care of her grandma). We had a barbecue and pot luck. A pot luck is when everyone brings something yummy to share. We had a really groovy spread!

Guess what? My mom actually let me grill a couple of burgers for my friends all by myself! I never thought she'd let me do that. But I only got to do 2 burgers, and then Shante's dad took over. My mom said she was really proud of me for being so careful. (And for not burning the burgers!)

The grown-ups sat at another picnic table, but us kids wanted to sit on a blanket on the ground. And man, was it ever good! We ate hot dogs and hamburgers, corn on the cob, salad, watermelon, and washed it all down with some pink lemonade! I think we all ate until we were ready to bust! (Well almost!)

We were all full, but not too full for some Bomb Pops! The perfect treat on the 4th of July! We decided to work off lunch by dancing to the music from my radio!

"Shake shake shake...shake your booty."

Later on, Raychel's dad announced the 3 Legged Race! Us kids went first. It was Lisa and me vs. Shante' and Raychel. Lisa and I won!

When it was the grown-ups' turn, we all laughed until we cried! It's so funny to watch grown-ups playing kid's games! While our parents sat down to rest and eat pie, we decided to play "Blind Man's Bluff". In case you don't know what that is, it's like tag, only the person who is it gets blindfolded! If they're gonna run into a tree or something, we all have to yell "Stop!". We all put our feet in to see who was it.

"Engine engine number 9 going down Chicago Line. If the train goes off the track, do you want your money back? N-O spells NO and out you may go!"

We did this a few times until Shante' was the last one standing, so she was it!

We had a ball! All of us kept trying to trick her by whispering behind her and jumping out of the way, or tapping her on the shoulder and ducking so she couldn't tag us!

After all of us had a turn to be it, we were getting kinda tired, so we ate and drank more lemonade, and rapped. Pretty soon it started to get dark, and you know what that means? Sparklers and fireworks! Outta site!

Lisa's mom took a group picture. The perfect end to a far out day! I hope you all had a Happy 4th of July. I know we did!

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