Allie is 9 Years Old Today!!!

I had a great birthday! This morning we went to church and, how lucky were we, there was a bake sale. We all got a treat. After church we went to an old Dutch town, just north of Amsterdam, called Marken. To get to Marken you drive over a dyke. A dyke is man made land which keeps the water out and from flooding Holland. We saw a lot of old houses and got hot chocolate. It was very foggy. We walked by many canals and saw sailboats. Tonight we had Crescent Chicken, my favorite. The presents I got this year were great. Thank you. My mom and dad got me 2 American Girl books: Nicki and Mini Mysteries. This is a book that has little stories and at the end you try to figure out the mystery. Then you look in the back of the book to see if you are right. I love mysteries.

On Friday after school, I had a Polka Dot Party. The ceiling was decorated with hanging balloons with polka dots on them. We did a scavenger hunt and played Twister. Twister was crazy when we played with all 8 girls!

In school we just ended our measurement unit. On Friday we made our own cereal and cereal boxes. We had to weigh each ingredient and measure the sides for the boxes. I love school here. I'm learning Dutch and I find it's hard to teach my mom and dad Dutch. I hope I can learn more Dutch so that I can speak to the girls in my gymnastics class.

I feel older today. My mom and dad say that I look older too. I grew 2 1/2 inches this past year.

I miss you all!

Love, Allie