Wreck it Ralph

"Wreck it Ralph", a movie rated PG that just came out on November 2, 2012, was a big hit for children of all ages. Ralph, the bad guy of the game, Fix it Felix Jr.,  wants to be a good guy. Ralph is fed up of seeing the glory going to Fix it Felix, so he decides to become a good guy. He is not respected in his game because his job is to be a villain. Even though Ralph has an important job in the game, he has absolutely no recognition. So, Ralph decides that he will become a good guy. Then, he will earn respect from the citizens from his game. Ralph sets off on a game-hopping journey to win a good guy medal. On his way he meets Vanellope von Schweetz, a charming, nine year old girl from the game Sugar Rush. Soon Vanellope wins Ralph's heart and they both become good friends. "Wreck it Ralph" teaches a very important lesson to kids, you should respect everyone no matter what. This movie is about Ralph's journey to become a good guy of the game. This movie also emphasis on the friendship of Ralph and Vanellope that becomes stronger.

"Wreck it Ralph" is a Disney movie produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. This film was directed by Rich Moore, who also has directed many of "The Simpsons" episodes. The cast of this movie include John C. Reilly, who gave the voice for Wreck it Ralph, and Sarah Silverman who gave the voice for Vanellope von Schweetz. This movie included characters from other video games. Bowser from the Mario series and even Pac-Man from the game Pac-Man are in the movie, " Wreck it Ralph".

A very interesting fact that many people don't know is that "Wreck it Ralph" was originally scheduled to release on March 22, 2013. Since it was ahead of its schedule, it was released on November 22, 2012. The very first trailer for "Wreck it Ralph" was released on June 6, 2012. To make this amazing movie it took a whopping $165 million. The movie made $49.1 million in the opening weekend of the movie across 3,752 theaters. This movie beat the 2010 film, "Tangled" which made $48.8 million in its first weekend. I recommend this fantastic movie to all ages! "Wreck it Ralph" is a must see movie!!! Bottom-line, "Wreck it Ralph" is a delightful entertainment for the entire family!

My Experience Going Ziplining!!!

I had quite an adventure going zip lining this weekend! It was really fun going with my family and friends. We went zip lining in the Santa Cruz Mountains and as I was sliding from tree to tree, I smelled the fresh redwood trees.  We all had heavy and strong harnesses on and it felt as if I gained few extra pounds. We wore special helmets and gloves. All that harness made me doubt myself, why did I say yes to zip lining? Was it a good idea to go on this zip lining tour when we had to wear so much gear? Wasn't it a bit too risky? We had our training on a short zip line... just for some practice. We practiced doing brakes in the middle of the zip line.  We learned what to do in case something happens when we were on the zip line. That made me have butterflies in my stomach. After the training, it was thrill time!!! We walked across a wooden bridge to the first zip line platform, out of five in all. It was time to see who was the chicken and who was not.  I didn't want to be the first one to go on the zip line so I stayed towards the end. But, when it was my turn, I held on tight and closed my eyes tight. I gave a big push off the platform and off I went. I could feel the cool air brush against my face. It felt as if I was on the zip line for many minutes. As I landed on the platform, I realized that it was actually pretty fun! Some zip lines were very high off the ground so we could look below us while we were on the zip line and see the small creeks running under us and we could see people hiking beneath us. The highest zip line was 150 feet above the ground...and that was really breathtaking. Finally, we got to our last platform, Platform 5. After we all finished our zip line tour and landed on the ground, it was amazing that nobody had chickened out :) ! I felt so brave and accomplished that I had gone through an entire zip lining tour. All that zip lining made me wonder, how did zip lining start? To find that out I did some research on it. 

My first zip line

   I was surprised to know that zip lining was an old invention. The thought of a human riding on a cable was brought up in the book, "The Invisible Man", by H.G Wells. In 1793, Robert Cadman died from descending from a church when his rope snapped. Soon after that, Australians used the "flying foxes" to deliver food and supplies if their crew was working on something on the other side of a river. The "flying fox" was used in children's play structures. The flying fox didn't work exactly like the zip lines today. The flying foxes had a box car attached to a cable. The person riding it would sit inside the box car and hold on to the handles. Then, the box car would descend propelled by gravity. Then came the real zip line.  These zip lines were on a higher slope than the flying foxes so they would travel at higher speeds.  But, in these the rider would be attached to the cable by wearing a harness and a helmet. It was around 1970 when zip line tours started. Now, zip lines are a fun way to show of your courage. With proper training, zip lines are easy and safe to use. Zip lining was very fun and thrilling!!!

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Great books you should read

These books are books you can't miss reading!


-Dead End In Norvelt by Jack

This book is about Jack Gantos's childhood. He has wild adventures and when his mother grounds him for the whole vacation, who knows what Jack will do! He helps out his town by writing obituaries and each obituary leads to another one. Jack has a unexpected surprise at the end! Read this book to find out what it is!!!

- Chains, Seeds of America

Isabel and her younger sister, Ruth are sold to a loyalist family in New York. When Isabel meets Curzon, a slave to the Patriots, he encourages her to spy on her owners, who know details of British plans for invasion. She isn't sure at first, but when the terrible things happens to Ruth, Isabel realizes that she will have to do many important things to provide her and Ruth with freedom.
 Isabel only wants her sister to have freedom and to be safe, but many things do go wrong...

-The Mysterious Benedict Society

Many children respond to a strange ad in the newspaper and are then put through a series of tough and confusing tests. Only four children, two boys and two girls will succeed. Their challenge is to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent children could complete. To accomplish it they will have to go spying at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. Reynie, Kate, Constance, and Sticky are on a big mission against good and evil. There are big surprises just around the corner and adventures waiting for them. Read this amazing book to find out their secrets and story!!!

More FANTASTIC books you should read include the Harry Potter series and the Percy Jackson series!!!!!!!!!

How to make an origami crane

Making an origami crane isn't as hard as it looks like. It is really easy. Once you get to learn the steps, it's actually a piece of cake! Here is the step by step directions to make a paper crane. You will need nothing but origami paper.

1. First lay the paper the colorless side up. Fold it into a triangle, corner to corner.

2. Next,fold that into a triangle too.
3. Now, make a origami square base.
This website tells you how to make a square base.

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-square-base.html

4. Now, fold inwards the first layer of your square base to the center. Then fold the top inwards also.
Then unfold.

5. Next do the petal fold. Here is a link that tells you how to do it.
http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-petal-fold.html

6. Once you have done that, turn it to the back.

7. Next, you repeat steps 4 and 5

8. Now it should look like this...

9. Now fold both sides to the middle.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

10. Turn it to the back and do the same step.
      It should look like this.

11.  Now, you should fold the right wing inside the crane's body.                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

12. Then, do the same to the left wing.                                                                                     

13. Now for the last step, you fold the crane on side to make it look like a head.             

FINALLY, YOU ARE FINISHED!!!

                                                                          

                                                                          

Summer Project

Summer is coming to an end, but you still have time to do some fun projects to end your boring days. Here is a fun project that I really liked.

Customized Switch Plates

What you need:
• construction paper( whatever colors you want)
• scissors
• ruler
• markers/crayons/pens
• glue

Instructions:
1. Outline and measure your light switch you want to make the cover for.
Try to make it as precise as you can, because if the cover is too small or too big, it won't look that clean.

2. After you have a ready template for your switch cover, sketch out the design you want to have, for example you can have beach as your theme or even just print your name. [ 2nd pic on the bottom is my template]

3. Next, you trace the template around the construction paper of your choice. Then cut it out. You should now have a colored construction paper exactly like your template.

4. Now it is time to decorate it like you want it. Use markers, crayons, pens, glitter, shells, pom poms, and even fabric!!!

5. Now you tape your cover to the switch plate and you are done!!! [ I have made a beach themed one with shells... Pic is the 1st picture]

How to Make French Crepes

French Crepes

Makes 8 Crepes

Ingredients

* 1 cup all-purpose flour

* 2 eggs

* 1/2 cup milk

* 1/2 cup water

* 1/4 teaspoon salt

* 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix together flour and the eggs. Gradually, add in the milk and the water. Add the salt and the butter. Mix until it's smooth.

evenly.

2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the pan, using about 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan in a circular motion so the batter spreads

3. Cook the crepe for approximately 2 minutes until the bottom is golden brown. Turn the crepe to the other side and cook for 2 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy your Crepes!!!

Usually served with nutella, jam, or powdered sugar.

My Trip to Florida

We started our trip to Florida at the airport. My grandparents; Akshu; my cousin, Janani; and I were ready for a boring flight.It was 11 PM, Eastern time when we landed in Orlando. My uncle picked us all up.  It was 88 degrees and the time was 11 in the night!!!  I was going to have so much fun for 20 days!!!  

We all went on a 3 hour road trip from Orlando to Daytona. We stayed in a resort called ‘Ocean Walk’. This resort was on the beach and had 19 floors.  We were on the 6^th floor.  From the balcony of our room, we could see the pool and the blue water of the Atlantic Ocean.  The beach had sand as white as snow.  It was so silky.  The water was cool and it lapped against our feet.  

                                  

One reason why we went there is because we could celebrate Janani’s birthday together.  Her birthday was on July 18^th, the day before we went back to California. On her birthday we all were in Daytona. In the morning, we sang “Happy Birthday” and woke her up.  She found her gift and was surprised with it.  After we cut her cake, we went to the pool and beach.  On our way to Orlando, we stopped at St. Augustine, a town founded in 1565 by a Spanish explorer.          

Another delight in Orlando was Jeremiah’s Italian Ice.  Against the hot weather, it was great to eat something cold and refreshing like Italian ice. There were many unique flavors including: sour green apple, horchata, pina colada, café latte, strawberry lemon, and cotton candy!!!  My favorite flavor was pina colada.

On July 19^th, we left Florida back to California. Our flight was delayed for 2 hours because of weather.  I had a great vacation and I enjoyed it very much.  I can’t wait to meet my cousin and uncle again!!!