It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Yay! It's Christmas! What I want for Christmas is ultimate pokemon hand book, bird man and war griffon figure and super mario bros wii. Max wants imaginext bigfoot (of course), super mario galaxy 2, a special zooble, and a club membership in animal jam (our favorite website) which I have.

COMMENT CORNER:

What do you want for Christmas?

Congratulations Bella!

Congratulations to Bella, the winner of our costume contest!

She commented that she was going to be a Ninja Kitty for Halloween. I loved that because we made up a story about a ninja kitty just the other day. It was a story where we switched on and off making up the story part. I started the kitty story, then Max turned it into a Ninja kitty.

Do you want to read it?

Ninja Kitty

The cat is scared.

The cat runs away and goes to attack form and fights.

He loses the battle because he was shaking so much from fear.

He is mad.

He will fight again.

He will lose again.

Oh no! The cat he is losing to is trying to take over the forest!

He will fight until he wins.

But first, he needs to learn some ninja skills!

Kids Going Green

Check out my new Kids Going Green blog.

The web address is http://kidsgoinggreen.blogspot.com/ .

Halloween

Happy Halloween!

How are you celebrating Halloween right now?

I wonder what your costumes are going to be like.

I am gonna be Princess Peach. Max will be Mario!

Cool Cousin Costume Contest:

Leave me a comment and tell me about your Halloween costume!

The best comment wins Halloween Silly Bandz!

Happy Birthday Bella!

Yay!

Yay!

Yay!

It's your Birthday!

Did you get everything you wanted?

Congratulations Sydney!

Sydney is our flower contest winner!

Look for your prize in the mail!

American Girl Alert!

Hurry to the American Girl Website following this link:

www.americangirl.com/onlinekit

For a limited time, you can buy the online kit for the new InnerStar University virtual world. If you don't get the kit in time, you'll have to buy a new Just Like You doll to be able to access this fun new site.

You won't be able to find this item through regular shopping or searching in the online store. You need to use this special link.

Comment Corner:

Are you planning on buying the AG online kit? Let me know!

Shaped Rubber Bands

Shaped rubber bands have been a big trend in my neighborhood. These rubber bands come in all shapes and colors.

They can be glow-in-the-dark, glittery or tie-dye.

My favorite shapes are animals. Some of my favorite rubber bands are my glow-in-the-dark unicorn, glittery dragon, tie-dye red white and blue eagle, and my giant brachiosaurus. My babysitter's favorite is a tennis shoe. Max's favorite is a hot dog!

You can even wear them as bracelets

and loop them together to make necklaces.

But thats only one way to make necklaces. There are 2 BIG dinosaurs that you can just put on as a necklace.

At the pool I go to, there's a guy. He sells rubber bands and if you guess the shape of the rubber band he's wearing on his wrist, you get a free smoothie!

Some kids like to trade them. I traded a pink bumble bee for this blue turtle.

Shaped rubber bands are awesome!

Comment Corner:

Are shaped rubber bands a trend at your school? If so, what is your favorite shape? Do you have any other ideas of how to wear them?

Cousin's Contest:

Draw your very own made-up flower, then send it to me. Whoever draws the most creative and beautiful flower wins an awesome pack of shaped rubber bands!!! I can't wait to see your creations.

We've got a winner!

Tatum won the March contest about your favorite place in nature.

She commented about Hawaii. She said there were lots of colorful birds and beautiful oceans.

It sounds very interesting to go to Hawaii.

Look for your prize in the mail, Tatum!

Happy March!

Today my family went to Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. My favorite part was the Ledges. There was bright emerald green moss on the rocks and cliff edges. We hiked through a cave called the Ice Box. I learned that the Cuyahoga River has caught on fire many times! It was so dirty, that it actually burned.

The fire in 1969 inspired Earth Day and the Clean Water Act.

Wow! Dirty water!

Cousins Club Contest:

What is your favorite place in nature and why? Send in a photo if you can. The best comment wins a fabulous prize!

Happy March!

Did you catch a leprechaun?

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Happy Birthday to Cousin Sydney!

Let's Party for February!

There are a lot of cousin birthdays in February.

My brother Max's birthday and my cousin's Ethan and Ellen's birthdays are coming up.

We are going to Wisconsin Dells to an indoor water park to celebrate.

Max wants a Mario pinata. Do you think he'll get one? He is obsessed with Mario. He loves playing WII Super Mario Galaxy. My favorite Mario game is Super Mario Brothers DS.

Ethan and Ellen want to see Lightning Thief at the movie theatre. They like reading those books. I haven't read them, but I am interested because they have a lot of mythical creatures.

Comment Corner

Do you like Mario Brothers games or The Lightning Thief book? Tell me why!

What birthday theme would you choose for your next birthday?

Do you have any questions for our birthday cousin interviews? Submit them soon! I will be posting birthday interviews for Max, Ethan and Ellen closer to the end of the month.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,

Madeline

January Winner!

Congratulations to Jessie and Paige Case for winning the Cousins Club Contest!!!

We love their idea of wire jewelry.

Look for your Lucky Bee Bee prize in the mail!

Making Jewelry

Hey Cousins!

Welcome to Cousin's Club Magazine.

In this magazine, we can do things like share our collections, talk about school, church and friends.

Do you want to write an article? An advice column? Share a poem, joke or story?

Just email me your ideas!

For this edition, I'd like to give you some ideas for making jewelry.

Making jewelry for my American Girl Doll is one of my favorite things to do.

Here are some ideas for you to try!

Good Luck Charm

Cut a ball chain to a small size.

Put a bead on it and close the chain.

You can hang it anywhere like a belt loop or on your backpack.

Winter Wonderland Necklace and Anklet

Use memory wire for the necklace.

Memory wire is fun because it will keep its shape so you don't need a clasp.

Slide square and see-through beads onto the wire in any pattern you like.

Ask your mom or dad to bend the ends with pliers so the ends don't scratch you.

Stretch the wire around your doll with the opening in back. It will snap right into place!

For the anklet, use an 8 inch piece of stretchy plastic cord. Clamp one end with a clip so the beads don't fall off the other end. Bead for 4 1/2 inches. Tie off the anklet.

Peace Bracelet

Use an 8 inch piece of plastic cord.

Tie peace charm into the middle with a double knot so it doesn't move around.

Bead on both sides of the charm for 3 and 3/4 inches.

Tie it off with a tight knot.

My Favorite Things Necklace

On a string big enough for your own neck, put beads and charms on that represent your favorite things.

Here is May wearing the Winter Wonderland and Peace jewelry.

Cousins Club Challenge:

Send in your jewelry ideas and pictures! The one with the best jewelry idea wins an exclusive Lucky Bee Bee Charm!!!

Comment Corner:

I want to know what kind of jewelry you like. Do you like to make jewelry like me? Do you collect Lucky Bee Bee charms like I do? If so, what are your favorites? Finally, what are the jewelry trends at your school? For example, I have noticed a lot of girls wearing bottle cap necklaces in my school.

Happy New Year!

Love,

Madeline