Last week I was in Florida for a week without my parents.  I went with a group called Kids Of Courage.  the trip was so much fun, I went to Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World, and Island of Adventure which was great. My counselors on the trip were Rachel and Nicole they were so awesome.  We all liked the same shows and movies and everyday when we went to a park they won me a prize.  My favorite prize that Rachel won me was a stuffed frog and at Bingo I won a Sony video walkman, and some sports pajamas.  Before the trip, my parents and I went to Maine for a week, then afterwards we went to see my grandpa up in connecticut for a week. When we were in Maine I only swam once unlike my mom and Lily who probably swam three times a day when we were there. I also finished the first two Harry Potter Books.  In connecticut I had to stay away from my grandpa, because I had a cold and he was just getting over a cold.  Anyway The Kids Of Courage Trip was so amazing especially since I went with my friend Perry.  Here are some pictures from my summer, and I'll put up more in a week or so.  

On the Fourth of July we went up to our country house to see my Grandparents and I brought my Raymond DVD's with me which my Grandparents totally love! They love Raymond so much that my Grandpa sometimes puts funny lines from the show under my plate at the table. This weekend at breakfast it was, "you creepeth me out." I couldn't stop laughing because I knew the episode really well. He also put a five dollar bill under my placemat which was great! 

Last night, a bunch of my friends came over to celebrate my graduation with me. Some of them weren't able to make it to the actual graduation, so it was really great to see them, and to show them the video of my ceremony and speech. Natan, Cathy and Martin got me a beautiful leather bag from Italy. Rachel got me a couple of cool gift cards, Kate gave me a Strand gift certificate and book-box… and lots of other people have given me such amazing presents for my graduation! Anyway, this was the best Sam's Club ever, even though some people couldn't make it. 

Last Thursday I graduated from High School.  Everybody loved my speech. They all thought it was amazing.  I also really loved Amanda's speech. In it she said the only reason that she came to Winston was so that we could stay together.  She also said that she learned a lot from Winston and it ended up being the right school for her.  My other friend Perry gave a great speech, she thanked all our teachers since we were in the same classes together.  Mr. Moran acknowledged and honored me and Perry for being so courageous and brave.  It was a huge surprise for both of us, because we weren't expecting it at all.  Perry's family hosted an amazing celebration for all of us at this great seafood restaurant called BLT fish.  That was a day I will never ever forget.  

Today Kate and I went to Housing Works, and I bought a very rare book called "Mistress Spitfire", by J.S. Fletcher.  It was written in 1896.  I like it because the design is very unique, and the story is very good so far.  I like older rare books because they are so hard to find and they're much fancier than the ones today. This morning was my interview for my internship at SPOTS.  It went really well.

Over the last few days, I've been really busy so I haven't had time to update my blog.  On Wednesday I went to graduation rehearsal.  Graduation is being held at the Joyce Theatre on west 19th street.  Some of us are giving speeches, but some don't want to.  I'm giving a speech and so are Amanda and Perry and Lizzie and Sarah, and a bunch of other people as well.  Today we went to see the documentary "Pressure Cooker", and I thought it was great.  It made both me and Kate cry it was so good.  I can't wait for this weekend, because it's the first time that I''m going to see my grandparents since last summer!!!!!!!!

On Monday, Paula came by to help me get ready for my interview at SPOTS.

On Tuesday, Kate and I wanted to go to the New Museum but it was closed.

Before we went to the Joyce for our rehearsal, we got our Winston yearbooks!

Getting a ride with Perry in her car.

Rehearsal was a lot of fun, but also hard work. We were there for three and a half hours.

Before we went to the movies today, we went to this huge bookstore called Strand, which has so many used and rare books. They also have new books. I like it because it's not too expensive.

A few extra pictures from this week:

I had an amazing weekend with my parents.  For the first half, we went to our country house up in Elizaville.  Then on Sunday my mom and I went to see "Guys and Dolls" with Lauren Graham on Broadway, then after the show we went to the stage door and I got to meet Lauren Graham and got her autograph and picture taken with her!

Today I went to school for focus.  When Kate and I came home we decided to draw and listen to music. She interviewed me while I sketched, but the video clip was too long to upload, so I'm just showing my sketches.  The sketches that I drew are patterns with different colors and shapes.  I like to use colored pencils instead of markers, because they're easier to hold unlike markers which are too big for me.  We tried making different shapes out of pieces of paper, but it was kind of boring so I went back to sketching.  Hope you like the drawings. Some of them are from a while ago, but some of them are from today. 

I wrote some thank you cards to my teachers at Winston Prep, because it's very gloomy outside which makes it a good day to write thank you notes.  Kate wanted to take pictures of some of the "characters" around our house and asked me to write a little bit about them.  I don't remember where each object comes from, but I'm really used to living with them.  I thought that you'd like these pictures.  I think our friends Eric and Diana gave us this from Mexico.  I like the way it's shaped and colored. 

Today Kate and I went to the Metropolitan Museum Of Art.  We saw a lot of beautiful sculptures, tapestries, stained glass, paintings, and ancient household objects.  We also saw parts of a temple, called The Temple of Dendur .  The first place we visited when we got there was the roof, where there was a little cafe bar and an amazing stainless steel sculpture by Roxy Paine. You can watch a video of the installation here. These are some of the pictures we took while we were there. I'll write more about it tomorrow. 

I really love this sculpture because it's kind of crazy and looks like humongous silver branches that fell from the sky. I think people should check it out, because it's unique and interesting.

It was such a beautiful day to have a picnic lunch!

The roof deck has a great view. You can see so much of the city from up there.

The American Wing is incredible. I felt like I was not in New York, when I was in this part of the museum. It also felt like a different time period, because all the artwork is from so long ago. 

The stained glass windows are some of my favorite pieces at the museum, they are so beautiful.

The ceiling in the main lobby.

There was a xylophone at the museum gift shop that I liked a lot. You can watch me playing it if you click the link. Download MVI_1947