Adventures with Aveline: Part 1

Hi everyone, it's Reese! Today I bring you the first part in the blog series called Adventures with Aveline. Although Ava isn't here yet, I wanted to give you some general facts about her.

-Aveline is from Paris, France and she speaks fluent English.
-She is 15 years old.
-Aveline has two younger sisters, one of whom is going to study in Colorado.
-In Paris, she owns a family-run bakery with her family.

We will be going to the airport to pick up Aveline tomorrow! All of our family is coming to greet her. Shortly after, at the beginning of September, we will leave to Washington D.C. for Ridgeway Academy.

Everyone is really excited, but also nervous. Have you ever visited another country before?

Love,
Reese <3

A Foreign Exchange Student!

Hi everyone, it's Reese, and I have some pretty major news! I know that this is my second post in one day, but I can't help but share this news. We are hosting a foreign exchange student!

Her name is Aveline and she is from France! Aveline is 15 years old and she has light skin, brown eyes, and dark brown hair. She actually looks a lot like me! This is a picture of her that she sent to us:

Isn't she gorgeous?

Aveline will be arriving in a few days before we go back to school. If you don't remember, we go to a boarding school in Washington D.C. called Ridgeway Academy. It is similar to the high school equivalent of college.

I suppose that this can be a blog series similar to Fighting for Emma.  I will call it, hmm, Adventures with Aveline. Yes, I know it's cheesy. XD

I am so excited! Our mom has only told us this information, but we are all so excited for Ava to arrive soon! She will be with us for the 2012-2013 school year. You will be seeing her in many blog posts and videos. I can't wait!

Love,

Reese <3

Massachusetts Vacation Day One: Natick!

Hi everyone, it's Reese! Right now, I am sitting in a hotel in Boston! Tomorrow we'll head to Cape Cod. :)

This morning at 8:30 a.m., we (my family and I) left on a long drive to Boston. Luckily, the drive seemed to go by quickly because we had a lot of fun. We watched Modern Family on the portable DVD player, ate lunch, and relaxed.

At 1:30 p.m., we arrived at our destination: Natick, Massachusetts! For an hour, we relaxed at the hotel.   At 2:30 p.m., we drove across the street (literally!) to the Natick Mall.

Our first stop was the American Girl store!!! We spent an hour walking around the two levels, taking pictures and admiring other dolls. I made a good friend named McKenna, but unfortunately we did not chat for long. I met many other kind dolls as well and I even saw some animals such as horses and a cat that looked similar to Katie's cat Licorice. My favorite item in the store was easily McKenna's fabulous loft bed! I begged my mom to buy it and even reasoned with the fact that more than one of us dolls back home could use it. However, she decided that she was not going to spend that much money. At American Girl Place, I got a pair of pink pajamas, logo jeans, a Boston t-shirt, and...

Okay, now here's the big surprise- I got my ears pierced! I also bought the Birthstone Earrings separately. Right now, I am wearing the star-shaped silver earrings. My ears are sore, but it is so worth it! I am so happy to finally have pierced ears! :)

Afterwards, we went shopping at XXI Forever (a.k.a. Forever 21). We also went to the Lego store. We also went to another small toy store. One of the boys got a strawberry smoothie at Red Mango. There were other stores that we went to, but these are just a few.

For dinner, we went to P.F. Chang's for Chinese food. I ate pork dumplings and they were delicious! Another 10 minute AG stop took place. We also got two slices of cheesecake to eat in our hotel room later, Hershey's and Snickers. Yum!

The Natick Mall is so ginormous! It has 2 floors and it is amazing! The decorations were beautiful. They had food from sushi to frozen yogurt!

Back at our hotel called the Hampton Inn on Speen Street, I received an AG bed! It is a pink flip bed with a pillow and a blanket. I love it so much! It is so wonderful to be able to sleep in a bed just my size.

Right now, I am typing this blog post while I am cuddling with my unicorn pillow pet. I miss my sisters and pets, but I'll see them soon. Emma was going to come with me, but she found out last-minute that she had to stay home for rehearsals. I really wish that she had came, but I know that she is having fun with all of our sisters and the people at Beauty and the Beast musical practices.

I am so glad and grateful to be able to have come along on this amazing trip and I am having the time of my life. I miss everyone at home a lot, but mom is here and I'll be home in a week. Oh, I have also claimed mom's stuffed animal bear mine, mwahaha! (lol) :) I am working on a vlog of my trip. It should be posted when we get home next week.

Tomorrow we are going to downtown Boston to see Harvard and then drive to our house in Brewster in Cape Cod! :)

Love,
Reese <3

Summertime and Shows: Part 1

Hi everyone, it's Reese! Welcome to my summer blog series! Do you remember when I told you that I was going to be in my school's summer show? Well, Emma and I are gaining show experience in our first show. Our school Ridgeway is located a good distance from where we live. And because kids from all over the world attend Ridgeway in Washington D.C., Ridgeway is putting on separate shows across the country.

Our show is (insert drum roll here) Beauty and the Beast! Auditions took place in late June ad rehearsal has been everyday since at the local theater. Tech week (The week before a performance with lots of dress rehearsals and testing) begins right when we return from Cape Cod. We have three performances following tech week.

Now I suppose you are wondering about the auditions and roles we received.

When I attended my audition, I was so nervous. I met my Theater teacher on the stage of our local theater. I was the first to audition. I sang A Place in This World by Taylor Swift. At first, I was so nervous. However, by the second verse, I got really into the music and my nervous feelings faded away. Meanwhile, Mr. R. (I'm not allowed to say his full name) wrote in a notebook and nodded. Afterwards, I read some lines. I read the scene in the library as Belle and the scene where Beast turns back into a man. Mr. R. wrote down a few more things and then dismissed me. I was not allowed to watch Emma's audition after mine. However, I could hear Emma sing Untouchable by Taylor Swift and read about five sets of lines as Belle. When her audition was over, we walked the short distance home.

We did not find out our roles until three days later, but Emma and I both got callbacks! This was so surprising and wonderful, since we are only in tenth grade. However, only five juniors and two seniors are in the production. (It's usually more, but the summer show usually has less people due to people traveling.)

The next day at rehearsal, we found our our roles.

The lead of Belle was cast as Emma! I am so happy for my sister. :) Emma repeatedly read lines as Belle and Mr. R. always smiles when Emma reads lines and sings. She has a wonderful voice and is a very talented actress! Most of the juniors and seniors are so happy for Emma because it is so rare for a sophomore to be cast as the lead. Emma has been working so hard as Belle and practicing lines nonstop.

I was cast as Mrs. Potts! I didn't want a super large role, as this is my first show. Coincidentally, Emma and I have a bunch of roles together, which is wonderful! I am so excited for the finale number when I sing Beauty and the Beast. I am so happy with my role! :)

That's all for part one of Summertime and Shows. Part 2 will talk about our beginning rehearsals and getting to know our characters.

Love,

Reese <3