The Adventures of Art Lad

WHO is that?








Could it BE???










Yes! It's me, Art Lad! I'm back!







I'm sorry I haven't done anything a while, but I've got a lot of new artwork to put up, so prepare for the return of Art Lad!!

But first, a catch-up.

Well It's been a long time and since my last entry, my Mom had a baby girl named The Éclair (well, her real name is Elizabeth but we have to give her a cool secret identity for online). Know why she is called that? Because she is really sweet, but really gooey and messy. She has really grown since then. Her first word at two weeks was "hooray." Her first trip was at 11 days of age because my Papa and Grandma got in a terrible car accident and died at the same time. I am still very sad about it, even though it seems like a long time ago. Everyone else in my family is all safe and good and I will be featuring things about them, like pictures and stories I've made up about them.

I've changed a lot too. I'm now 57 inches tall, and I'm ten years old (I added a lot of stuff to my profile update) and in the 4th grade so I am old enough to write my own blogs, but Dad willstill check my spelling and punctuation.

Things got moved around in the house. If I didn't tell you already, I got a loft bed a little before Eclair was born and my other sister, the Brownie, she got the old guest room and she got a new bed. It's the softest bed in the house. The new guest room is down in the basement, near my new headquarters. It is called......the ART CAVE!

My Art Cave is the coolest. It's really just the basement, but still cool.

I can hang my art up for display or to let dry if it's paint.






Know what this is that I'm working on?







It's a Deinonychus baby. To give it scale I will draw in a big nose of a mother sniffing it. Dino mommies could chomp babies up if she wanted, and sometimes dinosaurs had to fall back to cannibalism when times were tough and food was scarce. Know how they know that? Because they found fossilized baby skeletons inside the rib cages of fossilized adults, so that means they got in there by being swallowed.

Mom says when I was little, I was so cute she could have just eaten me up. And when I got older and started giving her trouble, she sometimes wished she had. I don't think that is what happened with the dinosaur babies, but it was a really long time ago and you never know.

Now here is a video of me in the Art Cave, talking about my picture. I just uploaded it to Youtube and it took a while but by the time you see this, it should be ready to watch.





It is kind of bad and needs editing, but I just wanted to do a quick video to show you what things will be like around here from now on. It will be art but it will be more. It will be a multimedia gallery! That's like when they have TVs stuck in the walls along with things you can touch along with zappy light shows all alongside regular paintings. I have an opinion that it will be pretty cool.

There will be more soon. I want to put up something new before we go away for Thanksgiving, but I'm not sure I can. But I still wanted to say HI to everyone who kept coming here and emailing Dad and asking "When is Art Lad coming back?"

Well, now you know when.

See you soon!

Signed,
Art Lad (Thomas)

Abby is dead.


I got up to feed her and she was floating at the bottom with her head straight down and not moving. She looked really dark too and she is normally bright orange so that means she was dead.

I ran and told Dad right away. It was 5:02 in the morning. Dad was really upset. He laid there with his eyes closed and moved his mouth but no words came out. He said he was praying.

I got Abby for my birthday so she didn't live very long. I think maybe she was sick. Her tank was dirty an awful lot. Dad was always cleaning it. He just cleaned it three days ago. That's what he kept saying this morning. I should have helped clean it more. I feel bad. Now she will never meet my new sister.





I got Abby out by myself. Mom made a noise when I didn't use the net to get her but I wanted to hold her in my arms. But she was too small so I just held her in my hand.

I wrapped her in a burial paper towel and carried her to the bathroom.





Dad called it a burial at sea. He needs to take the trash out too. I just noticed that.





I said a prayer even though my religion teacher says pets don't have souls. She is not very nice for a religion teacher. Abby had a soul. She was always happy to see me. Now she can swim in blue fish heaven and her tank will never have to be cleaned.





Goodbye Abby.





Hey. I just thought: Today is Friday the 13th. It really is bad luck day.

Bye.

Hi! This is Art Lad and I am writing my own blog now for today. I can type really good now and told Dad I can do it myself but he will still help me with spelling and stuff.

There has been a lot of news going on here. WE ARE HAVING A NEW BABY SISTER! We found out one dinner when we were having movie night on Friday a lot of weeks ago. That was when Mom only had a little bubble belly. NOW IT IS HUGE!

Look! You almost can't see my sister.





This is the second time I can remember having a baby. The first time was when my little sister came along. I was 2 and a half but I remember some of it. I remember getting a new room where I could have all my trains out and Dad helped me paint it. My sister got my old room but I didn't mind because it smelled like the attic and the floor was small and cold. I remember going to the hospital and Mom was all tired looking, but she was happy too. My sister was all tiny and angry then but she got better.

This new one is going to be another girl also. I'm happy because a little brother would break all my stuff. A little sister probably won't even care about my super guys and my fish Abby and my colored pencils.

The baby is supposed to come in May but I bet she will come early because Mom has early babies. I was two weeks early and my sister was three weeks early. If my new sister is 3 weeks early that means she will come next week!

We had Easter on Sunday and that was a lot of fun. We colored eggs. I love coloring eggs. You can make new colors that no one ever saw before. I like to dip my whole hand in the colors but my sister uses a dipper. My way is messy but I like it.

Look at my egg!






Later we went to my friend's house. They have a big back yard and we had an Easter Egg hunt there. I found 27 eggs with different things in them like candy and money and a compass ring to find my way home if I get lost. Me and my friends ran around like nutsos, but Mom couldn't run because the baby has got so big. She let me have the camera to take pictures. So I took one of Mom. It made me think of my egg.


Doesn't she look like a big Easter egg?





I can't wait for the baby!!!


Bye!

Thomas

I am back!

I had a busy time in 2006. I like 2007 so far but it has been cold. We got a lot of snow and me and my friends made some snowmen. Here is a picture of one. I am on the end. My sister is in the pink jacket but you can't see her face because she is so hairy!

In school we read a book where one of the characters asked his grandfather, "What is blue?" and got a neat answer. So our teacher asked us to write a poem about a color like that. Since it is snowy now, I picked white. It doesn't rhyme but it can still be a poem because it makes you have feelings. Here it is. Dad fixed the spelling.



What is White?
By Art Lad

White is like the moon glistening in the summer night breeze.
White feels like a baseball getting caught in the warm spring air.
White tastes like gentle spring air blowing in my face.

White looks like snowflakes falling on a wintry night.
White acts like a polar bear looking for sea lions up in the freezing Arctic.
White moves like ice sheets on Antarctica's freezing water's surface.

White lives like penguins swimming in freezing water
Or walking one hundred miles like Emperor penguins do.
(Sound fun?)

White is clouds that blow overhead all over the world.

Now that's what white is.



That's a long poem, isn't it? My teacher saved it to give to Mom and Dad on Open House night. I guess they really liked it.

Now we're learning about fairy tales. Maybe I'll write one of those next.

Bye!

Wow, it's been a long time since I did something here.

I have been really busy at school. I joined the chess club and I got picked to be on Student Council (they pick one boy and one girl from each class. For the 2nd grade it is me and Alyssa. Remember her?). We get to go to special meetings and vote on things like what to do at the Monster Mash and other stuff.

The Monster Mash is a dance and party at my school tomorrow. I will be going in my costume that Grandma made me. I am an Animal Planet TV person who is getting eaten by a snake. My sister is just a leopard. I can't wait for tomorrow. They have good desserts at the Monster Mash and I like dancing in the gym. It is a good place to show my moves.

I am doing a poster for the Monster Mash, but it is not done yet. Here it is:



I need to finish his legs and mouth and do letters on the bottom. I better hurry!

I am writing today because it was a special day. IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY! I am 8! Eight is great!

I got good presents. Uncle BB gave me 20 dollars to spend on anything I want and a baseball card guide so I can see what my cards are worth. Grandma and Papa gave me a talking globe of the world that teaches you where places are and has games you can play by touching it. I already know a lot about the world.

My aunts--that is Mom's sisters--gave me a tennis racket and balls because I am taking tennis lessons. Tennis is hard because I can hit the ball WAY over the fence like in baseball but you aren't supposed to hit the ball like that in tennis. You have to keep it in the lines and that is hard.

My almost favorite present was what everyone got me. On Saturday we all went to the pet store and everyone gave me money--even my sister--to buy a fish! I got a Beta fish. I named her Abby because she is a girl.






She is really pretty with goldy bits on her. Dad gave me a special bowl to put her in. She is on my desk and I like to watch her at night. It makes me sleepy.

The best present was from Dad. I really like the Justice League cartoons and have all the figures from it. Except one. He is Solomon Grundy and he is the hardest one to get. They only made like a thousand or two of him and the only way to buy him was to go to a comic show in California. He is on ebay but he costs WAY a lot of money, more than Uncle BB even gave me.

Well, DAD GOT HIM!





I couldn't believe it. He is the coolest figure and he's as big as Doomsday. Now Superman will have some guys he can REALLY fight.







Our neighbor down the street collects figures even though he is old. When I showed him my Solomon Grundy he got all excited and yelled at Dad because he says Solomon Grundy can't come out of the box. Dad just laughed and said "Toys are meant to be played with." That got our neighbor even madder. He told me my Solomon Grundy would never be worth as much now that he came out of the box.

But he is wrong. I wouldn't sell him for a million zillion dollars.



Bye!
Thomas

My sister is a big copycat now. First she had to go to swim class with me. Now she says she wants to play baseball. She is actually a good hitter sometimes when Dad pitches them slow.

I play catch with her too, but I get bored because I have to throw it the baby underhand way.

At first she was no good, but she is getting better. She says she gets better when she wears her lucky shoes:





Also she makes a face. Like this:





Mom saw it and said, "What is that mean face for?"

And she said, "It's NOT a mean face. It's my face that says, 'I'm gonna GO for it!'"

I think it's silly.

But I took her picture anyway. She wants me to do a baseball card for her too, but that is crazy.

Bye!

BLAZE IS BACK!!!

Bad guys stole him but Dad GOT HIM BACK!

He looks skinny to me. I don't think they fed him. Mom says he's still fat. But I gave him some turkey out of the refrigerator and he ate the whole bag almost.

Blaze had a lot of boo-boos, but he was so happy to see my sister, he started doing his happy dance. That's where he rolls around on the rug. I got a picture.





Dad says he has to clean the rug now. Blaze is kinda stinky. He smells like pee and Fritos.

I am going to do a Welcome Home card for Blaze and put it on his cage.

My sister got so happy she started to cry. Dad says that happens.

I didn't cry. I just yelled real loud.





Bye!