Guest post: Kathryn "Kit" Kittredge speaks out!

Hi! I'm Kathryn Margaret Kittredge, better known to family and friends as Kit. I got the nickname because it was the nickname of my great-grandmother, the famous Margaret Mildred Kittredge who has been immortalized in books and even a movie. I also got the nickname because my father said I look like she did when she was my age.

I made 11 in May, and I'll be starting at Adams Junior High in 2 weeks. I can't wait, I'm actually excited.

Haven't done much this summer. I went to Ohio for 2 weeks to visit my family up there. I went to a few Reds games while I was up there, too, so that made me happy. I love baseball and I'm gonna try to get on the school softball team next spring.

The other thing I like is writing. As soon as I get to Adams I'm gonna try out for the newspaper staff. I've got the articles I've written already put together in a neat little folder to present to the editor. Haley says she's nice so I'm sure she'll like them. I figure if I'm gonna be a reporter when I grow up, then I'd better start now.

Speaking of Haley, I'm a little ticked at her for not writing as much as she'd promised. I'm sure she's busy but she could put five words on a postcard and tell us as much as hello or something.

Well, I gotta go. Catch everybody soon!

-- Kit

Bye for now!

To all my readers (except Wendy of course),

By the time you read this I will more than likely already be on a plane headed for sunny southern California. This came about suddenly and surprisingly. Thinking about becoming a traveling doll is one thing, actually doing it is quite another.

The other day after classes ended I walked into Vee's living room and found all my friends gathered together -- even Kit and Lindsey, who are fifth graders and I only really know from Girl Scouts. I was wondering what was going on. What happened was that they'd decided to surprise me with a goodbye party. Chips, drinks, dip, the Jonas Brothers playing in the background (that had to have been Hilary's idea) even pizza. The last time I ate pizza I broke out in hives.

It finally hit me that this would be the last time all of us would be together for the entire summer. We would all be scattered in all sorts of different directions. Hilary was going to be with her father and to try to keep her divorcing family together. Kristy was going to basketball camp and summer camp with her girls' home. Katarina was going to Germany. Kit was going to do her newspaper stuff and visit relatives in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. Lindsey was going to finish her documentary, read the new Rebecca Rubin stories, and try to keep herself out of trouble. Nicki was going to volunteer at the local animal shelter and visit her grandmother. Harriet, I think she's just gonna try and hold it together until I come back.

I realized that each one of my friends is unique, different, and special in their own ways. Nicki's situation is a little different because we're actually family. But the standard still applies. Kristy (btw, she did make good on her promise to cut her hair, though not as much as I was afraid of) gave me a high-five, Hilary squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe, and Nicki let out these huge sobs.

I tried to spend a little extra time with each of my friends individually before going to the airport. I'm gonna try not to cry, I thought to myself. I'm not gonna cry...

That didn't work. I doled out hugs to everyone and then found myself in a big group hug. By the time I got to Harriet the waterworks was on. Before I knew it I was bawling like a baby. "I'll miss you so much," Harriet whispered in my ear. I whispered the same right back to her.

I've never had a best friend, so to feel this way is strange to me.

Some of them wanted to ride with me to the airport but I told them never mind, that I was good. In reality, I was going to cry again and I didn't want to take the risk.

Well, that's it everybody. Goodbye for now! And hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,

Haley E. Hotchkiss

P. S. I may check in on here every once in awhile while I'm gone, but Harriet and some others will do the lions' share of the posting. See you soon!

Going Places

Yep, I took my last exam this morning and school is now out for the year. Our last report cards will be mailed to us within the week.

And yes, Meredith and some of the other girls did in fact skip school today, like I'd heard they'd planned to do. I was glad they weren't there.

Oh guess what, the Sightseeing outfit came, and I have to say I like it more than I thought I would. Even the boots are growing on me.

It had everything, including a little travel planner that I stuck in my suitcase. I still think the shawl and corsage is a little bit much, though.

Well, I'm pretty much all packed up and ready to leave. I'm scheduled to depart on the 8th of June but Vee has green-lighted me to actually go sooner, if you could believe that. Because of that I could possibly squeeze in another destination before I'm due back home to prepare for the new school year -- wherever that may be.

I've been looking in my trusty atlas for places I'd like to go. My first destination is Bakersfield, California, where Wendy lives. I've never been to California, not with my parents or by myself, so I'm pretty excited about this trip. Plus seeing Wendy is a bonus.

I can't wait to get this show on the road!

Yep, she's here...

She meaning my cousin Nicki. I got a surprise for my Memorial Day -- a phone call saying I needed to get to the airport because someone was there waiting for me. At first I thought it was my mother but then I realized who it was.

Nicki held her outstretched arms out to greet me. "Look at you, just as I left."

I shook my head. "Nicki, it's only been a month and a half."

"Still too long," she said.

The real surprise, though, was Adam. He's already a full head taller than either Nicki or me. And he's only ten. He has Nicki's hair color but brown lost-puppy-dog eyes. Something tells me he's gonna be a cute one when he gets older.

I have finals this week so I probably won't get to spend much time with her. And I just found out both Harriet and Kristy have to go to summer school. What a bummer.

And I feel worse because I won't be around to help them with their work because I'll be out traveling.

We can't do too much until after finals, I've got to go hit the books. Later.

XOXO

Haley

Graduation, interview, etc...

I spent Thursday night at the eighth grade graduation. It wasn't my choice, the whole newspaper staff had to be there to cover it. Alison showed up in a deep blue velvet dress, it was cute on her. Alison in a dress was strange, but I had to get used to it. Megan's dress was black and gold, also very cute.

Before the graduation, though, I ran into Marisol Luna. Remember I told you she was an eighth grader? Well I found out that next term she's going to Parkington. So you know I piped her with all kinds of questions about the school.
She says Parkington is a magnet school for gifted and talented young ladies. Since she's a dancer, she's enrolling in its acclaimed dance academy. She told me something else too -- about something called a deferred enrollment, which is what she did. She attended Adams for a year before going to Parkington and said that if I was thinking about going that it would be an option to think about.
Another thing: Her younger sister, Maitte, will be at Adams next year.
The next day was our awards ceremony for this year. I hate these because the teachers take too long to give them out. They gave out awards for clubs and activities and perfect attendance. I haven't missed a day of school in three years, so when they announced "Haley Hotchkiss, three years perfect attendance," I heard Meredith and some of the others sitting on the top bleachers yelling boos.
Kristy got basketball team MVP, Alison got soccer team MVP, Megan received the special principal's award for "going beyond the call of duty." A boy named Caelan Staub got highest average awards for math and science, I got mine for social studies, Megan got it for English, Katarina got for reading, and Hilary got her awards for highest average in spelling, winning the school spelling bee, district spelling bee, 2nd in state spelling bee -- oh, and she's going to nationals in July.
I was a little nervous when Mrs. Baldwin went to announce the 6th grader with the highest grade point average. "Haley, you know you're gonna get that," Harriet said with a nudge.
"Caelan's smart too," I reminded her. I don't know Caelan that well, he's pretty quiet and keeps mostly to himself.
"The sixth grader with the highest grade point average for the year -- Haley Hotchkiss with a 3.975."
"Haley, don't act like you didn't know," Kristy said. Meredith and her friends rained down more boos as I walked to receive my awards.
Speaking of Parkington, my interview was okay... not great, not bad. Just okay. They asked me about what I was involved in and what I wanted to do with my life. When I got ready to leave, they shook my hand, and I left.

New Layout and End-of-the-Year stuff

First of all, how do you like (or don't like) my new picture and layout? I figured I needed to refresh it, and I also changed the title of my blog. The new title is courtesy of Hilary, she thought I needed something more catchy. The new pic and graphix are courtesy of Lindsey, she is just a whiz with those graphix programs. Tell me whether you love or hate it, and what can be done to improve it.
Today was our last full day of school, hard to believe it's almost over. *sniff* HAHAHAHAHA Tonight the eighth-graders graduate, tomorrow we have our awards ceremony and a half-day of school, Monday we have off because it's Memorial Day, Tuesday through Friday are all half-days as we take our final exams. Next Friday is our last day of school, and some of the girls in the class are talking about skipping out.
The eighth-graders picked Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" as their class song. The first time I heard it, I believe it might have been on either Sabine's or Katie's blogs. It's not the prettiest song in the world -- to me it sounds like someone cried throughout -- but I'm just weird, lol. Sorry if you're offended.
I've already begun packing for my trip. Vee ordered me the retired Sightseeing outfit, I'm waiting for it to arrive, everything else is packed up and ready to go. I saw pics of the outfit, it's okay, not great. I'm not a fan of the poncho, and I can take or leave the boots. I leave on the 9th, which doesn't give me much time, frankly. She's also letting me use her niece's old Barbie suitcase, and while I'm not a big fan of Barbie, the case keeps my stuff in place and is the right size for me.
My friends' summer plans are pretty varied. Kristy's going on a two-week camping trip, then basketball camp. Hilary's replacing me again -- at least temporarily. She'll take my spot at the local university's gifted and talented summer enrichment program. Thing is, she'll also be spending some time in California (just not when I'm there -- figures) with her father. Her parents are getting a divorce, and there's still a possibility she might be moving. Katarina's returning to Germany. Kit's gonna do her newspaper stuff and play some baseball. Linds says she wants to finish the movie she's making and read all the new Rebecca Rubin stories coming from AG soon (Like Rebecca, Lindsey is Jewish, so she feels a special kinship). And Harriet? "Nothing special," she shrugs. Sometimes I wonder why we're friends as she's so laid-back and I'm just the opposite.
What are your summer plans?
We decided that since I have a half-day tomorrow that I'm not going to stay at Parkington. Instead we're going to drive up as soon as I get out of the assembly and then come back here tomorrow night. It's a six hour round trip.

Rambling about assorted stuff

Harriet went away for the weekend, said a cousin or something was graduating college, so she had to go. It wasn't the same without her around. Sometimes I'm jealous that Harriet has this big close-knit family, with her mom and grandmother and cousins and such. Both sets of my grandparents are already dead.

So, I was stuck today with watching cheerleading tryouts. There are 10 girls trying out for 2 open spots on the squad, so you can imagine there's a lot of competition. Alison and I just shook our heads and shrugged.

Two of them I recognized as 5th graders, the brunette gal and another girl in yellow, said she was Victoria something. She's got the blackest hair I've ever seen, and I can't pronounce her last name.

Remember I said the new cheerleading uniforms are hideous? Here they are:

On the subject of Parkington, I haven't found the guts to tell any of my friends about it, and it's a situation I really don't want to deal with. My parents do, however, know about it. They arranged it so my interview is Saturday, so I'm leaving town Friday evening and Vee and I are going to stay in a hotel Friday night. I did, however, tell my cousin Nicki about it, and she totally says I should botch the interview. Problem is, I can't see myself purposely messing up anything, especially after I've worked so hard to get this interview in the first place.
Speaking of Nicki, she is managing to throw ANOTHER wrench into my summer plans. She is coming down, starting when school lets out at the end of the year. And it's not just Nicki. She's bringing her brother Adam, who'll be starting 5th grade next year. I've told her that I'm gonna be with the traveling doll program most of the summer and she won't get to see very much of me, but she insists on coming down. Deep down I don't think she believes I actually signed up for the program. I hate when she does these things. She's my cousin and all, but a lot of the time she gets on my nerves. I hate to say it, but I wish she'd stay in Colorado. Oh well, you can't pick your family.