Happy Birthday Julie!!!

After weeks, yes weeks, of planning my daughter's 2nd birthday, the day finally arrived. My sister was nice enough to have the party at her house, which is much bigger than mine, and we spent the morning decorating and cooking for the party. My in-laws even came from Pennsylvania to celebrate with us. I went to Party City to pick up the balloons and that turned out to be a challenge due to the torrential winds. Did I mention Julie's birthday party fell on the day of the big storm/hurricane? It was pouring out and trees seemed to be tumbling down on every block. Luckily, the decorations turned out great. After I finished setting up I went back home to change and put Julie in her party dress. At 6 pm we went back to my sister's house to wait for the guests to arrive. Fortunately everyone showed up inspite of the horriffic driving conditions. We were all having a great time, enjoying the food and catching up with eachother. Then, suddenly, the lights went out. Thanks to the violent storm we spent julie's 2nd birhtday in the dark. Luckily everyone had a great sense of humor about the situation and joked that it was a romantic, candle-lit birthday celebration.

**Vocabulary words**

1. in-laws: noun,a relative by marriage.

2. challenge:noun, difficulty in a job, or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.

3. torrential:adjective, viloent, vehement, or impassioned.

4. fortunately: having good fortune; receiving good from uncertain or unexpected sources.

5. horrific:–adjective ,causing horror.

6. violent: adjective, acting with or characterized by uncontrolled, strong, rough force.

**Fill in the blank using the vocabulary words above.**

1. My sister's _______live in Florida.

2. The scary movie was filled with _____scenes.

3. Last week's storm was accompanied by ______winds.

4. I found the homework assignment to be quite a _____.

5. Haiti was hit by a very _______earthquake.

6. I had to miss class thursday night. ______, the teacher gave me a chance to make up what I'd missed.

***GRAMMAR POINT***

My blog is filled with long sentences that require commas. A comma is defined as a mark of punctuation used for indicating a division in a sentence, as in setting off a word, phrase, or clause, esp. when such a division is accompanied by a slight pause or is to be noted in order to give order to the sequential elements of the sentence.

Write 5 sentences using the vocabulary words above and incorporate a comma in each sentence.

Murphy

My dog's name is Murphy. Murphy is a Cavalier King Charles/Poodle mix. He is the sweetest dog. My husband and I bought Murphy back in 2006 from a pet store in Hicksville called Shake-a-paw. He loves to play and is the best cuddler in the world. My sisters love him because he gives the best hugs. Murphy loves to sleep and relax all day long, but lately it's kind of hard for him to get any rest because Julie, my 2 year old won't leave him alone. Being that she's currently an only child, Murphy's her best friend. She wants to brush his hair, hug him, she forces him to sit on her lap, she even tugs on his collar all day long. The poor dog probably feels suffocated. Sometime I find him hiding behind furniture just to get away from Julie. I know he loves her and appreciates the fact that she's always ready to play with him but I'm sure he misses his rest and relaxation, too.

**Vocabulary words**
1. lately: recently, not long ago.
2. currently: now going on, of the present time.
3. suffocated: to smother, supress
4. appreciates: to think well of, to recognize gratefully.
5. relaxation:rest from work or effor, recreation.

**fill in the missing vocabulary word in the following sentences:

1. There was a really sad story on the news the other day about a cat who accidentally _____ a newborn baby.
2. Usually I love going to get manicures and pedicures but _____I find that doing it myself is more economical.
3. My husband always tells me that he __________ everything I do for him.
4. My daughter is _________one but she will be turning two next week.
5. I wouldn't mind taking a vacation so I can get a little rest and ___________.


**grammar point**
circle all the verbs in the passage and identify the tense (past, present, future)

Julianna's 2nd brithday!!!!

My daughter Julianna will be turning two on march 13th. We're having a small birthday party for her on saturday. I love planning birthday parties. I always pick a theme and base every detail around that theme. This year's theme is going to be Strawberry Shortcake. The plates, the cups, the decorations, the balloons, the birthday cake, and even the invitations will match the theme. I'm currently shopping around for the perfect birthday dress for Julie. I would have loved to find one to go along with the theme but I haven't been having any luck. The party will take place in my sister's house because it's much bigger than mine. I have invited about 20 people, not including the children, and am currently working on the menu. I think it will be a beautiful birthday party. Too bad Julie probably won't remember it. Oh well, that's what camcorders are for, right?

**vocabuary words**
1. detail: a dealing with things item by item.
2. theme: a topic, as of an essay.
3. decorations: decorating, an ornament, a medal.
4. currently: now going on, of the present time.
5. probably: likely to occur o to be.


**Fill in the missing vocabulary word in the following sentences:

1. I am_____ enrolled in Grad school and plan on graduating next year.
2. My best friend had a Hawaiian_____ for her wedding.
3. My sister loves to throw New Year's Eve parties. The ____________are always beautiful.
4. I will____have a late lunch today because I have to finish my homework first.
5. The quilt my grandmother made had beautiful __________.

**grammar point**
Circle all the nouns in the passage and underline all the verbs.

My weekend!!

I always look forward to the weekend but this weekend is sure to be extra special because my husband, my daughter and I will be going to Pennsylvania. My husband's entire family lives there. We go every other month or so and it takes about 3 hours to drive there. The drive is usually not that bad unless we go on a holiday and get stuck in horrific traffic. Having a 2 year old in the back seat does not make things any easier, so we try to leave really early in the morning so that she sleeps throughout most of the ride. This weekend we will be celebrating two birthdays. My husband's cousin's first birthday and my daughter's 2nd, even though her real birthday is not until March 13th. Weekend trips to Pensylvania are always a blast and with two birthday celebrations this one's sure to be one as well.

Vocabulary words:

1. look forward to: to anticipate
2. throughout: all the way through
3. horrific: horrifying, to shock or disgust, strong feeling caused by something frightful or shocking.
4. celebration: a festivity.
5. entire: whole

**Fill in the missing vocabulary word:

1. The situation in Haiti is _______. The earthquake has caused serious devastation to many Haitians.
2. I always _________ Christmas. It's such a special time of year.
3. Cinco de Mayo is a huge __________ that takes place in Mexico every year.
4. I take many trips to the beach ___________the course of the summer.
5. I'm going on vacation with my_________family next year.

**Grammar point:
Create your own sentences using the new vocabulary words.