This year Christmas in Texas is going to be great because we added a new stocking over the fire place! It's for my new baby cousin.

Most of the time we leave for Texas when Christmas break starts. After the first couple of days, we go hunting for dove, quail, wild turkey, and, of course, deer. My shooting ratio is two out three. I'm a pretty good shot.

I hope this won't be the last time I see my ninety-seven year old grandma. Christmas in Texas means a lot to me and my relatives. If you read this writing, I have a message for you. Love all your relatives as much as they love you. Then, even if they die, you can still remember them.

I like all the things we do at Christmas in Texas. I especially like it because we come back with more things than we brought.

One warm May morning I woke up and looked on my calendar and found out it was Mother=92s Day. I quickly grabbed my twenty dollars in savings and rushed out the door.

My Dad was outside so I asked him if he would take me to Freeman's Florist in Poquoson where I live, and let me get something for mommy. After we got into the car, he told me that he was going to get her something too. I had an idea to get her candy and flowers.

On our way to our destination, I asked him to stop at Utes's Gift Shop and let me look around. He told me he would look there too. As I was looking around I found a box of candy for only $5.99. Then I looked for one last thing, roses that cost $5.67. When I got to the register my total was $11.79. I rushed to the car and saw that my Dad had gotten her something too.

We went home and gave her the presents. She put the roses in a vase. She opened the box of candy I bought her. She accidently left the box opened when she left the room and my dog, Shadow, ate every piece!

Every Thanksgiving we go up to our friends house in Maryland. It's really fun because we get to play with our friends, Leah and Trey Arthur. Sometimes, it snows and we get to go sledding or ice-skating.

On Thanksgiving Day we all go over to Mrs. Arthur's sister's house. We play games, have dinner, and watch football. The next day we drive down to Washington D.C. to see the monuments, museums, and shops. We have gone to the White House , the Washington Monument, the National Cathedral, the National Zoo, and other attractions during my previous Thanksgiving holidays.

After that's over, we go back to Leah and Trey's house for the night. The next day we pack up and go home. I'm looking forward to this year's visit!
Rachel Lilly, 6th grade

I opened my eyes just to find darkness. Crawling out of bed I fumbled for my glasses. When I walked out of my room, I saw flashing Christmas lights and a hunter green tree. Underneath the tall evergreen, presents were packed everywhere . After I woke everyone up, I rushed back out into the living room, but, before I could open any of my presents, I had to wait for two full grown sisters to arrive.

When they finally got there, we all gathered around the tree as my father practiced his yearly tradition of passing out the presents and sliding them across the floor. After about twenty minutes of unwrapping, the tree started to tumble to the ground! It startled everyone very much. Even my sisters screamed!

A few seconds later, my whole family found out what had happened. My cat, Whitley, was under the tree and she had started to climb it! I guess curiousity got the best of her. After we set the tree back up, we carried on with our Christmas and had a lot of fun!