Hey, Calvin! It's your best friend, Derek, and I'm here on my blog to tell you about your party I had. My dad dropped me off at your house so I can meet you, your friends, your mom Sheila and your dad David. First I played basketball for awhile till it got dark, then David called all of us to come have a weiner roast. So we went to the backyard and we each got a stick to put our hot dogs on. I put my hot dog on a stick, and then I walked to the campfire so I can roast my hot dog until it got hot and cooked. After that, I put my hot dog on a bun, filled it with ketchup, mustard and relish, got some baked beans, some chips, some vegetables and dip, two Halloween cookies and even some chocolate-covered pretzels. Then I found myself a chair over by the campfire and I sat on it and ate and ate my life away. Then Sheila said, "It's time to make some S'mores!" I was so excited to make a S'more for dessert, so I walked to the table and grabbed my stick. I put a giant marshmallow on it, and then I roasted it on the campfire until it got browned. Then I put my marshmallow on two pieces of graham cracker and also put chocolate on it. That's how I made a S'more, so I sat down next to the campfire and ate my delicious S'more. Then you came over to me and you said, "Derek, do you want to make a pumpkin by using toilet paper?" And I said, "Yeah, Calvin, let's do that!" So after we left the backyard where the campfire and the food was, we were ready to make our toilet paper pumpkins. The guys had to go to the patio and the girls had to go to the garage to make their pumpkins. I sat down on the patio chair and David gave me a roll of toilet paper, some orange lining and a green stem to get started working on my pumpkin. First I put orange lining around the toilet paper till it got orange, then I pushed in a green stem for the top of my pumpkin. When my pumpkin was finished, I got out a pen and a little orange post-it so I can write my name on it. I put my name inside the top of my pumpkin, and suddenly Sheila said, "It's time to go to the doughnut tree and eat doughnuts with our mouths! But remember, please put your hands behind your backs to do that, okay?" So me, Calvin, and Calvin's friends went over to the doughnut tree and there were a lot of apple cider doughnuts hanging from the tree. I found myself a doughnut hanging, so I put my hands behind my back and started eating the doughnut with my mouth. That was fun to do! After I ate the doughnut that was hanging from the tree, Sheila gave me my finished pumpkin made of toilet paper so I won't forget it, and then I waited for my dad to come pick me up. I had a really fun time at your party, Calvin, and remember, you can always say that I would like to come over to your house again someday so we can play basketball and watch some movies. When my dad pulled up to the side of the driveway, I said good-bye to Sheila, David, your friends, and even you, Calvin! Then I walked to the car, got in, put my seat belt on and showed my dad my pumpkin I made out of toilet paper. Then we drove home right from Calvin's house. It's getting late already, so I'll be getting out of my blog now, Calvin, and remember that your best friend, Derek, likes you so much! See ya, Calvin, and I'm signing off! Bye!

Hello, everyone! My name is Derek Zeman, and I'm here tonight to tell you about Peggy and John's wedding on Friday. My dad and I went to Burlington on Friday and we went to the Veteran's Memorial Hall at Echo Park. When we got there, we got a chance to meet Peggy's parents, John's children, my dad's cousin Joan, Karen, Lee, Denis, Kandi, Uncle Bob, Grandma Dolores, Grandpa Brian, Uncle Richard, Aunt Cheryl, Yvonne, and other people. The wedding ceremony was being held outside, so we went down the stairs and found ourselves two good chairs. It began at 5:30, so the bagpiper started playing his bagpipes, and one by one all the bridesmaids came down the stairs with their pretty bouquet of flowers, and the groomsmen were escorting them to the alter. Then finally it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Peggy was coming down the stairs looking beautiful in her dazzling wedding gown. She was being escorted by her father, and they walked down the aisle where Peggy's fiancee John, was waiting for her. The priest started reading in his book, and he told Peggy and John that they put the rings on his and her fingers, and they also noticed that they were being wed. After saying their I do's, John kissed Peggy on the lips at the end of the wedding ceremony. My dad and I were cheering and clapping our hands as Peggy and John ran from the alter and up the stairs because they were now husband and wife. Then we went up the stairs and met the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, the beautiful bride Peggy and her husband John. The wedding reception was at Liberty Hall inside, so my dad and I found ourselves a very good table with Uncle Richard and Aunt Cheryl sitting over by that table. The table had chocolates and flowers on it. When it's time for dinner, we went over to the dinner section and there we saw three different dinner courses, including the dessert course. First I had my first plate of cheese, crackers, a piece of bread with butter on it and olives. Then I had my second plate of corn chips, coleslaw, creamy pasta, a hamburger, a fish filet sandwich and a chicken sandwich. And last for my dessert, I had cheesecake with cherries and blueberries on it, a small cookie and a medium-sized brownie. Then I noticed I was full, so I went to the balcony outside and Uncle Richard, Aunt Cheryl and my dad and Grandma Dolores were also standing there. Uncle Richard told me about all 44 presidents, and when the train comes down on the track, Uncle Richard and I counted all the cars that were on the train and there were so many train cars to count. When we got back inside, we saw Peggy and John doing their first wedding dance on the dance floor. It was a beautiful dance by the bride and groom who were happily married! So I waited to dance until the famous country band started playing their classic country songs. I got up to the dance floor and Joan and I began to dance. We danced and danced when Joan told me that I was doing awesome on the dance floor and she kissed me. I also danced with Karen to the country music band, and Karen and I were doing great on the dance floor. I had a really nice time at Peggy and John's wedding, and I got to know everybody who were at the wedding, including Grandma Dolores and Uncle Richard, and even Uncle Bob. Well, everyone, since I'm almost done blogging about Peggy and John's wedding, I've gotta send Joan and Karen an email about dancing with them at the wedding. I'm going now, so please send me a comment about the wedding that my dad and I attended on Friday. Good-bye, everybody, and remember that I am a very good blogger! See ya!

Hello, everyone! It's me, Derek Zeman. Hey, Election Day is coming up in November, and I would like to decide which President I'm gonna vote for, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. I'm a Democrat, and I would vote for Barack Obama because he's the first ever African American President who can run for his second term in 2012. Obama has got a lovely wife named Michelle Obama, and she's the First Lady of the United States. Barack and Michelle got two beautiful little girls named Sasha and Malia. They also got a dog in the White House. Barack Obama would be a great President than Mitt Romney, and maybe someday Obama and his Vice President, Joe Biden would like to come over to my house so they can meet my family and me and I would also like to shake the President's hand and tell him that I can go to Washington, D.C. with him and Vice President Biden. But enough about President Barack Obama, it's time for me to think about what I should do if I become President. If I became President of the United States, I should make up my own speech about the soldiers being killed and wounded in the future war. I could walk right into the Oval Office of the White House, and I could sit behind my desk and tell the people of the country, "Hello, my fellow Americans," and I could also tell them about the future war and on and on. I could also travel around the world and meet the folks who were very kind to me, such as the British, the Chinese, the Japanese, the French, the Germans, and even the Mexicans and the Australians. I would like to be called myself President Derek Zeman so I can be famous, smart and even more powerful. The people of the United States would like to vote for me on Election Day in November because I am the greatest President there is. Well, everyone, dinner would be almost ready, and I could smell the pork chops cooking on the oven because my father made them. That's all I know about me voting for Barack Obama for President again and me becoming President of the United States in the future. Maybe my best friend Calvin would like to see this when he comes over to my house someday. I gotta go now, everyone, so you all take care and remember, I love sending my blogs to you all. Good-bye for now!

Hi, Cousin Patrick! This is your favorite cousin, Derek. I'm here to tell you about your beautiful baby daughter, Simran and your lovely wife, Chini. But first, you wanted to know who was my favorite Civil War general and which battle I'm gonna find the most interesting. Well, Patrick, here it goes! My favorite Civil War general was Robert E. Lee because he was the most famous Civil War general during the great Civil War which begun in 1861 and ended in 1865. Robert E. Lee was from the South, so Lee and all the other Southern Civil War generals lost the Civil War in 1865, but the North finally won it. The battle I did find the most interesting would be the Battle of Gettysburg because that was the year 1863 when the Battle of Gettysburg was fought. When President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation about the Gettysburg Address in 1863, he told the people that the Battle of Gettysburg would be a great and steady battle during the Civil War. I'm a genius about the Civil War, Patrick, and I know every Civil War general, including my favorite one, Robert E. Lee. That's all I know about the Civil War, and Patrick, remember you could always go online and check out all the famous Civil War generals, the famous battles, and even President Abraham Lincoln who was president during the Civil War. Good-bye to my favorite cousin, Patrick, and remember, I could always see you, Chini and baby Simran when you come down to visit me and I love you!

Hello, Aunt Stephanie! It's your nephew, Derek. Let me tell you about a very nice job I had at work today. The workplace that you work at is called Gentiva Health Care, which is formerly known as Odyssey Health Care. At Gentiva Health Care, I filed all of the monthly letters in bereavement charts, or folders. First I wrote down 8/15/12 and VOL in every monthly letter and then I put in every person's bereavement name which was on the letters in every bereavement chart. That was an easy job to do, Aunt Stephanie. On Thursday, you're gonna have a man from a different health care helping you out with some bereavement work, so I won't be at work on Thursday. I'm gonna be at work next Friday instead, so you just wrote me down a little note on a little blue label so I can show it to my dad. Next Friday, you can find me a lot of work to do, Aunt Stephanie. You are a very good aunt to me, and it proves that your house got new siding, a new roof and some new windows. Well, Aunt Stephanie, I gotta go now and I'll see you at work next Friday. Love you, Aunt Stephanie! See you later! Buh-bye!

Hello again, everybody! It's me again, Derek Zeman. Now I'm ready for my second thought for tonight. My second thought would be going to the State Fair on Friday. My mom and I had to wait for my dad, Tammy and Natalie at the Charcoal Grill Roadhouse. When they got there, my mom and I stood up and told them that they took a bus there. Then we went and bought us some cheeseburgers from the Charcoal Grill Roadhouse and ate them there. After that, Natalie wanted to see the shark show, so we walked on over to the shark show and saw nurse sharks swimming in a large tank. We also saw a man wearing a snorkel and flippers and he's also swimming with the sharks in the tank. After the shark show, we went to the sheep and goat barn, and we saw most goats eating and laying down. Natalie wanted to see the pigs next, so we headed right on over to the swine barn and we saw more goats in the swine barn and also most pigs. Then we walked up to the cattle barn and inside the cattle barn, we saw some dairy cows and beef cows. After we saw the cows, we went to the coliseum for a little bit to see the horse show. After that, we went into the Wisconsin Products Pavilion building so we can sit down and rest our feet. Natalie and I had grilled cheese sandwiches, my dad had a bison meat sandwich, Tammy had a baked potato with sour cream and my mom had something else to eat. Tammy, Natalie and I decided to go see the pig races, so we left my mom and dad in the Pavilion so they can still rest their feet there. Natalie thought the pig races would be fun to watch, so we just sat on the bench and watched the pigs race for the food and the medal. After the pig races, Natalie wanted to go on a pony, so we went to the pony rides and watched Natalie riding on a pony. After that, we went to the Discovery Barn and we watched Natalie driving a tractor and playing in the corn. Then we went back to the Wisconsin Products Pavilion building and mom and dad were still in there. Then they joined us again and we were off to the Spin City Amusement Rides so that Natalie can ride in some of the little kids rides. She went on the little ferris wheel, the baja buggy cars, the dinosaur cars, the dolphin cars, the little motorcycles and even the jumbo elephant cars. We were hungry, so Tammy and my dad had corn on the cob, I had a pork burger, my mom had a pork burger also, my mom and I had to share a corn dog, and we all had to share chive fries. Then we headed to the cream puff building and my mom bought chocolate-covered raisins, monster cookies and something else from the building. And just then, while my mom and dad went to buy some cream puffs in a to go box, Tammy, Natalie and I went to the Spin City Amusement Rides once again so that Natalie can go on the little kids rides again. We walked around Spin City in the evening so we can look at the bigger adult rides. When we got back, my mom and dad were sitting on the bench at the shark show that we saw earlier in the afternoon, and we got exhausted from walking around the State Fair. We had a really nice time at the State Fair, and that will be good if we go back again next year. So we took a bus back to the Park and Ride and when we got there, my mom, dad and I said good-bye to Tammy and Natalie and we got into my dad's car and we drove home. Well, everybody, that's my blog about the State Fair for tonight and I bet my best friend Calvin would like to see my blog. Good night, everybody, and remember that me, Derek, will like to say that I like the State Fair! Bye-bye for now!

How's everybody doing today? My name is Derek Zeman, and I'm doing very good so far. Here are some of my thoughts about being on my blog. Here's the first one. My favorite person in American history is Abraham Lincoln because he was the 16th president of the United States from 1861 to 1865. Abraham Lincoln was not from Illinois, he was originally born in Kentucky. When he grew older, Lincoln and his family moved from Kentucky to Illinois, where Lincoln had built a plantation in Illinois and he stayed there. In 1833, Lincoln married a young widowed woman named Mary Todd. The couple soon found out that they're gonna have children at the Illinois plantation, or Lincoln's home. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was running for president with his vice-presidential running mate, Hannibal Hamlin. Lincoln finally won the election, but he noticed that in 1861, there's gonna be a famous war called the Civil War. Lincoln was president during the Civil War. In 1863, President Lincoln issued an Emancipation Proclamation, which he had said about a new country where the Founding Fathers brought forth. He said to the people while reading in his Gettysburg Address, "Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth to this continent, a new nation. Conceived with Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition, that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in the great Civil War. Tested for any nation, or any nation whom all conceived, also dedicated, whom all endure." When the North finally won the Civil War in 1865, President Lincoln was relieved that the war had been a bloody and insecure war. When President Lincoln won the second term with his second vice-presidential running mate, Andrew Johnson, the people were ecstatic about it. It was April of 1865. President Lincoln and his wife Mary were at Ford's Theatre watching an American play called Our American Cousin. Suddenly, an actor named John Wilkes Booth was creeping on the balcony and he took out his gun and shot President Lincoln right in the head. Lincoln's wife Mary was being told that her husband was dead. Vice president Andrew Johnson became president of the United States while the people remember Abraham Lincoln being assassinated. Well, that's all I know about Abraham Lincoln and his hometown in Illinois and also his wife Mary.

Hi, everybody! My name is Derek Zeman. This is my first time using my blog on the computer, and thanks for sharing and looking at my blog with me. Well, here I go! If I could be on a reality TV show, I would be on the Bachelor. I would like to meet 25 beautiful women on the show because they were just coming out of their limos and I would give each of them a single rose. When host Chris Harrison finds out that I am the Bachelor coming out the limo for my very first time, he needs to talk to me about where I'm from, what I do for a living and having my own family. Chris would say to me, "Derek, it's about time you're going to meet 25  beautiful women saying hi to you and getting to know you. But before you do that, just step outside and wait for the first limo to arrive." And now I can take each and every woman out on dates, until it gets down to the final two women on the season finale of the Bachelor. I don't know who am I gonna pick, but I'll have to wait to find out. I also like to be on Big Brother because I'll have to be in the Big Brother house and play very hard. When I become Head of Household, I would like to tell the other players to go to the meeting and nominate someone for eviction. When Big Brother host Julie Chen finds out that I'm the Head of Household, she says to me, "Derek, as current Head of Household, you cannot vote for two people who were nominated for eviction. Only the other players can vote for two nominees to be evicted from the Big Brother house tonight." Now I'll have to wait to see about who's going home or staying at the Big Brother house tonight.

Now I'm ready for the second answer about going to St. James Church. My father, Tammy, my little niece Natalie, Becky and I always attend St. James Church every Sunday because we like to pray, sing, kneel down and hear Mother Lisa saying something during the Sermon. What I like about St. James Church is getting to know the members of the church going there and they know me. I get to know Mother Lisa, Deacon Terry, Lorraine Garner, Sue Gillman, Robert and Susan Wilson, a guy named Bob, Erica Schuller and her husband Brett, Dorota Pulski and others. St. James Church is an old-fashioned church located in Downtown Milwaukee and it has a steeple, beautiful red doors on the left and right sides, stained-glass windows, beautiful flowers and even a statue of Mary on the left side of the church. Well, that's all I have to say about St. James Church and also about going there and meeting people who went to St. James Church on Sundays.

Thank you, everybody, for reading my blog and I've been looking forward to share my blog to some of Becky's friends and even my best friend, Calvin. See you soon! Good-bye! Derek