End of 2016. (Finally) Interview Edition!

What were the best things that happened in 2016?

Zane: In the summer, i really enjoyed doing Adventure Thursdays.
         I enjoyed going to Lansing a lot because it was awesome.
         I liked going to Pittsburgh.

Katrina: We saw baby Amiya.
              Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them came out!
              We got to see movies in the movie theater, like "Secret Lives of Pets," "Fantastic Beasts," and ... i think there was at least one more. Oh! I saw Zootopia with Auntie Beth.

Houston: I got into City High Middle School.
              I went to Papaw and JJ's house for like 3 days.
              Christmas happened.
              Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Juanito:  Building the shelf in the front room.
              Trip to Pittsburgh.
              Going to see Bassnectar.
              The zombie run.

Karen: Babies! Amiya, Karen D's baby, and Eloise and Micah, Jim and Alisha's twins!
           Painting the front room and getting shelves and generally making it brighter and happier.
           Getting a Meijer Gardens membership and getting to visit it lots of times.


What were the worst things that happened in 2016?

Zane: Donald Trump getting elected.
         In the summer when we did the Adventure Thursday when we got all itchy from the stinging nettles.
         The beach disappearing at Bops' house.

Katrina: Alan Rickman died.
             My fish died.
             People died.
             Donald Trump got elected.

Houston: Donald Trump won.
              Everyone died.
              They announced that they're making a Cars 3.

Juanito:  Everything leading up to DJT being elected.

Karen: My Aunt Marilyn died after a really short illness.
           President-Elect Trump.
           So many famous people's deaths - Alan Rickman, David Bowie, George Michael, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fischer, Prince, Mohamed Ali, Garry Marshall, Florence Henderson, Gene Wilder, John Glenn....

Who were your best friends in 2016?

Zane: Finneus, Justin, and Will.

Katrina: Alex, Phoebe, Emily and Emily, Max, Isabella, Madison, Ella and Lorelei, Paige, and Kim.

Houston: Chauncey, Ethan, and Anthony.

Juanito:  "My beautiful, precious wife Karen," Beth, and Andrew.

Karen: Juanito, Beth, Karen, Keren, Linda and Andrew, Karla, Brooke and Travis

Use three words to describe 2016.

Zane: Deadly, exciting, and weird.

Katrina: Saddest year ever.

Houston: Tiring, long, and the worst.

Juanito: Mind-blowing, eye-opening, and "as long as a year is."

Karen: Long, depressing, over.

What were the best books you read this year?

Zane: 100 Most ____ Things on the Planet series, Harry Potter books 4 and 5 (and 3 and 1), and Calvin and Hobbes.

Katrina: The Cursed Child, How to Speak Dolphin, Heart of a Dolphin, and i re-read Harry Potter 6.

Houston: Huck Finn, Magnus Chase, and Harry Potter 7.

Juanito: Subject To Infinite Change by Andrew Moxon and Stiletto

Karen: The Flavia de Luce series, the Kate Burkholder series, The Martian, Wonder.

What was your single biggest time-waster this year?

Zane: Reading Calvin and Hobbes.

Katrina: Sleeping.

Houston: Doing dot-to-dots.

Juanito: Sleep.

Karen: Netflix.

December 23

It's Christmas Adam! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! One of our traditions is to open presents on Christmas Adam. We would open them on Christmas Eve, but on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day we do Christmas with my family, and then we do our own little family on the other day. So we either open stockings on the same day we open all of the rest of the presents, or we open them on the 23rd. And opening them on a different day than everything else is just more fun.

This year i unintentionally wrapped and put in Katrina's stocking TWO duplicate presents. One was a Harry Potter ring that came in a package of 10, so i just forgot that i'd already wrapped one. And the other was a charm for her charm bracelet that i apparently wrapped and tossed in and then completely forgot that i'd done it, so i spent ages looking all over for the charm before giving up and going to buy the same one again. In my defense, i am an idiot.

Anyhow! Christmas interviews!

What are your 3 favorite Christmas traditions?

Houston: 1. Driving around and looking at Christmas lights.
                2. Advent calendars and activities.
                3. Opening presents with everyone.
Katrina: 1. Secret Santa
              2. Doing Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa.
              3. Opening presents together.
Zane: 1. Advent calendars.
          2. Being with family.
          3. Opening presents.

Best Christmas present ever?

Houston: Either my word code piggy bank or my Tardis blanket.
Katrina: Molly, my American Girl Doll.
Zane: The giant pillow case with zebra print and a Z on it.

Favorite Christmas movie?

Houston: Elf
Katrina: Elf or Arthur Christmas
Zane: Elf or It's a Wonderful Life

Favorite Christmas songs?

Houston: "For Unto Us a Child is Born," "Carol of the Bells," and "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer."
Katrina: "Jingle Bell Rock," "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."
Zane: "Jingle Bell Rock," "Santa Baby," and "Carol of the Bells."

What are you hoping to get?

Houston: A microscope
Katrina: American Girl things
Zane: Legos

Can you name the reindeer?

Houston: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen
Katrina: Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Zane: Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph, Victor, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer

Last day of summer interview!

(More pictures here.)

Today was Labor Day - the last day of summer vacation, so Beth, the kids, and i walked around downtown. We did the same thing on Memorial Day, and at that point, the entire city was deserted. Today there were quite a few more people there, and Beth made the brilliant observation that the difference is that Pokemon Go wasn't yet a thing on Memorial Day, and a good portion of the people we met downtown today were playing. Also there was a festival called "Laborfest" going on by the Ford Museum, and - possibly connected - the Ford was free today. We agreed that "free" was the most we'd pay to visit that museum, so we checked it out. And we all agreed that the Ford is the most boring museum any of us had ever been in. (Though Zane was excited that he'd been a boy scout.)

We had yummy steak and chicken on the grill and corn on the cob for dinner. We had ice cream cones and s'mores. And we were all sad to see summer end.

End of summer interviews:

What were your favorite things we did this summer?
Zane: "Going to Pennsylvania. My favorite thing was my birthday party, and THEN Pennsylvania."
Katrina: "Seeing baby Amiya. The Aviary. The zoo. Dutch Village."
Houston: "Seeing 'The Secret Lives of Pets.' Going to SkyZone. Going to Pennsylvania and Kentucky."

What are you looking forward to in school this year?
Zane: "Michigan Adventure. Fifty6. Getting more friends."
Katrina: "Friends. The math teacher, because she seems really nice. Having almost all of my friends in my class again. Art class. And a new band teacher."
Houston: "Wearing my Halloween costume to school. Seeing Chauncey EVERY DAY. Getting a locker with a lock!"

Are you ready to go back to school?
Zane: "Yes! I'm actually really excited!"
Katrina: "Yes and no. I don't want to do the homework or classes, but i want to see my friends again. And they have lots of books at school."
Houston: "No. I want to stay in summer vacation forever and ever."

What was the best book you read this summer?
Zane: "The fourth book of Harry Potter!"
Katrina: "'Heart of a Dolphin' or 'The Lost Hero'."
Houston: "Trials of Apollo."

How many books did you read this summer?
Zane: "I really don't remember. Maybe...about ten."
Katrina: "14."
Houston: "10 or 15."

What are some of your goals for this year?
Zane: "Making at least two more friends. Getting all of my homework done. But once or twice i might accidentally have stuff happen, and then i won't get it done...."
Katrina: "Getting all of my homework done on time. Not getting any planner signatures."
Houston: "Turn in all of my work. Not get in trouble once. Follow the dress code. Get good grades."

End of School Interviews (finally!)

What did you learn in school this past year?
Houston: The actual, not G-rated history of America, like that the Native Americans and Americans were not friends, and the Native Americans were just sent away. Quadratic equations. We read Animal Farm and the Anne Frank screenplay and a condensed version of Flowers for Agamemnon.

Zane: Symmetry. Food chains. Grammar. I seriously don't remember. A lot of it was washed out of my mind from the last week, because we had so many field trips.

Katrina: Lots of fractions. Cultures - like what culture is and their religion, i guess. Ecosystems. Space. Stuff like that.

What was the most interesting thing (not a field trip) you did this school year?
Houston: I actually liked writing essays. I don't know why. Last year i hated writing essays. I enjoyed writing letters from the perspective of a volcano photographer and stuff like that.

Zane: In science, we did circuits and electricity. We were building circuits and made light bulbs light up. In my group, we put like 5 batteries and 10 light bulbs, and it was really awesome. All of the light bulbs were lighting up.

Katrina: We went down to the pond and made observations about the ecosystem. And we got to make our own continent - like, you got to choose a topic (i chose reading and animals), and make the shape of the continent (we did a book), and then you got to choose like mountains, parks, islands, stuff like that.

What was the best field trip this year?
Houston: Chicago! We went to the John Hancock building and we saw the Sears Tower on the boat tour and we just walked around Chicago and i got a Chicago pen. And we did the thing in the John Hancock building where the glass goes out and it's really cool.

Zane: Lansing. We were gone all day, and i got Jupiter juice (that stuff was weird). We went to the science museum. I saw a huge eyeball - it was disgusting and awesome. We saw some enormous bones - one was like, the biggest bone ever. We went to the capital building, and we saw some really cool things like this awesome thing where you looked up and saw a bunch of stars and they were like two miles away. And on the way there, we saw a movie (Rio).

Katrina: Versluis Park. We got to go swimming. There were a lot of games and a lot of food.

Who was your favorite teacher, and why?
Houston: I liked Miss Miller because she was nice and funny and she liked what she taught (history) and it was interesting.

Zane: Miss Coughlin. I didn't have any other teachers. Wait...do you mean specials too? Then...still Miss Coughlin. She was just really nice.

Katrina: Miss Baareman, because i knew her best because she was also my Heart and Soul coach. She was really nice, and she understood what it was like to have lots of homework and be overwhelmed, so she didn't give us all the homework in the world.

What do you plan to do this summer?
Houston: Legos. Other cool stuff.... I could work on more games like Pumchecs, and make that game better....

Zane: I really want to take a long bike ride with Dad. And i'm looking forward to my birthday! Because...who doesn't?

Katrina: Make a paper mache volcano. Go to the zoo. Have ice cream. Sleep over at Alex's house and have her sleep at our house. Stuff like that.

What do you think next year's school year will be like?
Houston: Probably a lot harder and hopefully better. I'll be with my friends Chauncey and Melody.

Zane: I think it's going to be awesome! Because i'm going to go to Michigan Adventures!!! (But that's not the only reason i'm looking forward to it. Because that would just be sad.)

Katrina: Hard. Because i'll have more classes and the teachers seem meaner. One of my teachers might move up to the 7th grade (and she was my least favorite!).

Who were your school friends this year?
Houston: Anthony, Zoe, Brandon, Melody, Claire, Lance

Zane: Isaac and Finneus

Katrina: Emily, Emily, Madison, Isabella, Max, Kim, Phoebe

Interview Monday

At what age is a person an adult? Why?
Zane: About 23, maybe? Or when they get a car. Because they just seem really responsible with a car.
Katrina: 21, because that's more mature than 18, but you don't have to be 25. I think somewhere in your twenties is when you got married?
Houston: 22, because that's the age at which you can make responsible decisions, usually.

Of all the things you're learning, what will be the most useful when you're an adult?
Zane: Science stuff, because if you become a scientist, then it'll be really useful, and even you don't become a scientist it'll still be really useful because if you have children, if they ask you how plants work, you can tell them.
Katrina: Probably math, because you use it for all sorts of different jobs. Like if you're a construction worker, you need to measure how much stuff you need, and if you're a scientist you'll need math, because you need to know how much you need of this or that.
Houston: Probably social studies, because you really need to know the country and world history to understand half of the stuff they're saying on NPR or whatever.

What is the hardest thing about being a kid?
Zane: Being bullied a lot. Two boys in my grade chase me around at recess and shout, "Be normal! Be normal! Be normal!" at me.
Katrina: Going through that stage when you don't have any friends. (Me: Have you been through that stage? Katrina: Yes. I think when i was in fourth grade. Me: Wasn't that when you couldn't narrow your birthday party list down to ten girls? Katrina: Yes.... But still!)
Houston: Having to do what people say, but still having freedoms, but only when they want you to have them. So it's really confusing.

Where is your favorite place in the world?
Zane: Home or the forest - or nature, pretty much. I just think that nature is really cool and i really like home because it's where i feel safest.
Katrina: I really like it at home, in the woods, or Grandma's house. Home because i live here and it's really nice and i like it and i know everywhere and i grew up in it and there are so many memories. The woods, because i know everywhere and i just really like it and everything is very adventure-y. And then i really like Grandma's house because i've been there so many times and i really like it there and it's very memory-filled.
Houston: The front room and my bedroom. I feel like this room has a comfy couch and comfy places to sit and computers, and my room has my bed and all my stuff.

What 5 words most describe you?
Zane: Kind, energetic, nature-liking, friendly, and loving.
Katrina: Artistic, animal-lover, smart, loved, and loving.
Houston: Happy, weird, thinks-that-inanimate-objects-have-personality-traits, family-guy, and friendly.

If you could give one gift to every single kid in the world, what would it be?
Zane: A puppy! Well...except that lots of people are probably allergic. So...a personal little robot, maybe. Because if they were feeling lonely, the robot would always be there to comfort them. Like Baymax.
Katrina: The gift of flying. They'd be able to fly, because everybody wants to fly!
Houston: A friend.

How would the world be different if animals could talk?
Zane: Well, it would be really noisy, that's for sure! Because there would be animals talking like, "No, please!!! Please don't eat me!!! NOOOOO!!!" And they'd be like, "Feed me! Feed me! Feeeeeed meeee!"
Katrina: It would be annoying. All the humans would be wearing earmuffs or headphones all the time, because they wouldn't want to hear, "Give me food! Give me food! Give me food! Pay attention! Pay attention! Pay attention!" and other annoying stuff.
Houston: Well, it would probably be very obnoxious all of the time. Like, imagine if Emma could talk. We'd just be sitting here and she'd go, "I WANT FOOD! FOOD!!" And you'd be in the jungle, and you'd hear, "I want to eat you!" It would probably be bad for the animals, though, because the cheetah would say, "I'm going to eat that lion," and the lion would say, "No you're not!" and run away. Except that cheetahs don't eat lions.....

What is something that makes your family special?
Zane: They're all really weird. Not in a bad way.
Katrina: We don't have "only Mom bakes the food" or something, and nobody comes down in the morning to make eggs or pancakes. (I don't want you to! You like sleeping and i want you to sleep!) We don't play video games very much. And we don't watch the news. And we have a lot of computers.
Houston: We all have awesome personalities and we love people and we probably talk a lot more than other families do. I think other families are centered around technology a lot so they don't get to be with their family members much.

What is your favorite thing to do?
Zane: Probably be with the people that i love. Because i always feel safest around them, because they won't bully me, so i'll always be happy around them.
Katrina: Draw and read. How about change draw to "anything with a pen a paper." No! Anything art. There. ART!
Houston: Talk to my friends and my family and play with my friends.

What do you think you'll be doing 10 years from now?
Zane: So i'll be 19.... I'll be old enough to drive a car. And i might have a bank account. Well, i won't be getting drunk, definitely. I'll be getting presents for people on their birthday.....?
Katrina: Sitting in my zoo.
Houston: So i'll be 24? I will possibly be married. I will have a job. And i will maybe own a house and a car and i will have written a couple of books.

Three things

Sometimes, when i'm saying goodnight to the kids, i'll have them tell me three things. I originally meant for it to be about their day, but for some of the kids (*cough*zane*cough*) that's not necessarily interesting. So it can be any three things that they want to tell me about. I'm always a little bit amused at how the things that each kid tells me fits so exactly their personality.

For example, tonight. These are the three things each kid talked about:

Houston:
1. (List of friends) all got accepted to the same high school as him, but most of them are also applying for either City or another school as well.
2. (Best friend who moved away) said that he's going to visit this summer sometime. Yay!
3. "I won a bet with (best friend who moved away), and so now he has to upload a video of himself doing what i tell him to do: saying that he's insane, laughing hysterically, smashing an egg on his forehead, and eating lettuce with ketchup."

Katrina:
1. Long story about how her friends decided to do the song that she suggested -  "Try" - for the talent show.
2. Long story about how another friend has stolen the idea and is now doing the same song for the talent show.
3. (Sort of friend) wore her Tardis dress to school today, which is really cool, because Katrina wore her Doctor Who shirt to school today too, so it was a very Whovian day.

Zane:
1. There used to be a dish that they would serve to royal people that had slimy fish and lamprey eels baked into a pie.
2. They used to catapult dead bodies and severed heads into castles to spread disease and terror during wars.
3. There's a dish that they serve at a really fancy restaurant that has gold shavings in it, and it's really expensive.

First day of school!

Tell me about your first day of school!

Zane: I learned most of the stuff i'm going to do in school this year. I had a new technology teacher this year. I had library. My desk is the tallest desk, but it's the only desk that won't open, and it's closest to the door. I'm the person who's farthest away from their cubby. For the first time in my life, i am higher than number 17. I'm number 21.

Katrina: It was really fun and all my teachers are really nice. We get lockers, and we have a lot of new kids. We transition more in middle school. and we don't dissect anything.

Houston: It was awesome. All of my teachers were really nice, and half of them are okay with me eating snacks in class. There were a lot of new kids. Our lockers are split in half. We used to have long ones, but now they're split in half, which means that we get to have our own locker. I have the top locker.

Tell me about your teacher(s).

Zane: She is really nice. She also can shake her eyes. (Miss DeHamer can do it too, but she's not here anymore.) Which is pretty awesome. She is really kind and fun.

Katrina: My favorite teacher is Mrs. Butz, because she's really nice and she's funny, and she does social studies, and i really, really like social studies. Mrs. VanderMuellen has two gerbils in her classroom and a lot of fish.

Houston: My homeroom teacher is Miss Steketee, and she's my favorite teacher, because she seems like the nicest. My language arts teacher, Miss Brennan used to be my Spanish teacher, so i know her pretty well. My social studies teacher was also my social studies teacher in 7th grade. I only really have one new teacher!

Tell me one thing you learned today.

Zane: That my new technology teacher has a son.

Katrina: We don't have to dissect anything.

Houston: We have a new grading thing. So 4.0 is now 100%. And 3.0 is 80%. This way it's easier to ... y'know.

Was the first day back better or worse than you expected?

Zane: Better. Although it was pretty boring. All we did in technology was to look at pictures of the teacher.

Katrina: Better. I was really nervous, and we went in the gym, and it was really scary, because i didn't know how to get my lunch, and there was a really, really big line, and then there's a lot of tables.

Houston: Oh, better! All my teachers are really nice. I don't think i'm going to dislike any of my subjects this year. Speech class seems like it'll be kind of...i don't like standing up in front of classes and i get really nervous when i do, so i think it'll be my weakest subject, but i hope it helps me improve.

Do you have any friends in your class? And is there anyone you don't know that might become friends?

Zane: No friends in my class. No. Actually! Stephan. He's new here.

Katrina: I think i'll be friends with this new girl named Kimberly, and she's really nice. She's from Spain, and she moved here when she was nine, and i really want to be her friend. And Madison is in my class.

Houston: Zoe is in all of my classes with me. I don't really know many of the new kids, because they're all really quiet, and i haven't tried talking to them because i was so rushed and panicked.

What was the best thing about summer vacation?

Zane: Going places, like other states and Kalahari....

Katrina: Going out of the state.

Houston: Going everywhere. Like, all the places we went to out of state and all the fun places we went to in state. And also making the zoo. That was really fun. I really liked that.

What are you most excited about for this school year?

Zane: Lumberjack day! And other field trips and things.

Katrina: Lockers!

Houston: Going to Chicago. Oh, wait! NO! Visiting the colleges and high schools!

End of school year interviews

What was the best thing you did in school this year?
Katrina: Michigan's Adventure
Houston: Having fun with my friends during lunch and sometimes classes
Zane: Science

What was your favorite thing you learned in school this year?
Katrina: All the body systems, like how you breathe and how you digest stuff and how you go to the bathroom....
Houston: What individual countries in Africa are like, like the economy and stuff.
Zane: How your ears work

Who were your best friends in school this year?
Katrina: Alex, Jackie, Madison.
Houston: Anthony, Aidan, Melody, Chauncey, Zoe, Morgan, and Brandon
Zane: Levi and Antonio

What was the worst thing in school this year?
Katrina: Being absent twice.
Houston: Getting a bad grade in Spanish.
Zane: Music, because i don't really like singing, and the music teacher was really mean.

What is your favorite class?
Katrina: Social studies or math
Houston: Either Social Studies or Language Arts.
Zane: Science

What's something you learned in math?
Katrina: Long division.
Houston: How to graph stuff like slope, and the hypotenuse of triangles.
Zane: Fractions - adding and subtracting and multiplying them

What was your favorite art project?
Katrina: A giant pink flower with a black background made with oil pastels and paint
Houston: An abstract drawing made from a picture that was not abstract
Zane: The pop-up geckos.

What was your favorite book you read?
Katrina: "A Dog's Life" - about a dog from when it was a puppy and her life, but she was a stray for half of her life.
Houston: "Out of the Dust" - about the dust bowl and a girl who was basically right in the middle of it, and about her life.
Zane: "100 Most Dangerous Things on the Planet" - Animals, weather, and natural disasters that are dangerous, and how to survive them

What do you like about your teacher?
Katrina: She's nice and she has good ideas of what to do if one class gets behind, how to catch up.
Houston: My favorite teacher was my homeroom and science teacher, and she was really nice, and when we had free time, she didn't make us do things like study hall - she let us read books or watch student news or watch movies.
Zane: How kind she is.

What are you looking forward to this summer?
Katrina: Going to South Dakota!!!
Houston: Going to Colorado and South Dakota. And being lazy.
Zane: Going to Colorado. I've never really been to a wedding!

Interview Thursday

Tell me the 5 best things about you.
Houston: I'm friendly. I'm creative. I'm good at making friends. I'm not picky about anything. And i do well in school.
Katrina: I'm good at art. I'm cute. I'm nice. I like animals. I don't yell at my brothers a lot.
Zane: I'm funny, I like to snuggle a lot. I like to play a lot. I like to explore around in the forest. And i love science.

What 3 famous people would you like to invite for a dinner party?
Houston: J.K. Rowling, Rick Riorden, and Shakespeare.
Katrina: J.K. Rowling, Emma Watson, and Annabel (from Percy Jackson).
Zane: Barack Obama, Harry Potter, and U2. (Does U2 count as one?)

What was your favorite toy when you were younger? What is your favorite toy now?
Houston: When i was younger, my favorite toy was probably Katrina. Now my favorite toy is either Legos or my camera.
Katrina: Baby was. Pencils and paper are now.
Zane: Simon was and still is.

What do you think heaven is like?
Houston: You can't die, and basically it looks exactly like Earth, and it's all good, so you can do anything you want and survive...like jumping off a building. Because if that would happen, i would love to jump off buildings and stuff. And you don't have to sleep either. And there's no night.
Katrina: Sparkly, shiny, and bright. And awesome. You'll be able to jump off cliffs and not die. You'll be able to wish for anything. People say that the streets are made of gold, but i don't know if i believe them or not.
Zane: If you ask God to come to you, He will and he will give you something like a teddy bear if you want. Or maybe God will tell you your future. That would be cool.

What do you think makes a kid popular? Are you popular?
Houston: If you want to be popular at our school, you basically do all of the things that are fashionable - y'know..."Hip" - and know all the popular things, and talk about all the popular things, and that's all you talk about to the other popular kids and that's all you talk about. I don't think i'm really popular in that way, but i do have a lot of friends, and that's what i think should be considered popular - being friendly and having friends.
Katrina: People like them. They start doing awesome stuff. Boom, they're popular. I'm not popular. Well, i guess i am kind of. I'm not like, popular popular, but lots of people know me and like me a lot.
Zane: Being fun, nice, and hilarious. And having a ton of Pokemon. That's how you become cool in my class. I'm kind of popular. Everyone likes my jokes.

What would you do if you were invisible for a day?
Houston: Not go to school. (At this point, Houston tried to convince me that he should also be able to teleport or be invincible.) I'd probably just stand in someone's room and make noise and say, "I can see you!" to confuse them. And then i would pick some random person up who has no idea what was going on. Maybe i would pick up a child that was walking down the street with their parents so that they would just randomly "fly." That would be funny. Maybe i would go to a place where they make Doctor Who and just watch them and think, "Oh! This is going to be the next episode." It would be really weird seeing it without the aliens.
Katrina: I would sneak over to my friends' houses and yell "boo" and scare them. And i'd also go to the theater and watch movies and not have to pay for the ticket. I would pick things up and walk around with them, and it would look like things are just floating.
Zane: Go in the girl's bathroom in my school to see what it's like. I would maybe pick up Emma and bring her outside so it would look like she was floating or flying around. I would maybe pick up a lot of stuff and carry it around. And maybe carry Houston or Katrina around.... Pretty much carry things around. I would not do my homework. Or maybe put all my homework in the trash and then say that i didn't have it.

What question should i ask you?
Houston: "What is one piece of technology that you would most want to actually exist (and be accessible to everyone)?" - Teleporters.
Katrina: "If you could be one character from a book, who would you be?" - Ginny Weasley (from Harry Potter). Because Hermione gets turned into a cat and also has to do stuff and probably gets really, really hurt and also gets petrified. And Ginny is awesome.
Zane: "If you could have the strength to lift anything in the world, what would you lift up?" - I would lift up the house and bring it around and move it to somewhere that's super-warm in the summer and has snow in the winter but isn't that cold. If that place even exists.

Interviews!

My favorite thing(s) i did in 2014 was/were:
Houston: Colorado, starting my YouTube channel, and Kentucky
Katrina: Go to Colorado and North Carolina, hang around the house and be happy
Zane: North Carolina, Colorado, camping, ice cream for dinner, and eat food.

What's your favorite thing to do?
Houston: Act with Katrina and Zane, play with Katrina and Zane, play on the computer, go places with my family and do stuff with my family.
Katrina: Draw and read.
Zane: Play outside, read

What's Mom's favorite thing to do?
Houston: Read.
Katrina: Read.
Zane: Read.

What's Dad's favorite thing to do?
Houston: Work in the garage.
Katrina: Go on his computer.
Zane: Zumba

What do you love most about your siblings?
Houston: That they're very fun to play with and really easy to act with.
Katrina: They play with me.
Zane: They're both really cheerful and fun, and they like playing with me.

What would you do if you were president?
Houston: Tell the government to stop being so mean to each other and actually do something for once.
Katrina: I would remake the flag and make it pink, purple, and blue.
Zane: I would make a law that Mitt Romney could never become the president.

If you could change your name, what would it be?
Houston: Houstonion
Katrina: Katerina. (Because it's almost exactly the same as Katrina.)
Zane: Bill. (Because i love the name Bill.)

What are you afraid of?
Houston: Everyone else in my family dying except for me. And also me dying but still have to follow my family everywhere and see what i wasn't able to do and see who i wasn't able to meet and not be able to talk to you guys at all. (Kind of like the Pensieve in Harry Potter.)
Katrina: Dementors.
Zane: Shadows in a dark room.

What 5 words best describe you?
Houston: Friendly, sometimes kind of awkward, artistic, an actor, good-with-computers.
Katrina: Artistic, cute, amazing, animal-lover, friendly
Zane: Cheerful, happy, fun, hilarious, candy-gobbler

Interview time with the kids

How do you know who to marry?
Zane: Because you are really, really good friends.
Katrina: If they're friendly and nice and you like them and you've known them for at least two years. And someone who's at least your age.
Houston: You like them so much that you want to spend the rest of your life with them.

How old should you be when you get married?
Zane: 30, because it seems like a good age.
Katrina: You should start dating when you're 18 and get married when you're at least 25.
Houston: At least 25, because it seems more mature than 18.

How can a stranger tell if two people are married?
Zane: If they're like, kissing.
Katrina: They kiss and hug and hold hands and like each other a lot and spend a lot of time together. And they have kids, probably.
Houston: If they kiss each other on the lips and then hold hands.

What do most people do on a date?
Zane: Kiss. Or go out to eat and kiss.
Katrina: Smooch. Go to a fancy restaurant. Talk.
Houston: Eat. Watch a movie. Go to the symphony.

What would you do on a date if you realized you didn't like the guy/girl?
Zane: Walk away. And then drive away in the car. And then never talk to that person again.
Katrina: Stop talking and say i'm tired and that i should probably head home now.
Houston: I would wait until the end and then politely tell her that i'm busy.

When is it okay to kiss someone?
Zane: If you're married, or if it's your mom or people in your family.
Katrina: When you're definite that you're going to marry them or after you're married, like at a wedding and all the time after that.
Houston: When you have known each other for at least 6 months. And have been dating and liking each other for at least 6 months.

How would the world be different if people didn't get married?
Zane: There wouldn't be as many people, because people who are married have children, and then the children have children when they're married.
Katrina: There would be zero people, because when you get married the girl gets pregnant and has a baby. Like, after nine months.
Houston: There would be no children and everything would die out because there would be no children.

Is it better to be single or married?
Zane: Married, so that you have someone to talk to and you're never bored.
Katrina: I don't know. Because if i get married and have a baby, then it would be hard to take care of it and i'd be up at the crack of dawn each day.... Being single would be peaceful.
Houston: Married, because then you have somebody to be happy with.

How do you have a happy marriage?
Zane: By having kids and then playing with them and having a joyful life.
Katrina: You are sure that you like him and you are sure that you are going to be happy with that person for the rest of your life.
Houston: You like each other a lot and you don't stay away for years and you don't sit around all day and watch TV.