My Christmas Adventure

Deck the halls with bows of pond moss,

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la

'Tis the season for Santa Frog Claus,

Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!

Happy Holidays friends! 

There's nothing like being home for the holidays! Our fly-cookie houses have all been decorated and Main Street is buzzing with holiday cheer. My dad went a little overboard with the christmas lights this year. And guess who had to help him hang them ALL DAY last week? I'm talking six hours of untangling a never-ending ball of lights and stringing them over the entire log that we call home. My hands are still aching, but  the house does glow brighter than a swarm of fireflies. I can't wait to meet with my cousins on Christmas Eve tomorrow and eat our roasted fly feast, then open some presents beside a roaring fire. We always get home super late, but it doesn't matter because I'll be way too excited to sleep. I mean, who could sleep knowing Santa Frog Claus is coming? I hope your holidays are just as merry! See you on the next adventure!

My Thanksgiving Adventure

                                       

    I look forward to Thanksgiving every year because it's a chance for me to really think about the great things in my life. And let me tell you, I have a lot to be thankful for! Starting with my parents and Zippy, for putting up with me constantly leaving the Hollow (sorry guys, I've had some important missions to take care of). Then there's my best friends in the whole wide world - Phinn and Croak. I couldn't have gone on any of my amazing adventures without them. I'm thankful for my new friends, Ollie, Ophelia, the Soarington children, Shelly, Myrtle, and Otis. They make sure that life is anything but boring. Lastly, I am thankful for all of you! It's been so incredible having my stories printed into books and sharing my adventures with people all around the world.
    Okay, enough of the sappy stuff. As well as being thankful, Thanksgiving is also about FOOD! At sundown on Thanksgiving day, all the frogs of Lily Pad Hollow get together for an amazing feast of roasted grasshoppers, mashed sow bugs, and fly pie. Mmmmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! It's the one time of year that I eat until I nearly pop! Then I waddle home and curl up in my bed for a long, long snooze.
     The next morning, it's tradition that all us young frogs play Lily Pad Tag and race our pet snails. My snail, Smudge, and I have been practicing at home, but I'm doubtful he will win any races this year. He'd rather slide in circles than follow the track. Oh, well. He gets so excited just to participate and see the other snails, so it's all worth it.
     I hope your holiday is as amazing as mine is sure to be! See you on the next adventure!

My Not-So-Rainy Day Adventure

Hello humans! Our lovely fall weather has decided to drastically change from 80 degrees, to cold and blustery - within a day. Can somebody please tell whoever is in charge to make up their mind already? Our meteorologist frog, Stormy Stan, predicted rain this weekend, so I slipped into my favorite rain boots and braced for the downpour - which apparently is never coming. And I was so looking forward to splashing around in some squishy mud puddles. Oh well. I've decided to treat today like a rainy day anyway and embark in some indoor fun. My day began with a camping trip - in my living room. Boy, was I surprised to find that a wild animal (my pet snail, Smudge) had meandered into my tent! I used my awesome fighting skills to scare the beast away (and just in time because it looked like it was going to charge). 

After leaving my campsite behind for the day, I boarded my great pirate ship and used my sharp, witty mind to figure the clues to a treasure map I found (okay, it was a puzzle, but when I put it together it did make a picture of a treasure chest). 

Once the map was complete, my faithful deckhand (Zippy) and I searched the house for treasure and found some, in the cabinet (fly cookies - yum). After a long day of pirating, I ended my day, curled up with my favorite R.T. Hopkins' book next to a roaring fire with a steaming mug of hot fly tea. Couldn't have asked for a more exciting and eventful day, without even changing out of my pajamas! See you on the next adventure!

My Halloween Adventure

                            Happy Halloween! Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! 

(That my was version of a scary laugh)

I think I may have found a new favorite holiday! It doesn't get much better than carving pumpkins, dressing up in super fun costumes, and trick-or-treating for candy. The night felt magical as we tromped down the leaf strewn streets, pumpkins aglow, with the sounds of laughing children in the air. Hope your Halloween was just as spook-tacular! See you on the next adventure!

My Pumpkin Patch Adventure

It was a foggy, fall day when we pulled into the parking lot of the pumpkin patch. My mouth dropped as I gazed upon a forest of perky corn stalks, standing at attention, guarding hundreds (if not thousands) of orange pumpkins. I squirmed anxiously in my seat and pointed my finger repeatedly out the window. I couldn't wait to explore this magical place! Apparently this vegetable is used for eating, carving, and decorating. Talk about a super veggie! 

The brisk autumn air chilled my skin as I leapt out the car. Leaving my humans behind, I sprinted into the patch. I wanted to see one of those pumpkins up close and I wasn't going to let any human slow me down (sorry guys, frog on a mission). The corn stalks gently tickled my arms as I pushed them aside to reveal a clearing of pumpkins as far as the eye could see. This place was incredible! 

I wasted no time in leaping circles around the patch. I couldn't believe how unique each pumpkin was! Some were big, some were round, some were green, and some were odd shapes that I can't even describe. They kinda reminded me of the frogs in Lily Pad Hollow. Though we all are from the same species, each one of us is different.

It took hours to properly explore the patch and when it came time to leave, we got to pick out and purchase a pumpkin of our very own. A small, round pumpkin caught my eye and I immediately knew it was the pumpkin for me. Though it's size was not nearly as grand as the pumpkins around it, there was something about it that I could relate to. It was as if it sat amongst the larger pumpkins, its stem raised high, proud to be different - kinda like me. I can't wait to carve it up for Halloween Night! See you on the next adventure!

My Tahoe Adventure

Greetings from beautiful Lake Tahoe! I spent the most relaxing weekend lounging in the sun, watching the ripples on the lake, and eating some yummy vacation food. Fried flies and candied mosquitos... yes, please! But my favorite part of my trip was watching the sun paint the sky in cotton candy pink, tangerine orange, and buttercup yellow as it set on the most glorious day. We took a splash in the lake and were surprised to find that the usually frigid water was actually warm! It was such a wonderful vacation! Now it's time to head back to my Kindergarten friends. See you on the next adventure!

My Adventures in Drawing

Happy Friday! Have you ever seen a more handsome frog? Ha, ha. Just kidding. But I am very impressed with the amazing artwork my human friends made of yours truly! I think they did a good job of capturing my adventurous spirit. We may have some future illustrators on our hands. Check 'em out!

My Kindergarten Adventure

I made 25 new friends this week as I started Kindergarten. I was feeling a little shy on the first day of school when a group of young humans stormed the classroom. I mean, who wouldn't be intimidated by that many kids? I may be a great adventurer, but I still get a little nervous when starting a new school year. What if the kids didn't like me? What if they thought I was different because of my green skin? What if they didn't want to play with me or they played too rough? (They are giants compared to me, you know) Thankfully, those worries disappeared quicker than a fly snow cone melts on a hot summer day. After finding a square on our rainbow carpet, we all scooted into a big circle and introduced ourselves. I had the best job of all because I got to hop around the circle as all the Kindergarteners got a turn to hold me and say their name and their favorite food (for some reason they found it funny that my favorite food is my mom's fly stew. Obviously they haven't tried it). As the day went on, we played games and sang songs. It was so fun! The next day was even better because the kids created an art project where they made a school of frogs like me! Being surrounded by that many frogs really made me feel like I was back in Lily Pad Hollow. Kindergarten is awesome! I can't wait to see what surprises will await me next week. See you on the next adventure!

My Mammoth Adventure

Hey all! Summer is quickly coming to an end and I've been trying to squish in as many adventures as I can before school starts up again. (Why does summer always seem to fly by quicker than bolt of lightening? Sigh.) So as part of my end of summer fun, I took a trip to Lake Mammoth and enjoyed some outdoor fun. My favorite part of the trip was a hike at Convict Lake (don't worry - the name has nothing to do with how awesome this lake was and there were definitely no bad guys around). The hike wound its way through the trees around a sparkling lake and ended in the most beautiful grove. I mean, I could have stayed in this place forever (well, not forever - I'd miss the Hollow and the kids at Park School too much!) There were tall swaying water reeds, an umbrella of tall trees to shield us from the sun, winding streams with wiggling fish, small tricking waterfalls, and a boardwalk that disappeared into the greenery. It was the perfect tranquil way to end to an amazing summer vacation. Now I'm feeling ready to gather up my school supplies and begin my new adventure working with the wonderful students in Kindergarten. See you on the next adventure!

My Thomas the Train Adventure

Choo choo! All aboard! My adventures continue this week as I zoomed through the Redwoods aboard the one and only Thomas the Train! Our ride began at Roaring Camp Railroad, which is a historical railroad site that looked really old. I mean, it looked older than Old Frog Amphibilus, which is super old (just don't tell him I said that). On the field behind the train depot there there were a ton of fun activities. It kinda looked like festivals we have in Lily Pad Hollow. There were bouncy houses, face painting, toy trains, and bubbles. The humans kids got a kick out of all those activities, but my favorite thing was chasing the butterflies through the grass. I almost caught a colorful monarch (don't worry- I wasn't going to eat him. Butterflies are much too pretty to eat. I was just trying to catch him for fun). Maybe next time. After all that fun, we boarded the Thomas Train and he took us for a ride. Let me tell you, that train was fast! We got to enjoy miles of nature as Thomas chugged through the wilderness. I even saw a waterfall! It was such an awesome experience and a perfect way to spend a sunny summer day. See you on the next adventure!

My Dragon Riding Adventure

Okay, okay. I didn't ride a real dragon, but I did ride on a pretty cool dragon train this week when the humans took me to Happy Hollow Park and Zoo. I had never been to a Hollow other than Lily Pad Hollow before and this one did not disappoint! There were the most bizarre animals there. I felt like I was on another planet! I got to see something called a leopard (boy, I wouldn't want to come across that big cat in the wild), some leaping lemurs, and a swinging squirrel monkey (he was my favorite because he could use his tail to swing around - it was so cool!). Along with the animals, the park had a play structure where I could leap and bound about. They had a really big playground, but you had to be a certain height to play and I was not even close to being that tall! Maybe if I keep eating my flies and algae I will :) Lastly, there were some pretty awesome rides at the park, including the dragon train I mentioned earlier. They even made a ride just for me (well, maybe it wasn't just for me, but it was about frogs). See you on the next adventure!

My Gilroy Gardens Adventure

The summer fun continues! A few days ago I joined some of my human friends at Gilroy Gardens Theme Park. We rode in giant spinning artichokes, relaxed as we floated down a river surrounded by colorful flowers, spun in circles (faster than my pet snail, Smudge) on a red ripe strawberry, rode up and down on a happy little carousel, and chugged through the redwoods on a steam train. It was plant-tastic (Hee-hee, couldn't help myself there). Thankfully, where there are lots of plants there are lots of - you guessed it, BUGS! For lunch I sampled an array of flies, ants, and red dragonflies (yeah, I thought it was weird that they were red too and they tasted a little spicy). Just another cool experience to add to my collection! See you on the next adventure!

My Safari Park Adventure

Would you believe me if I told you that I came face to face with lions, zebras, monkeys, giraffes, and cheetahs this week? Well, you better believe it because it's true! No, I didn't travel to Africa - I went to the Safari Park in Southern California. That's right! I, Ribbit McFly, went on a safari (never thought I'd say that!) :) It felt almost like a dream as the tram took us through a land filled with exotic animals. And I got to get really close to them - I mean, really close! I almost touched them!

Thankfully, the humans reassured me that the animals were safely locked in enclosures so I didn't have to worry about being eaten. Phew! The only downside was the super sticky summer heat. Good thing I found a pond to cool off in. It had the biggest lily pads I had ever seen and I had a blast jumping all over them! It was awesome! See you on the next adventure!

My Disneyland Adventure

Hiya friends! I just got back from an amazing adventure to Disneyland! I heard from the humans that this was the happiest place on earth and they weren't kidding! As soon as we entered the park and made our way down the bustling main street, we were met with a cheerful marching band led by a big mouse with round ears. He was the strangest looking creature I have ever seen (being so giant and all), but everyone seemed to love him, so I knew he was okay. The music the band played was so happy and upbeat that it reminded me a lot of the music in Lily Pad Hollow. I didn't recognize any of the tunes they were playing, but that didn't stop me from leaping to the beat. Next, we walked all around the park, checking out the rides whizzing by and taking in all the sights and sounds of this amazing new place. Let me just say, I have never seen tiny humans more happy. They were screaming and squealing with delight as they jumped onto the rides and shoveled handfuls of brightly colored cotton candy into their mouths. It looked so delicious, but they didn't have any fly flavored cotton candy, so I decided to take a pass. I really enjoyed a place called ToonTown with all its silly houses and cars to ride on. It almost felt like a crazy dream or something. One of my favorite rides in the whole park was called Splash Mountain. There were so many new animals to meet there! I mean, I got to see a fox, a bear, a rabbit, some opossums, and so many more. There were even a few frogs there. They did seem a little weird though. I kept trying to say hello and talk to them, but it was almost as if they were ignoring me and they kept repeating themselves. Oh well. Maybe that's just how they do things at Splash Mountain. I did get to meet some friendlier animals throughout the park. One was a giant orange dog, one was a happy tiger who kept bouncing and bouncing around, and I got to meet that big mouse with the funny red shorts. It was truly a magical experience, but it's good to be home! See you on the next adventure!

Beep! Beep! Little frog, coming through!

My State Capital Adventure

Sacramento, here we come! This adventure required a few hour bus ride, but hanging out with friends always makes the time fly by (mmm… flies).  Anyway, when the Fourth Grade humans and I got to the Capital, I couldn't believe my eyes. I mean, I thought Yellow Jacket Secondary School was big, but this place was enormous! We got to take a tour and learn about how government works, which was pretty cool. Then we ate lunch outside on the grass in 96 degree weather (yikes). I scarfed down my fly sandwich right before this yummy looking moth landed on Mrs. Hall's hand. I guess it was that moth’s lucky day because I was too full to even think about eating him. I'm pretty sure I scared Mrs. Hall though. Look at her silly face.She thought her new little friend was going to be my lunch. Ha! Not today, little moth. Not today.

When lunch was over, we took a stroll around the building and found a small pond nearby that I could cool off in. I even got to meet some new turtle friends. Their names were Donatello and Raphael. They were pretty nice, but they kept talking about being ninjas or something. I had no idea what they were saying. 

After bidding my new friends farewell, we all got back on the bus and drove to Sutter’s Fort. It was super awesome getting to see all the old pieces of history! I felt like a time traveler or something. It kinda made me wonder what life in the Hollow was like a long time ago, like when R.T. Hopkins was alive. It must've been so different. 

After a while, it was time to crowd back onto the bus destined for school.  I can’t wait to share what I learned about Sacramento with some of my friends back at the Hollow. I think Mayor Cornelius might get a kick out of how the humans run things. 

See you on the next adventure!

My Candy Land Adventure

The only thing that I love more than adventure is sweets! Some of my favorite little humans took me to the most amazing candy store this week. I mean, the place had everything! There were sour candies, sweet candies, chocolate candies, and ice cream. There were even gummy frogs (but we decided they should be called Gummy Ribbits... gonna have to talk to the owner about changing the name now that I'm a big star). Of all the candies, my favorites were the candy crickets and ants covered in chocolate. Yum yum! The humans thought that those candies were pretty gross (for whatever reason) and they stuck to the colorful candy that lined the walls of the store instead. Oh well, more crickets for me! We had a blast frolicking around the candy store, choosing our goodies, and checking out some of the old toys for sale. One of the humans played a joke and snuck up on me with a toy snake. I tell ya, I nearly had a heart attack! I didn't even have my cattail sword! I was so glad he wasn't real. After my experience with the water snake, I could do without seeing another snake for the rest of my life! Despite my little scare, this is an adventure I would definitely like to do again (soon if possible... like, maybe next week). I'm going to get back to eating my bag of candy crickets now. See you on the next adventure!

My Hospital Adventure

It all started late last night. I was happily dreaming about exploring this super cool underground fort that I found where there was all this treasure and fly treats, when all of a sudden I woke up feeling hot. I mean, I felt like my body was on fire! I cried out for my mom who quickly came in and put her hand on my forehead. I think she could feel that I was burning up so she called for my dad and they took me to see Dr. Bouncer at the hospital. Zippy came along too, but she slept through the whole thing. She didn't even know that she had been on an adventure last night. When we told her today, she cried because she said she always misses the adventures, but I think that she picked a good one to miss. This adventure was no fun at all.

     Anyway, when we got to the hospital Dr. Bouncer took my temperature. He looked at the thermometer, made a concerned face, and then said that we needed to stay for a while so he could keep an eye on me. Then he gave me this candy fly flavored medicine, which was so yucky! I had to plug my nose in order to drink it down. How could they possible claim that it is candy fly flavored? I never tasted a candy fly that gross before. Yucko! The good news is that a just a little while after I gulped down the sticky, bitter medicine I felt much better and Dr. Bouncer said that my parents could take me home. Thanks goodness! I was so ready for bed!

            Today I’m just relaxing, reading, and drawing up plans for my next adventure because my mom said I am too sick to go to school. She’s making me drink lots and lots of water (so much I feel like a water balloon about to burst) and said that hopefully I will be feeling better tomorrow. I certainly hope so because I need to get back to fighting evil-doers and saving the day. See you on the next adventure!

My Zoo Adventure

I’m back in Lily Pad Hollow this weekend, just relaxing beside the crisp, cool waters of the pond and enjoying a mosquito milkshake with my two best buddies, Phinn and Croak. This is the first weekend in a while that I haven’t had something to do and it feels nice to just hang out with my friends.

With all this time on my hands, I’ve had some time to think about some of my past adventures. One of them comes to mind as one of my favorites – my zoo adventure. That’s right! A while ago, I, Ribbit McFly, got to visit a zoo with some of my favorite little humans.

I'm told this big hairy
beast is called a bear.

On the bus ride there, Mrs. Hall told us all about the types of animals we would see and I couldn’t believe how many cool creatures lived in the zoo. I mean, R.T. Hopkins would have leapt for joy to get to see these animals up close and personal. He could have written like a hundred books just from the animals we were about to see in one day. I knew this was going to be an awesome adventure!

When we finally arrived at the zoo, I couldn’t wait to see the animals I had heard so much about. Mrs. Hall gathered us all together and told us that we could break off into small groups and explore on our own (with a parent to look after us, of course). How cool was that? I quickly picked a few of my best friends from class and we wasted no time in getting started.

Silly Monkeys

The first animals we saw were called giraffes. They had the longest, most ridiculous necks I had ever seen! It would take all the frogs in Lily Pad Hollow standing on top of each other just to touch the nose of that incredible animal. I could’ve used that giraffe to help me get my favorite acorn frizbee out of the tall tree in Old Frog Amphibulus’ yard. Maybe they would let me take one home with me? Probably not, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Here's the meanie owl

With spirits high, we quickly moved on to see some other animals. They had animals called tigers (yikes, their sharp teeth were scary), monkeys (they seemed like a ton of fun), penguins (I loved their fancy looking outfits), and even owls like Ollie. I carefully approached one of the owls because I wanted to ask if he knew Ollie, but he actually tried to attack me! I’m telling you – as soon as he caught sight of me, he started tugging at the rope on his foot, eyeing me as if I were lunch. I didn’t care for that at all, so my group of humans and I got out of there real quick.

When the sun hung high in the sky, it was time for us to head back. We had a little time before school ended, so I drew a picture of all the animals I saw and brought it back to Lily Pad Hollow to share with my class at Dragonfly Elementary. The other frogs asked a lot of questions and seemed interested in the zoo, all except Kilroy and Squiggy that is. They kept saying that I was making the whole thing up. I just ignored them because I knew the truth and now I even have some pictures to prove it. See you on the next adventure!

My favorite place  - the Insect Zoo!
 If only I could've figured out a way to get through the glass!
Then I could have had a delicious lunch. Yum!