Katie Tighe
Merry Christmas, Love from
Aunt Joanne and Uncle Richard

Then ...POOF, out popped the WISH, glowing brightly like a star. Santa said gratefully, "That was the perfect WISH

Katie. I'll put the WISH in this beautiful box for safe keeping until Christmas Eve." By the bright moonlight, Santa waved good-bye and said, "Thanks to you, Katie, everyone will have a Merry Christmas.

Hop aboard my sleigh and my reindeer will fly you back to Castleknock."

As the North Pole disappeared out of sight, Katie thought, "I can't wait to tell Caoimhe, Holly and Ryan about my wonderful Christmas adventure."

 Ryan Wallace, age 7, of Bangor, loved to play with dinosaur toys. In his room there were many of them: big ones, little ones, tall ones and short ones.

Martin, Mark and Darren knew how much he loved dinosaurs. One day, Ryan was looking at pictures in his favourite dinosaur book. A fierce tyrannosaurus rex with big, sharp teeth was wrestling another meat-eating dinosaur, called an allosaurus. 

A pterodactyl, a huge lizard with winds, was flying in the air watching the battle. Ryan concentrated hard on the pictures. The dinosaurs seemed to come alive. A lizard with a long neck, fat body and huge tail stood beside a beautiful lagoon. A brightly coloured spotted egg lay in a cozy nest near a friendly looking beast.

In the distance, an duckbill dinosaur, called a trachodon, walked on two legs chewing giant ferns. Suddenly Ryan was in the tropical rain forest with the dinosaurs. "Wow, the dinosaurs eat so much!
I'm afraid they will eat me," Ryan said, trembling.

"Are you as sweet as this palm tree?" someone asked in a friendly voice. "Who said that?

" Ryan wondered. "I am a brontosaurus called Thunderfoot," replied the long-necked lizard. 

"Do you eat children?" Ryan asked. Thunderfoot lowered her long neck and examined Ryan carefully.

"You don't look very tasty,

" Thunderfoot decided. "And I only eat plants. Anyway, it's time to go to sleep at the top of the mountain." 
The giant creature gently covered her egg and joined the other dinosaurs. The dinosaurs snored very loudly as they slept. Suddenly Ryan heard a much louder noise. The mountain was exploding! Fire and melted rock poured out of the volcano.

"Wake up, everyone! Wake up!" Ryan shouted. 

"Oh, please, we must hurry away from here and get to the water." The dinosaurs loudly lumbered to the safe lagoon.

"We are safe, thanks to Ryan," the dinosaurs chanted. The dinosaurs were so thankful they decided to have a party to honour Ryan. During the party, they danced and thumped their tails until the ground shook. "What a wonderful celebration!"

Ryan said. "I wish Martin, Mark and Darren could join the fun." Just then, Ryan noticed a change in the brightly coloured spotted egg in the nest by the lagoon. "Look over there!" called Ryan. 

"Thunderfoot's egg is hatching!" Snap! 
A little head poked through the top of the shell. The sides broke away and out tumbled a baby dinosaur with a long neck, fat body and big lizard tail.

A pterodactyl neighbour flew close to visit the baby dinosaur. Thunderfoot and her baby walked toward the beautiful lagoon. Other dinosaurs returned to the tropical rain forest. 

"Please stay with us forever," pleaded the dinosaurs.  Ryan answered, "I would love to stay with you, but I can't. I must return to my home in Bangor. 

Martin, Mark and Darren will be worried.

"Ryan closed his eyes and waved farewell to the dinosaurs. When he opened his eyes, the picture in his dinosaur book had changed. The brightly coloured spotted egg was no longer in the cozy nest by the lagoon. 

Now, a brand-new baby dinosaur stood nose to nose with its proud mother, Thunderfoot.

Ella Foster Is the Ballerina Princess
Happy Birthday
From Auntie Jane, Uncle Tom, Daniel and Katie.

Ella Foster, age 5, was walking in a park near Newtownards. She was watching butterflies playing in the flowers and was quite surprised when a king and queen arrived. “We’re looking for a beautiful young girl to become the new princess of our kingdom,” the king said. “I’ve always dreamed about being a princess!” said Ella. The happy king and queen took Ella back to their castle. “I wish Daniel, Gemma and Lauren could see this place!” Ella said. “It’s so big you could have the whole kingdom over for a party.” “What an excellent idea!” said the queen. Soon, the entire castle was busy with preparations for a fancy ball to welcome their new princess. The royal dressmakers created a beautiful gown just for Ella. When she tried it on, Ella could hardly believe her eyes. “In this dress I really do look like a princess,” she said. All eyes were on Ella as she made a grand entrance into the ballroom. “Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce Princess Ella Foster,” the king announced. Cheers from the crowd filled her heart with joy. Being a princess was even more wonderful than she had ever imagined. In her glittering ball gown, Ella was the centre of attention all night long. Everyone wanted to meet the new princess and share a dance with her. “Ella is the most beautiful princess in any kingdom,” they all agreed. By the end of the night, Ella had made a lot of new friends. When Ella awoke the next morning, the weather was warm and sunny. “You should go to the beach and have fun with your new friends,” the queen said. “That sounds great!” Ella replied. She spend the whole day at the beach swimming and playing in the sand with her new friends. When Ella returned from the beach, the queen had a surprise for her. “Tonight the royal dancers will perform a ballet at the castle,” she said. “And they want you to dance with them!” That night, Ella was nervous but excited as the dancers began the ballet. Soon it was time for Ella to join the ballet. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage. Ella heard the beautiful music playing and saw the smiling ballerinas all around her. She forgot how nervous she was and danced more gracefully than she had ever danced in her life. Ella met the king and queen for tea the next day. She was still tingling with excitement from the standing ovation she received at the ballet. “You are the finest princess we could ever wish for, Ella,” said the queen. “We hope you will stay here with us for a very long time,” the king said. But I miss Daniel, Gemma and Lauren,” Ella said. “Then you must return to them,” replied the king. “After all, you are their princess, too.” “We’ll miss you,” the queen said as she waved goodbye. The royal carriage took Ella home to Newtownards, but she knew she would be back to visit again very soon.