Flat Gracie

Well, what a day for Flat Gracie. Aunt Ginny wanted to take her to PA, but after she went through Security at the Airport, she couldn't find Flat Gracie. She called Uncle Tommy and he said Flat Gracie stayed in the car with him so she didn't get to go to PA. Uncle Tommy brought her over to Grammy's and she took Flat Gracie to Albertson's Grocery store to see Pap-Pap.

She helped stock shelves with her Grandfather. She it enjoyed it so much she started running around the store, here are the different places where we found her: In the oranges, bananas, lemons, limes, coconuts, and finally Juicey Juice!

Oh that Flat Gracie, she is soooo fast!

Flat Gracie

Hi again.

Flat Gracie came with us to see her cousin Ryan play basketball for Mt. Dora Middle School. This is a picture of us in the bleachers watching his game (Pap-pap, Grammy, Aunt Ginny, Cousin Ashleigh, Flat Gracie and Aunt Debbie). Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture of Flat Gracie with Ryan. We were in a hurry because Flat Gracie decided to fly with Aunt Ginny to Pennsylvania to see her other cousins, Alexa and Austin.

Flat Gracie

Hi Flatstudents!

This is Gracie's grandmother writing from Mount Dora, Florida. Mount Dora is not too far from Disney World and it is home to a lot of people who are mostly grandmothers and grandfathers. It is raining today, so Flat Gracie didn't get to do any fun things outside. So Flat Gracie went on some errands with us and visiting.

The first picture is of Flat Gracie and Grammy. Flat Gracie helped me pick out a couple of books to read from the Mt. Dora Library - thanks Flat Gracie!

The second picture is of Flat Gracie and Pap-Pap. We went to "Cupcake Delight" and Flat Gracie shared our special cupcakes. They were delicious - Thanks Flat Gracie!

The third picture is of Flat Gracie and Aunt Ginny in her sewing room. Aunt Ginny makes very special quilts for all her family and friends. This Christmas Flat Gracie and her sisters received beautiful quilts made especially for them by Aunt Ginny. Maybe Flat Gracie will bring her new quilt to school to show you. Thanks Aunt Ginny!

The fourth picture is of Flat Gracie and Uncle Tommy in his special garage! Uncle Tommy has a car that is an antique - it was made in 1931. Can you figure out how old the car is? Even though the car is very old, it is very beautiful because Uncle Tommy takes very good care of it and keeps it in his special garage! This picture is of Uncle Tommy and Flat Gracie sitting on his Harley Davidson Motor Cycle. Notice Uncle Tommy is wearing a helmet for safety! Thanks Uncle Tommy

The last picture is of Flat Gracie and Emma. Emma is a Shitzu and lives with Aunt Ginny and Uncle Tommy. Emma is very friendly and very sweet. She always wants a treat when you come visit her, so Flat Gracie gave her one. Thanks Flat Gracie - Woof, Woof!

Flat Gracie

Hey flat students! This is Gracie William's Aunt Melinda. Flat Gracie has been here in Orlando, Florida with me, her Uncle Ryan and newest cousin, Colin. You know Orlando, right...home of Mickey and Minnie Mouse? We didn't get to take Flat Gracie to Disney World, but she has been before. I carried Flat Gracie around with me doing my chores around the house and running errands. I am a new mommy so that is pretty much all I do all day. I took a few pictures of Gracie helping me with a few things...Flat Gracie helped me play with Colin while I got some chores done. Then she helped me get Sidney, our dog, ready for her walk. She also had a quick bite to eat with Uncle Ryan and Colin before heading out for more chores!

Flat Gracie was with us from January 21-28th (sorry...I kept her a little too long, I know...I didn't want to send her off to someone else so soon because I miss her so much!). The weather here in Orlando is in the 70's and really sunny...that is why we are called the Sunshine State! It is supposed to get cold this weekend, though. Like I mentioned, Orlando is famous for Disney World, but the state of Florida is famous for it's oranges, alligators, sunshine and miles and miles of beautiful beaches! Gracie has already seen some of those beaches before, too.

She left us today and is on to her next adventure. I guess you guys will find out where she is soon enough! Have fun following my precious Flat Niece!!!

I love you, Gracie!
Aunt Melinda Smith

Flat Jake

My name: Aunt Mimi: (Jake's dads sister)
City and State: Dallas, TX
Weather: Bright, sunny and warm and then bitter cold!


Flat Jake came to visit Dallas on a bright and sunny afternoon. He was able to strech out the afternoon after being couped up in an envelope and play with Charlie Sue my dog and Cat my cat. We talked awhile about ideas for a name for Cat but decided to just stick with Cat.

The next morning I had to go to the office and Flat Jake decided he wanted to go as well. He rode in the front seat so he could look out the window and check out Dallas on the way. He was seatbelted in of course for his own safety. Once we got to the office Flat Jake had a great time exploring the office. I found him at my computer as well as darting around the windows to get a good look outside. Later in the morning I lost Flat Jake. Guess where I found him.......he was in the office kitchen getting some hot chocolate! Flat Jake seems to have a sweet tooth just like 3D Jake. We had a fun morning at the office.

After lunch, it was off to school for Flat Jake and I. I think Flat Jake found the Finance class a bit boring, but he had a good time walking around the campus.

The next day Flat Jake and I went to an 11 year old's birthday party. We ate pizza and watched movies. It was lots of fun. As you can see, Flat Jake got a little eager for the cookie cake and we thought he was going to eat it all!

Overall, Flat Jake and I had lots of fun riding around Dallas and playing with friends. Maybe Flat Jake will come back for another visit but for now he is off to his next adventure.

Flat Halle

Halle,
Hope this finds you doing well & thank you for asking us to be part of your project. It sounds really fun! We hope our story is helpful.

We are:
Dad-Scott, Mom-Becky, Tucker-14 yrs old, Lindy 12 yrs old, Deke 10 yrs old, Teagan 7 yrs old. We currently live in Tanzania right on the East African coast. We can see the Indian Ocean from our back porch & often go swimming in it. Our backyard is full of palm, mango, banana & lemon trees…and a few monkeys that like fruit as much as we do! We also have a herd of goats that the villagers stake in our yard for grazing every day & then collect at night. Teagan helps them herd the goats back to the pens at night where they will be safe. They often drag her along behind them as they race to the water trough. Between monkeys, children & goats, our yard is a busy place. We even have a red termite mound that’s as tall as Scott. The kids laugh & say we don’t need a dog for a pet, we need an ant-eater!

The houses here in the village are made of either mud or local brick & have grass thatched roofs. The people are mostly farmers. We work with them to teach them ways to improve their lives & be healthier & share the love of Jesus so they will truly have abundant lives. It’s an exciting job & all the kids help us. We are all learning & daily speaking Swahili. It’s a fun language & the kids are learning much faster than mom & dad.

Our days are hardly ever the same, except for doing our school work. We have been home schooling for 6 years now. We love it! We often have neighbors wanting us to teach their children also. We would have a very full school table if we said yes! The children here do not get a good education & we are looking for ways to help them. We are praying about setting up a library, we’ll see what God has in store!

The weather here is very hot & it is summer now-opposite of you all. We really only have wet or dry seasons, not four seasons. It will begin raining in March & won’t stop until May, that’s the long rainy time. Then it will be dry until late October when the short rains come. We live so close to the ocean that we do get a cool breeze most days. We don’t have electricity all the time so we need that breeze!

We get to see wildlife all the time & have had to wait for zebras, giraffes or elephants to cross the road many times. Our roads are not paved except the main one straight down the coast line from the capital city. We will soon be moving to a more remote village that is near a game reserve & will then see even more animals. The kids all want to see a leopard the most. We have already had a cobra at our house so that’s been crossed off the list!

We hope this helps you with your project! You may email us anytime to ask questions….we will answer soon as we can.

In Christ,
Karibu…
The Plackes

Flat Halle

My Name: Jeri Blacklock (Halle’s Great Aunt)
Dates Aunt Jeri had Flat Halle: Jan.23-26
What was the Weather Like: Very Cold
City and State: Bulverde, Texas
Special Feature to My Location: Located near the Alamo in San Antonio, and Schlitterbaun Water Park in New Braunfels

Flat Halle Comes to Visit

She arrived at her Great Aunt Jeri’s home in the afternoon mail. And after being unfolded and her wrinkles smoothed Flat Halle was placed on the refrigerator door being held there with a magnet. Aunt Jeri, who lives in the Bulverde, Texas which is in the hill county just north San Antonio shares her home with a number of furry critters. The first critter who appeared to welcome Hallie was Arnold, a yellow tabby kitty who is the official greeter for the household. If you came for a visit Arnold would be the first to welcome you to the house whether you liked cats or not. Arnold was followed by a Roo, Willie and El, all teenager kitties who came to meet Flat Halle and wanted her to join in their afternoon play. Because Flat Halle was a mere slip of a girl, Aunt Jeri decided that Roo, Willie and El, who sometimes play a little rough, would have to settle for the crumpled envelope that had brought Flat Halle to Aunt Jeri’s house. Flat Halle giggled and squealed with delight from her20position high on the refrigerator as she watched the three kitties bat the envelope around the kitchen floor.
The next critter who decided to meet Flat Halle was an older black kitty who was also named Hallie and who after giving Flat Halle a quick sniff proceeded on to more important things, her food bowl and her afternoon snack. Hallie the kitty was followed by Jeni, Aunt Jeri’s large Old English Sheepdog, who also sniffed Flat Halle but was told by Aunt Jeri not to lick Flat Hallie with kisses because unlike the real Halle, Flat Halle should not get wet.
Early the next morning Flat Halle went with Aunt Jeri to the Bulverde Area Humane Society which is an orphanage for lost and stray cats and dogs. Aunt Jeri takes care of these orphans every day. As Aunt Jeri and Flat Halle went into the old stone house where the orphan kitties lived they were greeted by Barney Short Tail, a brown kitty with a very short tail, and the official greeter of the cat house. With slight meows followed by loud purrs Barney Short Tail led Aunt Jeri and Flat Halle into the cat house and to his food dish which was empty. When Aunt Jeri began to open cans of Tuna for the kitties many other orphan kitties appeared from their secret hiding places and gathered around the legs of Aunt Jeri and Flat Halie. Meowing and purring and then rubbing against Aunt Jeri’s and Flat Halle legs these kitties waited patiently while Aunt Jeri placed the cans of tuna on plates for them.
Once the kitties had eaten Flat Halle watched as each kitty wandered off to its favorite sun filled spot where they each began to wash their face and whiskers by wetting their paws and then wiping their faces with the wet paws.
Flat Halle then went with Aunt Jeri to th e house that had the orphaned dogs in large roomy cages. All the dogs were very excited to see Aunt Jeri and Flat Halle and barked their welcome. As Aunt Jeri fed each dog Flat Halle watched as they wagged their tales and licked Aunt Jeri’s face with delight. Patches, a very small brown and white puppy, wiggled his whole body as Aunt Jeri fed him and was even allowed to give Flat Halle a small lick on her face.
After feeding the dogs Aunt Jeri and Flat Halle then walked several of the dogs around the large fenced side and back yards of the Humane Society. Baby, an older dog, was excited about her walk and let them on a fast pace and got very excited when they spotted an Armadillo that was burrowing in the ground just outside the fence. Tobey, a smaller brown doggie, pulled on the leash and he too got real excited when he found a bone from some unknown critter hidden in the grass. He insisted on carrying the bone back to his cage.
With the dogs and cats fed, walked and cleaned, Aunt Jeri and Flat Halle returned to Aunt Jeri’s house where, after watching her new furry friends play for several hours, she said goodbye to them, and Aunt Jeri made Flat Halle ready to continue on her journey by carefully placing her in a new envelope and then taking her to the Bulverde Post Office.

Flat Will

Flat Will arrived at the home of Lillian and Nonie Cornett. He spent some time with them from Jan. 22, 23, 2009. Lillian lives in Kurten, Texas, a very small town outside of Bryan, about 15 miles, in the country.

Lillian reports that the weather is good there, about 72 and sunny. Lillian also tells us:

We could use a little rain to help the grass grow for our horses and cows. We live in the country, we have some ring neck doves, a dog (Winfree) and a cat (Boots), plus the cows and horses. Our cat helps to keep the snakes and rats away. My husband Nonie and I have had 10 children all are grown or got to heaven to be with Jesus. We now care for 3 of our great-grand children while their moms work. We met Will and is family through Church singing. Will and his sister sing at my church ever so often, and we love it.

We sent Flat Will on to Oklahoma and Louisiana!

Flat Halle

Flat Halle arrived in Dayton, Texas, at the home of Elizabeth Kirby. Elizabeth is Halle's great aunt, or her dad's aunt. Flat Halle stayed there from 1/22 until 1/24.

Here is some more information:

Weather: Absolutely beautiful weather the first day, windy and cool. The next day very warm but beautiful. Today is cold.

City and State: I live in Dayton Texas and Caldwell Texas . Dayton is where your Grandma Brenda Lawrence and I grew up. Our grandparents on my Dad’s side moved there in 1923 and we still live in their home.

Week 2 - what we did in class

This week we read Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4. We learned the days of the week, talked about time, and learned how to handle ourselves when we meet someone new. Ask them to show you!! They should put out their hand, shaking firmly, look you in the eye, and introduce themselves. They did a great job with this!

We also had a little experiment with marshmallows. We used many objects to see which ones would flatten the marshmallow the most. The students were very good with their predictions… and then we tried seeing how flat a car would make one. That was the highlight of this experiment!!

The kids made a chart with the occupations that they would like to have. Doctors beat policemen by two votes… though two of those voting for doctors wanted to change occupations when we were done! To wrap up our class, Nurse McElhaney came in and talked to the kids. She told them what a nurse does and showed them a lot of tools that a nurse uses. They had fun listening to their hearts and looking in each others’ eyes.

That was week 2! We’ll wrap it up next week.

Flat Cody and Flat Corey

Flat Cody and Flat Corey arrived at the home of Carolyn Hawkins. She lives in Sun Lakes, Arizona.

They arrived at Carolyn's house on January 17.

Here is some more information about their visit:

The weather was WARM. It was 75 degrees and I had the back door open wide.

I live in a community many grandmas and granpas with lots of golf courses and swimming pools. We are located on the desert and in my yard I grow cactus and have beautiful Gambel Quail .

Once there was a coyote in my front yard.

Flat Halle

Flat Halle arrived in Waller, Texas, at the home of Brenda Lawrence, Halle's Grandma.

Halle was at Grandma's house from the 14th until the 18th. Here is some more information from our Flat Halle...

WEATHER: Really cold one day and nice the other days. If was freezing here the day you came in the mail. I hope our lemon and kumquat trees made it through the cold weather. They are citrus trees and do not like cold weather very much.

CITY AND STATE: I live in Waller, Texas. Waller was named after Edwin Waller who signed the Texas declaration of Independence. He was a friend of Nanny's great-great-great uncle James B. Woods who also signed the Texas declaration of Independence.

Week 1 - what we did in class

This week in class…

We read the first two chapters of Flat Stanley. We learned that he was flattened by a bulletin board but was not injured! They took him to the doctor and the tailor to be checked out and measured. Flat Stanley helped his mom retrieve her ring from a storm drain by having her tie his shoe strings around his body and lowering him in. Flat Stanley went to visit a friend in California. His family mailed him – but they also packed an egg salad sandwich and some milk for his trip.

We learned the cost of a stamp. The kids counted all kinds of combinations of coins to make 42 cents. They even got to bring home 42 cents in change!

We learned about the abbreviations we use to address people and envelopes with… Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., and Dr. were the ones we used. We also addressed our envelopes and stuffed our Flat Students to be mailed.

After recess, we took a little field trip to mail our Flat Students. When they were all in the mailbox, we banged on the box and asked if they were comfortable and okay. When our students were sure their Flat Students were happy, we headed back to class for a snack of eggs and milk! (They weren’t real eggs, they just looked like eggs, but some students still didn’t want any part of them…)

We also discussed where California is and a made a book with the state flower, state flag, and state bird.

And finally, the students designed and created their own 42 cent stamps!

Meet our Flat People

Left to right: Flat Jake, Flat Macy, Flat Corey, Flat Grace, Flat Cody, Flat Halle, Flat Will, and Flat Nena