Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

         Dear William,

                 I wanted to tell you about the life on the prairie.Anna is really nice and so is Caleb. Jacob is really nice too. Its much different than Maine here. There is no sea at all.All there is are miles of land that roll like the sea.

           I really miss Maine.our neighbor Maggie (who is as nice as the sea)told me that you miss something everywhere you go.  And its true.  The other day we made our own dune. We made it out of hay of corse.It was like jumping off a big rock.It was really fun.

        Maggie brought me three chickens. Shes the best neighbor ever! Well, gotta go!

                                      Sincerely,

                                                   Sarah

                                                                                        May 21st, 2008

 Dear William,

  Kansas is so much fun!  Anna is the oldest child in the family.  She doesn’t talk as much as Caleb.  He’s constantly asking questions, but I’m glad to answer.  Jacob is very kind.  He is working on the farm most of the time.  Jacob taught me how to plow. It is pretty simple.  I also learned how to drive a wagon so I could go into town and “bring” the sea to Caleb.  I did that by purchasing three colored pencils of gray, blue, and green.  There was a squall here, just like in Maine!  Rain slapped the ground with a powerful force.  The rain doused the whole entire farmland!  We slept in the barn that night.  One of the trees got blown over and landed in the cow pond. 

I have a garden.  I have zinnias, marigolds, feverfews, Indian Paints, and I tried nasturtiums, but they didn’t grow.  I picked roses just before the squall.  Once the squall was over they were all over the ground!  When the sun sets it is beautiful colors painted across the sky like somebody just painted it.  Oh, how I love Kansas!  I can’t wait for what happens next in Kansas!  I’m still thinking of you and missing you!

Your loving sister,

Sarah

 Rain; wet, soggy, and bone chilling when it touches your skin.  When I was exploring the majestic ‘City of Lights’ (Paris), with my mom, dad and brother, we heard a loud ‘CLAP’ from the sky.  Thunder.  Black clouds were tumbling in at full speed.  I felt something cold and wet on my face.  “Rain!” I yelled.  I tried to dodge the drops, but the rain got heavier.  It was pounding on the ground and splattering all over.  We pulled our jackets on tighter.  The wind blew the rain all over!  We ran inside of the castle that we’d just toured.  We were safe from the treachorous rain, but soaking wet.  The water dripped on the ground, forming a puddle inside of the castle foyer of Versai.  The rain calmed down, and we made a mad dash for the car before it starting pelting down again.  The rain didn’t ruin our trip, but it caused a minor setback and got us SOAKED!

When i was in Florida, I missed my mom.   Iwas in Florida with my dad.  Sometimes I wished she was there. But Disney is still really fun!

I remember one day when there was a real bad thunder storm. It went on for 4 hours! I was upstairs by myself because downstairs my brother was trying to fall asleep. I was scared at first, but then as the storm went on, I wasn’t scared. 

 HAHA!  My Uncle Rick sure could make me laugh.  It was like he was a clown, and like I was laughing for my life.  He would chase me around the house.  I would hide, and he’d pretend he couldn’t find me.  He always had a trick up his sleeve!  There was one thing about him that I disliked- he smoked.  He did it in his room, but he still smoked.  Then, he was in hot water.  He’d gotten cancer.  I didn’t know until the end.  He was in the hospital, and he had been fighting for a long time.  Then, it ended.  He died.  When my mom and dad told me, I felt a wrenching sorrow come over me.  I sat on the floor for the rest of the night, blubbering like a baby.  I never understood why people have to die.  I miss my Uncle Rick terribly.  I wish he never smoked.  I loved him dearly, and I still do!  He holds a special place in my heart, and he always will.

 I think my first word was “Mama”.  I always spent time with my mom.  After that, I called her mama and I still do!

 I’d like to learn how to record a song and make music on the computer.  I love to sing, and I’m in a band.  We’re just starting out, but I still want to know how to record.  Until we can play music, I want to make it on the computer.  That would be amazing if I could do that!

  Do you know how to get in front of an audience, sing, and conquer stage fright?  I do!  I’ll tell you how.  First, practice in front of some people to get used to it, and increase the amount of people once you’re ready.  Before you do the performance, warm up and go over the lyrics.  Once you get on stage, find somewhere to look.  Maybe a family member, an object, or somebody you’re comfortable singing in front of!  Then act like they’re the only one there.  Then, you wait for the music.  Start dancing and singing.  Belt it out!  My best advice- have fun!  If you do this right, you have conquered your fear!  All you need is yourself, a voice, and some supportive friends and family!  Now go SING!  LAAAAA!  

    My first word was either mama or baba. My mom said I said mama before dada.

I would like to learn how to do a front flip and a back flip.

I could teach you how to do a split.

1. Stretch your legs.

2. Take one foot and step front with it .

3. Now slide down with both feet. Make sure you slide down  vertically.

4. Once you’re down, make sure your back leg is facing right if your doing a right split.  If your doing a left split your back leg  should be facing left.

Now you’ve just done a split! 

At the beach, you can hear, smell, feel, see, and taste alot of things. Here are some things you can see at the beach. you can see the seagulls hovering above you. You can see lots of people laying on thier beach towls or playing in the nice, cool water. you can also see lots of other things.
Now here are some things you can hear at the beach.You can hear boats vrooming by in the water. you can hear waves crashing on the sand. you can also hear airplanes zooming by in the sky.
Here are some things that you can feel. You can feel the sand in between you’re toes and you can feel the suntan lotion rubbing on your skin. Another thing you can feel is your beach towels if you’re laying on it.
The last thing is things you can smell. You can smell the salty, salt water,you can smell the crisp smell of the sand, and you can smell your coconuty suntan lotion. That was my journal entry. Team6 sm

AHHH… the beach.  The seagulls flying in the air, stalking for food. Kids building sand castles and running from the water.  The waves crash down in thunderous roars, destroying all the sand in its path.  People are running into waves, fighting the strong current.  The lifeguards are looking at everyone from their towers, making sure everybody is in sight and staying inside the flag boundaries.  Seashells keep on coming in with the waves.  The ice cream man rings his bell and kids go running over the hot sand, getting burnt with every step.  As kids run back over the hot sand slurping up their ice cream.  The seagulls “caw” notifying the others that there is food.  The waves hurl into the air and splash on the ground in a loud roar.  Kids laughter fills the air, and gentle splashing barely breaks through all of the sound.  The salt water goes hurling into the air and lands in food.  The smell crawls its way into your nose.  The smell of the food you’re about to eat fills the air, and seagulls get a whiff.  The seagulls swoop down and grab the food out of your hands.  They start to eat.  They taste the salt in the food.  They drop it, but still taste salt.  It’s the air.  The child starts running after the seagull for the food that they stole.  The sand squishes between the child’s toes as the sun beats down on them and the wind blows in their face.  The water sprays their face as they run through the water  and the crabs pinch at their toes. The beach… a place for me.

• If I could advertise for a mom I would want her to be nice, good at hair, rich, and patient.  That would be a really good mom.
• My mom is nice. She is also a really good cook. My mom is sort of rich, but not super rich.  Sometimes my mom is patient.
• I would not want a mom to be mean, poor, one who calls me a brat all the time, and is mean when my dad’s not there and nice when he is there.
• My mom is definitely NOT mean at all. Shes also’s not  poor either. I haven’t heard her call me a brat in years. And we live alone so she doesn’t have to be  mean AND nice.                   Team6 sm