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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Finally got the Flat Joey letter done.

Just as I awoke this morning, the skies opened up, and it rained cats and dogs for what seemed forever.  Because of the weather, no work on my rig was done today.  Lots of other rigs were taken in and out of the shop, but I was happy to not be one of them.  When the rig goes in, Emma and I are stuck with finding something else to do for hours.  You can’t do much enjoying of the outdoors when it’s pouring buckets outside!

Instead, I decided it was time I finally got the letter and pictures ready to send to my grandson Joey’s first grade teacher.  I’ve got a deadline to meet on that, and it’s soon approaching.  I hope you’ll remember that flat Joey was sent to me at the beginning of the month to take on some adventures.  Tonight, I’m including the letter that I sent to his first grade class.  Not having a printer, I was finally able to figure out how to put it on a CD, and that’s what I’ll be sending out from the Scott, LA, post office tomorrow.  I hope Joey and his class will enjoy it.  What do you think?               

                  The Adventures of Flat Joey in the Okefenokee Swamp.

Hi everybody! This is Flat Joey, and I want to tell you about the good time I had visiting my not-so-flat Grandma down in Georgia.

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My Grandma lives full time in her motorhome, and drives around the country volunteering at some of our country's National Wildlife Refuges. Some people think she is homeless, but that's not true. Her house just has wheels on it.

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She has a dog named Emma that travels with her. I like Emma, but she sure can get excited some times.

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When I first arrived, my Grandma took me for a ride around the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. She told me that a Wildlife Refuge is a place where all plants and animals are safe. (Except she told me that it was all right to swat the mosquitoes if they were biting me.)

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Oh boy, was I ever excited when we saw our first alligator. There are a lot of alligators in the Okefenokee Swamp.

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I wanted to have my picture taken with one of the alligators, but Grandma said we had to stay at least twenty-five feet away from them. They can run very fast, and just might want to snack on a little guy like me. I did get to pose next to a stuffed one that wasn't going to hurt anyone.

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While I was visiting, I had to help my Grandma do her volunteer duties. This day, we worked on the porch of the old Chesser Homestead. We told everyone that came to visit all about the first people to homestead the swamp. This cabin was build by hand in 1927; almost 90 years ago!

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On the weekend, we had more visitors come to stay that were relatives of ours. It was my Great Aunt and Uncle from Chicago. All of the volunteers got together to have a wiener roast. I got to help my Uncle (not-so-flat Stanley) cook the hot dogs over an open fire. Of course, I cooked my hot dogs perfectly just like not-so-flat Joey would do.

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The next day was the most exciting time of all. I went with Grandma, Aunt Pam, and Uncle Stanley for a boat ride out in the swamp to fix the signs along the canoe trails. That's my Aunt Pam holding me so Grandma could get a picture.

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I hope everyone can see that I was being safe by wearing a life jacket while we were out on the water in the boat. My Grandma made one for me to wear that was just the right size! I liked it so much that I kept it on for the rest of my visit.

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We worked hard fixing the signs, so we stopped at one of the shelters out in the wilderness to have our lunch.

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Grandma had packed a lunch for us, and I even had some of Aunt Pam's peanuts. With all of the fun we were having, I forgot how hungry I was.

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Soon it was time to get back in the boat and find our way home. Luckily Jackie, the volunteer driving the boat, knew where to go. It would be easy to get lost out here in the swamp.

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Grandma drove us all home in a big truck that pulled the boat behind us, but along the way we stopped at volunteer Jackie's house. He likes to hunt in the swamp where he has lived his whole life. He has a big stuffed black bear in his front room, and I got to sit on it!

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By the time we got back to the motorhome, the sun was setting on the swamp and I was tired from our big adventure.

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A few days later, I had to say goodbye to my not-so-flat Grandma and to the Okefenokee Swamp. I had a good time. I'm still excited though, because Grandma told me that this summer she will be volunteering at the Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge that is close to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Do you know what that means? I just may be able to go visit her along with not-so-flat Joey Bell this summer to have more adventures! Whoopee!

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                                                                              THE END!!

                                   Couldn’t pass up the chance for a ‘THE  END’, don’t cha know!  Winking smile

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

44 comments:

  1. You did a really good job on this. We have rainy weather here, too - but its bringing in the birds.

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  2. What a great grandma you are..your grandson will be the hit of his class with all the adventures flat joey has had.
    I have followed your blog for quite a while amd always enjoy your adventures.

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  3. That was SO cute grandma, not-so-flat Judy Bell..what a great inventive Grandma you are!!!

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  4. Judy this is a wonderful post…narrated just like a little joey would be telling it in school…I LOVE IT you did a great job. I bet his flat little Joey had the best adventure....

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  5. I think Not-so-flat Joey will really enjoy this, and will be the talk of the school. The CD might get worn out before he takes it home. It is great, and I am sure you had fun doing it. Emma will probably miss Flat Joey, too. Happy Tails and Trails, Penny

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  6. How awesome! I'm sure it will be something that he remembers for a long time. Just in case he has the CD as a wonderful reminder. Far away Gramma's have to be really creative and I could take lessons from you!!

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  7. Great job! I see children's adventure books in your future.

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  8. What a great idea. He will enjoy that for a long time.Great job.

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  9. Such a great adventure Flat Joey had, he couldn't have picked a better guide.

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  10. I wish I were in that classroom when the kids see what all Flat Joey has done... they are gonna LOVE it! What a great job you did... yeah... children's adventure books might be your true calling. (my favorite photo is Joey sitting on the black bear)

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  11. That was the best not so flat tale that I've ever read. :c) I think you've had entirely too much fun with Flat Joey, good thing he's going home so he can rest! You practically wore the little guy out... ;c)

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  12. Flat-Joey's Excellent Adventure! Very, very cute - good job!

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  13. Well I think you gave "Flat Joey" a good tour of Okefenokee Swamp. I am so glad that he got to do and see so many interesting things and meet some of his relatives. No wonder he is excited about another possible vacation with his Grandma in Minnesota.

    Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  14. Judy, have you considered writing children's stories? That was great. (from an ex first grade teacher)

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  15. I just know the kids are going to get such a big kick out of this. Great Job!

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  16. That was fantastic! You did a great job. I love the life vest!

    Did you know there was a Flat Stanley on that plane that went down in the Hudson? He was in one of the passenger's briefcase. He made it to safety but I bet he wished he had a nifty life vest like Flat Joey.

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  17. What a great job you did. I'll bet you will be considered to be the coolest grandma!

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  18. Great job! I love the added life jacket. Good thinking. I bet Flat Joey had the best adventure of all the "Flats" in the first-grade room.

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  19. What a delight to read - as a retired first grade teacher, I would of been so appreciative of the time and dedication you put into the Flat Stanley project for your grandson - super job, well done!!!
    Connie in PA

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  20. Great job both narrative and pictorial. My niece also had a Flat Stanley that she took to all the sights around Mississippi where she lives. She sent me the story, but its 12 pages long and havent gotten through all of it yet. Afraid 12 pages is going to put the kids asleep.

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  21. Fantastic. I am sure you are going to be the "coolest" Grandma in the class!

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  22. The kids are going to love the letter about flat Joey's adventures. I like how you weaved lessons and safety tips into the letter. They are going to get a kick out of "The End."

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  23. Judy that is a great story. The kids will learn a lot from it. I agree with those who say you could write a children's book series from every National Wildlife refuge you've been to if you'd had flat Joey along with you. How about Flat Joey's Excellent Adventure in Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge?? Really great job here. I'd love to see all the flat stories. I bet yours is the mist interesting, educational and unusual. Wish I had had a cool gramma like you. BTW what kind of file did you have to send?? PDF or ??

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  24. We give Grandma an A+!!! Great job! The life jacket is just too cute.
    Can't you just imagine a group of first graders learning how to say (and spell) Okefenokee? How fun.
    Well done!

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  25. The teacher shines through!!! You really did put a lot of effort in the visit!! Those kids are going to love it, and Joey will be the hero of the day!!!

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  26. Gee, we would have enjoyed the Okefenokee swamp with Flat Joey. Maybe we can send you a Flat Suzy and a Flat Jerry for one of your volunteer stays!

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  28. Fabulous job Granma Bell. . .Joey should be the star of his class!

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  29. Awesome job Judy! I am a retired (34 years) Kindergarten/First Grade teacher...I agree with Nan! Ever consider children's books?

    Hope your work gets done today and it's not raining so you can explore some.....

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  30. I'm sure they are going to love this!

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  31. Flat Joey is an amazing blogger - maybe he should have his own blog?? Great job, I'm sure all the kids will love this story.

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  32. Fantastic job on the Flat Joey story. The kids are going to love it and learn from it as well. Maybe you should consider a book for kids featuring Emma. I think it would be a hit.

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  33. You get an A+ on the Flat Joey story.

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  34. I'm first in line for a signed copy of that children's book!

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  35. This is adorable and educational all at the same time!!!!

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  36. As I've read someone else say COOL BEANS!

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  37. That's absolutely perfect - they are going to love it, and Joey is going to be so proud of you! Good Job! :)

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  38. Excellent adventures that Flat Joey went on, and excellent job you did of writing about them!

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  39. That is WONDERFUL. It would make a GREAT booklet to send home with the kids. If you wanted to put in into book form, I have Publisher and could format it in there and then send it as a PDF. That way, the teacher could also send it home OR it could be made into a little book with spiral binding to sell at the refuge.

    And you reminded me that I intended to make some Flat Blue adventures. Do you know about that? Stories about him would also make wonderful additions to each refuge's kid's activities or little books for children.

    Here is link for flat blue - you can build your Flat Blue by printing it out - I want to laminate mine. And you can also send pictures to a link here.

    http://americaswildlife.org/flatblue/

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  40. Judy,

    I saw your message for me on Travels With John and want ed to stop by and say HI back to you. I have had a lot of problems with opening your site, something with Blogger and how you are set up, so gave up on trying to read your posting everyday. Your now on my Monthly Read List and your HI reminded me that it was time.
    Now to struggle with Blogger to get caught up to current with your posting once more.

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