Birthdays

 J+M+J

 

Yesterday I went to my friend Isabel’s farm for her birthday party.  She has chickens and roosters and lots of stinging, burning nettles.  She also has several cats, one of which (Cocoa) has had kittens a month ago. Cocoa has also adopted a littler of four very tiny kittens whose mother abandoned them. I got to hold the older kittens.

 

Later on, there was a cat (Sunny) that had caught a baby rabbit. It was tossing it up in the air and catching it when it came down again. Then another cat (Patches) came and she and sunny began to fight over the bunny. And through it all the baby rabbit was schreecing loud and pitiful. One could hear it over the whole yard!  Soon they became more intent on fightingthan on their prey, and the bunny, seizing it’s chance, bounded away into some tall grass.  Isabel and I were cheering for the rabbit; but Isabels two older brothers and their friends kept saying “Let Nature take it’s course.” “It’s natural.” “That is the cat’s job.” Meanwhile the cats had found the rabbit and where again playing with it. Again the rabbit got loose, again we cheered for it, and again the boys lectured.  Finally I said ” Everyone knows what will happen in the end. Because we know what will happen, it is a little bit fun to cheer for the rabbit when he seemingly gets away.” The boys went to go play soccer.

 

Then the bonfir was lit. It was HUGE! we ate s’mores and and little bettys (cheese wrapped in dough) roasted over the fire.

 

When we left the Rabbit was still alive and screaming

 

A+M+D+G

J+M+J

On the way home from ballet, my close friend Rebecca and I were discussing the sleepover she was going to have. She was telling me the the names of the guests, and among them I reconised the name of my old next door neighbor, Theresa, who I had not seen for four years.

Two days later I recieved an invitation to the party. Dad gave me permission to go, and so on Thursday the 3rd I was packing my bag for the sleepover the next day. This sleepover was the first one I had ever had with a friend for a reason that was not an emergency.

I arrived just after my close homeschooled friend Isabel. Next arrived another close homeschooled friend, Grace. Rebecca’s friend Lizzie from ballet came next. After a little while Theresa came. Her mom, seeing me, showed that Rebecca had not told them I was coming by saying “Gosh! It’s Sarah!”

On with the party! First we made pizzas, and after we had eaten Rebecca opened her gifts. I gave her a travel journal set. (Her family is going to Beliz this summer, often goes to visit her grandma in Arizona, and in two years they are going to Japan and Australia.)

Next we decorated aprons.

Here are some finished aprons:

More aprons:

My apron close-up.

Then we had cake. we all pitched in doing the dishes and the cleaning, and I have never seen a kitchen get clean so fast!

Then we got our pajamas on and watched a movie. At exactly four minutes to midnight, we were all in our sleeping bags and the light was out. After some adjusting to the creaking of Mrs. Siemans pacing upstairs almost directly above us with her new baby, Marin, I fell asleep quite fast.

I awoke the next morning at six fifteen because of a thunderstorm and hail. At seven thirty I sat up in bed, pondering whether I should take the other girls at their word to wake them up at seven thirty. I thought that if I sat up long enough, one of the girls would see me and get up.My predictions were right, for not five minutes passed and from the other end of the row of sleeping bags I saw Grace sit up and she said “Hi.” I asked her whether we should wake the other girls up, or let them sleep. For answer, she ran across the row of bean bags directly above the heads of the sleepers. One by one they all woke up, Lizzie being the last asleep.

Craziness revived, Grace, Rebecca, and Isabel began jumping on the bean bags, and on each other, while Theresa, Lizzie, and I looked on.

Then it was time for breakfast. We had pancakes with whipped cream, strawberries, blueberries, and apple pie filling that Mr. Siemans made for us. Then one by one the party guests had to leave, and at last Grace’s dad came to take Grace and I home. (We live a few blockes from each other.)

A+M+D+G

J+M+J 

Maria and I went to a birthday party for a friend of ours. I learned a couple of new games and had a lot of fun.

A+M+D+G

J+M+J 

March 13! I had a nice birthday party with an egg spoon relay race and a scavenger hunt. I had a good day.

A+M+D+G