16. Flat Stanley Visits The Library And The Gene Autry Museum!

Hi all!
We have been away for a few days camping and just got home today, so I am behind on the blog site here! But I did receive several updates right before we left and while we were away that I thought I would catch up on now.

We received an email from Stanley who is visiting his new friend Lee in Ireland. He wrote:

"To Alexa,

Hi this is Flat Stanley here. I just thought I would let you know I arrived safely Manorhamilton Co Leitrim in Ireland today. Lee and her family were so excited to meet me. She has a little boy called Tynan who is 5 and he thought I was great. He told me the Maxwell family are going away on holiday down the West coast of Ireland on Saturday to a place called Killarney in Co. Kerry. Lee has promised we will be able to do loads of fun things and take some pictures to let you see what it looks like. There is going to be a party too when we come back home, so I might be busy for a while but will let you know everything that happens.

I hope you are having a good time catching up with all the other Stanleys.

Speak to you soon
Stanley x"

We hope you are having a great time on vacation, Stanley!


We received an email from Jean in Omaha. She wrote:

"Just wanted to let you know Flat Stanley is still alive and well in Omaha. :)

I'll get him back to PA after the 4th of July.
Best wishes,
Jean"

We are glad he's doing well and hope you guys have a great 4th!


We received another email update, with pictures, from Flat Stanley who is visiting my sister (Alexa's Aunt Robin) in Morris Plains, New Jersey. He wrote:

"Dear Alexa,

Aunt Robin took me to visit the library where she works. One of her jobs is to make signs and posters for the library. She has a really
huge printer in her office for printing posters. In the adult part of the library, there are some big model ships. I got to climb on one of
them. I think my favorite part of the visit was the Children's Room. They have a bookcase that looks like a big blue elephant. I never saw a blue elephant before.

We went out to the supermarket tonight. It was dark when we came back, and we saw fireflies. Aunt Robin says it doesn't really feel
like summer to her until she sees fireflies.

Your friend,
Flat Stanley"

Here are the pictures of Flat Stanley at the library:








and then he (Flat Stanley who is visiting my sister in Morris Plains, New Jersey) wrote a subsequent email a couple of days later which said:

"Dear Alexa,

New Jersey's nickname is The Garden State. There are small farms all over the state that grow many kinds of fruits and vegetables. New Jersey grows a lot of blueberries. The only state in the U.S. that grows more blueberries than New Jersey is Michigan.

It didn't rain today! In the morning, Aunt Robin and I went to a farmers' market to buy some fresh vegetables. We got green beans and two different kinds of tomatoes -- big tomatoes and little cherry tomatoes. Here are pictures of me at the farmers' market, wearing a Garden State t-shirt that Aunt Robin made. Do you like it?

Your friend,
Flat Stanley"

Here are the pictures of Flat Stanley at the farm stand, and yes we LOVE the shirt!!!






My mom sent me an email that she thought I would find interesting. It said:

"I was browsing the television station WNEP home page and there was a list of videos from news stories they have covered. They showed a classroom full of youngsters eagerly waiting the arrival of a soldier just returned from Iraq. Seems he had become penpals with 2 boys in the class and they each sent him a Flat Stanley. He came to return the 2 of them to great applause. He said he had taken FS around Baghdad and also for a helicopter ride."

That must have been pretty cool!


On Friday it looked like Flat Stanley's friend Chris in Nova Scotia tried to send a couple of pictures but unfortunately the emails were blank. I have a request in for her to resend them and hopefully I will be posting them here soon :)

We received an email from Flat Stanley who is visiting his new friend Mary Jo which said:

"Hey!
It's me! Flat Stanley! I am hanging out in Brandon Manitoba Canada and having a great time!

I will write more when I have some of my photos done to show you!

Stanley"

We are looking forward to seeing pictures! Glad you are having a good time :)


My mom's friend Fawn sent her an email which she forwarded to me. It said:

"Hi Alexa -

Flat Stanley wanted to let you know he started his journey back to you from Wenatchee, Wa yesterday. He expects to be back home Wed or Thu via Priority Mail. He also said to tell you he is escorting a wide variety of items that he's sure you will enjoy!

I want to Thank You for including me in your project. I have so enjoyed participating in it. Please feel free to include me in any future projects you might have that I could assist with.

Hope you are having a great weekend. I am in for a real treat this afternoon, a friend is bringing over some halibut he caught a couple weeks ago to BBQ! We'll grill corn on the cob and asparagus in addition to a salad. I was surprised, but was able to get corn on the cob at the Farmer's Market yesterday. So summer has arrived!

Take care and know Flat Stanley will be arriving soon.
Fawn"

We look forward to seeing Stanley and the things he is bringing home with him. And we want to thank YOU for participating in the project! :)


And we received another email update with pictures from my sister's friend Marian in Ventura California. She wrote:

"Hi, Alexa and Nance --

Yesterday Flat Stanley visited the Gene Autry museum of the American West. They have everything you can imagine about the West as it really was, and also about the West as people in other places imagined it.

There were two special exhibits: one was on the musicians of country music and the other was on rock climbing in Yosemite.

Here is Stanley posing with the figure of John Muir, who was very famous as an early naturalist. It was mostly because of him that the National Parks now exist to show us all what unspoiled beautiful country looks like.

Marian"



She also sent an email which said:

"Here's another picture of Stanley at the Gene Autry museum. He was very interested in the stagecoach. Imagine what it must have been like 150 years ago, when you had to travel on one of these to get to California from where you live, and it could take many days.

Marian"



She added a P.S. email which said:

"Dear Alexa and Nance--
I completely forgot to tell you where the Autry museum is, where Stanley had such a good time. (He had a buffalo burger for lunch in their cafe and felt very much like a cowboy. ). The museum is in the San Fernando Valley, near North Hollywood. That's in the northish part of Los Angeles County.

Marian"


And lastly, we received another email update yesterday from Flat Stanley who is visiting his friend Tim, in Alberta, Canada. He wrote:

"Today we went to Riley Park in Calgary where I met Matthew and Sarah, Tim and Lynda’s grandchildren. I’ve attached pictures and I am sure you can tell which is which. At the park there is a great big wading pool that Matthew and Sarah went swimming and wading in. They asked me to join them, but I didn’t have my bathing suit so I had to wait in the tree for them.

Next week we go to Heritage Park and the Calgary Stampede.

F. Stanley"

Here are the pictures Tim sent:








That catches us up on all the email updates as of late. We thank you all again for taking the time to send them and keep us informed as to Stanley's adventures! Because I already posted so much here today, I will save our camping trip photos for tomorrow, as well as updates on the two Flat Stanley packets we received via snail mail over the past few days.

15. Flat Stanley Attends A College Graduation And A Science Fiction Convention!

I received an email with a few pictures yesterday from Pam, a friend of my sister (Alexa's Aunt Robin). She is hosting a Flat Stanley for a visit in Zion, Illinois. She wrote:

"Hi Robin's buddy!

I have some Flat Stanley pictures for your project.

I send them in 2 messages, as pictures tend to be big and clog up some folks' mailboxes.

The first two pictures are from my niece's and nephew's graduation from the University of Chicago. The U of C is on the south side of Chicago."

Here are the pictures she sent:





(Congratulations to your niece and nephew)!!

Then, in a separate email, she wrote:

"Hi!

here are two more pictures of Flat Stanley.

One is at a science fiction convention in Naperville, Illinois. Naperville is west of Chicago. (so Flat Stanley did not get to go to space)

The other photo is at the lighthouse in the harbor of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha is on the shores of Lake Michigan. Kenosha is just a little bit north of the Illinois/Wisconsin border.

Pam,
one of Robin's fellow-librarians"

Here are those pictures:





Those were fun to see!


I also received an email today from Susan, who is hosting a Flat Stanley here in Pennsylvania (in Industry, PA) letting us know that he arrived. She wrote:

"Hello Alexa and Nance.

I just wanted to let you know that your friend, Flat Stanley arrived today. He looked a little tired out from his trip so we let him hang out and play Nintendo. You know, he's pretty good at video games. Tomorrow, Ryan is going to dress Stanley in a version of Ryan's favorite outfit and show him our garden. I'll make sure to keep Stanley away from the poison ivy.

Susan and Ryan


p.s. Stanley says hello and that he misses you already."

We miss you, too, Stanley! Alexa enjoys video games too, as you know. And yes, please avoid the Poison Ivy as we forgot to pack Calamine lotion for you! :)


I received an update about Flat Stanley via a message board post, too. Carly, who is hosting Stanley in Ashburn, Virginia, wrote:

"Stanley & I are in Washington DC now, unfortunately I don't have a camera, but he has gotten a newspaper to take home. On the front page is all about the train accident yesterday. Stanley was here for that too, but he's safe. If you don't mind if I keep him a little longer hopefully I'll be able to come back & take pictures. This trip was an accident."

We don't mind at all! We have found that it is not quite so hard after all waiting for the Stanleys to return home...because everyone has been so great about updating us with messages and emails and post cards and pictures! Thank you all :)

14. Flat Stanley Has A Cousin and Goes On A Road Trip!

We received two post cards in the mail today, both from Stanley's new friend Carrie who has taken Stanley traveling! The first postcard is from Texas, where Carrie lives. Here is a picture of the front of it:



On the back, it has a little blurb that says: "Some Cowboys use their favorite Bronc for Cattle Punching and some, as you can see, prefer the Jack Rabbit." Stanley wrote:

"Dear Alexa,
I arrived in hot Texas right on schedule. I say hot, but really the weather here doesn't stay the same for long. In the week I've been here, it's rained, been hot (above 90 degrees), been cold (about 50 degrees), stormed, hailed and fogged. Wow! Traveling to Utah Tuesday. Love, Stanley."

The other postcard was from Albuquerque, New Mexico and shows a picture of the Balloon Fiesta. Here is a picture of the front of it:



On the back it has a little blurb that says: "Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The magic and eloquence of hot air balloons flying over Albuquerque give the pilot and the spectator a feeling of serenity and pleasure. Chosen to represent their countries throughout the world, the best balloonists come to participate in the World Hot Air Balloon Championship and hope to capture the trophy." Stanley wrote:

"Dear Alexa,
Today I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico, home of the famous balloon fiesta! Utah is a long drive, it took us 6 hours to get to Albuquerque. We went to Amarillo first, then took I-40 to Albuquerque. Next we swing through a portion of Colorado (Cortez and Dove Creek), then off to Utah-- up through Price, then Provo, Salt Lake City and Logan! I hope you are well! Stanley."

I got a picture today of Flat Stanley (and his cousin- lol, see message) in Overland Park, Kansas, where he is visiting Gretchen and her two little ones- here is picture, and message:

"Here's Stanley (by Harry) and his little cousin who is also visiting, Flat Stella (by Addie)

We may not make it out today; Harry may be having a little lower GI distress (courtesy of Panda Express take out.) Hopefully we can take our visitors to the city to the Plaza later this evening if everything...runs its course."



I love the way Stanley AND Stella look. I don't know why I can only get half of Stella in the picture. At first she wasn't showing up at all. I tried playing with it a few times and then got half of her to show up. I decided to leave it at that for now as it is late and I am tired and do not want to mess with photo editing or photobucket or blog editing any longer. I hope everything has...run its course by the way! :)

We got a great email from Cowboy Stanley who is visiting Tim in Calgary, Alberta, Canada today! It said:

"Alexa,

I am enjoying my stay with Tim and Lynda. For the first few days we mostly puttered around the house getting some chores done. However, starting last Thursday we had a whirlwind weekend. First we drove to Vernon in Central BC to spend a couple of days with Lynda's mother, and then we went on to Salmon arm for the wedding of a friend's daughter. I've attached some of the pictures we took.

The first picture shows me strapped in for the journey. Tim soon assured me that, even though it as only a two seater car, there would be room for me inside.

The next three pictures show us traveling through the Alberta foothills and into the mountains. In some of them you can see the mountains in the distance.

The next three show Castle Mountain. For a number of years after World War 2 it was called Mount Eisenhower after one of your presidents. It is one of my favourite mountains, and it really does look like a castle.The next couple of pictures were taken at the Roger's Pass on the Trans Canada Highway. As you can see, at this height there is still snow on the mountains.

Finally, after some six hours on the road we made it to Vernon, where we stopped to rest for a couple of days.

Vernon is surrounded by three lakes. At the top of the next picture we are relaxing on a deck overlooking a park. Up near the top you can just make out one of the lakes. This is Swan lake, the smallest of the three.

The next day we took a little time to tour Vernon. Our first stop, and the next three pictures, was Lake Okanogan, where we took a few minutes to see if we could find the sea serpent that is supposed to be there. No luck today, so maybe next time. Lake Okanogan is a long narrow lake that covers a mountain valley. It is almost 100 miles long, but only 2 or 3 miles wide at its widest.

The third picture shows a Canadian flag. They celebrate their nation's birthday on the 1st of July just like you celebrate yours on the 4th.

Next Tim and Lynda wanted to show me the swans and floral clock at Polson Park. Unfortunately, we ran into a high school graduation (first picture) and weren't able to stop and see the swans. We were able to see the clock, though. It will be even more colourful later in the year when all the flowers have bloomed. I hope to have a chance to come back and see it them.

Our tour ended at Lake Kalamalka, or the Lake of Many Colours. The first two pictures are looking down the lake and across the beach. We then went up to the overlook to see if we could see some of the "many colours", but the sun was playing hide and seek, so we weren't able to. The next three pictures are from the overlook. The first shows Tim holding me up to see some history of the area. The next is looking towards the beach area of Kalamalka Lake. Just to the left of my head you can see the beach where we took the first two pictures of Kalamalka lake. The next is a look down the lake, and finally a reminder that we are still in the mountains.

The next day we set off for the short drive to Salmon Arm for the wedding. It was an easy ride, but a chance to relax in a hammock was too good to pass up. Lynda, she's the one holding me, is a member of a barbershop quartette called Ambrosia that was asked to sing at the wedding. The girl being married was the daughter of another quartette member, the lady on the left. The wedding was in a Hawaiian theme, and I thought you might like to see some of the decorations.

After a beautiful day for the wedding, it was pouring rain the next morning as we set off on our return trip to Calgary.

We are making plans for the next little while, and here are some of the places I am hoping to get to while I am here. The Stampede, of course. We'll be going on July 3rd. We are also going to Heritage Park here in Calgary on July 1st to help celebrate Canada Day. We are also planning, but haven't set dates yet, to go the the Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller where I'll be able to see all sorts of dinosaurs. We are also planning a trip to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump where we will see how the Indians used to capture and use the buffalo and all of its parts. We may also stop in at the Frank Slide, Waterton National Park and Vancouver Island. This could be a very exciting summer.

Missing you,
F. Stanley"

And here are the pics:



















































Fantastic pictures!! We really enjoyed seeing them all!!

13. Flat Stanley Goes To The Movies, and Shops For Food From India!

I received this email yesterday from Flat Stanley who is visiting Elizabeth in Groton, Connecticut. He wrote:

"Dear Alexa,

I had a very busy day yesterday! First we got up and had breakfast and then we went off to the park. Maxwell and Gavin took me down the slides, I climbed up the stairs and even went down some slides all by myself, with a little help from Maxwell of course. I went on the swing with Maxwell too! Then Maxwell and I danced and watched the skateboarders as there is a skate park in the same area as the park we went to.

We went home and had some lunch and got ready for our afternoon outing. Maxwell and I got to see our very first movie, UP...it was great. Maxwell and I shared popcorn and soda, he was really excited about both and ate all the popcorn. The movie was great, I highly recommend it!

Okay I'll attach a few photos from our big day so you can see how much fun we had!"

Aw Stanley is spending time with some cute kids! It looks like they are having a great time together. We want to see the movie "UP" too, by the way!

Here are the pictures they sent:
















I received this email late last night from Flat Stanley who is visiting my sister, Alexa's Aunt Robin, in Morris Plains, New Jersey. He wrote:

"Dear Alexa,

I have been visiting with Aunt Robin in Morris Plains, New Jersey. The distance from her house to your house is about 112 miles.

This part of New Jersey is home to many people who were born in other countries. They go to ordinary supermarkets to buy some of their food, but they also like to go to special grocery stores that sell food from the countries where they grew up. Yesterday, Aunt Robin and I went to a store that sells food from India. (Ask your mom to show you on a map where India is.)

People from India like to eat rice. The grocery store sells rice in different sized bags. Aunt Robin took a picture of me with the biggest bags. They are really huge and hold 40 pounds of rice.

People from India also like to drink tea. Sometimes it's plain tea, but sometimes the tea is mixed with different spices. Aunt Robin bought a box of spice tea. It is flavored with ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, and cardamom. We tried some when we got home.

It was very good.

It's been raining a lot here, so we haven't gone to any outdoor places yet. I hope it stops raining soon!

Your friend,
Flat Stanley

p.s. Aunt Robin says hi!"

She sent us some really neat pictures! Here they are:





...and we hope it stops raining soon, too!


Flat Stanley also received another invitation to a home in New South Wales, Australia (I think people from Australia must be very hospitable, because Stanley has received six invitations there, and people from New South Wales in particular must be the most hospitable people ever, because four of the Australian invites were from there!) :) He will be on his way tomorrow. I think that will make 68 Flat Stanleys- plus our "hometown" Flat Stanley.


This morning we went to see my mom receive a presidential award for her years of volunteer work. She has been a strong troop supporter and today she got some recognition for it. Of course, she didn't want "recognition"- but she WAS happy to bring into the public eye the fact that the troops could use our support in more solid ways than slapping a bumper sticker on your car.

She received her award and pin from a group of Vietnam Vets which really meant a lot to her. There was a reporter there, we (her family) were there, and since she was okay with it- Flat Stanley was there, too!

Here are some of the pics from the ceremony, with and without Flat Stanley:




















When we left there, we stopped at Walmart because we had to buy some groceries. We saw some policemen in the parking lot selling raffle tickets, and one of them was riding a motorcycle around a little obstacle area while another officer timed him. We wandered over and ended up buying a raffle ticket, and then we asked one of the police officers if he would mind posing for a picture with Alexa and Flat Stanley.

He was very nice and didn't mind obliging us- he said he had two kids who had both done Flat Stanley projects themselves :)