Rabbit - Visit to the Biltmore

Hi Rabbit,

We went on a great trip to see the Biltmore Estates (it's in North Carolina). This is the largest mansion owned by a person in the United States...it has 34 bed rooms, an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley! It was built in 1895 and sure was beautiful. Today it is in the middle of a forest but when it was built there were no trees around it at all. The entire forest was planted when they were landscaping!

 

These are some photos of the gardens also.

Hope you're having fun in school!

Bear- Flat Stanleys BIG, GINORMOUS weekend!

This past weekend, Stanley, Cody, myself and some friends went to an event held every year in Dallas.  It's called the AMA Monster Energy Supercross Race.  It's basically a bunch of dirt bikes racing around a track inside the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.  This stadium is where the football games are played and sometimes this stadium hosts special events such as the supercross and monster truck rallies. 

The winner of the 250 competition was Dean Wilson.  The winner of the 450 competition was Ryan Villopoto.  Stanley learned that the difference between Supercross and Motocross is that Supercross is held indoors, while Motocross is held outdoors.  The tracks also differ slightly, but that’s the main difference between the two.

 

 

Stanley had such a blast at the races.  He couldn’t believe how BIG the stadium was.  He was really amazed at the big screen hanging in the middle of it.
I told Stanley a little bit about the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and the man behind this big, massive modern marvel.  Jerry Jones is the man that thought up this enormous project and funded it as well.  It cost about $1.3 BILLION dollars to build.  It stands about 300 feet from center field to the rooftop and is supported by two gigantic arches along the length of the entire building.  It even has a retractable roof; it’s the biggest sun roof I’ve ever seen.

The main attraction in the Cowboys Stadium is the largest big screen TV in the world. This center-hung high-definition television screen measures 160 by 72 feet, 11,520 ft².  To illustrate its enormity, this big screen is about as tall as a 10 story building.  It’s about 1/3 the height of the entire stadium!! As they say around these parts, “Everything’s bigger in Texas!”  They sure aren’t kidding when it comes to this stadium.

On our way to the stadium, we managed to get a quick picture in front of the Texas Rangers professional baseball Ballpark right next door the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX.  Their season hasn’t begun yet, but you can bet Stanley, Cody and I will attend a game!!

Cody and I also attended a professional hockey game this weekend- So much ACTION!! It was not-stop the entire 2 hour game.  The Dallas Stars are Texas’ professional hockey team and that night they played a team from Calgary, Canada called the Flames.

The Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team plays in the same arena as the Dallas Stars.  How can they do that, you ask? Well to see how they do it, here’s a link to the time-lapsed photography of them converting an ice rink into a basketball court.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1kIvX7Ziog



Flat Stanley absolutely loved watching the Stars play.  He told me he thought his new favorite sport would be HOCKEY!! One thing was for sure, it was coooold! Brrrr!! I’ll have to remember to bring another coat when I go to another game. Stanley seemed to be fine in the cold though, he must be acclimated to those South Dakota winters.

Cody and I are trying to be a lot like Stanley and try new things as we travel around.  We’re only living here for a short time.  In fact, we leave in 1 year and 2 months, which is when I graduate from chiropractic school.  So we’re taking advantage of seeing new sites, trying new things, tasting different food and experiencing all there is around here.  Dallas is really a cool place to stay, but only for a short while, because Cody and I are home-bodies and can’t wait to get home back to Arkansas.

Well in the meantime, Stanley and I are going to look for more adventures here in Texas.  We’ll be sure to keep you posted.



Bear-Flat Stanleys first adjustment...

As I mentioned to everyone earlier, I (Jordana B) am studying to become a Chiropractor.  If you've never heard of one, then I'll gladly explain.  A Chiropractor is a doctor that looks for misalignments in the spine.  The spine is a long segment of bones along your back stretching from your hairline to your beltline.  The Chiropractor corrects those crooked spines with gentle pressures, known as adjustments, carefully placed on certain parts of the back, neck, and hips.  The misalignments in the spine are called "subluxations" in chiropractic terms.

Chiropractic corrects the spine so that your body can adapt, perform and generally feel better even in the most stressful environments.  Flat Stanley was telling me that he was feeling tired and had a sore throat and runny nose- probably because of all his travels, he was feeling sort of 'run down.'  So I took him to the Parker College of Chiropractic Clinic to get his first examination and adjustment.

Once we aligned his spine, he felt better in a matter of days.  His sore throat and runny nose cleared up and is full of energy!! Since he travels so much, I thought it would do him some good to keep his spine in line, so he can feel FINE!

Chiropractic is recommended for EVERYONE of all ages.  So ask your parents if there's a chiropractor you can see to keep your spines healthy and strong.

Stanley visiting the Parker College of Chiropractic Clinic to receive his first exam and adjustment.

  

Stanley is receiving his first adjustment.  He was so excited!  He felt so much better afterwards that he started playing with Harley and didn’t sneeze or get tired. 

And remember to always keep your SPINE in LINE, so you can feel FINE!!!

Flat Stanley in Barcelona, Spain

My friend, Leigh, is about to get married and instead of having a bachelorette party, she asked a few friends to take a quick trip with her to Barcelona, Spain to celebrate.  Flat Stanley decided to tag along.  At first, he was a little disappointed because we didn't do much sightseeing.  However, we did do a lot of eating and Flat Stanley quickly became a big fan of Spanish meats and cheeses.

We stayed in a neighborhood called El Born.  Many of the buildings there are over 500 years old.  Like me, Flat Stanley enjoyed exploring the narrow little streets of the area.  We found a big church called the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar.  It was built over 600 years ago and I think it's my favorite church in Europe.  Flat Stanley decided we should take some pictures both inside and outside of the church.

Flat Stanley was also interested in the artwork that decorates many of the doorways and walls in El Born.  Here are a few of the ones he liked best.  He thought the chair attached to the wall in the second picture was pretty cool.

Flat Stanley was disappointed that we had to leave Barcelona after just two days but he was excited to find out that we'll be going to Leigh's wedding next weekend in Glasgow, Scotland.  Since it will be a traditional Scottish wedding, he's decided that he should get some new clothes for the event!

Monkey's Stanley in Belgium

These pictures come from my journey a few weeks ago with Stanley and a few friends of mine to Antwerp, Belgium.  As you can see, it was a bit cold, and snowing lightly.  After a few Belgium waffles and something warm to drink, Stanley decided that he wanted to take a bike ride, as you can see in the first photo.

 

That quickly got too cold, so we headed to the famous, 500-year old "Cathedral of Our Lady," which has the highest spire (403 ft. tall) in the "low countries" of Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg (shown in the next two photos).  

After celebrating Mass there, we decided to find a restaurant for supper.  Stanley was quick to point out that he was hungry for some thin-sliced pork, so I spotted a restaurant that looked to me would fit his choice (the last two photos)...unfortunately, I don't think he liked it when I made him pose with the restaurant's chef!  

He said something about the chef sticking his nose up at Stanley...so we decided to eat elsewhere.

After our time in Antwerp, we made a short trip by train to the town of Louvain, Belgium, to visit the tomb of St. Damien de Veuster.  These last two photos show a photo of Damien, and the chapel where his tomb is.

Damien was born in Belgium in 1840, and grew up to be a Catholic priest who in 1873 volunteered to be sent to help the people who caught the deadly disease of leprosy, or Hansen's disease, on the island of Molokai, Hawaii.  Because it was a very painful disease if you caught it, no one wanted to go and help the people that had the disease.  But Damien saw and loved Jesus  in each person that suffered on that island, and so he volunteered to go, knowing that he would probably eventually die of leprosy himself.  And so, after living with and helping the people of Molokai for 16 years, Damien also died of leprosy in 1889

Stanley and I spent a long time praying at Damien's tomb, asking Damien in heaven to help us, and pray for us that we too would have his courage to sacrifice ourselves for those who suffer.

Jaguar Flat Stanley plays in the snow and visits the town of Hamina

  

Hello Jaguar and the rest of the class!

We have a lot of snow here in Southern Finland. Today Flat Stanley climbed up a huge snow mountain and see how happy he looked as he finally reached the top! He enjoyed the views, although the only thing he could see around him was white snow... To get down again he needed some help from the family but his voice was so little that nobody first heard him calling. He had to wait there for a while and the snow was pretty cold... 

... finally Eelis, the 3rd grader heard Stanley calling and he helped the little man. Eelis got a sleigh and the problem was solved. Stanley also learned two new Finnish words: The snow is "lumi" and the sleigh is "pulkka". Stanley was really really cold so he went inside for a while before some new adventures. His clothing isn't very suitable for the Finnish winter. You can see in the picture what kind of a clothing would be warmer if you want to play outside.

After Stanley got his flat body warmed again he wanted to try some winter sports. He wanted to go cross-country skiing. Here you can see that even though he had never tried it before, he seemed to be a real champion. He thought that maybe he could take part in the next winter Olympic games. He hasn't decided if he wants to join the Finnish of the American team. I'm sure he would be welcome to both of them, he was so good. And look how he enjoys skiing!

In the afternoon Flat Stanley got to see a little bit of Hamina, the town he's living in at the moment. First the family showed him the Town Hall, "Raatihuone" in Finnish. It's an old building in the centre of Hamina. People gather there to make decisions about different issues of the town. They decide about schooling, libraries, health care and so on. Flat Stanley noticed that there is a clock in the top of the building.

Next to the Town Hall there is a church. It's not a very typical Finnish church because it's an Orthodox church. In the first building you can see the gate where you go in to the church yard. High up are the church bells and on the top is the cross. The church is the building behind the tower. The church is round from the outside but from the inside it has a shape of a cross. The Orthodox religion has come from Russia, Hamina used to be a part of Russia in the 19th century. There are not so many Orthodox people in Hamina because most of the Finns belong to the Lutheran Church.

Stanley had seen enough, he's only a little boy and he's more interested in playing legos with the other children than seeing all the sights. He wanted to go back home again and eat Finnish buns. He sends his best wishes to Jaguar and wants to tell that he isn't homesick at all even though he's so far away from South Dakota. Bye Bye!

Rabbit- my Christmas Gift

Hello Rabbit!

Sorry it has been so long but I cannot wait to tell you all about my numerous adventures!

Remember Santa gave me a stethescope for Christmas...well I finally figured out why! I worked all day on an ambulance for the local 911 system here. It sure was exciting helping so many people when they needed it! Did you know that the 911 system here was the largest all volunteer system in the world until just a few years ago when they had to start paying paramedics. Japan even came here to see how things worked and made their 911 system to be just like the one here!

I had a fun crew to work with. I made the forth crew member on the ambulance that day because there was a student on with us too. And I even had a chance to meet some firefighters and hang out on a fire truck! I can't wait to do it again!

 

I do need my own pair of boots though!

 

I cant wait to hear from you :)