Cheetahs Day at the Little League Baseball Game!

Today, Flat Stanley went to the first round play-off game for the Lakewood White Sox!  He got to the watch the game with Kenny, which was very exciting!  Then, he got to hang out in the dug-out with the Kris and his teammates!  The White Sox won the game 5-3 and Flat Stanely got to cheer on the team with the family!!  It was very fun!

Jaguar goes to school in Finland

Greetings from the elementary school in a village named Pyhältö in Hamina!  Flat Stanley wanted to see what the school is like and he got to go along with the mother of the family, as she works as a teacher . It is a very small school with only 4 teachers, 2 assistive persons and 46 students. In the school there are grades from 1 to 6 and only three classrooms. So in one classroom there are two grades studying together. In the same building there is also a day care where there are 20 children of ages 1 to 6 years.

In Finland you start preschool when you're 6 years old and you go to the first grade of school when you're 7 years. After the elementary school the children from Pyhältö go to another school near the centre of Hamina. There are classes 7 - 9. After that you have had your basic education and you can choose to go to "lukio", which is a school to prepare you to higher studies like to universities, or you can go to a vocational school to get yourself a profession in 2-3 years, to become for example a hairdresser, a mechanic, a carpenter, a catering person or so on...

This is the Pyhältö school and on the left side there's the day care.

This is from the school yard when the snow is almost gone... Our school starts at eight, nine or ten o'clock. The children come to school by bike, bus or taxi depending on where they live. We have 45 minutes` lessons and between the lessons we have a 15 minutes` recess. During the recesses the children play in the yard. Here we had a place to ice skate during the PE lessons in the winter but now it´s a good place to play different games, for example soccer, which is very popular in Finland. Another popular game is Finnish baseball. It's a little bit different from your baseball but the basic idea is the same to hit the ball and run around the field.

Flat Stanley was a little bit shy this time and he didn't dare to get pictures taken until all the other children had gone home. The school ends at 12, 1 or 2 pm, so each day you have four to six lessons and the schedule is different every day. This is from the 3rd and 4th classroom. There are 14 students in the class, 8 fourth graders and 6 3rd graders. One of the teachers work with a couple of the children from my class because they learn better in a small group.

The 3rd and 4th graders have 23 lessons a week and their subjects are Finnish, English, maths, biology and geography, religious knowledge, music, arts, handicrafts and PE. The subjects that the students usually like the most are PE, handicrafts, music and art.  At eleven o'clock we have lunch, which is prepared in our school and is free for everyone (it's paid out of the taxes we pay to the town)

Here's the classroom. Because the school is in the countryside, we have a lot of nature around us. Sometimes we take a little walk around the area nearby.  After school the children do their homework and go to their hobbies. Usually the chilren are alone at home before their parents come home from work. For the first and second graders there is also a possibility to stay at school in the day care before their parents come home.

So, this is probably the last time you'll hear about Jaguar Flat Stanley's adventures here in Finland. The family will sure miss him but we think it's time to get him back home before the summer vacation. I sure hope he'll make it in time! It was very nice to have Stanley here, there are so many stories we didn't have time to tell, but I hope Stanley will tell the rest when he gets home to Jaguar! Have a great summer and enjoy the holidays!

Monkey Flat Stanley at Pope Francis's Election

Well, soon after our short adventure to the Alps, Stanley and I had another big change in our plans!  When the (then) Pope Benedict XVI announced to the world that he had decided with the help of God in prayer to step down from the office of pope, this meant that a new pope was to soon be elected.  When this happened, Stanley asked me, "What will happen now?"  I told him that this was something new for both of us.  The last time a pope (who is the leader of the Catholic Church, after Jesus) stepped down from his office was 600 years ago, since popes usually stayed in office until they died.  

So to elect the new pope, the cardinals from all over the world would come to Rome, and after praying for the help of the Holy Spirit, they would vote for who they thought would be the best man to continue guiding the Church  from over the whole world to God.  This process is called the Conclave, which means "with a key," because the cardinals are locked into the Sistine Chapel when they decide their votes.  This allows the cardinals to pray and choose freely without any pressure from anyone outside the conclave.  When the votes finally reach a two-thirds majority, that means that a new pope has been elected, and white smoke comes out the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.  If they don't get enough votes to elect a pope, then the smoke is black, which tells everyone waiting outside that the cardinals have to vote again.

In the mean time, I told Stanley that it would be fitting to visit St. Peter's Basilica, where St. Peter himself is buried, since the pope is actually the inheritor of the same command that Jesus gave to Peter:  "Feed my sheep."  Originally built by the Roman Emperor Constantine around 320 AD, and then rebuilt from 1506-1626, St. Peter's is the largest Church in the world, and since I am blessed to live just a 7-minute walk away, Stanley agreed that it would be a great way to spend the afternoon. But surprise, surprise!  Guess who we met when we went up to top of the dome?  Another Flat Stanley from South Carolina!  Boy were they happy to see each other!  They had a few stories to share with each!

At the highest point in Rome, St. Peter's dome gives a majestic view of the whole city.  Behind us, you can see the front of the Basilica (there are statues of Jesus, John the Baptist, and the Apostles), which then opens up into St. Peter's Square, like arms of a mother welcoming her children from all over the world.  The people  in the square looked like small ants from our view!  If you would look at St. Peter's Basilica and the Square from an airplane, it would look like a key-hole...which is fitting, because St. Peter was the Apostle to whom Jesus gave "the keys of the kingdom of heaven."  Stanley was reminding me to hold on tight to him, or he might blow away in the strong wind!

Here's a picture from the dome, looking down at the roof of the Sistine Chapel, with the yellow arrow pointing at it.  That's where the conclave would be.

As the time approached for the Conclave to begin, Stanley and I had the opportunity to attend the Opening Mass of the Conclave, March 12, which was also at St. Peter's Basilica.  Here, we have some pretty good seats, as we sat with the other seminarians from the North American College here in Rome.  Behind me, you can see the baldacchino, or canopy, over the main altar.  Stanley told me that he felt under-dressed for the occasion, since all of us seminarians wore our clericals (that shirt I'm wearing with the white collar).  I told him that didn't matter, since Jesus loves us all the same!  The only reason I wear the clothes that I do, is because they are a visible sign for others to see that I am called by God to serve and help them get to heaven...similar to why a police officer wears a police uniform, so that people know that they can go to them for the help a police officer can give.  From where we sat, we were right behind the cardinals I mentioned earlier, as we celebrated the Holy Mass, asking God to bless the Church with a good leader who will love and care for the Church like the Good Shepherd, Jesus, did.

 Here's a picture of the Swiss Guard, who guard the pope.  I told Stanley that they dress kind of like him, but he didn't laugh.

Here's a better picture of the main altar, baldacchino, and the main isle of the Basilica.  Directly below that main altar is the tomb where St. Peter's followers buried him after he was martyred for his faith in Jesus...dating all the way back to the first century AD!

And then on March 13, 2013 at 7:06 pm, waiting in the cold, drizzly rain, Stanley (again in my coat pocket, because he seems to be scared of the cold!) and I heard the crowd in St. Peter's Square go crazy; "It's white!" they all yelled, and immediately began pushing their way to get as close to the front of the Basilica as possible to see who the new pope would be!  The church bells all over Rome were ringing, people were yelling for joy, and everyone was excited for who it would be.  Some even thought that it might have been one of the American cardinals!  It was certainly one of the most exciting moments of either of our lives, as well as historic!  Stanley could hardly contain himself!  You can see in the photo the white smoke coming out of the Sistine Chapel's chimney.

With over 100,000 people packed into the square, this was as close of a picture as we could get of the newly-elected Pope Francis on the balcony of St. Peter's.  He's the guy in the white in the middle of the balcony, waving at you.  Jorge Bergoglio is his original name, from Argentina; but each pope chooses a new name when he is elected Pope, just like Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter, to show his new responsibility for the whole Church.  So this pope chose the name Francis, after the St. Francis of Assisi, who showed the world how to love Jesus in the poor, while being poor himself.  Nearly two months after his election, we can certainly thank God for giving us so loving and strong of a leader!  His words were powerful that night, when he asked the whole crowd of people to take a moment of silence, and pray that God bless Francis, and that Mary take care of him.  Then he asked us to remember to prayer for one another, so that the entire world may become a great family, caring one for the other.  So Stanley and I agreed to follow our new Holy Father's request.  We hope you will too!

 Looking down the street leading to St. Peter's (Via della Conciliazione)...

...and then turning around to see St. Peter's at Francis's Inaugural Mass (around 200,000 people).

Pace da Roma!

Monkey Flat Stanley in the Austrian Alps

Well, Stanley and I had another opportunity to see another part of Europe after my exams were finished in February; this time the north end of Austria.  We were joined by three other friends of mine, and we decided to go skiing at Kitzbühel, in the Tyrol region of northern Austria.  We were blessed with some amazing weather, and an enjoyable time overall after the stress of our semester exams!

As the pictures on the mountain show, however, Stanley didn't exactly like the cold.  So although he went skiing with us, he preferred to stay in my jacket pocket to stay warm.  We figured that it was better that way, as the ski rentals would not have worked for his skinny feet anyways.  With as light of a body as his, he would probably have been blown off the mountain when the wind picked up!

Here's a picture of the crew (again, Stanley refused to expose his face to the cold).

 Sometimes, we were able to just take a rest, and take in the beautiful view.  The frigid cold, clean air, breath-taking views of the mountains and valleys, and steep slopes of fresh snow and pine trees were good for all of us, and made us grateful for such amazing natural beauty.  Although he didn't get to see all of it, because he was in my coat pocket for much of it, Stanley agreed that the artist who made all of it sure knew what he was doing! 

 Eventually, I made Stanley get out and breathe the fresh air himself.  Here, we threw him in a snow bank outside where we stayed.  Even though he wouldn't stop yelling, I think he actually enjoyed it.

 We even got a close-up together afterward.

At the end of the trip, we were able to make a short trip to Innsbruck, before we returned to Rome.  Innsbruck is a beautiful city, right at the base of some of the many towering and majestic Austrian Alps.  Among other things, it's well-known for being a center for mountain sports, during both the summer and winter.  It ended being a great and refreshing trip for all of us, before we went back to the books!

Flat Stanley visits Paris

In March, Flat Stanley joined me for a trip to Paris, France where we met up with some of my friends.

While there, we did a lot of sightseeing.  Flat Stanley loved going to the Eiffel Tower:

 He was kind enough to take a picture of me and my friend Geoff, who is also from South Dakota!

Flat Stanley also really liked visiting the famous Notre Dame Cathedral.

He decided that it looks even prettier at night.

Flat Stanley also had a great time trying new foods in France.  He joined my friend, Carolyn, in trying crepes, or thin pancakes, filled with cheese and ham.

With my friend, Hal, he tried falafel (fried balls of chickpeas inside a pita).

And finally, he tried lots and lots of French cheeses.

Paris is a beautiful city and we were all sad to leave at the end of the weekend.  Hopefully we'll get to go back again!

Bear- Stanley visits THE CAPITAL!!

For Stanley's last hoorah in Texas, we decided to visit the state capital of Texas- AUSTIN!  Most people would think that Austin is full of cowboys, farms, and all things western-but on the contrary, it's actually deemed the "Music Capital of Texas" and "Live Music Capital of the World."  It hosts so many music festivals and attracts so many people to them.  It's full of art, music, outdoor activities, and the lifestyle of the people living here are very close with nature.

We headed to Austin early Saturday morning and decided to talk Harley with us since we would be outside most of the time.  He loves riding in cars!  We stopped at a wonderful BBQ place for lunch and it tasted so good.  Stanley and I couldn't handle the hot sauce, so we had to eat the Rudy’s sissy sauce-Mmmm so good.

 When we first arrive, we stopped at the heart of the city, the Capital Building.  Stanley wanted to learn more about this building and the history of the capital.  So later we looked it up on the internet.

The capital building was erected on March 2, 1885 by Elijah Myers, the architect.  So it is 128 years old.  It only took 3 years to build because on April 21, 1888, it was opened to the public.  It’s built on 51.4 acres of land in the middle of Austin, Texas.  It is a beautiful park with lots of walkways and trees.  There were also several statues and monuments along the premises.  It has been renovated several times to keep it updated but at the same time keep its historic culture alive.

The reddish brown color of the building is due to the red-granite that was used to build it. 

If you look closely at the pictures, you can see the Goddess of Liberty perched at the top of the rotunda.

It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect too.  The architecture was amazing to observe.  But we didn’t go inside because we brought Harley with us on the trip and they didn’t allow pets inside; although most of Austin is a very pet-friendly place.  It was such a perfect day to walk around and enjoy the nice, warm, breezy Texas weather.

In 1993, the $75 million, four-story, underground Capital Extension was completed to the north, doubling the square footage available to Capital occupants and providing much improved functionality. Though the extension encompasses 667,000 square feet (62,000 m²), nearly twice the floor space of the original building, there is little evidence of such a large structure at ground level, except for extensive skylights camouflaged as planter rows.

 There are 17 monuments on the grounds of the capital.  We took pictures of a few of them. The first one we saw was this gate.  This is the original gate that demarcated the property of the capital grounds.  Stanley got a picture by an original photo of the gate when it was first built.

  The "Great Walk" of black and white diamond-patterned pavement shaded by trees is one of the oldest parts of the capital. It has been kept the same since it was first constructed as shown in the photo.

The four oldest monuments are the Heroes of the Alamo, Volunteer Firemen, Confederate Soldiers and Terry's Texas Rangers, and flank the tree-lined Great Walk.

Terry’s Texas Rangers. The 8th Texas Cavalry, (1861–1865), popularly known as Terry'sTexas Rangers, was a group of Texas volunteers for the Confederate States Army assembled by Colonel Benjamin Franklin Terry in August 1861. Though lesser known than The Texas Brigade, famous for their actions during the Battle of Gettysburg, the "Terry Rangers" distinguished themselves at several battles during the Civil War. In four years Terry's Texas Rangers fought in some 275 engagements in seven states. The unit earned a reputation that ranked it among the most effective mounted regiments in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. 

 The Confederate Soldiers.  On the monument, there are a list of all the states and dates in which they seceded from the Union. Arkansas seceded May 6, 1861.

The 10 commandments displayed on the capital grounds.  It was first deemed

 unconstitutional for them to be displayed on the grounds, but in late June 2005, the

Court ruled that the display was not unconstitutional and could be displayed for all to 

see as the visit the capital.  

Just as we were leaving the capital grounds, we ran into another Flat Stanley.  

He said he was from Wisconsin.  That’s just a couple states over from 

Bear’s neck of the woods!

 We walked up and down a very popular street in Austin's Downtown area- South Congress Street, 
otherwise known as SoCo.  It was full of little shops, outdoor tents selling goods, restaurants, and
 funny looking people (as Stanley put it).

South Congress is the Street we’re walking down right now.

There’s a very popular wall art on South Congress in which a lot of people take 

their picture; especially those getting married.  This ‘graffiti’ has been here for years 

apparently, and no one paints over it because it is such a cool wall to take a picture.  

Hubby and I couldn’t resist and had to take advantage of the wall.  

Stanley volunteered to take the picture for us… J

There were so many shops and tents with people selling their goods, that we couldn’t 

get enough pictures to show the enormity of it all.  The tents behind Stanley were selling

jewelry.

We were getting pretty thirsty on our trek across Austin, so we stopped at a little snack 

bar.  Harley was allowed on the deck, so we ate outside.  It was so nice to have 

my Harley eating a snack with Cody, myself and Stanley.  Harley was even served 

water in his own bowl!  The Austin citizens really appreciate their animals. 

For dinner, we ate at a place called Homeslice Pizza. 

It was DELICIOUS! 

It was New York style, and very, very cheesey…

Afterward we had some of Austin’s famous 

Amy’s Ice cream.  Also very delectable.

 

 This is a statue of a bat.  Yes, a bat. The Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge 

in downtown Austin is the spring and summer home to some 750,000 bats with up to 

1.5 million bats at the peak of the bat-watching season. It's the largest urban bat colony

 in North America. It was too dark for us to see the bats, so we didn’t get any pictures 

of them flying.

We had an amazing time with Stanley while he visited Texas.  

We hope to run into him again on his travels across the world.  

Thank you all for this opportunity for us to be his host family.  

Bear should receive some trinkets along with Stanley from his adventures in Texas.  

We sure will miss him.  Thanks again and have a wonderful rest of the year.

         

Love Always,

Cody, Jordana, and Harley.