Bull's Flat Stanley Adventures in MN

Happy New Year!! Bull's Flat Stanley has been having several adventures since our last post. On December 17th he attended Uncle Tom's retirement party. He got to see a big maximum security prison and visit with Tom's co-workers who came to wish him well. Here is a picture of the cake, which is all about sunshine and the ocean which Uncle Tom just loves.

On Christmas Eve we went to Coon Rapids, MN to spend a fun evening with the family, enjoying dinner and opening our presents. Now it's the new year and I made yet another fun trip.

On Saturday, January 15th we went to the St. Paul Como Park Conservatory, which is a beautiful building that houses all sorts of tropical plants, trees and flowers. I was able to pose at several areas with educational signs...the picture on the left shows rope that is made out of the hemp plant.

The picture on the right is asking you to find different shapes of palm fronds.

Flat Stanley's favorite part of the tour was the Holiday Flower Show which is in a wing of the conservatory where people can even have their wedding pictures taken. He loved the red poinsetta's the best and was showing them off to Great Grandma. Coy fish swim in the pool of water and every season the flower show is different in this area.

After the trip through the conservatory we went to lunch at a local St. Paul restaurant called Key's, which has been around for a very long time and very well known. The place was packed and everyone laughed when I sat on the table!!

Look for my next big adventure coming up in February when I will be taking a road trip to Texas. I am very excited to go and will have lots of stories and pictures to share with you when I get back.

Great Grandma Fran, and Uncle Tom send their love...as do I.

Aunt Jan

Hi Giraffe!

Happy New Year Giraffe!!

Stanley has been so busy moving to a new state! He moved across an entire ocean from Hawaii to California. He had a wonderful and exciting Christmas at his new home on the beach in Oceanside. He was so happy to see the picture of you from your class Christmas program! He will be sending some pictures of him and his surf board in Hawaii and a few of his new home very soon! He is excited for his upcoming adventure with Nathan to Afghanistan. Stanley said he wants to learn all about the Army since he has learned so much spending the last 2 months with Marines! We miss you very much and hope to see you soon!

Love,

Dave, Kelly & Stanley

Stanley visits Christmas Alley in Naples

Hi Ant and everyone. I want to update you on one of the latest adventures that Flat Stanley has had in Italy. Stanley joined us as we traveled to downtown Naples by city bus and walked to a narrow street nicknamed Christmas Alley. Christmas Alley is famous for its shops that make, display, and sell precepi. A presepe is a representation of an old village with a Nativity scene. It is not uncommon to find various figures who were not part of the original Nativity scene as part of the displays. (A pizzaiolo, a butcher, or a fish monger might be placed nearby.) The tradition of the presepe has been in Italy for centuries and is often more significant to Neopolitans than the Christmas tree.


Here you can see Stanley in a precepe display that doesn't have any other figures yet.

On our way to Christmas Alley we walked by some fresh fish vendors on the streets. Stanley and two of my sons had to stop and take a look. They were most interested in the live eels that were swimming around.

In the picture above you can see just how narrow some of the streets are in the old sections of Naples. Many people have motorcyles for transportation so they can travel these narrow streets quickly.

This is an example of a figure that one might purchase to add to a precepe. The pizzaiolo is significant because pizza was first made in Naples, Italy!

Below is Stanley posing near a traditional precepe display.

We hope your new year is off to a great start! Take care and we will check in with you again soon. Ciao!