Hello Giraffe!

We flew from the Island of Oahu to San Diego, California, which took almost 6 hours! Our cars and everything in our house were put on large ships, which took 5 weeks to get to our new home. Stanley had a wonderful trip and enjoyed the ride. Stanley has asked me to add a picture of him on a surfboard before he left Hawaii. He then lived on the beach in Oceanside, California which is about 30 miles from San Diego. He could see the Oceanside Pier and watch the surfers from his balcony. Here are some pictures of him on the balcony. Stanley is now in Afghanistan with Nathan and he asked me to tell you "As-Salamu Alaykum"which one of the ways they say "hello" there. He will be posting about it and sending more pictures very soon!! We hope you had a great Valentines Day and got lots of Valentines from your friends!

Love,

Dave, Kelly & Stanley

Jackrabbit's Flat Stanley in the Jordanian Desert

Jackrabbit's Flat Stanley returned from India and set off for the country of Jordan in the Middle East! Jordan is a country that borders Iraq, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Despite being mostly desert in the central and eastern portions, many fruits, like apples, dates and pomegranates, grow in the north. Aqaba is a beautiful port city in the south on the Red Sea where you can snorkel!

Wadi Rum Desert

Flat Stanley in the desert of Wadi Rum

(It's colder than it looks!)

Our Bedouin guide in Wadi Rum. Bedouins are nomadic desert people which means they live in tents and move around. Flat Stanley slept in a tent in the desert!

Looking through the Siq at Petra. A great walk if you're not claustrophobic! The building up ahead is the Treasury (where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail).

Flat Stanley went to the ancient city of Petra. Petra means "rock" and all the buildings have been carved into the desert sandstone.

Chatting with the locals in Petra.

Can you see the camel? He's "camel-flauged."

Bedouin guides at Little Petra.

Flat Stanley goes to MEXICO!

Hello again Cow! Flat Stanley and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. My best friend got married down there over the weekend and Flat Stanley and I had such a FUN time! We wanted to go para-sailing, which where they take you on a boat and harness you up to a kite so you're up in the sky overlooking the ocean, but the weather was just too windy for that. Flat Stanley had just loved playing on the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean though! Here are a few pictures. Hope you're all staying warm back in South Dakota! :)

Ant's Flat Stanley visits Rome

Hi Ant and everyone! Recently Stanley accompanied our family when we visited Rome for a day to do some sight-seeing. Rome is a very old city and was founded in 753 B.C. It is also the capital city of Italy. Rome is a fun place to visit because there is so much history that happened there and there is so much to see.


The first picture is taken from the top of the Spanish stairs. You can see the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the distance.


Left: This photo is taken at the bottom of the Spanish stairs. The building at the top of the stairs is a church.















Below: Stanley spotted these Roman gladiators and insisted that we get a picture.



















Left: The world famous Trevi Fountain! There is a legend that says whoever drinks the water or throws a coin in the Trevi Fountain will assure his return to Rome. (So of course Stanley threw a coin in the fountain!)









Below: Stanley enjoyed viewing the interior of the Pantheon. It is said to be the best preserved ancient building in Rome. It was originallybuilt as a pagan temple but became a Christian church in 609. Catholic services are still held here today.
















Stanley loved his visit to Rome as you can tell from this last picture.

Flat Stanley is enjoying his visit here and says he could really get used to the Mediterranean climate, however there's no place like home and he looks forward to getting back to Castlewood and Ant. He's just going to wait until there is a little less snow!!! In the meantime we will keep you posted on his further adventures! Take care and stay warm.

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!