April 4, 2011

Hi Cayden!

We were very excited to see Flat Stanley finally arrive in Central NY! I think he had a fun and interesting adventure with us!

Our first day together we took Stanley truck shopping with us. We were uncertain if we wanted the Pearl Blue or the Cherry Red, so we let him pick! I think he did well… Red’s my favorite color in a truck. Way to go Stan!

From there, in an effort to celebrate his visit, and make him feel welcomed, we took Stanley to Red Lobster for Dinner. He really enjoyed the Snow Crab legs, but totally pigged out on the Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I mean everyone loves their biscuits, but he was a little out of control (people where starting to stare!)

On Saturday Stanley went with me to my horse back riding lesson. When I was done riding, we found a helmet that would fit him and he rode my World Champion horse, Fox! He enjoyed his ride so much that he asked to get back on after my daughter Ellie’s turn. At that point we were outside and he had already put his helmet away, so we just walked for a moment… after all, there are chores to be done!

I showed Stanley the proper way to clean out a horse stall. He used Ellie’s smaller pitch fork, which turned out to be just his size. He cleaned Fox’s stall while I cleaned my other horse Spencer’s stall. Then he helped me dump our manure buckets into the spreader.

While I was sweeping the barn aisle way, the owner of the stable asked for some help. Since I was busy, Stan offered to lend a hand. (Of course if I had known what she was going to ask him to do I would have stopped them!) Before I knew it, Stanley was pulling a 40 foot horse trailer around the stable parking lot for her and helping her load for the big horse show in Virginia this week! She didn’t know he didn’t have a drivers license, and I was totally jealous… I wanted to drive the big rig L

That evening Stanley enjoyed some NY style hot wings and the famous Laurey’s pizza with us, then chilled out with a movie, however he passed out asleep only a few minutes in. I don’t know if it was all the excitement from his day, or jet lag, but I carried him to his bed and tucked him in for the night.

Sunday was Horse Show Day! We got to the Stable at 6:45 am and I must say, he’s quite a nice guy that early in the morning! Stanley waited patiently for me while I warmed up, and then enjoyed the horse show from the side lines with the rest of the spectators.

All in all, I’d say Stanley had a wonderful time and a great adventure! I told him next time he comes we’ll have to head to the High Peeks and do some hiking in the ADK (that’s short for the Adirondack Mountains) it’s beautiful up here! Maybe he should visit in the fall when the leaves are changing, or the Winter so he can learn to ski! Maybe Cayden, you and your family can join him!

Thanks for sending Stanley out to see us, we just loved him and he brought a smile to everyone’s face! We heard many stories from others as well about their own Flat Stanley adventures!

Sincerely,
Michelle