Stanley Visits Berea Berea Beloved, Kentucky!

Stanley was invited by a long time friend Ms. Renee' to visit her around Christmastime in my old college town, Berea KY! He had a wonderful time and made a lot of new friends. 

Stanley visits Renee's office - working hard

 Next stop: the animal shelter! There he makes some new K-9 friends

 Stanley also visited the cats -  high five, Stanley!

Back at Ms. Renee's house, Stanley enjoys the Todds' Christmas tree - 

he likes it under (and in) the lights!

Stanley loves his new friend Lilly at the Todds' house

 Lastly, Stanley enjoyed a visit to Renee's church, Berea Baptist. 

(It was my church in college!) 

Thanks Ms. Renee' for the wonderful pictures and memories! 

Merry Christmas!

Sally is cast in a Christmas play!

Flat Sally was invited to play a small acting role! Our friend and newly retired drama professor Ivy Warinner is directing a play adaptation of "A Christmas Story," performed by the Shelby County Community Theater in Shelbyville, KY.

Mr. Ivy thought that Sally would enjoy playing the highly coveted role of a Christmas ornament during the play! She had to beat out a lot of other talent to get the role, but she remains as humble as ever. Here she is being put on the tree by one of the lead actors, Ralphie himself!

Great job, Sally! Don't shoot your eye out!

Stanley visits Lakewood Elementary!

Stanley had a blast last week with Mrs. Suzanne's sweet first grade class at Lakewood Elementary in Stephensburg, KY. (That's the town where I grew up!)

Hello, class! Can you find Stanley?

Flat Stanley had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful classroom and making lots of great friends. All of the kids were so friendly and welcoming!  He also got to meet another boy in the class who had the same name as himself: Stanley!

Flat Stanley loved every one of the kids in Mrs. Suzanne's class, and he made an extra special friend in his buddy/twin Stanley.

Thanks again, Mrs. Suzanne's class, for showing Flat Stanley such a good time!

Stanley's Old Kentucky Home!

My old college buddy and freshman dorm mate Kristy Boggs offered to show Stanley around the beautiful Bluegrass state!

Kentucky Fun Facts:
(brought to you by G-bug and Truth)
15th State
Nickname: The Bluegrass State
Capitol: Frankfort
State Bird: Cardinal
State Flower: Goldenrod
State Animal: Grey Squirrel
Motto: United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Kristy showed Stanley around her town, Lexington Kentucky - they checked out the Smucker and JIF factories there (peanut butter-and-jelly is G-Bug's favorite sandwich, so this was a big deal).

She also made sure to take Stanley to Rupp Arena, home of the Kentucky Wildcats! GO CATS!

Stanley also got to visit the state capitol, Frankfort Kentucky. He tried to meet Governor Beshear, but - alas - he wasn't home.

He did get to see Daniel Boone's gravesite, though - we are looking forward to learning more about him later this year.

Stanley also got to enjoy some of the most delicious eateries in Lexington - yum!

Thanks so much, Kristy! And stay tuned, y'all!

Stanley's Tour of Indiana, our Home State!

We kicked off our first day of school by giving Flat Stanley a tour of our hometown, which sits on the border of Louisville, KY and southern Indiana. Since Manly was between trips, he joined us too.

Indiana Fun Facts:
(brought to you by G-bug and Truth)
19th State
Nickname: The Hoosier State
Capitol: Indianapolis
State Bird: Cardinal
State Flower: Peony
State Pie: Sugar Cream
Famous Person: Johnny Appleseed
Famous Attraction: Indy 500

The kids picked a few of their favorite places to go, including our local Kroger store (Truth's choice), and our local public library to visit Ms. Lori (G-Bug's choice).

 We also learned that our town was named after Thomas Jefferson, who originally helped to plan out our town's layout - who knew?

Next, we met our friends the Ashbys who live across the river in Louisville, Kentucky on the Walking Bridge - a newly constructed walkway that stretches across the Ohio River and joins our two towns.

Ethan took us over to one of his favorite places in his city, the Louisville Slugger Museum! Outside, the largest bat in the world sits propped on the side of the building.

 

We also passed the Yum Center on the way back over the river to.... Schimpff's Confectionary! The Schimpffs have been making candy for almost 124 years, and they still make and sell handmade candies and chocolates to the community.

After a fun adventure over the river and back, it was time to say goodbye to our friends and head home.

We said goodbye to Stanley again, put him in a stamped envelope, and sent him on his trip across the 50 States! Stay tuned for more Flat Stanley adventures!