Thanksgiving...

Family time.

Missin' Satumas!

It is that time of year again in Louisiana - but we are in Oklahoma!  No matter how much you love the place you are, there are sweet memories of places left behind.  I am sharing one of those Louisiana memories today.

Most people love going to the pumpkin patch when fall comes.  We love that too, but we also love going to the satsuma farm!  Satsumas are a small, very sweet, juicy orange that ripens after the first frost in Louisiana.  I am not sure what kind of orange they are, but they remind me of a mandarin orange only not as sweet. 

Every year, Steph, Raelee and I would pile in the vehicle and go satsuma picking.  We have gone with friends, met friends there, gone on a girls day out, taken Girl Scout troops.. it is a yearly tradition - one that I am missing dearly this year!  


Here are a few pics from the last time I went to the orange patch...

 

 

I am missin' those days - and the satsumas!

Flat Stanley Dives in Guam!

Hi Class!

Flat (Aedan) Stanley checking in from the little island country of Guam.  :-) 

After a day trip across the ocean, I arrived in Guam on October 27th just in the nick of time!  In fact, Ron and Jeff were on their way to dive and picked me up at the post office!  Thank goodness I made it before they went out for the day – the told me we were on the way to  Gab Gab Beach to Scuba Dive!

I had to read the diving manuals then the guys taught me everything they know about diving in Guam – which was a lot.  I tried hanging out in a Ziploc dive tube, but it made my view of the underground world blurry, so we ditched it in a hurry.  Don’t worry, Ron and Jeff took extra special care of me. They made sure I had everything I needed to survive my deep sea adventure.  We investigated all the nooks critters could hide and found a few treasures too!

WHOA!!  Are there some great salt water critters in the ocean!  I met Sponge, Octopus, Nemo, Starfish, Yellowfish, BIG Fish, Little Fish, Coral, Clams, and - well, just take a look at the pictures!  I had a terrific time!  The guys even kept those fish from swallowing me whole!  Some of them were HUGE!  They showed me how to sneak in some tiny places to see the eel in them, how to stand (gently) in the coral, and how to feed the fish hot dogs.  Did you know fish like hot dogs?  Did you see the pictures??  

Well, I have to fly – I am going to Singapore next!  It is another tiny island on the very southern tip of Malaysia – but it is not a part of Malaysia, it is a tiny country all on its own!  Aedan’s granny and papa used to live in Singapore and her friend, Miss Andrea, and her daughter, Anna, are going to show me around the island.  Granny has told me all about it.  She was sure to tell me not to take gum into Singapore because it is illegal to chew gum there!  It is supposed to be a very clean and beautiful place to visit.  Granny said loved living on that island!  She also told me it is very close to the equator and that 365 days a year it is very steamy and HOT!  Singapore has a tropical rain forest on it.  I cannot wait to see how beautiful it is!

  

Oh, and one more thing:  GUESS WHAT???  We have dinner reservations at The Red Piano in Siem Reap, Cambodia for a really non traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day!!  I can’t wait to see what that is all about!  Save me some turkey, please?

What an adventure I am having!  Thank you so much for sending on this world wide tour!!

Sincerely,

Flat (Aedan) Stanley

Fall, Fall Colors!

Colors of fall - if you have never seen them, they take your breath away!  

Just a few fabulous Friday pics:

Flat Stanley Goes to the Rodeo!

Our grandson, Aedan, sent us a Flat Stanley to send around the world... we started right here in Oklahoma.  I am going to share his travels so Aedan and his family can keep up with him.  Hope you all don't mind!

A big “Howdy” to Aedan and to all his classmates!

I arrived safely in Oklahoma!  I am staying on a farm - far, far from any grocery stores.  Wal-Mart is even 30 miles away!  It is beautiful here, there are lots of rolling hills and a big pond.  We have 10 horses staying with us - they are the nayyyy-bors horses and they are BIG – HUGE in fact!  Granny told me I had to stay away from their hooves because they could step on me and squish me flat.  Get it?  Flat!  I am already Flat! 

When I arrived, I was so glad to be taken out of the envelope.  I was looking forward to stretching out for a day or two, but found out we had immediate plans to go to the Ozark Mule Races in Pea Ridge, Arkansas!  I could not believe it!  After being 'Flat' in an envelope, I was going to ride a MULE!  Not a horse, but a MULE!

Boy did we ride!  The young lady I was honored to ride with was named Chandler.  We ran around barrels, grabbed flags and moved them and jumped poles.  We rode every event there and won them all!  Yes, we won two first place blue ribbons and won 2 second place ribbons!  Then we won Youth High Point which is a very high honor, and we WON it!  It was crazy fast I tell ya, and we went round and round and over barrels and round again.  I was so dizzy that I could barely stand!  But then we collected $650!!!  That made me feel much better – of course, then I got dizzy with excitement!

Today I leave to go on a new adventure.  I am going to Scuba Dive!  I am a great swimmer, so that will be fun!  Does anyone have some scuba gear I can borrow?  I need flat gear -  really flat!  I hear that I have a lot of fun adventures ahead.  I will be busy the rest of the year.  Granny lived in Asia and she has lots of friends far and wide.  We are going to see how many places I can explore in the next few months.  Can you guess how many countries I might see?

I have to hop in the mailbox now.  I have my passport and am ready for a long ride across the ocean.  I will be looking for the island named Guam with a handsome Navy officer and is wife who is waiting just for me. 

YEEE HAWWWW!

Love,

Flat Aedan Stanley