Have any of you received one of the Flat Stanley-type dolls from a child you know? Here's the first of three Flat Stanley projects I did for my two nephews and my neice.

1. MY TRIP TO
AUNTIE SARAH’S
HOUSE
November, 2004
by
Flat Hayden

2. DAY 1
Auntie Sarah’s House
Alexandria, Virginia
(thumbs up)

3. Dear Hayden,
I arrived at your Auntie Sarah’s
house just fine. She is sooooo
nice. She’s a busy lady, so I asked
if I could write this letter describing
our adventures instead of her. I
think it will be more personal that
way. Plus, I can tell you what I
really think!!
As soon as I arrived she let me
relax on the couch and watch TV. I
I think she’s a bit of a health nut
because she only had grapes and
diet root beer. That’s okay.

4. DAY 2
Errands
Alexandria, Virginia
(thumbs down)

5. Dear Hayden,
Auntie Sarah took me with her on
errands today. We did a lot of the
same things that you do at home.
We went to the grocery store and
the Target. This is a picture of me
in her car with the seat belt on.
p.s. How come you didn’t send me
any extra clothes?

6. DAY 7
Orioles baseball game
Baltimore, Maryland
(thumbs up)

7. Dear Hayden,
Today I had MUCH more fun with
Auntie Sarah than I did the other
day running errands.
We went to a Baltimore Oriole’s
baseball game. It was COOL. I
even got to eat barbecue
sandwiches and baked beans and
drink root beer.
While I was there, the
BEST thing happened…

8. . . . Your Auntie Sarah CAUGHT a
baseball. It was awesome. She
had to fight the guy next to her, but
when he saw the fire in her eyes,
he decided to let go of the ball. I
think she’s going to send the
baseball home as a present for
you.
p.s. The ball was hit by Johnny
Damon, the famous Boston Red
Sox player…

9. DAY 15
Airplane ride to
Palm Springs, California
(thumbs down)

10. Dear Hayden,
Today, Auntie Sarah and I took a
plane ride to California. My tummy
felt a little queasy on the airplane,
so I kept the barf bag close by…
just in case.
They don’t serve food on
airplanes anymore, so I drank
soda water and ate pretzels.
Auntie Sarah didn’t have to pay
for an airplane ticket for me
because I was able to fit in the
pocket in front of her seat. Cool,
eh? She’s very thrifty, I think.

11. DAY 15 (Later that
day)
Relaxing at the Resort
La Quinta, California
(thumbs up)

12. This resort is AWESOME. It’s
more awesome now that Auntie
Sarah’s room was upgraded. She
had BUGS in her bed. It was
gross, but the hotel staff happily
put her in a beautiful new room.
These pictures show me in the
cactus garden riding a terracotta
mule and sitting on the steps
leading to Auntie Sarah’s suite.
This place is GREAT!

13. Here I am at one of the 42 pools
In the resort. I lounged most of
day with Auntie Sarah beside the
pool. She read books and chatted
with the other nice ladies.
I spent quite a bit of time on the
inner tube. By the way, I REALLY
need to have some color on my
backside!!
P.S. I also need some swim
trunks!

14. Here are more pictures of me. I
met some cute little girls who
wanted to take a picture with me.
mm MM mm.
Those cactuses are really prickly.
Auntie Sarah thought it would be a
cute picture, so I didn’t mind. (I
think she may be going a little
overboard with this project, don’t
you?? OH well, I’m having a great
time, anyway.

15. . . . More cactus pictures.
OUCH!!

16. Here’s a picture of me in bed. It
was HUGE bed for such a little
guy like me. Auntie Sarah let me
stay up VERY late. Like I said, she
is SOOOO cool!!
You are very lucky!

17. This is a picture of a roadrunner. I
was surprised that it didn’t look
ANYTHING like the cartoon.
The mountains are beautiful, don’t
you think?

18. DAY 21
The National Zoo
Washington, DC
(thumbs up)

19. Today was great! We went to the
zoo with some of Auntie Sarah’s
friends. The elephants were my
favorite.

20. . . . More pictures of me at the zoo!
The camel was neat.
The turtle was just okay.
But then, Auntie Sarah laid me
down on the ground and a
caterpillar crawled on my face.
If you look carefully, you can still
see the caterpillar juice. It doesn’t
seem to wash off.

21. DAY 26
Redskins Game
Washington, DC
(thumbs up)
GO !!!
IN S
SK

22. We had a great time, here, too.
We ate hamburgers and chips and
yelled and sang and did the wave.
Sadly, they lost.
The big guy in the red shirt was
Auntie Sarah’s date to the game.
(JUST KIDDING!!)

23. DAY 29
Sightseeing
Washington, DC
(thumbs up)

24. Auntie Sarah taught me a LOT
about Washington, DC.
This is the Jefferson Memorial.
Thomas Jefferson was our 3rd
president (after Washington, and
Adams). He was a brilliant man –
an inventor, writer of the
Declaration of Independence,
founder of the University of
Virginia, architect. . .
(She can talk for hours about this
stuff…. *sigh*)

25. Here is the Washington
Monument.
It is 555 feet, 5 and 1/8th inches
tall. When it was first opened to
the public in 1888, it had a steam
elevator, and only the men were
allowed to take it. The women
were forced to walk the 898 steps
to the top. They said it was “much
too dangerous” for ladies.
Women are strong. I don’t think
they cared.

26. These are all Smithsonian
museums. The picture in the right-
hand corner is of the National
Museum of the Native American. It
just opened a month or two ago.
Hayden, the next time you come
visit Auntie Sarah, you HAVE to go
there.

27. Here is the Department of
Education. It wasn’t much to look
at, but I thought your teacher might
like it.

28. . . . And of course, the Capitol.
It’s an AMAZING building. It was
finished in 1800. As you look at the
picture, the left side of the dome is
where the Senate meets, and the
right side of the dome is where the
House of Representatives meet.
There are 435 members in the
House and 100 members in the
Senate.
You WILL be tested. *wink*

29. . . . I made Auntie Sarah take
pictures of a bunch of statues. I
thought they were cool.
The one on the bottom is of
President Grant. (I THINK he was
ambidextrous. –Do you know what
that means??)

30. . . . More cool statues.
Can you find me?

31. This is the Supreme Court
building. It’s the highest court in
the land.
Quiz question:
Who was the only President to
also be a Supreme Court Justice.
Hint: He was also the fattest
President of the United States.

32. Library of Congress – It’s HUGE!
In fact, I believe it’s the
largest library in
the WORLD!

33. . . . Auntie Sarah had to stick the
camera out the sunroof of her car
to get this picture of the White
House.
Yep, that’s where President Bush
and his wife live.
Question: Who was the only
President NOT to live in the White
House?
Hint: He had false teeth.

34. DAY 15
Auntie Sarah’s Office
Washington, DC
(thumbs down)

35. Auntie Sarah made me come to
work with her this weekend.
BORING!!

36. DAY 35
Auntie Sarah’s Boss’
office
Washington, DC
(thumbs up)

37. While Auntie Sarah worked, I
played a little in her boss’ office.
He has a VERY comfortable chair.
It hardly seems fair that he won’t
buy such a nice chair for Auntie
Sarah! She works SOOO hard!!
Bottom right is a picture of THE
BOSS!

38. Here we are at the end of our day
in Washington.
I was POOPED after having seen
so much.

39. *sniff sniff sniff*
I miss you, Hayden; and I miss
Riley and Tyler Anne, too.
I had a great time with Auntie
Sarah but now I think it is time to
come home.
I’ll see you at Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
Flat Hayden