FLAT CALEB ARRIVES SAFELY IN AUSTRALIA

Flat Caleb has arrived safely in Australia. We received this email from his host today:

Flat Caleb arrived in my letterbox this afternoon! Perfect timing, actually as my kids have just started their school holidays this week, so we can spend plenty of fun time having adventures with him. :)

Sharon

FLAT ELI ARRIVES SAFELY IN IDAHO

Flat Eli has arrived safely in Idaho. We received this email from his host today:

Flat Eli arrived safe and sound at his destination in Sandpoint, Idaho. He is looking forward to many exciting adventures with us! We plan to take him to:

-local destinations in North Idaho, such as The Schweitzer Mountain Ski Resort Area, our local city "beach" on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille (pronounced Ponderay), and the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge in Bonners Ferry.

-a 3 day 2 nite stop to Yellowstone National Park- to see sights such as Old Faithful, the famous Paint Pots, and some national park lodges. Also, he will spend the night at the C'Mon Inn in Bozeman, Montana, a city featured in many movies, including "A River Runs Through It."

-Lastly, he will travel to Glacier National Park, which is in northwest Montana, bordering Canada. Here we will drive along the "Going to the Sun Road" and see many beautiful mountains and glaciers. We will drive into the Canadian side of the park, called Waterton Lakes National Park, before safely arrriving back in Idaho.

We are certain that Flat Eli will love the Inland Northwest, and we hope you will, too.

Many smiles,

Shannon

THE FLAT BOY ADVENTURES BEGIN!

After a short delay, Flat Caleb and Flat Eli were mailed today to their first destinations away from home to begin their adventures. Flat Caleb has gone to Australia, and Flat Eli has gone to Idaho.

Here are the instructions included in Flat Caleb's notebook:

Thank you so much for hosting Flat Caleb. We hope you have a lot of fun with him and cannot wait to hear about your adventures.

Flat Caleb is ten and a half inches tall, five inches wide, and one quarter inch thick. He was created to be like Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley is a book by Jeff Brown about a boy who is flattened by a bulletin board falling on top of him. He has many adventures as a flat boy including being mailed to California to visit a friend, sliding under doors, and flying high as a kite. We decided to create a Flat Caleb who could be mailed to family and friends so that we can learn more about other people and places around the world.

Here are some guidelines for your visit with Flat Caleb:

1. Please email when Flat Caleb arrives and when he departs.

2. If he gets lost or damaged, please email for a new Flat Caleb.

3. Please write in the notebook before sending Flat Caleb back home. The following are things we would love to learn more about:

A. Your location and its history
B. Your weather
C. Interesting places to visit
D. Nature and native wildlife
E. A day in your life
F. Fun traditions
G. Hobbies you enjoy

4. Take pictures of your adventures with Flat Caleb. Please take at least one picture of Flat Caleb with you as we would like to see each host. These pictures can be included when you return Flat Caleb and his notebook or can be emailed.

5. If you like, you can include things like leaves, local coins and stamps, brochures, etc. when you return Flat Caleb and his notebook.

You can follow Flat Caleb’s travels at our blog, Flat Boy Adventures.

We are grateful that you have decided to host Flat Caleb. Have fun!

A similar set of instructions was included in Flat Eli's notebook.

The boys and I are excited about learning more about both places and seeing what adventures both flat boys go on.

ADVENTURES AT HOME - BOWLING

Today was our first bowling day of the summer. Our local alley has a summer special where kids bowl free and games are $1 for adults. It is a cheap morning full of lots of fun. We plan to do this weekly with our homeschool group. We brought Flat Caleb and Flat Eli along for the fun.

ADVENTURES AT HOME - FORT

This afternoon, the boys decided to make a fort out of pillows on our bed. They sat in there contentedly watching Monsters, Inc. Flat Caleb and Flat Eli had to get in on the fun, too, of course!

ADVENTURES AT HOME - MUFFINS

We decided that the Flat Boys ought to have a few adventures at home here in Sanford, Florida, before we shipped them off. Today, Flat Eli helped Eli and Mommy make blueberry muffins. We make blueberry muffins at least once a week around here as they are a huge favorite. Eli loves helping Mommy and insists on sitting on the counter every time she cooks. We think we have a future chef on our hands.

OUR RECIPE

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar (regular or organic)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
sugar for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Defrost the blueberries if using frozen ones. I keep them on hand year round. Mix the dry ingredients (first five listed above) together. Add wet ingredients except for the blueberries, and mix well. If using frozen blueberries, drain, rinse, and dry off blueberries before putting them into the batter. Mix in blueberries. Pour into muffin tins and top with sprinkled sugar (optional). Cook for twenty minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Mixing the muffin batter together

Flat Eli and the yummy finished products

TAKING PICTURES

Before we could send out Flat Caleb and Flat Eli, we needed to take some pictures. Here are the two chosen to be turned into Flat Boys:

We then made sample Flat Boys printed on cardstock that we laminated. It was good that we laminated the originals as we discovered that camera flashes caused glare on the pictures. The ones made to be sent out will be printed on cardstock and then glued to thin cardboard for sturdiness.