Flat Party

Today was my last day in Ottawa before I mail myself home so my host family threw me a big flat party.

My Uncle and Aunt, Flat Stuart and Flat Sue, were there with my baby cousin Flat Adam. My brother, Flat Cameron, even faxed himself in from Moncton just for the party!


We wore flat hats and ate flat pizzas with flat Ginger Ale. It was flat out fun!

National War Memorial

On my last trip downtown before I mail myself home, I saw the National War Memorial.

The National War Memorial is a monument to the people who fought for Canada in all of the wars. It is really big. At the foot of the statue is a tomb which represents all the people who died in wars but whose bodies were never found. It is called the tomb of the unknown soldier. Here is a picture of me on the tomb.

It is very important that we remember the soldiers who fought and treat their memorial with respect.

Physical Activity Challenge

Since May 1st my host family has been participating in the Ottawa Physical Activity Challenge. During the month of May, if you are active for 30 minutes each day you can colour in a tulip. Have a look at my tulips! I haven't missed too many days.



I wonder if the City of Moncton has a Physical Activity Challenge?

Playing Ultimate Frisbee

Today I discovered the sport of Ultimate Frisbee.

My host family took me along to a game and I had so much fun. Ultimate Frisbee is a fun sport with lots of running where you try to catch a frisbee in end zones like football. Touchdown Patriots!

Cottage Country

Today, I slipped inside a car door that was left open a crack and waited until the car stopped. When it stopped, I looked out and we were at a cottage.

We went swimming and canoeing and had a grand time lying in the sun. Then in the afternoon, it was time to go home. We closed the gate.

Then we put the canoe back on the car.

I was so tired I fell asleep on the way home.

What a fun day!

This morning we had french toast for breakfast. What a great way to start the day!



Then I went to visit Suzie, the hairdresser.



Here I am getting my hair washed.



And here is the finished product. I asked Suzie for pink highlights! Can you see them?

Camping in Gatineau Park

Today's adventure was camping in Gatineau Park which is really close to Ottawa. We had a fantastic time swimming, canoeing, roasting marshmellows and sleeping in a tent.

Here I am helping to set up the tent.

This is the campsite.


It was hard work though. I'm hoping my next adventure will be more relaxing!

Laura Secord

On today's adventure, I discovered there are tons of statues of important Canadians in downtown Ottawa. One of the statues is of Laura Secord. She was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. Why you ask? She warned the British of an American attack. The warning helped them win an important battle.

Here is a photo of Laura and me.



To this day she also makes very yummy chocolates!

Inside the Chateau

Once inside the Chateau Laurier, I was greeted by a grand tea-room. Sleeping Beauty wasn't anywhere to be seen.

I found a staircase and went to the next floor where I saw a grand dining room. Sleeping Beauty wasn't here either.

Then I found another staircase and went to the next floor where I stepped inside a room. It was spectacular -- just as I had imagined...but no Sleeping Beauty.

Finally, I found another staircase and went to the top of the tallest tower and there was a door! Perhaps Sleeping Beauty was in here! On the door knob was a sign:

I couldn't disobey the sign so I left the door unopened and returned down the stairs, leaving the resting Beauty to her sleep.

Chateau Laurier

Today, I saw a castle in downtown Ottawa. It's really close to Parliament Hill. It's called the Chateau Laurier. Did you know the word "chateau" is castle in French. Here is a photo of it!



I wondered if Sleeping Beauty was in the tallest tower of the Chateau Laurier. Well, there was only one way to find out for sure. I decided to go inside the castle. The nice doorman even helped me inside.

Brian Murphy -- Moncton's Member of Parliament

Today I returned to Parliament Hill and guess who I met! Brian Murphy who is the Member of Parliament for Moncton. Here is a picture of me with him.


Every area of Canada chooses one person to represent them in Parliament. This person is called a Member of Parliament (or MP for short). The MP goes to Ottawa and makes laws and decisions about Canada.

Brian Murphy was born in Moncton and was elected to be Moncton's MP. He says he is a pretty good hockey player too.

That's all for Flat Lauren (or FL for short) today.

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill is set of buildings in Ottawa where the Government of Canada meets and members of parliament make laws. It is called Parliament Hill because it is on a hill above the Ottawa River.

There are three main buildings: the west block, the east block and the centre block. Here is a photo of me in front of the centre block.




The roof of each building is made of copper which turns green over time.

There are many statues around Parliament Hill including many former Prime Ministers. There is also a centennial flame that was lit when Canada turned 100 years old.

This is the centennial flame. I was very careful not to get too close.

Oh No! A Woolly Mammoth!

This morning when I went outside, everything was different. There were no buildings or roads. I had gone back in time! All of a sudden a woolly mammoth came along and nearly stepped on me!



Luckily, I was already flat so it wouldn't have mattered if he had stepped on me. I was so scared that I fell asleep and when I woke up, I had returned to 2010!

Woolly mammoths became extinct about 10,000 years ago. They were as big as elephants and had long tusks and thick fur because they lived where it was cold. They ate plants and sometimes stepped on flat people.

Terry Fox

During my adventure in downtown Ottawa today, I saw a statue of Terry Fox. Do you know who Terry Fox is and why he is a famous Canadian? If not, I can help you with the answer.

After losing his right leg at age 20 to cancer, Terry Fox decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He started in St. John's, Newfoundland and planned on running all the way to Vancouver, British Columbia. He ran 42 km a day. No one had ever done anything like it before.

His cancer returned and he was not able to finish his run. Every September a charity run is held in honour of Terry Fox.




Here I am at the foot of the Terry Fox statue.

I didn't have any adventures today so I took a look at my cousin Stanley Lambchop's Facebook page to see what he was up to (click on the photo for a bigger version):





He also wrote me a note: Hey Flat Lauren! Me and my family are in British Columbia, Canada, for some skiing and winter fun. But when my new friend Nick and I went snowboarding—with me as the snowboard, of course— we took a midair tumble just as the wind picked up. We had a wild adventure.

A Golden Opportunity

She shoots, she scores!!! Today, I met two gold medalists from Team Canada's Women's Hockey team: Kim St-Pierre and Hayley Wickenheiser. They are very nice people and I was so happy to meet them. I even got my picture taken with them.



Here is a photo of them in action. GO TEAM CANADA!

Oh No! A DINOSAUR!

This morning when I went outside, everything was different. There were no buildings or roads and all the trees were different too. I had gone back in time! All of a sudden a dinosaur came along and scooped me up to eat me!

I was right in his mouth!

"Help!" I cried but noone came to help me.

Then, just as the dinosaur was about to chew me up, he sneezed and I flew out of his mouth. I was so scared that I fell asleep and when I woke up, I had returned to 2010!

The dinosaur that nearly ate me was called "Chasmosaurus". Chasmosaurus looked like a huge rhinoceros. It was up to 26 feet long and weighed 3 and a half tonnes -- as much as two cars! It had three short horns on its face. Chasmosaurus hatched from eggs.

Chasmosaurus lived about 70 million years ago and ate plants and flat people.

Museum of Nature

Today, I toured around the Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The building has been under construction for several years and now is finally done. To celebrate, the museum is having a grand reopening on May 22nd. I will unfortunately miss the grand reopening as I will heading back to Moncton but it sure looks exciting!



Here is a photo of the outside of the museum. It sure does look like a castle. Wouldn't it be great to live here?




If I was here for the reopening, my first stop would be the Discovery Zone. It is full of fun things to see and play with.

Ottawa's Tulip Festival

When I read about Ottawa, I learned about the Tulip Festival held every spring. So today I went to find some tulips.


There are millions of tulips all over Ottawa. The festival began nearly 60 years ago as a celebration of the strong relationship between the Netherlands and Canada. The first tulips were given to Canada by the Netherlands to say thank-you for Canada's help in the second world war. Here is a map of the world with Canada and the Netherlands in red. Canada is the big country on the left. The Netherlands is a small country in the middle.



Here I am sitting on some tulips.



And here I am hiding in some other tulips. Can you find me?

Road Hockey & Pot Luck Party

With the Senators out of the play-offs, the next best option was to play road hockey myself!


Here are some of the people that played with me.


Afterwards, we went back to my host family's house for some great food!


What a fun day, full of adventure. I met new people and I can't wait for tomorrow's adventure. But now, it's time for bed.

The Ottawa Senators

Ottawa has a NHL team called the Senators. The Senators were in the first round of the playoff but they lost the series. It's too bad because I would have liked to go see them play at game while in Ottawa.

Joke Time!

I didn't have any adventures today so I thought I'd tell you a few of my favourite jokes:

What do you get if you drop a piano down a mine shaft?
A flat minor.

What did Flat Lauren say when she got a bad poker hand?
"I fold."

What did the Doctor say when Flat Stanley lost his arm?
"Don't worry, it's only a paper cut."

What did the nurse say when Flat Stanley lost his arm?
"That's a tear-able injury."

What did the police officer say when Flat Lauren slid down his back?
"You're under a vest!"

Why did Flat Lauren cut a hole in her new umbrella?
Because she wanted to be able to tell when it stopped raining.

I hope you enjoyed my jokes. I'll post again when I have a new adventure to talk about.

Hiking in the Woods

I found out that Ottawa has a large greenbelt area that has lots of trees and hiking trails so I decided to go for a hike in the woods to see what I could see. The blue triangles on the trees show you where the trail is.

I saw a beaver's home in the middle of a swamp. A beaver's home looks like a large pile of sticks and mud and it is called a lodge.



I saw a garter snake hiding in the sticks. It is coloured so that it blends in with the sticks to make it tough for its enemies to see.

Then I found a Wild Bird Rehabilitation Centre which is a hospital for birds. I went inside and saw lots of different birds. I even had a ride on a pheasant! It was a fun adventure.

Baking Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I decided that I should do some baking this evening. There will be tons of adventures in Ottawa and I want to make sure I have a few treats to take with me. Have a look !

Snow in Ottawa

I woke up this morning after a wonderful night's sleep to find white, fluffy snow on the ground. I couldn't believe it! I wasn't too worried as my host family told me it would be gone in a few hours. Here is a photo taken out the window. See that white stuff on the chairs?

What can I do in Ottawa?

Hey there, I've just arrived in Ottawa and I can't wait to get started on my adventures. I had better consult a map:

You can see a bigger version of the map by clicking on it. I see Ottawa, right in the middle of the map in the yellow province of Ontario. Can you find it?

I should also read to see what I can learn about Ottawa: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa