Hales Family Blog

April Showers

2011-08-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

April was one of the wetest on Ohio record. So, of course, our sump pump picked the wetest day, of the wetest month, of the wetest year to give up the ghost.

There was about 14" of water covering our entire basement. Brandon was the first one home and immediately went to work hauling it out in buckets.

But as fast as he and Brady could haul 5 gallon buckets up our stairs and out into the grass, the water was pouring in from the sump pump drain!

With the help of amazing friends in our ward--people from Ohio "deal" with this sort of thing, we obtained a HUGE pump and it was literally pumped out in about 25 min. The very next day, a wonderful ward member installed-not one, but TWO new pumps. One works without electricity because...well, you know.

Lexie's baptism!

2011-07-23T13:13:00.000-07:00

Even though Lexie turned 8 in January, she waited patiently for

Easter weekend to celebrate her birthday.

She wanted her whole family there when her dad baptized her.

Even though Grandparents couldn't make it for Lexie's special day, she was able to wear the same dress that Alyssa did for her baptism in 2000. It was custom made by Grandma Nancy.

The usual suspects were present for the big day.

No one told me to wear white! ;(

The after shot. Wearing her special new Easter dress, a sweater that was mine

when I was a girl, and a scarf purchased for her on the steps

of the Vatican. Isn't she beautiful?

After the baptism, Lexie and her friends adjourned to the cultural hall for...

gourmet cupcakes made by Alyssa and me. Yes, we are a bit too addicted to the Food Network.

But you gotta admit, they do look amazing!

It was really fun for Lexie to have her friends there to support her,

and give presents of course!

All in all, it was a pretty amazing day and she said it was TOTALLY worth the wait!

I love, love, love this picture.

Easter 2011

2011-07-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

This spring brought a lot of fun with decorating sugar cookies. We all got way into the act of decorating and eating. ;)

Easter brings our annual egg coloring madness.

Yes Alyssa, there is an Easter Bunny. I know, CRAZY huh?!

Brandon has a future as an egg artist.

My cute little pinata; I was looking forward to killing the chicken. Gary tried in vain to save him.

There is a reason that Lexie's basket is bigger than she is; that kid made a haul!

I am sooooo happy that my big kids still love the "little kid" holidays and all the activities that go with them. I hope our family never grows out of all the Easter trappings.

I do need to try to convince Brandon that we do not eat the Easter Eggs!

I think it took 2 hours to find all the eggs.

Some people get a little bored and decide that harrassing their mother seemed like more fun.

Brady is the "numbers guy". He makes sure that all the real and all the plastic eggs are found and that they are evenly divided.

In the end...the chicken got what was comin' to him. But, true to form, his dismembered little body is still in the trunk of Gary's car. Bwahahahah. ... . yea so we had a creepy little twist--it seems like it may become a new tradition. ;)

Brady goes out for Track!

2011-07-18T18:09:00.000-07:00

Brady decided to go out for 8th grade track this year.

He never missed a practice nor a meet.

He got really got at throwing the shot put.

But said he only did it to get in shape

for football.

Lexie gets braces!

2011-07-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

January 19 was Lexie's 8th birthday. She celebrated 3 days later by getting her braces on!

She was really looking forward to finally getting her teeth straightened and having "tooth bling"!

The before shot. She has a complete underbite
and her bottom teeth are hurting her top teeth.

Gotta love the goo! Try not to gag.

She was a total trooper about all the huge stuff they put in her tiny little mouth. Band colors? Blue and White.

The Worst Part of Christmas!

2011-07-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

After having her home for almost a month, the worst part of Christmas break was when we had to say goodbye to Alyssa. ;(

Putting Brandon Hales in charge of the goodbye photos makes for some silly shots.

Group Hug! Peace signs included!

Camera Ham!

Gary is looking a bit rough from all the merriment!

I love her enough to share the last of Amani Snyder's AMAZING little biscuits that she shared for the New Year's Eve party. They are tasty and it took a lot of willpower for me to share. True love baby!

Happy New Year Bowling Green!

2011-07-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year 2011! We are so lucky to have friends here in Bowling Green who happily came and played with us on New Year's Eve.

We played cards, and the wii, and ate lots of yummy food!

It was one of the funnest parties I have ever had and I was so grateful to be surrounded by such fun and kind people.

Christmas 2010

2011-07-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

We spent our Christmas eve decorating our perrenial sugar cookies.

Lexie has adopted the veil as part of her daily wardrobe. I think it enhances her cookie decorating skills.

Brandon patiently decorates his cookies for hours. They are so amazing looking, it is a shame to eat them.

This is one of our favorite Christmas traditions.

Our other favorite tradition is decorating our table for our Christmas Eve dinner. This year everyone convinced us to let them open one present on Christmas Eve. They each got new slippers. What a fun night.

Santa obliged us with all new Rock Band equipment and the boys made sure they spent the entire day breaking it all in properly.

The make it look so easy (boring). They look nothing like the commercials but they sure seem to like it anyway.

Ginger just loves the fact that she gets the couch all to her self, and all the blankets too!

Alyssa spent the morning helping assemble the new Barbie Dream House and helping Lexie set up housekeeping. So cute.

Fall in BG

2011-07-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Fall in Bowling Green means walks through our wonderful parks.

Simpson Garden park has really fun public art that is created by local university students, high school students, and community artists. It is displayed and then auctioned off after a period of time.

The flower displays are amazing. Local civic groups adopt portions of the park. They plant and maintain the various sections.

Sometimes art is donated back to the park and becomes part of the permanent display.

It is the location of many Eagle scout projects as well as civic groups who build benches, maintain paths, add lighting, and pull weeds. We have truly enjoyed this little paradise in the middle of our small town.

The park also has a children's area with whimsical art and interactive displays.

We found a corn maze here! It was really fun. We happened to go on a Saturday in the fall when they were having a costume competition. The Mad Hatter got our vote!

Gary was trying to figure out if they would notice if he took some corn home with him. ;)

Lexie's friend Madion did not understand the obligitory "which way should we go?" shot.

If he would have been standing up straight, you can all see how much he as grown in the last 3 years!

Venice

2011-06-29T15:04:00.000-07:00

Sat. 21 August 2010--Venice

I knew it would be hard for me to finish my blog of my trip but alas, after nine months of procrastination, I must face the inevitable. So here goes.

Our account was supposed to be printed and left in our little mailbox by our door. It wasn't there when we woke up at 6:30 a.m. so we called Johnny and he said they would be coming soon so we went to breakfast. At 7:30--still no print out so we stood in a huge line at the pursers desk to get ours. At 8:15 a.m. we left our beloved "Ruby Princess" for the last time ever. ;((

We collected our suitcases from the terminal and took a water taxi to the place where our hotel was located. The taxi dock was a choatic place and certainly an experience that was a memorable part of our trip. We got a great ride on the Grand Canal. "There were hundreds of small boats ferrying a dock stuffed with people, luggage, and workers from the ship pier to the various locations on the Grand Canal. We had the # (11) of our taxi on our voucher so we waited with the crowd. When each taxi would get close to the dock, the driver would shout his taxi number. When our number was shouted, we shouted back and hustled to the step off point where workers hustled us on to our taxi and handed our luggage to the driver".

We were dropped off right in front of "The Bridge of Sighs" aptly named by Lord Byron who observed that, because it connects Doge's Pales to the prison, crossing from the palace to the prison over the bridge causes a prisoner to sigh at the last sight of freedom they will have. "So there we were organizing ourselves and checking our maps on this dock, trying to orient ourselves so we could find our hotel. When what to our wondering eyes should appear? A PORTER! What an amazing human being! I want one of my own".

After our wonderful porter helped us find our hotel and we checked in, we were off to conquer our last stop--Venice. We did a Rick Steve's tour of Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square)and found yummy gelato (is there any other kind?). After lunch our desk clerk drew us a great map of a nice loop to take a walking tour of a good chunk of the island. A lot of where she sent us was well off the beaten path which was refreshing after August in Italy and Greece! But, as you can see above, we did get our last Where's Waldo shot on the famous Rialto Bridge. Then we saw Friari Church, Campo Barnada, Campo San Margherita, The Accademida Ponte (Bridge), and lots of cools little stores in between.

We ate amazing gyro's at "Peter Pan's Pizzaria" courtesy of instructions and a comedy of errors provided from a random couple from Miami. I can hardly wait to scrapbook the entire hilarious story about that. After a quick stop back at our hotel, we went in search of one more "fruit de bosco" gelato. "Michele had explained the yummy goodness of European gelato but her explanation majorly fell short to the amazing deliciousness of this frozen treat and it was our mission to eat it from Rome, to Florence, to Venice and everywhere in between. She loves pistachio and almost exclusively orders it. I started with melon in Rome but at the Ponte Vechio in Florence I had "fruiti di bosco" and I discovered Italian CRACK"!

After our last gelato of the trip, we sat on the steps of St. Marks square and enjoyed our treat, drank in the cool Venice evening, the beautiful lights, the famous dueling orchestras, and the serenity of our last night of an amazing vacation.

Friday August 20, 2010-At Sea

2011-01-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today was our last at sea day. We spend the day working out and doing laundry. We also filled out "You Made the Difference" cards for all our favorite crew members. Here is Michele in the art gallery. It was fun to see all the art and they moved it around almost every day so it was always new and different.

Here is Michele standing outside the Princess Theater. We met here every morning of our trip to go on our various excursions.

This is the piazza. It is the center of the ship and 3 stories tall. It is amazing to see the decor and the attention to detail. We walked through the piazza many times every day.

The food was as amazing as we had been told it would be. My two favorite places to eat were the International Cafe (home of the most amazing shrimp salad ever) and the Caribe Cafe. We spent our at sea day doing laundry and taking fun pictures around the ship.

We also spent the day packing our suitcases for our disembarkment in Venice. We worried about whether our suitcases would be too heavy since the airlines have strict weight limits and will fine you for a bag that goes over 50#. Today we have to put our bags in the hall when we go to bed, the crew will take them off the ship for us and we will claim them after we get off the ship in Venice. Everything we need for in the morning must fit in a small carry on style bag. Today we realized that we are some seriously organized chica's! Everything fit and when Johnnie (our steward) brought us a scale, we were both well under the weight limit!

On the first day of our cruise Michele's shuffle had gone missing. We tore the room apart looking for it everywhere. We moved the beds, we emptied the safe, the top of the closet, everything! Tonight, when we took all our stuff out of the safe, she found her shuffle just inside the door of the safe! Hooray!

Thursday Aug. 19th, 2010-Corfu, Greece

2011-01-03T18:15:00.001-08:00

Today we took the bus to a little restaurant outside of Corfu called Spiros & Vasilis. "...I am mildly sceptical about how tasty I might find the food. We arrived at the most scenic and amazing restuarant I have ever seen. It was all by itself with no buildings around it. The terraced patio where we ate was flag stone and canopied by huge aspen trees.

The building was stucco and brick with gorgeous arches and vines everywhere. We began our cooking demonstration by enjoying appetizers of feta cheese, tzaziki, a delicious codfish roe dip, bread and olives. It was suprisingly yummy. There was an older Greek man in chefs whites and hat who joined us and demonstrated each dish while our Greek tour guide (Fou Fou) translated for him.

He also demonstrated mousaka-then we got to eat it too. After the demonstration/lunch we were taken back to the pier. We then wandered back into town and treated ourselves to a walk and some shopping. I finally found just the scarves I had been hunting. Michele got some amazing pants for Sophie--BTW how does she like them? and a scarf for Bella. I also got an amazing purse; which is a super big deal since I pretty much hate all purses! I adore this one and carry it everywhere.

Wed. Aug. 18th 2010-Kotokolon

2011-01-03T17:02:00.000-08:00

"I am lying on a sandy/clay spotlessly clean beach in the middle of the Greek islands! I am a little wet from my swim in the Mediterranean Ocean and insanely, insanely happy"!

"We worked out, ate lunch, and then found the local beach about 1/2 mile from our ship. We have spent the day swimming, sunning, collecting shells, and writing in our journals".

Beautiful water, sailboat, and friend!

Isn't she gorgeous!

Feeling the Zen!

"There are people with children playing, swimming, and chatting in a variety of languages. We see minnows and a few small fish in the perfectly azure blue water and we even saw a jelly fish"!

Corona shot!

"This beach has horse drawn open air taxis and the horse harnesses have really beautiful sounding bells so they sound really cool coming and going.

"We walked back to the ship via the shopping section. I am kind of looking for a certain scarfy swimsuit cover that I have seen on a few women of my body type. Alas, no scarf. Michele is a freak and wanted a 2nd workout-I opted to hang out by the Santuary Pool. We showered and dressed up fancy, rib eye at Michaelangelo, "Iron Man 2", warm cookies and milk all in our fancy dinner clothes".

Another shot of a really cool tug boat.

I just thought the name of this ship was absolutely hilarious. This one's for you Mike!

On our way back to the ship. Ruby Princess in the background. I love, love, love this pic of Michele!

This is me trying to hide my fat thighs! Didn't work but made for a funny picture! Good thing I'm not proud so you can all laugh with me. Hee hee--next time I will have much smaller thighs--as a matter of fact they have already shrunk quite a bit since then. Too bad a little though cause I love that swim suit a whole bunch and it doesn't fit me now!

Tuesday Aug. 17th 2010-Pireaus (Athens)

2011-01-03T13:39:00.001-08:00

"Today was an up and at em day--By 8:00 a.m. we had eaten and headed to Princess Theater deck 7 for our shore excursion sticker and then to our assigned bus".

Here is Michele in front of Olympic Stadium.

City sites from a moving bus-man I love my canon!

Athens Academy

Our quick tour of downtown Athens from a moving bus.

Another Where's Waldo moment as we headed up the VERY crowded steps to the Acropolis.

The view from the bottom.

Erechtheum of Acropolis-built between 420 and 406 BC-at one end of the temple there is an olive tree and on the other there is a mark of a trident-making this temple an homage to the great battle between Athena and Poseidon to determine who would earn the patronage. You can guess who won. But Poseidon was so mad that he made all kinds of watery trouble for Athens (earthquakes, floods, etc.) until they built him a temple too. This structure is probably most famous for the pillars on the porch, which are actually statues of women known as "Caryatids". One of the six is in the British Museum courtesy of Lord Elgin and his efforts to save the Greek marbles; the other 5 are in the National Museum for protection from damage.

The Parthenon! "It was very slick and hot, we even watched a guy fall down on the really hard rock and bash his camera. Congratulating myself on using my cell today and leaving my big bulky camera on the bus. In front of the Parthenon we stopped and our guide told us several stories--some I knew like the controversy of Elgin's Marbles and how Byron tried to buy them back for the Greeks but a broke Elgin sold them to the British Museum for far less money instead".

"The curves and angles of the Parthenon were new info however! The porch is actually slightly curved and the 2 outside columns are tilted in a bit. They are also slightly larger than the others-this is done because the Greeks realized the optical effects of the sun and they built to off-set these-the angles and curves create the appearance of it being straight and true".

After the Acropolis we had about 90 minutes to rush through the Archeological Museum. Our guide, Antonius, clearly was much more interested in the evolution of art and sculpture over the centuries than he was in the famous buildings we had just left!

This is a cemetary piece that depicts a dying mother saying good-bye to her infant child who is in the arms of a servant. Notice how the infant reaches out but the mother does not, possibly because she had the plague or some other illness that made her worried about infecting her baby.

Bronze statue of the riding boy.

For some reason we both were just not in the groove up on the Acropolis. It was hot, we were tired, there were a bazillion people, our guide was less than charismatic. It was amazing to see but honestly, it was here, in the cool air of the National Museum that we began to feel the love and less overwhelmed. Our guide came alive, the art was amazing, and it was almost lunch time! ;)

We ate lunch in the basement of a local 5 star hotel as part of our tour and then spent the last 2 1/2 hours shopping at the "Plaka". After some of the really relaxing and gratifying days we had in super beautiful ports, Athens was a big change. It was rushed, a bit stressful, and less clean than I expected. In the end, it was amazing and I wouldn't have missed it but I was glad it wasn't our last destination.

"Back on board the ship, we worked out, ate at "Caribe Cafe", watched "The Bounty Hunter" at Movies Under the Stars. The popcorn was terrible and so was the movie but I was with Michele and I was in Greece. I saw the Parthenon today! Really, how amazing is this? I am so emotionally overwhelmed by all of it--the decadent luxury of our cruise experience, the amazing sites and historical experiences, and a friend who loves me unconditionally and I never feel insecure or in trouble; it doesn't get any better and I am blessed to see it while it is happening"!

Monday 16 August 2010--Mykonos Greece

2011-01-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

"Today we are docked right up against an amazing dock/port--very small but the most beautiful blue water and whitewashed homes on the hillside".

"Yesterday was very hot and today has started out the same. Mykonos is very windy & transportation from the dock to the beach is $15/person. We can see a small beach from the ship but we have learned it is a pay beach."

Mykonos has been occupied since about 3000 BC and is the location in Greek mythology of the battle between Zeus and the Titans. It was also featured in the last scene of "The Bourne Identity".

"Neither one of us are up for another full, or even 1/2 day, in the sun, heat, and wind. The port side of the deck is actually closed because of high wind so we find the starboard side shady and protected by the ship and it faces the port. After working out and eating way too much lunch, we headed to starboard deck 7 for a couple of hours of journaling and picture taking and relaxing".

"It was so nice to really sit back & feel the serenity of this place. It is difficult to put the scenery and the feelings into words. I now understand Lord Byron's affection for Greece and why so many great authors have attempted to pay homage to this magical place that reaches inside you and soothes your soul".

"All this serenity put is in the mood to check out the adults only pool that is located near the gym. We were protected from all the wind by the upper deck of the much mocked, also adults only, "Sanctuary". The pool was wonderful and relaxing and we had a great fun time watching out for the little group of 800 year old tiny Asian women who elbowed their way into the pool for their daily water aerobic workout. Lest we get bruised, or recruited, we headed for the showers and dressed up fancy--dinner tonight in the Michaelango dining room".

This is one of the few nights we sat at a table with other passengers. It is fun to do that and we enjoyed meeting people from all over the world, tonight's group included 3 couples from England and one from Florida. During dinner the Captain came on the intercom and called "MAN OVERBOARD"! Oh man, the room went absolutely silent while he instructed emergency crews to muster. He then stopped us, turned around, traced our path for a long while. Ultimately they think a cushion from a deck chair blew into the water. The person who called in the initial report never made themself known and all passengers were accounted for, so we turned back around and headed for Pireaus (Athens).

A Sunday in Ephesus-15 August 2010

2010-12-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

The port of Kusadasi, Turkey

"We were up bright and early and off the ship by 8 a.m.-we were scheduled for our private tour to begin and 8:20 a.m. Our plan was to get a few pictures and check out the lay of the land but our guide was waiting for us as we got off the ship. BTW-they really do hold up signs with your name written on it in magic marker".

"This was the only port where I was a bit nervous because last night they made us turn over our passports! I don't understand why and I am a bit freaked out about going ashore in Turkey. Anyway, our tour guide, Bulent, was an unassuming 50ish year old man. While we drove away from the port at Kusadasi to the ruins at Ephesus, Bulent showed us the location of all the 5 star and 7 star hotels. I got really sad because it seemed like that all he was going to show us, and all he was interested in talking about, were the local "take-my-money" touristy hot spots".
"Upon our arrival at Ephesus-we got out of the car and several stall vendors and other men warmly greated Bulent by shaking his hand and even hugging him! I thought, "Oh great, this is a mega scam and he is just going to hit the high spots of the tour and bring us back to the bazaar to shop. As soon as we finally got started, it became very obvious that Bulent knew a lot about the site.

He taught us about the history of Ephesus. All the different times it was ransacked; 1st by the Gauls, then the Goths, then an earthquake in the 7th century AD.

This wheel holds all the letters for "Jesus Christ God's Son Savior". Here Bulent explains to us and shows us how the Christians had ways of communicating their shared beliefs without revealing themselves to non-belivers.

Bulent explained that there were a lot of rooms and houses that had been discovered behind him in this hill. He told us that when excavation begins in Oct. of 2010 he would be here. We thought that was an odd comment for a tour guide to make.

Here are the steps leading up to the stadium.

Here we are standing at the top of the senate steps. The half circle at the bottom of the steps is where musicians played during breaks in the senate meetings. A half circle is an "ochera" so that is where we get the word "orchestra" from today.

It really is a very desolate area. Ephesus once sat right on the sea and was a port city. Geographic changes in the last 2000 years now put Ephesus about 6 miles inland. There are a lot of cats at the ruins and they sure appreciate a quick drink shared from the water bottle of a kind hearted tour guide like Bulent.

Ancient Legos!

Anyone who has taken ART 101 or dabbled in any kind of archetecture has been taught that there are 3 types of columns-Doric (the simpliest and oldest), Ionic (middle dates and has a scroll top), and Corinthian (newest and most ornate)-recent discoveries add the Ephesian-like a Corinthian but with a lion added to the top.

Michele standing next to a Cadacus. There was also a pharmacy one! Very cool. Evidence on the buildings showed where the dr. was, the pharmacy, and other business. Too bad the Christians banned all the wonderful scientific advances that the Ephesians had made. Widely accepted as the birthplace of Julius Caesar-we saw the place where he was probably born, delivered in an emergency surgery that had never been tried before, by a dr. with the last name of "Caesar". The surgery was his own discovery and development-the caesarean section.

The original Nike swoosh! There was also the first known advertisement, a sign directing people to the brothel.

A million people, it's going to be another "Where's Waldo" kind of day. I gasped when I first saw the library at Ephesus-second only to the library at Alexandria in size and collections recovered from it! It is the pillared building at the end of this main road.

Hadrians temple. The people didn't care much for Hadrian but when they found out he was coming for a visit, they hurried and built this tiny insult of a temple. On the day he was in town, they stood him down at the end of the street by the library. The people lined up from the temple all the way up and down the main road. Hadrian thought that since so many people were worshipping him, he wouldn't go all the way up and bother them. Ha, score one for the Ephesians. As soon as he was gone they added a bunch of their other pagan gods to the temple, multitasking your worshipping. ;)

Bulent took us up off the main road to this chained off area so we could see these beautiful mosaics. They are original, not reproductions. Full color and amazing.

"at this point Hadrian's and Trajan's are on our right and the library is in front of us. On our left was a hillside that was covered over with a large, light tent style building. We could see a couple of people inside and we could tell it was an ongoing excavation site. There were thousands of people-tour groups and individuals-crowding this narrow stone street. Imagine our shock and surprise when Bulent took a left towards the mostly empty building".

"Leaving the 1000's (I would guess 10,000) behind we got to go in! It was here that we got to see amazing frescos...

Delicate mosaics that were being painstakinly pieced back together and restored to their original location with authentic adhesives. A big, big puzzle".

"This is where we learned that Bulent wasn't actually a tour guide. Funny thing--Bulent is an archeologist! He is one of the main archeologist on this dig!! I am getting all teary as I type this. Bulent's wife died about 3 years ago, he has 2 daughters (one married last summer and one heading off to university in the fall), he had back surgery in April and he teaches classes at the univeristy in Istanbul. He can't dig and classes are out for the summer so he is guiding. Our day with him is the luck of the draw--God loves us"!

Since a lion hunt marked the passage from child to man for the oldest son of a family, this lion is likely the floor mosaic of the oldest son in this family. Every tour guide in the country has a college degree in that field. They have to learn all the information and understand every detail of the history. Bulent is a professor at the University in Istanbul and he teaches students how to be tour guides. Since he had spent the last 30 years on this dig, with his wife, his knowledge was first hand and endless!" His love of Ephesus and its history are part of who he is, this is his home.

"This dwelling belonged to one family for many years. When mom and dad died, the children wanted to stay in the home so they renovated it to be more like apartments. Here you can see frescos that signal the rooms of the teacher of art, music, etc. Truly amazing!"

"We learned that marble was cut by soaking it in boiling water and it was cut by raw silk thread! We saw silk pods soaking in a lot of the shopping stalls later in the day--I didn't know it had to be chemically treated or it is a lot like industrial strength fishing line"!

"We saw the indoor pipes for heating, cooling, sewer removal (all separate), even separate ovens for meat and fish so the bread wouldn't get stinky. Michele was all over that one"!

"Leaving the residence was the hardest thing I did on our entire trip. But the fact that I got to go to the library was a major condolence".

Evidence of the Jews help in building the Library, a menorah they carved in the marble steps. Built in 117 AD, it is know as Celsus Library because it was the tomb of a guy by that same name.

A view of the portico to the library.

Yep, it is as hot as it was on Santorini yet she still looks sooooo cool! How does she do that?

These arches are inscribed with M. Agrippa.

The stadium where Paul preaced to the Ephesians and was ran out of town by the silver smiths, because their main income was from idols made from silver, is behind us! We got to go in and walk up the steps. There are still concerts held in it by the likes of Tina Turner and Elton John.

On the way back to Kusadasi we stopped at a leather show. One of the main economic products of Turkey. The coats were amazing and soft. We got to drink apple tea and hang with a Spanish speaking tour group because we were a private tour.

One of the official industries of Turkey is carpet weaving. It is totally fascinating. Every tour guide must take their guests for a carpet demonstrations. Getting out of there without spending a lot of money is for the guest to figure out!

I liked this rug best. It was silk, and when you turn it different ways it looks different colors. It was only $3000.00 American dollars the man explained as he looked at me expectantly.

After about 45 really awkward minutes, I informed Bulent that I needed to eat! ;)

We weaved our way among the different stalls and Bulent, who by now was totally off the tour guide clock but was hanging out with us anyway, took us to his favorite lunch spot. It was a privledge to buy him lunch and get to know him better. He explained the "evil eye" that were everywhere, in the stucco, sidewalks, glass windows,...

It sees evil coming and wards it off. I got an evil eye key chain for Gary, Alyssa, and Rod. Evil eye hanging charms for Brandon and Brady. And when I got home, I found an evil eye pandora bead for my mom.

Before we parted, Bulent took me to the best place in town to purchase Turkish delight candy. It is wonderful and amazing and only best when purchased in Kusadasi.

The flowers, the little city center, the tour, the day...speechless. Hands down the highlight of the trip and that is really saying a lot cause this a freaking awesome trip!

More Amazing Pictures of Santorini.

2010-12-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Widely accepted by archelogists as the lost city of Atlantis. I can see why, it is so beautiful.

Our fellow passengers who made the zig-zag trek to the top either via donkey or foot, made a lot of comments about being careful to not get drunk at the top of the village shown here, Thera.

Because, one wrong step and you were bouncing down the steep cliff!

Given the toasty morning we had at the steam vent, we opted for the shade of deck 7 which faced this beautiful scene yet protected us from the wind that came up.

Once upon a time pumice was a major economic product of Santorini. The mines have all been closed now to protect the caldera.

What can I say? I think the tug boats are super cool so I took pictures. I am a tourist you know!

Amazingly beautiful!

The slick stone lined raod to the top. Made slicker by the heat and donkey "leavings". Also very sweet smelling we were told by our fellow passengers who were brave enough to go for it!

14 August 2010, Saturday-Santorini

2010-12-29T18:17:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time Santorini was one solid island, actually that isn't entirely true--Once upon a time Santorini was a humongeous volcano. Well, you know what volcano's do--they erupt.

The last eruption was in 1950 followed by a major earthquake in 1956-Sooo...Santorini is now what is called a "Tender Port". That is because the islands are compised mostly of sheer cliffs and the ship has to dock in the caldera.

What is a caldera you ask...That is the still active crater of a volcano that is now less than 300 feet below the surface--you know...right below our boat! BTW--that isn't our ship that you see above, it is a Carnival ship-the one with the water slide but they were on a similar path as us and we saw them at several ports--Heee heee--our ship was A LOT bigger!

This is us on the most amazing sail boat I have ever seen--just beautiful-I think it was the Black Pearl :).

Can you see the white houses perched on the cliffs--crazy Greeks just like a little challenge I guess.

Here is a picture of us at about 7:45 in the morning headed out for a fun little hike-- we mused at the early hour until we stepped off the ship. I swear that this was the hottest day I have ever experienced in my entire life. Not lying. And what do we decide to do on the HOTTEST DAY

ever know to mankind? Only to take a little hike to the top of one of the steam vents of the volcano. Yep, cause we must be a little Greek; there really is no other explanation.

Here we are on the most desolate, lava rock covered place I could have imagined. Michele and I both called BS when the guide told us that rabbits, rats, and lizards live on this island. Lizards, ok-rabbits and rats-NO WAY!

You can sort of see the fog in the air--it is from the heat-and it is like maybe 8:30 a.m. right now. Did I mention that it was seriously amazinly hot. There are no words.

If you are so freaking hot you seriously feel sweat running down your back, arms, and legs and you just do nothing because there is nothing you can do about it--what do you do? Oh, I know! Stick your hand in a steam vent--Hey Michele--I think were were hiking in the freaking steam vent--I bet you didn't feel a think, eh? Notice I opted out of this experience and chose to be the photographer-yep, I am that good.

Can you see my hair? There is no wind--it is just blowing up because of the freaking heat. We do not glow--we are sopping wet!

For about one 1 millionenth of a second I thought I was in Wyoming.

But isn't it beautiful--sort of like having a baby--you get to the top and see that view and you forget all the pain!

Breathtaking--still hot!

Awww...time to head back already? I could stay up here all day!

Just a big pile of lava that could blow at any minute. Funny thing--I wouldn't have missed it for the world and all the heat was kinda part of the fun. I am starting to get this Greek thing.

When we were at our cooking demonstration in Corfu (later in the trip) we met some people from Canada who had gotten married in Santorini on August 7th, flew to Rome, boarded the cruise, and while we were here this day they went back to the church and said hello and picked up their wedding photos fromt the wedding planner--yah that wasn't cheap!

So amazingly beautiful!

So we sort of followed this other sailing vessel as we left to head back to the ship. Of course they took us the scenic way which was super fantastic given that it was like 195 degrees centigrade and we had no shade and the sun was reflecting off of the water.

When people on the other boat veered into a lagoon and began to disrobe and jump in, I was about to do the same--clothes and all--so did not care at this point. Our boat kept going and speeded up-I think he knew what might happen if he didn't get us out of there. The other group had paid to go to this lagoon as part of their tour--some sort of healing properties and minerals, etc. from the volcano--and HEATED water--Soooo glad I kept my wits. Imagine how upset I would have been to jump into a warm bathtub.

Back on the ship, AC, lunch, siesta, work out, pool, pictures, and Cary Long--the comedian is Cary Long. Progressive dinner meant appetizers at one place, salad at another, dessert at another. Day ended with Movie Under the Stars (Iron Man) and a chat with my kids!

Friday August 13, 2010-At Sea

2010-12-28T17:29:00.000-08:00

From my journal in quotations..."What a fun and relaxing day! Today we are at sea and we worked out first thing in the morning--the gym was packed and there are only two upright bikes so I had to wait--I did my abs/arms while I waited so no biggie".

"I finally got brave and faced the scale...Haven't gained any weight! Whooo hooo for me"! So I celebrated with a refill of my infamous "crack water". (I would have gotten some anyway) ;)

The lovely gym. The view was amazing but made you a bit dizzy from watching the ocean go by-- I do not know how Michele managed to stay on the treadmills. I tried it once and felt like I was going crooked the entire time.

"After showering at the gym, we headed to the art gallery on Deck 5 to check out all the art that would be up for auction during the cruise. Some of the stuff was really amazing and Michele told me a lot about many of the pieces and the artists. Man that girl has a good memory for art! It is clear how much she loves it and I get to appreciate it on a whole new level when I hang out with her".

"Next stop the Princess Theater on Deck 7, to catch the end of a talk about our port tomorrow, Santorini".

"Since we both fell asleep in the unusually comfy theater chairs, we decided it was nap time"

"Johnnie had already been by and made the beds, complete with our daily "Princess Chocolate.".

"After our really yummy naps we dressed for formal night in the dining rooms. It was fun to get all dressed up...Michele has way better legs than me but I totally rocked my new scarf that I bought on the steps of the Vatican in Rome!" "I had shrimp cocktail (which I think I had every night of the cruise) and Red Snapper for dinner--It was amazing"!

"After dinner we changed back to casual wear, went and watched a very funny comedian (insert his name here later when I remember it:). The head bartender then built and poured a huge champagne tower which he let passengers help with". "All the officers were introduced and the captain spoke. I couldn't hear very well but he just talked about our porting tomorrow".

"We stopped for a snack at Caribe Cafe for the late buffet (hey, didn't I mention that I haven't gained any weight?)--Princess Magic!" We ate our treats at Movies Under the Stars.

We saw "Valentines Day", it was cute. Here is Michele with her ever present water bottle. I don't think we would have survived the trip without our water bottles!

Thursday Aug. 12th, 2010-Naples

2010-12-27T17:43:00.001-08:00

Many of the port cities have a tourist attraction of some sort. After porting in Naples, we took a bus to Pompeii. I was a little disappointed because I am fascinated by how they manuever our monster size ship around in these super tiny ports. We always dock super early in the morning and I had every intention of getting up and watching the process this morning. But, Michele wears me out! So I slept in until like 6:45 or some really decadent time like that.

At any rate, this little town just outside of the ruins of Pompeii had a cameo factory and this man was actually sitting there carving cameos! It was fascinating and we really enjoyed learning about the entire process. Michele had seen it before but we were both intrigued by the detail and the craftsmanship that goes in to each one.

I guess I have been in Bowling Green too long because I thought Pompeii was just a flat wasteland of petrified bodies and ashen relics. Imagine my surprise at the beauty and color that has survived! While we accept the date for the destruction of Pompeii at 79 AD, it is amazing to think that the city was around as early as the 8th century BC!

As we walked up the path to enter Pompeii, this is the site we saw. Certainly not a flat, colorless wasteland!

This pomegranite tree is a regrowth from original vegetation. No one has planted in Pompeii since 79 AD. Archeologist have determine that the seeds were preserved in the eruption and after excavation began, the vegetation began to regrow! The ashes actually work as fertilizer and increase the beauty of the oleanders, vines, and pomegranite trees.

Not only was our tour guide, Caesar, knowledgeable, he was very cute and sweet too! I wish I would have recorded his every word though-the entire day went by much too fast!

As in Rome, Pompeii had a forum. Here is the remnants of pillars, the senate house portico, and other government buildings.

I was fascinated by the marble, brick, and Roman asphalt that were all present.

Here are some amazing frescos. There are in the stalls at the market. The pictures depict what was being sold in each stall, some show different types of bread and rolls, some show different cheeses, and there is even one with pictures of chickens and meat!

The sun was so bright that it was difficult to get a good picture of this mosaic. It is in the front entry way of a home and it is of a mean looking dog. In Latin, it says "Caw Caniam" (or something close to that) which means--"Take Care of Dog" or "Beware of Dog". Dogs were kept chained in the front entry way of the homes for protection, of course when Vesuvius erupted, releasing them wasn't part of the owner's plans.

Here's the reason that the dogs were still chained up and we have such astonishing castes of them now. Vesuvius was an active volcano, the residents were used to living in its shadow and acustomed to its frequent belches. When the 79 AD eruption began, the rich people evacuated. But they left their servants and dogs behind to protect their possessions. Most of the human remains are those of poor people, servants, and (like this guy above) thieves who were still in possession of ill gotten loot when they died.

There were narrow little streets that had been excavated and restored. We could imagine the lives that had dwelled in this beautiful setting.

Of course, this roof has been restored, no roofs survived the eruption. But this is a pretty accurate representation of the roof that had originally been over the front entry to this middle class home.

The depression in the floor with the two spool like objects in it is a cistern. Rain was allowed into the home from the roof opening, it gathered in this pool and the cistern below the floor to provide water storage for the home. (BTW-the above pic is a Where's Waldo. I am not too hard to find though).

A bed room in the same home.

The gardens were open to the air but enclosed within the walls of the home to protect them and to provide santuary for the family. This is a well preserved colorful mosaic fountain complete with small statuary that is part of the same home as the pics above!

This is a replica of the Dancing Faun statue that was recovered at this site. It stands outside the House of the Faun; built during the 2nd century BC and one of the largest and most impressive private residences in Pompeii.
In the House of the Faun a lot of amazing art work was recovered. Most of which is now in the National Museum. One of the most famous pieces was a floor mosaic called "The Alexander Mosaic". It was removed piece by piece and a replica was place here for tourist to take really bad pictures of.

Here it is as it is found in the National Museum. Dating from about 100 BC it depicts a battle between the armies of Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. It is an unusually detailed piece for a private residence (about 1.5 million tiles) and extremely detailed (Alexander's breastplate has a Medusa on it)-so the assumption is the person who commissioned it was pretty rich!

Gardens at the House of the Faun.

People walked up on the raised "side walks".

I tried really hard to figure out a way I could get this wheat grinder home with me. Michele said no. Party Pooper

She said I couldn't take the pizza oven either but at least she insisted that I have my picture taken with it! Pizza in Pompeii--how surreal is that!

This is literally a lunch counter. Like a little street side cafe. The holes in the counter are lined with clay pots used to keep the food warm. To the left of the picture is a doorway to a room that served as the kitchen and prep area. The more things change, the more they stay the same!

From this angle you can see the bricks from the walls and where the door way once was. It hasn't been excavated because the walls would fall down.

The rock is in the middle of the road because water ran down the roads and if you needed to cross, you didn't want to get wet so you stepped on the rock. The grooves you see are made from CHARIOT WHEELS!! The rocks were placed so that the chariot could straddle them and continue down the road unimpeded. This was one of the moments when I felt like I could just reach out and touch the past.

Michele had washer drama before we left and had to go order a new washer to be delivered and installed while she was away. We were both very grateful for modern machinery when we saw Pompeii's laundry mat! Can you believe this, an almost 3000 year old laundry mat!? We might not think of the fact that they had to get their clothes clean too-but they sure did. Michele's new machine is much prettier! ;)

Water still runs from lead pipes into the original public cisterns. Yes Michele was mortified when I put it in my water bottle! She was even more so when I took a drink--don't worry it was nasty tasting and when I thought for 2 seconds about how stupid it was-I dumped it out and didn't use my bottle again until I washed it super good! For the record; just the thought of what might have happened to me made me queasy for about an hour

A shot looking back as we exited Pompeii. After we left the grounds we got to do a little shopping. I got lava rock little cute turtles and lady bugs for a few of our friends. "We were back on board by 1 or 1:30, salad bar lunch, worked out-I finally found a workout bike I like. Then, after showering at the gym (like always), I washed my bottle and got more crack water. We went and did laundry. It was fun to find the laundry mat-the ship is like a treasure hunt. Michele and I took turns babysitting the laundry while the other went adventuring to find fun things to eat. We ate at the laundry mat while we set sail. I went up on deck as we left Naples. Have I mentioned how much I love my friend?"

Wed. Aug. 11th, 2010-Livorno (Florence)

2010-12-22T11:51:00.000-08:00

So today we start with a yummy breakfast at the Horizon Cafe then we boarded a tour bus at 7:50 a.m. to head for Florence.

Alas, a Coka Cola truck somewhere in front of us had randomly caught on fire so we were in this traffic jam for over 3 hours. While I was super, duper happy we had a working potty on board, I was extremely dissappointed to miss our appointment time for our Michaelangelo ;(

Our tour host (Luca) was super cute and positive and the entire experience ended up being super fun. When we finally got to Florence, we toured the Uffizi Gallery where we saw paintings by most of the great Rennaisance masters-Carravagio, Botticheli, Buonorotti, etc.

We giggled and sweated our way through the entire place. Afterwards, we shopped in Florence where I found a really cool puzzle for Amy and amazing posters for my boys. Florence is the leather capital of the world and Michele scored a screamin' deal on a jacket and found Mike a leather jounal. (BTW-does he love it/use it?).

The ride back was uneventful-we chatted-imagine that, after 6 full days together, we are still chatting each other's ears off! ;)

Tuesday Aug. 10th, 2010-Monte Carlo, Eze

2010-12-21T17:42:00.000-08:00

The Mediterrean is the most amazing cobalt blue I have ever seen. It is truly an unreal color. We woke up this morning docked in Monte Carlo, Monaco. We left the ship first thing in the morning for our tour of Eze, France.

The area surrounding Eze was first populated around 2000 B.C. It was held by the Romans, then the Moors who were driven out by William of Provence in 973. In 1388 Eze fell under the jurisdiction of the House of Savoy who built it up as a fortress because of its proximity to Nice.

This is a path that goes from the middle of Eze down to the beach. Our guide told us about several famous authors who summered in Eze and would wander up and down the path to get inspiration.
In April of 1860 Eze became part of France and has remained as such ever since.

Our tour included a hike all the way to the top of the fortress. The views of the Mediterrean and the coast of were amazing!

The picturesque walk to the top wound us through tiny, ancient walkways and stunning buildings.

Another Where's Waldo picture! Hello Michele. ;)

This mosaic is made of stones carried up from the beach below. It is about 3000 years old and yet, here we are walking on it!...Well other people walked on it--we just stepped reverently around it.

You can see the beach of Monte Carlo behind us. Notice the permanent grins on our faces?! And my really unattractive strap from my backpack. Oh well, I am in France--who cares!

We affectionately dubbed these "Tuttle Tuttle Trees". We spent a lot of time fantasizing about having breakfast on that balcony in the background!

Crazy stuff grows at the top of Eze. We were fascinated by the vegetation.

Amazing tiny walkways lined with apartments and shops. Michele found a perfect Audrey Hepburn hat.

Spices! I think they knew I was coming! I bought Black Hawaiian sea salt, Red Hawaiian sea salt, Cumin, and Curry. Amazing.

Michele bought a beautiful painting on the way down from the mountain. The guy got it off the easel and into the bubble wrap before I could get a picture. Here Michele is explaining to me that I am taking a picture of the wrong picture! ;) I know that! It is still pretty. And how exactly are we going to get that thing home? Ha--we are fricking geniuses so it wasn't even a problem! Hey, where did you hang it anyway?

9 Aug 2010-Monday

2010-12-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

Rome-Civitavecchia--My beautiful, amazing friend!

Ate gelato for breakfast, checked out of Capo d'Africa. Got a taxi to a different hotel where we caught the bus to Civitavecchia-45 miles from Rome.

Boarding was amazingly simple. We got to spend several hours exploring the ship before we set sail.

The ship is so decadent and all about making our life as simple as possible. Turned down bedding, luggage was checked and delivered to our rooms, amazing gym (which we used right away), beautiful locker room at the gym (we never used the shower in our room)!

Michele's amazing travel agent had chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room. And the ship delivered a princess shopping bag to our room. Knowing my reusable bag obsession, Michele graciously donated the bag to me! ;)

Dinner was gourmet, the company was phenomenal!

Still in Rome-Sat. Aug. 7th

2010-12-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

Some random thoughts about Rome.

This is the logo from the best gelato place we had on our entire trip. I spent a lot of time on their web site trying to determine if I could order the pistachio base and have it shipped to Roosevelt. Alas, not gonna happen.

Here is a portion of a mamoth statue of Alexander the Great. It was the inspiration for the head of Michealangelo's David.

On Sunday Aug. 8th we were so proud of ourselves. We figured out the metro and rode to the Borgese Gallery. After the Borgese tour we rented bikes and rode all over the grounds of the Borgese Estate. On the way back to our hotel, we stopped at a flea market. We felt so proud of our exploring skills!

Michele at the Vatican with St. Peter's behind her. An entry from my journal..."Michele is so kind and patient with me and she walks as fast and as much as I do. We are a great match!"

At the Piazza Navona with "Paulo". I purchased an oil on canvas from Paulo and he was gracious enough to let us take a picture with him. It was Gary's souvenir from my trip and for Christmas we had it framed.

This is one of the inspirations for the picture I bought. It is the South West end of Piazza Navona.

This picture was taken standing on the steps of our hotel, "Capo d'Africa".

A great street shot as walked all over Rome. Roma/Amor! Our first tour guide told us that Rome is like a "big hug". With the small streets, cozy shops, and tight architecture, it really is!

After the Vatican

2010-09-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

After our morning at the Vatican, we decided to do some sightseeing in Rome. The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is at the ending part of the Aqua Virgo, an aquaduct constructed in 19 BC.

At a little over 20 km, this aquaduct supplies water to all the fountains in the historic center of Rome. This fountain was commissioned in 1732 and completed in 1762. It was designed by Bernini.

The fountain has many statues, two notable ones are Neptune and Agrippa (he was the emperor who comissioned the aquaduct in the first place)! Hey Michele--ooops...we totally messed up--legend says that anyone who throws a coin in (over their shoulder, with their back to the fountain) will return to Rome. Guess we better go back so we can do it right! ;) To be honest, I was a bit intimidated by all the police people and didn't see anyone throwing coins in. I wonder if that legend is a bit like Rick Steves' claim that a water taxi costs the same as an ice cream cone?

Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti aka The Spanish Steps. Europes widest and longest staircase. Connects the Piazza di Spagna (I remember that name) with the Piazza di Trinita dei Monti (home to a really big church--not to be confused with all of Romes other really big churches). While Roman law forbids picnicing on the steps, crowds of people hang out here and I am sure I saw a lot of them eating. ;) The lower Piazza (di Spagna) is in the Baroque style and has a fountain in it that was built in 1627-29-its design is credited to Pietro Bernini (the father of the famous artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini. BTW Michele, I found the lowdown on the whole Keats and Shelley museum at the lower right of the steps. That spot where the museum is now is the place where Keats lived and died in 1821 (funny too--I had just watched a movie about his life called "Bright Star").

This picture is when we got the idea to play Where's Waldo all over Europe. Europeans goes on holiday for the month of August. When we realized how huge the crowds were going to be everywhere we went, we decided to have some fun with it and place one of us in the huge crowd for a fun "Where's Waldo" Kim and Michele style. I am in the above 2 pictures. See if you can find me!

Vatican City

2010-09-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

Saturday Aug. 7, 2010-Today we had breakfast on the roof of our hotel (we can see the Colosseum from our table).

After breakfast we took a taxi to the Vatican. Our tour guide was named Rachel and she was from Ireland. I loved her accent.

Literally "Stato della Citta del Vaticano" which translates to "State of the city of the Vatican". It is a land locked city state that sits independly inside the boundaries of the Italian capital city of Rome. It is approximately 110 acres and has a population of just over 800. They have a zero birthrate (surprise, surprise) and they issue their own passports.

The pinecone is gilt bronze. Originally from a Roman fountain dated to 1st or 2nd century AD. The pinecone is a symbol of enlightenment. The peacocks on either side are said to be symbolic of the phoenix and the entire balcony was designed by Michelangelo. Finally, this pinecone is the largest pinecone statue in the world.

Sfera Con Sfera (Sphere within a Sphere). Created for the Vatican Museum in 1990 by artist Arnaldo Pomodora. The fractured surface of the outer sphere reveals a very complex inner sphere that represents the harsh difficulties that the modern world finds itself in at the end of second millennium. The very intersting thing about this huge bronze casting is that each of the spheres rotate opposite of each other and freely. So one rotates one way and the other moves opposite of it on the inside. It is very cool to see. Rachel told us there are several smaller versions of this piece located all over the world.

The Vatican City is .6 miles wide and .8 miles long. Also known as the "Holy See", the Vatican is the smallest country in the world.

There are cracks in the barel vaults and the cornices. They have attached alarmed sensors to many of them. If there is seismic activity or the crack moves more than 1 millimeter-the Vatican knows about it!

Scholars have always disagreed about what is protruding from her body. Some say infants, some say breasts, some say testicles...what they can agree on is that she is a fertility godess. Duh!

All I know is that is about 1500 years old and I loved it! It reminded me of the theater.

This is the ceiling that leads into the Raphael room.

So, Rachel told us the story and it goes something like this. Michele might have to help fill in the gaps. The picture above is Raphael's School of Athens or Scuola di Atena. Completed either in 1510 or 1511, this is considered Raphael's greatest masterpiece and a prime example of high Renaissance style. Plato and Aristotle are at the center of the scene and it filled with all the great minds of history.

So, Rachel's story goes like this...It seems that Michaelangelo was sort of a butt and he didn't like people looking at his work until it completed and unveiled. Raphael thought Michaelangelo was a hack and snuck into the Sistine Chapel after work one night. Michaelangelo was working on the ceiling at the same time that Raphael was working on this piece. Raphael helped himself to a peek at Michaelangelo's work while the master was out. It is said that he promptly went back and painted the above image as the completion of his work. This image of Michaelangelo is particulary a compliment since Raphael (who made it clear that he still didn't like the guy but he had to acknowledge his genius as a master) portrayed M. as a writer! M. really loved to write and sculpt-so R. paid him a huge compliment by adding him to the great minds of history and adding him as he sat writing right down in front!

This is inside St. Peter's Basillica and I don't know what it is all about. I just was awe struck by the artistry out of one piece of marble!

The altar piece of St. Peter's. The basilica is considered late Renaissance style. It is the largest in the world and holds 60,000 people! Catholic tradition holds that this basilica is built over the burial site of it's namesake, St. Peter. Rachael told us a very compelling story that makes me inclined to believe this tradition. This tall, baroque piece stands over the altar and is called the baldacchino. It was designed by Bernini and was considered, at the time, to be the biggest bronze sculpture in the world.

Michele standing in front of the famous Obelisk of St. Peter's square! Brought to Rome from Egypt by the Emperor Caligula in 37 AD. It was relocated to this spot in 1586. It works as a sundial by casting its shadow on the long white tiles you can see on the ground. Tradition states that the bronze cross on top contains a fragment of the true Cross.

Me standing in Piazza san Pietro-St. Peter's Square. The building behind me is the exit from St. Peter's Basillica. All before noon! Just another day in Rome. ;)

2010-09-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Completed in 80 AD, the Flavian Ampitheater was used until 523 AD. Contrary to many popular stories, the Colosseum mostly was put out of service because of the military and economic problems that Rome was having in the Western part of the empire during the 500's. Along with the invasions from the North, no one could bear the colossal expense of putting on the day long shows.

Archeologist have found shards of pottery with the door number, row, and seat that a person would sit in. Just like modern day ticket stubs. The numbers on the doors are still visible from the outside.

During the middle ages houses and churches were built in the Colosseum! It was also used as a fortress.

During the Renaissance building materials were harvested from the structure. That is why a lot of the marble is gone from the facade and why you can see holes all over the front of the structure--they took out the iron that was inside and melted it down for other things.

We couldn't get over how there is still marble on the steps and on the floors even though hundred's of thousands of tourists walk on it every day!
Note: We are still wearing the same clothes we were wearing when we were on the plane!

The Colosseum BABY!! Can you believe it?! No really? Cause I can't. I get choked up each and every time I see the pictures. The word "arena" comes from the Latin "harena" which means sand or sandy place. The arena of the Colosseum had about 9" of sand on it as all times for the various hunts and combats that were held there--thus it was called an "arena" and that is where we get that word from today.

As soon as we checked into our hotel we got a cab to "Vastours" and off we went to our first tour. This is a pic. of our tour guide. I do not remember her name but she was really hard to hear. She was, however, a complete saint to the whiner's who were worried about all the walking--they must not have read the same brochure we had because ours warned us about 18 times to wear sturdy shoes and be prepared to climb a lot of steps.

Began in 72 AD and completed in 80 AD, the Flavian Ampitheater (Colosseum) was built by the Flavian Dynasty emperors of Vespasian, Titus, and Domition. It was built on top of the site where the much hated emperor Nero had built his home. Vespasian was the dad and Titus and Domition were his sons.

After our tour they made us sit through a really bad interactive movie, 3D type of thing. When we came out our group was getting back on to the tour bus. The driver was standing at the bus door asking each person where they were going after the tour. As we got up to the bus we told the driver "Capo d'Africa". "No bus" he told us. "What"?! After a 2-3 minute Italian-English verbal scuffle, we realized were were beat, lost, and without a ride back to the tour office. A brief moment of panic set in as the driver kept repeating that we should walk to the corner. We deciphered that he wanted us to take a regular city bus to our location and the city bus stop was on the corner. Neither one of us were very excited about this idea and we whispered to each other that we would walk around the corner (out of site of the driver, fellow tour passengers, and our humiliation) and then figure out what to do. Why wouldn't he let us one the bus? We had no idea--I asked Michele if she only bought us a one way pass or what? ;)

So we walked to the corner and decided to ask a waiter at a sidewalk cafe that was right there. He spoke about as much English as we did Italian! This was not looking good. Neither of us had working cell phones at this point so calling a taxi was not an option. Finally Michele said "Capo d'Africa" and the man pointed at the side of a building--a sign was there--a street sign--"Capo d'Africa"!!!! Apparently the bus driver didn't think we needed a ride to be delivered to our motel that was literally about 100 yards from the end of our tour. We very sheepishly walked up this little alley/street that we would come to recognize and affectionately call "Capo d'Africa"! :)))

Rome Aug 5th, 2010

2010-08-31T18:07:00.001-07:00

The Moses (c. 1513-1515) is a masterpiece of High Renaissance sculpture by the renowned artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) in Rome. The sculpture was commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II for his tomb. The famous art work depicts the biblical figure of Moses, with horns on his head, symbolic of wisdom and enlightenment.

A tapestry at San Pietro in Vincoli. Showing Peter at the Holy Gates.

Catholics believe these are the chains that held Peter when he was in jail and when he was crucified upside down.

The white marble arch of Septimius Severus at the Northwest end of the forum. Dedicated in 203 AD to commemorate the victories of Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, against the Parthians. We couldn't stop marveling at how much stuff there is at every turn. It was so amazing to see things that you only read about in books!

Michele stopped along the Via Sacra (the main road through the Roman Forum). Ya know cause we were just out strolling along ancient roads and thought we'd stop to take a pic or two!

The Curia (Roman Senate House) is over my left shoulder. As with many ancient structures, it still stands today because the Catholic Church adopted it as a basillica and thus it was preserved as a holy site.

I cried about every 5 minutes this entire day. To be here, immersed in this history! It was real, it is real. These people existed and lived, and loved, and kept records and we are the lucky recipients of all their art and beauty. I will never forget how I felt the entire time I was in Rome.

The Palatine Hill. Where it all began--the birthplace of Romulus and Remus. Sibling rivalry never dies. ;)

Standing in the Colosseum taking a picture of the Palatine Hill with Constantine's arch to the left.

Arch of Titus. He was the guy who first destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. There is a frieze of all the Jewish prisoner's with a Menorrah, the Arc, etc. being carried away by the Roman's.

5 August 2010

2010-08-31T13:05:00.000-07:00

Today I got to go for an early bike ride--so, so many bugs!!! Finished packing for our trip. Left for the airport @ 1. Picked up Branden Lewis & got gas. Headed to the airport by 1:30 (Michele is in the air!!). Arrived DTW @3. It was hard to leave my kids. Lexie was pretty das. I am really excited for my trip and I hope she is distracted and happy while I am gone. :)

I checked the monitors and discover which gate Michele will be at in 30 min. Man is she a sight for sore eyes. I started to bawl the minute she got off the plane. We had 2 1/2 hours to kill. It went by in about 2 seconds. It feels like we were never apart.

We left Detroit about 8:30 (a little behind schedule). We were served a snack, then dinner. After more chatting--we are now settling in to try to sleep on the last 7 hours of our 9 hour flight.

How about you go on a little trip?

2010-08-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

So in March Michele's husband called and said that he wanted to send Michele on a trip for their aniversary. He couldn't go but wondered if I might have some time to get away between my summer classes. I figured I had a few days between the 5th and the 23rd of Aug. and told him so.

A few days later Michele called and we happily began brainstorming where we might like to go. It was fun to throw out ideas like a train tour of New England, Seattle, Vegas (we both quickly said nah to that one), ...

We began talking about traveling abroad...England, France (she was just there), South America...

I jokingly suggested Italy because, of course, it is the one place I have always wanted to go! My friend loves me and I can not express how it feels to be so loved by another person. She is the most selfless and generous person that I know. 2 weeks later she had booked a 17 day cruise of Italy, Greece, and Turkey. Complete with shore excursion tours and private tours of all the important spots we would see on our way.

I journaled every day of our trip and this blog is mostly a detailed chronical of the entire time. Please feel free to read if you would like to. I don't want to forget anything so I will probably post most of my journal entries. It was so, so amazing. In addition to all the places I got to see, I spent time with a person who encourages me, who appreciates me, and who helps me stretch beyond what is right in front of me.

Thank you Michele, and Mike, for this amazing experience!

Slip and Slide baby, Slip and Slide!

2010-07-08T19:49:00.000-07:00

At our house it isn't summer until the slip & slide comes out!

Today was the day. Lexie and her friend Marissa slid until they could slide no more!

Now that is how you beat 95 degree heat!

Pure summer fun!

With a quick pose at the end for the camera man, they are off to get back in line to do it over and over again!

When the girls had gotten good and wet, Brady was ready to hop in to the action.

This kid has always loved the slip and slide.

He was beaming the entire time.

With Bradon's mad camera skills, every happy smile, slide, and splash was captured!

As well as the hamming it up for the lens!

Proving, yet again, that you are never too old for summer or for the slip and slide!

Brady's Birthday and Father's Day

2010-07-08T19:14:00.001-07:00

Brady got bike gloves, a computer for his bike, sunglasses,

Bottle tops (from me and from Grandma Nancy), lava cake mix (from Alyssa)

shot blocs, a handle bar bag, and tickets to Splash City!

Alyssa made him a cheesecake and later made him lava cakes.

He was a very happy guy!

Brady graciously shared his birthday with Gary's Father's Day celebration this year.

Alyssa bought him a bottle of blueberry balsamic vinegar. Gary love, love, loves balsamic vinegar. He was very happy.

He also got the yard tools that he ordered. ;)

Hales Visit and Wii Games

2010-07-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

I took a whole bunch of pictures of Grandma playing the Wii. I didn't think anyone would believe me if I told them!

Unfortunately, I can't find any of the pictures I took, except this one! Grrr...

On the day that all the big kids took Gary and Steve to the roller coaster park Lexie and I took Grandma and Granpa to the Imagination Station children's science and discovery museum in Toledo.

They had new displays since the last time we were there so we really had a fun time.

Granpa and Grandma had a super good time in the hurricane simulator (in case you can't tell)!

Hales' Visit and Amish Country

2010-07-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

My in laws came to visit at the same time that Alyssa's best friend Alyse was here. The whole crowd loaded up and went to Kirtland to see the church sites.

Unfortunately I had to stay home and go to class like a good girl but they had a ball without me. Imagine that!

They even were able to see one of our favorite missionaries, Sister Wright. She ended up being their tour guide. Lexie was really happy to see her.

After Kirtland, they headed to the local Amish village to check out the handcrafted items and the cheese factory.

Steve and Brandon found a really "special" way to entertain themselves.

Did I mention that they found ways to have fun even though I wasn't there to supervise?!

Freaks.

Summer 2010-so far!

2010-07-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

We love the little things here in Ohio and we are relishing as many of them as we can.

Summers here include:

Enjoying the many hummingbirds that stop by our feeder.

Looking for frogs on the bike path with our friends.

Picking the raspberries and mulberries that grow like crazy on the bike trail.

Just enjoying hot summer days on the bike trail.

Playing in the major rainstorms that come our way.

The amount of water that we get is amazing to us all!

We also got to help with the local tornado clean up efforts.

Now that was hot and dirty work! I lost 7 pounds in one day...too bad I found all 7 soon after! ;)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-15T11:27:00.001-07:00

My Mother's Day was the best ever!! It was perfect. I love my family and I LOVE BEING A MOM!!!

Brandon diligently loaded all the bikes for me. This is no small thing!

Lexie and Brady packed all the snacks and drinks.

Gary drove the chase car so tired kids could get in and ride.

Alyssa took everyone shopping on Sat. She also got up at 5 a.m. to make me breakfast in bed before church. After church we had lunch (thanks to Alyssa), I opened my new jewelry, my new griddle, my new food processor, and my new bags of minty chocolatey candies. Then we rode for 4 hours! It was the PERFECT DAY!

Pictures From My Phone

2010-05-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some random pictures from my phone. Ginger is such a good dog; she waits patiently while Roly eats his tuna snack--as soon as Roly walks away, Ginger cleans up all the left overs!
For Mother's Day all I wanted was to be with my kiddos on the bike path. They were all such good sports. Here is Brandon with Ginger.

Lexie and Alyssa had a lovely chat and Lexie rode a lot farther than any of us would have predicted!

I try to ride every day. A couple of weeks ago I saw these turkeys.

I think they were wild turkeys but I am not sure.

Alyssa, in a dress, in a tree--retreiving a $1 kite. Yes, I have it on video too! No, she did not get the kite--but I sure got a great picture! ;)

Brady playing Zhu Zhu pet with our little friend Allie. Isn't he SO, SO cute!

We are pretty much on a first name basis with ALL the waitresses at the local Chinese buffet. When they heard that we were there for Brandon's 16th b-day--they made him this little cake and made us sing to him. So Cute!!!

Flying kites in the corn field. She is only one step away from climbing the tree her sister was just in.

After a hard day of kite flying.

Brady wearing the awesome cape Grandma Nancy made him so he could be the most awesome headless horseman ever for Halloween.

Lexie modeling her really cool hat that Michele sent her!

The only bad thing about the wipe off board with having to erase the cool messages that Lexie makes for me--AHA moment--snap a pic!

Frogs on the bike path.

Lexie's first ever bike ride--Fall of 2009

Brandon, Lexie, Ginger, and our friend Travis Hawkley hanging out on the kitchen floor. No, I do not know why--seriously--have you met us?

I MADE TAMALES!

2010-05-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to make tamales.

But the lard and pork don't really fit into my nutrition plan!

I found a recipe that uses canola oil in the masa and chicken in the filling!

Brandon made the masa while I was out running errands and then he was the official photographer of "Chicken Tamales-Take One"!

I was very proud of the tamale steamer that I rigged up.

The final product was delicioso! Our friend, Andy Perez said they were even better than his grandmother's!

I am sure he was just being polite but I will take it! Today I made another batch and they were as good as the first, maybe even better!

Prom 2010

2010-05-01T16:19:00.001-07:00

Aren't they so cute?! We had a lot of fun finding the perfect dress (Branden Lewis really wanted her to wear yellow).
We giggled our way through 3 hours of mall shopping to find the perfect little jacket to cover her shoulders. The perfect jewelry was found in less than 15 minutes at the local mall's Claire's.

She paid for the perfect hair style-it is amazing. Our friend Rebecca does a fantastic job.

It was a masquerade ball theme and she found the perfect mask. What more could a senior want from her last prom?

The look on her face when she drove away with her guy---PRICELESS!!!

Easter 2010

2010-04-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

We take egg dyeing very serious at our house.

3 hours.

5 dozen eggs.

We don't just drop 'em in the stuff and walk away--oh no!

We swirl, we paint, we tie die,...

And then the bunny hides them, so we can hunt,

and hunt,

AND HUNT! Ok, we also squished a few on the sidewalk. ;-)

We ended the day by having bbq'd pork chops and baked potatoes, green salad, jigglers, and apple pie! Yummy!

We were still finding some of the 70 plastic filled eggs on Tuesday!

OSU Campus Visit

2010-04-10T15:02:00.000-07:00

We went to Columbus yesterday to tour some of the venues where Alyssa plans on spending a lot of her time. Sorry for the yucky pictures--cell phone was the camera of choice since we knew were would be doing a LOT of walking!

The day started in a huge auditorium. The band played for us and the football coach and some players came and talked to the kids. It was really fun to see Coach Tressel interact with his players. He is a very charismatic man!

Of course, the first tour we scheduled was to see "The Shoe"! The stadium tour was first and it was AWESOME!! They took us to all the places that aren't usually open to the public, game day suites, locker rooms, recruiting room, varsity player alumni room.

I loved the structures of the campus, at 60,000+ students--it is bigger as most towns Alyssa has lived in!

This is the rotunda as you enter the front doors to the stadium.

This is approaching the front doors to the place where Alyssa will live. She was accepted into the Biological Sciences Scholars Program.

As a member of her scholars program, she gets to live in this really awesome dorm with all the other scholars community. They take block classes together and have activities, field trips, study sessions, etc. I think it looks like my princess finally got her castle!

A Daddy-Daughter Date!

2010-02-26T17:59:00.001-08:00

After two weeks of cleaning, scooping poop, and doing all that I asked her--Lexie earned 100 tokens.

She used the tokens to buy herself this dress.

And these amazing shoes!

She waited so patiently for her dad to get home and take her to the daddy daughter dance.

According to all the reports, a good time was had by all!

Toledo COSI-The Imagination Station

2010-02-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

We got to go to Toledo COSI for the first time this Sat. Last year I bought a zoo membership. This year the money went for a COSI membership.

Each of the kids got a fill your own "pixie stix". Brady picked the most sour flavor they had!

There was a fun courtyard across the street, it had mazes on the bricks and interesting architecture to explore.

Lexie and Sydney highlighting the Toledo area architecture.

We only made one trip to the first aid station! I think that is a record for us! Lexie got a small sliver--she hates slivers!

The displays were very cool. Lexie and her friend Sydney had a nice time in the wind box!

The big kids loved riding the bike.

Lexie's 7th Birthday Party

2010-02-21T18:44:00.001-08:00

After her pool party with friends, Lexie got to have cake and ice cream and presents.

She really loves this pool with the moveable floor. I like it too--cheap party!

The next night was presents with family! She was very excited to get another Zhu Zhu pet.

We all worked very hard at Chuck E. Cheese's to earn enought tickets to buy her this bear.

Don't even ask how many tickets it was! Let's just say--it was on the top row!

While she was impatiently waiting for her dad to come home so we could go to Chuck E. Cheese--Brandon kept her entertained. I kept thinking--I hope we end up going ot CC's and not to the ER!

The Going Home Day.

2010-02-21T18:16:00.001-08:00

After getting his last IV out...

Brady was super happy to be a free man!

Ahhhh clothes!

Our 2 favorite nurses (probably cause they were the ones that got to let him go home)!

Back in his favorite car trip spot!

Bye bye Nationwide Children's Hospital!

Surgery-Post Op. Update

2010-01-11T17:36:00.001-08:00

Sunday Jan. 11, 2010, 4 days after surgery. The bandage was soaked so they changed his dressing. He really wanted to see it so I took some pictures of his incisions while they did the dressing change.

Monday Jan. 11, around 2 p.m. Brady finally got to take a drink. Apple Juice never tasted so good.

First meal about an hour after first drink! Grape juice, banana, pears, french toast sticks, vanilla pudding, and cheescake with strawberries on top!

After food and drinks in abundance; the nurse came in and offered to take off Brady's IV! He still has the port on his hand but no more pole! Hopefully tomorrow the chest tube will come out!

Brady ended the day chatting on the phone with Grandparents and Aunt Lisa.

Brady is a Hero!

2010-01-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

We left Bowling Green on Wed. Jan 6th after Gary got home from work. Brady watched movies all the way there. He was very excited and nervous about his pending surgery.

Wed. we told him to choose whatever he wanted for dinner. He wanted pizza in the motel room because "that is what we did with Uncle Steve" when we moved to Ohio. He ate an entire pizza by himself and then began his fast--nothing to eat or drink after midnight.

10 a.m. Thursday Jan. 7th. Getting ready for surgery. He said he is 50/50 nervous to excited.

The pre-op nurses were very sweet. Dr. Kenney is running about an hour behind.

Each surgery patient gets to pick a toy from the "Ocean Room". Hmm...decisions, decisons. He finally wound up picking a ball--it entertained all of us while we waited.

Dr. Kenney is now running about 2 hours behind but he stopped in to say hi, get a photo and ...

sign his autograph before he starts his next case!

With a wave of his arm, 3 hours later--a very hungry Brady is off to have his medial stinal cyst removed.

We were taken to the parent hospitality room. It was beautiful.

There were amazing fish in the tank. I took a pic of this angel fish because I have never seen one that looked like a koi. Thought my mom might like to see it.

The area was very nice and had little private sections so we felt like we could really relax.

After surgery, they called us and we went to Brady's room to wait for him. Surgery was about 4 hours long. They told us to expect him in about an hour. It took him 3 hours to wake up from the anesthesia and I thought I would go crazy before they finally brought him to me. He was very uncomfortable and really freaked out for a while.

After a long, crazy night--morning number one was time for a chest x-ray. They took him down in his bed and it was incredibly painful for him. He was very patient.

Day two--we rode to his morning chest x-ray in a wheel chair and it was ready to do a little exploring. By 11 he was really super hungry and thirsty. Starting to getting a little depressed and anxious.

Just about the time Brady thought he couldn't take anymore; we found the teen room! Hooray for nintendo. Unfortunately his chest x-ray showed that his lungs are still really unhappy and so he can only be away from his room for about 15 minutes then back on his suction for the chest tube to get all the air and goobers out of his chest.

He spent the afternoon chatting with his siblings and kicking my trash at hand and foot.

Dr. Pan just came in and said that his esophogram isn't scheduled until Tuesday the 12th. No food or drink until Tue.! Thank goodness for the teen room.

If his lungs look good on tomorrow's x-ray then he can be off suction--which means as much nintendo as he can stand and exploring the hospital.

The Last Day of Christmas Break!

2010-01-05T06:29:00.000-08:00

The last day of Christmas Break we finally got a decent snow storm! We were dressed and had our sleds loaded as soon we could and hit the hill for some fun. Thanks to Alyssa for taking the photos! Conneaut Hill, Bowling Green OH, Jan. 4th, 2010--Kim, Brandon, Brady, and Lexie.

New Year's 2009

2010-01-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Lexie and Brady begged and begged to have a New Year's Party. I kept putting them off because Gary had to work New Year's Day. Finally, on Wed., night as we were going to bed, I asked Gary if he would like to have a few friends over. He said sure. I sent out e-mails thinking no one would come because it was such short notice. We wound up with 23 guests! I made 2 kinds of soup, some dip, and Alyssa made a desert. Everyone brought snacks and sodas. We played Wii, board games, Nertz, and had a great time. The little kids commandered my bedroom for movies and the basement for running and screaming. Brady was in charge of the little kids--once he figured out to separate the boys from the girls, he did a super fantastic job. My computer was acting up and our good friend Jeff (who does computers for a living) sat right down and straightened it out.

Here is Lexie looking at a Planet Earth book with Madison Richter.

Closest to farthest: Kale Bartholomew, Will Richter, Emma Diegel, Mara Bartholomew, Carson Bartholomew.

Chris Diegel, Rachel Diegel, and Rachel's mom, Melinda Charter.

Sarah Charter

Lee Bartholomew, Kristen Bartholomew, and Me.

Rachel with her tiny one, Alana.

This handsome guy needs no introduction! He was in charge of the Wii and took some pictures for me, alas--he couldn't escape Alyssa's mad photography skills.

Thanks for the great shots Alyssa. Now, where is the picture of you? Hmmm.. are you learning that "hide behind the lens" secret?

Lee, Melinda, Tiffany Richter, Lexie, Madison, and Rayna Viola.

Gary and Mike Richter looking like they are up to something.

Branden Lewis--wishing he was in charge of taking the pictures.

Jeff Viola, Gary, and Mike Richter. No one gets hurt playing this kind of basketball.

While it wasn't Bear Claw Poppy or Grandma Pat's house and there were not fireworks or pots and pans--We are grateful to our friends who love us and shared their New Year's Eve with us. It was a super fun night and we hope to repeat it next year!

Christmas Day 2009

2009-12-25T16:37:00.001-08:00

After eating our classic Christmas feast, we capped off the day with this decadent chocolate cake that Alyssa made. Yum.

The missionaries joined us for dinner and a game of Carcasonne. I sat at the table and read 2 of my new magazines.

Branden Lewis joined us for desert and the after dinner games.

We got to meet our new sister missionary tonight--Sister Carter. She is wonderful and likes to fish. She and Sister Hansen are a great pair and they even teamed up to do good at Carcasonne.

Brady was feeling the Christmas love.

Lexie was really excited to show off ALL of her presents.

Brady loves his snuggie and is eager to go spend his cash that he got for Christmas.

Brandon put his bench press together first. We all took turns trying it out today. I discovered that I am the biggest wimp in the family. ;-(

Alyssa and Branden were happy to get a good look at all the loot. He is happily helping her set up her new lap top!

Christmas Morning

2009-12-25T10:02:00.001-08:00

An exhausted Gary on Christmas morning. Poor guy.

My mom was so excited to find this present for me. (If you don't know why-see the post titled "Da Bears"). She made Alyssa promise to take my picture so she could see it. Don't I look lovely at 6:30 in the morning!?

Given the fact that I am very hard to surprise--I was super curious what my mom had gotten me. We opened just after the Santa presents and the stockings.

Santa can never go wrong with lip gloss for Lexie!

Alyssa was a little unsure about the "Crabby Patties".

Santa provided Brady with the means to rock out--i-pod connector for his big stereo in his room. Even Santa knows how much that boy loves his music.

Santa is a genius--tools for Brandon to have in his room. We all know who really fixes stuff around here anyway.

After the "Crabby Patty" there can be no where to go but up.

There must be candy in here somewhere...

Alyssa trying to be excited about her present from Santa--an empty laptop bag. (He does have a sense of humor--the lap top was in a box under the tree from Dad and Mom).

Brady was up at 4 am!!! Can you possible believe it? Crazy boy!

Her very own Wii motion control sensor!

The hoodie from Santa is hanging behind him on the entertainment center--he is hugging the bench press set that he knows is hiding under the paper--it was his gift from Dad and Mom. :-)

More to come after dinner!

Fall Pagent 2009

2009-12-13T11:46:00.001-08:00

Lexie and a few of her fellow first graders were asked to dance in the Thanksgiving program. They were dancing leaves.

They did an interpretive style dance with colored fabric to represent the color of leaf they were.

This was right up Lexie's alley. She was born to be in interpretive dancer and she took her task, of bringing the leaf to life, very seriously.

Christmas Lights 2009

2009-12-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Even though it was pretty cold over the Thanksgiving break, the boys diligently hung my Christmas lights.

Brandon was so careful with Brady. Brady wanted out on the roof really bad. I thought Brandon was going to lash him down. He was so worried that Brady might fall.

Brandon has been itching to get out on the roof since we moved in! He was so happy!

He was so careful and planned out the lights diligently. I will post a night shot soon. Thanks Brandon!

Us girls had to get in on the act.

The ladder was a lot taller than it looked from the ground!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-12-13T11:27:00.001-08:00

We look forward to the food all year long. I love when we all pitch in and hang out together in the kitchen.

This year Brady was in charge of the stuffing. He did an excellent job!

Alyssa did all the pies and the mashed potatoes.

Our yearly ritual of eating the yummy, crispy turkey skin as soon as it comes out of the oven!

Lexie spent the day decorating the tree. She did an excellent job. She divided her time between helping the girls cook in the kitchen, supervising the boys hanging lights, and creating the perfect tree!

Ginger took her job of holding down the couch very seriously. Neither she nor the couch moved all day long!

Da Bears! Da Bears! Da Bears!

2009-10-09T16:57:00.001-07:00

I read "Brian's Song" when I was in the 3rd grade. I have been a die hard Bears fan ever since. I have always promised myself that I would see the Bears play at Soldier Field before I died.

Gary and I had planned to attend a pre-season game in Sept. Alas, we are college students and responsible adults so we decided that we didn't have enough money and post-poned the trip to another time when we could afford it and still have milk for the week.

Enter my friends the Catten's. They have been so absolutely supportive of Gary and I and our crazy move to Ohio. When Michele found out I wasn't going, she and Mike conspired. They sent me a VERY GENEROUS birthday gift. By chipping in a small amount of my own money, I was able to buy one very good seat in the stadium. Gary is a die hard Cowboy fan and said if I was going to go, he wanted me to use the money for his seat so I could sit as low as possible. I bought a parking pass on-line and wasn't sure what to expect. The parking lot was chaos! Major tailgating begins at 9 am and continues after the game for several hours. I was glad Gary let me drive his car. I would never have been able to find a spot for the surburban!

The Chicago skyline as you head into the tunnel that leads to the stadium.

Me in front of the stadium.

Just as you walk in to the stadium.

This is when I first walked out on to the deck and saw the field. All the security people are very courteous and were asking people if you would like them to take a picture for you. Of course I said yes! My actual seat is just over my left shoulder, behind the goal post you see in the picture.

Players warming up before the game. Aguleye and I don't know the other one.

Robbie Gould warming up.

Brady was very impressed with the pictures of the jumbo tron.

When I got there, the players were in their street clothes and they were on the field warming up, playing catch, chatting and just being casual. It was really cool to be one of the first ones in the stadium and watch it fill up.

My seat was in section 152, row 13, seat 19. I was 13 rows up off of the field and I was at the end of my row. It couldn't have been better! I was right behind the goal post. Perfect. The Lions came out and scored right away. I was pretty worried that my team might have a bad day. But we rallied and ended up winning. It was perfect weather. I had a perfect seat. My family was very excited for me so there was no guilt. I had a blast!

All of these pictures are taken from my seat. This is the blow up they use for the players to run out on the field at the beginning of the game. Pretty cool!

No cheerleaders in Chicago! We have an awesome drumline instead. Man, these guys rock!

I was surrounded by season ticket holders. They gave me the ins and outs and took my picture for me!

Time for kick off! Would you believe that it happened to be alumni day and Gale Sayers was there! I got to see Gale Sayers! Did I mention that I got to see Gale Sayers? (You might have to read the book in order to really appreciate my super duper excitement)!

After the game, the drum line comes out of the stadium and parties with all the drunk fans.

Soldier Field, dedicated to the men and women of the armed services.

Right after I took this picture, the cop jumped down, helped arrest a guy and then calmly walked over and got back on his horse. The horse never moved.

My last look at the amazing Chicago skyline.

A beautiful stadium.

The tunnel that leads you out of the stadium and back to the shuttles.

I am very lucky and blessed to have a family who loves me enough to be unselfish and friends who support me and are extremely generous. Thank you Gary, Alyssa, Brandon, Brady, Lexie, Michele and Mike! You guys are the best ever and have given me a day I will never forget.

Workers replacing divits after the game.

Trying My Hand at Senior Pictures.

2009-09-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

After about 3 years of owning my fancy camera; Alyssa agreed to let me take her senior pictures.

We had a lot of fun. I have had this barn scoped for a really long time and I loved shooting around it.

Alyssa was a great sport about the whole thing.

And very patient with me as I took a long time to set up and she got eaten by bugs!

I hope to get to do these again. The sun was going down and I was rushing.

Some of them were a bit out of focus. I need more practice.

Which one do you think she should put in the yearbook? I like this one a lot.

She likes the ones where she isn't smiling. I much prefer the smile!

Again with the lighting! Grrrr....I need to figure out my filters. I am ready to take a class.

I love both of these where she is walking away. I really like the one above where she is turned and looking back with the road behind her and the road in front of her. Very metaphoric and artsy. Ok, back to work. :-)

This is the other "yearbook" one that I just love. Again, she doesn't like the smile.

I like this one too. I hope she picks it for the yearbook.

I like the full or 3/4 body shots but I need more practice and they won't look nice in the yearbook. Dang!

This log was so cool. We had a great time using it for a prop.

The Last First Bike Ride

2009-09-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago was one of those bittersweet life moments. Lexie learned to ride her bike. We were very happy for her. One of those moments that I can not believe I was able to capture on film--even if it is crappy cell phone film.

Thanks to my friend Tiffany--she serendipiciouly gave me a memory card for my phone about 2 weeks before this event. Had she not done that I wouldn't have gotten to have a video of this.

Lexie's first bike ride!

2009-09-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

What happens when your big brother stands on your training wheels? They break and suddenly you are compelled to learn to ride a two wheeler!
We started in front of our house for the first try. It did not end well! :-(
For try number two; we headed to the Slippery Elm Bike Trail. She did a lot better but decided that there was definitely something wrong with her pedals. They needed to stay still while she put her feet on them instead of pushing forward out from under her!

Tonight was try number three and you can see the happy results. What a talented kid. Her stopping still needs a bit of work and she prefers the parking lot to the trail because; like all women driver's--she has difficulty with the going in a straight line concept!

Way to go Lexie! Congratulations! I took a longer video and I will post it as soon as I figure out how to get it off of my phone!

First Day of School!!!!

2009-08-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Alyssa's last-First Day of School Picture!! (except for college, sniff-sniff)

The first day of school was August 18th. It was super early this year. We went shopping the weekend before. After 7 stores, Alyssa hit the jackpot at Aeropostale. Usually she doesn't like their clothes but she found a bunch of really cute stuff this time. She will be a senior this year.

Brandon is a Sophomore.

We scrambled at the last minute to get clothes and supplies for everyone. Brandon is so easy to buy for and he found several shirts and a pair of shorts. He only likes jeans that fit a certain way so we continue to hunt for jeans for him. Last year he found some he liked at American Eagle but they are $$$ so he has to wait until payday for those! :-) They are so cute on him though, it will be worth the wait.

Brandon was such a good big brother and took his picture with Lexie. She was so excited to finally be an all day student with recesses and school lunch! She teased Brady about the fact that she would have recess and he wouldn't. He was not amused.

Lexie will be in First grade this year. Her teacher is Mrs. Kellough (rhymes with jello).

I looked and looked all summer for school clothes for Lexie. The night before school started, Walmart got in a whole bunch of really cute clothes! They had a bunch of stuff in her size. We had a little spree. Her first day was so, so hot. The building is not air conditioned and she came home dripping with sweat. She isn't teasing Brady now.

Brady started the new Junior High school this year. He is in 7th grade.

It is just finishing being built and the entire building is air conditioned! The cafeteria has 4 52" flat screen TV's for the students to watch during lunch. He isn't sad about losing recess anymore. Lexie would gladly trade him too!

I missed them all greatly this week. I am happy for them but sad for me. As the years pass faster and faster I realize how soon I won't be taking first day of school pictures anymore. Then I will be taking first day of college pictures instead! :-)

Cedar Point Roller Coasters--2009

2009-08-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

We have waited a long time to go to Cedar Point. There was supposed to be a storm but the rain was supposed to clear by 8 a.m.

Gary and I had agreed that I would spend the morning with Lexie and he would ride the coasters with the kids.

The big rides closed because it rained all morning. Lexie and I decided to make the best of it.

The kiddie rides stayed open. We got soaked but had a blast conquering all the kid rides.

She loved the kiddie roller coaster (Jr. Gemini). She wanted to ride by herself so I got to try to get a pic.

Do you love her hands in the air or what!

Lexie and these 3 little kids stayed on the hopper for about 30 full minutes. The lady would just re-start it over and over, and over again. She was soaking wet!

The bumper boats were just her size! When the rain got really bad--she had to resort to bumping into the guy who ran it because all the other little kids fled the scene!

After waiting in line for over 4 hours and never going on a ride--it was time to switch. Gary and Lexie had a blast re-discovering the kiddie land. I was informed that "Dad did a lot better job than you did mom".

After a morning of standing in the rain, the big kids were ready to PARTY!!

Brandon was a good sport and went on the Witch's Wheel with Brady. Not for me, thanks anyway!

I didn't bring my camera but I was able to get a few good pictures with my cell phone.

All the walk ways were lit up with color changing lights after dark. We decided that Cedar Point was about the same price as prom and would be a lot more fun.

Waiting in line is so much fun!

But they made the best of it.

Click on this link to see a point of view ride of the Millenium Force. We went off it at night but this will give you a good idea of what it was like. 310 feet tall, 93 miles an hour! My kind of ride. It was a blast!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hV1HCtxniY

2009-07-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

RAGBRAI is a bike ride that begins in Council Bluffs Iowa and ends in Burlington Iowa 6 days later. This is the bridge over the Mississippi where they ended the ride.

My good friend Michele rode RAGBRAI with her daughter Sophie. I was so happy for them and wished I could go too.

I decided on Friday to drive the 8+ hours to Burlington so I could be there when they dipped their front tires in the Mississippi, Saturday the 25th of July.

When I saw them coming towards me; man I was so homesick I just about died!

It was so cool to see them ride in and to be with them when they finished such an amazing goal.

Congratulations Sophie and Michele. What an amazing accomplishment.

Brady's Birthday!

2009-07-26T09:15:00.001-07:00

Because Brady has a summer birthday, he ends up usually getting several parties.

We had a celebration when Grandma Nancy and Papa Rod were here.

But when Courtney and Tearney were here we had a nother chocolate fountain extravaganza!

He got the fountain from grandma and grandpa and a cell phone from us. Exactly what he asked for. He was one happy boy.

Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

We took a few hours off from studying to enjoy the local fireworks show.

It was a pretty small display but we supplemented it with our own sparklers.

Brandon is such a good big brother; he keeps Brady and Lexie lit up..

Bowling Green has very restricted rules about private fireworks so sparklers and smoke bombs were our small offerings

We enjoyed our relaxing evening together and it was nice to have things be low key.

WAFFLES!!!!

2009-07-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

Waffles have long been my culinary nemesis! I don't like soft waffles but I also don't like them crispy all the way through. I want crispy on the outside and light and fluffy in the middle.

I have tried recipe after recipe and all resulted in average to below average results. Limp and heavy, dry and brittle; but never exactly right. Sometimes I got really close, but never exactly right.

I finally found a recipe that seemed like it might be "the one". I am a basically a lazy cook. I usuallyjust put all the ingredients into a bowl, mix it up and go. Waffles, I have learned, are a little more technical than that.

The first try resulted in mis-measured flour and something akin to biscuits. I learned that there is a multiple step process that involved beating egg whites, whisking gently and putting the ingredients in the mix in a certain order.

Waiting for the green light was torture!

I am so proud, I finally made WAFFLES! We ate them every morning for a week; my kids were shocked and happy with my new skill! They even were great when re-heated in the toaster. I would have made a batch and froze them for quick breakfasts but there was never enough batter left over! :-)

Soak City, 2009

2009-06-22T19:39:00.001-07:00

My nieces Courtney and Tearney came to see me!

They left Casper Wyoming on Sat.

They got here yesterday afternoon.

After keeping them up way too late, we got up bright and early this morning

and headed straight to the water park. It was AWESOME!!!

Everyone took turns hangin' with Lexie.

The 6 hours we were they went by in a flash!

Good thing we had sandwiches, chips, & soda in the surburban!

This colossal water slide was our favorite. Four people rode down together in one huge tube.

The Cedar Point roller coaster park is intertwined with the water park. You have to walk under roller coasters to get to some of the water slides. It is super fun to watch the screaming people go over the top of you as you ride down the water slide.

The kids all seemed to really enjoy the day. I know I sure did.

Brady was happy to have such two patient girls to accompany him on every water feature he wanted as many times as he wanted to go.

Just Another Day at the Zoo!

2009-06-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

The kids and I decided to kill a couple of hours at the zoo today. It was super humid but no wind and no rain so we grabbed the cooler, some sodas, ice, and a bag of chips.

The polar bears were really active.

This one repeatedly swam right in front of us and turned

a perfect back flip! It was really fun to watch him do it

over and over again!

After a quick stop at the polar bears; we focused on getting to see the things we've missed in our past few visits.

We rode the train through the African Savana exhibit!

$2.00 per person/money well spent!

The giraffe enclosure was so tall, it was hard to get a good shot of the giraffe's. I had to try, they are my favorite!

I wish I would have taken notes on all the birds and animals.

But I was too busy taking pictures with my super awesome camera!

The zeebra and wildebeast were in together; Brady and Lexie had to make a lot of Madagascar 2; Escape to Africa comments! We even saw Mort! Not on the train ride though! :-)

The guide was very informative and it was so cool to see so many animals and birds up close!
This was our 4th trip to the zoo since we moved here & someone always poops out before the primates and fish. So today we were determined to get those two thngs in before we got tired!

The male silverback was worth the wait! The Orangatans were behind glass and there was a super bad glare--I am now on a mission to get a decent pic.

I got an ok shot of this one.

One of the Orangatans was the hugest, ugliest thing I have ever seen. I did get a shot of his hand and part of him.

They have the exhibit set up so that the Orangatans can push a button to spray the crowd with water! They weren't over by the button so we are anxious to go back and see if they ever do it.

I was really happy with this shot of the octopus. It was super dark in there and my flash didn't glare.

Both of these were taken in the darkened acquarium with only the tank lighting for light.

I tried my mini tripod with this one. I think it came out ok; too bad the dollar store P.O.C. broke! Grrrr... Oh well, the shots are still awesome and it was a great day at the zoo!

The Last --First Lost Tooth!

2009-06-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

She didn't actually lose her tooth;

she worked at it for about 90 minutes

and was rewarded with a nice gaping grin.

The one next to it is loose too. She wisely chose to wait a few days to tackle that one. :-)

A bittersweet moment; another on the list of "The Last First's"

Fishing at Lake Erie/Marblehead Lighthouse

2009-06-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

We waited to go fishing at Lake Erie until Grandma and Grandpa could come with us.

It was worth the wait. They spend a lot more time fishing than we do. They helped the kids get geared up and learn to avoid the rocks.

The rocks were REALLY SLIPPERY!

Alyssa caught the only keeper of the day, a white bass. But everyone still had fun.

It was a beautiful day, perfect weather!

Lot's of good fishing spots. It didn't start to get crowded until later in the day.

Lexie became a little pro at waiting for the wave to crash before she reeled in so her hook didn't snag on the big rocks.

Brady putting on his worm. Not his favorite thing to do but he never complained.

It was a perfect day to spend with family. Mom and I snuck away for a few minutes and went to "Cheese Haven". The cheese was ok, the company was better!

Hangin' with the Grandparents

2009-06-09T09:14:00.001-07:00

The kids adore playing yard games and Rod is always a happy participant. They really looked forward to their Grandpa and Grandma visiting and wasted no time in getting Rod up and at 'em.

My mom's dog, Spike, and Ginger get along very well. They played together the entire time. When we had to leave them at home, they didn't tear up my house or get into trouble. Ginger spent the entire day sleeping after Spike left. I think he tired her out.

Lexie dressed, combed, brushed, polished, primped, and cleaned all day. She was very happy to dance for the camera so Grandma could take her picture.

Mom and I went to the basement to look at some fabric and randomly, I had a leak. She spent the entire day (and 3 trips to Ace Hardware) to fix it. Disaster averted! :-)

I was so grateful to both mom and Rod for all the "honeydo's" they did for me while they were here!

The last day of our visit, we decided to just hang out and go to garage sales. Brady has wanted a chocolate fountain for several years.

Mom and Rod found this one at a yard sale and Brady could not have been happier!

The rest of us were pretty impressed too! Man, a strawberry never tasted so good!