Harrison Happenings

Bear Butt... not Bare Butt!

2011-06-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Alaska resulted in hundreds of photographs - the scenery was breathtaking! We spent three days in Seattle before our cruise; were able to spend time with Bren and Sawyer as well as Daphne!John & Daphne in front of the (ABC) gum wall. - yeah, gross - but actually very pretty if you don't touch it!

One of thousands of icebergs we saw cruising up Tracy Arm Fjord. The scenery was awesome!

Mendenhall Glacier and the Disney cruise ship. The Disney ship was much smaller (and willing to risk life & limb of their passengers?) so they could get much closer than we could.

On our stop in Skagway, we did a scenic drive - highly recommend! We were able to stop the bus anytime we saw something, the driver was awesome and pointed out all of the sights and let us take as many pictures as we wanted. This was Emerald Lake which was located in the Yukon of Canada. The green color was caused by the silt from the glaciers.

One of many waterfalls (and yes it was cold - well at least for a girl from Arizona it was cold!)

Snow capped mountains, lakes, and trees as far as you could see!

Our next stop was in Juneau where we did a raft trip. We started out in a lake at the base of Mendenhall Glacier and rafted down about 6 miles of "rapids" - they weren't very rapid - but it was very beautiful.

John & I at dinner the first night of the cruise.

In Ketchikan we caught a lumberjack show (go ahead and sing it... you know you want to... I'm a Lumberjack and I'm okay....) It was very funny and it was amazing what these guys could do with an axe/saw.

And Now as the title stated.... Bear Butt! This was on our scenic tour in Skagway - this "little" guy was just walking right down the middle of the street. I was sitting on the opposite side of the bus and therefore *I* was only able to get a picture of his butt. Luckily John was able to catch this one for us! :-)

Absolute Delight?

2011-04-09T10:10:00.001-07:00

Jackson turns one next week and we celebrated his birthday a little early. Can you see the absolute sheer delight on this little boys face eating his cake?

July 2010

2010-07-08T09:56:00.001-07:00

Jackson's first time swimming...

Daisy supervising...?

Our trip to the cabin outside of Christopher Creek

Some of the wildlife we spotted.

Wild turkey

Deer

Coming back from the park in Payson - guess we must have tuckered 'em out huh?

Fun day with the family

2010-07-03T19:08:00.001-07:00

Robin and Nikolai joined us for a fun day. We spent hours visiting and having fun with our youngest family members.

Here is Nikolai peeking between the slats of the chair.

Jackson "watching" Uncle Jay's telephone.

Jackson laughing at G.G.

Nikolai just plain 'ol being cute!

Nikolai will be 11 months old on the 11th and Jackson will be 3 months old on the 13th.

Here are three of my grandsons... Ryan, Daniel & Nikolai playing with the plethora of toys at G.G.'s house.

Old friends and new memories...

2010-06-21T10:06:00.001-07:00

I spent the last week reconnecting with friends at my 30th high school reunion. It was a lot of fun. I missed seeing Dennise, Cindy and Kamei... and especially Claudia, may she rest in peace.

After the reunion, John and I drove to California for a four day cruise to Mexico. We spent the day shopping in Avalon (Catalina Island).

Tuesday morning I woke up early and went out onto our balcony where I was treated by a whale surfacing about 10 yards aft of where I was standing. We were able to watch the whale as "he" swam off.

We spent the day at the beach in Ensenada Mexico. The water was freezing but the sand was spectacular and the company was even better.

Then to finish out the wonderful week we spent two partial days at Disneyland/California Adventure riding rides and pretending we weren't really old enough to have just attended our 30th reunion ;-)

The week came to a close all too quickly but I wouldn't trade any of the memories.

Welcome Little One...

2010-04-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Weighing in at 8 lbs, 1 oz - welcome to Jackson Thomas Vanderpool. Born to Lindsay and Peter on April 13th.

New Year and a New Job!

2010-01-14T09:43:00.001-08:00

Ok so the pay and the hours suck, but the title is the right one. I interviewed and was given a part-time job at Home Depot as a Kitchen/Bath designer.

So instead of doing this for myself ... I actually get to get paid to do it. Definitely a step in the right direction.

Welcome Nikolai

2009-08-11T21:13:00.000-07:00

Robin & Sisko welcomed their new "little" one.

Nikolai Manuel Farinas arrived at 7:25 this morning (August 11, 2009), weighing in at a whopping 10 pounds, 5 ounces.

Here is Uncle Travis holding baby Nik

Nikolai, Mom & even Dad are doing well.

Nikolai Farinas

2009-06-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Robin's 3-D ultrasound last weekend and Nikolai was being a stubborn little boy (wonder which side of the family he gets that from?) and not showing us his face; so they are redoing the ultrasound this week and hopefully Robin will send us some pictures of it. In the meantime, this was a picture from last week's go around - Sisko was jiggling, wiggling, tickling, and making Robin do squats to see if the baby would turn so we could get pictures. I thought this picture was really, really sweet.

Desert Botanical Gardens

2009-05-22T17:37:00.001-07:00

We visited the Desert Botanical Gardens today to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit. Mr. Chihuly is an extrordinary artist in the realm of blown glass. His work is breathtakingly beautiful and anyone that is capable should take the opportunity to see it if at all possible.

Before we went to the gardens, we got together for lunch to celebrate Ryan's 4th birthday!

One week to go!

2009-05-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yes, it looks like I'm going to make it through another semester. The highlights... I've actually completed my first "painting" - it was for my color class. We had to create patterns and then colorize them. I built my own canvas which was a hexagon (Barb can't do anything "normal" can I?) and then we had to trace one of our patterns on it and then paint it. They get hung up in the hallway at school for the next semester. I actually spent about 10 hours painting it. Kinda cool...

For my custom class; we had to design a custom rug and then a custom chair for a celebrity who's name we pulled out of a hat. I got Jack Black and had visions of doing a "Kung Fu Panda" chair - but I actually ended up doing a Nacho Libre one; because there was no doubt that it was for Jack Black - the panda chairs I sketched just ended up looking like a child's fun chair. We actually then had to hand off our drawings so someone else could build the scale model. Which means I had to build one that looked like a clear parfait glass... which entailed trying to stretch a plastic parfait glass to about 4 times its original size! Can you say four-letter words? LOL! Our last project is working in a group to design a hotel lobby with a theme we (*again*) pulled out of a hat. Our theme was "planets" but Kim & I decided to take it a step further and do "space" in general. I created an elevation of our registration desk and then rendered it. What do you think? Look a little "spacey"? Wait... don't answer that! LOL!

Art History was a piece of cake class - I took it online and I honestly should have waited until this summer to take it so I could have done another class this semester. Oh well ~ hindsight!

My last class was space planning - we had a partial building where we had to design a Culinary Arts school for our first/second projects and our last project has been a three-story art gallery where the first two stories are for the art gallery & peripheral stuff (offices, restrooms, etc.) and the top floor was living quarters for the owners. It was kind of neat being able to work out all of the details, find all of the furniture, lighting, flooring, paint, etc. I still have a little bit of work to do on this but am having problems concentrating on homework right now since I've been awake since 2 this morning (and up doing homework since 3... yeah I know there is something terribly wrong with me!).

The Blowhole!

2009-03-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, we spent 4 nights on the Carnival Paradise; which wasn't. I was very disappointed in the ship and the crew was not nearly as friendly as *ANY* of the other cruises we've been on. I guess it all started by them telling us that we had to eat dinner at 8:15 - ain't happening! So we got stuck eating at the buffet for every meal, which was not very good. The silver lining was that it made it easier to stick to my diet since their salad bar was the only thing worth eating!

The highlight of our cruise had to be our trip in Ensenada to the Blowhole - one of only three in the world. It was pretty cool to see water blown 75 feet or more into the air.

Spring Break!

2009-03-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

I have had a serious case of spring fever this year. Usually, I'm working so we aren't able to go anywhere - but not this year. We leave Sunday for a Mexican Baja cruise. It is only a 4-day cruise, but it should still be very relaxing and a lot of fun. Can you san "tan"? :-)

February Activities

2009-02-21T15:00:00.000-08:00

For being a short month, February has been very full! We've had Bandit in obedience class for the last eight weeks and he graduated either at the top of his class or the bottom (they didn't tell us but since there were only two dogs in the class - he had to be one or the other). Actually he's done really, really well. We now have the knowledge on how to get him to stop tugging at the leash when we take him for walks. He can sit, lay, stay, come when called, shake, high fives, do doggie pushups as well as other things. It was kind of fun to do this with Bandit *and* Travis. Next, Lindsay and Peter now have an adorable 11-month old foster daughter. Her name is Kalaya and she was a premie with a lot of medical problems. They thought she was going to be deaf and blind because she was so early but she's made tremendous progress and has her sight and hearing. It sounds like they are going to have her for somewhere from six to twelve months. Here are pictures of Uncle Sisco & Aunt Robin with "Kiki" as the boys are calling her. Robin and Sisco came over to show us the photos from their ultrasound. While it is a little early to know for sure the preliminary indications are that it is going to be a boy!

Robin's Due Date...

2009-02-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Robin wanted me to make sure that everyone knows when she's due - August 22nd (Ed & my anniversary) but Travis is really hoping that his new niece or nephew will be born on his birthday (the 26th).

New semster, new schedule

2009-02-06T05:37:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get back into the routine of school. I'm taking a full load again this semester... Art History, Color & Design, Space Planning and Custom Design. So far I'm designing the layout for a Culinary Arts School, painting, and designing a custom rug. It's been fun and hopefully not quite as much work as last semester. I'm in class Monday through Thursday from 11:00 to 1:30 and then on Monday and Wednesday evenings. But the class right in the middle of the day sure puts a damper on my lunch rendezvous with friends! (The only drawback to this schedule)

I went to my bariatric doctor this week and (drum roll please) ... I'm down to the weight on my driver's license! I only lost 4 pounds over the last month but with as sick as I was and only wanting to eat crunchy things that scratched my sore throat; I'm happy with a 4 pound loss. In another 10 pounds or so I'll post another "this is where I'm at photo" so you can all see my progress.

Almost forgot...

2008-12-30T10:15:00.001-08:00

It wouldn't be Christmas without our infamous Santa Dog! I don't know what we ever did without this wonderful dog - he has truly been a blessing to this family. Travis and I are taking him to obedience class to work on just a few problem areas but he's even impressing our instructor! So I have to say THANK YOU SUZETTE for fostering this amazing dog so we got a chance to meet and fall in love with him and make him a part of our family!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2008-12-30T10:03:00.000-08:00

The family gathered at our house for our annual Christmas Eve celebration. The kids all picked up some wonderful presents - but I think the best "gift" we all got was Robin and Sisco announcing their pregnancy. So next year, I'll be able to post yet another picture of grandkids with Santa. Speaking of ... the first picture is Kalel and the second is of Manny and Angel.

As if you couldn't tell - Kalel *hated* this weird guy in the funny suit (aka - Grandpa). Manny and Angel weren't too much better although they are a little older and able to be bribed! The promise of ice cream goes a long way on 3 and 4 year olds!

I got an "A"

2008-12-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Not all of my grades have been posted yet, but my grade for Drawing and Rendering has... I got an "A"! WhooHoo!

The official update - I ended up with three "A's" and one "B". I got the "B" in my AutoCad class which I'm perfectly happy with since I don't feel we learned anything in the entire class anyway!

Um.. Merry Christmas?

2008-12-19T16:20:00.000-08:00

I actually slept in a little bit this morning (trying to get over strep throat) and when I got up I had plans to go to the grocery store and pick up the items that I need to make my world famous baked beans for Peter's graduation party this evening. I had even gotten as far as to putting my jacket on and pulling out my car keys when our home phone rang. My mom was calling to tell me that she had been involved in a car accident. She was headed to our family doctor because she's got this same crud that we all have - when she had someone turn left in front of her. She slammed on her brakes but was unable to miss him. Here's the good part - she's fine. The bad part - her car isn't; the accident took out her radiator. So now we're dealing with insurance companies, tow truck drivers and rental cars. I guess we know three businesses that aren't being affected by this economic downturn right?

A new college graduate!

2008-12-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Lindsay's husband, Peter who graduated from ASU today with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. Remarkably he said after 5 years that he was "done"... isn't his mother-in-law (the perpetual college student in her 28th year) a better role model than that?

Just a hint at what I've done this semester

2008-12-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

I finished my drawing class yesterday and remarkably I think I may pull an "A" - can you say shocker! Anyway, I had to scan in all of my drawings and give them to my instructor so I have digital copies of them and figured somebody somewhere may like to see what I have actually accomplished this semester. It is pretty remarkable considering where we started.

The first drawing is what is called a two-point perspective of a great room. The second drawing is a birds eye view of a bathroom. The drawings were done on 19 x 24 paper so they're a lot larger than what appears here so I hope you can actually see the hours and hours of labor put into these drawings. :-) I know that I'm pretty happy with 'em.

A wet, rainy Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T18:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, that title is just to make everyone in the midwest feel like we had a really crummy Thanksgiving. It really did rain and was overcast all day, but it was still about 65 degrees. We spent Thanksgiving at Usery Park where Travis and I went on a hike before everyone else got there. It was shorter than we had planned to do (we were going to do the 7 mile hike but with the threat of rain all day I really didn't feel like being away from "shelter" that long - so we did the 1 mile hike basically a couple of times. Jay and Suzette, Mom, Lindsay & Peter and the boys as well as Suzette's family and some friends were there.

Here is Travis getting "bucked" off of the whale.

Peter with the boys playing on the swings.

Nic mugging for the camera!

As I promised....

2008-11-15T19:22:00.001-08:00

Here is a "before" picture - we were on the cruise in Europe at the end of June 2008... and here is a picture of me today as I looked at Robin's wedding.

Robin & Sisco's wedding

2008-11-15T19:01:00.000-08:00

Our daughter, Robin got married today and they decided to have a wedding that every white girl and Hispanic guy would dream of... they had a traditional Japanese ceremony! It was absolutely beautiful. It was held at Beth's house where we totally transformed the backyard into a Japanese garden complete with paper lanterns hanging in the air and candle lit lanterns on every table. Some of the highlight pictures I've posted below.

Daddy walking the bride down the aisle.

Robin's mom, Dorothy reacting to the breathtakingly beautiful bride.

Receiting their vows.

The bride and groom with their best man and maid of honor also known as Robin's brother, Pat and her sister, Beth.

I surprised even myself!

2008-11-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

And that doesn't happen often! Well, okay - I know I've been working hard but we did measurements again today when I worked with my personal trainer and I've lost over 2% body fat and about 15 inches in the last two weeks. Happy dance!

The incredible shrinking woman

2008-11-02T15:04:00.001-08:00

Ok, ok... it's a S-L-O-O-O-O-O-O-W shrink, but it is a shrink nonetheless. Since I *left* Motorola, I'm down by 46 pounds. Twenty of it was probably pre-surgery weight loss, you know all of the surgery prep stuff you have to do; but 26 of it has come off since they turned on the device (the end of August). I joined 24-Hour Fitness a few weeks ago and have a personal trainer that I work out with twice a week and another two to three days a week I'm in the gym torturing myself. I really am serious about the torture thing - I can't seem to find any tennis shoes that fit properly! Everything from shin splints to blisters and blood, I'm beginning to think shoes are very highly over rated.

I haven't gotten brave enough to take a "Stage 1" photo yet, but I will soon and I'll post both my beginning photo as well as where I am now. I'm pretty excited, it's enough that absolutely NOTHING in my closet fits anymore and I've had to go shopping. And the absolute best part is that shopping hasn't been awful; it's been kind of fun!

Ok so I'm late posting this...

2008-11-01T16:22:00.001-07:00

but Lindsay and Peter get to keep the boys. The parents rights were severed last week and they are now starting the adoption process. These two special boys are going to be a permanent part of our family - you can pray for their sanity now ;-) !

Here's a picture of them last night when they came trick-or-treating at grandma & grandpa's house. I get my very own superheroes!

Robin's Bridal Shower

2008-11-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Robin's bridal shower was so much fun. You have to check out the pictures ... http://www.dotphoto.com/Go.asp?l=partyplanit&P=B203&AID=5579012&T=1

We had quite the "assortment" - everything from a cross-dresser to a stripper.

Up at 6:30 doing homework!

2008-10-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is my life now! I'm up at 6:30 on a Saturday doing homework... well I'm posting on my blog and THEN I'm doing homework. I'm actually really enjoying school and would love to continue full time in the spring to finish up. I am learning a lot; right now in one of my classes we're studying architecture from the Byzantine/Early Christian period so I get to look at pictures of some really awesome churches (Hagia Sofia in what is now Istanbul). In another one I'm drawing floating chairs... not real sure why I need to know how to draw a floater but it's pretty cool that I CAN! I'm actually putting together real floor plans in my AutoCad class and next Friday I get to put the trapped "pyro" in me to work as we burn fabric samples. So it is all good. :-)

Lindsay & Peter are asking for prayers to be able to keep the boys. Rather than me reposting what Lindsay has already posted, if you're interested you can read the details on their blog (http://plvanderpool.blogspot.com/); but please do keep them in your prayers. These boys are a part of this family and it would kill all of us to lose them.

New addition to the family

2008-09-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

Our newest addition to the family is "Bandit" or as they had called him in the pound "Bandito". My sister-in-law, Suzette had fostered him for a while since he had kennel cough and we fell in love with this extremely playful little guy. He has to be part black lab and part retriever... first because we can't keep him out of our pool and secondly because he loves to swim across the pool for a tennis ball and will bring it back to us. He came to us partially trained - he knows how to sit and a few other basic commands so it won't take too much for us to get him fully trained. But for how, we're working on getting him acclimated to Gremlin.

Speaking of Gremlin, our friend Dana came over today and gave her a MAJOR haircut. So now when I sweep the hair up in the house, maybe it will stay swept up for longer than 10 minutes!

Our hope is that the two become friends and that Bandit helps Gremlin regain a little of her playfulness.

I have to confess...

2008-08-13T11:11:00.001-07:00

there are other reasons I haven't posted. I had surgery last Friday (8/8/08) and had to go through all sorts of pre-op tests to make sure that I qualified. I signed up months ago and had gone through extensive screening for a medical weight loss study and was told that the study was full at that time. When we got back from our "Big" trip - there were messages from the study and we played phone tag for about a week. When we finally did connect; they had some individuals drop out/disqualify for the study so they had two openings that they needed to fill and have the surgery by August 14th. So the day we drove to San Diego I had to go in for an EDG before hand to rule out any hernias. The day after we got back I had to go in for my pre-op appointment and to get fitted with a 24-hour EKG device. Two days later I was in doing my pre-op blood work and "surgery prep" (you can figure out what that means) and the day after that I was in surgery. You get the idea; it all happened very, very quickly!

The surgery went very well and I was released from the hospital about 4 hours later. However I had some complications; swelling, redness, tenderness and the area felt hot to the touch lateral to the largest incision. I was pretty miserable over the weekend when I wasn't taking my pain pills. I really tried to go without them because I wasn't supposed to drive until I was off of them for 24 hours... and Travis started school on Monday and someone has to drive him back and forth. So this is where I have to say "thank you Mom" - she really came through for me - not only was she taking Travis back and forth to school but also my niece and nephew... kind of like "Grandma's Taxi Service" to the extreme! :-)

Anyway, I did call the surgeon over the weekend and they didn't think it was anything but asked me to schedule an appointment and come in on Monday. The redness had *mostly* turned to a bruise by Monday but it was still warm to the touch to me and there was still some redness and swelling so I did go in. The PA thought that it wasn't anything to be concerned about but because of the redness had one of the surgeons come in and look at it - they put me on some antibiotics just in case and I've been fine (although tired and slow moving) ever since. The redness is all but gone and I haven't had to take anything for pain in the last two days.

The study I am taking part in is called V-BLOC, it is a device that is controlled externally that sends signals to the nerve that triggers the hunger feeling. They have done studies in Europe, Australia and other locations with very promising results. So not only do I get to participate in the study for 5 years, I get nutritional counseling as well as all of my follow up care for 5 years all for free! You can google "V-BLOC" and find some of the study information if you're interested.

I was very, very glad that I was able to get the surgery when I did; it will in no way impact my plans for school... which starts in about a week and a half! :-) Hopefully I'll be moving just a little faster by then - it's pretty bad when Mom can out walk me! ;-)

Paris

2008-08-13T11:06:00.000-07:00

Our next stop was three nights in Paris. Our hotel had a wonderful view - but that was about it; it pretty much rivaled a motel 6, complete with non-working elevator!

The highlights of Paris were going to the top of the Eiffel Tower and touring Notre Dame. We went to the Lourve but it was closed on the day we allocated so we didn't get to go in.

Villafranche

2008-08-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's taking me a long time to get these pictures all posted. It probably has something to do with coming home from vacation and deciding that we needed another one - so we went to San Diego for 5 days. We went to Sea World two days, the beach and Seaport Village. It was a wonderful trip and we all had a great time!

Ok, back to our original trip - our stop in Villafranche was phenomenal. The views were almost as breathtaking as the Amalfi coast; but with more money (imagine that!) We drove through Nice, Villafrance and Monaco. We stopped for a little while at a Russian church which was absolutely gorgeous.

Florence

2008-07-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

Most of our time in Florence was spent in the square around the Duomo. We spent hours shopping in the small shops that line the streets. We also had the most wonderful lunch at a quaint cafe a few blocks from here.

We saw the outside statue of David as we took our tour bus back to the cruise ship.

Sorrento/Amalfi Drive

2008-07-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

I think one of the most breathtakingly beautiful drives that anyone could ever take would be the one between Sorrento & Amalfi Italy. Rugged, rocky coastline with villas built right into the cliffs. Every turn of the road brought even more beautiful scenery.

Lastly, I know I talked about the road - this picture doesn't quite do the smallness of it justice - but imagine 2 lanes of traffic the size of the bus going in opposite directions, plus the car parked along the side... now add in the cliffs you see in the previous pictures.

Malta

2008-07-22T10:57:00.001-07:00

Our shore excursion to Malta was titled "A Taste of Malta" so we got an overview of a lot of different things. We toured this church which was bombed in WWII; the bomb pierced the dome and ricocheted but didn't detonate. The church was filled with people at the time.

We went to a vineyard and got samples of a couple different wines (none of us are wine drinkers) but it was interesting nonetheless.

We also toured a glass blowing company as well as a filigree jewelry company.

Our last stop was a tour of their botanical gardens which housed wonders such as jacaranda trees, yucca and prickly pear cacti, bougainvillea & oleanders. Okay, they did have a banyan tree which we can't grow at home but other than that it was pretty reminiscent of Arizona.

Barcelona Photos

2008-07-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Casa Mila - Antonio Gaudi was the architect; I studied some of his work in class this past semster.

This dragon is at the entrance to Park Guell - again designed by Gaudi.

This is a picture of another portion of the park. There are four levels; the first being the dragon and buildings at the entrance, the second is the pillars you see in the bottom part of this image as well as the "tree" section, the third is the curved bench (atop of the pillars) and the last level holds a cafe. The ceiling in the pillar level consists of a series of concave circles between the pillars. Each concave is filled with tile; some are not decorated but covered simply with a mother-of-pearl type tile and the ones that are decorated have designs such as a sunburst or an octopus. Even the undecorated ones are beautiful.

The curved bench is covered with mosaic tiles; each section being prettier than the last.

One of the last things we visited was another Gaudi design; La Sagrada Familia. Translated it means Church of the Holy Family. This church has been under construction for over 100 years and my guess is that it will be another 100 before they finish.

Home, safe & sound!

2008-07-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

After a 1 1/2 hour flight delay getting out of Baltimore last night; we've arrived home. A good night's sleep in our own bed and I'm ready to go. I'm downloading pictures now - all 700 of them (and that's just what I took)! So I should be updating the blog with photos shortly! Maybe after breakfast - I am ready for some good "Arizona" cooking! :-)

It's good to be home!

On to DC

2008-07-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

We took the train from NYC to DC - which was actually very enjoyable (except for the 7-yr old that didn't know what 1) earphones or 2) volume control was on his DS).

Since we've been in DC we've explored the Lincoln, Vietnam and Korean memorials on our own and then last night we took a limousine tour which I highly recommend! It was so relaxing to have a guided personal tour around town. We saw the WWII memorial which was beautiful, then we stopped at the Jefferson & FDR memorials. We drove past the pentagon - which you can't tell which side was hit by the plane; they've done that well with the reconstruction. We also got to see the Air Force Memorial - which is a depiction of the missing man formation.... stunning. We drove by countless other monuments/buildings and ended our tour by driving past the white house. It was one of the highlights of the trip.

This morning we started out meeting in Senator McCain's office for our personal tour of the Capital building. We saw the rotunda, chambers, lots of statues and a great deal of our nation's history.

Travis is beginning to say that he's "homesick" and I have to admit too... it will be nice to get home.

NYC has come and gone

2008-07-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

We spent three day in NYC - our hotel was located smack dab in the middle of Times Square. We had an awesome view - the Empire State Building. We were directly across the street from a 3-story M&M World store and about 3 blocks away from the only indoor (or was it the largest?) ferris wheel which is inside of the Toys R Us. Cool!

We went to the top of the Empire State Building, took a very relaxing horse-drawn carriage ride around central park and got to see the Statue of Liberty.

Mom came down with a 24-hour stomach flu and Travis had a bout with allergies so we didn't make it to see Wicked :-( For those same reasons I decided that neither of them needed to be out in the rain so we watched the firworks from the safety & security of room 2001.

I'm having internet problems so I will try to update this post when they figure it out.

Paris

2008-07-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a few days since I've been able to post - there is only one computer at this hotel for guests to use and it has always been busy.

I wish I could say that our flight from Barcelona was uneventful... well it *almost* was - because it almost didn't happen. When we checked in almost 3 hours before our flight they told us to sit downstairs and about 45 minutes before the flight departed; a wheelchair would be brought down for mom. Well, about 45 minutes before our flight I walked over to the check in counter to see them give our wheelchair to another person. I was *ticked* - yeah, that's a nice word. The lady that I was talking to called another wheelchair and told me that it was on it's way. About 30 minutes later, I'm getting security involved as well as employees in "high places" - I was raising a fit! About 5 minutes before the flight was to depart; mom's wheelchair goes upstairs without her... can you say "aargh"? The supervisor runs upstairs and has it brought back down stairs and then escorts us through security and has had the plane held for us. We got on board and left 10 minutes late - all because of the airline's screw up. If they had told us it was going to take an "Act of God" to get a wheelchair we could have taken the 2+ hours we sat downstairs doing absolutely nothing to walk the 300 yards through security and to the gate.

Ok, so we got here... The hotel is "unusual" - old, some things don't work... or don't work properly - namely the elevator! It has been down more often than it has been up. Which makes for a three flight climb to our room. Try to talk Mom into doing that! It doesn't work (well anyway). So Mom spent the day in the room yesterday - while Travis and I went on the bus tour and then went to the top of the Eiffel Tower - way cool! Today we were able to talk mom into coming with us (I wasn't leaving her alone in the room again - especially on her birthday!) and we started out by taking the Metro to the Louvre. After the walk from the metro station to the Louvre we find this wonderful little sign saying "Closed on Tuesday". Do we have a giant target on our back or are we just really unlucky? We weren't going to waste the whole day so we went to Notre Dame and toured the inside of the beautiful church. I think between Mom & I we took 150 pictures - I had only seen the outside and the inside is so pretty.

Last night before bed we decided to learn a little french by watching a game show called Intervilles... google it - it was hilarious! We didn't need to understand anything they were saying - we just laughed and laughed at these stupid people. In one "game" the contestants had to dress up as a piece of cheese and run out into the middle of a bull fighting arena (oh, did I fail to mention - it was complete WITH the bull) and then another team member brought out a ham "jacket" and slipped it on. Once the ham & cheese sandwich was built - the sandwich had to run and jump into a plate. The "sandwiches" were trampled on by the bull - gouged by the bull - chased by the bull... ok, putting it that way - it just sounds sadistic; but it was really, really funny to watch.

We're off to NYC tomorrow and I will be able to turn my cell phone back on!

We miss everyone!

Our last port!

2008-06-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

We spent the day today on "The Scenic French Riviera" tour. We drove from our port to Monoco and ended up in Nice. The views were beautiful, the architecture was amazing and the climate was perfect (finally- why is it when we go on a trip; the place we're visiting has a unprecedented heat wave)?

This will be my last post from the cruise ship - we get into Paris about 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon and the hotel is supposed to have internet capabilities so I should be able to post again once we check in.

We have reservations in the Italian restaurant on board for dinner and I think it will be our big "dress up" night.

Miss you all!

Florence

2008-06-27T11:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, first of all I have to admit - we blew off going to Rome yesterday. Something about the looks in my achy Mom and my sleep-deprived son made me tell them at breakfast (after I got them up at 6:15 - I'm mean aren't I?) that we could skip it if they felt like it. So we spent a day on board relaxing; we went bowling and played cards. I think it was just what the doctor ordered. We're all a little disappointed that we missed seeing the sites in Rome, but decided that it would make for a perfect reason to come back again. Anyone know where I can get a severance package from? :-)

So we spent the day in Florence today, we didn't really get to see too many of the sights because it was all walking and Mom isn't up to it; but what we did see was gorgeous! The tour director recommended a restaurant for us for lunch and I think we had the world's greatest pizza. YUMMY!!!

The drive to Florence from where we were ported (Livornio) took us through Tuscany - absolutely breathtaking.

We caught the show after dinner tonight and have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I know when we sailed on Norwegian before that the entertainment was a little lame and this was a well thought out production.

We're in France tomorrow - Viva La France?

Naples

2008-06-25T11:49:00.000-07:00

WOW!

I honestly didn't expect to be so impressed by our tour today; we did the Sorrento & Amalfi drive. It was absolutely gorgeous - the kinds of scenes that postcards are made for! The bay on the drive to Sorrento was blue and the landscape was lush and we thought the views of the cliffs were perfect... until we left Sorrento and headed to Amalfi! Dramatic cliffs and buildings built directly into the cliffs made for some pretty impressive pictures. The drive between Sorrento and Amalfi has more than 1200 turns - now imagine with me... a single land road winding through the cliffs but put two lanes of traffic (and us in a tour bus) PLUS cars parked to the side and you can imagine that I felt we were lucky to be sitting in the back of the bus where we couldn't see the oncoming traffic - only the extreme drop offs! :-)

We stopped for lunch just outside of Amalfi at a quaint little hotel and were treated to some local fare as we were perched high up on a cliff overlooking Sophia Loren's Villa!

Tomorrow is Rome; we've changed our tour for tomorrow to a unguided one that way we can take things as slow as we need to for Mom.

Miss you all!

Absolutely Amazing!

2008-06-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

Mom saw the most amazing sunset tonight (Travis & I were in the Stardust watching the night's entertainment). When we got back to our stateroom I sat out on the balcony for a while watching Sicily as we passed off her east side. Then I figured out why Mom was able to see the phenomenal sunset - Mt. Etna was erupting! We saw the lava flow down the mountain.

How cool is that????!!!!

Malta - the Desert in the Mediterranean!

2008-06-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

We docked in Malta today and spent several hours touring the Duomo, visiting a glass blower, seeing how they make filigree jewelry, and a botanical garden. The Duomo (church) was phenomenal - it is the 3rd largest dome in the world; the largest being St. Peter's at the Vatican and the 2nd being in London - this come in right behind it. There were statues and artwork all over the church. We saw a replica of a bomb that hit the church but didn't detonate; which is classified as a miracle by the locals.

The botanical gardens were a little anti-climatic - who would have thought that an island in the Mediterranean would have a lot of the same plant life that we have at home? There were jacaranda trees, bougainvillea, oleander bushes... even prickly pear cacti!!

Ok, now that I've told you a little about the plant life - I can tell you about the climate. Would you think that Malta would rival the temperatures in Phoenix? Neither would we!!! We were a little surprised to find that the temperature was over 90 today! Add the humidity and it felt worse that our 122 we hit a few years ago.

When we got back on the ship, we "HAD" to hit the pool; it was so refreshing - not to mention relaxing! Tonight is the formal night for dinner so I will get pictures of Travis in his suit.

We miss you all!

Onboard

2008-06-23T02:09:00.000-07:00

We got on board yesterday and spent hours exploring our ship. Travis spotted a giant chess board that is painted onto the deck with chess pieces that are about 3 feet tall (so guess what I get to do today). The ship also has a bowling alley! We have been very pleasantly surprised by the amenities since the NCL ship we cruised on in Hawaii was a little lack-luster. We ate in the Italian restaurant last night and the Chicken Parmigiana was probably the best I've ever had in my life. We have a day at sea today so we're going to hit the pool & the bowling alley. Our room is beautiful; very large for a stateroom and the balcony is nice and relaxing - which probably explains why we can't seem to get out of bed! Oops! :-)

Gaudi, Gaudi and more Gaudi!

2008-06-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have to confess... we didn´t quite make it out of our hotel as early as we would have liked to - but it was earlier than yesterday (ok, I confess it was only by about an hour) but we´re making progress, right? We got out and about slightly before noon today and spent the early afternoon at Park Guell. The pictures I´ve seen online and in text books don´t do it justice. It is absolutely breathtaking and remarkable to think that these ideas all spilled out of one person´s brain. The meandering park bench was beautiful, so many different colors and the intricacy of the mosiac work was remarkable.

Next we spent several hours at La Sagrada Familia - The Church of the Holy Family. The construction on this church has been ongoing for over 100 years and you would think that it would be nearing completion - not so... but breathtaking nonetheless. The interior was filled with scaffolding but portions were complete or near complete and the intricacy and attention to detail are fabulous.

We´re off to catch dinner now and then we´ll be hitting the cruise ship tomorrow.

Barcelona... off to a slightly ¨wobbly¨start

2008-06-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Barcelona yesterday and we had to wait for our hotel room for several hours. None of us were able to sleep on the plane ride over so once we got into our room, we decided that ¨When in Rome...¨and we took a five hour siesta! In the early evening we went for a walk near the hotel ~ the weather is beautiful, 68 or so, but with at least 90% humidity. Unfortunately Mom was busy gawking at the beautiful buildings and didn´t see this tiny marble step and took a tumble. She´s alright, a little banged up and sore, but we aren´t giving her a chance to cramp up!

This morning after getting up at 11:00 (I guess I´m really getting into this unemployed thingie aren´t I?) We grabbed a absultely wonderful pastry and headed off in search of the hop on\hop off bus tour. Unfortunately, the hotel staff sent us on a wild goose chase and we ended up having to take a taxi (see aforementioned ¨tumble¨ for clarification) in a totally different direction. After exchanging our voucher for the actual tickets, we boarded the bus and sat back and enjoyed the ride. Travis was totally in awe of the La Sagrada Familia and some of the other Gaudi architural marvels we passed really want me to return. Our plan is to get up a little earlier than 11 tomorrow morning and take a taxi to Park Guell since the bus stop is still several uphill blocks away (see aforementioned ¨tumble¨ if you still need clarification) and then after catching all of the sights at the park, we are going to catch the bus back to the Church of the Holy Family and do a tour there.

We miss everyone...

I'll miss you most of all....

2008-06-14T11:08:00.001-07:00

This will make sense to a couple of people... everyone else will think I'm off my rocker! I guess there is nothing new there :-)

8th Grade Graduation

2008-06-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

I find it so hard to believe that my "baby" had his 8th grade graduation this morning. Shhh... don't tell him because he will blush, but I think he looked very handsome!

All of the graduates that were members of Junior National Honor Society got to wear the awesome medal.

Travis with his sister, Robin, her fiancé - Sisco & his daughter Andi

Travis with Aunt Suzette, Grandma & his cousins, Shannon & Nic!

Travis with his favorite teacher, Ms. Goding (aka - Aunt Martha!)

Capitol Tour

2008-05-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

We weren't able to get a scheduled White House tour. I think I mentioned in my earlier blog that the White House tours go about 6 months in advance and we didn't have that much advance notice... but we have scheduled a Capitol Tour through our US Senator. We are supposed to meet at Senator McCain's office at 9:30 a.m. on July 7th for our tour!

We are still planning to go to the White House Visitor Center which doesn't require advance reservations.

Last stop!

2008-04-18T08:38:00.000-07:00

On July 5th, we take the train from New York to Washington DC. We selected this option because going on a train was one thing that Travis really had wanted to do on this vacation. We had looked into taking the train from Barcelona to Paris (which would have been really, really cool - seeing all of the French countryside) unfortunately, the train left Barcelona at 8 pm and was 3 times as expensive as flying! Since you can't see much from a train at night... we chose to fly.

Okay, back to the story. I've requested tickets to tour the White House and the Capitol through our Senator, although I'm doubtful we will get tickets for the White House since they are typically issued about 6 months in advance. Can't blame a gal for trying though, right? Besides these tours, we're hoping to visit a good deal of the monuments - Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln plus the Vietnam and Korean War monuments. Other places we would love to visit if we have time are Arlington, the Supreme Court building, and the Smithsonian.

July 2 - Back to the States

2008-04-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

After two weeks in Europe, it's time to bring our journey a little closer to home - New York City! We're planning to visit the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Times Square (which should be very easy because our hotel is about a block away), plus doing some recreational shopping! Yeah I know... who us? LOL!

We have tickets on July 3rd to see the Broadway production of Wicked - which is the untold story of the witches of Oz. I'm very anxious to see my very first show ON BROADWAY! The reviews have been fabulous and I've been told that it is an awesome production.

I think on the 4th we'll take it easy and visit Central Park (most definitely via carriage ride), catch a hot dog vendor for lunch... (or would that be pizza joint????) and then head down by the Statue of Liberty to watch the fireworks. I know that is going to be an absolute highlight of our trip.

Next stop... Paris!

2008-04-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

We arrive in Paris about 2 pm on June 29th. Our hotel is the Elysees Union and we should have a very nice view from our room. We're spending three nights in Paris where our plans include visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame... as well as what I've been told is the best ice cream shop on the planet. We've purchased a Paris Pass - which entitles us to an open-top bus tour, a river cruise as well as entry into so many museums that we would end up with blisters on our blisters!

View from the hotel

As you can see from the map, we're only about 5 minutes from both the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

Location of our hotel

The Eiffel Tower

Scenic French Riviera

2008-04-08T11:12:00.000-07:00

This excursion takes you on a wonderful scenic drive along the coastal road from Villefranche towards the village of La Turbie. You will drive by Monaco and the cliff-top village of Eze. There are many memorable sights along the way, making a couple of stops along the way to admire the breathtaking views.

Villefranche, France

Monte Carlo Casino

On your way back to Villefranche, you will also enjoy a drive through Nice. Casino de Monte Carlo opens its Salles Americaines (free admission) at noon, with slot machines only. Salles Publiques (fee of 10 Euros in cash) is open at 12:00 noon for Roulette, 2:00 pm for slot machines.

Friday, June 27th - Tuscany!

2008-04-04T20:22:00.000-07:00

Our next stop is at Florence/Pisa (Livorno) where our shore excursion is:

Combine two of the most famous Tuscan towns: Lucca with a colorful history that stretches back to the days of the ancient Etruscans and see Pisa's famous "Field of Miracles," where you have an opportunity to photograph the cathedral, the baptistery, and of course, the Leaning Tower.

Duomo & Leaning Tower, Pisa

Arriving in Lucca, take a guided walk through the old town, which retains its Renaissance-vintage fortified walls. Stroll from piazza to piazza and learn the city's history through its architecture.

Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

The Duomo, Lucca's Romanesque cathedral dates from the 12th century and features a facade with elaborate relieves and columns. The Gothic interior features an image of Christ on the cross, supposedly carved by Nicodemus, a purported witness of the crucifixion. The Duomo also boasts Tintoretto's magnificent painting of the Last Supper. Once a powerful maritime republic and a rival to Genoa and Venice, Pisa offers Renaissance splendor of its own. A short guided walk leads to the "Field of Miracles," where you receive a brief orientation on Pisan history before enjoying time to explore on your own and grab a bite to eat at one of the many local restaurants. The Piazza is the site of Pisa's Duomo, Baptistery, Campo Santo, and of course, the campanile - the famous Leaning Tower. Galileo is said to have used the 180-foot campanile during his experiments with gravity. The tower began leaning during construction, the foundation settling unevenly as builders reached the fourth story. Today, the tower leans 14-degrees from perpendicular. Recently reopened, admittance to the tower is limited. The cathedral - Pisa's Duomo is built in an amalgam of Tuscan and Romanesque styles. The black and white interior marble arches are thought to have been inspired by Islamic architecture. You will have plenty of photo and shopping opportunities on this tour.

Next Stop... Rome!

2008-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Here are our plans for visiting the Eternal City. We had really wanted to do the tour that spent a good deal of time at the Vatican, but it was already booked, so we went with the next best thing.

This overview of Rome's classical era starts with an outside visit of the Colosseum, the symbol of the power of Imperial Rome. Proceed on foot to see the Roman Forum and the Capitonline Hill. Spend some time soaking up the history and enjoy the opportunity to take some memorable photos.

After lunch, you will head by coach towards St. Peter's Basilica. Your guide will lead you towards the vast square in front of St. Peter's. After a visit of the Basilica, you will have some free time to explore the area on your own.

2nd Port of Call - Naples/Pompeii

2008-04-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is what we are planning for this stop:

The coastal road, winding along breathtaking curves, takes you to Sorrento, perched high above the Bay of Naples. After visiting the historic center you will have some time to browse in shops where local artisans display beautiful handcrafts.

This is a picture of Sorrento.

I know we're looking forward to the "browsing in shops" part! :-)

This will be a fairly long day - the tour is scheduled for 9 hours.

What the cruise holds in store for us - 1st Port of Call

2008-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

We are booked on the Norwegian Gem leaving Barcelona on June 22. We stop in Valletta, Naples, Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Nice. We have shore excursions booked in each location; but I'm not sure they are the best choices. Some of what I wanted to do was no longer available (like the Vatican in Rome).

We've reserved a mini-suite. Remarkably it was only about $300 more than a balcony room. The ship has a rock climbing wall and a bowling alley so it should prove fairly easy to keep my 13 year old son busy during our down time.

Ok, let's talk about the ports of call. The first one - Valletta. Here is the description of the shore excursion we've picked.

"As you head to Mosta, you'll see one of the largest domes in Europe. The church was nearly destroyed during World War II when an Axis Bomb pierced the Dome but failed to explode. The detonator was removed and a replica of the bomb is now displayed as a memorial. Then drive to one of the local vineyards where some of Malta's most delicate wines are produced. A wine tasting session accompanied by local specialties will follow. Afterward, visit a number of local artisans at work producing typical Maltese ware. Here, you'll enjoy some free time for shopping. Visit San Anton Gardens which surround the Palace built in 1623, and today is the residence of the President of the Republic of Malta. The garden as we know today was open to the public in 1882."

This is a picture of the inside of the Dome in Mosta.

What we're planning...

2008-03-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

What we're planning for Barcelona...

I've been studying Modern Architecture and Design this semester and one of the most original and memorable architects we learned about was Antonio Gaudi. He exemplified the Art Nouveau movement with extremely asymmetrical buildings, lots of curves and he basically made it so nothing matched in his architecture. He was very prominent in Barcelona with buildings such as the Sagrada Familia (Church of the Holy Family - pictured) and Park Guell. A friend said that his buildings kind of looked like Dr. Seuss decided to become an architect! I'm very excited about being able to see his marvels in person. Other than taking in the rich architecture, we plan on doing a day of the jump on/jump off bus tours and just seeing where we end up. I like those kind of vacations - you know the ones at a very leisurely pace! Does anyone have any other suggestions of "can't miss" items?

We're staying at the Aparthotel Mariano Cubí which according to their website is a 4-star facility. I'm anxious to see how spacious the rooms are - I know when Lindsay and I went to Paris in 2001, the room we had was about the same size as what you get on a cruise ship. Can you say "tiny"? Speaking of cruise ships - that will be my next post.

77 Days to go!

2008-03-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

I have 77 days left before I join the ranks of the 'gainfully' unemployed. After more than 24 years with one company, it's a little weird to think about. But with the morale and constant outlook for more layoffs; I actually feel really lucky to be getting out now. Besides the fact that I am going to get a year severance pay and they announced after I got the package that it was getting cut in half. You remember the old commercials they used to do after the superbowl... hey Joe you just won the Super Bowl... what are you going to do? And they would respond with "I'm going to Disneyland". Well, I have my own version - hey Barb, you just got laid off what are you going to do? "I'm going on an almost 3 week European vacation!" Can you think of a better way to celebrate? :-)

My mom, Travis & I (Ed can't go - he has stuff going on at work that he can't get away from ... besides, someone has to stay home to feed the dogs, right?) are leaving June 18th for Barcelona Spain. We are spending 3 nights in Barcelona before we hop on a cruise ship where we stop in places like Rome, Florence/Pisa, and Naples. Next we catch a flight to Paris where we spend 3 glorious nights exploring! The Louve, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame - maybe a quick trip to the French countryside. We will actually be in Paris for Mom's birthday! Next we catch a plane back to the US; but we're not coming home yet. We're going to spend 3 nights in the Big Apple. We have tickets to see Wicked on Broadway on the 3rd of July and are planning to spend the 4th of July watching the fireworks near the Statue of Liberty. Next... surprisingly enough, we're not catching another plane - but a train to Washington, DC. We are going to spend another 3 nights in our nation's capital - exploring the monuments, maybe going to the Smithsonian.

After that, I'm probably going to *have* to go back to work! Oh well, I figure this is a once in a lifetime vacation - when else am I going to get Motorola to pay for it?