Mega Bus

A coworker was showing me this site this morning. Looks like a great way to get away- and if you book in advance (a month or more?) you can get bus tickets for as low as $2!!! I can go from KC to St. Louis for $5 for my birthday. Not that I will, but I love the thought of it. If they would add a trip from KC to Dallas or the Twin cities I'd be going one or the other once a month. Seriously! The trips are very limited but the buses sound nice. Double decker bus, reclining seats, two bathrooms, tvs for each person (?). Yep, I'm sold. I might just have to plan a quick trip for a couple days in the fall. I won't have vacation days to use but we could get away for a weekend. If I had more time I'd hop on a buses (via Chicago) to Minneapolis, Detroit, and as far as Boston (can't quite get to Maine where my sister is). It's too bad it doesn't go south. I'd like to travel cheap to Baton Rouge and Dallas, too.

Where would you go if you could go anywhere in the U.S. for two or three days? or longer?

Lemons, Motorcycles, Baseball, and Horses

That sums up our fun week! :) Last week my mom and her husband were in town for one week of their summer-long motorcyle ride to visit many places and people. A few quick highlights: spending time with my mom, mom being there when I first got to hear baby's heart beat (see below post), the boys and Lester playing lots of Wii, the boys getting short rides around the block on the motorcycle (they got to wear the helmets we bought them last year for riding the four wheeler), lemons for dinner (explaination to come below), and more time spent with mom and Lester. Oh, and I told her a few times that we felt spoiled-- they cooked twice and bought dinner once. NICE!

Mom also dropped me off at work each morning and picked me up each evening. I LOVED THAT! This was so they could use the car to "play" with the boys while Shaun and I were at work each day. Their playtime included a trip to the library to sign up for the summer reading club- who better than my mom to do this, she's an elementary school librarian! They also got to go see the movie UP, which Shaun and I had secretly watched without the boys the weekend before during a date. Fun movie! On Friday, mom and Lester's last full day in town, they brought the boys to Time Out Corner and played mini golf on the black-lit, neon-painted course. This is one of our favorite family activiies. The boys love playing mini golf and the arcade games. I'm sure they did more but these are the activities coming to mind now. They all had lots of fun.

During the evenings, we went to Shane's baseball game one night and then Logan's another. Unfortunately Shane and Logan both had games at the same time the second evening so Shane and Shaun weren't able to watch Logan's game with us. We also spent parts of two evenings playing monopoly. Logan especially loves to play monopoly and has taken over the job of banker the last few times we've played. Somehow we managed to have lots of time to rest and just sit and visit too.

Lemons: Did you know that lemons and bacon make a great side dish for dinner? We didn't! One of the nights my mom and Lester made dinner they made "lemons" and bacon. At least that's what Logan thought it was and we didn't correct him. :) He truly believed it was lemons until I slipped a few minutes into dinner, after Logan had eaten a couple bites and declared they weren't sour but he still liked them. I accidentally pointed out that Lester had eaten all his "squash" by stacking it all and eating it in one fork full. Oops! Logan heard me right away. Darn it! It had been sooooo fun to play into his lemons dish. He really did believe it. It was too funny and we were all trying hard not to laugh. The next time someone makes yellow squash for you, just think of them as lemons. I like squash and liked the dish but Shaun and Shane aren't veggie people so as soon as they'd had a bite they were done. Although I do have to say that Shane ate a few more small bites, just because I said he had to do so, and without much fussing. It just wasn't something he wants again any time soon. He much prefered the bacon. Logan ate all of his, I think.

I almost forgot! I had put horses as one of the title words and forgot to talk about it! That's what happens when I go on forever about other things... On Saturday we visited a friend's horse farm so that Shane could finish a few easy requirements for his animal science merit badge. That was very quick but we also found out that there is a horse merit badge so we had more fun with what we thought could be some of the requirements for that one. I still need to look it up and see how much we accomplished! We might have to go back, which we'll be very happy about. :)

My friend Pat has a few beautiful horses and is always willing for us to come out to visit. For a while I'd worked with one of her horses, mainly doing ground work with a program that perscribed very gentle, trust building training exercises. I very much enjoyed doing this and love horses but I became too busy with school work to continue. As Pat always reminds me there will be a time when I'm able to do more with horses again. I just hope it's not too much longer because I really miss it. Priorities are not fun!

While we were at Pat's the boys each got to brush horses (Logan's was a pony mix). They they each got to ride the horses at a walk in a small fenced in area. They had a blast! I also rode for a short time, also at a walk. I was being careful and we also found out the horse I'd worked with has gone lame on one leg due to an old injury. Anything more than walking was out of the question. Pat also showed Shane and Logan the different sadles, bridles, bits, foods, etc., and also how the horses are fed and cared for. We can't wait to see how much Shane's done on this badge without even knowing it existed until earlier that day!

A few days on the Emerald Isle

Introduction: I've been hoping to blog daily while on my trip but the internet connection at our guesthouse has not been working properly. Today it's back up and running. I've been keeping a daily journal for part of my coursework, which is the same as I would have blogged, so now I'm uploading the past few days worth of journal entries. I'll also be loading pictures ...

March 14, 2009

I've been in Northern Ireland for more than two whole days now! I've tried to blog before now but the internet connection is very flaky, at best. Below is a quickly put together video of the pictures I took during the first two days. Later I'll add more and hopefully with more information. Enjoy!



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The flight over was very long at about seven hours from Atlanta to Dublin, Ireland. It was fun, but long, and most of our group of 13 didn’t sleep very much. The Atlanta airport may be the largest I’ve been to and the plane we were on from there was definitely the largest I’ve set foot on. I think I figured out that we had at least 250 passengers. The best part of the flight was surely the announcement that we could now see the Ireland island ahead. We couldn’t wait! I thought I’d seen Ireland already but we must have been over other large islands instead.

As we got off the plane and wandered through the gate we found our way to the Immigration gates. We waited in the long lines to be accepted into Ireland. Once we were all actually in the country of Ireland we grabbed our luggage and met our driver, “Doc” William Doherty. Doc drove us the three hours to Derry, Northern Ireland, with a quick stop about half way for “tea and toast” which ended up being lunch for most of us. I think it hit a few of us that we had actually made it here around the time we arrived in Derry. Somehow crossing the river Foyle made it more real to me. The river Foyle divides the city of Derry from Londonderry, although, I think, part of Londonderry is on the Derry side of the river. I'm not sure about this. I'd have to look at the city map and see if it says. Not everyone calls part of the city Londonderry. Sometimes it's L'Derry and sometimes it's all considered to be Derry. That depends on who's talking.

A few other little things that I’ve noticed about the culture/city are as follows:

1. Craic=atmosphere or attitude. Therefore, if a pub has “good craic” they have a good atmosphere. I only have heard this used in a positive way so far.
2. People drive on the opposite side of the road. This means while riding around on the bus every car coming down the other lane looks like they will hit you head on.
3. While walking on the sidewalk you have to realize that the cars coming right at you on the road are closer than you think. They WILL hit you if you step off the curb. There is no shoulder. Also, when a car turns either right or left they are turning directly into the lane you want to cross. Don’t cross when cars are anywhere near. They won’t see you until they hit you! None of us have yet been hit but we’ve come close many times.
4. There is litter and old, dried, flattened gum EVERYWHERE! I soooo badly want to grab some grocery bags and dig the litter out of the fenced tree trunks and off the roads and sidewalks and in the brush. It’s gross! It’s everywhere!
5. I LOVE the Irish accent. Absolutely love it. Most of the time I can understand what is said but if the accent is very rough then it’s much harder. If we can’t understand someone we have learned to simply agree or dismiss what is said. Usually we ask what they are saying a couple times before acknowledging what is being said, even if we don’t actually get it. :)

There are other little idiosyncrasies that I’ve noticed but these are the few that I’ve been able to remember at the moment.
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Once we arrived in Derry we settled into the “guest house, not a B&B” Clarence House at 15 Northland Road. Click here to see the website (which is admittedly outdated). Michael runs the house. It has been in his family for many years and he was raised here. Michael is quite the character. He is constantly joking around with us and has a wonderfully eccentric sense of humor. When he deals it out we have figured out how to take it (never seriously) and exactly how to whip out our responses. He loves joining in our conversations are starting them. He likes to be part of our group while we are here. He is also an amazing cook. I can’t wait to eat a traditional Irish dinner on St. Patrick’s Day! We’re having Irish Stew, of course. I’m sure I’ll blog more about the dinner after it’s happened.

The Clarence House is a cozy old home converted into the guest house. It’s certified guest house, not a bed and breakfast. B&Bs, as they seem to be called the most here, are a home that is lived in and has only spare bedrooms rented out. A guest house has much higher standards and this one has all rooms “en suite” meaning that each has its own bathroom. The décor is extremely Victorian. It does help with the cozy feel. Michael hopes to someday soon sell his guest house and move to a nearby town in Ireland. His asking price is $1.25 million pounds. In my opinion this is high but I don’t know the market for a guest house and don’t know what the area homes or guest houses sell or appraise for. If someone where to buy it the wiring and plumbing would need to be updated sometime in the near future. I’m sure there are other less apparent issues to deal with also. This would not be an inexpensive venture. For now it's a nice little, quaint guesthouse that I'd recommend to anyone. I really do feel at home here and Michael makes sure we are all taken well care of. He's a great guy.

After arriving at our cozy accommodations we settled in, showered, and napped. Other than two naps of less than an hour each I hadn’t slept in about 20 hours. I was bushed! Unfortunately I wasn’t able to sleep because of my excitement. I slept for maybe an hour before it was time to go to dinner with the group. Dinner was wonderful. We went to Flaming Jacks where I had a fabulous roast half duck dinner followed by a quick visit to a local pub. One of the guys from the group and I left the pub early because neither of us drink and we had been there long enough for our tastes.
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Friday morning started off with a yummy Irish breakfast, cooked by Michael of course. Then we registered at the Magee Campus of the University of Ulster (click here) and received our computer cards. After registering we went to the meeting room that we get to use for lectures and Terrie McCants (from K-State) lectured for a couple hours about the conflict and peace process in Northern Ireland. It was a most interesting lecture and we had great discussions, as always in Terrie’s classes (HI TERRIE!).

It is most interesting to me that some conflict resolution technique is rooted in Northern Ireland with the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement, which was put in place in April of 1998. I’ll try to remember to blog more about the lecture at a later time. We will have a couple more lectures by Terrie as well as lectures by professors here at University of Ulster and the Magee Campus.

Friday afternoon we toured the “Walled City” in Derry. It was built in the early 1700s. There are a few churches within the walls and many businesses. I’m not sure but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were also many residences. See the pictures in the video of the walls, the Saint Columbos Church, and much more.

Friday evening we ate at a great restaurant recommended by Michael. It’s called “Quay West” which when pronounced sounds like Key West or Kay West. Quay West is inside an old church and has great modern décor. This time I was smart and shared a meal of Tai Chicken (think about the taste of a spicy Indian curried chicken). YUM! I then retired early with Terrie to the Clarence House. I’m not much for pubs and partying. No surprise there, I’m sure! Terrie and I sat in the parlor chatting with Michael for a while that evening.
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Saturday morning we again had a great Irish breakfast. We then loaded onto the bus with Doc and drove to a few sites in nearby Ireland. First we went to the Beltney Circle of Stones (sp?), then to a nearby castle, then to the town of Donegal, IE. Donegal seems to be the best town for tourist shopping nearby. There were some great shops and restaurants and the perfect Irish Gift Shop. I was able to load up most of my gifts and souvenirs all in one store. I also got a cute black dress with a short white sweater for myself.

Once back in Derry we stopped in at the Beachhill Hotel. This hotel is famous for being the U.S. Navy and Marines headquarters during WWII. There were lots of pictures and artifacts on display. Presidents Clinton and Kennedy have also stayed at the hotel as well as other popular politicians of the U.S. and Ireland.

The evening was very relaxing with most of us grabbing dinner and then eating at a small Sushi Bar or at the Clarence House. A few of the group went out to a pubs. The rest of us stayed “home” and relaxed and wrote in our journals, which we are keeping for the course and for our future reference. Blogs do count as journals! Wahoo! I’d already planned to blog (if and when I have an internet connection) so this was perfect for me.

That brings us to right now. I am currently sitting in the parlor journaling all that you’ve read above and chatting with Michael and the two students who just arrived home from the pubs. It’s almost 11:00 pm here and 6:00 pm in Kansas. I hope to get this uploaded to my blog tomorrow but it will be a very busy day and time for blogging will only happen late at night and only if the internet connection is back up.

Good night!
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Sunday

Today we were picked up early by Doc for an all day adventure! Terrie had the day planned to spend along the Northern Coast. It was fun for me to see the Atlantic Ocean and know that I had played in the same ocean as a child in North Carolina (and I think Virginia Beach and Myrtle Beach, not entirely sure, bad memory). The area that we traveled to was one of the most beautiful places on earth, literally. It’s touted as such by the locals and also on tv shows and in books, or so we were told. I believe it may actually be true. No photograph could possibly capture the beauty that you see and feel all around you while on the Northern Coast.

Unfortunately I forgotten to take the memory card for my camera out of my laptop. I had also forgotten to charge my camera batteries although I knew one would still be alright for a little while longer, perhaps not all day though. I was, and still am, very upset with myself for this. Today was the BEST day for photography that I’ve EVER experienced. The weather was perfect and the scenery will never be as breathtaking. I was very happy though to pose for a few pictures taken by friends and have been promised copies of their pictures. This of course means I won’t be able to sell the pictures as my own on my up-and-coming website. ARG! I really wanted to show my talent with these beautiful photos. Well, nothing could be done so I’ll be plugging in a battery and my memory card as soon as I’m done journaling. I am very thankful for those who offered to take pictures of me and to give me their pictures at a later time. I hope we can all swap CDs sometime soon after returning to the states.

The first place visited today was the Messendun Temple and a very old home from the 1700s. This site is along the coast and WOW! I couldn’t get enough of it. I would love to bring a bridal party here for a wedding shoot. Anyone up for a destination wedding? I can’t pay for it though so they would have to. It’s just that beautiful. It was so inspiring. I wanted to cry that I couldn’t take the beautiful surroundings into my photos and then have them forever. Again, I am very happy that I will receive friends’ photos but it just won’t be the same. Not this time. I hope and pray that one day I will be able to bring family members and friends here to all of the places we visited today and on previous days.

Next we visited a castle (or the ruins of a castle) again, I think, built in the 1700s. I’m not good at remembering specific facts about places we visit so I’ve bought a book on Irish sites and tourism. I also have information from a couple of the places we visited so that I can use them for scrapbooking or just tuck them away somewhere for future reference. The castle was situated on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic. It had crumbled over time but was still amazing to tour. You could still kind of see what some of the rooms may have been used for. There was also a short DVD to watch about the castle which was interesting.

After the castle ruins we went to the Giant’s Causeway. This is another amazingly breathtaking place. It is part of the National Trust which seems to be a lot like the National Forests in the states. We walked about six miles on the trails down the cliffs and to the beach (YES, the beach! Can't you just imagine the beauty? Think paradise!). The most amazing part to me is the basalt rock that has pushed its way up to the surface of the earth in hexagonal dikes (columns) all over this area. We were told that there are only four sites like this in the world! It was stunning. I actually understood what the dikes were and how they were formed thanks to my geology classes that I’m in this semester.

Corrymeela Reconciliation Center was our next stop. It’s a wonderful center for peace and reconciliation which runs mainly due to the numerous volunteers. The have about 300 volunteers through the year. It wasn’t too clear to me exactly what they do but I think this is mainly because they are the facilitators for many types of groups and families. Each individual, family, or group who visits the center for services needs different activities and courses for their conflict resolution and healing processes. This is a faith based center which is open to those of any and all faiths and also to those who do not identify with a faith. A couple of the girls from my class were very interested in coming back over the summer to volunteer.

We tried to go to a local humongous brewery near the causeway but it closed right as we got there. I didn’t mind not going but wasn’t happy with the customer service. The lady who went out to lock the doors right as we walked up to them said the last tour had already started a while ago and that the gift shop had closed one minute ago. One minute! That’s ridiculous! We weren’t very thrilled with this and won’t be going back.

The trip back to Derry went by fast but I think that’s mostly because I was able to take a little nap. I was very tired from all the walking we’d done and all the traveling. I’m also a bit medicated due to hurting my right leg a little. It’s doing much better now though. I think I just jammed my knee a bit and that it’s mostly worked itself out of it. I’m just guessing but the swelling in my knee has gone down and most of the time it doesn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday. It's just a bit sore and stiff.
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Monday

9 am local time; 4 am Kansas time. I think I’m still jetlagged. I could have slept a couple more hours this morning. The funny thing is that I haven’t been going out to the pubs like most of the group but I’m still just as tired as they are. Ugh!

Today is rainy and probably a little cooler than this weekend. We have had perfect weather so far so it was expected that we’d have some rain soon. Supposedly it rains a little each day here but thus far we’d only had a little sprinkling. I’m glad the rain waited until a day that we’re inside for the most part, at least until later this afternoon. Today we have a lecture at 10:15 then lunch then a lecture by a local professor or speaker. We’ll be hitting the course material hard over the next few days. Our “vacation” is over. Well, kinda. Tomorrow is a day off and we’ll be attending the parades and festivities of St. Patrick’s Day in real Irish style. We’ll then have a big Irish dinner at the guest house which will include Irish stew and salads, music, and Irish dancers. We’re looking forward to it.

Yesterday we could see Scotland from the Northern Coast. A few of us were really hoping to get a ferry to Scotland while we are here but it doesn’t look like we’ll have time to do so. Maybe sometime in the future I’ll be able to get my family here and do lots of touring and cross-country driving. I’d really like that. The country here is beautiful. The northern coast is my favorite part of the country so far. I couldn’t get enough of the ocean views. I really love being so near the sea. Breathtaking doesn’t even come near what I feel. I would love to live near the sea again some day. That’s probably just a dream but still will be a dream nonetheless.

Last night myself and four others attended a meeting at the next door Derry/Donegal Christian Fellowship Church. The meeting was a contemporary style and was very interesting and engaging. I love my own church meetings and the spirit felt at them but I can also feel the spirit in meetings such as this. I’ve been to quite a few contemporary meetings with small bands and worship music. I love the music and singing with the congregation. It’s a nice change of habit for me once in a while. The message shared was about repentance although the speaker, Phillip from Romania, seemed to talk about many topics and was very passionate about sharing his message. The meeting was much longer than we’d expected but it was very good.

After dinner we went to India House a very scrumptious Indian restaurant. It was just our small church group and we had wonderful conversations and enjoyed the food and the company. This is such an intensely spiritual group of young adults. I really enjoyed this time with them rather than participating in the time that most of the group spends at the pubs. One of them, Tolu, doesn’t drink. He will go out with the group but doesn’t enjoy the pub atmosphere as much as the others. It’s been nice to have someone with similar values in this area. Last night I wanted to talk to the two girls eating dinner with us about drinking but for some reason I didn’t. Maybe it wasn’t the right timing to do so or maybe I was liking the direction the conversations were already going. I hope that Tolu and I can sometime share with them the reasons we don’t drink. I don’t expect this to change their decision to drink but I think they will understand our choices not to.

It’s about time to go to class so I’m signing off for now. G’day!

Detour!

I love road trips. I think I always have. Maybe not always the long ones, but especially the unplanned road trips. Yesterday Shaun mentioned that he'd like to show the boys where their grandpa grew up, the cemetary where Shaun's grandparents and numerous relatives are buried, and a church that is very significant to his family. So, I'm always up for postponing the end of a vacation, even if only for an hour or so, so we stopped in Victoria, Kansas. This is where both of Shaun's parents grew up, and I think they were both born there.

First we tried to find my father-in-law's parents' house. We think this may be it, although Shaun wasn't certain. If this isn't it then it use to be on a neighboring empty lot. We still need to check with Shaun's dad.



Next we visited the Cathedral of the Plains, which used to be the largest church this side of the Mississippi River. Shaun's family painted, sculpted, built, and created in most ways this beautiful old church. We didn't take any pictures inside because the 5:00 pm mass was going to start shortly, although we were still encouraged to walk around inside the chapel. It's gorgeous and this wasn't my first time seeing it. The boys were amazed! I told Shane just wait until he sees the inside of the temple. I think they are probably equally beautiful, if not more so, but I may be a bit biased. My father-in-law also attended seminary in the building right beside the church, but was drafted into the army before he could complete his studies to become a Priest.



After peaking into the church we drove just outside of Victoria, back toward I70, to the community cemetary. It's amazing to me to see so many Linenbergers, Brungardts, Brauns, and Drielings in once place. There were many other family names which I'm sure Shaun is related to in one way or another as the cemetary and the town are very small. Below are pictures of his grandparents' head stones and his uncle whom he is named after (Shaun Thomas aka Tommy or Tom). We hope to someday go back again with the boys and let them do rubbings of the stones (big paper and crayons used to rub a copy of the stone onto the paper). I remember doing that as a kid and really liked to have something to keep the memory with.

Final Day of Vacation

I'm not including our drive back to Manhappiness tomorrow as a vacation day, since it's a Saturday and we won't be doing anything fun. The drive back should be realitively uneventful. If not, I'll blog about it. Let's pray that nothing will happen to warrant that!

Today we hung around the house reading, watching TV, playing, sledding, and such. We also went on a short gold mine tour at Country Boy Mines. That was exciting and very interesting. My favorite parts were petting the donkeys who are allowed to roam the property, which isn't even fenced in, and watching the boys trying to pan for gold after the tour. The tour itself was nice. We were brought into an old mine which is now only used for tourism. We went 1,000 feet into the mine and saw into a couple other areas. It didn't seem very far from the front to the back while we were in it, but when we turned to go back it seemed like we could see forever down the long cave. It was wet and is about forty degrees year round. During the warmer months they pump air into the tunnel so that there is plenty of oxygen, but during the winter there is plenty naturally. They have also set up electricity for the purpose of the tours. We saw a couple "miners" (manniquians) working in the mine. Otherwise we were told the history of the mine and how it worked and were the gold was found. Now, no more gold nuggets are found but there was a lot of gold flakes in the panned water.

Here are a few pictures of the tour and our mining adventures:


The mine.



Me in the mine. Shaun was shooting the pictures from behind us.



Inside the mine, showing the tools used.



Part of a donkey. I told Shane this was the only time I'd let him use the word "ass" but he decided he'd rather not. Good boy!



Part of the mine that was blocked off from tourists.



The boys in the mine.



Danger in the mine! Although there wasn't usually any danger as the rocks take years to pile up. No deaths were reported in this mine, but there may have been unreported deaths. They may not have been reported because the mine owners wanted financiers.



Shaun panning for gold. The boys were hopeful.



The boys panning for gold. They each got a couple tiny gold flakes which they kept in small viles that Shaun bought them.



This is our "old fashioned" picture. They do take them there, but they weren't doing it while we were there so when we were left alone for a few minutes we snuck over to the costumes and took our own picture, with just hats. We were almost caught! The boys thought it was great that I did this. I can be sneaky now and then, as long as it's legal.



The sun was in our eyes. Logan was "heehaw'ing" as the donkey. The boys fought momentarily over who got to be the donkey. I steered clear of that one.



As we were leaving the mining area we saw the Breckenridge ski slopes so I got a good picture to share. We could see the area we were at for lessons, but I can't tell in this picture exactly were that was. If you see blue fences, that's where we were! I'd need a magifying glass and to have it blown up a lot.


Here a are couple pictures and videos from the evening's sledding:
Shane sledding. There were a couple kids on the sled hill beside our house when we got home from the mine tour so our boys ran out to play. The other two kids were visiting their grandparents who live on our block full time. Earlier in the week there were a few other kids visiting at another nearby house who sledded with Shane and Logan and then built a snow man while we were gone. The snow man is mostly melted now. You'll see Logan playing on it later in a video below.



The boys on the snow dump in front of the lot. This lot won't be built on as it's designated to be only a snow dump. It's nice because it's right next to our house and that means less neighbors and a good hill for the kids to sled on. When the snow is dumped there from our road and circle it becomes two hills, the lot and the snow dump, which the kids slide down one after another by combining the two. They make a good "bump" to start the second, smaller hill.



Logan walking the top of the snow dump. You can't tell how tall the lot and the snow dump are in these pictures and videos. Believe me, they're big enough for lots of fun!



Logan loves to sing and dance and is quite a ham when Shaun is shooting videos with his camera. Shane went down the hills a couple times during Logan's show. There are two videos of today's sledding but it takes too long to upload the videos today so maybe I'll try another time. After more than an hour of trying I'm giving up and going to bed so that maybe I can be awake during part of the drive home.


Happy trails!

Trip Day One

We are in Silverthorne, Colorado now! We arrived today and will leave Saturday, January 3rd. A full week in Colorado, and our first actual family vacation on our own, has been very exciting. I'm hoping to blog daily, but it may depend on what we do that day and everything else I need to do. I hope to send out Christmas cards (albeit after the fact), read at least one book, do fun activities daily with my family, and do half of an online intersession course. No, I don't know how to do one thing at a time. I seem to thrive on stress and multitasking. I don't know why. I guess it just helps my sanity to stay busy.

So, here are today's photographed adventures explained. It started out a beautiful day and we had great traveling weather until about half way between Denver and Silverthorne, which about an hour apart, when we hit the snow and a little traffic. While in Denver we went to Casa Bonita, a wonderful Mexican restaurant with all the entertainment you can imagine in a restaurant. Click the link for more information. This was a place that I'd been to once or twice as a teen and heard lots about since. Shaun and I were very excited to bring the kids there today, and luckily it wasn't too far off our planned drive and we had purposely planned to be in the Denver area for lunch. We both just happened to remember about Casa Bonita after we'd done some quick shopping. While there the boys also had caricatures done. They loved that!








The Eisenhower Tunnel--




Home Sweet Home, kinda.


Up to at least three foot of snow on the balcony.




We're not sure what's in store for the rest of the week and hope to plan some activities and meals tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Short Updates

1. I'm ready to go to Ireland! Ok, maybe not quite yet, but I did register and pay. I also received my passport, over Thanksgiving break. I am thrilled about this as I haven't ever needed a passport before now. Previously my short trips to Canada and Mexico, both just over the border while growing up, didn't require a passport. I also now have a passport card which will let me cross the borders without having the passport book. Of course that means getting my kids passports if I ever plan to bring them to Canada while visiting relatives in Minnesota. I'll probably do that at some point, just in case we get the chance.

2. I'll be photographing a wedding in late March! I'm very excited to do another wedding. The bride is a friend from church who has seen my photography over the past few years and knew she wanted me to be the photographer. We talked yesterday and it sounds great! Maybe I'll even get my website up and running before then. That's my goal. I'd like the wedding party and guests (and of course the bride and groom and their families) to have a way to directly order from me online but not have to go through another company's ordering process.

3. I have updated photos on Facebook so if you don't have a Facebook account, or if you're not yet my friend on Facebook, now might be the time to do so.

4. Christmas plans: We are hoping/tentatively planning to go to Colorado the day after Christmas, or possibly even Christmas Eve. You can go here to see more about our place in Colorado. I say "our" loosely as it actually belongs to my father-in-law's painting company.

5. Christmas cards: I hope to get these out on time this year. We'll see how that goes. I have the cards and evelopes and need to compile a list of addresses again. If I don't have your address please feel free to email it to me! If I do have it, you can email it to me too, just so that I have it in my email.

I think that's it for now! Take care and have a great holiday season.