Don and Beth's Adventures

2010-03-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

Will I ever get back to blogging??? We've been on a wonderful cruise to Panama, this past November/Dec. Christmas came and went and soon it will be Easter.

I've been working on actual physical (turn the pages type) albums of both the Panama & Mediterranean cruises. That was a request of Don's. I still have the descriptions to put in on the Panama cruise book. Love doing it but it has taken time, 200 pix PER book.

We had a great 70th birthday party for Don on Mar. 6 at Joy Luck Chinese. Family and some friends. He was very pleased.

We are looking forward to some of the family being here for Easter. Always love the Easter Egg Hunt.

One of these days I will get some pix posted.....

2009-08-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

Great get away to Pacific Grove for a couple of days of R & R.

Phil's b-day celebration

View from our window on the 3rd floor of the Green Gables B & B

Wish I could grow bogies this good

In our exploring, we stopped at a shopping center happened across this shop of "cars". Just had to take some pix for Ryan to see.

Pretty cool

Beautiful sunsets and ful moon on the water (missed a pic of that)

Great picture of my man!!

Saturday Aug 8th, celebrated Phil's birthday with the help of Ryan. Actual b-day 8-6-75.

Daddy's helper

Mom & dad went out to dinner and we were in charge of the kids. It was fun!!

The boys in for a swim.....What a good sport you are Don!!!

Trying to get Jack in the picture too, he got his feet wet...got to break him in young.

Jack, ready to be loaded in the car.

Got some smiles this time

Thanks for a great weekend!!!!

Love our grandkids!!

2009-08-09T21:38:00.000-07:00

July 09 with the family

Grammy & Jack

Grammy with the Ogden boys, Ryan almost 3 & Jack a month

Ben Anderson getting ready for a swim at Auntie Heather's. Great Anderson family day, thanks Heather!!

Dad Jarrett with Ben

Papa Don, Ben & Jarrett trying to stay cool.

Check this rocking horse out. Don made this for Nolan when he was about this age. Glad to see Heather saved it for the next little ones to play on.

Proud grandpa

Now for some piano playing, I think he has the ear for it.

Auntie Heather to the rescue, now for some real lessons from the pro!!!!

Fun times!!!

2009-06-16T17:25:00.000-07:00

Baby Jack Thomas Ogden

8.4lbs

21.5" long

born 6-15-09

Just doing my job!!!
We love our grandkids!!

2009-06-16T16:13:00.000-07:00

Jacquelyn & Nolan. She invited him to her senior prom. I think they had fun, they are both great kids!!!

It was fun being able to have prom pix taken at our house...didn't always get that chance with boys.

2009-06-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Doug's graduation from Culinary School

May 9, 09 We flew to Portland on Friday, met D & V for lunch and then went on a site seeing adventure. We drove east of Portland to Multnamah Falls on the columbia River Gorge. We saw some beautiful sites and it's only about a half hour from the city. Wow, I'm ready to move....hahaha

Dogwood tree

Another falls on the drive

Saturday was graduation. It was held at the Portland convention center and then the reception was at the school across the river in the heart of town. It was a great event.
Proud mom

New place of employment....yeh!!!!

Sunday was Mother's Day. We went to D & V's in the morning to see their apt. Then to church. After church Vanessa's mom had us over for a lovely brunch. We had a great visit and then went to a movie. It was a great weekend.

2009-06-16T13:26:00.000-07:00

Doug & Vanessa's visit over Palm Sunday weekend April 09

Heather hid the Easter eggs. This is a long standing tradition for the Reimer/Ogden family. The more the better.

Ready, set HUNT!!!!

Jacquelyn, Haley, Jenny, Emily & Eden

Jenny, Mel, Eden & Emily

Even Rita found her egg with chocolate eggs...does she look guilty or what?

Tradition to check the birdhouse. The egg from last year is still inside.

That face is worth it all!!!! Not bad for 10 minutes work

So great to have Doug & Vanessa home

Of course food!!V & D
Cooking up some grub....mmmmm Crab!!

From scratch pasta by the lil ole pasta maker Doug. Would you believe how many eggs this takes.

Do you think there are any pots or pans left in the cupboard???

Lovin every minute of this weekend!!! Family Family Family yeh!!

My Easter table

Play time with Uncle Doug

Video game training, learning from the best!!

Easter Sunday spend at Heather & Frank's

great weekend, great food

you are my favorite daughterHaley & Nolan Papa, Haley, Nolan & grammy

Two thorns between the roses....is that how it goes....hmmmm

fabulous rose bush

Heathers Iris garden, beautiful!!

2009-06-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

Grand Daughter Day at the Ice Show (Jan 09)

Boy did we feel special in these plush leather reclining seats.....until we were told that our seats were down further in the added bare bones section....we enjoyed the show anyway.

Dinner at CPK.....girls in their silly mood.

2009-04-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Bridge over the Kaweah River at the Gateway Resturant

just before you enter Sequoia Nat'l Park (Three Rivers)

We decided to take a drive up past Three Rivers in mid March, have dinner at the Gateway and check out the wild flowers. It was a lovely day with great white fluffy clouds and spring popping out everywhere.

Ducks below the bridge

Lupin & Mustard on the hillside along the roadside

Wonderful cloud formations

Hey Don, what ya doin behind the bush????

2009-03-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

Please don't give up on me yet. I have lots of pix in my camera but need to find the time to post. I did get them downloaded from my camera to the computer. That's a start. More to come soon!!

2009-02-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

Marriage Action Team event at Shaver Lake

Jan 09

We had a great brainstorming meeting with about 35 people that are excited about what we are doing as an organization. Don & I volunteered to take care of all the food so that kept me pretty busy for the week before.

It rained most of the day on Saturday but towards the end of the day it began to snow. The timing was perfect because we were just finished with the meeting. There was no hanging around to visit, everyone scampered out as fast as they could to get down to a lower elevation before too much snow dropped. It was beautiful!! The staff of 6 stayed until noon the next day. We did come prepared with chains.

The meeting was held at 5,000 sf chalet (we were told is wasn't a cabin...oops!), It was the Mt. "cabin" weekend that Ron & Joan McClain (our bosses) bought at our fundraising dessert last fall. Very beautiful place and setting as well.

This was taken on Sunday morning. By noon it was starting to snow fairly heavy so we all decided it was time to go so we wouldn't have to put on chains either.

2009-01-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

Mexican Cruise Jan 09

Cabo san lucas, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta

The weather was a bit cool for sunning on the deck let alone water slides.

Headed out of the San Pedro harbor following the Carnival ship

Sunset leaving San Pedro
Our room
Two days out and then our first stop at Cabo at noon on the 3rd day. Took a tour of the city. Stopped at the glass blowers. Was interesting.
These were all blown glass Christmas ornaments A square in Cabo with Christmas decorations still up.

Left Cabo and the next stop was Matzalan. This was at sunrise coming into harbor.

We took another city tour which included these dancers/fliers.

Driving along the long beach front were many sand art pieces. Thought this was good of the wise men.

Some more fliers.

A stop along the city tour.

Viewing some luxury hotels along the coast at Puerto Vallarta.

After our city tour we decided to go for a walk along the beach at P.V. The one thing I really wanted to do on this trip was para sail but until now it just hadn't worked out so I had basically given up on the idea. As we were walking along the beach we were approached by some guys asking if we wanted to para sail. Don immediately said "no, but she does". He told me this was my chance and to do it. So I did. I must say it was a piece of cake and so much fun. I can now cross that off my list of things I really wanted to do in my life. (not sure if I will ever get to sky dive, Don's not encouraging me to do that).

The prep with instructions. Camera in my hand.

Off I go

Couldn't do much about the hair but was determined to capture this just in case there were those that wouldn't believe that I would do this. Have camera - will travel.

Birdseye view of 3 cruise ships in harbor

More bad hair

Hotels along the coastline

Better view of our ship in the center

View of the coastline high in the sky. Soooooooooooooo much fun!!!!!

Perfect landing!!!! Wow!! On our way home we had to make an unexpected stop at Cabo for medical reasons (not for us). We only stopped in the harbor for about an hour. It was a much nicer day so I was able to get some nice pix of the beautiful rock formation.

Sail boats in the sunset as we were leaving Cabo. The next 2 days were at sea days and was very relaxing. All in all we had a nice relaxing time.

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Can't get this to post the right way. It's the cliff diver. Oh well

Christmas 08

2009-01-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas 08

This is my P-31 (Proverbs 31) group that has been together for many years. It was fun being able to host the Christmas gathering this year.

Christmas Day was fun. We had 3 out of the 5 kids & families here. Also had my sister Velora, Ed and their daughter Jayne, Jeff & Jacquelyn. We missed Jarrett, Carrie & Ben and Doug & Vanessa. Maybe next year.

Nolan & Ryan

Time to "Rip Paper" as Ryan said.
Nolan & Haley

Mel, Frank's back, Jeff & Jayne

Haley, Emily & Eden playing games in the play room.

Ryan

Ryan, Jenny & Jacquelyn

Nolan, Todd & Don

Loves those cars & trucks

Eden, Haley, Heather (Haley's mom ) & Emily

2008-12-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

Awesome Thanksgiving!!!

What a great time we had the 4 days we spent at Cayucos Beach. It was a perfect place to have a family gathering. We hope we can do this again someday. The only downer was that Doug & Vanessa weren't able to be with us. We hope that will work out the next time because you were missed!

Wednesday was a day to get settled and just hang out. Ben sure had fun in this little chair just his size.

Early surfing lessons from dad (Jarrett)

Spending time getting acquainted. Jenny, Ryan & Ben

Thanksgiving morning, a perfect time to have some quiet time check'n out the waves

Thanksgiving dinner is ready thanks to all the help from everyone

It was great being able to sit out on the deck for our dinner. The suites even provided table clothes. Looked a bit more like Christmas.

Dig in everyone

What's that up there?

Waiting for lunch scraps

This was taken from the middle of the street looking up to the 3rd floor.

Close up of the same shot but with me in it

Haley read a poem she wrote. It included something nice about everyone there. Great job Haley, I'd like a copy of that.

Hang'n out

Emily & Ryan

Ben joined the fun

Ryan & Emily check'n out the sunset

Todd & Phil doing some jam'n

Ryan's room. It was a closet with a mattress under the stairs. It was perfect for him and he loved it.

He was jumping from his folded pack & play to the mattress so I told him that he was riding a buck'n bronco. Well, he started to giggle and just kept jumping off the bronco. He started to call the bronco James & Henry. We laughed & laughed. Come to find out, he was talking about 2 train engines on the Thomas the Train video. Well, what can I say, hopefully our communication will improve over time. It sure was fun!

Ben was loving the deck. He could go in and out of the 2 suites and hang out on the deck. Here he's playing hid & seek with his mom (Carrie)

Getting ready to hit the beach.

Mel with Emily, Eden & Haley walking to the beach

Ok girls, go for it

This is Phil's first attempt at surfing. He did great and had fun

Papa Don & Ben having some fun in the sand

Jarrett, Todd & Phil headed out

These were all the brave one from our family that got wet

Todd & Jarrett catch'n a wave

Ben was lov'n the sand

Ben headed to the water as Eden watches

Ryan picking up rocks & throwing them in the water

Now for some play time with Papa Don. Sand castle sounds good.

The best thing about building a sand castle is crashing it. Yeh!

Emily took over now

Phil & Todd with Ryan

Not sure what this game was. Looks like "Hide the surf board"

They turned the Christmas lights on the night after Thankgiving. Great view of the hotel across the street.

Relaxing

Nolan's 19th birthday was on Thanksgiving Day. We celebrated on Saturday night. Dessert at the Sea Shanty. Yum!!!

I just want to say for us, this was a very special time having both families there, learning to know each other better. We want to thank everyone for all their help finding the place & preparing food. The comments were positive so I guess we picked a winner! (Nov 2008)

2008-11-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hanging Christmas lights

Thanks Nolan for all your great help with our outside Christmas lights and decorations. I was feeling scared for Don to put up those lights that were so high. You were such a great help. We love you and appreciate you so much.

Thanks again Nolan!!!!

2008-11-20T09:57:00.000-08:00

J. Anderson family visit to our house

It was great to have Carrie & Ben here for a few days while Jarrett had fire training for 4 days downtown Fresno. Jarrett & Carrie were able to have a date night on Tues. Carrie, Ben & I met Mel for lunch on Wednesday. She works very near here every Wed. so that worked out well. Todd, Mel & girls joined us that evening for dinner here.

Ben had fun with the toys that Phil & Doug played with when they were this age. Eden & Emily were enjoying entertaining Ben.

Carrie, Ben & I went several time to the park area by Sierra Vista Mall to let him explore. He seemed to really enjoy it.

We had a great time, thanks for spending time with us!

2008-11-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Happy 11th Birthday Haley

It was fun spending a couple of days at the Smith house. What a great dinner Heather made for Haley's birthday. I think Haley was pleased with her gift from us. Anything American Girl.

A nice thank you kiss for her papa. (Her only living grandfather)
The grandkids are all growing up too fast. (Check the decorated tree in the background....it's Nov. 8th!)

Thanks Heather & Frank for a great couple of days. Certainly put me in the Christmas decorating mode.

2008-11-06T14:09:00.000-08:00

Trip to the CA. Living Museum (CALM)

of Bakersfield

It had been too long since we had seen Ryan so we decided it was time to babysit for the day and then have dinner with Phil & Jenny.

Our adventure started out at Starbucks because Papa Don and grammy need their coffee before such a big adventure. Ryan had his Starbucks too (milk in a SB cup and a straw). Everyone was happy as we headed east of Bakersfield. There was much to look at as we went. There was road construction which provided Ryan with lots of construction vehicles to get excited about. Soon there were mountains to take in. How exciting that was. Finally we got to the zoo.

There were a lot of animals to see and not too many people so that worked out great. The first animals we saw were 2 skunks which had NOT been de-scented, so the ranger told us. We got close enough to tough but decided against that...you never know. (no pix of them)
All the animals had been rescued from the surrounding area which was pretty cool.

We saw a brown bear and a black one.

There were sheep & goats to pet. Ryan was especially interested in the sheep that was pooping.(no pix of that either) The sheep was very close to the fence and rear facing us....he thought it was so funny.

Oh the things that interests Ryan. For one, rocks, and how they feel under your feet.

The cement bear bench. He was actually afraid of it at first and was hiding behind me. He soon warmed up to the bear. "Hello bear, what's your name?"

Equipment truck...surprise surprise

I think he liked the ducks the best. He kept wanting to go back to see them. These deer were very friendly. He loved petting them.

No, he didn't pet the fox

It was past lunch time and we were all getting hungry. We asked Ryan where he wanted to go to lunch, Sonic or McD. Well he chose McD. After lunch and a nap at home I asked him to try on his Halloween costume. Well he couldn't have been happier to do that as you can see from his expression. The crocks had mickey cut outs. Too cute!!!

What a fun day for us all.
Thanks for a fun day Ryan (& Phil & Jenny too).

2008-11-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Fall get away

Had a great time this past weekend. We left Fresno on Friday and went to San Juan Batista. When we went through about a year ago, we stopped there. It was around 4pm and stores were closing. We decided then that we needed to come back another day and explore. We ate lunch at an OLD hamburger joint. Food was great! Proceeded to check out all the antique stores . As we walked into our favorite store (more junk that you can imagine), the first thing I saw was a group of dishes that I have a set of. It's the Real Old Willow pattern. Needless to say, I bought every piece because they are very rarely seen anywhere other than on the internet.
We continued to our hotel destination (Bay Landing, Burlingame). Got settled and went to dinner at the Fish Market (Yum!)
Saturday we drove over to Half Moon Bay, going past all the pumpkin patches which were loaded with people. Drove on down to Pescadero where we found the BEST bakery/grocery store. They were bringing fresh bread out about every 10 minutes. There were tons of bicyclist and motor cyclist there too. Went on to the Redwood Memorial Park and back for lunch at Barbara's on the beach at HMB. (Again, Yum!)
Sunday we drove down to Capitola and had lunch on the beach there. I think is was Zelda's. Checked out some antique stores in Soquel and drove through Watsonville over the mountains to Gilroy and then home.

Oh yes, we did bring some pumpkins home

2008-11-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Annual Marriage Mentoring Dessert

This was our big fundraising event for the year. We had around 275 in attendance and raised approx. the same as last year. We added a live auction this year and had Ed Croissant as the auctioneer. He did a great job. Ron spoke about what we have done this past year and Pastor Jim Franklin was our guest speaker. It was a lot of work for us. The event was our responsibility.
It was good to have Heather, Frank, Nolan & Haley there to help. Heather & Haley were here a day early and that was a big help for the setup. Nolan got to be a "caller" for the auctioneer which he relished.

Two cars loaded with flowers, table clothes, waters, etc.

We had a number of volunteers helping so set up went well.

Couples that were honored for being trained as presenters of the class we give. (Mastering the Mysteries of Love).

Don introducing auctioneer Ed Croissant

Nolan, watching for those raised hands bidding.

It was a great night but good to have it over with

2008-10-30T21:20:00.001-07:00

Benjamin's 1st Birthday

What a fun day for the Anderson family to celebrate Ben's birthday. It was so good to have LaLa (Carrie's mom) there too all the way from N. Carolina. I'm behind in my postings so I will let the pictures tell the story for this post.

A great time was had by all!!! Thanks Jarrett & Carrie, Heather & Frank

2008-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Fun Fall lunch with some family

As you are well aware, anytime this group gets together there will be laughs. The only downer was that Mel couldn't be with us. She was at a womens conference. As you can see, we caught Phil in the act of "trying to be funny". Just remember Phil, Ryan is repeating everything you are saying. I'm loving it!!!!

Ryan was now entertaining, dipping his bread in the catsup.
Been wanting a picture of Ryan with me in it too.
Love my Ryan!!!!
Thanks guys for a fun, relaxed day. So looking forward to Thanksgiving!

2008-09-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

Ryan's 2nd birthday party

He loves candles, trucks & chocolate

Jenny baked & decorated the truck cake

Ryan was excited for the party. The car decorations on the tables suited him just fine. He wanted to play with them instead of leaving them for decorations.

Lunch was great but now it was time to open presents, & presents & more presents!!

Lots of "Thomas the train" stuff.
Paper flying, looking for "toys" Dig deep!!
What, no toys, just clothes??

That's more like it. Cute fabric book made by Grandma Debbie about Grandpa Greg's farm
Trying to taste the fabric carrot
What a smile!!!
More train stuff

Time for candles....yeh. There were 4 birthdays celebrated, They were all blowing out candles. Sure was a lot of hot air in the room with all those people blowing....ahem!!!

Looks like Ryan only wants the wheels of the cake (chocolate covered donuts). Cute idea Jenny.

Finger lick'n good!!!

Oh the heck with fingers, get the face in there for a bigger bite.

Like father like son....in oh so many ways. It is so fun to watch because Ryan is so like his daddy. Brings back fond memories. My chocolate face guys.
"Mmmmm chocolate"

Everybody kept saying "say cheese". He's getting good at posing. (like Phil)

What a great day for all of us to celebrate!

Granddaughter Day Labor Day weekend

2008-09-01T20:51:00.000-07:00

This was Saturday of Labor Day weekend & time to spend with our grand daughters....they are grand!! Emily, Haley & Eden

Haley was at our house for night on Friday and we picked Eden & Emily up around 9:30 Sat. morning and went on our way up the mountains. We took our time because some of us get car sick. We were headed for Hume Lakes Country Fair that they have every year on this weekend.
The skating rink was turned into an auction of new & antique items all for donations for the camp. We didn't spend any time here. We did have our lunch out on this grassy area.
Inside the auction ring
We were looking for the face painting place but apparently we should have been there earlier because they had just closed. So there was this bungee/trampoline contraption so we decided to check it out. Eden was the first to say she wanted to go on it. It looked like a lot of fun. So I signed the consent forms while papa went and sat in the shade to watch. It was about a 45 minute wait, it was hot but they didn't flinch. Emily got on first
Then Eden
& Haley

Here are the videos of the girls jumping

After each of the girls got a 5 minute jump we decided it was time to go to the lake and rent a boat. They wanted to row over to the beach. Haley thought that might take about 15 minutes. Well, she & Eden did a great job rowing. They got a good rhythm going but in over an hour we didn't reach the beach.

Emily had the easiest job, feeding her face and enjoying the ride. Great add for Wheat Thins don't you think?

Papa was helping them keep on a straight course
We all voted that Emily needed to try her hand. She did a great job and was very determined to go a long way. I did get my turn (by myself), you should have seen us go....Don was very impressed. There are no pictures of me so you can believe it or not!!!

After we turned the boat in the girls wanted to get in the water so we went to the beach just across from the dining hall. The only one to really get into the water was Emily.

I got my feet wet too

Here's Emily swimming with the ducks. They came very close.
We were even blessed to see a baptism while we were sitting there. Pretty cool with the ducks in the background.
Dinner was served at the waters edge as the sun began to cast long shadows.

Emily needed a changing room so we provided that for her with towels.

As we drove home, the girls were giggling and laughing at their pictures they took. I think they all had a great day, we certainly did. Thanks moms & dads for sharing your kids for the day!!

Babysitting for Benjamin Anderson

2008-08-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

This is Benjamin Anderson, age 11mo. His mom & dad wanted some time to themselves so we volunteered to come and watch Ben for about 24 hrs. Mommy & daddy left around 11a.m. on Saturday to go to San Francisco to a concert in the park, returning Sunday around 1p.m.

After they left we fixed some lunch, ate and went for an outing to the outlet mall close by. He was good for a while but then got tired. Not able to keep up with grammy but is in training to shop the malls..hahaha.

Ben had a good nap after he had his second lunch, then he was ready to play.

Looks like papa is needing the nap about now.

He loves the game of throwing something (a shoe) in front of him as he crawled along, or even throwing the shoe down to the next step and then trying to retrieve it without having to crawl down the next step. He can fly up stairs but coming down, he's still in training.

Papa & Ben on the steps

Thought I needed to get in the picture somewhere. Hard to get both parties still & smiling. It was all so much fun.

Well, looks who's home. I think mom & dad missed Ben very much. They were so happy to see him. They had a great 24 hours though. Good to take a time out, right parents??? Hope we can do this again.

Happy homecoming!!!

Thanks Jarrett & Carrie for letting us spend time with Ben. It was great!

Doug & Vanessa's wedding

2008-08-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

What a great day!

August 9, 2008

We drove up to Portland and arrived there on Aug 6th. (Phil's birthday) Thursday was the rehearsal. That went well and then we were off to downtown Portland to go on a paddle boat cruise for dinner. It was a beautiful evening, cool after a fairly warm day. Dinner was great. The next day, there were things that Phil & Jenny needed to be at so we spent the day entertaining Ryan (tough job...ha). When we woke up Saturday morning I looked out and it had been raining. I don't think there was a plan B for the wedding, it was to be outside. As the morning went on, it began to clear and by wedding time it was absolutely perfect. God is good!

Vicki (Vanessa's mom) walked Vanessa down the isle as the string quartet played.

Don took over at that time to preform the ceremony. There was some good story telling, but also some great words of commitment. They took communion while the string quartet played. I liked my front row seat, good for pictures.

So from there they were pronounced man & wife and we moved on to the reception. Here is a video of some of the words shared....leave it to Phil to be a good MC...he did great at our wedding.

Clinking of the glasses produced a kiss....can you believe I was the one to start this??

This is a view from the house looking at the reception. Check the hydrangeas....Heather, eat you heart out....wouldn't I love this yard.

This was a garden room in the house. They had cupcakes instead of cake. They were stacked on a fun wrack. There was no smashed cake in the face either...they were so good!

The house & the gardens of this home (The McLean House, West Linn, OR) were beautiful. This was near the gazebo where they were married. They were taking pictures and I told Vanessa to get on the rock. I think they really had fun on their special day.

Photo opp

There was a DJ and some dancing.

The garter toss. Not sure of the name of the young man that caught it.

My "great" niece Jacquelyn was the lucky one to catch the bouquet.

My family picture

Now it was time to leave.

Happy life, my dear kids!!!

"The beginning" not "The End"

A few extra pix

We were all at Sweet Tomatoes before the kids evening out. The Matron of honor got this get up for Doug. He wore it all evening. As you can image, the crown added 6 inches to the already 6'8".

Ryan exploring

Had to have a picture in front of the hydrandeas

Sunday we went over to Vicki's house where she & her family put on a great brunch spread and Doug & Vanessa opened gifts. We left about noon along with Velora & Ed (my sister) and drove over to the Oregon coast. We drove to Tillamook and toured the cheese factory. After seeing that, eating some of their Delicious ice cream we traveled down the coast. Velora & Ed were in their own car. It was their anniversary (52) so we stopped at a waterfront hotel and had a lovely dinner to celebrate their big day. The next day we decided to do our own thing since we had different times that we needed to be home. We spent one more night on the road and arrived home around 9pm on Tues evening.

I think one of the funniest things that happened on the way was that we get this phone call from Phil while we were having this nice anniversary dinner with Velora & Ed. He's calling from our house. He sounded tense to say the least. He's saying "can you hear that, the house alarm is going off and the neighbor had called the police". You see, their car was here while they were gone and they were picking it up. Well the neighbor didn't see a car outside, because they had been dropped off by friends.

Sometimes it's hard to see in our garage at night (letting Phil off the hook here) so he punched the code in but didn't press the enter key (on/off). As soon as the door to the house was opened the alarm went off. I didn't believe him since he is always joking around. Finally I told him what to do and he got it switched off. By that time the police were here. When he looked at who was "breaking in" he believed the story and left. We have some great memories from this wonderful occasion.

Our Mediterranean Cruise June 08

2008-08-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin to tell about the trip that I have only ever dreamed about. We had such a wonderful time, saw so much, ate so much and didn't gain a pound. That's because we had 8 hr, 10 hr & 12 hour excursions at least half the time. It was also hot & humid. Hot being between 95-102 & being out in that all day took some energy out of us too.

Our trip started out the day before we were to fly out of L.A.X. We were headed down the road and began to see signs that said Grapevine closed. I don't remember ever seeing that except in winter. Well there was a chemical spill and they were diverting traffic around through Barstow..yuk. As it turned out, we had planned to have lunch with Phil & Jenny. After lunch we checked with Caltrans and the road was open. Good news.

All went on our early flight to JFK the next morning. It was after we boarded our flight to Rome that we sensed that it might be a long night. As it turned out, we ended up sitting on the runway for 5 1/2 hrs waiting for a thunder & lightning storm to pass. Of course they couldn't feed us in case the plane was able to take off so all they could give us in that time was water. We were so hungry since it was around 8pm our stomachs time, 11 pm their time. Well we finally did get off the ground. Made it to Rome 11 hrs later, made our shuttle connection and got on board 15 minutes before sailing. Much too close for our comfort. There were people that did miss the boat and had to catch it the next dock the next day. Also some people didn't get their luggage for 3 days. I can say for sure that I was very thankful that we got ours. Those sweats wouldn't have been to pleasant for that many days as hot as it was.

We sailed the night of June 15. The next morning we were at the port in Naples Italy. From there, we took a small bus that held about 20 people. We drove through Naples and then headed south to see the Almafi coast. We found Naples stacked with garbage. They are having on going issues that they don't seem to be able to resolve. We were glad we only drove through.

Our destination was Positano. A fabulous village nestled on the steep hillside. Houses seemed to be built right on top of each other. It was without a doubt the most beautiful scenery we saw the whole trip. We spent a couple of hours exploring the town and shopping. Then we boarded the bus and drove to Sorrento. The only problem I had was I got car sick because I so busy taking pictures from every angle I could. No sea sickness though, which was good.

We had lunch here in a very nice restaurant with a view of the cliffs of Sorrento as well as the whole bay, breathtaking to say the least. We then continued on to the ruins of Pompeii in the afternoon.

Pompeii was another place that fascinated me. To see how complete so much of the city was and how large too. We spent several hours here walking the streets of Pompeii, going into the bath house where there were still paintings or carvings on the walls. Also went to the arena where the gladiators did battle. All the time you could see Mt. Vesuvius in the background. Most of the city was still as it was when the volcano irrupted, unlike some ancient cities that ended up with much of their pillars and carvings being "recycled". That's the term our Vatican guide called it when they took pillars from Ancient Ephesus and used it at the Vatican. Sounds like stealing to me...

The next day was a day at sea which we were very glad for. The day after was the port at Marmaris where we decided not to do a ship excursion and to strike out on our own. The town wasn't far and so we took a taxi and did some shopping and walking around. We found a great hand painted plate to take home.

Day 4, we docked in Izmir, Turkey. This is where we did the excursion to ancient Ephesus. The scenery was different here. There was a lot of farming. I thought it was interesting to see all the workers in the field.

Don was so very excited about this, to see where Paul preached and stirred up the crowd. It was very hot, crowded and you could almost put yourself in Paul's place as you walked down the dusty noise street. This is the archway to the temple of Hadrian restored in 391 a.d.

The main street sloped down towards the library. It was quite a view. You could see the face of the library from many places. Amazing that this two story front was still standing and to think they didn't use mortar to build these bldgs. Earthquakes destroyed most of the city.

This is the Grand Theatre where Paul preached. It was very moving to be in this place, to think what sacrifices were made for us so we could believe.

Day 5 we came into the port at Istanbul, Turkey. It's a city of 15 m people and they say that it's 98% muslim. We decided we didn't want to go into any mosques so we signed up for an excursion to take a boat tour of the Bosphorus River. Well, we boarded the bus and were on our way when the guide said something about the mosque and instructions for when we were in the mosque. It seems that we were given the wrong tickets and put on the wrong tour. They were both the same price so we decided it was ok. We did find it interesting to go inside the Blue Mosque but also sad. We toured the St. Sophia Mosque which is now a museum. It was build as a Christian church and when it was taken over, the Christian paintings were white washed. They have restored some of the work but have also put up many muslim symbols so it just looked odd to say the least. We really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

St. Sophia Mosque

Now I must say this was fun. Going shopping in the Grand Bazaar with over 4,000 shops and you get to barter for everything you buy. We had fun buying the grand daughter belly dancing costumes and shawls for our daughters.

This is basically the entrance and this street is the jewelry street. There are pathways with names going off this main walkway, they go down to the next level where you might have all leather goods, then another level down you would find restaurants. You could really get lost in a place like this.

We now took another break and had a sea day. They were very relaxing. I sat out by the pool and Don sat on our balcony reading. We'd meet for lunch, take a nap and then go to dinner. There were many photographers on board with scenes set up. We must have take about 10 pictures. Only bought a few. It was fun.

Day 7 brought is to Athens, Greece. I was so excited to be able to see the Acropolis and surroundings. I wasn't disappointed. I took many shots but have picked just a few of my favorite. The one is at the beginning of our blog...the Parthenon up close.

This is the Caryatides on the Erechtheion (that's what the book said) It wasn't very far from the Parthenon.

This is the Modern Olympic Stadium build in the mid 1800. Some of the 2004 Olympics were held here.

That afternoon we were driven to the Corinth Canal which is north of Athens about an hour. We boarded a touring boat and sailed all the way through, turned around and came back to the same dock. The Canal was carved out in the mid to late 1800's so that ships wouldn't have to go all the way around to get to the other side. This connects the Aegean Sea to the Ionian Sea. This saved them about 300 miles. We couldn't believe how beautiful the water was everywhere in the Mediterranean. This certainly is a good shot of it. We had the best lunch on the opposite bank where our ship docked. The best Greek lunch. yum

View from the bridge going across the canal.

We say goodbye to Athens as we sail out in the evening.

Athens as we sail out. We were very luck to time the trip right. We had several night of a full moon and we could actually sit on our balcony and enjoy it as we sailed. Wow! what more could you ask for.

Day 10 we docked in Livorno, Italy. From this port we took an excursion inland to Florence and Pisa. The drive through the Tuscan area was so beautiful, so much variety in what was growing. There were many nurseries that grew for shipping throughout Europe. You could see that all along the roadway.

Pisa was amazing as was the church and baptistery on the grounds. We decided we were doing enough walking so we did NOT climb to the top of the tower.

We had one night that they offered the midnight dessert event. We got there about 11pm but they said it didn't start until 11:30. We had a very long day the next day so we decided to take pictures and forget the calories. Thought Doug would enjoy seeing these delights.

Day 11 was our 12 hr excursion off the ship. We traveled about 1 1/2 hrs from the ship to Rome. We passed beautiful scenes like this on the way. It reminded me of so many paintings you see today. This field was all sunflowers

We arrived in Rome and the bus toured us past many sites. The one I wanted to see more of was the Coliseum. Sadly we couldn't stop even to take pictures so I got a couple from the wrong side of the bus with other people taking pictures too. Not one to post believe me. A while before lunch we were given some free time to go and see what we could on our own. We walked to Trevi Fountain.

and to the Pantheon. This is one of the most complete & imposing bldgs from antiquity. It was built by Marcus Agrippa a few years before Christ's birth. They still do services here. The inside is beautiful.

We had to hurry on because about 3/4 of a mile away was the Spanish stairs I wanted to see. So we got it in gear and walked to see that as well. We got back to our meeting place just in time to go into our restaurant and have a proper Italian lunch, (it was all predetermined where & what we would have) salad, lasagna, bread & red or white wine. The people we were sitting with at the table wanted to try pizza so on top of this, he ordered several pizzas and shared it with the table. It was a Margarita pizza, very good.

I don't remember from the guide what this was and have tried to find it in Rome info but have not found out yet. Just like it.

Before going into the Vatican, we stopped for a gelato. They do have the best ice cream. Thought they displayed it beautifully.

This was a market at an intersection. Everything look very good and fresh. Would have liked to have stop and bought some fruit but had to keep walking.

After lunch we boarded our bus and headed for the Vatican. Along the way we passed through The Arches of Constantine, the ancient walls of Rome, and a ancient castle by the hippodrome for chariot races.

We arrived at the Vatican and began our tour. This photo I borrowed because we didn't come in this way but exited here and my camera battery died on me about 10 min before the end of the tour. It is an amazing place. There were so many people it was difficult to stay with your tour guide. Also the Vatican has its own tour guides so he took over as we entered the Vatican. It's interesting that all these guides have a college degree in "guiding". I guess it's good business and a lot of history. They have to know their subject especially for all those that ask so many questions....Don & Beth.

This was a hall way between the Vatican museum and St Peters Basilica. Statuary cramed along the walls. I took many pictures but so many were blurred because you couldn't stand still to take them, the masses kept you moving.

I did get to stop at The Laocoon. An oroginal Helenistic work of the 1st century BC. It is said that Michelangelo studied this work when it was found in the 15th century and perhaps represents Hercules.

This is called Michelangelo's Pieta'. It's Mary holding Christs dead body.

The ceilings in the hallways were unbelieveable. Hard to take in so much in such a short time.

The tour was finished about 4:45. When we walked outside into the square the bells started to ring. They actually rang for 15 minutes. It was so cool.

From there we dashed over to the Vatican store, bought a few books and hustled back to the bus. We were very happy to see the rest of Rome by bus that day. We got back to the ship about 8pm.

We managed to find some food when we arrived back at the ship and then the daunting task of packing to go home. Well, needless to say, we collected a few things so we had to purchase a couple of duffle bags to get everything in and not be over 50 lbs per bag (checked 2 each ) We had to have everything outside our door by 11pm. We really slept good that night.

The trip home was eventful too. Our connecting flight in Atlanta was book 1 hour after our arrival, needless to say we didn't make it. Don has flown a lot but he says that he has never seen so many people, such long lines as this. We missed our flight and were put on standby along with about 20 other people. We were the next to the last ones to board the plane. God was good. We stayed in LA again and drove home the next day. It was good to go but it was also good to be home.

Just to let you know, I am very new to blogging so please excuse the errors you find. This is a learning process. Thanks

Zoo part 5

2008-07-23T22:03:00.001-07:00

Captain of the ship

Getting the whole story via the turn of the key.

Where is that woman that lived in a shoe, she had so many children, she must have been shopping because the house was empty.

Lets hear the 3 pigs story. He really liked the key idea.

Yeh! and don't forget, I am the king of my castle! right mom??? haha

Zoo, part 4

2008-07-23T21:42:00.000-07:00

I'll try to finish up the pix from our visit to the Zoo, Storyland, and Rotary Playland. It really was a fun day.

Dad & son on the big boy slide. Ryan loved it.

Wild ride!

Here comes Jenny. I went too but the photo wasn't worth sharing.

Ryan was loving the car ride.

Three bears house. He tried out all the chairs. He liked the papa bears chair.

Zoo,part 3

2008-07-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Here comes the train

All aboard

Here we go!

Front row seat and got to push the button to start the engine

What a ride!!

Zoo, part 2

2008-07-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

Great flamingos

Nice sheep, "go ni-ni"

Zebra

Water break

"Say cheese"

Day at the Zoo

2008-07-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

Taking a few minutes out to rest after visiting so many animals. Ryan's favorite part was petting the sheep and goats.

Stingray Bay was so fun. I think I had the most fun touching the fish. Ryan was a little nervous about the whole thing.

The Stingrays were very slippery. Pretty cool for Fresno. Go Chaffey Zoo.

I think this guys mouth moves faster than Phil's. It was funny to watch.

The elephant was very good about posing for the picture.