Beijing

**Until this notice is gone, I will be updating and adding to this post...just an fyi

Here we all are in the middle of the Forbidden City. After this picture was taken, we had 3-4 people come up and ask to have their picture taken with us...they loved Maglet's hair! While Jeff was buying our tickets to get inside, a lady came over, asked if she could have a picture taken with Maglet and then proceeded to pick her up and hug her tightly. Poor Maglet didn't feel very comfortable with that and decided to put her hat back on.

Here are some delicacies served up at the Night Market in Beijing.

Jeff and I at the old Night Market (they instituted a "cleaned up" version for the Olympic Games...pictured below with just Delise).
"Cleaned up" Night Market in Beijing. This is where all the pictures from the collage above were taken but the same things were served in the older section too.


Below is Delise's cousin Kevin eating some scorpion! He ate a total of 3 and on the last one, the stinger got stuck in his throat...he felt a little "off" for the rest of the night.

Xi'an--Starfish Foster Home, Terra Cotta Warriors, Muslim Street

Double click each collage to better read if you are so inclined. I apologize for all the collages but really, how can I post 500 pictures or worse yet, choose only one or two from each area. Please forgive my indulgence.

Thank you again and again to my cousin Kevin, his wife Jen and their family who live in Shanghai and were our wonderful hosts. We love you and are thankful to you for teaching us to love all things Chinese!! xo

Carmel in June 2009

We all had a fantastic time visiting Gramma Christie and Grandad Brent at their home on the Preserve in Carmel Valley, CA. We crammed a lot into a week: we went horseback riding with Carl and Kat herding cattle and barrel racing. Maglet wasn't too sure about it and felt like she was falling off so she only went once.

We went swimming every day. The kids took swimming lessons and had a great time building obstacle courses on the water slide. Even though we tried to be diligent with the sunscreen Maglet still got very burned on her cheeks.

We spent a day at the Monterey Aquarium and a nearby beach. I think everyone's favorite attraction at the aquarium was the seahorse exhibit and the leafy seahorses taking the fascinating award. Fantastic aquarium! We then relaxed and burn off energy at the beach having water fights, digging sand chairs, playing frisbee, finding sand crab and having an all around great time.
We spent several hours looking through tide pools and watching the seal. We saw a hawk, seal, crab and sea star. Fun to be exploring near the ocean again!

We hiked around the Cypress Grove Trail. It is one of the only (2 or 3 I can't remember now) places in the world where there are still Cypress Trees. We saw several deer on this walk. Beautiful!

Thank you Gramma Christie and Grandad Brent for such a fun and memorable time with you! Can't wait to be with you again!

New York City at Christmastime Day 1

Jeff's brother CJ and his wife ML were in New York last weekend and gave us plenty of advance notice so we could plan ahead and meet them there. It was great to be able to see them as we live at opposite ends of the country and we don't get to see them as much as we'd like. Luckily for us they were anxious to see and do as much as we were while in NYC so we crammed a lot into the 24 hours or so that we were there.

We arrived late in the day due to traffic and a wrong turn :) but we started out walking to see some of the window displays at Macy's and a couple of other stores nearby. They were breathtaking.

The window pictured below was neat because it flipped around (so the bottom was on top) to show where Santa visits "Down Under"

Mmm bread. I thought the detail in this one was fascinating.

This picture is an intro to where we went next. (It's a window display of the view from the top of The Empire State Building).

I was skeptical about going to the top of the Empire State Building at night but it was stunning. The water was foggy so we couldn't really see the Statue of Liberty but view of the city with the lights was fantastic.

Kat and Carl weren't excited about being up so high (they're afraid of heights) but by the end, they were peeking over the edge and enjoying the sights. I was proud of them for trying, especially because Kat was so nervous about even going in the first place. Maglet just didn't like be cold. Thanks CJ for going inside with her!

We were exhausted after Day 1 but were looking forward to the next full day in NYC!!

New York City at Christmastime Day 2

We got up and rode the subway to Central Park. We browsed through a bunch of craft booths and then took some pictures in Central Park. ML got a new camera and was kind enough to take some family shots. The kids also had fun jumping and climbing on the big rock formations and seeing the bridge where Buddy the Elf had the snowball fight. Too bad there wasn't any snow on the ground for a reenactment.

The love birds...



Here are ML and CJ skating in Central Park.

We were amazed by the cityscape so close all around us. We were in a little parkland oasis being in Central Park.

A visit to FAO Shwartz (there were SO many people that we waited in line for 10 minutes just to get into the store). These are lego creations that look 2D in the pictures for some reason but are really 3D. Kat and Carl were in heaven!

And finally Rockefeller Center with the tree. There were so many people in this area that we ate at a recommended pizza place (Pronto Pizza across the street from the Nintendo Store) and got outta there.

It was a fun weekend getaway to have the New York City experience at Christmastime!

Puerto Rico Escape

...okay well really it was more of an escape for me since Eddie was working most days. We stayed in San Juan at the Caribe Hilton, home of the Pina Colada (...mmmm, enjoyed a few of those myself--virgin of course, but other than water, it's now my fav beverage and for anyone who knows me, knows that's saying something!)

Here's their recipe from the hotel magazine:

2 oz rum (for me, optional)

1 oz. coconut cream
1 oz heavy cream (no wonder I like the stuff)
6 oz fresh pineapple juice
1/2 c crushed ice

Mix liquids in a blender and add ice to blend for 15 seconds. Serve in a 12 oz glass and garnish with a fresh pineapple and a cherry.

It was an 85 degree Island Paradise. We enjoyed a great view from our 19th floor balcony (even though it wasn't an "ocean view") where we saw sunsets, a sunrise and a fireworks display.

Sunrise from room balcony

We toured an old Fort and Old San Juan in the pouring rain...and when I say pouring, I mean we could have easily been in the shower type rain. In Old San Juan, the cobblestone streets were glazed blue...very unique and such a pretty color. We ate plantains and of course rice and beans. However, to no one's surprise we steered clear of anything from the sea. (pics to come)

K, MPL and I headed to the beach one morning before the rains came. Everywhere I put sunscreen was fine but anywhere I missed I was fried (read that to mean my legs from mid thigh down and my arms). The burn made dancing painful that night at the Flamenco Party but it was fun to people watch!

Eddie swimming away from beach

While Eddie was at work, I went with K and MPL to the rainforest. There were amazing plants and views. I took so many pictures and learned so many interesting things (like the Puerto Rican Parrot is close to extinction, there is a tree whose leaves turn silver when blown in the wind...so the locals can tell when a storm is coming, a cool little plant that shrivels when touched but returns to life after 10 minutes or so, the street poles are painted in stripes of different colors for each town, bamboo is everywhere, the "pee pee" tree that shoots foul liquid up to 10 ft when squished--our tour guide "Yogi" told us the real name but I can't remember it but he and his brother as children used to call them Pee Pee Trees because of ammunition potential)

Yogi and the Pee Pee Tree Flower

A great view toward Bermuda from the rainforest

It was a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable trip in the Caribbean sun!

Meanwhile Megan and the kids suffered through temps ranging from 29-48 for daytime highs (with Kat playing her final soccer game on the 29 degree day...brrr!)! Carl and Maglet were sick with coughs and fevers much of the time we were gone and actually, they are still recovering. Thanks Megan for going above and beyond!

Happy Birthday Sweet Kat...

and Happy Fourth of July to all you Americans I know!

We had our Payne cousins spend the night before and then went to Waterton for the day. It was SO HOT! So we went to the lake to play. Kat, Carl and S-man swam in that glacial water for so long, we couldn't believe it.

The rest of us played on the beach, made forests of driftwood and read books/took naps.

Later Uncle Dare and Aunt N showed up 3 days early to join in the party! What a great surprise! We broke a pinata, had a weinie roast (that was a work of Grandpa's will to build the fire with it being so hot), ate cake and opened her gifts. Such a fun day!




Kat is our sweetheart girl that is always caring about others feelings. She is very responsible and dependable. She works hard to not give up when things don't go right the first time. She makes me laugh because even though she loves to organize, she also loves to hang onto "stuff"...for creations and things. She is having fun experimenting with creative photography...here is one of her shots from her birthday of the driftwood forest and Grandma snoozing in the background. How lucky we are to have you in our family Kat! We love you!

July 1st...Happy Canada Day

It was a neat sight to see the flags line the streets. This picture is of my neighborhood growing up but doesn't show my house. To celebrate Canada Day, we went to the carnival at Lion's Park (I forgot my camera though). The kids went on inflatable obstacle courses, bounce house and slide. The kids ate hot dogs with chips and pop (sah, no junk food...) and we ate Indian Tacos...Yum! Took me right back to Jr High. The fireworks didn't start until after 11 but they were fun to see sitting on the tailgate of Grandpa's truck!

Layover in Phoenix

*Note* This entry and Serenade of the Seas are out of order and I can't figure out how to switch them..so just know that the lay over came first! :)

On our trip to Canada, we had a massive layover in Phoenix. Aunt Jenni picked us up from the airport for a little fun in the Phoenix sun. We ate Cafe Rio for lunch! YUM! Then we went swimming in their backyard pool. It was a riot and we all had a great time. Maggie surprised us by jumping off the diving board, off the waterfall and going down the water slide mostly unassisted.


Fun. Thanks for the fun time Jen and family!

>



I think everyone would agree that this was the best layover that we've ever had!

Serenade of the Seas

Having never been on a cruise before, neither Jeff nor I knew what to really expect. We did gain more pounds than we'd actually like to know about and we did have a fabulous time. We decided that being on a cruise ship is kind of like being on a floating Las Vegas. There is something "happening" 24/7. We enjoyed playing shuffle board (a la Love Boat), attending classes on acupuncture and what to do about puffy eyes...we soon figured out that the "free" classes are really just promotional events trying to get you to buy the expensive cruise ship wares "that you can't get anywhere else". :) Funny.

My favorite parts were as follows:
-The wildlife...it was amazing. The bald eagles, the whales, the sea lions, the seals, the orca...WOW! I could watch them all day.
-All of our excursions. We went sea kayaking in lobsterman pants (that made hip waders look like wanna be's).
We took a train ride up White Pass and then biked the 15 miles down the mountain.
And we went to Mendenhall Glacier/on a whale watching expedition. Very fun and memorable.
-Being with Jeff. He's been travelling so much lately that it was nice to wake up with him every day. He had our state room decorated for my birthday with rose petals and towel swans. I picked right when I picked him to marry that's for sure! (Thanks for the assistance Ang!)


-I had a facial that was divine. I usually don't mess with my skin too much but this was absolutely worth it. I've never had people comment on my skin before and I had 4 ladies tell me that my face was "radiant". Sign me up again!
-The towel art that was left on our bed every night, we had a rabbit, a ray, a monkey, a turtle...

-Being with the family was terrific. It was nice to be with the Lambert's and of course the Peo families.


WHILE WE WERE AWAY...
My Mom retired from being either a teacher or an administrator at Cardston Elementary School for somewhere around 42 years. Congratulations Mom!

She had the kids help her at the end of the year carnival (Which they love being able to do). Grandpa took the kids fishing (Kat caught 2 rainbow trout while Carl and Maglet both caught one). They camped in Waterton and had a great time. Thanks Mom and Dad!