BABYSITTING AN ANNIVERSARY

Adriana and Brad wanted to celebrate their anniversary this year by taking a short vacation to Las Vegas. I watched Kaya, Ava, and Benjamin while their mom and dad were away.

Sunday afternoon I invited family over for pizza. Jake and Vereni brought this inflatable slide for the kids to play on. It was a big hit!

Cousins share pizza.

Coffee and Donuts and Conversation

The next morning, this crow helps himself to the peanut shells that we tossed in the yard.

Each afternoon the streets would fill up with the neighborhood children. Will arrives daily, asking to play with Kaya and Ava. Experiencing a neighborhood was something new for this country girl. I met many of the kids on the block....Will, Ian, Izzy, Savannah, Corbin....

Will, Ava, and Kaya enjoying after school snacks on the patio.

"Barefoot Benjamin" is sporting shoes?!?

I make it home from my babysitting stint just in time to see the finale of "American Idol"
Kris Allen takes the title!

Adam Lambert is the runner-up.

CAN YOU SMELL THIS PICTURE?

Everything in the yard is waking up with the sunshine.
I open the door and the dairy smells are barely noticeable
because of the sweet smell
of all the budding & blossoming things.

ROCKETS BLAST OFF

Grandpa Harry proudly stands with his pretty grand-daughters.

The kids in Lizzie's third grade class built rockets, and today was the day they got to launch them and see them fly! After a pot luck lunch in the cafeteria, students, parents, grandparents, friends, and relatives headed to Jean's Park to watch the the show.

Robbie, Dan De Kruyf, Harry, Ben, and Twinkie assess the situation.

The students line up by their rockets. Lizzie's rocket is the black and yellow one.

Lizzie pulls the lever to launch her rocket's maiden flight....a flight that is a little disappointing.

After repairs and adjustments, the second flight is great!

Friends celebrate a great afternoon.

Gracie and her dad watch the show.

ODD MOTHER'S DAY WISH

I was surprised to see what Adriana bought herself for Mother's Day this year. After a little research at the Twin Falls Library, and an interview with the local VW Doctor, Adriana found this beat up little Volkswagen online and made the trip to Malta to pick it up. This is a 1968 model of the Volkswagen. Adriana was able to drive the tired little car home. It runs!

ENJOYING A SUNNY DAY

Benjamin and Nicolas enjoy the sunshine.
The great weather was a special treat this Mother's Day.

SEASICKNESS PATCHES AVAILABLE

Seasickness patches available!

We just returned from a Transatlantic Cruise vacation, a new experience for us. Prior to our departure, we called the doctor to order up protection against seasickness because we were afraid the waters in the mid-Atlantic would be rougher than we've experienced on other cruises. But we are happy to report that we had calm seas and great weather the whole trip!

The low price was the selling point of this vacation. We worried that the twelve-day cruise with seven "at sea" days might be too confining and somewhat boring, but the rest and relaxation that the itinerary offered were just what we needed after a long hard winter in these troubled economic times. On a scale of 1 - 10, I would rate this cruise experience as a 9. The things that would take it to a "10", would be the ability to watch "American Idol" on the ship or an unexpected upgrade to the Penthouse Suite (wouldn't that be sweet?).

It's good to be safely home again. We are thankful for traveling mercies, and for traveling memories.

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO - APRIL 16 - 18
Random shots of our stay in San Juan Puerto Rico

TRANSATLANTIC CRUISE
CELEBRITY SUMMIT
APRIL 18 - APRIL 30
April 18, 2009 our cruise begins. We get a great view of El Moro Fortress as we sail out of the port of San Juan.


SHIP ART
Fernando Botero's statue displayed
by the indoor pool on the ship
was puchased by the cruise lines
for $800,000!

The artwork onboard the ship
is quite unusual.
Here are more examples
of the odd sculptures
seen on the Summit.

SHIP FRIENDS
These are the people that we had dinner with each night.

Back Row: Bill and Joy, a retired couple from Las Vegas.
Sisters Beth from Canada and Marge from Michigan. She is into all things organic...she even smokes organic cigarettes!...a bit of an oxymoron, don't you think?
Front Row: Tatyana and Vladi, originally from Russia, but now living in Laguna Beach, California.

TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS - APRIL 24
We took a 4x4 Jeep excursion to Mount Teibe, the highest mountain in Spain (the Canary Islands are part of Spain) on Tenerife. The trip started at a low elevation which looked tropical, then we climbed up toward the clouds, feeling the temperature change and the landscape become a pine tree forest. Eventually we climbed above the clouds and then the landscape took on a look very similar to the Castleford desert.

TAROUDANT, MOROCCO - APRIL 26
Our excursion took us inside the walls of the old city of Taroudant, where we visited the old-fashioned market and observed the daily life of its residents. We even got to see goats climbing trees!

MALAGA, SPAIN - APRIL 28
At this port we drove to the Alhambra, the famous moorish fortress in Granada. The tour included a fabulous lunch with music enroute back to the ship.

VALENCIA, SPAIN - APRIL 29
We took a Bon Appetit tour in Valencia. Paella, the popular rice dish is said to be born in Valencia. We went to the market with the "paellero" expert to buy ingredients for lunch. Then we went to his small restaurant by the seaside to watch him prepare the meal in his tiny kitchen. Before our lunch was served we had time to take a stroll along the beautiful beach.


BARCELONA - APRIL 30
Our cruise ended in Barcelona on April 30th. Before checking into our hotel there for our three day stay, we took the ship's excursion to the monastery of Montserrat perched high in the mountains outside of Barcelona.

BARCELONA
TRYP APOLO HOTEL
APRIL 30 - MAY 3
La Rambla

Montjuic
May Day Parade came marching down the street. We were able to watch from our hotel balcony.

The Olympic Port was modernized for the 1992 Summer Olympic games which were held in Barcelona.

Park Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi

Our three days in Barcelona were not enough to see all the amazing things this city has to offer. These pictures just provide a taste!
Sweet memories of a sweet vacation.

UPDATING THE LEGACY

TACKLING A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

For the last three years, one of my new year's resolutions has been to visit our local Twin Falls County Museum. I have lived in this area for thirty-five years, and driven by the museum countless times, never taking the time to stop and check it out. The resolution had to be rolled over year after year, because the rush of life had me speeding by time and again, never making good on fulfilling this simple and pleasant resolution.

Well, that changed today! As my friends learned about the resolution, they asked to join me on my little brush with history, because, like me, they've not made the time to visit. So fifteen people joined me on this mission. The museum is small and can easily be seen in about an hour. The volunteers who work there are very friendly and allow hands-on exploration of the items on display. And they even act as willing photographers when asked!

Here is photographic evidence: Mission Accomplished!

After exploring the museum we all headed to Twin Falls' Historic District and had a fine and fun supper at Pandora's. At the end of the evening, someone shouted out, "Hey, Flora, what's next on your resolutions list?"
Stay tuned. We may be going on a picnic next month!

(click on blog photos to enlarge)

BLESS THIS HOUSE

WELCOME HOME!
After over a year of work, carpenters finally finished the repair and remodel of the house on the Castleford farm. Elly and Robbie moved in and became Castlefordians! Elly teaches in Castleford School, Lizzie and Gracie go to school there, and most of Robbie's clients are in the Castleford area. Living in the area will be so much more convenient. Because both Elly and Robbie grew up in Castleford, they truly feel like they've come home.
May God bless them in their new digs!

Bless this house oh Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day.
Bless these walls so firm and stout, keeping want and trouble out.
Bless the roof and chimney tall. Let Thy peace rule over all.
Bless this door that it may prove ever open to joy and love.

Bless these windows, shining bright; Letting in God's heavenly light.
Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer.
Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin.
Bless us all that we may be fit oh Lord to dwell with Thee.
Bless us all that one day we may dwell oh Lord with Thee.

PLAYING DOLLS

PLAYING WITH DOLLS....
WAIT A MINUTE,
THOSE "DOLLS" ARE REAL!