Lagoon

Yet another weekend in Utah with fabulous weather, and I'm happy to say that I didn't waste this one either. Since I had a couple of Lagoon tickets (I always seem to be traveling when we have our company party, but lucky for me they give me some tickets anyway), Steph and I decided a Lagoon Day would be fun. Kris and Sterling weren't able to join us ... but next time Atticus will be old enough to enjoy it a little more.

As Utahans know, they have "Frightmares" at Lagoon during the October weekends. There's something for every age, so you can get as scared as you want to be. For Kaiya and Teague, the trick or treating was pretty fun. You go through several rooms, each with a theme (Alice in Wonderland, Wicked Witch, etc.) and they all hand out a treat.


After the trick or treating, Kaiya decided that she wanted to go through the Tunnel of Terror (I think that's what it's called), so Mom and Dad and Kaiya and Teague did. We were a bit worried that it would be too scary, but they did just fine. :-)

We took turns with the kids in kiddie land, which I thoroughly enjoyed doing. It's so much fun to watch little ones have fun! Kaiya has apparently inherited her mom's bravery with rides, and is pretty much game for most. Teague is not as sure, but he is one heck of a trooper - even when it makes him nervous, he just soldiers his way through it. He had a death grip on my arm on the Jumping Dragon, but he never lost it. And he even agreed to go a second time on the Tilt-a-Whirl, 'cause Kaiya and I wanted to so much. Kaiya said "Again!" when it was through, but Teague thought he had compromised quite enough.

Teague's favorite was the cars ... but Kaiya thought they were boring and slow.


I. Love. These. Two!!!!

I mean seriously ... how could you not? Look at that face.

Today I am awaiting an overnight visit from my sister Karen and her family. They're in town for my neice's wedding (SO happy for Kara and Johnny!). It's always great to see them ... can't wait!

One More (?) Fun Weekend

Once again, we were blessed with great weather this weekend, and we tried to make the best of it. Kaiya and Teague came over to Grammie's house on Friday for a sleepover, while Mom and Dad finally made it on their long-overdue date to Takashi. As always, we had a lot of fun, but not as much sleep as we should get (sorry, Mom - I really am working on it!). In fact, in the middle of the night I ended up going into the other bedroom to get some sleep ... it's not that the kids weren't sleeping by then, but they're getting big enough to make it rather crowded!

The next morning Mickel took Teague to gymnastics, while Steph and I went to Kaiya's soccer game. She has really learned a lot since starting soccer, and now stays with the ball and knows what direction it's supposed to go. And she really gets after it! I think she takes after her mom. And her dad. But definitely not Grammie.

Gotta stay hydrated!

The little girl with the curly hair is one of Kaiya's friends from church. She's a really good player too.

The team. They haven't decided on a name yet, but so far Kaiya's favorite is the Speedy Turtles.

Then we met Kris, Sterling and Atticus at Willard Bay for some boating fun. Not sure how many more weekends will be boating weather, but it surely was this weekend!

Next year maybe Atticus can go out on the boat a little bit more ...

Our friendly boat driver ...

Teague waving to Dad and Kaiya

who were showing their daredevil sides

The Sharp family

Meanwhile, back on shore, Atticus was having his own fun. Isn't he such a handsome boy?

Boating with the Parkers

The last couple of weekends have brought beautiful weather to Utah, and I've had the good fortune to go boating with Kris and Sterling.

Unfortunately last weekend the boat died before anyone had a chance to have much fun on the water. But we had a great time on the shore, enjoying the perfect weather and good company.

Too bad Atticus doesn't get enough love, isn't it?

Tico and his Uncle Alex

I love this mother-and-child shot. What a great mama you are, Krissy Lou!

Yesterday, we tried again. Apparently the thing that was wrong with the boat was a pretty minor fix, so this time we actually did get out on the water.

I think there's more life jacket than baby here ...

Perhaps it was karma, but we came across these gentlemen whose boat was disabled. Sterling, never one to pass by someone in need, gave them a tow to the marina.

Sterling is a FANTASTIC wakeboarder! I think he only falls to signal that it's someone else's turn.

Here's Kris' cute friend and neighbor, Vicki, with her two charming children (and, of course, our Tico).

Me and my baby girl.

Packing it up for the day.

Thanks, Kris and Ster!

Barcelona

The culmination of my European odyssey was a visit to Barcelona. I love Barcelona, it has such a great personality. Most of my visit was spent traipsing to various hotels and restaurants that we are considering for an event in April next year. However, we did take some time for a visit to the beautiful town of Montserrat (literally, "serrated mountain"). In this gorgeous mountain setting you'll find a couple of monasteries and a convent ...

... and a view to die for. Beautiful!

Here's a shot from one restaurant overlooking Barcelona. That would make a nice view for our group!

Greek Islands 2

After Steph left to return home, I flew to Rome to catch cruise #2. Nothing to report on Rome, because if you go directly from the airport to the port (which is some distance away), you bypass the city of Rome altogether. The first stop on this cruise was the city of Messina, on the Italian island of Sicily. It's just off the toe of Italy's boot shape.

I walked in to the city just a ways, savoring the feel of an Italian city.

I didn't really get what this sculpture was about, but it was pretty interesting ...

... as were these gigantic horses and riders. Strange, but maybe there's a good story behind it.

After a day at sea, our next stop was the ruins of Ephesus, on the coast of Turkey. Ephesus was first an ancient Greek city, and later the 2nd largest city in the Roman empire (well, actually the world, in the first century AD). Our first stop before going to the ruins was to a house where Mary is believed to have lived at one point.

There is a spring next to the house, and so it is believed that Mary would have drank out of it; therefore, it is now considered holy water. We were given small clay pots in order to be able to take a small amount of this holy water home with us.

The ruins of Ephesus

The large building on the left is the Library of Celcus.

Sorry to be adolescent, but I thought these public "toilets" were amusing. Glad I didn't live in those times!

I love love love funny signs, and I thought this one was pretty amusing.

The following day we arrived in Athens. The last time I was here (2002), I thought it was just a big, dirty city with a few amazing ruins. I guess because of the Olympic games held in the meantime, they put a lot of effort into cleaning up the city. It looked a lot better. Here I am at the Olympic stadium. This is basically a rebuild of the original structure, using the same location, size and materials. The whole thing was barricaded so you couldn't actually go into it.

Going to the Acropolis ... what can I say except that there were an amazing number of people with the same plan, and the site isn't exactly set up to accommodate the crowds. It's not bad once you get to the top, but getting there is a bit of a trial.

It's amazing that it has withstood so much ... time, earthquakes, war.

The ruins are surrounded on all sides by the modern city of Athens.

We also stopped at Crete on this cruise, but I didn't bother taking pictures since we had just been there a few days before. :-)

A special treat that I had on this cruise was an invitation to dine with the Captain of the ship ...

... and to have a tour of the bridge. It's amazing what goes into driving a big boat!