Hi My Name Is Penny...

Finale

2011-09-01T20:09:00.002-06:00

Written on August 29th...

It is our last night in Europe, which is probably a good thing as we all smell terribly, the entire continent has almost completely run out of kebabs, and we seem to be forgetting English as is evidenced by Eli's very natural use of the word "brang" earlier today (past tense for "brought"). This would be more excusable had he actually been learning other languages along the way but sadly he can't really claim that that's true.

We made it safely out of Slovenia several days ago, catching a 6:30 AM bus to do so. We were much more considerate than our hostel-mates of the night before who got up earlier than sin and stomped around the room for several hours speaking something that we are pretty sure was a made up language consisting entirely of the most obnoxious sounds the human voice can create. But the noise didn't bother us quite as much as the smell, as they were most definitely the stinkiest backpackers we have encountered. And we have encouterned stinky backpackers from everywhere. (For those who were wondering, we are probably about average to slightly-above-average backpacker-stinky right now).

We spent a few hours in Venice waiting for our next train, which took us all the way to Florence that evening. We found a great little hotel in Florence where a very elderly man walked us to our room and then proceeded to give us a 10 minute speech about how to use the AC. Unfortunately we only understood about .2% of this speech because it was all in Italian (The .2% comes from the use of some sounds that sound like Spanish words we were probably supposed to learn in the 8th grade had we been listening in school). We think the speech was probably unnecessary, however, because the AC seemed pretty basic and we were able to use it without problems after he left the room. We are hoping, however, that his speech wasn't about how the AC leaked poisonous gases and we should avoid using it all costs. I think we're probably ok.

Florence was wonderful. We saw the David statue (which is amazing!) and wandered through several beautiful streets and churches. We also bought some clothes in hopes that someone will later ask us where we got them so that we can respond, "let's see . . . oh, you know what--I got this at that shop on Via Del Fabio. You know, the one in Florence." (We have practiced this several times, saying it in a voice like everyone should know where that street is). The most exciting part about Florence (other than the great art and blah blah blah) was that for the first time since before the war, we actually stopped sweating because it was quite cool out. Due to the sudden decrease in perspiration, our entire bodies immediately dried up and cracked from head to toe. But it was so worth it. This also helped us not want gellato quite as much, which is definitely a good thing right now as Eli calculated today that he has probably had somewhere around 70 scoops in the last month (mostly in the last 3 weeks). 50 year old Eli will curse 27 year old Eli later for the things he did in 2011. the rest of us have also eaten mass amounts of Gelato but not quite as much. (It's just soooo good!)

We made it back into Rome yesterday (for the 1,000th time) to say goodbye to all of our favorite sites including a second (third for some of us) visit to St Peter's Basilica and Vatican city (where Eli was pooped on by a pidgeon) and get ready to fly out tomorrow morning. It's been another great couple of days in Rome and we'll be sad to say goodbye.

We can't believe the trip is coming to end. The time has flown despite the days and days of adventure-packed experiences that have worn us out. We will be glad to get home to clean clothes, air conditioning and our own beds! But will also be very sad to leave Europe! We have had such a GREAT time!

Ciao

Exodus to Slovenia

2011-08-25T14:43:00.001-06:00

Since we last left you, we have spent somewhere around 1200 hours on trains. No wait, that can't be right. However many hours it is, it feels like somewhere around 1200. We bought tickets in Rome to Venice several days ago after being told that all of the trains were full until 2075 but that we were welcome to buy "standing" tickets, which train-station-man seemed to think would be a perfectly fine option for us. We didn't like the sound of "the train is full but here are some standing tickets" but we also didn't think we had much of a choice, so off we went to find out what "standing" really meant.

Krishelle later pointed out that she was impressed that the train station was able to sell 4,000 tickets for only 400 seats. This was probably very little of an exaggeration as we boarded the train and were immediately forced to stand with our bulky backpacks and luggage in the incredibly narrow corridor outside of many six-seat compartments that lined the train. And we were not alone. The entire corridor from end to end was totally packed with panicked looking people who each had a minimum of 17 bags and had apparently also encountered the same greasy salesman in the train station who made the standing option sound like a pleasant stay in a 5 star hotel. The packed corridor somehow did not stop cart-man who miraculously pushed his way through, back and forth, for the entire day selling warm drinks and stale cookies, making us suck in our stomachs, stand on our luggage, and guard our appendages from being run over. This was like a very tricky game of twister most of the time. But Eli had bigger troubles to worry about than cart-man because Heather and Jonathan asked several times how long the train ride would be and he repeatedly lied to them and then had to engage in some very tricky mind-games and manipulation to keep them from finding out the truth. He told them it would just be a few short hours. Truth: we were scheduled to arrive in Venice no sooner than 6 and a half hours after take-off. I'm sure they were strong enough to handle the truth but he figured that after the Naples experience, he shouldn't risk it.

And so we rode. And we rode. Through the hot Italian deserts while hairy, sweaty, stinky, Europeans walked the length of the cabin back and forth for no apparent reason, occasionally stopping to rest on top of us and on our laps. This misery continued until we finally arrived in Ferrara. Never heard of it? That's because the place is a dump. And we know that it is because that is where our train practically exploded. Well, we think it probably practically exploded because we can't understand what else could have caused a scheduled 2 minute stop to take 2 and a half hours. This is no exaggeration. Every 20 minutes or so the conductor would announce that we would be leaving in another 30 minutes, which we optimistically believed, over and over, like the abused in an abusive relationship (and believe me, we were the abused in a very abusive relationship with the entire train system of Italy by this point). Unfortunately for all of us, the tiny bit of air conditioning that had been coming from a couple of unclogged vents completely ceased for the duration of the break, leaving us to continue to bake in the 100 or so degree conditions.

The train finally moved on and arrived in Venice several hours later, pulling in about 9 or 10 hours after we had initially sat on the corridor floor in Rome. We think that we can relate to the pioneers now. Or some other group that has suffered. We will likely share this experience in a church lesson later mid tears (while also making up a few facts so that it actually relates to the lesson).

When we got to Venice we never wanted to climb aboard any transportation again. So we found a great apartment in the center of the city for a good deal and camped out for a couple of days. Venice was wonderful and we all felt it was well worth the trauma above mentioned to get there. We wandered from end to end of the city, visited St. Marks, ate our weight in gellato, and explored many incredible churches.

Yesterday we put our brave faces on (for the kids) and decided to make our way to Slovenia. While Venice and Ljubljana, our desired destination in Slovenia, look to be within walking distance on a world map, one finds that the train from one to the other takes literally 9 hours. This is because the train goes through Arizona to get to Ljubljana (ok so Arizona is an exaggeration, but it actually does go all the way through Vienna, which is nowhere near either city at all. For comparison, imagine taking a train from Provo to Logan and having it go through Denver. This is actually a pretty accurate comparison). So we instead took a train to Trieste Italy for a little over one hour and then found 2 hour bus tickets to take us the rest of the way. When our bus tickets were sold to us, the four of us stood in shock, staring at one another, waiting for the catch, because we were positive that something had to go wrong since we hadn't had a seamless travel experience up to the point yet. But alas, the trip to Ljubljana went very well and we arrived safely.

We found a hostel near center that seemed like a good choice. The four of us were immediately placed in a room with 6 other strangers. We welcomed the adventure. Until night came. Four Indian men came into the room around 3:00 AM and marched around, taking things out of their bags loudly for about one hour as they prepared to go to bed. None of us can figure out why on Earth it took them so long to get ready for bed, or why they needed to be so loud about it, but they did. We sighed a major sigh of relief when they finally climbed into bed at 4:00. But the peace did not last as all of their alarm clocks began to go off in 4 minute increments starting at 6:00, which they each responded to by pressing snooze over and over again until Heather finally sat up and screamed "SHUT UP!" at 7:00. This is a true story. Any of you who know Heather are probably very shocked right now because she is so mild-mannered and typically very patient. But we found her limit this morning at exactly 7:00 AM. In her defense, it took an awful lot to get to that point. And to her credit, it worked like a charm because the whole room immediately fell silent at her request and stayed that way until she was ready to get up.

Ljubljana is gorgeous and clean and sans tourists. We love it here. Today we took a bus to Bled and swam in a gorgeous lake that sits in the mountains. Unfortunately we didn't think to bring anything to swim in, but the water was so clear and beautiful that we couldn't help ourselves so we made make-shift bathing suits with whatever clothes we brought (which may or may not have involved extensive amounts of forest nudity to get to something workable) and just hoped that we would dry off in time to climb aboard our bus back to Ljubljana at the end of the day. It all worked out very well. We swam and hiked and never wanted to leave. It truly was one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

Tomorrow we'll head back into Italy. Not totally sure where to just yet. Probably Verona or Florence or wherever we can go that doesn't require "standing" only tickets.

Wandering In Italy

2011-08-25T14:38:00.000-06:00

Trip update from a few days ago...

We had a great couple of days in Rome, checking out the Vatican and several incredible churches and ruins. All of this amid drinking from every fountain and puddle of water in sight, including some that looked like they were meant for human consumption, and others . . . not so much.

Then we thought, "hey, let's go to Naples City, where the grass is green and the girls are pretty!" (Reference for you rock stars out there). The pictures we saw online looked great (although we think most of them were actually of Naples Florida, which probably is nice). So we boarded a train that must have just arrived from hell because it was hot enough to roast a kabab in there. This was likely most miserable for Heather, who, for reasons we still don't understand, was dressed like we were heading to Siberia in the winter for the entire day. So we arrived in Naples hot and sweaty. After about 35 minutes of wandering Naples looking for our hotel, which happened to actually only be about 2 minutes away, Heather informed us that "this place must be the Harlem of Italy." And she was right. Or the landfill of Italy. Or the Harlem landfill of Italy. But we dropped our things off at the hotel and asked hotel lady where the beach was, who then told us mid-cackles that there are no beaches in Naples but then pointed to a green spot on our terrible map and said that we could find something there that "looks kind of like a beach." And so we walked for another 2 or 3 hours until we reached that place and found that her description was actually pretty generous. Let us help you imagine this place. Think of a beach. Now make it the size of your bedroom. Now take away the sand and add mud and cigarette butts. Turn the water brown and put garbage in it. Now add 200,000 naked Europeans.

The next day we took a train to Sorrento where the beaches were supposed to be lovely. Sorrento was a cool little town and really pretty. the beaches were about one step above the "beach" of Naples, but the town and area was really fun to see.

We decided to head back north since it was too difficult to find ferries out to Croatia on such short notice. We made it back into Rome this afternoon and wandered a bit more and recovered from yet another train that had just come from hell (where it's summer right now so it's even hotter than just normal hell). Tomorrow we'll train up to Venice and stay for a night or two and figure out where to go from there.

We're having a great time.

My First Project!

2011-04-06T17:57:00.003-06:00

I bought a fancy new sewing machine with my tax refund. I LOVE it! Here is my first finished project, a Valeintines Day Table Runner...it turned out soo cute!

Really???

2010-12-14T16:46:00.004-07:00

So I'm sitting here playing on Netflix and thought I would check out the movies that Netflix recommends based on movies I have ordered and my taste preferences...

The first movie that pops up is Troll 2...really??? Troll 2??? Wow!

(FYI...I have seen this movie listed on several websites as the worst movie of all time...and the youtube clips I have seen are absolutely ridiculous!)

Part Three: "Well That Explains All The Spanish!"

2010-09-22T21:55:00.006-06:00

Hello, again, family and friends... from Quetzaltenango (a.k.a. Xela -- pronounced "Shella").

Every town in the northwestern part of Guatemala ends in "nango" and so we feel very lucky to know where we actually are... we've passed thru Chulatenango, Huehuetenango, and a place we're pretty sure was called Chimichangatenango. It's all very confusing, so we didn't get off a bus for two days because we were never really sure where exactly we were... but, then, we saw a sign saying 12 kilometers to Mexico to which Eli said, "Well that explains all the Spanish."

We are exhausted and fried and have sooooo many stories to tell about the last five days, but this internet cafe is about the worst, slowest technology we've ever experienced so you'll only be getting the cliff notes in this email.

A few days ago we decided to leave Antigua for the beach -- a beach that the Lonely Planet guide assured us was another little piece of "Paris...dice..." So, thirteen bus rides, a few up-chucks out the window, and some very questionable cab rides later, we rolled into a town called Tilapa (a.k.a. Hell on earth) during what was certainly the biggest rain storm on record since the time of Noah. The beach town we intended to get to was only accessible by boat, we were told, so our only option for shelter was the one hotel that doubled as the town prison. It was WAY overpriced at $6 per night. The mattresses were made out of straw, the toilet had no seat and was in the middle of the room, and the shower was a bucket of water with cockroaches swimming in it. Additionally, an array of insects and animals you only see on the Discovery Channel ran across the dirty concrete floor, walls and ceiling all night long. When the power went out, we were kind of relieved, and terrified (relieved that we couldn't see the room anymore, and terrified that chupacabra had come through the open window -- cuz there was no screen or bars or anything -- and that one of us would be missing once the lights came back on). So, we lay in bed wide awake all night, moaning for the heat, laying on top of the one sheet they gave us for a blanket, scared to death of bed bugs, and we put on every piece of clothing we had so our skin wouldn't have to touch anything. There was a pig that kept visiting our rooms. Megan got bit by a cat. Uncle Will got up no less than 50 times during the night to investigate gunshot sounds and blood-curdling screams, while Megan was on his back like a piggyback ride because she was so freaked out. Eli took three hours to build up the courage to use the toilet and he only had to go number one and he kept saying aloud "I've done worse things...I've done worse things...i've done worse things..." Because the rooms were so small and the toilet in the middle, Krishelle just sat there and covered her eyes. We have all grown much, much closer over the last few days.

So, the second the sun arose, we had our backpacks on and were walking down the road to nowhere in particular. We accepted a ride on an outboard motorboat through croc-infested waters to get to the one hotel on the beach that the Lonely Planet Guide promised was "nice." We have several bones to pick with the Guatemala Lonely Planet Guide. So, we felt as if we had just left a prison but, when we got to our new hotel, it was as if we had just been transferred to a Maximum Security Prison, in a third-world country, something you'd see in an episode of Locked Up Abroad on the National Geographic Channel. The people were nice, so we decided to give it a whirl, plus, it was $4 a night, and we had a beach view! We immediately put on our swimming suits and walked to the beach and tried to find a place to spread out our towels in between all the driftwood. this beach appeared to have never been visited in the last two decades, so that seemed promising. except that the foam in the waves was brown and not white. During beach time, the following wonderful things occurred:

1. Uncle Will, a fairly seasoned bodysurfer, face-planted it quite forcefully into the bottom of the ocean and now wears a beautiful scab above his left eyebrow.

2. Eli lost his bathing suit in the waves - the Lonely Planet Guide did warn against the unpredictably strong rip tides and no lifeguards within 100s of miles.

3. Megan and Eli did an interpretive dance of the entire vacation (we have this on film for those interested in seeing it later - they will charge you $5 a viewing, and it's worth it)

4. Megan developed strong bonds with several stray dogs, one which we are positive had a severe case of pink-eye (this less than 24 hours after she was convinced she had rabies from the stray cat that bit her hard enough on the hand to draw blood)

5. Krishelle worked so well on her tan that her back looks like it's at stage three of the beef jerky-making process

6. The currents were so strong that we were all tossed and turned against our will so many times that we are now afraid of the ocean

After our day on the beach we went back to the hotel/cinder-block prison and were served fish for dinner, with the heads, eyes, gills, fins (the whole shabbang) still intact. The site so gruesome that we almost opted for starvation; however, we were so hungry that we ate every bit of those fish. We spent the remainder of the day lathering in aloevera, calamine, Neosporin, and downing any form of pain killer we could bum from strangers, and avoiding stray dogs and pigs (except for Megan, who wanted to adopt one or two or three). Then, nighttime came and we were really happy because we thought it might cool off a bit. Wrong. We think it got hotter. Megan kept Krishelle up the entire night flipping the light on and off convinced that there were bats flying around in their room, and lizards in her bed. Krishelle just moaned and humored Megan, because she had experienced this same thing a few years ago when Bridgette (Megan's older sister) put her through the same thing night after night on a similar trip through southern Mexico.

We had initially planned to stay in this beach town for the remainder of our trip to work on our tans, But, we lasted 24 hours and decided to high-tail it out of there and never go back! Ever! And, to never, ever, ever recommend it to anyone. It was perhaps the biggest hole we've ever visited. Walking out of there was so hot that if your foot slipped a quarter inch off your sandal and touched the sand, you were immediately convinced that the burning fires of hell were one inch beneath the sand. The locals weren't even walking around during the day it was so hot. And, by locals, we mean, all four of them who lived in this town. Enough said about that place - it was called Tilapita. Don't go there. Ever.

So, we decided to head back into the hills, which is why we are now in Quezaltenango. It's a beautiful mountain town of about 140,000 people. We spent the first five hours here wandering from farmacia to farmacia to find the right concoction of pain killers and anti-anxiety drugs to permanently kill the part of the brain that contains memories. we never want to think about Tilapita again. We then had a meal that would have seemed sub-standard on any other day, but after eating in Tilapita, this meal seemed like a feast for royalty! Of course, two hours later, Megan barfed it all up, in addition to everything else she's eaten since she was 13. If you can believe it, Megan was the one on this trip who got dehydrated first. And, this is why - On the way to Tilapita, she almost wet her pants on the bus, so on the way back, without telling us, she opted not to drink anything at all for about a day. Eli took the opposite approach, terrified that he would dehydrate (like he did on our trip to Egypt where he passed out on the plane and nearly caused us to divert to Madrid), and he drank everything in sight. After a few hours on the bus, he leaned forward, on the verge of tears, and begged Uncle Will to plead with the bus driver to stop so he could get off and pee. The bus driver just mumbled and kept driving for about another hour, until there was a traffic jam on a mountain pass and then Eli sprang out of the bus and pee'd on the tire, along with another passenger - We are all so shameless and immodest by this point of our trip. Well, Eli pretty much has been quite an exhibitionist since he lost his swimming suit in the ocean and has been walking around in his underwear ever since. Megan still wasn't saying a word about having to pee, which was unusual and we should have picked up on that, but we were all so focused on keeping Eli from peeing inside the bus, which he was actually considering.

So, we finally arrive to Quetzaltenango and get a taxi and told the driver to take us directly to the nicest hotel in town which he immediately pulled up to the first Hostel full of stinky backpackers to which we all, in unison, screamed "NO!" from the backseat and he drove on, as he told us that he had been an illegal alien cutting lawns in Beverly Hills for six years and that he crossed the border near Nogales using one of those "human traffickers" that we hear about on the news. It was all very enlightening, but we didn't care because he was our ticket to a nice hotel, we hoped.

So, we finally get to the Hotel Bonafiz, which, according to our Lonely Planet Guide is actually the nicest hotel in town and it's probably true and it costs about $80 a night and is worth every penny, except for the constant noise that begins at about 3 a.m. every day as they are trying to get the swimming pool repaired.

After we checked in, we went to dinner and ate like pigs and it was so good (as mentioned above). Then, we walked back to the hotel and all sank down into our beds and then looked at Megan who suddenly looked like the living dead and said she was just really tired. Then, the uncontrollable shaking began, which Eli immediately recognized as the tell-tale signs of severe dehydration (which he has experienced in every country of the world he has traveled to). We force-fed Megan about 78 gallons of Gatorade and water until the puking began, at which point we started all over with the force-feeding of liquids. Rest assured, the next morning, Megan was back to normal and has already taken a walking tour of the city with Uncle Will, looking for gallons of aloe vera to fill baths for Krishelle and Eli who are looking more and more like beef jerky with every passing moment.

No worries, seriously. Everyone is fine. We are sooooooo tan, but fear it may all be left behind in one big pile of flakes when we leave on Saturday. We are having a BLAST! We are laughing our heads off at every turn, except for when the Evangelical preacher got on the bus yesterday, during Eli's near pee-his-pants experience, and yelled at us about heaven and hell for two hours and then wanted some money (we didn't contribute to this guy because he was just annoying), and then he blessed everyone on the bus, individually, by laying his hands on each person and saying "Bless you." except for when he got to Krishelle he laid his hands on her and said, "Bless the woman." She got a special one. Everything is just a little strange down here.

Everything is so beautiful and green, green, green. And, honestly, the people are perhaps the nicest we've ever met, with the exception, perhaps, of the people of Belize. There seems to be a direct correlation between poverty, humility, and niceness in the people down here. For as many warnings as the Lonely Planet Guide gives us to be careful and safe, we are experiencing the exact opposite. We love these people!!! Granted, we do not love their infrastructure (or lack of it).

We're heading back to Antigua today for a couple of days of final souvenir shopping and stuff, Can never believe how fast these little adventures go by!

Love you all. Krishelle, Eli, Megan, and Uncle Will

Part Two: "Why would ´they´ put a lake on an island?¨

2010-08-23T19:15:00.011-06:00

Hello, again, family and friends.

Last we left you, we had just checked in to grandma and grandpa's crazy hotel/house/hostel/someplace-we-never-want-to-stay-again... LOTS has happened since... First of all, after walking the town looking for a restaurant (which we seemed to do a lot of in Belize), we stumbled across what we thought was a restaurant, only to find out it was a little store run by an American hobbit selling "underwears"... he told us he only occassionally had pastries and then looked at his watch and told us he didn't know who could possibly be open at 4:30 p.m. for food. I think we were more confused than he was... we really felt we had stumbled into a Tolkein novel or were on a hidden camera show.

Luckily we found a place to eat where we were hassled by "Feliz" -- a free-lance tour guide and quite possibly the most religious human being who has ever walked the face of the earth (details to follow)... by the end of our meal we had signed up for what seemed like was going to be a 17-day ultra-adventurous jungle excursion with promises of snakes, jaguars, white-water rafting, and no-strings attached.

Knowing now what we would do the next day, we went back to Hotel Grandma/Grandpa to cram ourselves into the four-by-four square room, where we had to sleep in spoons to fit.... BUT, before we went to sleep, we heard Megan whimpering and beads started to bounce off the tile floor. We looked over and Megan explained that she was trying to do a surprise for us -- a surprise of taking out her corn rows a short 24 hours after they had been put in, because they itched, burned, were falling out, and quite frankly looked like the head of an old naked Barbie long ago forgotten at the bottom of a 1980s toy pile. So, we all gathered around to undo the damage which had been inflicted on Megan's head on the shores of San Pedro Island. Three hours later, a giant chunk of blonde hair lay on the bed (looked like someone shaved twelve Troll dolls).

(poor Megan)

During the undoing of the hair, there was a shark special on TV -- which we were very happy to be seeing AFTER our shark-snorkling/spooning experience of the prior day. We're pretty sure none of us will be going back in the water (not even in our own bathtubs). During all of this we started talking about our shark excursion when Megan informed us that "there are a lot of things about those fish I didn't need to know." When we asked her what exactly, she said, "Well they pointed out all these beautiful fish and then told me all these TERRIBLE things about them!!! Like changing their sex!!! That means that all the pretty girl fish can also be men! GROSS!" Quite sure that Megan had a different snorkling experience than the rest of us we asked for more clarification and she explained that she has always just associated pretty fish and animals with girls and the ugly ones with boys... Her whole world has been shaken.

San Ignacio was hot! The room was well-equipped with fans and A/C, and thirty dirty sheets per person for a cover (grandma must still be doing laundry in the river...which makes sense because we think she was born in 1825, and she yelled a lot at grandpa -- probably still mad at him for turning her shower into a Broadway show when he led all of us in to meet her while she was naked). Anyway.... Feliz picked us up the next moring in his friend's tin can on wheels to haul us into the deep dark jungle...

We found out along the way that Feliz, who was sitting in the very back on the floor because there was no where else for him to sit, has a lot to say and that he was going to say it all that day and none of it was about the tour we were on. We did learn a lot about soccer, team work, sobriety, house building, service, the Amish, the river system in Belize, and more than we ever wanted to know about Central American Evangelical Missionary Songs. So, by the time we got to the jungle we were ready to climb into a deep dark cave and die or do anything he asked so we could get the day over with fast!

The first thing on the agenda was to go cave tubing (which Megan wanted to know if we only got to go once or if we would get to take our tube back to the top and go again, like it was a waterslide at Raging Waters), unfortunately Feliz was not a very good planner and after driving for three hours to get to the caves, they were closed and the only life found at this tourist spot were giant army ants which immediately started feeding on us. Felize ran around in circles for a while, then disappeared into a hut, then came out with four innertubes and explained that it "looked" like it was probably going to be safe for us to go afterall (even though the caves were closed because the water levels were too high and they weren't sure we could get through without scuba gear... but, Feliz informed us that he prayed and with faith the waters receded enough for us to scrape through... Then, we began our one-hour walking trek through the jungle carrying our tubes, in our flipflops (because Felize failed to mention we would need shoes to hike through the jungle and rivers with sharp jagged hidden obstacles and very strong currents), and we unfortunately made the mistake of telling Feliz we're religious as well... cue Evangelical Missionary songs. All verses. En espanol. Interrupted by Evangelical missionary sermons and the occassional side-hug and wink. Hallelujiah.

Finally we got far enough into the jungle, and four-thousand ant bites later, we were at the place to enter the river and disappear into the unexpectedly long, dark, horrific, bat-infested, hidden waterful, multiple-death-trap-corridors (but only one being the right one) caves, gushing with 90 mph waters. Though, never fear, we had four partially-inflated innertubes, and four flashlights (one which was still sort of working by the time we got to the cave entrance). Feliz had us get into the river one at a time and then cling for life to the perfectly smooth moss-covered slippery rocks in order to prevent being sucked into the cave, separated from the others, and lost forever (had this been Raging Waters, this part is the equivalent to the top where the worker holds onto you before letting you shoot through the tube).

Feliz got all four of us in and had us hook feet under armpits of the person in front of us (as you can imagine, none of us wanted anyone's feet in our armpits, even though we are all related, we had been walking around barefoot in the jungles for about a week). Felize was in the front so he could paddle us out of harm's way -- occassionally he would look very scared and would start a panicked paddling into the dark (because it was soooo dark in there) and that would freak us out so we would all start paddling, too, to try to help... except for once, when we noticed Megan was paddling the opposite direction... When we asked her about this later she told us she didn't want to go that way because it looked scary (which nothing looked like anything because our flashlights didn't work and it was just pitch black everywhere and the water was so high our heads were about scraping on the roof of the cave).

The cave tubing was cool if it was about one-tenth as long as it was... Naturally, after about 30 minutes, the fear innappropriately wore off and Eli started singing that song from Willy Wonka where that horrifying boat is flying down that terrifying chocolate river ("is it raining, is it snowing, is a hurricane a-blowing....the river must be flowing because the rowers keep on rowing!!!!!"). Then, we got out right after almost being sucked under the part where the water was definitely too high... at which point Feliz told us about a lady who had just drowned there because she didn't get out in time.

(the caves)

So, we were back on dry ground, once again being eaten alive by ants and Feliz passed out two sandwiches to each of us that his wife had made, we think in her church. Megan ate all eight of them, because Krishelle, Eli and Uncle Will would not eat them because they violated the following rules:
1) They were made in someone else's house,
2) There was an unidentified mayonaisse-ish substance on them,
3) Unidentifiable slab of mystery meat,
4) Everything was damp,
5) We didn't want to feel like we owed Feliz anything.
Megan ate them all because she was starving and she said they were delicious.... though, she is now the only one of the four of us who needs Immodium (true story). However, we're not sure it was the sandwiches -- it could possibly be traced to the public toilet seat/ledge she sat flat on in a rainy Guatemala city around midnight... the place smelled so bad we could smell it across the parking lot but she ran in, no questions asked... and, apparently, no one has ever taught her how to squat when you use an unfamiliar bathroom. We told her we will practice with her later. In her defense, she had been holding it for all nine hours of a miserable bus ride through Guatemala and it was a dire emergency.

After the cave tubing extravaganza, we were marched over to the zip lines. Not much to report here, other than it was really cool and well worth it, but Megan is probably the reason it costs so much -- she caused a lot of manual labor to be involved by getting stuck half-way through every zip line because she was a little premature on the brake... even though the "braking" process was the majority of our lesson and how to NOT brake too soon because then you back up the whole process as you hang above the jungle and wait for someone to come and fish you in. There were seven zip lines that you go on to get through the canopy and she got stuck on six of them... so, our zip line tour lasted about five times as long as it should have, but the views were nice.

(zip line platform)

By this point of our day with Felize we were ready to go back to grandma/grandpa's for some homemade cookies and milk, or perhaps some pastries at the "underwears" store, but Feliz had a different plan which involved the Belize Zoo... which, we were excited to go to before we ever flew down here, but we'd seen so much wildlife and jungle by now, we just wanted to sit somewhere and ponder what we were really doing down here and why.

Between Evangelical serenades we drove to the zoo... Megan hadn't said two words for about five hours, then all of the sudden there was a shriek from the back seat that said in English, "DON'T HIT IT!!!!" We noticed a dog sitting in the middle of the road about 100 yards ahead. The driver slammed on the brakes and we all flew forward... the driver, who already looked confused just in general, now looked confused and terrified... Megan explained that she was NOT going to be part of any animal massacre.

We get to the zoo and immediately started looking for the exit sign. It was not at all what the guide books say, except for the part where monkeys are roaming freely... there were signs everywhere saying basically that if you touched a monkey it would likely be the last thing you ever did... however, Megan walked up to the first big black monkey she saw, wrapped her arms around it, named it, and put it in her purse. The monkey protected her later when she was saying "here kitty, kitty" to the jaguar and putting her hands into the cage. We saw jaguars, crocodiles, birds, etc., etc., etc.... most of the same stuff we see at Hogle Zoo, except for the giant guinea pigs (Tapirs) which we had to stop Megan from climbing in with... Though, all in the all, the zoo was cool but we'd skip it next time. Zoo's are just sad...

That night we were on the move again. Not interested in another night with grandma and grandpa, or across the street from the Hobbit's "underwears" shop, we high-tailed it for the border. Basically, we walked right into Guatemala, passing a 12-year-old immigration kid who stamped our passports in an open field and told us to have fun. We took a three-hour van ride to Flores, an island on a lake in northern Guatemala. It's a very quaint village on an island, on a lake... after a while of walking around, Megan inquisitively asked "Why would they put a lake on an island?" All of us individually tried to figure out how this could possibly make sense and each came up with the same answer -- it didn't. So, against better judgement, we asked for clarification. Megan pointed at the lake and said, "Well that's the ocean, isn't it?" We explained that were a good 15-hour bus ride into the mountains from the ocean. We then wondered what the lake was that she had referred to if she thought that was the ocean. (She is still trying to explain her logic to us, as we type.... it still makes no sense.)

The next day we went to Tikal and, of course, didn't go on a tour... and, of course, still wore our flipflops to hike through the jungle and up thousands of steep, narrow stairs to the tops of giant, cascading pyramids, where we were told two tourists recently slipped and stumbled to their deaths. The ruins are very amazing and very, very, very worth making the trek! These ruins are smack dab in the middle of virgin jungle and are still quite buried with lots yet to unearth. The jungle is thick and high and you can feel like you are lost in there or actually living a scene from the Jungle Book. Being the low tour season, there aren't many people wandering around so the animals are thick! You see and here all sorts of monkeys, wild cats, and other things just through the bush... The howler monkeys make a horrific sound and when they started, Eli said, "What the Jurassic Park?!?!?!?!" And, then, we ran for the exit, which was about four miles away...

The next morning we were on the move again. We caught a bus to head to the beaches on the Pacific side of Guatemala, but so far have only made it to Antigua, where we have found the rainy season that we were promised... and, there is a volcano within eyesight that we can see spewing smoke and ash. More details on Antigua, volcanoes, and interesting bus rides in our next email. Though, Antigua feels more like somewhere in Spain than Central America -- it's beautiful here!

Krishelle, Eli, Megan, and Uncle Will

Part One: "Welcome to Paris...dice!!!"

2010-08-16T17:45:00.015-06:00

Hello family and friends.

We'll start with the red-eye out of SLC... we refer to it as "The Midnight Meat Plane, to Georgia" (...a superstar, but he didn't get far!). At any rate, do not fly out of SLC at midnight -- there are some strange folks up that late... the giant "Justin Bieber" look-alike, and the mean ol' lady who demanded the window seat because she had "some sleepin' to do!!!" (at the incovenience of everyone around her). Naturally, the four of us gawked for four hours from SLC to Atlanta.

We arrived to Belize City around noon and it was hot. Had we had the foresight, we would have never stepped one foot out of the airport. Ever.

(view of Belize City from the boat)

First of all, there is absolutely nothing to see in Belize City, at all. Though, we still walked around looking for it in broad daylight.... that was until Mama Cleo spread her arms like a mother hen gathering her chicks, pleading with us "Don't go no furder down dat way." We were going that way because the signs said "dat way to da church" (which, according to Lonely Planet Guide was the only thing worth seeing in the city). Apparently, we would have died if we went to see the church, so we didn't. So, we headed back to the hotel, which seemed like a fine idea because we felt we had been "exploring" for several hours... only to find out when we got back to the hotel, it had been about twelve-and-a-half minutes since our plane had landed. We are finding that time moves at an "unbelizeably" slow pace down here. We thought today was Friday, of next year, but we realize it's only Tuesday and we are so happy!!!

So, still not yet clued in that Belize City is apparently the most dangerous city on the planet, we waited until sundown and went out again, because it was two degrees cooler then. When we got outside to go on our nightime stroll around the city, we were immediatly warned by the only other person we saw on the street to "Be careful!!!!" (Said in a voice you only hear in horror movies right before something really bad happens!) We just said "thanks" and moved along. Fortunately, on our lonely stroll we noticed a cute little stray dog that accompanied us, wasn't begging for food or anything, but just joined our little pack and guided us through town -- we decided she was our guardian angel and named her Meriweather (this may have been a reincarnation of Mama Cleo from earlier in the day). We were glad she was with us because, even though we only walked one block and then back, we were on the brink of death/assault/kidnap/std the entire time!!! Little kids threw rocks at us from inside a church -- the same church that another man invited us to attend earlier that day by screaming over and over at us "Get the 'freak' inside that church!!!!" (though, he did NOT say 'freak") The reason we kept leaving the safety of the hotel was because we needed to eat! But, we found there was really no restaurant we dared to eat at in the whole city... (and, for those of you who know us -- we really don't have very high standards to begin with)

(Uncle Will on the boat headed to San Pedro)

After about 12 hours in Belize City (that felt like seven days), we had survived a night and high-tailed out of there on the first boat to San Pedro (Caye Ambergris -- Island made famous about 20 years ago by a Madonna song... "la isla bonita"). We arrived in San Pedro, were dropped off on a sandy beach and we looked at each other and said, "Which way should we go???" (because, of course, we had no idea where we were, no reservations, and just a general idea of what we might do for the next couple of days).

(One of the beautiful beaches of San Pedro)

We ended up at "Xanadu Beach Resort" because we liked the name and it reminded us of that 1980s movie with Olivia Newton-John. After checking in, we walked past the pool which overlooked the gorgeous ocean and palm trees and one man, holding a margerita up in his hand, in what he probably thought was a well-planned line in his head, and with one wave of his hand, yelled, "Welcome to Paris!!! ...dice...." We immediately knew this was the place for us, and we checked right in. None of us said a word about it, until we were halfway down the beach... then, compared notes, and decided he was a drunk French man who forgot where he was. Welcome to Paris! ...dice.... But, he wasn't kidding! It was Paris...dice!

(Xanadu Island Resort)

Our hotel, though perhaps on the expensive side, even for the low tourist season, was worth every penny. It included snorkling gear, bikes, and kayaks... Not to mention our giant room/condo with huge deck over-looking the sea.

(Our beach at the Xanadu)

So, within the first four hours of being there we used ALL of the free stuff provided (which, in our defense, in Belize time, it felt like fourteen days). The first thing, we checked the snorkling gear and ran to the end of the dock and jumped in... Well, Eli and Uncle Will jumped in and snorkled for an hour while Megan and Krishelle were still convincing themselves that it was safe to get in the water. (and, Megan adds, "I had to breathe -- I couldn't breathe.") So, about Megan and that snorkle.... when she had finally calmed down enough to listen, I explained that she could go under water and the contraption at the top of the snorkle would keep the water from rushing in... to which she said, "Oh! So, I can breathe when I dive down under water????" She was so excited... the other three of us gave blank stares to each other for a few minutes trying to understand how anyone could have gathered that from what was just said.... She figured it out and within no time was 100 yards off shore, but then in about two seconds was back on top of the dock because she "saw 10 really big things" (which upon later inquiry turned out to be about the size of a baseball -- according to her hand measurements when she explained her fear... of course, 24 hours later she jumped into the open ocean along with a bucket of chum and spooned several sharks and stingrays larger than her... we'll explain later...)

We turned in our snorkle stuff and checked out the kayaks. Within three minutes, Krishelle and Eli had capsized in ten inches of water (flipflops, towels, bottles of water floating around everywhere -- it was a mess). After they got upright, we paddled out into the open sea and then looked at each other and said, "Do you really want to paddle all the way to the reef, because that looks far?" Naturally, the answer was "No." So, we paddled back to shore and rented a golf cart. By the way, when we turned in the kayaks the lady told us it was 3:30 p.m. (we were a little embarrassed because we'd only been at the hotel for 90 minutes).

(Views from the golf cart)

The only real way to get around the island is on bike, foot, or golf cart. We drove the golf cart as far north as we could on the main road, which was a dirt road that was mostly submerged, with the occassional iguana crossing. We found, in the middle of nowhere, a little restaurant made of bamboo on a little lake, full of crocodiles, and we ate on a landing over that little lake. Probably the best food we've had on this trip, served by the coolest ladies we've met, too (and, that's saying a lot, because the people of Belize are probably the nicest, friendliest people we've ever met on any of our trips around the world -- even in Belize City, which seems ironic if it's supposed to be so dangerous). Unfortunately, we didn't see any crocs, but we did see a sign telling us to follow Vanessa and Cheri on Facebook to get the latest "gossips" from the restaurant. When asked if this "gossips" included details on the latest fights between Vanessa and Cheri, Vanessa said, "If Cheri and I got in a fight, dat would be dee end of it tall." We're not sure what that means, but think maybe one of them would end up with the crocs.

(Lazy Crocs BBQ)

We turned in the golf cart, wound down and went to bed. Then, Monday morning rolls around and we'd figured out a plan for what to do that day (Monday). We started by watching Megan get her hair done in corn rows.... This was after breakfast where she asked the waitress if the hashbrowns and refried beans would be mixed together or if they could keep them separate for her. To which the waitress responded by slamming her breakfast down in front of her and saying "Hashbrowns, and beans separate on the side!" (and then laughing hysterically and walking away.... the rest of us have continued of course to make fun of her at every meal she orders... "is all the food just mixed together in a blender???" .... we are not sure why she even thinks these things, but we're happy she does). The corn rows are a disaster.... more later on this...

(right before asking if her hashbrowns and beans would be mixed together)

(the corn row disaster!)

We checked out the bikes from the hotel (the one last "free" hotel perk). We road into town and looked like the typical awkward American tourists -- walked into a souvenir shop, stood in front of the a/c, didn't buy anything, got on our bikes and road back to the hotel to begin the snorkling tour.

Alphonse and Snagglepus picked us up on the dock to head out on the snorkling tour. We went out to deep sea that ended up being about four-feet deep in most places. We listened to instructions for about 30 minutes and pretty much understood that the four of us were to stay on his right-hand side in the water and the rest of our group on the other side (this was if we wanted to see anything good). Before we jumped in, we could see sharks swimming under the boat.... but, we jumped in anyway because we were instructed to do so. We thought we would just be snorkling around the boat, but there was a big ol' current and you had to paddle like crazy to stay with the group... Then, the hurricane began! We felt these stinging pelts on our backs and when we looked up, we realized we saw no boats, no other snorklers -- just 100-mph winds, waves, and pouring rain. It was safer face-down in the water. This is the point at which Krishelle and Uncle Will realized we had lost Eli and Megan, who had gone off chasing and petting a sea turtle as if at Disneyland in some controlled environment. Eli and Megan stuck their heads out of the water and realized they were alone, as they clung to each other and said their goodbyes. They found a boat and tried to swim around it in every direction, but kept slamming into it and getting sucked under. Meanwhile, Krishelle and Uncle Will had a whole "who should stay with the group and who should go find them" conversation -- Krishelle was going to stay with the group and Uncle Will was going to be 'search and rescue' in the open sea (where none of us has any business being). As Krishelle and Uncle Will said their goodbyes, we spot four frantically-kicking panicked fins kicking through the waters at hyper-speed. We knew it was Eli and Megan because we could see the corn rows and purples beads at the ends of them! From that point on, we were linked at the elbows the whole time, except for when the moray eel appeared and we all split at lightning speed in four different directions (the typical "save yourself" moment!). Of course, an hour later, we were chasing 300-lb 10-foot-long sharks, and holding and petting them, with the help of the snorkling guide.

The snorkling tour was about two hours of swimming behind this guide... much like an underwater pioneer trek, but without the camp songs. We were exhausted, because we kept running into people and them into us (it was awfully crowded for being miles from land, in the middle of the ocean, in low-tourist hurricane season). Upon comparing notes later, we each, at least once during this initial two-hour snorkling expedition, had considered drowning because it just seemed like the easiest way to end this snorkle tour. It was going on FOREVER!!! (for anyone who knows us, we do not like to feel trapped or like something is going to go on forever... like the Egyptian museum). So, we eventually swim back to the boat and get in, only to be told we are now going to the second stop on our snorkling tour.... to which many of the passengers groaned as they each burped up a cup of salt water, and immediately started making excuses as to why they couldn't get back in the water (this included everything from headache to broken snorkle gear....). We eventually motored over to an area called "Shark Ray Alley" because of all the sharks and sting rays you get to see. The guide talked about how we would get to hold and touch the sharks. Then, when we got there and started putting on our gear, Megan had a 'beans and hashbrown' moment and asked why we were getting in because wasn't the guide going to just bring the sharks into the boat and pass them around so we could take pictures??? We were all too exhausted and sick to make fun at that point, so we just rolled our eyes and jumped in... and Megan followed.... yes, Megan, who 24 hours earlier had been afraid of ten tiny baseball-sized fish, had now jumped into the middle of shark-infested waters right after the guide dumped in a bucket of chum (and this is no lie!!!). Krishelle wasn't going to get in, but eventually she did, but mostly just to avoid having a one-on-one with the only other person in the boat who said she had a headache (but, we know she was actually just scared). I don't think any of us would have gotten back in the water -- there were sharks EVERYWHERE!!! LOTS OF THEM!!! Including the one Krishelle landed on when she jumped in (like she was jumping off a second story old west saloon onto her horse -- like Zorro). The funny part was -- it didn't even scare her... she just said it felt like sandpaper. We were far too exhausted by this point to care about being eaten alive by sharks. Plus, the snorkling boat had the worst gas fumes ever, so you we were completely taking our chances with the sharks just because the air was fresher. We all held the sharks and got underwater pictures with them, and stingrays, too. It was absolutely magical and we are so glad we decided to get back in the water. There are really no words to describe how beautiful it was -- a once-in-a-lifetime experience and worth every bit of hassle or sea-sickness!

(views from dinner)

We went back to the hotel, changed, went out to eat (where Megan ate lobster -- there are lots of "firsts" on this trip!), then back to the hotel. Uncle Will fell to sleep immediately on the couch. The kids went to the pool for a bit and found that there are crabs living in it, after one scurried across the top of Megan's foot (to which she flew 15 feet into the air and screamed loud enough to awake everyone on the whole island -- she's afraid of a little crab, but she'll jump into the middle of chum-saturated shark-infested water). Krishelle and Megan went back to the room and fell to sleep (it was 8 p.m. by now, you know), but Eli went out because there was no way he was going to bed at 8 p.m. (cuz he hadn't been to bed before 8 p.m. since his last sleepover at Aunt Diana's house when he was 9 years old). In the defense of the other three of us, it gets dark around 6 p.m. So, Eli wandered the beach until he ran into a reggae concert and limbo'd up to it. He was by himself for a while until a lady who he named Shaneekwa sidled up to him and said, "You looka lost and lonely, and I'ma lost and lonely, too." She had bleach-blonde hair and 15-inch heels, to which Eli responded "No thanks -- my friends are just over there..." He later saw her making out with an older man at the bar. He made friends at the concert, as they were crammed into a little space escaping hurricane-force winds and rain, with some people who told him to NEVER go to Belize City because it's so dangerous.

The next morning, we got on a boat back to Belize City. About two minutes into our boat ride, we realized we had gotten on a refugee boat and hoped we were really heading to Belize City. About two minutes further into the ride, the gas fumes got so bad that we were sure we would end up on a 60 Minutes episode about the Belizean ferry that exploded en route from San Pedro. Obviously, it didn't explode, but Megan is convinced we almost tipped over once.

Next stop, the Belize City bus station to catch a ride to San Ignacio (launching point for Tikal, cave tubing, and some other jungle-type stuff). We hopped on the first bus we saw in Belize City because the bus station was the WORST we've seen in our lives and stinkiest. We thought it would take 90 minutes to get to San Ignacio but when we asked we were told "four hours -- it is sixty-two miles ju know". Thank heavens it was not four hours because the man sitting next to Uncle Will had pink eye and was eating something that looked like it might have been chicken about six months ago, and it was getting everywhere (all down Uncle Will's legs).

(the bus ride)

When we got to San Ignacio a taxi took us to a hotel in the middle of some mountain about 3/4 of the way back to Belize City and it felt like a Central American version of the Bates Motel. So, we had him drive us back to San Ignacio and find us another hotel... We are staying at "The Plaza Hotel" .... run by grandma and grandpa! YOUR grandma and grandpa! Who live upstairs, downstairs, and pretty much everywhere in the hotel, because it's basically just one big creepy maze of a house. We checked-in in their living room and then grandpa showed us a room, but grandma was showering in that room and yelled at us, and grandpa was watching "Mr. Ed" and we have to walk through their kitchen to get to our room which looks like a genie bottle because there are three beds and they are covering every square inch of the room and grandpa kept telling us to put our bags in the bathroom because there is about one foot of floor space in the room which is taken up when the door needs to open..... We are paying one night at a time and are quite sure we will only be paying for one night... although, the grandpa did earn points with us when we were walking down the street next to a man who was screaming at us in criole and the grandpa stuck his head out the balcony and made the crazy sign (spinning finger around his ear) and pointed at the man so we would know... (as if we hadn't figured that out already)

(San Ignacio, our "hotel", and grandma and grandpa's kitchen which we had to walk through to get to our room)

We better go now... grandma and grandpa are waiting up. We love you!

Krishelle, Eli, Megan and Uncle Will

2010 Trip To Guatemala and Belize

2010-08-16T17:39:00.004-06:00

I'm sure you all know that I have been on vacation in Belize and Guatemala for the past two weeks. When we take our trips we like to send emails to our family at home to let them know what we have been up to and that we are OK. The time we spend typing up these emails are some of our best times on vacation, we laugh and laugh and laugh!! Some of you may have already read them, but I am going to post them here with pictures for anyone who is interested!

ENJOY!!!

Don't Worry...

2010-07-29T15:24:00.003-06:00

This is where I will be for the next 2 weeks....

and a little of this...

We leave tomorrow! Pictures and travel logs to come!!!

Yummo...Wheat Bread!

2010-04-10T13:48:00.001-06:00

About 6 months ago, I got a free Kitchenaid Mixer using credit card reward points. I don't use my credit card very much, so it took a while to save up enough points for my mixer. I was so excited to get one, but...here we are six months later and I have used it only once!!

So, I decided it was time for me to start using it. Here is one of the first things I made with my mixer...It was so delicious so I am including the recipe.

Whole Wheat Bread

2 1/2 cups hot water
1 1/2 Tbs yeast
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbs salt
1/4 cup gluten flour
2 Tbs dough enhancer
5 cups whole wheat flour (give or take some)

1- Turn oven on low (200 degrees)
2- Mix 1/2 cup hot water and add to yeast.
3- In a large mixing bowl add remaining water, oil, honey and salt.
4- Add yeast mixture and 1 cup of flour, gluten flour and dough enhancer and mix well.
5- Keep adding flour until it doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl.
6- Knead for 5 minutes (use setting 2 if using a mixer).
7- Spray 2 bread pans with non stick cooking spray.
8- Divide dough into two equal parts and put into the 2 bread pans.
9- Cook on low for 25 minutes.
10- Turn over to 350 degrees and bake 25-35 minutes.
11- Brush tops with melted butter.

Enjoy!!!

The Kids

2010-04-10T13:43:00.002-06:00

This is just my favorite picture of Jeff and Krisanda's kids! It shows their little personalities so perfectly!

Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen?

2010-04-02T10:20:00.002-06:00

Emrie Lynn

My new adorable niece was born on Friday March 26, 2010 to Andy and Micalyne. She is just the sweetest little thing. Poor Micalyne had a pretty rough pregnancy with kidney stones and gall stones and then a pretty rough delivery, but is doing great now that it is all over and she has a little one to cuddle. Andy is just the cutest little dad and has been such a great support to Micalyne. I am so excited for both of them!! (and hope they let me come visit lots and lots!!!)

Gaze Into My Crystal Ball...

2009-10-10T14:41:00.006-06:00

I just ate a fotune cookie and my fortune says: "Take a trip with a friend."...So,where are we going and who's coming????

Also, I had some friends over the other night who have never been to my house. As we were sitting in my living room chatting, one of them said, "It kind of looks like a fortune teller's house in here." So...does anyone need their fortune told??? I think I'll start doing readings.

Part 2: 172 Martroshka Dolls Later...

2009-06-22T10:58:00.003-06:00

Email Update #2...

Hello again. We had the best email update all typed out to you and then when we hit send, we lost it all and we've been sitting here crying and debating whether or not to try to recapture all of our wit into a remake of what we tried to send before or just do nothing... We're going to send an abridged version of what we just lost thanks to reliable/typical Ukrainian Wi-Fi.

We have really loved Kiev and can only really describe at magical, beautiful, or as Matthew says, "totally too legit! parlez vous!!!!" Actually, that's about it right... but, it would truly take a poet to come up with the right words to do this city justice in written word. We've been to so many amazing churches -- some from the 10th century that have been beautifully preserved. We went into the catacombs underneath on of them yesterday and saw a bunch of entombed saints that were several hundred years old and a couple of them had their hands sticking out of their robes and they looked like really old raisins, but the people say that it's proof they really were saints because their skin hasn't turned back to dust.... hmmm... I dunno... I'm a skeptic I guess, because we saw some really old mummies last year that looked about the same and no one was saying they were saints, so yeah -- that whole thing is still up for debate if you ask me.... But, it was quite amazing, you just have to make sure you keep your candle really close to yourself and under control because it's really dark and crowded in there and with a distinct stench of burnt hair, and an occassional flash burn of light from someone getting their candle too close to the silly big-mullet-headed tourist in front of them. After a while of being in there, the typical claustrophobia unique to our family set in, along with the boredom of being in the same place for more than 10 minutes, and we frantically started scanning tunnels looking for an escape route... at which point we also suddenly felt like none of us could breath (typical panic attacks for our family), yet all the other tourists were still just fine -- burning hair and all... We did escape the catacombs and emerged into a beautiful torrential rainstorm with flashfloods, mudslides and nuns running through it... but, just as soon as it started, it stopped and the city was once again beautiful, fresh, and green.

After the catacombs we went to a World War II memorial... again, a very moving and heartwrenching experience. We saw lots of pictures of Ukrainians who sacrified their lives for the cause and also, perhaps the most horrific display, was pictures of Jewish children escaping to Soviet lands (apparently about 2.5 million of them). It was very educational and we think all American kids should be required to visit places like this and see what has gone on and is still going on in a lot of places on our planet. It's changed us for sure. Fortunately, there's this thing on top of that museum that is called "The BIG MAMA" and she's about fifty times bigger than Lady Liberty, and about 100 times scarier, pointing the way to the Motherland (ol' USSR) with her sword and shield raised high above her already cloud-reachin' man-head (Megan and Matthew were very concerned that she looked more like a man than a lady). You can see her from about 100 miles in any direction and she is OMINOUS! Eli calls her "the statue of oppression" and says he thinks it would be a fantastic idea to put a soundtrack into her head that went off at 3 p.m. every day for 10 minutes straight, with no breath, and was just a brutal blood-curdling scream (rrrraaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr!!!!!!) to keep everyone in line ("just to make sure"). We're positive it would work.

So, after dancing around Big Mama and screaming for about an hour, completely cracking ourselves up, we decided to trek out to the LDS Temple site and track down our cousin Lane Steinagle who is currently the Kieve Mission President. We found him and he sends his love to everyone -- he looks great, is doing great, and so are his wife and kids. The temple site is amazing -- it's going to be so visible and beautiful -- tall and white (like all the other temples we love to see), and the most beautiful building for miles and miles. We're so excited that the church will have a temple in Eastern Europe. What a great blessing for the members here. We all want to come back for the dedictation next summer, but we'll rethink that after our long flight home... it takes a LONG time to get over here!!!

Now, we're just about to head to the airport to catch out flight to Paris, where we'll spend about 32 hours rushing Megan and Matthew to all the sites we feel it's so important to see. After Paris, they'll be able to say that when they were teenagers they went up the Eiffel, through the Louvre, inside Notre Dame, and to a midnight show at the Moulin Rouge!!!

We love you and and will be home Sunday!!!

Matthew, Krishelle and Uncle Will (the others are out shopping for more matroskas...ugh)

The Not So Miracle Train

2009-06-17T13:59:00.004-06:00

Here's an update on our trip. Written from Uncle Will. Thought I would share like always. Pictures to come later.

Hello everyone. Sorry it's taken so long to get out our first email update about this adventure -- but, just so you know, it's nothing personal....it's just that nuthin' aint' convenient over here!!! And that's an understatement. We are now in a hotel in Kiev (Hotel RRRRRrrrrrus!) after making a brutal pioneer trek back and forth across two giant Eastern European-Post-Soviet-Block-Radiation-Drenched Countries, and finally we have reliable internet! We're a couple of hours south of Chernobyl -- don't worry, we haven't seen any two-headed pigs... well, just a one-headed pig with two bodies... and that was earlier today (at a museum). And now, we'll back up our story to the beginning -- Moscow... well, let's back up a bit further to the flight... Andrea says it was one of the worst top ten flights of her life (we're not sure exactly why, but that's saying something because we think she's flown about twice a day since 1970). The flight was just fine for the rest of us.

Moscow. What to say. It's just HUGE! EVERYTHING is HUGE! Red Square -- HUGE! Kremlin -- HUGE! Chandoliers at the supermarket -- HUGE!!! Apartment -- extra-tiny! Rat-tail and Mullet hairdos on every other person -- HUGE! I remember mullets being okay in 1968, but it's style that never should come back... Eli kept trying to point out mullets that he thought didn't look so bad and trying to get us to agree that, "hey, yeah, Eli -- when you get the States, that style wouild probably look real good on you" since he hasn't cut his hair once since January. We had about 36 hours in Moscow and did about 72 hours of stuff and it was great. Things we loved -- Eli's friends Kimberly and Acia, Red Square, St. Basil's, a bunch of other church's we can't remember the names of, the bread, the palace, the Vafly (sugar wafer cookies, but that's a real pale comparison). Things we found interesting -- the military setting up roadblocks everywhere for no apparent reason and when asked why, they say "just makin' sure...." Also, one night when we were trying to get into a restaurant to eat borsch, the head waiter ran up to us (another roadblock) and just yelled, "NO!!!!!" We're not exactly sure why... but, Megan almost cried. Before we knew it, we were cramming our 37 pieces of luggage into two of the four taxis we accidentally ordered and were doing it as fast as we could, so as not to create a HUGE scene when the second two taxis showed up. We got to the airport and checked in to our flight to L'viv and as we were going thru security, Andrea started yelling at Eli for some help with a translation... Eli ran over and discovered that Andrea was being accused of smuggling raw eggs and a specific kind of cold cuts in her checked luggage. It all seemed very normal at the time, because we're always freaked out on border crossings over here... (recall last year's Jordan/Israel border extravaganza). We didn't realize how odd it really was until we landed in L'viv several hours later and also realized that the security officer making the accusation climbed over 14 other security station agents to target Andrea and Andrea alone. And, as far as we know, she did not have eggs and cold cuts in her checked bags. We still keep asking ourselves -- "who would pack eggs and meat in their luggage???" Oh well... we move on...

The flight to L'viv was on an airplane that pretty much looked like a magic schoolbus -- a schoolbus with wings and propellers, circa 1938. It actually kind of looked like a whale that was trying to swim higher and higher, but just couldn't and it was soooo loud!!! Then, as Megan describes, our crash-landing where the belly dragged along the tarmac for three miles, sparks flew, eggs cracked (or did they? we'll never really know, but Andrea did have scrambled eggs for breakfast this morning).

Flashback to Moscow... Krishelle was being chased pursued by a "Bob" (aka Babushka = grandma...they run the country) in the metro, yelling at her in a different language and Krishelle just kept running and shrugging, but the lady wouldn't leave her alone. Finally, standing within the Metro car, staring out the dark window, the lady worked her way to Krishelle, grabbed her arm and yelled some more, which Eli interpretted as being, "Hey! Why are you ignoring me! Why won't you help an old woman!!!!!" To which Krishelle said, "Sorry" and shrugged... A lot of those kinds of encounters happen daily to each of us, everywhere.

So, in L'viv, we discovered that if you stand anywhere in the city for more than four minutes, a drunk man will approach you and explain in explicit detail everything he's ever learned or made up about the history of the city in no particular order and with no invitation. This of course already began when we got to our apartment and were standing outside waiting for someone to let us in and one man, making googly eyes at Stacee, found us in a dark alley and said a lot of words that we all thought sounded a lot like "prostitute" and asked Eli about this several times which he confirmed was not the case. This was preceeded by a staring contest with the creepiest man any of us has ever seen (we think he was straight from Transyvlania. . . that is just right down the road you know) who walked into the alley and glared at us with his beedy eyes for about 7 and a half minutes. This was the only 7 and a half minutes of the whole trip where Megan and Matthew weren't complaining loudly about cigarrette smoke, B.O., or Vodka (bless their innocent little hearts).

We walked a few marathons over a short period and bought every art and craft ever created within the L'viv district and still had time for the "Miracle Train." It seemed like a good idea at the time as we thought "Hey, that Disneyland looking 2 box-car contraption bouncing along the 700 year old cobble-stone road would probably be so much fun for the kids (and relaxin'! for the adults). 2 minutes later the man sitting next to Uncle Will and Megan (who we now think may have actually been an old wet horse blanket in human form) and the rest of the crew who hadn't showered since before the Cold War got to be a bit much within the ride which would have put your jerkiest roller-coaster to shame. Even with the bumps and the Ukrainian speaking intercom which was up loud enough that we were sure a couple of you could probably have heard from home, Matthew was "miraculously" able to nod off to sleep for the entire hour as the rest of us were planning our escape plans. In fact, every time the "Miracle Train" slowed enough to reasonably jump out without breaking too many bones, Megan had her right foot heavily dragging across the cobble-stone asking as sincerly as anything has ever been asked, "Now Uncle Will? Can we get out now?!" Between all the craziness going on around us, we somehow felt trapped, like we could never get off, even though the train circled the same city block 30 times, just a few feet from our apartment. So we sat in there and fermented for 1 hour and 7 minutes (we were falsly promised it would only be one hour).The only thing we hadn't seen yet on the tour that we really wanted to see was an old consentration camp and the tour seemed like it was going to be all worth it when the intercom mentioned it but then followed by saying in Ukrainian "that consentration camp is down the road that way" as the "Miracle Train" briskly turned the oposite direction and started blasting horrific pop Ukrainian music. After all that, there were a few encounters with some gypsies -- one, in particular, who made a whole lotta empty promises regarding our posterity.

L'viv was gorgeous!!! Amongst my top ten favorite cities in the world (and that's saying something, cuz we've been a lot of places). Lots of beautiful churches, but more than anything, the people were so nice and beautiful -- in complete contrast to the unique Russian experiences we had... We got to meet some of Eli's peeps from his mission and when we said goodbye to them at the train station last night, we were all bawling our eyes out for some reason -- it was a strange and extremely emotional connection we all made in the few hours we knew these Ukrainians. I don't know what words could describe that goodbyes we made -- like an old movie where long lost friends meet at a train station and then have to say goodbye again and the ones who stay there chase the train down the tracks, while the others are waving and wiping tears. The most amazing thing -- Eli's peeps sang several beautiful songs to us as our train departed. Krishelle was sobbing (makeup running), even me (stoic Uncle Will) was bawling... the end of that part... it was precious and we're grateful it happened... but, it was overwhelming, in a very spiritually good way.

So, that train we got on and felt so wonderfully emotionally enriched to be on.... well, within about three hours into our 11-hour journey, that spiritual high was long gone, as it was replaced by overwhelming stench of recycled air in a closed cabin. Hot, hot hot. All I can say -- if you ever come over here -- FLY from L'viv to Kiev... except you would NEVER want to miss the opportunity to see the landscape go by your windows... so, although it was painfully hot at times, the scenery more than compensated. The train seemed modern enough to have A/C in the sleeping compartments, so at about 3 a.m., when I had absolutely had enough of the McGyvering situation with Matthew and sheet hanging out the side of the train and trying to create a wind-tunnel in our sleeper car, I decided to try to reason it out with the train hostesses who didn't speak a word of English (or Spanish -- I tried that, too). So, I resulted to sign language for "it's hot in this car" and they looked at me, looked at each other, looked at the switches on the wall, looked at me again (I made some more hot-flash movements, afraid they didn't understand that I was really, really hot), looked at each other again, looked at the switches, pointed at the switches, spun one finger, picked a switch, flipped it, and sent me back to my cabin...where we continued to roast for the next five hours.

Now, we're in Kiev. It's beautiful. We've shopped, and we're going to bed now. More later.

We love you all. We're having a blast. Not sure how long we'll have good internet... but, we'll be home this weekend.

Song of the Week

2009-02-25T20:31:00.006-07:00

OK so I thought for sure the song of the week would get me to blog at least once a week...but here we are 3 weeks into it and I already missed a week.

The song of the week is Duseldorf by Reina Spektor. I absolutely LOVE Regina Spektor. For any of you who don't know who she is, you should definitely check her out. Her best album is Begin To Hope.

I love this song about all the places she has traveled and all the things she has seen and done. Eli found it and it has become our traveling theme song! It makes me think about some of the AMAZING and CRAZY thing that I have been blessed to experience...

- Riding a camal in Egypt.
- Riding a stand up gondola in Venice.
- Climbing the Eiffel tower in the middle of the night (with it's beautiful flashing lights).
- Climbing to the top of the Vatican abd looking out over Rome.
- Taking the "snorklin" tour in Puerto Angel, Mexico.
- Hunting through head stones in Switzerland with my grandma.
- Seeing the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, The Venus De Milo, The Sistine Chapel, King Tuts belongings and other amazing paintings and sculptures.
- Experiencing Eli's crazy mind at work while he writes his first song..."como se Dice". It's definitely a hit!
- Climbing the Great Wall.
- Seeing the Chinese Acrobats in Beijing.
- Snake Charmers and people selling teeth in Morocco.
- Swinging from vines in the forest in Palenque, Mexico.
- Riding in a Gondola over the top of the Costa Rican rainforest.
- Ciao blondie and the "fish flips free"...(you know what I mean Bridgette...and don't forget "it's hard to walk like a pigeon..they have 2 legs and we have four.")
- Sitting and thinking at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.
- Witnessing an almost suicide in Shanghai...scary!
- Eli passing out on the plane to Amsterdam.
- Having our sweet sweet Nona with us!!
- Being sold to a Moroccan rug salesman for 270 camals by Uncle Will...thanks Uncle Will...I'm glad you changed your mind!!
- Being forced to purchase a Jade braclet in Hong Kong because I couldn't get it off my wrist after the shop owner lady soaped up my arm and forced it on.
- the delicious meal in "cat pee cafe."
- Crossing the border in Jordan by gunpoint.

And the list goes on and on...I am sooo blessed!

25 Random Things

2009-02-25T20:18:00.001-07:00

Rules:
Once you've been tagged, please write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. Be sure to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs (+) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1- I have been tagged 78 times to do this note...I finally gave in.
2- I love all kinds of music even music in different languages. I have 592 albums on Itunes (I love Itunes...I spend way too much time and money there).
3- I LOVE Shakira...AND...we have the same birthday! (we are kindred spirits for sure)
4- I have worked for the same company for 10 years...Wow...I feel old!
5- I have visited 17? different countries.
6- I LOVE anything pumpkin...ice cream, cake, pie, bread, you name it...I LOVE it.
7- I have 3 beautiful neices and 1 handsome nephew who I adore.
8- My newest neice is named Krishelle...aren't I lucky?? It's because I'm the favorite.
9- I love watching Ghost Hunters...Wednesday nights are the best night ever because it's on 4 times.
10- I love to sew...I just wish I was as good as my mom...she's amazing!
11- When I worked at Artic Cirlce in Logan, I was robbed by gunpoint...scary!
12- I LOVE my family...all of them, as strange as they are. I hope to grow up to be just as cool as my mom and dad.
13- I love sudoku...I am such a dork.
14- I have a small collection of purses....at one time it was over 120, but thanks to Eli my obsession is under control at the moment. (I still have too many but it's at least under 100)
15- I also have a small collection of chopsticks, silk bedding from China, and Russian Nesting Dolls...Once I find something I love I just can't stop.
16- I have a HUGE crush on Justin Timberlake...I know, I know...I'm not 12 years old, but I still LOVE him!!!
17- I can't stand it when there isn't a candle, a scentsy, or some kind of something running to make my house smell good.
18- I love getting mail...as long as it's not bills...I mostly love little notes and cards.
19- I have OCD with my alarm clock...I check it about 192 times each night before I go to bed, and sometimes wake up in the night to check it...I am soo worried it won't go off.
20- I love going out to see movies...I could go every night!
21- I love to sit around with my cousins, uncles, aunts, parents, brothers, sisters etc... and tell crazy stories about the family. And am happy to go through scary/horrible/embarassing experiences just to have a great story to tell later!
22- I love to read. My favorite books are Angels and Demons by Dan Brown and the Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.
23- I love having my toenails painted...I just hate doing it myself.
24- The strangest place I have been is called Salvation Mountain...it's nuts!!
25- I can't go in Bath and Body Works or any fabric store without spending at least $100. So...I just have to stay away (unless I can't)...

OK...that was hard! I am going to tag anyone who hasn't done this yet...

Song of The Week

2009-02-08T00:01:00.006-07:00

OK...so obviously it's "a lot" hard for me to keep up on this whole blogging thing. So I have come up with an idea...actually I kinda stole it. Anyway, I am going to start doing weekly posts with the song of the week. (Now don't worry...I am still going to try to post normal things too.) These songs might tell a story...like how my week went, be related to something that happened, be a tribute to one of my readers, or just be my favorite song of the week (or maybe even my least favorite).

So here's the first one - with a shout out to Uncle Will.

Song Title: Ruby Tuesday
By: The Rolling Stones

This weekend Uncle Will took me to Mexico for my birthday! It was awesome, I am such a lucky girl! We arrived in Rosarito Mexico on Friday night. When we pulled up to our hotel there was some really loud live music playing...it sounded horrible! While Uncle Will was checking into the Hotel I set out to investigate. Well...lucky for us, it was Karaoke night! I peeked in the Karaoke bar and there he was...an elderly man singing Ruby Tuesday...now of course he was singing the wrong words, and of course he was aweful and monotone, and of course he had no rythm, and of course he was not moving or dancing at all, and of course he was wearing his winter parka all zipped up (cause it was 60 degrees). I almost died laughing!!! Now, Uncle Will and I are both those type of people who never want to draw any extra attention to ourselves so we snuck in the back to watch. What a night! There were only about 10 people there including us and everyone was taking their numbers so seriously!! (one of which included "How Do I Live" by Leann Rimes...whoa nelly!) So, because of this Karaoke night, Ruby Tuesday will be my first Song of the Week! Enjoy!!!

Baby Kate!

2009-01-10T23:40:00.004-07:00

I just wanted to post a few more pictures of my new neice Krishelle Kate. I feel so lucky to have such a precious little girl named after me! Thanks Jeff and Krisanda! Sorry it took me so long to post these! I will try to get some new pictures soon...she has already changed sooo much!

Krishelle Kate Bell

2008-11-26T16:33:00.002-07:00

This is my new neice Krishelle Kate Bell! She was born on November 17. She is sooo cute!! Her sisters and brother can't keep their hands off of her. They are always asking if they can "pet" baby Kate.

An Opportunity to Help Around the Holidays...

2008-11-16T10:22:00.007-07:00

I got this forward from my mom and wanted to help spread the word...

From my Mom:
"Hey, everyone - if you can send this message on to all your friends and family ... it will help get the word out. Please post it on Facebook or your Blogs - I would really appreciate it. There is a great need and we love this family. xo Cathie"

From some Close Friends:
"Hey Everyone, As you know, our family has had a long battle with breast cancer. Thankfully, we are doing well, but financially it's taken its toll. Thanks to my sisters in law, we received an offer we couldn't refuse."

"On December 11th at 7:00pm we're having a Christmas benefit concert with performer, John Canaan http://www.johncanaan.com/ at Bingham High School in south Jordan. He has been kind enough to donate his time and talent. He is AMAZING personally & professionally!! Proceeds will go to paying off our medical bills and 10% will go to The Susan G. Komen Foundation. We'd love to have you attend!"

"You can buy tickets on-line at http://aseasonforhope.blogspot.com/ We appreciate your support more than you'll ever know. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone else who may be interested."

Check out the link to the blog above for more information about their situation. Tickets are just $10. Please come if you can!

Help! I'm a hoarder!

2008-11-12T20:01:00.004-07:00

Several months ago Eli and I were over at my parents and my mom asked us if we would like to watch an episode of Oprah that she had recorded on her DVR. I normally HATE Oprah but the epoisode she had recorded sounded very interesting. It was all about this lady and her husband who had a hoarding problem. I had never realized this was a problem for some people until I saw this show. They owned a 3000 square foot house and every room was completely packed with junk. In every room there was stuff piled to the ceiling and a narrow walkway so you could walk from one end of the room to the other. The bedroom was covered floor to ceiling with clothes. Even the bed was covered in clothes. Only one person could sleep in it while the other slept on a pile of clothing on the floor. It took a group of 100 people 8 weeks to dejunk their house! They ended with 75 tons of garbage that needed to be hauled away.

They also filled a 10,000 square foot wharehouse with stuff and had a garage sale.

One part that really stood out to me was the 3000 pairs of shoes they were selling right next to 3000 purses (no eli...I don't have anywhere near 3000 purses (just 115) or pairs of shoes!)

I of course became convinced that I am a hoarder! My house looks nothing like the one I saw on Oprah...not even close, in fact I am pretty organized. But...I definitely hold on to things for much longer than I should. I have been so worried about becoming a hoarder that I have been dejunking things non stop for about a year. This last week I was working on my closet for the 10th time. I have to keep going back through it because I have a really hard time getting rid of things. While going through it this time I realized how stupid it is to keep things you don't use, wear or need. I found myself saying "I can't get rid of this...it's the shirt I was wearing when that guy winked at me at the mall." or "I can't get rid of these shoes. They were $100. Even if I never wear them cause they hurt my feet." or "I can't get rid of this Dolce and Gabana knockoff even if it is falling apart...I bought it in China for $7." It's so rediculous! Why do I feel the need to keep things that I have no use for?? I did however get rid of 9 pairs of shoes (the rest are on probation and auditioning for a place in my closet)!

In the end I did do a great job in my closet and got rid of A LOT of clothes! My closet looks so nice now, I just can't believe the difference. But I am sure I will be going through it again soon...to get rid of the things I just couldn't part with this time! So, if any of you are available, I need help!!! It's a lot easier if you have a buddy telling you to chuck something!

P.S. I went to the Oprah website the other day and took the "Are you a hoarder" quiz and my results state that I am very far from one! Thank heavens!!

Stalking

2008-11-11T12:04:00.002-07:00

I know I just posted really recently so hopefully you have had a chance to look at my last post. ;) I came across a new gadget you can add to your blog. You will see it at the left side of my blog. It's a list of all my stalkers...or people who follow my blog. I thought it was fun cause I always like to know who's reading. So...if you would like to be known as a stalker, just click where it says follow this blog and sure enough your picture will pop up under that heading!

Don't worry...for those of you who like to follow my sad pathetic life, I am working on another post as you read this!

I Need A Break!!

2008-10-04T11:31:00.002-06:00

I have been feeling like I need a vacation, and I learned how to do a slideshow (thanks Amanda), so I posted a slideshow below from Costa Rica since I never posted these pics. Hope you like it!

The End of An Era...

2008-09-25T21:17:00.004-06:00

" Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown."

Today has been a sad and interesting day. I have worked for the same company for almost 10 years. It has been a great company where I have learned a lot and met a lot of GREAT people. It has been a company I believe in and have been proud to work for. It has been a great experience and a wonderful 10 years that has definitely prepared me for the next chapter in my life. I have put a lot of hard work into this company and done my best to be successful. It hasn't been just a job, but a career. I have learned a lot about the economy, stock, coaching for results, selling products and services, creating strategies that lead to success, leading staff for results, working as a team to achieve a goal, and much more.

As the nation has been going through these tough times, my company has been affected greatly. So much so that it was announced tonight that we have been sold to another large company. While this news does make me very sad, because this company I have loved and worked so hard for will be changing, I am confident that all options were weighed before making this decision. I believe that what has been decided will be the best for our employees, our customers and our company. We will be a bigger and stronger company and work together to be very successful. One big thing I have learned that will help me now is to anticipate change and work through it because "Change is the only constant."

Though I may be sad at the end of this era, I am optimistic and excited to see where this road takes me.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-09-22T20:48:00.002-06:00

3 Joys:

Visiting far away places.
Spending time with friends and family.
Sewing.

3 Fears:

SNAKES!!! (even though I am fascinated with them! It's like a train wreck!)
Losing my passport!
Waking up late for work...I check my alarm clock about 70 times before I go to bed!

3 Goals:

Save money
Get my craft room cleaned out and set up.
Diet!

3 Current Obsessions:

Facebook...I'm pathetic.
One Tree Hill...even more pathetic.
iTunes...finding and downloading new music.

3 Random or surprising facts:

I have blue streak extensions in my hair right now and I LOVE them!!
I have over 100 purses in my closet...I guess you could say that's another obsession of mine.
I have a collection of Russian Nesting Dolls...my mom and I got hooked on them and bought a whole bunch on Ebay...strange I know but they are really cute!!

OK...I tag Melinda, Krisanda, and Patience! Have fun girls!

To The Guy In The Truck...

2008-09-13T22:18:00.004-06:00

Let me start out by saying that something is seriously wrong with me...something that would probably take years of therapy to fix!

So here's the story...

Last Saturday I was driving (in my fancy new Lexus) from work to my parents house. I was on Bangerter going south. When I hit about 6200 S I noticed a truck behind me that was following rather closely. As soon as I noticed him, he pulled into the lane next to me and slowed down to drive the exact same speed as me. I realized he was staring right at me! When I turned my head to look, he waved winked and smiled. Now this wasn't your typical creepy, balding, toothless, child predator type guy that would normally flirt with someone while driving down the highway, this was a very good looking, tan, guy that any single girl would love to date. As soon as he winked I completely panicked. I flipped my blinker on, got into the turn lane as quickly as possible and took a left turn onto a road that put me total off route, as he sailed ahead through the next light (probably thinking what a snob I am).

The instant I made the left turn I realized something was seriously wrong with me and contemplated making a U turn (which would have been impossible) getting back on Bangerter and hunting down that truck again. There was no use, my future husband was long gone...I was certain I had ruined my life forever and let my future speed on past me. Then I remembered I had a cold sore and my face was peeling horribly and decided it was probably better he didn't see me up close!

So, to the guy in the truck...

I am extremely sorry I acted like such a snob. I know it seems ridiculous that I couldn't even wave back but I am shy, I completely panicked and acted on the first thought that came into my head. I don't think you are a creep or a psycho. I realize that something is seriously wrong with me, so please (after I attend years of therapy) give me another chance!!

I am completely pathetic and doomed to be single for the rest of my life!!

***Disclaimer for my parents who will probably read this...I completely understand that single girls must be very careful to not get into situations that may be dangerous or scary...which is probably part of the reason my reaction was what it was. There is no need to worry (obviously) because I couldn't even wave back like any normal person would do.

While I am on the subject of being single, I have one other story to post...

On Monday I walked into work and Rob, one of my employees, who sits in the desk right next to me said, "I have a funny story to tell you..." He was at his aunt and uncle's house over the weekend when his aunt told him she wanted to set him up on a blind date with someone she knew. She continued to tell him about this girl and how she knew the girls family and that this girl worked for a bank just like Rob did! When Rob asked for the girls name...it turned out to be me that she was trying to set him up with. His aunt happens to be in my parents ward and serves in the primary with my mom. We laughed and laughed...and although Rob is fantastic and a lot of fun to work with, neither of us date coworkers so we won't be going out anytime soon.

It's really nice to know that people are watching out for me (even people I don't know that well) because believe me, I need all the help in the dating area that I can get!!! So...if you are reading this and you just happen to know some fantastic, single guy that needs a date...I am totally free for blind dates...unless he's a co-worker or I have to meet him on Bangerter Highway...

Lizards and Overnight Bags!!!

2008-09-07T22:01:00.006-06:00

Yea, even this picture gives me the creeps.....

There are two things that happened on our trip to Mexico...several people have told me that I needed to post these (mostly people in my family because they understand the people they are about which makes the stories even better.) I will do my best to explain...

On our way down to Mexico we stopped at my Grandma's house (we like to call her Nona). Nona lives about 20 minutes from the border (about 2 hours east of San Diego). Nona is sooo fabulous! She is the sweetest person I have ever met! And so much fun to be around. She is always invited on all of our adventures and has been with us on some of the most memorable ones. It's always so much fun to be around her!! She has a cute little house in Brawley, California. Brawley is a little farming town that gets sooooo hot in the summer. The last time we were there, in May, it was 118 degrees! We always get to her house very late at night and she always has a huge meal prepared for us when we get there...so huge you would think it was Thanksgiving. When we visited her in May, during the chaos of getting all of my family, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, etc etc into the house, a small lizard crept in through the front door that we had left open. My sister came walking in with her bag and about died when she saw the lizard perched on the rug of the entry way. We are a bunch of wimps in our family...we are all terrified of any creature that moves, except my mom she is very brave...but of course she is, she grew up in Brawley with the rattlesnakes, tarantulas, lizards, and even the Bear she claims she saw at her bedroom window one night. Anyway, my sister screamed and ran to get back in the car, followed closely by me, my other sister Micalyne and my brother Eli close behind. My nephew JJ was in heaven, chasing it all around the front room growling at it. It took my two brothers in law to get it out of the house. Our cute little Nona was standing with her hands on her cheeks saying over and over again how embarrassed she was that a lizard would be in her house...as if there was anything to be embarrassed about, her house is immaculate and we were the ones who let it in.

Well, this most recent visit was not much different. We arrived at 11:30 and she had a huge meal prepared for us as usual. During the process of trying to get our bags into the house 2 small lizards found their way in. I am sure they had been waiting at the front door for the first chance to get out of the sweltering heat. I ran screaming into the house like a little girl while Uncle Will chased the lizards down. Nona was standing in the same position saying over and over again how embarrassed she was that this had now happened twice!! It took Uncle Will a while to catch the lizards because they are just so quick. As he caught the last one, he grabbed it by the tail and the tail immediately broke right off...which sent me into more panic (I am such a baby!! On a trip we took to Mexico a few years ago I was so freaked out by the little geckos that were everywhere, that I couldn't even sleep at night...especially after one morning when we got up and my cousin Bridgette, who was sleeping in the same bed with me, said..."a lizard got in our mosquito net and was in our bed last night. I put my hand down by my side and felt something weird so I starting petting it and then I heard it run across the bed. I didn't tell you cause I knew you would freak out!" and she was right I was freaked out!!!)

After Uncle Will announced that the tail had broken off of the Lizard the following conversation occurred...

Uncle Will: Oh shoot the tail broke off in my hand.

Nona: Will it grow a new one?

Uncle Will: Yes, Lizards can grow new tails.

Nona: No, will that tail grow a new lizard???

She is sooo cute.

The second story is about Uncle Will. Uncle Will is very cool and very fashionable. Anyone who has met him knows that he always knows what is "in" and is always dressed accordingly. Our flight left on Friday night, so I went straight from work to his house so that we could catch our plane to San Diego. When I got there he wanted to show me this really cool overnight bag that he had found at TJ Max. He was so excited cause it was the perfect size for an overnight bag and would be perfect for all the overnighters he goes on...(I think it was one of those things that seems so useful and practical, so you buy it and then when you get home you realize you don't really go on overnighters...). The next day when we arrived at our beach bungalow in Mexico, Uncle Will started to unpack his "overnight bag". I was sitting on one of the beds watching him unpack when he pulled out this mat. It was a rectangular pad about 2 feet long and 1 foot wide. This is the conversation that followed...

Uncle Will: This came with my new bag, I am not quite sure what it's for. I think it

must be used to separate your dirty clothes from the clean ones.

Me: No, I don't think so....is that a diaper bag????

Uncle Will: No, it's an overnight bag.

Me: No, that's a diaper bag...that's a changing pad you are holding.

Uncle Will: No way!! So these pockets on the outside of the bag must be for bottles??

Me: Yep, that's a diaper bag!!!

We laughed for days about this...poor Uncle Will...he thought he had found the best overnight bag ever and it turned out to be a diaper bag. He was soo embarrassed! He had to haul around that diaper bag for 3 days, while people were probably thinking what a great dad he was to carry around the diaper bag...but where's the baby????

San Felipe

2008-09-02T20:03:00.004-06:00

For anyone who doesn't know, I just got back from Mexico. My Uncle Will, his friend Missy and I went for Labor Day wekend. It was sooo much fun!

We go to San Felipe (Baja) whenever we can. We stay in a little place right on the beach.

We flew to San Diego on Friday night and rented a car that we drove to my Grandma's house in Brawley, California. Right on the border of Mexico. I am soo glad that we got to see my grandma. She is so sweet and had the most GIANT meal prepared for us when we got there at 11:00 PM. We stayed at her house that night and then drove to Mexico the next day. It was about a 2 hour drive.

We spent most of our time in Mexico on the beach!! Which was fabulous! I could just live on the beach. One scary thing that happened...I got bit on the toe by a crab!!! I was terrified!! We also did some shopping and loaded up on silver jewelry and sunglasses!!

Here are a few pictures I took while we were gone.

You may not have known...

2008-08-12T21:39:00.003-06:00

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Shape Tracer for the Porters (strange job tracing shapes on to wood for the neighbors craft business. My sister and I used to sing Opera really loud while they were cutting the shapes because we didn't think they could hear us over the noise that the saw made...we found out differently later on when they mentioned it to my mom. We had been doing it for months...I still get embarassed when I see them!)
2. Nanny (worst job ever!!)
3. Arctic Circle
4. Banker

Four Places I've lived:
1. South Jordan, Utah
2. Logan, Utah
3. West Jordan, Utah
4. A State of Confusion

Movies I love:
1. Nacho Libre (dumb I know!)
2. The Gladiator
3. The Notebook
4. A few I am embarassed to admit

Four Favorite Foods:
1. Ice Cream (the candy bar kinds...like Twix)
2. White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cheescake from the Cheescake Factory
3. Cool Ranch Dorritos
4. Hot Tamales

Four Weird Things About Me:
1. I would love to move to Europe for a while, but I am too chicken.
2. I am OCD about my alarm clock I check it about 75 times before I go to bed and every time I wake up during the night. Same thing with locking the doors.
3. I am terrified of Lizards (the tiny little geckos). When I was in Mexico I couldn't even sleep at night...I was in fear they were in our room. One morning my cousin even told me that she woke up in the night and touched something in our bed and it was a lizard!!
4. I don't know...I am sure there are a lot of weird things about me...but obviously I don't think they are weird that's why I do them!!

Four Favorite TV Shows:
1. The Office
2. So You Think You Can Dance
3. One Tree Hill (cause I am 12 years old)
4. Keeping Up Appearances (the british comedy)

Four Places I'd Rather Be:
1. Anywhere except where I am
2. In a gondola in the canals of venice
3. In Marakech walking through the souk
4. Salvation Mountain and Slab City!! (quite the place! you can read about it on my brother's blog: http://www.itjustgetsstranger.blogspot.com)

Remember When...

2008-07-30T22:11:00.001-06:00

I got this from a friend's blog. I hope you will play along.

Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot--anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

Hopefully there will be more good memories than tragic ones.

I know you all have good memories so please post them!!!

Fishin' With Dad!!

2008-07-28T22:06:00.002-06:00

When we were kids, one of our favorite things to do was to go fishing with my dad. This is my favorite picture from one of our fishing trips! (mostly because Krisanda and I are both wearing Chucky Cheese T-shirts, we were so cool!!) We were so lucky to have such a great dad who liked spending time with his girls!! And...we are still very lucky, I am sure my dad is the best dad in the whole world!!

And, I am sure you can tell who his favorite child is....I'll give you a hint....It's ME!!!

Worst 4th of July Ever!!

2008-07-08T20:36:00.002-06:00

So...I seem to have a lot of time on my hands this week so I thought it would be a good time to update everyone on the horrible 4th of July I had.

About 2 weeks ago I woke up in the night with the worst pain I have EVER felt in my abdomen. Lucky for me this pain was followed by violent vomitting. the vomitting and pian lasted for about an hour and a half and then I was perfectly fine. I realized at that time that it had to be my gallbladder. (we have a history of gallbladder disease in my family and several members of my immediate and extended people have had theirs removed. In fact my dad just had his taken out 3 weeks ago.) But of course I ignored the situation and went on living my life. Well, last monday I once again woke up in the night with the same pain and vomitting. For those of you who have never had this lovely problem...I hear that the pain is worse than childbirth. This time the pain would not go away. So I waited until I could not stand it any longer, about 5 hours and then called my dad. He immediately came to pick me up and took me to the ER. The ER gave me morphine and did an ultrasound and found gallstones. So, they sent me on my way and told me I needed to contact a surgeon to have my gallbladder removed.

I thought this would be ok since I was feeling fine and they had sent me home with a little supply of Lortab. But....then again on Thursday morning...PAIN!!! This time the pain was not quite as bad so I went to work and went about my day. Well...after laying around and whining at my parents house for a day and a half my parents started noticing that I was turning yellow. this was definitely not a good sign!!! So on the afternnon of the 4th, my dad took me back to the ER. I had called and made an appointment with a surgeaon, but they couldn't get me in for 2 weeks just for a "consultation" then surgery 2 weeks after that!! There was no way I was going to make it that long. Lucky the doctors in the ER decided to admit me to the hospital. Apparently I had a gall stone that had excaped from my gall bladder and was lodged somewhere near my pancreas (which is life threatening).

So, two nights I spent in the hospital jumping through all the weird hoops they make you jump through. And in the end they removed my gallbladder on saturday afternoon. (after not eating for 3 days!!) It was miserable!!

I am home now recovering at my parents and today was the first day I felt like I could actually move. So...I got up tp shower and ended up passing out on the bathroom floor....not such a good idea, maybe I should stay put for a few days.

Anyway...I think the worst is over...at least I hope it is. And I really hope this all makes sense as I do not have the energy to read through it again before I post it. I just really wanted to post an update because I am sure a lot of you are wondering what happened to me!

and there is a lesson to learn from this...anytime you think something is wrong, see a doctor immediatly do not ignore it...it will only get worse!!

JJ Montana

2008-06-27T18:36:00.003-06:00

The things my sister does to her kids for entertainment... This is JJ in a Hannah Montana wig that Krisanda got kaylee for her birthday after she begged and begged. Poor JJ!

Babysitting...

2008-06-22T23:44:00.004-06:00

Last night I got the chance to babysit my 2 neices and nephew. They are just the cutest kids ever! It's always so fun being with them especially becuase you never know what they are going to say.

Kaylee is the oldest. She just turned 5. She is sooo smart and acts like such a little teenager. She is always trying to negotiate to get what she wants. Last night when I was trying to put them to bed, we had this conversation:

Me: OK, it's time for bed.
Kaylee: But my mom said I could stay up till they got home. (flat out lie)
Me: Nope, they won't be home till very late and you have church tomorrow. I will have them come in and say goodnight when they get home.
Kaylee: No, it's too hard to go back to sleep after they wake me up.
Me: Ok then you can see them in the morning.
Kaylee: Nope, make another deal.
Me: You have two options, you can see them in the morning when you get up or I can have them come wake you up to say goodnight.
Kaylee: I don't like those...make a third deal please...
Me: Nope, let's say prayers while you decide which one you would like.

She is soo funny! Such a negotiater.

In the mean time, we started prayers. Kamree went first (she is 3 and such a handful!). I was trying to help her, but she kepy saying "I can by myself". Which turned out really funny...my favorite line from the prayer was (in the whiniest voice you have ever heard)..."and JJ, he pinched me on the arm. And it really hurts." As if she was a little spy reporting who had broke the rules for the day.

After prayers, Kaylee told me that she had worked out a deal of her own, and that was that she wanted to call everone in the free world to say goodnight. So, since I am such a nice aunt and I really wanted them to go to bed as we had had a rough night, I accepted this deal. After 5 phone calls I convinced her that everyone else was in bed and she finally gave in and got in bed. Then Kamree climbed on the top bunk bed with Kaylee and started jumping and jumping, screaming "I want to sleep with Kay-Wee!" to which Kaylee replied with a good kick and a bite on the arm.

Needless to say it was complete chaos!!! Luckily for me JJ, the youngest, had gone to sleep about an hour before.

The funny thing is that no matter how naughty they are, I still just love them to peices! I just can't get enough of them. But I was of course relieved when their mom and dad got home and I could return to the peace and quiet that was waiting for me at home.

Just love these kids!

2008-06-17T23:29:00.001-06:00

Aren't they cute?

2008-06-17T23:26:00.002-06:00

Trip Pictures!!

2008-06-16T23:15:00.002-06:00

Well, so sad to say, I am back from my trip...but I have some great pictures to post...so here goes.

Our trip started out in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a great European City, but sooooo different than anything you would find here in the states.

We were only there for a few days. We spent the time with Uncle Will's friend Lori who is fabulous!! We were soooo lucky that she was able to come meet us (she lives in Belgium, so she was very close.)

For those of you who don't know...certain things are legal there that aren't quite legal here...

We went to the Anne Frank house. It was really amazing!!!

Next we went to Cairo and saw the pyramids and rode camels...Grandma was the first to jump on that camel's back...

Eli had a heart to heart with the sphynx...

Then we went to Petra, Jordan...Petra is absolutely amazing!!!

At our Hotel in Petra Eli took my camera to go take some pictures or our amazing view and this is a few of the pictures that he came back with...

We then headed to Jerusalem...

These are pictures of the old city, and the wailing wall...

This is Temple Rock...

The Garden Tomb and The Garden of Gethsemane...

We then drove to the Dead Sea, the Sea of Gallilee and the Mediteranean Sea...

Then Back to Cairo where we rode a Felluca on the Nile...

We hung around Cairo a bit and then to end our adventure... a picture of Eli at the airport in Amsterdam...I will let him post about this on his blog, I just HAD to post the picture...

The Sphinx says hi!

2008-06-16T22:34:00.002-06:00

On our trips we always send email updates out...I thought I would post these updates here ...These are all typed up by my Uncle Will and so everything is written from his perspective, but are a collaborative effort...

#1

Salama (that means "hello" in every country we've been to so far, except for in Amsterdam, where in the Red Light district they say "allo" -- Nona doesn't want you to know we actually went to that part of Amsterdam, but we told her that if she doesn't pipe down she has to go back to her room right now... we intend to be very truthful throughout this entire update).

We're safe and sound in the middle of Jordan, somewhere near Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Haven't heard any gunfire... so far. Actually, we are in some town called Wasu Madi (not much of a town -- I saw forty camels and goat wearing a coat -- the goat was obviously in charge of the herd), very near Petra.

Backing up a bit... we left SLC on time, the flight was uneventful, other than the mean lady sitting next to me that wouldn't let me put the armrest down (she loved me and wanted to snuggle, but she was a mean ol' drunk) and she put her blanket over her head and sat up straight the entire way across the Atlantic. We arrived in Amsterdam on time -- Lori Sawyer Jenson (my good friend) met us at the hotel and took us in the city where we went to the Red Light District, but the whole city seemed like a BIG Red Light District to Eli (we made him close his eyes the entire time). We didn't have a lot of time, so we scurried through the Anne Frank House -- Krishelle thought it was an Open House so she placed offer for $80k US, but they didn't accept because the dollar is really weak right now. Seriously though, it was really neat and we spent a whole hour there, which we now think was actually really good/fair amount of time seeing as how we spent all of 27 minutes in the Egyptian Museum before we got bored (seven of those minutes were us just standing around so we wouldn't look so bad to the taxi driver who just drove us an hour to get there). So, after the Anne Frank House we flew to Egypt and landed at 2 a.m. local time. Egyptians, we have learned from first-hand experience, to put it nicely, get what they want when they want it, always at your expense. It first started with a pack of them on the airplane that, even though seats were assigned (like they are on most every plane across the free world) they chose to rush into the plane and sit where they wanted.... this, as you can imagine, was what instigated many fights and arguments before the plane even took off -- we sat and watched, as if part of the in-flight entertainment ("Battle of the Egyptians") -- the flight attendants tried to referree, but they eventually gave up and it was every man, woman, Egyptian, and child for themselves. This entertainment didn't cost us anything financially, other than arriving to Cairo an hour late and then waiting two more hours to get our bags. At that point, it wasn't very entertaining anymore as the sun was beginning to rise. After an interesting hassle at checkin, which took another two hours and I even used my strongest assertive voice (which, I think, to Egyptians is sweet-talk), we got settled into a very nice hotel with a great view of the Giza pyramids... unbelieveable view. Then, we spent the whole day with Sayed our "English-speaking" guide who later confessed that he speaks English 50-50, which was extremely generous. We nodded and smiled a lot and told him we speak Arabic 0-100, so he was much better off than us. At one point, while we walked to the Sphinx, he told us he would be waiting for us at "Kentucky Down" which after looking around a while we figured it must mean the Kentucky Fried Chicken across the street.

Now, for the Panic Attack of 2008. At the pyramids, which are VERY huge and beautiful, we had the opportunity to go inside through a little shaft (Bridgette -- this is the equivalent of a slanted "shute"). In the biggest pyramind the shute goes upwards for a long, long, long, long way, so Sayed told us to pay the lesser amount and go in the smaller pyramid shute so we don't have to climb so far. Plus, the shute is really small and you're totally hunched over the entire way, one at a time, single file and it's dark, damp, hot, and really steep. That sounded like a great idea. Nona, of course, was already climbing in the shute before the rest of us even got instructions. Then, Eli, being the gentleman that he is, noticed how steep and dark and cramped and deep it was, so he told Nona to stop so he good be chilvarous and go first -- planning to act as a safety net for Nona should things go sour. You go down backwards like a ladder, because it's just that steep. So, Nona gets out of the way, and Eli enters, then Nona, then me, then Krishelle, and we start the descent. About 8 meters down (mind you, we are the only ones in the shute -- it wasn't at all crowded at the pyramids for some reason), one of us made a joke about "what if those up there close the metal door at the top of the shaft and leave us in here to cook for eternity), then Eli said "I gotta get outta here." We all laughed and kept climbing down, but realized that we were stacking up on Eli who had stopped in his tracks and said, "No! Seriously! I gotta get outta here!" He then, pushed Nona out of the way, and climbed over me and Krishelle and shot out the top of the shaft faster than light! We all stood stunned not knowing what to do or say -- maybe make fun of him or climb out ourselves.... like, maybe he saw a ghost or something. But, for those of you who know Nona well, we were not about to leave until she had completed the entire journey. So, the remaining three of us went to the very bottom and then climbed back out and are glad we did, even though there's NOTHING to see in there. When we got back out, Eli was still shaking and breathing hard and has spent the last two days trying to convince us that he really is clinically claustrophobic and not just chicken. We love Eli. For a little distraction for Eli, Nona climbed on a live camel and took a ride and that calmed down Eli because we were all in amazement wondering how we would ever explain that the last time we saw Nona she was headed into the desert on the back of a running camel. (For those of you who don't know Nona, she is my 77 year-old adventure-loving mother). Other than managing through a near-fatal panic attack, we did all climb up part of the pyramids on the outside and that was kind of scary, too, but with a fabulous view of Cairo. And, after Nona proved that giant, slobbering, stinky camels are nothing to be afraid of, we all climbed on one and took a ride. It was a blast.... and a rip-off (again, Egyptians always get what they want, when they want it, at your expense).

The Sphinx. While the pyramids were just as big as expected, the Sphinx seemed rather small; however, we didn't let that stop us from asking it all the questions we dreamed up on the long plane ride over... like "what's your favorite color" to which the Sphinx answered, "dirty brown." Eli told it that was rather convenient, as everything was dirty brown. Then, Eli asked it, "What's your favorite bird?" To which the Sphinx answered, "Pigeons." Which was also rather convenient because there were pigeons roosting all over it's face. We're trying to convince Krishelle to cut off her nose and tattoo tiny black pigeons all over her face so she can come back to the US and tell everyone "it's the latest style from Egypt, it's called 'The Sphinx'."

After the Sphinx we went to the Egyptian museum, but we already talked about that... it was HUGE and really neat, but we're really not museum people and everything that is really cool from the museum is already on tour somewhere in the US. So, we went back to the hotel and went swimming under the shadows of the pyramids.

This morning, we left Cairo and headed for the airport in a hair-raising white-knuckle taxi ride through rush-hour traffic to airport. Apparently, 22 million people live in Cairo and they were all on the road this morning driving 90 miles an hour directly at each other. The only reason they don't crash is because they are all honking at each other constantly. We think Cairo is the noisiest city on the planet... probably in the universe. The Cairo airport was a little disorganized and a lot scary, but we made our flight and we'll leave at that for now. We landed in Amman, Jordan earlier today, rented a car, and drove a few hours to Petra (where we are now). We LOVE Jordan... it's calm and beautiful (if you're a desert-lover like we are right now). To be completely honest, we LOVE Egypt, too, and really excited to finish the bulk of our trip there after Jordan and Israel. We're having a blast and we promise to not put Eli in any confined spaces for the rest of trip until we can get him some good medication (which shouldn't be hard because there are pharmacies everywhere open all night).

Love you all!

Will Whittle
and Nona and Eli and Krishelle

Money She Comes, Money She Goes...

2008-06-16T22:32:00.004-06:00

On our trips we always send email updates out...I thought I would post these updates here ...These are all typed up by my Uncle Will and so everything is written from his perspective, but are a collaborative effort...

#2

Hello from Israel (barely alive). Not that we're sick or anything, unless sick and tired of the harrassment we got trying to get across the border from Jordan to Israel counts, where the four of us are solely responsible for detaining an entire busload of Israelis. There were machine guns involved, but none of them, thankfully, ever fired at us. We'll get to that in a minute...

So, last time we wrote, we were somewhere in southern Jordan. Now, we're in Jerusalem and it is a small miracle -- but, hey, this IS THE PLACE where miracles happen, right??? Our last day in Jordan we went to Petra -- that place from Indiana Jones' last crusade. It was amazing! It was a really LONG hot walk through something that looked a lot like the Narrows at Zions, but it was worth it. Nona wouldn't even consider getting on a horse to get to the main attraction, even when the horse "was free and you only have to tip the horse." So, we got the main attraction after walking through the barren desert gorges for an hour, sat there, looked at slobbering camel drinking a bottle of water with a bunch of German tourists oo-ing and awing at it, then we immediately decided it was time to leave, even though we think there was a lot more to see further down the canyon -- we'll buy a picture book later, we decided unanimously, and started the long hot trek back out of the gorge. Nona made it out without ever having to mount a horse, but when we got to the tourist shops she found the first bit of shade and sat there until we left. She's fine and so are we.

We drove ourselves back to Amman and turned in our rental car and got screamed at by the police for reasons we're still unsure of... At this point, it was time to head to Jerusalem. As the crow flies, it's really just a hop-skip-and-a-jump away -- looked that way on the map, too... but, as the taxi drives, you need a day, at least. We agreed on a price ahead of time (thank goodness, because if we hadn't, we'd be coming home now flat broke). To make a long story short, the border crossing we needed to go through was closed, so we ended up somewhere near Syria at a much scarier border where no one spoke English and no signs were in English. The taxi got us to the border and dropped us off. Another guy in a taxi yelled something at us in Arabic and through our bags in his trunk and started on the long journey through a VERY frightening security process, that we don't have time to detail right now.... but, if I were to create a process flowchart in Visio or some other software, it would fill pages and pages. In the middle of the security process, we had to get on a packed bus to drive 20 feet to the next armed security stop where our passports were checked for a fifth time at which point our four passports were confiscated by a very frustrated military who stormed off the bus yelling something in Arabic. We had no idea what was going on until he returned with a "contact police" stamp in our passports and the bus backed up and turned around and called us to the front. We were horrified and pushed Nona first through a crowd of angry people (no other tourists in sight) because she's the sweetest -- that didn't help and she tripped over someone's duffle bag. About 10 minutes later, having been rushed through a bunch of machine gun-toting operated documentation process which we still don't fully understand (but we think we got a discount because of the rush), we were shuffling back down the aisle of the angry bus... Anyway, we finally got through customs and immigration (several gray hairs later) and took a two-hour taxi ride through the middle of the night to Jerusalem to our hotel where we haven't dared to leave since (just kidding).

Now, for the reason of our trip... We've been in Jerusalem and it's absolutely AMAZING! Quickly, we've been to the Garden Tomb, Gethsemane, Temple Mount, Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, multiple churches, synagogues and mosques, and BYU Jerusalem (which was air-conditioned). We'll tell you in detail about all the places when we get back, but we loved all of them. There's a different kind of peaceful feeling here -- like great things really did take place here or something.

In the midst of all the religious sites, you have to navigate through a herd of persistent shopkeepers who seem to have every intention of ripping off the tourists and will follow you for streets to do it. For example, a nativity carving at one shop started at $170 US, but we eventually found that you can buy the same exact thing for $10 at the same shop, if you go a day later and tell them you found it for $20 down the street. Don't worry -- we haven't been super gullible... But, as the shopkeepers will tell you as they're trying to convince you that $170 is reasonable, "money she comes, money she goes... free to look." We're trying to convince them that money often goes faster than she comes.

Okay -- since Uncle Will is on this trip, we haven't passed too many pharmacies without stopping in just to see what might be available (nothing too good, unfortunately). Though, Krishelle is working on an invention for a pill that will actually give you the cold shakes (it's so hot here!!!). In addition to this new pharmaceutical idea which we know would make us billionaires, Eli has come up with a few more practical ideas... Idea 1: "The Last Supper Character Restaurant" -- where all the staff dress like a character from the Bible. Idea 2: At night, the Old City turns into a water park for all the tourists because all the shops are closed and you realize how steep and winding most of the streets really are... plus, that would clean up the city nicely for each new day. Idea 3: A foot-washing stand -- just like they did in Bible days, but our gimmick is that ever third customer gets a lollipop. We have more investor ideas for you, if anyone's interested in "money changers" and "oil lamps" where three out of ten are actually filled with oil (luck o' the draw).

We're off to Haifa and Galilee in the morning. Really, this place is amazing. We love it. We're totally safe... it would be helpful to speak Arabic or Hebrew here (note for next time). We saw a Jewish orchestra and choir perform last night and are going to an Israeli Jazz ensemble tonight. It's all incredible!!!

We love you very much and wish you were all here with us!!! Drop us a line when you can

Krishelle, Eli, Nona, Will

Welcome Back Egyptian Cat!

2008-06-16T22:26:00.003-06:00

On our trips we always send email updates out...I thought I would post these updates here ...These are all typed up by my Uncle Will and so everything is written from his perspective, but are a collaborative effort...

#3

Hello everybody! So, we're back in Egypt and we want to tell you how we got here.... but first...

Last time we sent an update, we were finishing off our last hours in the Holy City. If you recall, we probably freaked you all out with the horror of the border crossing from Jordan to Israel -- and, rightfully so, because we were scared to ever cross a border again ourselves -- thinking we were probably going to spend the rest of our lives in Israel just to avoid it.

About an hour after we sent our last update we went to a Jazz concert at BYU Jerusalem (artists from an Israeli music school performed and they were amazing). We met a bunch of the volunteers and Nona started talking to one of them, and someone got on the subject of her maiden name, which then led to a domino effect of strange coincidences that ultimately connected Nona with one of the volunteers at the center who happened to be her long-lost first cousin from Idaho who she hadn't seen in 40 years, but they instantly recognized each other and broke into tears. It was serendipitous. We also spent some time with a couple of the visiting students (Mike Hansen from SLC and Allison Smith from Brawley) who happened to be there this semester. In the middle of our middle-eastern adventure, it was very nice to see some familiar faces!

Next morning, we rented a car and drove to the Dead Sea. It was hot, dead, and amazing. Lots of tourists from around the world rubbing mud all over their bodies -- some not so covered as others, and no one covered as thoroughly as Eli who covered himself from head to toe, except for his white swimtrunks which glistened in the sun. Nona even got into the action and floated around on her back with her straw hat shielding her face from the scorching sun -- we have great pictures. You've probably heard all about how well you float in the Dead Sea because of all the salt, but that is an understatement -- you are like a buoy on top of the water and it really hard to get your legs back under you once you have started floating, so often as you are tring to stand up you just go into a barrel roll and you can't stop... so you paddle around until one of your friends or family members helps you work it out and you get up and out. It was awesome.

Next, we drove to the Sea of Galilee, where Eli immediately walked into the water (though, not ON the water) and took a big gulp and said, "it doesn't taste quite as salty as the Dead Sea." We looked at him a little stumped and he said, "I decided to take a gulp of every body of water we visit over here." This was despite the signs at the Dead Sea that said to consult a lifeguard immediately if you ingested the water. I have CIPRO in my bag in case anyone gets sick, but so far we're all fine (even Eli who has been drinking from rivers and lakes). The area was really beautiful and it was great to see it. Then, we drove to Haifa where we spent the night. It was much more beautiful than expected and actually felt like a bit of a vacation from our "vacation." It was clean, green, cool, right on the Mediterranean and had the most amazing landscape and views imaginable. The Bahia faith has one of their main temples there and the grounds were spectacular -- our hotel was very close to it and the beds in the hotel were very close to each other, as well as to the walls -- it was almost like being in a genie's bottle with wall-to-wall low beds and three other genie's besides yourself in the little bottle. This was not good for us because we stayed up almost all night telling 1st) ghost stories, and then 2nd) stories that ended up being mainly about poop. No surprise in this family! We finally got to sleep with our guts hurting from the laughter. We woke up 12 minutes later and got ready for the day. We tried to put gas in the car but couldn't figure it out because all the pumps and instructions were in Hebrew, which we hadn't learned to read by that point -- we could only speak it. At the point of getting back in the car and taking our chances on fumes, someone helped us fill up, suspiciously requiring our passports to do so. We only needed a half tank and it was a small/compact car, and it cost $70 US (God Bless America). After that, we drove to a Mediterranean beach where Eli took another gulp, five seconds before we pointed out the giant dead fish, rotting dead turtle, and piles of human waste all sitting peacefully at the tide line -- this was all very near a porcelain toilet that was also sitting at the high-tide line. Strangely, his foot disease, which most everyone on this email distribution has tried to help him cure for the better part of 12 months, seems to be healing quite nicely in the last two days. If we have to narrow it down to one of the Seas he drank from, we'd have to say it's from Galilee, a bottle of which Nona has been carrying around in her suitcase as if it's the elixir of life (she's also got an olive branch she pilferred from the Garden of Gethsamane and a ziplock bag of mud from the bottom of the Dead Sea to go with the frankensense and myrh she bought in the Holy Land). We love Nona and are glad she's picking up these rare commodities along the way, because we secretly want it but are too proud to carry it around... plus we're not sure any of it can legally make it through customs.

After Haifa, we drove to Tel Aviv. This was the point at which we decided -- go west to the Tel Aviv or go east to the Jordanian border. It was unanimous -- we decided to each pay a small fortune and fly from Tel Aviv to Amman (20 minutes on HUGE empty aircraft) rather than repeat the experience detailed in our last email (no more border crossings for us!). Also, we learned that you can pay a fee to the Hilton Hotel and they will do some shady biz and get you through customs and immigration and security at record speed, no questions asked. That was the best money we've ever spent and it was Nona's decision entirely to do it -- the Hilton people hadn't even finished their sales pitch when Nona said, "We'll take it all" with a hand wave, and threw her credit card at them. Apparently, the border crossing was scarier for her than she let on. Thank you, Nona (we'll pay you back later).

Tel Aviv was BEAUTIFUL and relaxing. The beaches are AMAZING! The people are wonderful. Our hotel overlooked the Mediterranean and had it's own private beach. We ate an amazing restaurant overlooking the Sea -- Middle-Eastern seafood (lots of olives, hummous, fish eggs, pita bread, labna, taboulleh, white fish, calamari -- and, Eli's steak, medium well). It was delicious.

We left the Hilton in Tel Aviv at 5:30 a.m., got to Amman, Jordan a couple of hours later, had a long layover and flew back to Cairo. Now we're here in Cairo and having a fantastic time. We've decided we LOVE Cairo and have decided to spend the last few days of our trip here. There is so much to do and see and the people are great!!! (Even though they tend to lie a little bit from time to time, like today when a man told us he was a rich doctor and then led us three blocks out of our way and directly into his souvenir shop where his helpers slammed the door behind us, forced us to sit down, tried to make us drink forty varieties of herbal tea (we didn't drink any), and sell us a bunch of junk. Eli and I got up to leave, but the door was closed and had no handle, so Eli panicked (flashback to the pyramid episode) and said, "How do I get outta here???!!!!" All the while Nona sat peacefully looking at the piles of paintings they were showing, saying, "They're all beautiful, but I'm not buying anything." We eventually escaped and ran for our lives, even though we don't dare cross the streets by ourselves and there's no way we can possibly explain it, other than referring you to a hyped-up top-level version of Frogger where there are no lanes and no system and people everywhere. We eventually made it to the Egyptian museum, which, yes, we had already been there once (for those of you who read our first email), but we had to go again because Mike Hansen from BYU Jerusalem told us that all the really cool stuff was on the 2nd floor, which we were too lazy to see our first time because there were stairs involved. This time we made it to the 2nd floor and spent five times as long as we did on our first visit, despite how hot it was, because the mummies were actually pretty cool and some of those rooms had A/C, so we lingered longer and we also got to see a bunch of King Tut stuff. It was really neat -- actually better than what we've seen on tour in the US. So, we're happy we went back for an encore.

After the museum, we went to the souq (big outdoor crazy crowded hot smelly market). We spent all our money there buying about 50 of the same thing that we'll have to show you when we get back, if we get them back because they'll never fit in our luggage. Every guy hit on Krishelle, including the one who when he saw Krishelle pass by his shop a second time said, "WELCOME BACK EGYPTIAN CAT!" Because, the first time he saw her he said, "Your eyes so pretty, the boys so lucky!"

Nona stole a papyrus calendar. Or so we thought. Eli put her up to it. We were positive she didn't buy it, but when we got back to the hotel and were looking at our purchases, she pulled out the calendar and I asked where she got it and she said, "I swiped it -- diabetics do crazy things." She said it completely straight-faced and about put ME into diabetic coma (and I'm not even diabetic!). Come to find out, the shopkeeper's mother loved Nona so much that she had her son chase Nona down and give her the calendar for free, at which point Eli convinced her to play a trick on me... it freaked me out -- I thought Nona had lost her mind! She had me going -- they all did -- and, they're going to get it!!!

We're having a blast! Cairo is awesome!

Just a few days left and we'll be back... See you soon. Love you!!!

Krishelle, Eli, Nona, Uncle Will

My Life As A Movie...

2008-05-23T16:25:00.002-06:00

I found a quiz online that tells you what type of movie your life would be if it were a movie...this is what it came up with...Who knew I was so funny??

What Type of Movie Would Your Life Be?
	You life would be a Comedy. Most everything is all fun and games. It's difficult for you to be serious about almost anything, typically seeing the sillier side of things. While this is a great outlook on life, it also makes it difficult for people to take you seriously. However, people are attracted to that thing about you that makes them laugh so hard they pee in their pants (although they will never admit it).
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

There's a lot of stuff about me you don't even know...

2008-05-06T20:12:00.004-06:00

My brother found this link on one of his friends blogs. You stick your name and it tells you about yourself. So here is what it said about me...some of it is very true and some of it is the farthest from the truth you can get...interesting though...

What Krishelle Means

You are a seeker of knowledge, and you have learned many things in your life.
You are also a keeper of knowledge - meaning you don't spill secrets or spread gossip.
People sometimes think you're snobby or aloof, but you're just too deep in thought to pay attention to them.

You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.
You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.
You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start.

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.
You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know.
You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do.

You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.
Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.
Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person.

You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.
You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.
At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.
You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.
Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

We Are Family....

2008-05-06T14:36:00.014-06:00

I figured I better post something this week since I am kind of a blog slacker. So here we are...Nothing really that exciting has been happening. My brother Eli graduated from BYU last week and has moved in with my parents for a few months. He will be going to BYU law school in the fall. It has been a lot of fun for me to have him so close by. The first two days he was home we spent de-junking his room. Not by choice for me...he begged and pleaded with me to help him cause he just could not do it himself. It actually turned out being kind of fun. He had so much junk stored in that room he could have opened a thrift store filled only with his stuff and make millions!! Some of the "treasures" that we found were actually quite hilarious! We spent at least 30 minutes looking at old dance pictures from high school and laughing hysterically at his hair, his clothes, his braces.... Then another 30 minutes reading his very personal journal entries from the ages of 12-15 about the Jazz, Arctic Circle, School... He was such a silly kid! My favorite part of this experience was the 45 minutes he spent trying on all of his old clothes in different arrangements in order to create a new look for law school. He would say "what about this shirt, this jacket and a loose tie?" or "What if I get this Blazer tailored so it's a little shorter and wear it with my tuxedo shirt?" While I was slaving away cleaning out all of his CRAP! Anyway we got it done in just two nights and it actually looks pretty good!

I am really glad I get to spend so much time with him. We are going to Amsterdam, Egypt, Jordan and Israel at the end of this month. We are sooo excited!! We will be traveling with our Uncle Will and our Grandma. It is going to be so great! The other day I realized that after this trip I will have seen 4 of the 8 new wonders of the world! That is so amazing. I am so grateful that I have had the chance to travel as much as I have. I have had so many wonderful experiences and so many great memories. I have seen so many beautiful and amazing things. I am so excited that Eli is joining us on this trip and will get to see some of these amazing things!

My family is also going to California next week. I am very very excited about that as well. I have 2 nieces and a nephew who have never been. It is going to be so fun to see their little faces as they see all the different things in Disneyland! And I can't wait to hear the funny things they say. They are just so cute! Their mom, Krisanda, is such a good mom. She made a paper Disneyland chain with them about a week ago so that they could tear off a ring each day until the day we leave. They have been having so much fun with it and have called me several times at work to say things like, "Shelly......6 more days until I get to see the princesses!!!"

I am so grateful I am so close to my family and get to spend so much time with them!

Jiffy Lube

2008-04-20T22:45:00.004-06:00

Well, it's that time of the year again. Time for car registration. I took my car in to Jiffy Lube on Saturday and was once again reminded how much I LOVE that place!! My brother, Eli, and I have a sort of obsession with Jiffy Lube.

It all started a few years ago when Eli got his new car. He called me up one day asking where he should take it for it's first oil change. So, I sent him to Jiffy Lube. About 20 minutes later he called me and before even saying hello, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "I LOVE JIFFY LUBE!!!" And for anyone who knows how dramatic Eli is, you know exactly how the rest of the conversation went. He went on and on telling me how amazing it was. They washed his windows and vacuumed out his car. They were quick and had great customer service. He was definitely preaching to the choir...I already knew how great they were, why else would I send him there?? I am pretty sure we we had the longest conversation about about Jiffy Lube that has ever occurred in the history of the world (including with the Jiffy Lube executives).

we chatted about how we should both quit our jobs and work for Jiffy Lube as promoters (like they have working for all the fancy clubs in LA (can you tell I am addicted to the Hills?)) We would plot out our entire careers working for Jiffy Lube and talking about how easy it would be because we already loved the place!

This weekend was no different. I dropped my car off on Saturday morning and went with my mom to run some errands. When I went back to pick up my car, they thought they had locked my keys in the car. Luckily, they hadn't. When they finally found them, the guy who was working (who happened to be my parents neighbor) gave me a discount for all the confusion. It was so fabulous! And...they do the registration renewal right there in the store, you don't even have to mail it in and wait for your registration stickers to come in the mail!!!! Oh how I love Jiffy Lube.

The point of all this rambling about Jiffy Lube is that last year something really embarrassing happened to me when I took my car in for inspection. There is a Jiffy Lube really close to where I work, so I decided to run to Jiffy Lube on my lunch break and get my inspection done. So I ran over and waited in the waiting room while they completed the inspection. Once my car was ready I hopped in and drove back to work. When I got back to work I turned the car off, pulled my keys out of the ignition and opened the door. As soon as I opened the door there was a dinging in my car. I could not figure out what the problem was. I tried playing with all the nobs and buttons to see if I could get the noise to stop, but had no luck. I worked with a bunch of guys and figured that one of them would know what was going on. Once I got back inside I whined to everyone I saw, telling them about the annoying dinging sound and how I could not get it to stop. Right away a few of them said, "I think you left your lights on". I drive a Chevy Malibu...it's one of those cars where the lights are always on. You don't have to turn them on or off. So of course I assured them that that was not the problem. Since neither of them could tell me what the real problem was, I decided to call my dad. While whining to my dad, I realized that Jiffy Lube must have done something to my car during the inspection. That would explain this odd dinging. I was ticked!! I could not believe this place I was so impressed with, I had told all my friends and family about and had been so loyal to all these years could have done something like this to me!! My dad referred me to my brother in law who knows more about cars than any of us. I called Jeff and he told me to go out to my car and try a bunch of things. The first thing he told me to try was turning the lights on and off. Of course I scoffed at his suggestion and said "Duh Jeff I can't, the lights are always on, there isn't a way to turn them on!!" My brother in law is so sweet, he told me to bring my car over that night and he would get it figured out, I am sure he knew the problem and that there was no way we were going to get it taken care of over the phone. Before I left work that night I decided to call Jiffy Lube to see if I could stop by so they could look at it since they were the culprits. It was so weird, the guy who answered the phone had the same suggestion that everyone else had. He told me to go out and check the lights. I sat on the phone and argued with him for about 10 minutes about how it couldn't be the lights and how THEY were the ones that broke my car, and they better look at it and get it fixed right away! That night I walked out to my car and got in, ready to go to Jiffy Lube to have them take a look, and suddenly I noticed a nob on my car that I had never seen before. It had a picture of a light on it....then suddenly it hit me...I turned the nob slowly and the dinging stopped.

Penny

2008-04-15T20:52:00.005-06:00

I remember as a child waking up on Saturday mornings to watch Saturday morning cartoons. We had the best cartoons back then. After watching cartoons with my sister Krisanda, we would watch Pee Wee's Playhouse. For anyone who doesn't remember or is too young to remember... Pee Wee's Playhouse was an absolutely ridiculous mess of skits, secret words for the day, cartoons, lame jokes, and silly lines like "I don't make monkeys, I train 'em!" and "if you love it so much why don't you marry it?". It usually involved Pee Wee Herman parading around with a pair of giant underwear on his head or holding a special ceremony to marry the fruit salad he loved so dearly. Often during the episode they would play a "Penny Cartoon". This was a cartoon with a claymation girl named Penny who always rambled on and on about the most random things. These cartoons always started with the line "Hi, my name is Penny" and then continued with this rambling for about 2 minutes straight without a pause while this girl tried to make sense of the world. No matter what was going on we always laughed and laughed.

Several years later when we had grown out of the whole Saturday morning cartoon routine, Krisanda, Eli and I were invited to a slumber party at our crazy Uncle Will's. He was attending school at BYU and living in an apartment in Provo, so we felt quite cool going to our "rad" Uncle Will's for a slumber party. About halfway through the night, he popped in a video (I am positive this was an attempt to get us to shut up and go to sleep, as I am sure we were as obnoxious as anyone could possibly be at our age). We watched several episodes of Pee Wee's Playhouse (in spanish for some odd reason) recorded from TV on a VHS tape with our Uncle Will and laughed and laughed.

So as I sit here creating this blog (as it seems like no one can survive anymore without one), I can't help but think back to those days and those "Penny Cartoons " and how this blog is much like a "Penny Cartoon" of my own. A place for me to come and ramble about the most obscure things. A place for me to try to make sense of the world.