Post 137: Venice, Day 1.

I’ve sat here wondering how to go about telling you all about our trip to Italy and I know I’m going to have to do it, day by day, or the blog will be extremely too long…unless you love to read. So to be nice we will start with day 1.

Before we left I made travel journals for all of us, to help us remember things and to help my children with their writing over the break. So to tell you about our trip…I’m going to use the journals. I hope you enjoy reading about our trip from all 4 of our perspectives.

Venice: Day 1. By: Brier

First we woke up early in the morning and got in our care and drove to the airport. We got out, walked in the freezing cold and went to zone J. Put our suitcases through the escalator. We went through a little fat line and put our suitcases on the thing that puts your suitcases on the airplane. Then we got in the line and go on the airplane, it took awhile but we got there. Then we got on the airplane. It took about an hour in the airplane. I played my game boy then I opened my window there was mountains with snowy tops. Then we stopped and got our suitcase and walked out the door and go on a bus and went to the back and it had five seats. Got on a water bus, it took three hours. Then we walked and it took 4 hour, then we got to the hotel took. Then it was night time. I got to sleep good.

Venice: Day 1. By: Ashlynn

Talk about motion sickness! Never, ever, go from car, to plane, to bus, to boat. I slept for 4 hours and 25 minutes. I think the best part was when we got some awesome pizza! It was hilarious when Brie’s cheese from a different slice than the one he was eating, wouldn’t come off! The bad thing is our hotel room is small! But we are in Italy! I’m just glad we made it her safely.

Venice: Day 1. By: David

We traveled to Venice, Italy, leaving the house at 4 a.m. The plan departing at 6:30 a.m. and landed an hour later. We got on a bus from the airport to the city center, then got on a water bus to Lido Island. We ended up getting on the slow boat that went all the way through the Grand Canal. We finally arrived in our room in time for a “siesta”. We looked around Lido Island a little before turning in for the night.
Best Moment: Riding the water bus through the Gran Canal in Venice.
Worst Moment: Walking 1 ½ miles to our hotel, carrying our luggage, just to find that we could have ridden the bus right to the door. Sleeping with Brier in between me and Tonya.
Funniest Moment: trying to squeeze into the narrow bathtub because the shower was to short.
Thankful For: a safe, stress free trip to Venice, Italy.

Venice: Day 1. By: Tonya

We left our England home some where around 4 a.m. to get to the airport. Our flight left at 6:30 a.m. Flying Ryan Air was a unique experience. Instead of walking out the gate onto the plane, we walked out the gate onto the Flight Line right up to our plane! We climbed the stairs to board the plane. David and Brier sat in front of me and Ashlynn. They slept and Ash & I read books. I was feeling nauseous & had a headache so I couldn’t sleep. I assumed it was from not eating anything yet and I’d taken a couple Tylenol before we left. We flew over what we believed to be the Swiss Alps? They are majestic. Brier wanted to go to the mountains the moment he saw them. I wonder if he will always like the mountains. He was born in Utah, but he was 3 when we moved, so I don’t know if he remembers the mountains or if some where in the back of his mind he will just always have a fondness of them, like Ashlynn does with Missouri, where she was born. When we landed in Italy we went through customs – we now have stamps on our passports! Then we went & got tickets for the bus to take us into Venice. Before we got on the bus we ate some PB&J sandwiches that we’d packed and here I had a Pepsi. So I didn’t quiet make it through the lent season without Pepsi – but I would have if there had been Sprite or something that I was familiar with. Anyway, we got on the bus & rode to a location in Venice when we got onto a “waterbus”. What is a water bus? It is a boat with seats in it, just like a bus would have. The kids enjoyed it and I don’t think that Ashlynn can officially say that she doesn’t like boats anymore! We rode the waterbus to Lido Island – where we were staying in Venice. We got this hotel recommendation from Lydia. I really liked the hotel; however we should have reserved a room for 4 instead of 3. I thought from what Lydia had said that 3 were okay and there would probably be a cot, a small bed, and a bigger bed. Well there was no cot! There was 1 small bed and 1 large bed. The small is what we would call a twin – the large, 2 twins put together. Anyway – it was very cozy and Lydia was right – it was quiet! After we’d walked the mile or so up to the hotel (should have taken the bus), we were all tired. So the kids & I laid down & David went to get bus/train info. He had no luck because it was “siesta” time. The place closes from like 1-4 to nap apparently. So he came back and took a nap too. By the time we were all up – we ventured out for some travel info & food. We got train tickets for Rome & Florence & our waterbus tickets also worked on the regular buses as well. We found a pizzeria – that was really good. The kids really enjoyed it. After that we pretty much called it a day. We stopped at the Tabacci Shop for some drinks and returned to our room. It was peaceful. We slept with the windows open and awoke to the birds singing and music coming from some where. Funny thing is the song being played in the distance was Boyz 2 Men and it was in ENGLISH!!!



Day 2 coming soon...please read my book review of the Twlight Series here and the recap of being 28 here.



Have wonderful day!


Tonya

PRAYERS:



Please keep David's Uncle Eugene in your prayers. He had a heartattack and they have put a stint in. I'll update when I know more.



Please keep David's Step-Dad Jim in your prayers as well. He is having his colon removed tomorrow. They are on their way to the hospital now. Please pray for a successful surgery and a smooth recovery.



Thank you!

WELCOME LADY LAURA!

Okay, so we've been looking for a dog for a few months and we found one yesterday and made arrangements to go and meet her today, with plans to bring her home if we liked her. The drive was 3 hours south! So we planned a stop off at Stonehenge as well.

We arrived at Penny's home (I hope I have the name right) to meet Laura. We all liked her right off! She is a very beautiful girl. Her fur is a lighter color and she has the sweetest brown eyes! She's 2 years old and probably full grown, I would assume. She is so soft! So we said, "YES". How could we not?! They have I believe 4 other Golden Retrievers and one, Heidi, is due to have puppies on Tuesday. The poor girl - her belly was sooo big! I bet she will have some really cute puppies.

Lady Laura did amazing on the long car ride home! She was a little excited at first and every time we stopped she thought she need to get in the drivers seat (guess she was gonna drive). She attempted to sit on my lap a few times - but soon realized she was more comfortable right between the kids! I think Brier was petting her the whole way home!

We stopped to see Stonehenge - however Lady Laura could not go into the area, so I stayed out in the dog walk area with her and she attempted to say hello to every person she could! So if anyone were to ever break into our home - I am afraid she would only lick them to death...but who knows - hopefully neither ever happen.

However, there were several dirt bikes playing in a mud whole near by and I don't think she liked that. She started to whine a little - so she and I went back to the car and she watched impatiently for David and the kids to return. After that we tried to get her to eat or drink a little before getting back in the car, but she chose not to. Which may have been a good thing - because thankfully she did not get car sick at all, we weren't sure how she would do for that long a drive.

So home bound we were! We stopped about 3o minutes from home, at MacDonalds and the kids got some fries (chips). Amazingly enough, she did not even attempt to steal one! I was so impressed!

Since we've been home, she has been checking the place out like crazy and following very closely on David's heels. She checked out the rear garden (yard), she has wondered in and out of every room (several times), and she's not too crazy about the stairs yet! She is currently laying in here by me on the floor...she & I, were going to be great pals! I am so excited to have a companion to go walking with me!

Tomorrow, David and I are going to take a trip to the Pet store and get some toys, a bed, and food dishes and things - we want her to feel at home and be nice and comfy. Plus, we want the kids to be able to play fetch with her and so on. I believe she & I will go to obidence school somewhere, to continue training her. She is fully house trained, but she does like to jump up on you (for hugs...which I don't mind) but I don't want her knocking company down with her big hugs! She seems to listen very well - so I don't think further training will be too difficult. The question is where and how much? haha

Thankfully, we had recieved money for Christmas and we were able to use that money to purchase Lady Laura. We are all very happy with her! She is such a loving girl! We can't wait to show her off to friends and family - so here are a few of her first pictures.

Oh and the reason we call her "Lady Laura" is because well we'd rather call her Lady - so we're trying this to see if she will adjust to the new name and soon answer to Lady. Right now - she's not answering to either name, she just follows one of us every where we go. She has decided to take a break and lay on my floor for a moment.

Anyway - meet Lady Laura!

Happy Halloween

Sometimes the crafty part of my life collides with the England bound part of my life, so this is posted on both blogs. Happy Halloween, all!

You know how when you move and you think you've gotten everything unpacked and your good to go? Then you realize oh there's another box or where did that box come from? Well, I knew I still had a few things to put away and possibly unpack - I just didn't realize how much! haha We're kinda down to the last 3% or so of having the house completely unpacked & put together, we are just being very slow about the rest - mainly cause we're tired of it and ready to do other things. haha

Anyway, unless you've read my England Bound blog, you may not know that most homes in England do not have closets. Luckily, the home we found does have 3 closets, funny thing though, you have to angle the hangers because their too wide for the closet, seriously! So anyway, the base gives us 1 wardrobe per person and mine arrived the other day. With the 3 closets in the other rooms we found we really only needed 2 wardrobes, one downstairs for coats and one in our bedroom for my clothes. Our bedroom is the room without a closet, because it has what they call an "en suite" aka bathroom in it. They don't have closets because apparently there used to be this tax if you had them.

However, the newer homes have closets, only thing is most master bedrooms have "en suites" and no closet. Personally - I'd like to have both - but I think the closet is kind of a necessity haha. I can go down the hall to the bathroom. Yet, it is VERY VERY dark at night and there is no telling what I'd run into. I'm blind as a bat without my glasses and as dark as it gets here - its dangerous haha. The other night I ran into the tv thats sitting on the floor in our bedroom and the night after I ran into my "wardrobe" haha. I think David was trying really hard not to laugh. Today, I'm going to buy a lamp to put by my side of the bed - you watch. I'm also going to buy some baskets to put in the top part of my wardrobe for storage. I was able to put storage tubs in the bottom - fit perfect!

Anyway, along with my organizing and unpacking yesterday I found several items, haha. I found many projects that I need to finish, do any of you have that problem? 99 on going projects all the time? I found my first quilt square and a few others. I found the 1st quilt I attempted to make and that I still need to finish - it's for my son's bed. haha. Oh boy! I found patterns I'd cut out that still need sewn together - that may require help - I can get so far and then I find I've got questions! haha

I did unpack my sewing machine yesterday as well. I'll have to pull her up here on the table and put her to work soon, but right now I'm focusing on completing some christmas cards for these boxes to the soldiers - so that they will have some to mail home this year. And today so far we've made buckeyes, and cupcakes and we're taking them next door to pass out as a "halloween treat". They dont really do Halloween here just yet - they sell the costumes but thats bout it haha. Brier is going to a birthday party sleep over this evening and Ash & I are going to watch the Tinkerbell movie...not sure what David is doing yet...he mentioned something about a Haunted House haha.

One last thing, today would have been my cousin Scott's 30th birthday. This morning when I awoke the first thing that entered my mind was, "Happy Birthday Scott. You should be here, should be home, so that your family could through you a 30th Surprise party. Why'd you have to leave?" My cousin passed away in August - could you please remember his family in your prayers today. I'm sure today is not easy for them.

Anyway - here is a slideshow for your enjoyment. I'll post picures of more cards later. Have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Awful Beautiful Life

Sometimes I have to just shake my head at our life. Some days it's great, some days not so much, some days it doesn't make sense, and some days it's almost magic - just like the words in this song "Awful Beautiful Life" - it really fits. Especially with recent events...as you read, David finally blogged! Amazing - must have been magic. The funny thing is he called me to tell me he'd been kidnapped, I wasn't even looking for him! I knew where to find him...haha. He loves going next door and talking to people - my social butterfly of a husband. So then he returns home at some point - I'm not even sure when and he is so excited! Surely, you picked that up by his blog?
Anyway - in his "social" fluttering he scored us a tour of a beautiful, breath taking ranch with some of the most amazing horses ever seen. The grounds were very well manicured and went for miles and miles. There were wooden fences everywhere and special "paddocks" for different groups of horses. There might be 15 acre's in one paddock and only 4 horses. They are all very well cared for. The extremely pregnant horses were in special stalls so they could be kept a close eye on, and the horses that had already had their colt were in a paddock with their baby. You would see maybe 3 Mom's and 3 baby's in one huge paddock. They have plenty of room, plenty of feed, plenty of attention - and several of them loved having us pet them.

Brier however, did get on a few nerves - he just doesn't sit still and his "non-sitting" got him a bump on the head. He fell out of the little gator we were driving around, and it was parked! I have to pray for the child constantly. There was also a horse named "Rose Brier" - not sure how they spell "Brier" but it was neat.

Ashlynn was in heaven!!! She didn't say hardly 2 sentences the whole time we were there, but she had both cameras!!! So the photos in the below slide show are presented to you, courtesy of Ashlynn. I deleted the up the nose shots...I think she was trying to photograph every detail of as many horses as she could.

David's mouth pretty much hung open the entire time. I think he could have stayed there all day and just stared at the horses. Course, I could of stayed there and petted them and walked the grounds for hours. It was absolutely beautiful!

And we've been invited to come tour the grounds anytime we like - just check in at the office first. AWESOME! So dear family/friends when you come visit...guess where you're going? haha

Enjoy the pictures - I'll blog again soon - when we do something interesting, besides clean, put stuff away, go to school, make lunches, cook dinner, drive...you know the daily living stuff. :)

Cheers!

~T~

Welcome to The Sea of Cardboard!

The moving in is in full swing at our home and although we currently feel as if we are surrounded by cardboard, broken items, and missing items...we are thrilled to FINALLY be in a home!

Yesterday, began our moving in and unpacking. The movers were here about 830 to deliver our household goods. The were very nice, very helpful, and we had no problems with them.

However, some of our items did arrived damaged, broken, and currently missing. We are still hoping that as we unpack we will come across the missing items. And we of course still have a LONG ways to go. I'm just blogging this morning as I sit here and drink this Pepsi - to get my motor running, so I can get up and get busy again. Unpacking is very tiring and moving is very stressful.

Among the items arrived damaged, broken, or missing is our beautiful Armour that goes in our bedroom. It looks so sad. The top of it is broken, the hinges on the doors are mangled and the doors won't close. It's just so sad & depressing. I knew we were crazy to buy "good" furniture! We bought this bedroom set in Utah, it's solid oak, so we thought it could with stand a couple of moves. The quality assurance guy (at least I think that's who he was) says it can be fixed. I pray he is right - it goes with the set and I sure don't plan on driving to Utah to get a new one!

You will also notice in the pictures that it happens to be sitting in our dinning room, that's because it won't fit up the stairs! You will also see a box springs sitting in the hall, it also will not fit up the stairs! So our mattress is on the floor and that is where we will sleep until Wed. We had to go buy a "split" box springs, so that it would fit up the stairs. Ours will have to go into storage. Big home, little stairs.

Our entertainment center arrived with damage as well - missing wheel - however that crazy thing, if it can live long enough to hang out here in England, we will replace it on the next move. It's been through the ringer and back that's for sure. The next item on the list is the filing cabinet - it was cheap - but it's smashed shut, and the corners are all broken. The last damaged item that I remember and have found so far is Brier's bed. It will have to live for a little while - but he will need a new one. The main board down the middle is split - if he jumps on that bed one time, too hard - goodbye bed.

As for missing items, that is our tent, our silverware, a little red suitcase, and our white trash can. I'm still praying that these items are hidden in a box somewhere and we've just don't found them yet.

As for my Armour - it just about makes me sick. I'm truly praying that it can be repaired, because knowing our luck, the set probably wouldn't even be sold anymore. That seems to happen to us a lot. We find something we want and its the last one, their doing away with it.

You might also notice in the pictures that our living room furniture seems to really match the carpet and the curtains, crazy isn't it? The landlord popped in here yesterday and commented on it too! You'll also see David putting together Ashlynn's bed - it took HOURS! Literally!!! She has very little head room...I told her she better not get spooked and sit up real fast, cause that would be one heck of a knot with a headache to go with it. The ceilings are not all that high, needless to say. I don't think it would matter what room we put it in either!!! They are all the same. Today, he is putting together her dresser

Anyway, I really need to get back to the process of "unpacking" so I will blog again soon. I so wish I was with the M2M group on their Hearts at Home trip - it would be so much more fun and relaxing that this!!! I'm praying for you girls - have a blast, and I want to hear all about it.

Talk to ya'll soon.

~T~