Where to Live?

Have you ever thought

about moving?

I think about it

all the time.

It would be no

surprise if you caught

me on the computer

researching online

about the best places

to live for families.

Articles always seem to come

out with the top 10

places to live

 in the US.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2010/

What are they basing

this off of?

I mean, how can

you say that one place

is better to live then another?

I don't understand.

Okay, I understand

they are taking

many different

factors into account.

 

Maybe not everyone

finds what these articles are
considering as a priority to be a priority

for their quality of life.

Today (and often) I'm dreaming

about living out in the country.

With enough land to have

a few animals, definitely a horse

would be one of them.

Where is the best place to live

with some acreage in the USA?

Somewhere that is not

outrageously expensive,

not completely in the middle of

nowhere, beautiful, not too far from

a river, or the ocean,

and that still has decent public schools.

If you could

live anywhere

in the USA,

where would YOU live?

Boogie on the phone with dada!

Hey dada!  This is what I

look like when I'm talking to you!

There is no mistaking

a little girls love for her dad

and it goes both ways!

Family Photo

Thanks to our good friend,

we were able to snap a much needed

family picture. 

We squeezed it in

just a couple days before

Luke took off.

Thank you friend, you rock! :o)

Luke arrived safely to

Afghanistan.

It was a wonderful

sound to hear his voice

on the phone, after several

days of no phone calls.

He is on his way

to many long, challenging

hours of work ahead.

A link to facts

about Afghanistan:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm

I must confess that we

are doing well here at home.

This time around we

are lucky enough

to have our niece for the

whole duration of

Luke's absence.

Although Luke is VERY

much missed it has been a

vast improvement from

previous deployments

to have the extra help around

the house.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows that it must run faster then the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.

When the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

(I believe this is an African Proverb)

You may have heard this quote a

million times already.

It never gets old to me.

I love it.

Today was a beautiful day!

I reunited with a best friend of mine.

We've been friends since I

was about thirteen years old.

I have not seen this friend

for a long two months.

We met for 30 wonderful minutes.

This friend is there any time I'm

ready to visit.  Couldn't

ask for a truer friend then that!

I have been like many other

pregnant mamas out there

and felt poorly for the first trimester

of this pregnancy.

Today was beautiful!

I felt good enough to go out

for a run.

I laced up my shoes and

took off (slowly, haha).

The breeze was perfect,

the relief hit me right on my first

couple strides.  It was so

nice to have my dear

friend back!

Today I traveled the

beautiful globe on foot

and loved every second of it.

I was slow, out of breath and

quite tired near the end of the

short/long 30 minutes.

Hey, you can do it too!

Take advantage of what you

have been blessed with and go for

a run, or a bike ride, or even

a nice walk.

Get out and get healthy!

I want you to all experience the

same great feeling I had today.

Just do it!

It doesn't matter if you can

only go for 5 minutes,

10 minutes, or even one hour.

You have to start somewhere!

The key is to just start

and do anything!

Work your way up day

by day, baby steps.

Don't forget to drink your water too!

Love it for what it does for you,

not for how it may taste, or not taste.

Jump on board with me

and feel wonderful!

If you have any running

questions feel free to email me.

Or, look at this website I highly

recommend!

http://www.runnersworld.com/

It has a lot of good information.

Many nice tools.

All the way from

learning the right kind of

running shoe you need for your

foot, to finding a training program

to run a road race.

Go get 'em people :o)

I believe in you!

Eurotunnel and Sea Ferry

Another method of travel

we have used is the Eurotunnel

and the Sea Ferry.  Both ways

you get to keep your car with you.

I prefer the Eurotunnel.

It is quicker and not as choppy!

If you book with them

they have all kinds of

different specials for Eurodisney.

Check and see what they have to offer

right now.  If you're leaving

from England you would book

from Folkstone to Calais.

http://www.eurotunnel.com/ukcP3Main/ukcPassengers/

The Sea Ferry is another method of

getting to France with your own car. 

It was fun for the experience.

http://www.poferries.com/

http://www.seafrance.com/cs/Satellite?pagename=Wrapper_SF_Pax_Uk&childpagename=SF_Pax_Uk/Layout&c=Page&cid=1233760949014

Any questions?  Feel free to email me :)

Flying around Europe

Are you thinking about

or wanting to travel around

Europe for affordable prices?

Have a look at http://www.ryanair.com/en

We use ryanair quite a bit.

Right now I just looked

to see how much it

would cost to fly from London (Luton)

to (Girona) Barcelona round trip.

Any guesses?

For one person

it is, ...drum roll...

36.98 GBP (Great British Pounds),

if you go in September 2010.

That's including fees and taxes.

There is also the company

called Easyjet.

http://www.easyjet.com/asp/en/book/index.asp?lang=en

We have not flown Easyjet yet.

We have heard it's similar

to Ryanair.

Things to keep in mind

when flying Ryanair.

*When getting your tickets online,

read everything VERY carefully before

purchasing them and be sure to have
the correct bubbles selected.  They will try to tack on

unnecessary fees.  For instance, there is an option

for travel insurance.  All you need

to select is, "No Travel Insurance Required."

*They will charge for each bag

you bring.  Pack lightly.

*Be aware of the weight limit for luggage.

The weight limit is less then

what you may be used to on

other airlines.  They will

check the weight of your bag

when you arrive to check-in.

*Think of it as an adventure and

a way to get from point A to point B 

in Europe for really cheap!

*The airline is definitely not posh :D

Any questions?  Feel free to email me.

Have fun looking around on

those websites.  You may not believe your eyes

with how cheap some of the flights can be!

The more in advance you book,

the better deals you may find!

Happy Travels!

AFGHANISTAN JULY 2010

Here we are, all caught up

to today.
Reality!

There is real emotion

that exists for real

reasons on this day.

I have put it to the

back of my head

many times.

Luke leaves for

Afghanistan tomorrow.

I don't speak much of

this to others.

For fear of tearing up

or losing control

of emotions.

That would just be

awkward for me and

whoever the other lucky

person may be. :o)

So, to the back of my

head this goes.
Life goes on.

My real thoughts?

I can't tell you if the war
or the approach to it

was right or wrong.

I can't speculate

on any of it.

The everyday person really
has no real idea of what is
going on out there.

If you think you

know, then maybe

you should think twice.

The only information

we get is from the media,

please don't put

your faith in that.

I don't care what network it is!

We're not experts

on this.

Especially not the media!

We don't know what

really goes on behind the scenes.

Luke and I agree

that regardless of any

controversy

over this current

issue in our world

a job needs to get done.

Someone needs to do it.

Without coming across

as haughty, but more
realistic,

may I say that if anyone

can do the job

above and beyond

average expectations,

it would be Luke.

I fully support my husband
and then some.

I love him.

He protects you and me,

our whole country!

What exactly he does

we may never know.

I can say that

he is my hero.

This much I know.

He saves lives,

a brother,

a son,

a husband,

a father

or maybe even
someone's

daughter.

There is a higher

power in control.
I do not doubt that,

God knows all.

My children and I

pray for Luke everyday that he is gone.

Maybe more then once

a day sometimes.

Let me request from all of you

to keep him and all

the others in your prayers.

We can be united in
our Faith in
a higher power.

I don't feel

pride in anyway,

just deeply grateful when

I say,

GOD BLESS THE USA!

WALES JUNE 2010

Conwy, Wales

Our most recent and latest trip was to Wales.

We met up with our friends in Wales.

It was really fun to have

traveling buddies!

The boys tried this fun activity.

It was set-up on the Pier.

They loved it.
It wore them out!

Donkey rides on the

beach in Wales?

Why not!

We stayed at the Premier Inn.

http://www.premierinn.com/en/

We have stayed in this hotel in 2 different locations.

Once in Belfast and once in Conwy, Wales.

We like the service.  These hotels

are predictable (so far).

They are very affordable.

I like having an idea

of where we're staying before

we arrive.

Only downfall:

the beds can be a bit on the hard side.

For the price and if it's

only one night

it's definitely worth

it to us!
I would stay there
more then one night though
for the good price and reliability factors.

BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, FRANCE, GERMANY MAY 2010

Back to Belgium.  I love it there! 

This time Luke's parents were with us.

Dumons

The chocolate store we've visited

a couple times in Brugges.

NETHERLANDS

We were going to see the Tulips in the Netherlands,

but they died about a week early this year.

We went to Rotterdam Zoo instead.

Zoos are always fun!

We stayed here:

 http://www.holiday-inn-leiden.nl/en/index.html

Good place to stay

with kids!

If you ever go to see the tulips

I can recommend

the above hotel.

We'll have to try again next

year to catch the flowers

in bloom.

FRANCE (again)

Back to Eurodisney

with Grandma and Grandpa!!

We stayed at the Davy Crockett Ranch.

 http://hotels.disneylandparis.co.uk/hotels/davy-crockett-ranch/index.xhtml

We stayed in the newly rennovated units. 

I don't know what the others are like.

I thought it was perfect for what we needed.

It kind of felt like camping,

which we like doing,

so it was fun.

Cool Zip Line course at the ranch.

Nancy, France

Nancy had the prettiest square that I have seen yet in Europe.

Cool tomatoes at the market in Nancy, France.



Darmstadt, Germany

My favorite part of this city was the restaurant we ate at. 

Germans make some

delicious food!

Back in England

Final photo of Luke's parents visit.

These signs are not uncommonly
seen in England.

I turned 1 in April 2010!

Life is good.

I turned one this year!

SARDEGNA, ITALY MAY 2010

It was quite pretty in Sardegna when the sun was out.  We were there for a full week and the sun was out for 1.5 days of it.  We definitely took advantage of it when it was out!

They found a lizard.

These two were best buddies for the whole month that Grandpa and Grandma were here :o)  She definitely loved her grandpa!

My thoughts on Sardegna (which I believe were shared by our whole group) are that I would definitely not put it on a top ten list! 

There, I said it! 

If you are curious or interested about the area feel free to email me any questions :o)

We had the most fun at least getting to spend time with family, we were glad for that!

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND MAY 2010

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND

Deep River Rock Belfast City Marathon

http://www.belfastcitymarathon.com/opencontent/?itemid=1

After the marathon!

I have now officially completed 3 marathons.  Plus one 50 mile hike which I ran half of.

I think this location was by far the most interesting as far as learning about the city goes.  The run was fascinating as we ran through the city!  Perhaps the following pictures will explain why!

Did you know that C.S. Lewis is from Belfast??  He went to the school up above.  I love C.S. Lewis. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

Something else I learned while there, the Titanic was built there! 

Frederick "Douglass became officially free when British supportors arranged to purchase his freedom from his owner"  Douglass was in Ireland when this happened.  Fascinating fact!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglas

What else goes on in Belfast?

This is the "peace" wall used to seperate the Catholic and the Protestant neighborhoods.  Who knew?

This is real.  When I was running the marathon we ran through many places.  One street actually had a couple guys dressed very similar to this holding guns just like this man.  There were petitioners standing along the street holding signs up for the runners to read about the political injustice and etc. that goes on.  I was blown away with all the new things I experienced and learned while there.