Tom liked to refer to his oldest and his youngest as the 'book-ends' while we had them together for a jaunt to Brugge. We had fun with Dan when he came for business. Steve is hanging out with us all summer and is already bored to tears with us...."all I have to look forward to when I wake up each morning is yardwork!" Steve got a new calling today, as ward missionary. That will liven up his life. The missionaries already have him scheduled 2 nights, and he has to HT and go to Institute. But he still doesn't start work for another month. Wow. Brugge is always a gem. Even for the thousandth time, I love it every time. Rain or shine!
Here are the latest photos of Nicole. She is now in Paris proper. I looked on Natalie's blog and it appears that Colie has 77 days left. Colie is NOT trunky, but Natalie and I admit that we are. Enjoy.
I just got back from Rome. The Book Club went there....although only 3 of us managed to actually pull it off.(Charlotte, Robyn, and myself) I don't think I have ever seen so much in such a short time. These girls were walkers!!! Non-stop! We had our fill of gelato and pasta and pizza. That was the first order of business. After that we saw all the major sights and even some that I had never seen before... Lowpoint: we were talking so much on the airplane that we got dirty looks from the couple sitting in front of us. Oh well. Highpoint: Finding the restaurant 'De Mao Patacca' in Trastavere and enjoying live Italian guitarists/music while eating spaghetti vongole. The picture of all the chefs is part of this restaurant, as is the musician picture. I had a blast. Charlotte and Robyn were great traveling companions. Thanks!
It was a great day in every way. Thanks to all the kids for their cards/gifts/talks and phone calls. Yipee for Mother's Day!!! I got a Millet fruit pie and Dad did all the dishes and unloaded. I was one happy camper.
Check out the main page of yahoo.com.....and the winner has been announced and it wasn't me! The dream job. Live in a 3 bedroom condo on an island in Australia, snorkel, swim, earn $150K and blog about it. All for Australian tourism. I saw the advertisement for the dream job a couple of months ago. I let it slip through my hands. Maybe next time. The lucky bloke who got the job looks like he will do a fine job though.
Amien's cathedral, chateaux in Campiegne, and the castle in Pierrefond. It all stirs one's imagination of those times of long ago. Was it magical? Was it grand? Or were their homes drafty and dark and unwelcoming? The imagination always gives it a glow, so it was fun to explore these areas in France. And all these great places are only about 2 and 1/2 hours from our house! Of course one of the highlights was getting a real french chewy baguette sandwich! We also visited where the armistice was signed after WWI in the forests of Compiegne. There the French commander Foch had the Germans sign the peace treaty stating they would repair all the damage they caused. But then in 1940, Hitler takes the French back to the EXACT same place, just to humiliate them, and have them surrender as WWII commenced. Our favorite was Pierrefond. Napoleon III had a castle commissioned to embody all that a medieval castle should have: moats, towers, gargoles, etc. It was incredible. So our next guests will have this area added to their 'day trip' excursions. Steve made it home. Only after Natalie had to purchase a fully refundable round-trip ticket to BRU and back to Austin. Why? Because Steve had to have proof that he was living in Belgium, otherwise he HAD to have a RT ticket. So Natalie charged a $2,900 ticket! Luckily we got it all straightened out once Steve landed in Brussels. Never a dull moment. Thanks Natalie for a gallant rescue!
