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| Tigger's World Photo Gallery |
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New Disney Show Villains Tonight - Disney Magic 3/23/2010
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| For any of you about to cruise on the magic, the new show Villains tonight is out and amazingly fantastic, we were on the 7 night western Caribbean cruise last week and on 3/23 and got a preview of it, the big wigs from Disney called it a soft opening or the final dress rehearsal before the main premier this week, but let me say the show did not d |
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Mickey Mouse Haircut on the Mickey Mouse ship
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| It has been almost two years since we were last on a Disney Cruise Line ship and almost three since we were on the Magic. At that time we cruised across the Atlantic to Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
Getting ready to cross the Atlantic I discovered my usual short haircut was getting a bit long so I went to the |
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WOW, What a week in Vancouver - At it is not even at the mid point!!
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| I have followed the Olympics for years but this past few days have been the most exciting I can remember in a long time.
Jennifer has always followed the figure skating religiously, but the competition between the USA and Russian Federation was incredible! Even though Lysacek won the highly deserved Gold Medal, Pl |
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Black Walnut Laptop Lap Desk
| As most of you may know, putting most laptop computers on your lap is a bad idea. Not because it makes your lap hot, but because it may be blocking the cooling vents on the bottom of the laptop. This causes over heating and can eventually burn out your pricey laptop.
I have been trying to design myself a lap desk for my laptop that |
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Christmas Tree at our Cabin
| In 2009, we fulfilled a dream and had our first tree that was over 7 1/2 feet tall. The total height of the tree when decorated is right at 12 feet tall. That is pretty big once you consider that we only live in 900 square feet of home, the four of us. The vaulted ceilings really lent themselves to the tree and we will do it every year.
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Timber Rattler - One snake down
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| Okay, So we are installing the septic tank and line for the Earth shelter house. I asked Adam to run an extension cord down so I could cut the PVC pipe. The cord, when stretched to the area we were working, went under the corner of a pile of Hardi-Panel that was left over from the siding on the barn and the house.
After about four |
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Video of the footings - It is slow and hard work
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| Today we dug for a couple hours and did not get far. We keep running in to veins of very hard rock. This slows my progress a lot!
I drive the back hoe, Val takes the removed dirt with Onslo, the smaller tractor. To keep things cleaner, I dump the back hoe right into the front end loader on the other t |
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A Goose and her Goslings - First time I have seen this in the wild.
| We were visiting with Toni and West and took a drive up around the north side of Table Rock lake. It was a beautiful area, the Ozarks are incredible.
While driving along the shore we saw this mother Goose and her Goslings walking along then into the water. They were so cute. |
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PTO Generator installation complete - Now we can be off grid when the power goes down.
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| In preparation for the inevitable power outage we will eventually have, we invested in a PTO generator for the property. It is a generator that hooks to the back of the tractor. When researching generators, we discovered that we could easily spend $10,000 on a generator big enough to keep us running if needed.
With a little researc |
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Breaking ground on the Earth Shelter House - It is official.. there is a hole!!
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| Well, we have finally broken ground on the earth shelter house. The hole grows every time I go out there to dig.
Ultimately, we are digging into the side of the hill and area that is 62 feet deep and 88 feet wide. About 1/3 of that is actually lower than we are digging. We will be leveling the whole area.
Once level |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 1 - Introduction
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| Today, we arrived at opening time at the museum. To do this we had to leave very early in the morning, before the sun was up. Cruised the Autobahn at a high rate of speed and found a surprisingly close parking place less than a block away from the front door!
Now this museum is not small... it is 5 large floors of fantastic exhibit |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 2 - Dinosaur Exhibit
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| The first place we visited at the museum was the Dinosaur exhibit. It was the first room just to the left of the front entrance.
Since it was just a couple days before Christmas, they had a big bow on one of the animatronic dinos. It was fun to see.
The boys hesitated to pose in front of an Allosaurus that was moving, |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 3 - Tibet Exhibit
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| Following the dinosaur exhibit, we found ourselves in the Tibet exhibit. This consisted of a number of great dioramas of the animals, places, people and the culture of Tibet.
Here are a couple of detail shots of the animals found there. The vultures were quite realistic and well done.
There was also a couple great te |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 4 - Aquarium
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| Sometimes, viewing things in other countries gives a new perspective on things. Aquariums are no exception to this. It was very clearly illustrated to us in the Canary islands. Tenerife was where we visited the European version of the American Sea World. |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 5 - Interactive Leaf Exhibit
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| While traveling through the corridors, we were drawn in by a demonstration. The boys helped to strip the meat of a leaf away, leaving only the veins of the leaf. The final product was incredibly detailed. It is a great study of the circulatory system of the common leaf... something that is easy to overlook.
Salzburg Na |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 6 - Myths and Legends
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| One of the interesting exhibits that I do not recall seeing it's equal in any museum was the Myths and Legends exhibit. It illustrated some of the unproven claims that have been described over the years. It was very creative. I only wished my understanding of German was better to have got more out of it at the time. With that in mind, I frequen |
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Salzburg Natural History Museum - Page 8 - Space Hall
| On the second floor, the space exhibit we fascinating to look at! It is the first time that I have ever seen a space exhibit outside of the USA, and it was apparent, too.
Now don't get me wrong, all the exhibits I have seen in the USA are good, but there is a definite bias shown in the display. Whether by design |
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Hohensalzburg Fortress - Page 1
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| The Hohensalzburg Fortress is perched high on the peak of Festungsberg. The castle served as a refuge for the Archbishops when ever they felt threatened. The best way to get to the fortress is by taking the funicular. You can walk up the mountain if you wish but the funicular is quick, inexpensive and very comfortable. The ride takes less than a mi |
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Hohensalzburg Fortress - Page 2
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| This area houses the States apartments, each of the rooms had fantastic wooden floors, the large central room, The "Golden Saal" (Golden Hall) once served for entertainment purposes and banqueting. This room was has 4 massive marble pillars that helped support the room. It also has a big wood bean that has painted the Austrian coats of arms. The "H |
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Hohensalzburg Fortress - Page 3
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| The Marionette Museum is only 2 rooms but it is well done, you can see how they make marionettes and many of the puppets, like the original marionettes from Amadeus, the Wizard of Oz, Prices and Princesses, troll and villain plus much more. We were able to see a sampling and this is such an art form. The puppeteers are truly amazing.
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Hohensalzburg Fortress - Page 4
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| After the fortress we walked through town window shopping and made a stop at Mozart Square where there is a statue of Mozart and we even watched the ice skating. In the middle of the platz, they have an ice skating ring for the holidays. We continued to walk through the streets to Mozart's birthplace, this modest place is where Mozart was born and |
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More Pine from Ike Storm Damage!
| Sargent's Ranch is the property of one of our neighbors.. 1100 acres of beautiful country side.
We went to get a large pine that probably has enough wood to finish the garage.
The usable trunk is 54 feet long and 22 inches at the bottom. I cut it into three 18 foot lengths. These pieces were all too big for my tractor |
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Neuschwanstein - Germany
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| Next we headed to Neuschwanstein, It was a glorious scenic drive up the mountains. It is quite a walk up a steep hill to the castle but in the royal fantasy they offer horse drawn carriage rides up and down the mountain. I had to do this, there is just something so fairy tale about riding up to the castle in a horse drawn carriage. we squeezed in, |
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Salt Mine - Salzburg, Austria
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| Today we headed to Salzburg Austria to the Salt Mines of Halein. It seems 250 million years ago slat deposits were formed by the sea and over the course of the formation of the alps enclosed then in rock and the Durrnberg Salt Mountain was formed. We took a tour of a former working salt mine. After purchasing our tickets and adorning our white jump |
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Linderhoff Palace - Germany
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| Out first stop was a the Linderhof Palace, built by King Ludwig II. In 1867 Ludwig visited France and the Versailles Palace and he fell in love with it and decided to build a Royal Villa keeping with the Versailles theme even though it was more of a "homely version" in Linderhof instead of a grand palace. He was already constructing Neuschwanstein |
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Cathedral - Salzburg, Austria
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| We found a parking space inside of the mountain, it was very convenient to the festival platz, we walked through the Christmas Market and listen to some great music (Christmas carols). Next we went to the Cathedral. The first Cathedral was constructed in 784 it was a 3 bayed church that was 66 meters long and 33 meters wide. In 1183 a transformatio |
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Germany - The Alps
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| Today we went into the Alps in on a castle day. The Alps were very impressive how the foot hills have trees and the peaks are barren because it is too high for anything to grow. This is the first day we ran into real snow that was several feet deep, the higher we went the more snow there was (logically). It was a clear day and absolutely |
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Space Shuttle Launch - STS-124 , May 31, 20085:02 p.m. EDT
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| After many months of hard working on the house. We decided that after school let out we were going to take the boys on a vacation. To keep it a surprise we didn't tell them.
The kids got out of school Thursday, so Friday morning we went to Kansas city on the rouse of going to one of out favorite restaurants The Rain Fores |
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Our Home in Arkansas - Before and after Exterior Pictures of our Home
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| It is interesting to see how far we have come in 5 months. This photo shows what the exterior looked like when we got here is January. It was basically a Octagon only the clear story windows and a small window in the front door to see out.
So what have we been busy doing.
* We had added a covered front porch.
* A nice b |
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Arkansas Home - New Cabinet Shelves
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| Tim, Davids nephew stopped by for a few days and helped put together and hang my upper shelves in the kitchen.
The kids painted most of them, The one on the right still needs the trim painted but overall they are fantastic. Like I told Dave, it was really nice putting up groceries and not having things fall on your head. We have spac |
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Interior Cabin Pictures Before and After
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| When we arrived in January, the cabin was dried in and sealed, but it was still, very much a construction zone. It had the basics, electricity, heater/airconditioner, sub floor and bathroom and basic kitchen.
We have made much progress. It is going slower than I would like but we work on it as often as possible.
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Arkansas Home - Slab for Garage
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| David has been working hard to clear out and area for the garage. He has been chopping down trees and clearing the area with his tractor. As you can see from the pictures he has done a fantastic job.
We hired a local gentleman and his wife to grind out the tree stumps, they took out 18 stumps in about 2 hours with this heavy duty stu |
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The Timberking Log Mill - 4-15-08
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| To build the main house here in Arkansas, we are having to cut down quite a few trees, so instead of just letting them rot on the ground, David decided early on to recycle them and use them in the house and garage.
So after much research and discussion he purchased his own log mill. This is the set up. |
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Milling the first Posts
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| This is the first attempt to mill the posts for the garage. |
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Kids first Snow Day
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| We got to experience a several snow days this year. This was the heaviest snow, about 3-4 inches. Val and Adam spent most of the Day outside sleding on garbage can lids, and having snowball fights. |
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Toy Story Musical - New Show on the Disney Wonder May 2008
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| We we on a 4 night Disney Cruise the end on May after the boys got out of school. We had gone to Florida to view the Space shuttle launch ad decided to make a quick family vacation out of it.
Disney premiered a new show on the wonder to replace Hercules the Muse-ical in March. We had heard so much about this show that we |
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Arrival in Munich, Germany - Jet lag is a drag!
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| We arrived in Germany after an overnight flight at 8:00 am. We usually take a cab to out to the place we are staying, but we decided to use the s-bahn to get into the city from the airport and then take the u-bahn across town to our house. We packed light so as do be able to maneuvers more easily. The underground in Munich is rea |
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First day in Munich Germany
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| Today we slept in a little trying to get rid of our jet lag and did some work this morning. As a reward this afternoon we headed to the Marienplatz to the Christmas Markets. It was the most amazing experience I have ever had. In the center of the platz and all the r |
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Deutsches Museum - Munich Germany
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| Today we went to the Deutsches Museum, according to the guide book this is a great museum for kids, so we thought we would check it out. We packed a picnic lunch and headed to the u-bahn. The museum sits on an in the Isar River, so unless you take the S-bahn you have to walk across the river. We didn't mind except we walked the wrong way. The stree |
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Deutsches Museum - Aeronautics - Munich Germany
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| The history of fight begins nearly 200 years ago with balloons. There were two rival balloon systems the hot air balloons developed by the Montgolfier brothers and the gas balloon by Robert Charles. The first manned ascent in a balloon was by the Mongolfier brothers from the garden of la Muette castle near Paris in 1783. They were howeve |
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Deutsches Museum - Boats and Marine Navigation - Munich Germany
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| In the Boats and Marine Navigation section the Fishing Boat the Maria that is called an "Ewer" was built in 1880 for use in the North Sea as a commercial fishing boat. It was one of the last of it's kind. The vessel took over most of the room, and was at full mast, there were cutaways showing the some of the quarters and conditions that they crew l |
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St Peter's Church: - Munich Germany
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| Today we went to see Munich oldest church (1180) Peterskirche or St. Peter's Church aka Old Peter., located conveniently between the marienplatz and the Market in the old town square.
This church It has recently been rejuvenated with gold leaf and the alter and organ loft are striking. In the second chapel is a bizarre relic of the |
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Inglestadt, Germany
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| Today we rented a car for a week, we discovered that it is more economical to rent a car then to buy train tickets to all the location that we want to go. There is an enterprise office just two stops up on the U-bahn and they had a great rate on a small car for 4. Our car has snow tires which is great since we are heading to Austria and Switzerland |
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Rothenburg, Germany
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| Today we drove and spent the day in the mideval town of Rothenburg on the tauber river. We got to Old Town Rothenburg around lunch time, it is about a 3 hour drive from Munich and we ran into construction traffic. We had packed a sack lunch, so we picnicked in the card before we headed into the city. You can actually drive in the city walls but it |
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Palos - Two Dinners, 1 Brunch and a High Tea.
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| We were able to get our favorite server Annie Marie from South Africa for most of our Palos dining. In fact we always request her when making our Palo’s reservations. She sold us on her skills on our very first dinner, we like a sweet wine but don’t know anything about wines so we asked her to make a recommendation and she brought us a bottle of Tr |
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Disney's Transatlantic Cruise - May 12-26
| This transatlantic cruise was our 5th Disney Cruise and our 1st transatlantic cruise. I have always wanted to take a cruise across the Atlantic and when Disney announced they were going abroad we jumped on the opportunity.
The cruise left port on Saturday may 12th with an amazing send off. We were no traveling to the Caribbean we wer |
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Getting to Chantilly by Train - A pleasant 40 minute ride across the landscape of France
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| North of Paris is a wonderful palace that is not as crowded as Versailles and offers a treat that no other place can offer. Getting there takes a little train trip.
To get to Chantilly, you must depart from the Paris Nord train station and go to Chantilly Gouvieu. If you just tell the person at the ticket window you wish to go to C |
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The Paris Metro - Is it good and how do I use it?
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| I have been riding in subways, metros and u-bahns since I was young. I have been in some bad ones and I have been in good ones. So trust me when I say, the Paris Metro is GREAT!
First off, on our way over to Europe on the two week cruise, more than once people expressed their shock that we had |
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The Louvre; Lavant, Mesopotamia and the French Sculptures
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| The Lavant exhibit was also impressive, as expected. There were many cover stones that were removed from the graves of the wealthy, mostly business owners. That area of the world became wealthy because of the growing trade from the east to the European continent. Sitting right in the middle, the c |
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The Louvre, Art work of the Palace and Paintings Exhibits
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| Walking through the museum, it is easy to forget that this was a functional palace used by the kings of France. The decor makes that very obvious if you see it. Leaving the Pyramid through the Denon Access, be sure to look up and admire the art work.
One of the sculptures tha |
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Renting an Apartment in Paris - Definitely THE way to go!!!
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| In preparation for our stay in Paris, we investigated staying at a hotel and discovered that it was very hard to find a place that was not triple our budget for the stay.
We ended up getting an incredible apartment from Gail Boisclair at Perfectly Paris rentals. She has a |
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Walls of Philip August, King of France in Paris - Son of King Louis VII
| In the late 1100s Philip II, King of France saw the need for defensive measures from enemies. He built his large palace that is described in the Louvre. He also build large walls all the way around the city. The walls were really 2 walls several feet apart filled in between with rubble and debris.
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The Arc De Triumph - Climbing 234 steps... a long walk
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| We walked up the Champs Elysees from Franklin D Roosevelt. Shopping along the way, Jennifer found a shoe store then Cartier. We found a silver dongle for her cell phone at THE Cartier store.
At the end, we arrived at the Arc De Triumph. Jennifer decided to wait for us at the bottom. Me |
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Statue of Liberty in Paris, France - There is one in Paris, too!
| It seems that many people easily forget that the Status of Liberty in New York City was a 100 year birthday gift from France. Is was very appreciated and symbolized the bond between our two great countries at the time.
A lesser known fact is that in memory of that gift of friendship, France also built a |
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Living on the Seine in Paris France - That is pronouced 'SAN' in American English
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| On our trip to Paris we made a last minute decision to take a river boat tour around the down town area. Adults were 11 Euro and children were only 6 Euro.
I had never been on one of these and for some stupid reason I always resisted on previous trips, but that day we were running ahead of schedule for the day and we were |
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Paris River Cruise on the Seine - One hour of rest and re-education
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| On a summer day in June, we were out and about. Looking at all the sites we could fit into one day. We were ahead of schedule so we decided to add a river tour of Paris to our days itinerary.
On the down river end of the Ile de la Cite (the island that Notre Dame is on) there is a place to catch a boat the leave |
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Notre Dame, Paris from the river Seine
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| Notre Dame needs little introduction. The views of her from the river are incredible. Here is a collection of a number of the image captured while floating past in a river tour of the city of Paris.
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The Catacombs Beneath Paris - The Spookiest Place in Paris, Maybe even France!
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| A little history is needed here.
Centuries ago, a tunnel was dug into the limestone beneath Paris. The tunnel was used to mine building material for the growing demands of those living in Paris.
Later, those tunnels were expanded by a monk to supply water for Paris in times of siege. Over the years |
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Train Rides are FUN!! - Ride from Barcelona to Paris on a sleeper train
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| We knew we needed to get from Barcelona to Paris, the question was how to do it. We looked at a number of options including flying, renting a car, taking a train and getting another cruise (that was an insane idea).
Needless to say, the cruise idea was far too slow for our needs at the time, but you can get a cruise ship t |
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The Barcelona Aquarium - L'Aquarium de Barcelona
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| The Barcelona Aquarium is located near the dock in the ship's harbor and is easily accessible by the Barceloneta metro station.
The aquarium and Imax theater is just a short walk around the harbor. We had a great walk looking at all the expensive yacht and wandering through a sidewalk market where local vendors were selling leather |
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La Rambla and Boqueria Market
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| La Rambla is one of the biggest tourist draws in Barcelona. We meandered down the mile long stretch on several occasions stopping at newspaper kiosks, flower stands, restaurants and just taking in the carnival like atmosphere. There were artists and street performers. Some were really good and some were very spooky! Again being c |
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Renting an Apartment in Barcelona - Hotel Rooms are too expensive and confining.
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| As we planned our stay in Barcelona, we priced a few hotel rooms before looking at apartments. What we discovered very quickly is that hotel rooms may include all the 'perks' but you can pay dearly for them.
For just over half the price of a hotel room, we found a number of apartments tha |
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Adam Becomes a Paleoantologist - With a little help from Disney
| With his own money, Adam purchased a project during our visit to Animal Kingdom. In the gift store, he found this hunk of rock. Along with it comes a hammer and chisel designed for clearing the rock away to reveal the dinosaur hidden in the middle.
He patiently carried the rock from Florida all the way to Barcel |
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Spanish Port City of Cadiz - A Peninsula Rich in History
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| The city of Cadiz, Spain is a historical port with thousands of years of history. It is located on a peninsula that protects a large bay making it an ideal spot for ships to come and go.
For many years it had a mighty city wall all the way around for protection from pirates and conquerors, never falling to any ene |
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Tenerife, Our Island in the Canary Islands
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| The Disney ship docked in Santa Cruz de Tenerife on Sunday, May 20, 2007. The arrival was breath-taking to say the least. The Island of Tenerife is a dramatically landscaped volcanic island with cities, villages and roads nestled between steep green hills. Originally this was a brown island, but the natives have been bringing |
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The Arkansas Cabin has framed walls and running water!
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| On July 3, the boys and I went to our Arkansas property to work on the plumbing. We met the people that put in the well pump the previous Friday.
They installed a 2 horsepower pump 600 feet down our 972 foot well.
The first bit of water tasted like PVC, but before we left, it started to get better. It is good water a |
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New Door is in working order
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| I designed and build the front door. It is 2 1/4 inches thick. Heavy! moving it up from South Texas was a chore.
It is a dutch door with an overlap between the top and bottom half. This causes the dead-bolt on the top half to lock the top and bottom when |
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Sea World in San Antonio, Texas
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| Our family enjoyed a visit to San Antonio. While we were there, we did the Sea World thing. The bad Part was that I had broken my foot while packing the car, so I rented one of those electric scooters to get around with. Jen and the boys had to keep up... it was great.
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Even George loved the place
| Our Cocker Spaniel George loved the place. It was his first trip longer than 3 hours. This is, of course, 12 hours.
Once he got out of the car, he did not stop going for 2 1/2 days. His little nub of a tail wagged as fast as it could and he sniffed every tree and leaf he could find.
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Finally a picture of the inside
| Long awaited is this photo of the inside of the cabin. Here you can see the ceiling, the beams and even a bit of the walls and floor.
This is a composite of several individual shots. That is why it is in such an odd shape. I did not get all the images to fill in the whole area, but you get the idea. |
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Okay, now the roof is really up
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| It was all of 14 months that I have not been up to the cabin. I did not want to let 2006 pass without at least one visit. We arrived with less than 2 hours to spare in the year 2006.
I installed the new door that I built by 1:00 am on January 1, 2007.
We primarily worked on the roof accross four d |
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Disney Dreams show
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| There is a great awarding show on the Disney ships that should not be missed. The Disney Dreams show really makes the trip, even if you do not enjoy stage shows, this is one that you must not miss!
I shot over 1200 photos in the hour of the show. Included here below, you will see a selection of the images. Don't look for a narrati |
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Grand Cayman and Georgetown - Bus tour of the island with a stop in Hell
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| The Disney Magic stopped at Grand Cayman and we had to tender in to Georgetown.
This was a sweet town, a place we will have to go back to, maybe for one of our month visits to foreign shores.
We shopped around town for a while, stopping in a couple shops and having lunch. Jennifer |
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Pirates IN the Caribbean Party - Our night of piracy was started in Animators Pallet
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| On the past two longer cruises we have taken on the Disney Magic, we have joined in the celebration of the Pirates IN the Caribbean party. It is their take on the Pirates of the Caribbean movies they made.
The celebration starts in the the dining halls and continues on the upper decks and the theaters. |
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Towel Critters on the Disney Ship
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| As on many cruise ships, you will be greeted by a number of critters in your cabin in the evenings. It is fun to come back to a gator or a monkey hanging from the ceiling. Here are some of the critters we discovered on this trip. |
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Around the Disney Magic - The finest ship on the sea
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| Being our third time on the Disney Cruise line, I had planned a few pictures that I wanted to take. I ran over through my mind what I wanted to get when I got there.
This first photo is the mural that appears behind the center elevators on decks 6-8.
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The Sanford Mobile - In honor of the junk collection of Sandford and Son
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| We have all bee doing some major cleaning around our house over the past few weeks. One thing that has bugged me for quite some time is that I have no good way to transport my tools from one location to another.
After a bit of thinking, I discovered that I had everything I needed to make this cart for the lawn mower to carry my tools |
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The roof is UP!! - Few more days of work decks the rest of the roof
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| I went up just after Thanksgiving and finished the roof decking.
I put up scaffolding to stand on then framed and decked the rest of the roof.
West Kistler helped out a couple days and did the high climbing that I did not feel comfortable with. |
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Eleven Days of Building - 4 of 4
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| All in all, we were able to get the cabin dried in. Although the metal roof is there, it is not installed. Tarpaper and Plastic top it all off.
I am VERY pleased with the look of the refters, though. |
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Eleven Days of Building - 1 of 4
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| We went up to Arkansas for 11 days to build the cabin... Well at least dry it in.
Dan, Donna and Family came and helped for the first two days. We got the rest of the outside walls framed!!
Among other things:
- Jennifer, Donna and kids picked up more wood
- Dan, Tim and I chopped down |
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Eleven Days of Building - 2 of 4
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| After a day on my own, Wayn and Judy, Jennifers parents, came up and helped. Wayne, a far better builder than I, wore me out.
In one day, he had all the outside plywood up and helped me decided what to do for rafters and siding for now.
We determined that the 2 x 6 rafters from Grandma Kendricks house would |
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Eleven Days of Building - 3 of 4
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| After all the help, I slowed down and paced myself for the long haul.
Dan made a comment that the first day was fund and the second was like work.
Well, the next nine days bordered on torture.
Jennifer helped by assembling the rafters and helping to lift them into place.
Keep in mind that |
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Three walls are up!!
| After the post went up, the boys and I put up three of the eight outside walls.
This is really getting exciting!! |
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Putting up the Tree in Arkansas - Block and tackle marvel!
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| Raising the center post for the cabin is an event that has weighed heavy on my mind for many months. I put a lot of thought into the process and this is what I cam up with. Two Block and tackles lifted the post into place. The only probem is that I should have tied a rope to the end to keep it from going too far.&nb |
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Grandma Kendrick House - Recycling History
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| In May, the boys and I went to Louisiana to salvage good wood from the house my grandfather built. The house was built in August 1947 from the trees he selected. The house is far beyond any repair and we had to select wood that was good for the project. The back wall had begun to colapse when we arrived due to holes |
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How to put a Round Log in a Square Hole - With a chainsaw!!!
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| David and West went out to the property and used chainsaws to cut the bottom 37 inches of the big center log to fit down into the hole in the middle of the floor. The resulting square peg is 7 1/2 inches square.
We used leveled 2 x 4s as a guide for the chain saw. It did not have to be perfect, just enough to ho |
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The floor is framed and decked!!
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| Two days of work and helo from Jen, then boys and West, we managed to get the floor completely framed and half decked (could not afford to finish it) and covered with plastic.??
I also managed to pull the HUGE log up on top of the framing and inder the plastic to dry it in the next several months.
By-the-way, the photo |
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The Hub for the Floor Framing - Solid hunk-a-wood!!
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| I designed this 'hub' to be the center of the spokes that are used in the framing for the floor.��This will sit on top of the center footing.
This is what the tree/center post of the cabin will sit on top of.��The weight will rest on this with a square 'peg' that will hold it in place down the center of the floor and footing. |
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Putting in the Footings and Foundations - 2 days of VERY HARD WORK!!
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| On Saturday, I began to install the foundation of the cabin.��Befor I could start, I had to move the huge log that would one day become the central support of the whole cabin.��I used the Explorer and a Block and Tackle to get it across the property.
I set the footings and prepared to get the bricks in place.��After dark, |
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THE BIG ONE!! - The center footing
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| Originally, I designed the center preformed footing at a weight of nearly 500 pounds!!��That was way too much if I was planning to place it by hand, even with the help of several friends and neighbors that certainly are not willing to throw out their backs.
I had an epiphany!!
Make the footing with honeycombs that |
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Arkansas Cabin Ground Breaking - The first days of REAL work - Part 1 of 3
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| On October 9, 2004, we officially broke ground on the new cabin in Arkansas.��This is a moment we have been looking forward to!
We started by getting a rough idea of where the structure would sit.��I taught the boys what little I know about placement (30 seconds) of a structure, then we used a rope with measured knots in it t |
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Arkansas Cabin Ground Breaking - The first days of REAL work - Part 2 of 3
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| From that point we measured and dug holes where all the footings would need to be placed. The ground is high in shone, so I had to break the ground up with a pick to dig anywhere.
The cabin is an 8 sided structure.��My main goal was to determine where each footing was to be set and if my measurements were acurate and straight acc |
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Arkansas Cabin Ground Breaking - The first days of REAL work - Part 3 of 3
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| Here the boys are standing next to the "Back Door Tree".��It is aboud the same size as the tree that we cut for the first cabin.��It is called this because it stands at the precise location of the back door of the berm house that I would like to build here next. You can see the p |
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8 Small 120 Pound Cabin Footings - One by one
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| The process of making footings is done at our home in Port A.��I made a wood box that we installed rebar and poured cement.��After it hardened, it is removed and we do it again. The top of the block is large enough to hold a 8x16 cement block.
The cement is left for 24 hours then removed to make room for the next one.
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Office Improvements - More Monitors... Better
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| I have been playing with dual monitors on my new Dell 4600. I even convinged Jennifer to go to a Multi-monitor setup. She loves it and would not go back.
In fact, we are both trying to figure out how to get more monitors. After extensive research on the capabilities of Windows XP (Up to 9 monitors), I purchased a board on eBay to |
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Walt Disney Cruise Vacation - Castaway Cay - Success at last
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| Words can not describe what we found on Castaway Cay.. Disney's own island. No one else is there but Disney Cruise guests and staff.
Imagine the most ideal island ever depicted in movies or dreams. Castaway Cay meets or exceeds all of the expectations anyone may have. |
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Walt Disney Cruise Vacation - Restaurants on the ship
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| On many cruise ships, you are assigned a dinning room that you eat in the duration of the trip. Disney rotates you through the four restaurants. You keep the same wait staff and table number as you go to the different dinning areas.
They are great. Most noteable are Tritons and Animators Palate. The later starts off as black and |
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Walt Disney Cruise Vacation - Atlantis Resort at Nassau of the Bahamas - Page One
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| After our first glorious night on the Disney Wonder, we docked at Nassau in the Bahamas. Our excursion was planned for the Atlantis Resort and the Aquarium it hosts.
We can not say enough about the aquarium. It is the largest one in the world and it is certainly the most incredible one we have ever seen. We could not have imagined |
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Walt Disney Cruise Vacation - Atlantis Resort at Nassau of the Bahamas - Page Two
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| After our first glorious night on the Disney Wonder, we docked at Nassau in the Bahamas. Our excursion was planned for the Atlantis Resort and the Aquarium it hosts.
We can not say enough about the aquarium. It is the largest one in the world and it is certainly the most incredible one we have ever seen. We could not have imagined |
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Walt Disney Cruise Vacation - Cruise Embarkation
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| After four great days at the Walt Disney World Resorts, we left for a cruise on the one and only Disney Wonder Cruise Ship. After Jen and my cruise last May, we have been wanting to get back on the waters of the Carribean again.
This is the boy first cruise though. They had no idea what they are in for. Actually, we had no idea ei |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - MGM Studios - Page One
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| The day at MGM Studios was a rough one for me. We started it off with the Indiana Jones show.
I was asked for an evil laugh and got a cheer from the whole audience with my wel practiced muh-hahahahahahaha...
I was selected to be an extra for the show and was set asside for my own death scene. I was not dramatic enoug |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - MGM Studios - Page Two
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| After the Star Wars ride, Star Tours, we caught the Muppet Vision 3D and went to lunch at the 50's Primetime Cafe. We were treated to a home cooked meal served by brother Bob. Highly recommended.
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Walt Disney World Vacation - MGM Studios - Page Four
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| Later, we caught the Beauty and the Beast stage show. While we were waiting, a group of guys that looked like stage hands taking over the stage sang a great concert to start the program.
The show was excellent, too. |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Epcot - Page One
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| We went on our first major family vacation in several years this month. It included a few days at the Disney World parks and 4 nights on a Disney Cruise. It was a HUGE undertaking on our part, therefore, there are a lot of pages here concerning the trip.
The boys had their first flight in a Jet (actually 2). That was exciting enough. |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Epcot - Page Two
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| We had lunch at Epcot in the Garden Gril. It rotated through several landscapes in The Land. Definitely worth the wait (we had preferred seating, no wait, but I would wait in the future).
We had a family style sit down lunch with Chip and Dale, Mickey and Pluto. What Fun!!
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Epcot - Page Three
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| The Living Seas exhibit was full of interesting fish, sea horses and Even some Nemo art.
The most interesting was the ride through their garden where they raised many of the fruits and veggies they serve on site with little or no dirt. The last picture here is of the track system that carries several plants with exposed roots through |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Epcot - Page Four
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| It was a great day. The boys and I went on a ride that was a large centrifuge unlike anything I had ever been on. You could not even tell that you were spinning, but you experienced amazing g-forces while trying to puch buttons that operated a ship traveling to Mars. It was tough.
We visited a small portion of the world showcase and |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Epcot - Page Five
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| One of the neatest things Jen did was to select oysters for her pearl earings that match her necklace.
She pointed them out, then the lady behind the counter openned them and found nearly perfect matches for a set of ear rings. It was un usual to have that close a match on the first two choices, but leave it to Jennifer...
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page One
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| Magic Kingdom is the home of the Cinderella castle. We started the day early, taking advantage of the extra hour in the morning for people staying on the resort. We were greeted right away with a slew of characters that crowded around and played with every one.
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Two
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| We had Breakfast at the Crystal Palace. They presented us with a most exaustive buffet. There was no breakfast item you could not find, common or uncommon.
We scheduled this time because the characters from Winnie the Pooh were there... What Fun!!
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Three
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| Personally, I never imagined that there could be so many shows for the characters on stage. Every time you turned a corner, there was another show that wow'ed you even more. Magic Kingdom had a great show in front of the castle every few hours.
It had many of the popular characters and villains many movies. It was fun watching them |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Four
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| We took a ride in the Adventure Land on the Jungle Cruise. It was a slightly humorous side of an african safari with amazing animatronic animals and people.
From this point on, you can pick out Adam and Val by their Pluto and Goofy hats. They were pretty inseperable for the remainder of the trip.
We also saw the Genie |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Five
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| In Frontierland, we rode the Splash Mountain that told the story of Brer Rabbit. We even met brer bear afterwards. Me and the boys rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad rollercoaster.
At the next show we learned the Electric Slide from Goofy himself. What a lesson!
Woody and Jesse joing in the fun, along with Chip and |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Six
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| After setting proper punishments on Adam and Val we went to the Hautned Mansion. It was a slow ride through a scary adventure that the movie was based on. The grave stone pictured here was animated ever so slightly. You would not even notice it if you were not looking, but it added an extra slice of atmosphere.
Next we visited the |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Seven
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| After a ride on the large Cinderella's Golden Carrousel in Fantasyland, we watched the Parade. Disney sure knows how to put on such a great show!!
In the last photo, Ursula taught several dazed kids how to be a villain.
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Eight
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| After a brief encounter with Buzz Lightyear, we went through Tomorrowland.
We rode the Buzz Lightuear's Space Ranger Spin and caught Zurg and other evils found in space.
We also rode the infamous Space Mountain. Adam liked it so much, he and I rode it a second time. It is a rollercoast completely in the dark. Not fo |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Magic Kingdom - Page Nine
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| The Castle was interesting to watch in the evening. It started out normal, then as the night progressed, they lit it with different colors.
This was followed by the next best fireworks display. (Second only to Epcot) |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page One
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| Animal kingdom is an incredible creation that could have only been done by Disney.
The animals there and the first site of the Tree of Life are something you will never forget. The tree is covered in subtle images of animals found in the park and around the world. Deep in the roots, you will even find images of animals past, such as |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Three
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| After a visit with Lilo and Stitch (Adam thought he would NEVER see Stitch, he thought he would have to go to Hawaii) we watched the incredible Lion King show. It is done in the same style as the Broadway show.
The actrobatics and lines were ingenious. The costumes were beyond imagination. The depth of the act was incomprehensible. I |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Four
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| After a brief encounter to learn that it is Tough to be a Bug, the boys posed with a dino and we were off to the Tarzan Rocks show.
This was a concert that featured stunts and apearances by Turk, Jane and Tarzan himself. There was roller bladers that played the parts of monkeys and terrifice interpretive acts.
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Five
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| We had lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. If you ever get a chance to, you must wait in line and eat there at least once. It is definitely worth the wait.
After that we had a breif encounter with a big bug then wen to Africa. My father went to Kenya and brought back pictures. I felt like I was really there in the 'dowtown' Africa area. |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Six
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| Another great area we visited was the Kilimanjaro Safari. Disney has gone to incredible lengths to make the correct environment for the animals that are living there. They plant the correct plants and maintain an incredibly acurrate diet for all the animals.
This is another area with a lot of photos, but it was just too cool. I learn |
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Seven
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| The Maharajah Jungle Trek is the closest thing to a conventional zoo in the park that we saw. The displays here are among the best I have ever seen and you can get VERY close to some fierce animals that you normally can't get this close to.
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Walt Disney World Vacation - Animal Kingdom - Page Nine
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| Parade time was the best one!! The style of performance from the Fetival of the Lion King was carried through here. We all STRONLY recommend that you be sure to catch this parade and the show it follows. |
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Victor - Our New Cat
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| Macavity died in a freek accident one night. We are not really sure what happened, it appeared he fell behind something and got hurt some how.
We now have Victor. He is named after Victoria from the Play Cats because when we first got him, he was nearly pure white.
He is one major ball of personality. He is also very |
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Cub Scout Space Derby - An exciting evening for all!!
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| We attended the Cub Scout Space Derby in Port Aransas. David Build the track and the boys raced their rockets.
Adam did well and Val WON the Fastest of the Fastest!!!
David Says, 'I would do that again any day!!' |
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Val Plays Soccer - Home and Away Games
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| Val displays excellent foot work and puts his all into every game. He frequently plays key locations on the field and you always know he will be near the ball, no matter where it is on the field. |
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Cub Scouts - Pack Meeting
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| Val and his Bears hosted the second meeting of the whole Pack.
They demonstrated the correct way to fold the flag.
There were plenty of awards, then Val closed the meeting with a prayer. |
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Six days Later - After the Cold Front
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| Wee Had more storms that caused flooding. It was much like October of 2002, but the water was not as high.
I did get smart this year and put the front wheels of my car up on blocks before the water got into the engine again.
Our neighbor also took out the kayak instead of the car to go to work... That |
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One Hurricane... - Two Tropical storms...
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| and the seasons first cold fron takes us out.
On September 12 at 4:12 AM we experienced strait line winds in excess of 86 miles per hour... that is fast and a serious Category One hurricane if it had come the right direction, but NNooooooo, it had to come from the north.
We watched the winds destroy parts of |
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New Family Member - Macavity
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| Mac for short, she is a little trouble maker with a pinache for being exactly where you are about to step.
She is developing a wonderful personality that we all love!!
Obviously, she is fun to photograph, too. |
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Cub Scouts - First Pack Meeting
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| Adam and Val both are in Scouts. It is a big event in Port Aransas.
Jennifer is the leader for the Tigger Cubs, Adams Den. |
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Adams Birthday - At home and at Port A Pizzeria
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| Adam celebrated his bithday this month. He openned his presents from Mammaw. thank you for the Soccer ball.
Later, we enjoyed a great time at his favorite place, Port A Pizzeria, the home of the chocolate pizza!!! That was his birthday cake. |
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Adam Practices Soccer - New Port A Stars in the Making
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| Adam (in Red) loves to play soccer. He is developing his skills and becomeing a very coordinated player. He scores a lot and runs very hard.
Also on his team are Alexander in yellow.
Justin makes a goal!!
Adam Protects the goal from Nathan.
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Building a beach - Port Aransas maintenance
| The Beaches in Port aransas are a combination of cleaning, scraping and building back up. Between the tourists, the storms and every other influence on our beaches, we try very hard to keep the treasure we have. Not only that, we are the FIRST line of defense against tidal surge in case of a big Tropical Storm. |
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New Playfort - Back Yard
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| After 2 1/2 months of work, the new playset is complete. It is located in our back yard, nestled between a brazilian pepper tree and an ash tree.
It features:
5 swinging items
2 slides (one a curly slide)
climbing tower with 4 levels
7 foot catwalk
6x10 tree fort with roof
table and benches |
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August in Port Aransas - A hot month in Port A
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| Port Aransas is a beautiful fishing town. We like living in this paradise and consider ourselves very fortunate.
Here oare some photos from around town. Scenes that we frequently take for granted. Some that we don't even notice. They are out of the ordinary for much of the rest of the world |
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Adam's Tooth - A painful visit to the dentist
| Adam had a bump coming out of his gum just above the front baby tooth. The tooth it self was slightly yellowed and was blocking the grown up tooth from coming in. It created an absess that showed on the gum.
As Adam would say:
I left the tooth on the table and she left three peices of money.
The tooth |
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Hurricane Claudette - Near Miss, but Prepared
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| On July 15th, Hurricane Claudette was predicted to hit directly over Port Aransas. The path was later altered to pass north of us, and it did.
However, much of the town was prepared for the storm and we did loose our beaches for the day it passed a mere 60 miles from us.
Ultimately, the only thing that happened he |
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Camping at the Kings River - David and Adam
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| Adam and I went camping on the Kings River and pitched a tent on the banks. It was a wonderful rest, though I was there for business.
We also looked at several peices of property and found a small one to purchase and build a cabin on. That will be cool!!
We stayed at the camp grounds of the Kings River Retreat. |
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Motorcycle Ride
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| We went to Steve and Lorie's house for dinner this evening. Adam and Val got to ride on Steve's BIG motorcycle (with Steve of course). It is a Kawasaki 1500 cc engine. They both want their own bikes now... of course.
Steve rides with the Christian Motorcyclist Association |
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Cub Scouts - Val's Award Ceremony
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| Val received the most awards the night he became a Wolf Cub. He has workd hard this year with Jennifer's help, achieving more than ever. |
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Royal Caribbean - The Flight - Couples of Promise, Christian Cruise Network
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| On May 8, 2003, Jennifer and David flew to Fort Lauderdale to catch the Monarch of the Seas. A mid-sized cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean.
Due to increased security measures in the post 9-11 era, we missed our flight!!
Thanks to the knowledgable agents at the Continental check in, we flew in a few hours later t |
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Royal Caribbean - The Boat - Couples of Promise, Christian Cruise Network
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| The Monarch of the Seas is the first ship I have ever been on for a cruise. (I was on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Finland, but it was stripped to be a ferry from Estonia to Helsinki. It wasn't very impressive.)
This ship had everything I could have imagined. There were two large dining rooms, several lounges, two salt water pools, |
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Royal Caribbean - Kevin Leman - Couples of Promise, Christian Cruise Network
| On of the two best parts of the whole trip was getting to visit with Kevin Leman and hear him speak about "Sex Begins in the Kitchen".
I have a lot of respect for his 'carefree' manor and hard hitting advice for marraige.
Jennifer and I try to practice his advice as often as possible, though neither of us are perfect. |
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Adam and Val on the Computer
| Adam and Val are learning how to use both PC and Macintosh computers at home. They are beginning to get an understanding of how they work and what the internet is and what they can find on it. |
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Christmas - Home Decor
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| Jennifer loves to decorate for Christmas. She tries to do something to every room in the house.
This year she bribed me to put lights on the roof of the house by buying a nice extension ladder. It took me three tries to get to the top, but I managed to get all the lights up.
Of course, Adam and Va |
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Christmas - Chamber of Commerce
| The local Chamber of Commerce asked several businesses to create a Christmas ornament to hang on the Chamber tree.
This one was created with a circuit board and had a boat, tree and sled mounted on it. The chips are painted like gifts. |
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Christmas - Gift to ourselves
| We received a large gift of cash for Christmas and bought ourselves this new refrigerator. It is one with the drawer in the bottom that is the freezer. We both strongly recommend that you consider one of these for your next refrigerator |
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Flying Chess - Photography
| I enjoy taking pictures. This month, I reached the 8000 picture mark for my 'new' Canon D30. This picture was taken as Jennifer hit the bottom of the card table with a small sledge hammer. We reset the board several times trying to get an interesting picture. |
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Flooding in Port Aransas - A wet day in town... and David's office
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| In October of 2002, Port Aransas received more rain in six weeks than we do in most years. Two memorable weeks left us under more water than I had ever seen in Port A.
During the deluge, my garage office went under water twice. I was forced to move into a small office in the bedroom behind the kitchen until we can create a new space |
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Race car - Hobby
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| One of my customers gave me this remote control fuel powered car in payment for services one day. It didn't work.
I spent all night cleaning the engine. I got it running and after 3 days of playing with it, the clutch shattered into a thousand pieces. |
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Animals - Cats and Dogs
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| Jennifer and I both love animals a lot. We pass this love on to Adam and Val when we can.
Currently we have two cocker spaniels named George and Ringo. They are happy puppies.
We had two kittens as guests for a few days and the puppies treated them very well, as usual.
The bottle brush picture here is |
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Arkansas - Kings River Retreat
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| Our friends Toni and West have purchased a couple of cabins in Arkansas near Eureka. We visited them and I got what I needed to create a web page for their new business.
While we were there, we saw the sites; The natural Bridge and the Thorn of Crowns Chapel.
We also took a day trip up to Branson and rode the Duck. |
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Calendar - Home Office
| We installed a new board to hold the calendar that we do all our scheduling on. It is designed to slide out for better and more convenient access. |
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Adam's 6th Birthday - Port A Pizzeria
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| Adam chose Port A Pizzeria for his birth party. We invited his whole class and over 30 people (including hungry adults) showed up. We pretty much took over the whole place and Adam had a great time! |
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NASA - Houston Texas
| We all went to Houston, Texas to the NASA space center. The most popular event was the HUGE climbing area for kids... nearly 4 stories high. David got into it also. |
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Port A ISD - Val's Award Ceremony
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| Val was consistantly on the A-B honor roll every semester.
He was also the first student to win a special nurses award for completely remembering to get his medicine EVERY SINGLE DAY WITHOUT EVER BEING REMINDED. He does so well about remembering to do his daily routine. |
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Adams Graduation - Graduation from Pre-K
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| Adam graduated from Pre-Kindergarten today. He was so excited to wear the graduation gown and everything. They had a formal ceremony.
His teacher, Mrs Brennan will be his teacher next year also because she will be moving up a level also. |
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Val's Luau - End of 1rst grade
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| Val's first grade class celebrated the end of the school year with a luau.
His teacher, Mrs Large, was a fun teacher. She is the one here in the coconuts.
Val does very well in school and loves going.
B. was with us then and joined in the limbo dance. Also pictured here are two of Vals good friends Set |
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Easter 2002 - Adam and Val
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| We celebrated Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's home.
The boys got 2 easter baskets and grandpa put on an easter egg hunt in the back yard.
That's Val in the blue shirt and Adam his younger brother. |
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Val's Friends - Sleep over
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| Val invited several of his friends over for an overnight party in the Spring of 2002.
We watched the new Spiderman movie and played games and with every toy in the house.
There was also plenty of computer time to be had. |
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Kayaking - West Kistler took us all out on the water
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| West and Toni Kistler used to own the Sea and Sand Cottages here in Port Aransas and have since moved to Arkansas. They now own Kings River Retreat.
Before they moved, West took David, Val, Adam and B. on a kayak trip in the channel behind the island.
Brittany did very well as Vals kayak mate. Adam rode (or rowed) wi |
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Corpus Christi Museum - Butterfly Release
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| During the spring of 2002, Jennifer's workplace had an exhibit of butterflies that caused her a great deal of problem.
The closing of the exhibit included a release of all butterflies by the kids that attended. Here, Adam and Val get their turn at the release. |
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Around the House - Redecorating
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| Jennifer and I put down a new floor in the living room, kithen, hallway and bathroom all by ourselves. It only took about a year and it is still not quite finished as of May 2003. I still need to get a couple pieces of trim up in the kitchen. |
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Vacation to Chicago - Adler Planetarium
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| At the planetarium in Chicago, there were many experiments and interactive things to do.
One of the most interesting to me was the first planetarium. It is simply a large rotating ball with holes drilled in it at the rights places. You ride in the cart that lifts you up into the ball and you can see an acurate r |
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July Vacation - Breakdown, Breakdown, Breakdown
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| On our trip to Chicago this summer, we experienced more than our share of break downs. The ol' van just couldn't hack it this year.
This first time, we were stuck in north Texas for 2 nights while we had our rear end rebuild.
The second time, our breaks wore out in rush our traffic in Chicago as we were leaving for De |
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Vacation to Chicago - Lincoln Park Zoo
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| We visited Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.
Adam and Val got to feed cows and horses.
We saw lions and flying pigs.
After the whole day, we rented a swan and paddled around for a few hours on the lake at the park. |
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July Vacation - Chicago Field Museum
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| We spent a great day at the Chicago Field Museum. If you really want to see the museum, you must spend more than one day. On this day we saw only 9 out of the 45 exhibits.
The main reason we went was to see Sue, the newest and most complete T-rex ever found. It was VERY impressive.
We s |
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Living History Farms - Des Moines, Iowa
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| We visited Living History Farms, Just outside of Des Moines. There are 4 different eras of farming represented. The day we went was the Wheat Harvest Festival. We participated in the harvest of wheat on 2 different farms and received a great education on the history of the mid west and farming over the past 300 years.
Adam and Val |
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Easter - Adam and Val
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| Adam and Val Celebrate Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's home. They got two easter baskets. Way too much candy. |
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Around the House - The Boyz
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| Some pictures around the house.
Val lost his first tooth and Adam on the couch. |
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The Doctor - Adam and Val
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| Much to their dismay, everyone must go to the doctor and get shots occasionally. They both were very brave.
I taught them how to look away at the moment the shot was given and they both commented that it didn't hurt as much as they remember. |
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Around Port A - Animals
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| Thes were shot with a Kodak DC215 1 mega pixel camera.
First, the dragon fly was found on a post outside our home.
The Blue herron is a common site here on the jetty and about anywhere along the shore. |
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Around Port A - Just shooting around
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| Port Aransas is located on the beautiful Mustang Island. It is surrounded by slat water and you must rid a ferry or cross the causeway to get there. |
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Christmas - Adam and Val
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| On their first Christmas with us, they made out like bandits. Everyone wanted to make sure that they had everything they needed. There were gifts from dozens of people under the tree. |
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Christmas - Home Decore
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| Jennifer loves to decorate for Christmas. We didn't get as much up as we would like, but our collection will have to grow over the next several years. For now, we will make do with what we have.
Regardless of the amount, Jennifer has always decorated the house beautifully. As much as I belly ache about the work, the holidays are j |
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Thanksgiving - Adam
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| Adam's first Thanksgiving with us, his Montessori school held a Banquet and he dressed up as a pilgrim.
We went to the banquet just before we left for Iowa to spend the holiday with my family in Des Moines. |
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Thanksgiving - Des Moines
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| We joined Dan and Donna (my brother and his wife) in des Moines, along with my mom and grandma. Tim and Amy (my neice and nephew) took good care of the boys. |
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Rocket Launch - Des Moines
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| The day after Thanksgiving, several of us went out and launched a rocket that Tim had made.
I shot the action picture here with a Kodak DC215. Captureing the take-off in mid launch was purely by accident. |
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Holloween - T-rex and Batman
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| Our home was visited by a vicious t-rex and batman this holloween.
Grandma let them choose their costumes and ordered them especially for them. |
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Our Pupies - George and Ringo and Mandy
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| We have had three cocker spaniels. Mandy was the first and by far the most intelligent. She disappeared on October 5, 1999. It was a terrible loss for us both.
About two months before she disappeared, we got George and Ringo. They were just puppies and certainly two bundles of energy. |
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Hurricane Evac - Brett Cometh
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| On September 22, 1999 we evacuated from Mustang Island to get out of the possible path of Brett.
We went to San Antonio. It took 12 hours to go 130 miles. We spent one night and returned as Brett landed on the King Ranch in South Texas. |
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Wedding Bells - Jennifer and David get Married in Bloomington, Illinois
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| We were married in Bloomington, Illinois by my father who was a minister.
We rented a room in this turn of the century ball room. It over-looks a pond and the rest of the park that we also got engaged in.
I asked Jennifer to marry me in the monument at the bottom of this page. |
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The Price of Gas - It cost an Arm and a Leg
| In response to the rising prices of Gas a Maryland Gas Station Posted some interesting Prices.
This was broadcas on KRIS TV, Channel 6 in Corpus Christi, Texas March 22, 2005.
Click on one of the links below to see the 25 second video clip:
Windows Media Player (High Qu |
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