tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19312945734427225392024-03-05T04:33:46.496-07:00Fraises et MyrtillesLACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-20307695012925485292016-08-17T17:40:00.001-06:002016-08-17T17:40:18.369-06:00Alpine Coastin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's amazing how things people talked about during your childhood becomes something you learn to treasure as an adult. Today we took the kiddo to ride Park City's famous Alpine Slide. I had only gotten to ride it once myself since marrying Loren. He jokes that I'm a wimp and it wouldn't be hard to go faster than I did on my first run down the slide. I loved it all the same. It was obligatory to share it with the next generation.<br />
We all went down the slow slides but Orion rod by himself. Afterwards he said he wanted to go on the fast slide. I was proud of myself for not slowing down as much as I did last time. We had a blast chatting with the ride regulator sitting at the top of the slide managing when each person could go. We had to tell the little man we were not going to go on the fast slide however because although we paid for a "Double Pass" we would be riding something just as exciting.<br />
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I'm not sure we were exactly sure what to expect but the Alpine Coaster was a wild thrill. You are drawn up the hill in a car that can seat two people. You control your speed, but the workers running the ride at the foot of the hill tell you to hold the lever all the way forward since all the other cars behind you are running at full speed. If not told that Loren an I agreed we might have tended towards slowing down. However at full throttle you are hurtled down the mountain through turns and dip as if on a roller coaster. It probably feels faster than it is due to it's proximity to the ground. Very thrilling.<br />
I hope we can ride it again next year.LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-67080022640668843082016-08-15T15:11:00.004-06:002016-08-15T15:14:53.507-06:00Virtual Ecstasy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Though my husband refutes any such thing the Park City Arts Festival is definitely a celebration of visual delights. Today the was such a good experience meeting other artists, getting inspiration and observing professional practices regarding branding and marketing materials. I found many different approaches to art and it was interesting to talk to the artists and learn more about their stories, techniques, processes and inspirations. The artists whose art I like better also seemed to generally have it together with business an marketing materials ready. I was actually surprised how many artists did not have marketing materials or even business cards available for patrons of the festival. It was a good lesson in what not to do when participating in an event. People may not always be able to purchase something at the festival but they may be interested in making a purchase later on. Self promotion seems to be as much planning for the future as it is for the present.<br />
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Since this was the first time he'd been to an even quite like this, Orion really struggled staying entertained, even with the scavenger hunt he was handed at the entrance along with his wristband. I'm glad he was interested in some of the art and was able to still talk about some of what he liked the best. In the end however after four hours and seeing about half of the festival we left to go get some food back at the condo with my in-laws. I hope to convince my husband to go with me next time just the two of us so we can see more and stay longer.<br />
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-1980023756042289412015-06-29T11:52:00.001-06:002015-06-29T11:59:04.025-06:00Winding Down<div>
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Our journey has ended. We are back home and going back to the daily grind but I wanted to include a few photos an thoughts about the last two days of our trip. <br />
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Idaho Falls has a beautiful park and we decided before leaving we should take a family walk through it. Orion had fun trying to get his picture with every bench and sculpture and tried to convince us a metal topiary moose was real. It was nice to just enjoy looking at the falls, temple and watch the boys goof around on the shore made of large volcanic rock.<br />
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We stopped in Pocatello to eat at a diner called Elmer's that serves a yummy looking German Pancake I might like to come back and try again. They were good. They had a fish and chips basket that served not just halibut but salmon and prawns. Their tarter sauce was home made too. Loren said it was the best patty melt he'd had all trip too.<br />
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When we finally got to Lava Hot Springs, it was 4 pm. We decided to go to our hotel and get checked in first. We ended up going to enjoy the hot pools that night as it is open until 11 pm. Unfortunately thought we tried to make him understand we would just be soaking Orion was angry and bored in just five minutes. No matter how many times we explained we would be swimming the next day. So we made the best of it and enjoyed the hot soak. I'm not entirely sure what Orion expected when we said a hot spring is like a big hot tub.<br />
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Our hotel, the <a href="http://www.theharknesshotel.com/">Harkness Hotel</a>, was amazing. This little gem was opened a year ago in the small town of McCammon, ID.<br />
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The Harkness Hotel the owner told us was once a conglomeration of a bank and apartments, and they are slowly acquiring and converting other spaces in adjoining buildings to enlarge their accommodations. Our room was the "Gold" room.<br />
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They have done it all themselves and have tried to create an upscale luxurious hotel to stay at. In part I think due to our interest in the hotel itself and it's history, the owner took us around and showed us the other spaces they were working towards converting. All along giving us the history of each space and some of the treasures they have found in each. This is definitely a spectacular find at only two hours from Salt Lake, we wish we'd come here instead of the nniversary Inn when we were married. Loren and I have already talked about going back as a couple.<br />
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Orion finally got his swimming in. He went on three of the four water slides at the Olympic pool with his dad. We ate at the 78 main Restaurant and had some good burgers before heading back home. I drove the whole trip except for 12 miles, I am proud of myself.LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-69204668456602485332015-06-26T02:25:00.000-06:002015-06-26T20:22:43.854-06:00Three Day Wireless Withdrawl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Somehow going to Yellowstone National Park and Wyoming I thought the cell service would have been better. Little did I know or expect T-mobil would have very little presence in Wyoming and a complete absence in the park proper. "No Service" was a phenomena experienced by all guests great and small and the only wireless was available at the hotel accommodations around the Old Faithful geyser. Therefore I have not had to the chance to relate any of the goings on of the last few days.<br />
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Tuesday was a day full of cowboys, and natural adventures. We got a late start and ate at a dinner called Granny's Family Dining. Loren said he was glad we stopped there because we got a good taste of local flavor. It was amusing to sit there and talk about the culture of the rural west. Then we went and bought Orion a cowboy hat. He was so excited. He tried to convince us to buy him some boots too. After explaining to him the boots were nearly $100 he finally accepted the inevitable.<br />
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We spent most of the day visiting the Buffalo Bill Cody Center which houses five separate museum exhibits. We looked at the Buffalo Bill exhibit, talking about who he was as a person and a performer. <br />
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There was a large replica of a Parker Brothers board game from 1898 called the game of Buffalo Bill. You have to go around the game board and collect buffalo heads. Whomever collects ten heads first and makes it back to camp wins the game. However beware you can get hauled off to the Indian camp and loose two turns! We were having a fun time playing on the gigantic version they had at the museum, but since it went on until someone collected enough heads we had to stop and let others have a turn too. It was a cool that they even had a video of some of the live performances from the end of the thirty year run of the Buffalo Bill Cody Wild West Show. I would have like to look over all of the stuff there but since we had a bored seven year old we decided to go look at another exhibit fifteen minutes before we left. He picked the guns and fire arms exhibit. <br />
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He got bored of that quickly too but seemed interested in the "knife-guns" where bayonets were being shown on some of the guns from WWI. (He wanted Poppi to see this photo).<br />
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We then embarked on our two day long Yellowstone adventure. We were fortunate to see a lot of bison not long after entering the park. We saw and recorded one near some heavy construction equipment grazing, and later stopped top observe one that walked around our car so close I could have reached out and touched it if my window had been down. We got to see cows with their calves on two occasions (one of which caused an hour long traffic jam) and several elk and geese. <span style="text-align: center;">We were given a wildlife bingo sheet at the park gate and Orion had a good time going through and marking off the animals as we saw them. By the end though Orion confessed that he was fine with not seeing any more bison for a while.</span><br />
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Since Orion had forgotten his Sea World dolphin plushie dubbed "Splashy" we promised him we would buy him a stuffed animal when we go to the park. He went straight for the bison and decided to christen his new friend "Buffally" (boo-fah-lee). I can only attribute this latest name trend to his recent interest in Pokemon games and cards as he continued to explain in some detail that his new toy was a new evolution for one of the Pokemon in his book. I told him he was just like his Uncle Laursen, but that my brother had named his toy "Charger."<br />
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We camped in the park and were pleased to find out that this was Orion's first experience really camping. He had never roasted hot dogs or made tin foil dinners, or even slept in a sleeping bag except in a house. It was a privilege to give Orion so many firsts. Since this is our second big trip as a family there were definitely some ground rules that had to be set and some learning to be done. We are constantly growing as a family and as parents.<br />
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We go to visit the mud volcanoes (the Dragon's lair is for Grandma Black) and the Artist's Paint Pots.<br />
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Orion said he liked the viscous paint pots the best with their gloopy sound and throwing mud several feet in the air.
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We had fun joking about how stinky but invitingly relaxing some of the hot springs looked. It was fun to se all of the hydrothermal attractions of the central park. <br />
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Our crowning visit was for seeing Old Faithful erupt. Orion said in the end so far it has been his favorite part of the trip. We were amazed how many people were there and speculated on whether the walkways had been moved since Loren and I had visited the park last.<br />
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It has been a full two days. We got to see so much wild beauty and amazing human ingenuity. The Yellowstone Inn was amazing! So now exhausted and finally clean I bid you good night from Idaho Falls. Tomorrow is a new day with new adventures.LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-35164694839528276982015-06-23T00:11:00.000-06:002015-06-23T00:18:12.838-06:00Dinosaur Digs<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GwHwKq7nODiw8u3Y3eEHrluqz6UQGafAlKKGdwx5cyTkC2HMofFergx933ZhemSRdRXjaneTLgxq6VPoiaztKC4K9cNV4voTTUarBsnXqAOPbUcFzLNXZpd2yirHD3eNZ9wXGznWfoA/s640/blogger-image-391200476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8GwHwKq7nODiw8u3Y3eEHrluqz6UQGafAlKKGdwx5cyTkC2HMofFergx933ZhemSRdRXjaneTLgxq6VPoiaztKC4K9cNV4voTTUarBsnXqAOPbUcFzLNXZpd2yirHD3eNZ9wXGznWfoA/s640/blogger-image-391200476.jpg"></a></div></div><div><br></div>Today we went to the dinosaur museum and tour here in Thermopolis Wyoming. The only Archaeopteryx fossil and most intact specimen outside of Europe is located there. It was for the most part really fun, though I think Orion got bored towards the end. A seven year old that has only been to one or two museums outside of the interactive "Children's Museum" can tend to have a shorter attention span. In fact at the beginning of the visit when going through the early pre-dinosaur fossils he was acting very upset and kept running ahead. After about of really bad grimaces and a stern talking to we were able to for the most part make the most of the visit. <div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-WmkPe7zxnp5RS7CheNMyzD9K607aWR29oALy8MdhaNNpWdWPRVuExZ3VhHpb6_GCjFEj5eVhWZeOvFfkVXKoJ7NNw0RnWqNUJYcjRG7VVe9PDIwm_YsKIr9a45FZAOBo82luFo-yqk/s640/blogger-image-404676921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-WmkPe7zxnp5RS7CheNMyzD9K607aWR29oALy8MdhaNNpWdWPRVuExZ3VhHpb6_GCjFEj5eVhWZeOvFfkVXKoJ7NNw0RnWqNUJYcjRG7VVe9PDIwm_YsKIr9a45FZAOBo82luFo-yqk/s640/blogger-image-404676921.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOtibEIxEUv037o96YHLufENRSh0Cni2E9SOfkopWpe3VABVQ5ZIH5U2OsI5hO6j4DEITZuIvUQtDOf3eRZ7IUH9dKMMOL61_FhfhFTYMw7QuCWgEa1KnB9bS7mtUdktmISH5AEcwnzk/s640/blogger-image-1207561834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFOtibEIxEUv037o96YHLufENRSh0Cni2E9SOfkopWpe3VABVQ5ZIH5U2OsI5hO6j4DEITZuIvUQtDOf3eRZ7IUH9dKMMOL61_FhfhFTYMw7QuCWgEa1KnB9bS7mtUdktmISH5AEcwnzk/s640/blogger-image-1207561834.jpg"></a></div><br></div><br></div><div>The highlight for Loren and I was to get to go on the tour with an actual paleontology professor. It was really cool to see the active dig sites he took us to and ask questions. He said true scientists have an open mind and can re-evaluate their own hypothesis when new data is discovered and introduced to the scientific community. He also said that paleontology is not a science of known and concrete facts and scenarios based on random speculation but on the hard facts that can be seen and produced through the evidence in the fossil records. It was very enlightening.<br>
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We discovered that through a spectroanalysis they have been able to look at the chemical record left behind in the fossil record of the archaeopteryx feathers the coloration of the animal was similar to that of the common magpie. It's amazing how far science has come that through technology we can measure and observe minute indicators to create a more complete picture of what an animal from millions of years ago looked like.<br>
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Later We attended Orion's first rodeo, in Cody, Wyoming. I think he was super wiggly from the museum and the drive afterwards to Cody. He said he enjoyed it. </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E0dqCBZWs40jCZy_sZ_um-rhIcI54vLytIX828vR1pLTqbj-lt1EMmBp_xM5hkzNWX77yFlnZRy9qzqUPk0Vipv1wMQiWwmbJRd-rGaQsJ9jadRxUn2qCt3iwRjqXxhgeMWt4vl7mkA/s640/blogger-image-790302141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2E0dqCBZWs40jCZy_sZ_um-rhIcI54vLytIX828vR1pLTqbj-lt1EMmBp_xM5hkzNWX77yFlnZRy9qzqUPk0Vipv1wMQiWwmbJRd-rGaQsJ9jadRxUn2qCt3iwRjqXxhgeMWt4vl7mkA/s640/blogger-image-790302141.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTMzDJNQyMgkspkc_OSni80LOChCNHvqTheWE35Lp_FnYbh46Uun65HbuPkMjRGQB648D0bkIVJhkCDoRuC8EZNDT_Dlq7y1I2UsxIKntYEhacWAUErS17srgKjpfH1paOm0ufpIaN3U/s640/blogger-image-1318417729.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTMzDJNQyMgkspkc_OSni80LOChCNHvqTheWE35Lp_FnYbh46Uun65HbuPkMjRGQB648D0bkIVJhkCDoRuC8EZNDT_Dlq7y1I2UsxIKntYEhacWAUErS17srgKjpfH1paOm0ufpIaN3U/s640/blogger-image-1318417729.jpg"></a></div></div></div><div>We are looking forward to going to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum tomorrow and looking at all the amazing cowboy stuff. </div>LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-35071511609939672912015-06-22T10:50:00.000-06:002015-06-23T00:12:47.187-06:00Driving Marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kZAZ-LEcejtjbey7TtnsfXyvb7F0eWh3LeG5g6DLGyj-g1ZZTDPZYH_y98OndbwyLK2soeish4mtqQCIYoAOm8R0w10cFyrGfRYlCy-VbmaSPMyqBUBL76-kgqMOHhqkhZ-5Fxbcb-k/s640/blogger-image--332463363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5kZAZ-LEcejtjbey7TtnsfXyvb7F0eWh3LeG5g6DLGyj-g1ZZTDPZYH_y98OndbwyLK2soeish4mtqQCIYoAOm8R0w10cFyrGfRYlCy-VbmaSPMyqBUBL76-kgqMOHhqkhZ-5Fxbcb-k/s640/blogger-image--332463363.jpg"></a></div><br>
So for the first time in my adult life I have driven outside of the state as the driver. I drove the whole way from Bountiful, Utah, to Thermopolis, Wyoming. Granted the fact that we were obligated to take my vehicle probably had somewhat to do with it. I feel like I've hit some kind of obligatory benchmark in adulthood though it's been somewhat delayed compared to my peers. It was fun, but I miss getting to enjoy the scenery more. My husband says that's one of the drawbacks to being the driver. We stopped and got the obligatory ice cream cone at the Little America, and ended up driving the last hour in the complete dark. Thankfully the only deer we saw were the dead ones we saw along the road during the day. In all I'd say it was a very fulfilling day for me an my family.<div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHOSTSOUBr2NY5LQOnSxTORbBVjTLMmuchIQzxwZgYVA1PTdvqsT1SoWtsayfR2BwYNyTajaM7A-t5JmCAkKzjD1RiX6BPJ-xBjJrYRg-u5RlLp-n6HGkz8yAmCSvfYIgCpaIA0UbgwU/s640/blogger-image--1109218152.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPHOSTSOUBr2NY5LQOnSxTORbBVjTLMmuchIQzxwZgYVA1PTdvqsT1SoWtsayfR2BwYNyTajaM7A-t5JmCAkKzjD1RiX6BPJ-xBjJrYRg-u5RlLp-n6HGkz8yAmCSvfYIgCpaIA0UbgwU/s640/blogger-image--1109218152.jpg"></a></div><br></div>LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-37833237096927417892014-01-31T21:40:00.001-07:002014-01-31T21:51:54.639-07:00A Deserted Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Zipline, though it has little to do with the Maya or any part of Mexican history has gained popularity as a vacation activity. It is currently used as a means to travel through forrest canopy and is extraordinarily fun. We went on a half day zipline course with the Selvatica company. They have setup a course of twelve ziplines. Varying in range and pitch they are basically hanging from a harness from a pulley moving across a more or less horizontal wire. <br />
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It was a blast. We went with a basic package that was labeled safe enough for even a three year old, though I have a hard time imagining a three year old understanding the grasp of using your hand and weight as a brake. Loren has never been on anything like this and I had been on only a mild version as a young teen. We weren't quite sure what to expect. The course goes out from the main entrance area around and loops back. That way there is no need to trek back through the humid Mexican jungle to your locker. They have other attractions which includes a bungee swing. They offer various types of zipline styles, the "superman" being one I think would be a blast to try in which you zip horizontally through the sky like Christopher Reeves. They also allow you to try zipping hanging upside down, though a guide rides down with you in tandem. Neither Loren nor I had the guts to try this. They have camera people mixed in with the crew of guides and they photograph you as you go through the course. They said they do this, for good reason, because participants need both hands to free in order to brake when zipping across the wires. These photographs are of course available to purchase for a modest fee when you finish your adventure. During the zipline portion Loren had made the comment, "If we were stranded on a jungle island like Robinson Crusoe it would be cool to use ziplines to get around!"
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After the ziplining course we rode in an army-style open air truck with bench seats in rows over muddy, bumpy roads towards our other destination. Our main guide would let us know a fresh section of bumpy road was coming by announcing we should be ready for a "Mayan massage." He made charming allusions to buildings in various states of shabby disrepair or construction with phrases like, "Here comes our super duper 7-11" or "On your left you will see our Starbucks...coming soon." Once we finally made it to our second destination we split up, some of us going onto ride ATV's and the rest of us to swim.<br />
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Our particular package did not include the ATV portion so we enjoyed walking down a gravel path to a cenote of smallish size, about 30 meters deep our guide told us. These are filled with cool fresh water, and seem endlessly deep. They had a water zipline setup and we all took turns riding it and dropping a few feet into the water. We had fun swimming and splashing around. We made our way over to a submerged dock they had on one side connected to a path that wound up to the observation area. While standing on it we had little fishes nibble/suck on our feet. After careful observation and a quick query with our guide....yes it turns out that it was the self same type of fish used for fish pedicures. However the fish in the cenote were closer to two or three inches. It was fun to watch them.</div>
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After leaving the cenote we were taken back to the base area and fed some yummy chicken dinner, as well as offered our photos for a modest price.</div>
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-1350997469984784162014-01-30T23:04:00.000-07:002014-01-30T23:07:55.135-07:00It Takes Guts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So as I predicted yesterday we took a breather today. We spent the first half of the day at the hotel relaxing and spending time together. It has been really nice eating on the balcony and watching the ocean and the boats. The weather has been comfortable. It has been quiet as there aren't many that walk around on the terrace outside our balcony.<br />
Later we headed out to the suggested Market 28 to get some fun stuff to bring home. Nothing is marked with any price, so finding out how much they want to sell things for is part of the fun of shopping there. When you balk at the price they begin the haggling process. We ended up coming away with a few nice items. Loren got me this nice cotton outfit to wear in warmer weather. I was advised by our personal shopping assistant that it is all hand made. He asked if we were honeymooners, to which we answered yes. When Loren asked how he knew, he said because Loren looked tired and I looked happy. I looked at Loren pointedly to asked coyly what reason he would have to be tired.<br />
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As had we ridden the bus into town to get us to the market we wanted to ride the bus to get us back. Unfortunately we had the bad luck of being on a one way street with little indication where the bus ran in the opposite direction. Trying to read the map from the hotel front desk was a little daunting and a few attempts to get directions at a gas station backfired. So a bottle of Fresca later we were walking down the one way street taking another whack at following the map. We stopped some slightly more American looking individuals that looked like they knew where they were going, hoping to be able to get further directional clarification. Alas it was a pair of French Canadians who spoke no English and were as lost as we were, after not actually making it to Playa del Carmen. I ended up giving them directions to Market 28 and we were again on our way.<br />
By this time my flip flops were giving me a blister and I wished to travel no further without proper direction or medical aid. So, without further ado, I popped into a nearby Dominos and asked if anyone spoke English. We were lucky enough to find an individual who spoke some broken English and I was able to get directions to a nearby pharmacy and a heading to follow for the correct bus line. In the pharmacy we dealt with a similar situation as the previous gas station, however upon indicating the blister on my foot we were able to acquire a box of bandaids with many smiles and kindness. While waiting for Loren to pay for the bandages I happened to notice a candy bar on the rack in front of me. It was my middle name! Awesome, and my mother always gives demerol all the credit. So of course we had to buy it.<br />
When we finally made it back to the hotel a feat in and of itself we decided to take a breather and Loren read to me in our room while we shared some strawberry ice cream. After this we enjoyed another round of massages and dinner. To say the least it has been a very interesting day.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-51251551831080200142014-01-30T13:35:00.002-07:002014-01-31T08:57:08.976-07:00Snake's Nest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chichen Itza, seventh wonder of the world. Home of the Maya that worshiped the snake, or "Can." Incidentally we learned today Cancun means "snake's nest" in Mayan.<br />
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Our Mayan guide was a tiny guy named Miguel, who smiled a ton and told us to get ready to speak Spanglish. He gave us a pretty thorough overview of the Maya as a culture as well as how much of the known information was discovered. We learned about everything from Mayan Society, to Mayan paper, to Mayan religion. He said today Mayan people have been more integrated into society, but still speak their language in their homes. He assured us his first language was Mayan. There are a few who still speak it as their only language.<br />
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We first stopped at Ik Kil the largest cenote or sink hole in the Yukatan. We were given the opportunity to swim in it but the hotel had not indicated swimming suits were needed on this trip so we just watched. Loren said that with the depth of the pool he might have had a hard time swimming in any case. Our guide said it is 50 meters deep.</div>
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The water looked black, belying I believe the depth of the water. It was beautiful never the less. There was a whole little flock of small birds like mud swallows flying around and around inside of the cenote. One of the women in our group said she was afraid of going near what she believed would be bad energy from the many sacrifices that had been dumped into the cenote over the centuries.<br />
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Ten years has changed Chichen Itza, according to Loren. He said before they were able to get there and the amount of tourists was relatively small. Guests could climb and go into the temples as well as explore to their heart's content. However now there are fences cordoning off the ruins from the many hundreds of visitors that show up every day. Loren suspects the company that runs Xcaret acquired the right to maintain the land the ruins are on and therefore have not only developed the drop off entrance for the tour groups but maintain the land and in order to be able to funnel loads more visitors to the site.<br />
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He said he was sad we couldn't go into the temples so I could see how they were built one building on top of the other. According to Miguel one of the only sites you may climb still is Tulum. If we were staying longer it might be fun to go see those ruins. As things are we plan on resting somewhat tomorrow after today's excursion. We'll see what we decide on for Friday.<br />
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There are so many buildings and ruins at Chichen Itza. After the main square there is a path that leads past other smaller ruins, one of the two cenotes at the site and onto other smaller pyramid temples and later an observatory and an un-named hall that feels more like a mansion. <br />
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There are even two of the Mayan ball courts. The main court adjacent to the main pyramid temple at Chichen Itza, then a smaller court behind a building near the observatory. We were shown the frieze or carving that helped them determine the way the game was played. The carvings on each side of the court depict seven players for each team. The ball players are distinguished by the bar through their septums, the twin bats and the skull symbol on their hips. <br />
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This also shows the captain of one team have decapitated his rival opponent. Aparently the game is representative of the cycle between this world and the "underground world."in the story a god gets decapitated, so I believe that is the significance of the depicted decapitation.<br />
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The Mayans flattened out the areas they built their cities forming an almost manmade butte or mesa in the jungle. They did this, it was explained, to mirror the Mayan concept of the universe as a flat plain.<br />
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Mily told me these places always have an energy about them. I would guess that energy would change based on the occupants of the land. Loren talked about how he feels like the Spaniards came at a good time. To come at the decline of a large civilization and end the amount of human suffering. I find it an interesting juxta position of two cultures the Maya and the Spanish. The people here seem to be proud of both.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-5960101321448695602014-01-28T22:17:00.000-07:002014-01-28T22:19:55.518-07:00A Day Off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The worst thing for any vacation is for the vacation to feel like you aren't getting any rest an relaxation. So we decided to take a breather today and enjoy the amenities. After waking up at a lazy 8:30 am we got ready and ate on our patio in the open air. In fact we've done that every morning and it has been so nice to take advantage of the pleasant weather an temperatures.<br />
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Later we headed down to the beach to lounge and relax. It was nice to watch the waves and listen to Loren read to me. We are continuing to enjoy our book "All the Trouble In the World" by P.J. O'Rourke. Loren is such a good reader. I also took advantage of some of that time to sketch. Though I did not get too far in that project however.<br />
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We had appointments at the spa. First on the agenda were somewhat tickley fish pedicures. Loren laughed and hooted, fit to be tied. It felt very strange. As we acclimatized to having our dry outer epidermal layers sucked away by tiny cleaners we discovered one thing: fresh meat is just as appetizing to them as it is for their bigger counterparts. We had to have the spa attendant bind our blisters with bandaids to deflect the aquatic munchers. <br />
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Then we had hour long massages. Having never been to a proper spa before this was a unique experience. A deep tissue massage and a warmer placed underneath my body when I flipped over to the front to keep my muscles relaxed. It was the best massage I have ever had. Loren said his was as well. aFter sixty minutes with my masseuse I didn't want to leave the peaceful seating area set aside for after a treatment is completed. I told Loren that if their massages were this tranquilizing I wondered what their facials were like.<br />
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We rode our first public bus since we arrived here and it took a little while to get my "sea legs" back. We missed our stop and had to walk back to the restaurant. It was fun to sit and chat and eat. Loren really likes HardRock Cafe and we enjoyed the music and the ambience. The restaurant is located in the shopping and club area of the hotel zone of Cancun. We were laughing at the random people walking around in Mexican versions of Jim Carrey's The Mask costume accosting passers by to get them to take photos and go to Club Coco Bongo which advertised an atmosphere combining, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Madonna and Spider Man. We stopped at the Haagen Daas ice cream shop for dessert. I have never gone to an ice cream shop that had a waiter in the States before. This one did however, we got to select our ice cream dessert from a menu and were even given a selection of coffee or water as accompaniment. What we ordered was divine, banana caramel crepes! I am inclined to agree as Loren once said the best bananas are in Mexico.LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-42559987839928211422014-01-28T00:58:00.000-07:002014-01-28T00:58:32.152-07:00Mexico Espectacular<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After spending a day at Xcaret Mexico I can say Loren and I are "espctacularly" tired. It was so much fun! We enjoyed an adventure filled extravaganza of the culture of the Maya and the history of Mexico. There was a surprising amount of Mexican visitors at the park. Almost like the Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii, Disneyland and Sea World were combined into one park. We kept joking however that the branding put Sea World to shame (as Sea World has a complete lack of branding what-so-ever), and it was a lot less safety conscious than Disneyland. Corporate criticisms aside, then park was everything we expected and more.<br />
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We managed to canvas almost the entire park in one day. A feat my well traveled mother-in-law might argue is very hard to do. As we had spent all of the previous day snorkeling we opted to wander around the park exploring. We looked at tropical animals, though we chose to stick mostly to those living on dryland with the exception of the manatees. Loren got to see his peccaries, we saw a tapir, leopards and loads of parrots. There were more lizards roaming freely than you could shake a stick at and we even saw an Agouti crossing the path on a nature hunt through a densely planted area of the park.
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One of our favorite animal exhibits though was the Mariposas or butterflies. It was amazing, more like a fairy world than anything. There was one particular butterfly with blue wings that seemed to be attracted to my feet (or my blue nail polish). One of them landed on Loren's sandals too. Orion mentioned he wanted most to go to Mexico to see the butterflies so we made a special trip to film them for him. it was so magical to see them fluttering everywhere and have them fly through our range of vision. It was very magical.</div>
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We had fun taking in most of the park's cultural aspects. We attended a demonstration of the Ritual of Los Voladores. It was pretty incredible to watch the men first climb the high pole and then to spin or "fly" back down on ropes going around the pole thirteen times a piece. On the Mexican Cemetery mount the Mexican flair for color was out in full force. </div>
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After touring the Hacienda and the equine area we were all set to attend the night show. Just as the name promises, it was quite the spectacle. We were treated to a game of the pre-hispanic ball games of the Maya as well a crash course in Mexican history through Cortez and the cultural folk dances and music of the various regions. The whole production was in Spanish, however the flow was easy enough to follow even though we could not understand the narration. We loved it.<br />
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Due to the porcelain quality of my skin I am very cautious about sunscreen and coverage when venturing outdoors. Today we discovered the only part of me to show any indication of sun. I was meticulous making sure that all of my porcelain hide had been covered when snorkeling yesterday. This was in part thanks to the admonitions of my brother and his unfortunate sun experience while snorkeling here last year. Loren neglected one swath of gluteal flesh and I have a burned crescent on my back side. Loren has been teasing me all evening like Achilles I have only one part of me didn't get "dipped in the river." Ouch!<br />
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-40952114730756275412014-01-26T22:00:00.000-07:002014-01-26T22:00:58.947-07:00Under the Sea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As with most new experiences today's snorkeling expedition was froth with excitement, a little peril and a massive learning curve. I rapidly discovered that not only does sea water taste incredibly foul but that it is too astringent on the eyes.<br />
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Through help from our guides and much trial an error I was able to finally adjust to the mask and snorkel. I found I had to hold the mask to my face in order to ensure my contacts were safe from any sea-born invasions. That only left me to empty my snorkel periodically so as not to to inhale the ocean through my own personal breathing tube. Loren said his previous snorkeling experience had used superior snorkels that prevented water from entering from the top. <br />
--Note to self make sure you get one of these!<br />
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Feeling like Triton's own daughter I was finally able to enjoy the scenery. It was amazing to me how alien the world looks under the water. From massive brain corals that looked a double for extra-terrestrial eggs to fan-like or branchy Gorgonian corals resembling more flora than fauna. We swam through miniature coral canyons and underwater savannas. At one point there was a fish I could swear was following our snorkeling party. <br />
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Our tour took us to two locations in the morning, fed us an incredible lunch and then took us to a third larger spread out area that we were allowed to explore on our own. During the third trip Loren and I got separated and I swam to each loose group looking for him. We had swam generally together the whole day and it was disconcerting to find myself away from him. It turns out he had been looking for me as well. We are truly two peas in a pod.<br />
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On this mini trip I had the unique opportunity to use my language. There happened to be a french woman in our group as well as some French Canadians. I was able to chat with and translate for the french woman, whose name was is Magalie. She in turn walked me through the basics of snorkeling. It was such a joy. <br />
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(all underwater photos were borrowed from other sites as we did not end up buying a waterproof camera.)<br />
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-60337674035562720042014-01-25T21:44:00.001-07:002014-01-25T22:40:35.780-07:00Hola, from Cancun...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hola, Seniors and Senoras! Coming to you live from the super fancy resorts of Cancun, Mexico. Loren and I embarked on our latest adventure to this exotic location. Traveling among the middle aged and retired I find I am reminded somewhat of the resort location in the movie "Dirty Dancing" but with much more flair. That isn't to say this local doesn't have it's cultural charm but the plane-ride here felt more like going to "Fantasy Island." With the range and caliber of some of our fellow patrons I might have expected to be greeted by Mr. Roarke and Tatu upon disembarking from the shuttle. <br />
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Our flight was fairly uneventful. The pilot was competent and the take-off was one of the smoothest I've ever had. We were lucky enough that the people sharing our rows were willing to swap seats so Loren and I could sit together. We were told that the gentleman had been married for 27 years and so long as we didn't mind sitting next to his wife he didn't mind. In the end they ended up being some really nice people from Montana. In fact at the end of the flight I happened to see their last name on their customs form. It turns our they were distantly related to me! How funny to fly together on the same flight as another branch of my mother's family! I got to hear some interesting things about the Brimhall family I wasn't aware of, such as the fact that at least two of the lines have kept up the tradition of naming their daughters Lydia after Sylvanus Jr's wife Lydia De Guiteau. Also she told me the youngest brother of this same Lydia was the De Guitteau that tried to assassinate President Garfield! The world becomes a very small place when you get going on your genealogy.<br />
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It was a little bit of culture shock braving the oncoming barrage of shuttle groups, timeshare sharks, and random vendors as we left the the airline terminal. Thanks to the vigilant training of my seasoned mother-in-law we were able to make a run of the gamut unscathed. It was a relief to find ourselves blissfully ensconced in the quiet, air conditioned interior of our shuttle.<br />
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From there it was a voyage through palm lined vistas and hotel resorts, I sort of felt more like I was in southern California. We rode in a group shuttle with two couples from Wisconsin, a young woman from New York and a woman from Los Angeles, California. It was interesting to listen to the friendly banter as we all discussed our reasons for being there and our various previous travel experiences.</div>
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Once at the Royal Sands we were introduced to our apartments. Loren and I enjoyed looking around at the various businesses interspersed on the ground floor of the resort. We ate dinner at the onsite restaurant La Viranda where we dined on psuedo american food and discussed possible activities for the coming week. I may have convinced Loren to get a "fish pedicure" with me, one can only hope! <br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-79277961341874353042013-10-11T23:02:00.001-06:002013-10-11T23:02:32.083-06:00Rekindling Old Ties<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sunday for our second day of the trip Orion and I got to meet Loren's sister Becky for the first time. She had flown down to be with us for a part of this trip. It was most momentous as Orion had spoken on the phone but never met his Aunt Becky. She lives in New York and so arranging a meeting easily was not realistically doable. At breakfast he wanted to sit next to Grandma and Aunt Becky. He was very affectionate and seemed taken with his Aunt Becky.<br />
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Later we went to visit Loren's Aunt and cousins. They live up a canyon about 45 minutes outside of Anaheim. We had quite the adventure trying to get to their house. I told Loren parts of it felt like a cross between Park City and rural France. It only lacked the stones walls topped with broken glass to keep the vagrants/vandals out.<br />
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It was a nice visit. Loren's cousin Gara was a nice hostess and had quite a large lunch prepared for us. He husband is a fix-in guy and loves to haunt flea markets, garage sales and estate sales. The property was decorated with many of of his finds and treasures. They even had two chandeliers that a client had him switch out which he had arranged under a trellis/a-framed arched gateway. It was very charming the way they had things arranged. He regaled us with stories of how his grandfather acquired the property for $500 then the house in two pieces each for $25. <br />
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Orion was very taken with a hot-rod tricycle he found. They had it tricked out with many of the same accents of a red corvette convertible from the 1950's. It had the bullet-style lights, chrome and fenders reminiscent of the cars from that era.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-31620858697832396172013-10-11T13:52:00.000-06:002013-10-11T13:52:29.338-06:00A New Adventure<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In the last year much has happened and changed in my life. It has been an emotional roller coaster and I have learned a lot about the kind of person I am. After being divorced I have been thrown back into the single pool.<br />
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I am dating a kind and patient man with a little boy. We recently left on a trip to California together with his family. Anyone who has driven with a six-year-old understands the challenges of bathroom breaks and boredom. We had a good time listening to imaginary games and talking about going to California and seeing the Pacific Ocean.<br />
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It is amazing how a child's concept of space and time is so different from that of an adult. We used a map to try to explain where we were going and how long it would take. Unfortunately it was still not enough to allay the eventual question: "How much longer?"<br />
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Our planned destination and the highlight of our trip was kept a secret from Orion. However I made efforts to be as subtly festive as possible.<br />
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As we drove across the mountains in Nevada we saw amazing rock formations, the beautiful layering of hills and mountains. We even took time to stop for fifteen minutes and enjoy the magnitude of the stars in sky and show Orion the Milky Way and his own constellation. We saw an incredible rainbow sunset. <br />
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In my many years of car trips I have learned to sleep and rest and enjoy the ride. Orion surprisingly however did not fall asleep until we specifically told him to rest his eyes after we crossed the Californian border.<br />
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With the government shutdown last week the checkpoint was eerily unmanned. I expected to have our bananas confiscated for sure. We finally got into Anaheim around 10:30 PM Pacific time. It was nice to settle in after a long 12 hour long drive. LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-85362675447060360172012-09-01T21:30:00.002-06:002012-09-09T21:25:28.348-06:00A Full Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the privileges of having visitors is that you have an excuse to visit your favorite places. Malik's sisters are visiting and I was able to take them out today.<br />
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I took them to the mountains first up to Silver Lake to enjoy a little bit of light hiking. It was a little chilly for them though!<br />
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The weather was nice, a little overcast and for me the temperature was perfect. The clouds were lower which lent an air of mystic to the mountains.<br />
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It was so green, and as it had rained the night before everything was giving off a clean smell. It was really incredible.<br />
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The leaves on the canyon flora was edging into it's fall splendor. I love the contrast of the green with the reds, oranges, yellows and golds. Fall is truly one of my favorite times of the year.<br />
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Afterwards we went to a neighbor's for a pool party. The kids had so much fun playing with us in the water. I started to show Mirna how to float on her back.<br />
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Malik said that the girls are usually very timid when it comes to going into the pool. Marina said that it was partly thanks to me being in the pool and playing with them and showing them how to enjoy the water.<br />
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Mirna seemed to really love it. We had fun with Sabine and the neighbors with the kids as well.<br />
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The rest of the crew soaked up the sun and enjoyed the water with their feet.<br />
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It has been a fun and full day. I'm glad I made it home in time, just before the rain to enjoy a nice blueberry tea!</div>
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-68034470444221081142012-08-25T03:12:00.000-06:002012-08-25T10:37:36.688-06:00Pioneer Extravaganza<br />
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Today was Rio Tinto's annual family night. This year they chose This Is The Place Heritage Park as their venue. There was everything from demonstrations, to Native American dancing, to re-enactments of daily life, to activities, entertainment and food. It was a blast!<br />
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The girls got to try their hands at carding wool and even panning for gold. Mirna was so proud that she found enough for the family with a few pellets to spare.<br />
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We all had to have our faces painted. The artists were very professional, and each piece was unique.</div>
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We tried our hand at loom bead work at the Navajo hogan and tried out a traditional hair brush made of straw! We visited the weavers and saw how the printing press was loaded and news papers were originally made.<br />
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There was a pony ride, a petting zoo, and the shaggiest cow any of us had seen. The girls were afraid of that cow because it lowed so loudly and frequently. It made me giggle. Mirna even tried to catch a chicken.<br />
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There were two trains, and roasted corn to munch on along the way. We even enjoyed a pulled pork meal at the end of our journey around the park.<br />
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We were sad that we weren't able to visit any of the other buildings or see any of the other demonstrations. I think the girls would have loved trying out more of the pioneer crafts too. The park is just too big to see in one go. Maybe we can visit again and make the rounds again when it isn't so busy.<br />
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-515595982869161282012-08-22T16:36:00.001-06:002012-08-22T16:36:17.277-06:00Teeing Off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I never got the chance to add the details of our last day in Kentucky, due to our preparations to go back home to Utah. My husband thought it would still be pertinent to add it in now so that we have a complete log of our vacation. <br />
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The Friday before we left we did a lot of filming. Mostly stories about Grandpa when he was younger, and going through photos. However the highlight of our day was tee-ing off at the mini-golf course near the airport. It was decorated with jockeys and horses in various racing poses. <br />
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You've never been mini-golfing until you've played with two veteran pros. Grammy and Grandpa even had they're own special putters in the back of their car since they go so often. We had a fun time trying to figure out not just how to get the balls into the hole, but with these professionals it was all about efficiency, and skill. It was serious stuff!<br />
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We all ended up getting at least one hole-in-one. Grammy made a particularly spectacular move on one hole by getting her ball to go into the river at just the right spot so that it would snag on a grate and roll onto the lower green right next to the hole. <br />
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Grandpa was always observing the curve of the green and the lay of the land from the start to the hole. He even spotted that one of the holes was misleading. It had a row of giant horse shoes lined up to appear that it lead directly to the hole. He pointed out that the way it was setup at the end, the ball would more likely ricochet off a shoe or a pole and go veering off in the green or the flower bed next to it. I had never played a more fun but serious game of mini-golf.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-30846291075309508932012-08-09T20:33:00.000-06:002012-08-09T20:33:34.783-06:00Providence Steps In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On the suggestion of Uncle Rick, Grammy and Grandpa decided to take us to a look out point at the top of Devou Park. What a show we must have put on trying to find it! At one point Josh said that in the car there were, "too many chiefs and not enough indians."<br />
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After we made it up to the highest point at Dee's Pavillion. We were trying to find the way down through the park to get out. It is a huge park and very confusing, I think Grandpa said that part of the park even contains a golf course. In our travels through the park we ran across the historical Behringer-Crawford Museum. Now, this was the very museum that I had asked Grandpa if we could visit when we got here on Saturday night. Grandpa had replied that he had always wanted to visit it. Though later when he tried to find it Grandpa said he couldn't figure out where it was. </div>
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It covered the history of Northern Kentucky, as well as the history of the Ohio River. We had a good time looking at how the area had changed over time. Josh liked looking at the different examples of cannon ball and shot as well as the other relics of various wars and military presence. Grammy got a kick out of an interactive section highlighting the steamboat era on the Ohio river. There were various sounds that you could play and she told us what it had been like to hear those sounds over the river when she was younger. She said she missed the days of the Ohio Queen and the sounds of her calliope drifting up and down the river.<br />
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Lastly we went to a hole in the wall seafood joint called the Bayou. Grammy was really edgy about eating there. It wasn't very large, nor especially classy. The menu consisted of three kinds of fried fish and shrimp plus the catch of the day. There were sides like coleslaw and gumbo (which was really good, but spicy). It was a suggestion by Uncle Rick since he found out I like fish and seafood. It was really yummy. I think the fish won Grammy over even if she wasn't especially in love with the location of the eatery or the caliber of it's decor. I definitely want to come here again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-V_Q7ZfP8XiGgwWuv8APrlyBYbccM-ymOwYCXrZJwKHdbPsCYP37OcDOvNfgENj9Xu0EJuHtfavAA-W2K7JGQUzUPJCYCj55QnuCsRXiGAQAw4IHsXwp1l9TimkE4TD5EyahqSW17tFg/s1600/IMGP5160+black+and+white.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-V_Q7ZfP8XiGgwWuv8APrlyBYbccM-ymOwYCXrZJwKHdbPsCYP37OcDOvNfgENj9Xu0EJuHtfavAA-W2K7JGQUzUPJCYCj55QnuCsRXiGAQAw4IHsXwp1l9TimkE4TD5EyahqSW17tFg/s640/IMGP5160+black+and+white.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-19529868594385915702012-08-08T16:30:00.003-06:002012-08-08T21:54:12.392-06:00In the Navy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yesterday wore Grammy out, and I'm still sick so we decided to take it easy today. It was pretty hot too, and I think Grammy would have had a hard time playing miniature golf out there today. We hope that we'll be able to go tomorrow, we'll see there's a storm warning in effect and Grammy doesn't want to drive in the rain.<br />
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We stayed in and did more recording. We got to hear about Grandpa's story how he joined the Navy during World War II when he was 16 years old. He was pretty sly about it, and snuck in without his mother realizing it. Apparently he really wanted to join since his brothers had been in the service, one of which snuck in 15 years old. He also said that as a 16 year old he was a part of the Sea Scouts, whose uniforms looked just like the navy minus one stripe and an anchor instead of a star on the back. He said he took his uniform with him up when he was visiting San Francisco with his mom and then he would put it on at night after dinner and go out pretending to be a member of another Allied Naval force on leave. He would go to bars and be included by other service men.<br />
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We got to hear how Grandpa and Grammy met, and the story of her two left shoes on their wedding day. Grammy gets so excited about showing me all of her mementos of her life and other people she's loved. I'm very touched that she has truly accepted me as her grand-daughter. She keeps asking if she can send this or that knick-knack home with us. We have to keep telling her that we don't have any spare room in our little carry on bags to spare and that we didn't bring a large bag either. She keeps telling us that we'll need to drive a truck next time to take some of Grandpa's mother's things with us back to Utah. They call her Mama Hog. Due to a funny incident in which Josh festooned his great-grandmother Fishburn with a Harley Davidson cap Grandpa had in the car. They had been driving somewhere together and she had complained of the sun being in her eyes. Josh said she looked like a biker after putting the cap on her, and she was then named "Mama Hog."<br />
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We did go out for linner. We went to a place called Skyline Chili. Apparently restaurants based on chili are popular out here. Grandpa and Grammy told about the different places and how their recipes differed. We also got some really yummy ice cream from a place called United Dairy Farmers, a store which also doubles as a service station. We decided to try the flavors English Toffee and Sea Salt Caramel. They were yummy!! Since Grammy had never had a sea salt caramel before I told her I would mail some to her. We enjoyed hearing stories about Grammy's kids and her son Rick who we met yesterday. They all love to tease and play jokes on each other. Sounds like my kind of family. In fact yesterday Rick tried t convince me that his mother had broken her nose five times in her life. I almost believed it until he started laughing. Call me GULLIBLE. I told him I was usually fair game at home too, but that I had far more people ganging up to tease me. I wish I could meet the rest of her side of the family, but there might not be time.</div>
<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-79124190406580303042012-08-08T16:30:00.000-06:002012-08-08T16:30:25.587-06:00Ohi-o!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I never knew that Cincinnati had a bridge for "purple people." I guess this gives the song "purple people eater" new merit. However, today we went across the "Purple People Bridge" designed by M.J. Becker, to go from Newport, Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio.<br />
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The purple bridge was once used for all traffic. There are remnants of a narrow two lane road, a pedestrian lane and on the other side of the bridge was a train line. It was last used for automotive traffic in the 1970's, by then automobiles were much larger and according to Uncle Rick the buses took up most of the bridge as would go across.<br />
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It also had a bridge walk that allowed pedestrians to walk up flights of stairs along the top of the structure and stop in the middle above a plexiglass section. It has since been converted to a pedestrians only bridge. Planters of beautiful flowers have been added and the train side of the bridge has been closed off to traffic.<br />
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In addition to the purple bridge there are at least three other bridges. There's "Big Mac," the "York Street Bridge," and the "Blue Bridge" that is a suspension bridge modeled after one of the bridges in New York. <br />
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Afterward we went to the Cincinnatus Park, which runs along the Ohio River to the International Garden.<br />
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Located in between the parks is one of the first "water works" in the country.<br />
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What is left, is more the shell with the remnants of metal piping running through the walls and the remainder of a cistern. Many of the original windows were bricked up or blocked with metal bars. Parts of the fourth wall have been removed and a park has taken over the interior of the original building.<br />
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The walk along the Kentucky side of the river was a charming little shopping and dining area.<br />
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LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-15551727800779174262012-08-07T12:46:00.000-06:002012-08-07T12:46:27.711-06:00Goats, Lambs and Family History<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O89cE77s9KqumKWlhAbnF6YB-0jglc32nhvG0RF2Jp_L1eszx9mxGuWye0qyXSvYQD_LUe-AsFXcVb3eXnXGlZCdOCJPN2BN-A0QCN-08mofEp0thIlGWtI7H8aFgF93jEHFp4qS6dg/s1600/IMGP4959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_O89cE77s9KqumKWlhAbnF6YB-0jglc32nhvG0RF2Jp_L1eszx9mxGuWye0qyXSvYQD_LUe-AsFXcVb3eXnXGlZCdOCJPN2BN-A0QCN-08mofEp0thIlGWtI7H8aFgF93jEHFp4qS6dg/s400/IMGP4959.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh (38 years old)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kyO4AE3mwrW7bRX_XoZYOnbzHapoW31Gm615gZeRhmmlpBFtN7LfrQNn5wU6GCtAvw47i5ilgSJSTXk7fsVVxLnjNIw8rVmH0ZBgmI63F90CmcRDr78Wj1wsx7SC04sSaEq42weg1_A/s1600/IMGP4917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kyO4AE3mwrW7bRX_XoZYOnbzHapoW31Gm615gZeRhmmlpBFtN7LfrQNn5wU6GCtAvw47i5ilgSJSTXk7fsVVxLnjNIw8rVmH0ZBgmI63F90CmcRDr78Wj1wsx7SC04sSaEq42weg1_A/s400/IMGP4917.JPG" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandpa Bob Root (45 years old)</td></tr>
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Through one of my husband's paternal lines the Fishburns of Kansas there has evolved a yearly event called appropriately the Fishburn Family Goat Roast. Everyone travels to Kansas and "roughs it" as Grammy likes to say. </div>
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They have a family auction, an annual hat competition and celebrate a
long and rich family history. Though we have not yet been able to go to
the annual shin-dig we've heard all the stories from our dear Grammy
and Grandpa Root. </div>
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According to Grandpa it started out as a cousins reunion for the 35 Fishburn cousins that took place as on of his cousin's farm. He said it took place in November due to the farmers' growing season. One of the meats that was cooked that year was a goat, so they decided that the next year they would have the reunion again and the next year they would start calling it a goat roast.<br />
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Goats it seems have played a large part of the family's life. So since it is the goat roast the theme is goats and family history. Grandpa has goats all over the house that were purchases from the auction and even models of past contributions to the Goat Roast. Grandpa collects goats.<br />
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Grammy is a University of Kentucky fan, "true blue" as she would say. She has decorated her game room in blue and white and wildcats. She loves her basketball team. Her other passion is dolls.</div>
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-24583861437282578212012-08-06T17:14:00.003-06:002012-08-06T17:14:58.161-06:00Kentucky Fried<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Howdy from Kentucky! We finally made it here to visit Grammy and Grandpa Root. After the standby flying fiasco last year we made sure to buy tickets this year. I ended up managing to get a cold, and by the time we got into Cincinnati I was super congested.<br />
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We went to White Castle, a fast food chain based mainly in the east. Josh said, "White Castle has a sandwich they call "Sliders". I couldn't figure out why at the time. After a few hours... I found out. They have little fried sandwiches on dinner rolls mostly grease with a little beef and onions (mine was fired halibut and cheese).<br />
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Yesterday, we started out with Grammy's big southern breakfast with ham, bacon, fresh eggs, toast, cinnamon rolls, and a fruit salad. Unfortunately she realized to late she was out of grits. It turned out she had three boxes of corn meal instead.<br />
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Then we got a tour of Grammy's garden. She showed us her flowers and trees in all their variety.<br />
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She's most proud of her crépe myrtle and her her redbud trees.<br />
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Grammy says that she has 30 different roses in her garden, and that it is a pity we visited after they were done blooming.<br />
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They showed us the rocks that they had. Many of the large stones that make up the paths in the garden are fossils they dug up on this very property. You can see the fossils of shell fish, showing that this area was probably underwater at one point. </div>
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The other notable rock was "The Pebble" a rock that Grammy brought with them from their home in Crown Point, Indiana. It's got a beautiful layers on it that sparkle in the sun almost like a granite crossed with an oyster shell.</div>
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Grammy also loves to decorate with seashells they have picked up over the years on their trips to Florida during the winter. Grammy calls Panama Beach their second home.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-49444586576762161602012-07-02T08:42:00.001-06:002012-07-02T08:42:23.876-06:00Two Charming Ladies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's amazing how children grow and change. Until you are around them on a regular basis you never remark on what things must be taught, but also what they pick up. I've heard children compared to sponges, always observing and mimicking the behavior they are surrounded by.<br />
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Recently I've been working on manners with the girls. Please, thank you, your welcome and best of all chewing with our mouths closed. Mirna was so proud of herself for being able to eat politely like a big girl.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1931294573442722539.post-28647786468755549782012-06-11T06:52:00.000-06:002012-06-11T06:52:47.399-06:00Released from Bondage!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's amazing how changing one's appearance can liberate one's soul. It's been about two weeks since I cut 14+ inches of hair off my head and I feel amazing. It also helps that I was able to fit into a skirt I haven't fit into in over a year and a half yesterday. <br />
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I think a body goes along comfortable in a set routine and forgets what it is to take pride in one 's appearance. Enough with complacency, as Marina said to me on Saturday, "You need some refreshing!" I definitely feel refreshed after not only shedding the weight of all that hair but in donning a new do and embracing change.<br />
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<br />LACEE BLACKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14164051243519890332noreply@blogger.com1