Cairo...

Our first stop in Cario was to take a ride on a camel. It was pretty cool, but something I would probably never do again. Camels are yucky!

The camel owner made us kiss...it was pretty cute.

Here are the Pyramids of Giza. The one on the left is actually the bigger of the three, but the 2nd one was built about on a hill about 10 yards higher than the other, so it has the illusion of looking bigger.

This is the 2nd tallest pyramid. We liked it the best because it still had some of the outer layer on it at the top.

After going to the pyramids, we visited the Sphinx.

Then we went to Memphis where we saw this enormous statue of Ramses II. They found it buried in the sand and his legs had eroded.

Finally, we went to the Step Pyramid, which is the very first pyramid ever built.

On our second day in Cairo, we visited the Egyptian Museum. We couldn't even take our camera in, so I don't have any pictures to share.

Athens...

Our hotel room had an awesome view of the Aegean Sea. On one of our days in Athens, we spent a very relaxing day at the beach. The water was freezing, but very clear.

Our first stop in Athens was to visit the Acropolis...

...where we were able to see the Parthenon.

From the Acropolis, we could see Lycabettus Hill. Later in the day, we actually climbed up most of that hill and then took a cable car the rest of the way.

We also took a one day cruise to visit three Greek islands...Poros, Hydra, and Aegina.

Our first stop was the island of Poros.

Then we went to Hydra. We liked this island the best. No cars were allowed on the island and everything was so beautiful.

Lastly, we stopped at Aegina, famous for pistachios!

Rome...

In Rome, we visited the Colosseum first. It was spectacular inside and out.

It could hold up to 50,000 people. Quite amazing to see.

Everywhere we went in the city, we found fountains or faucets with cold water that was safe to drink. It tasted really good too. We only had to buy 2 bottles of water and the rest we got for free!

We climbed up the Spanish Steps and at the top enjoyed some gelato (really good ice cream)!

Inside the Pantheon...

...and then on to the Trevi Fountain.

We took a day trip to climb Mt. Vesuvius...the most dangerous volcano in the world!

We also went to Pompeii, the city that was destroyed by an eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.

The volcanic ash eruption preserved a lot of the city. While excavating, large cavities were found. The excavators filled the holes with plaster and found perfect representations of people who died from asphyxiation. This plaster cast shows a person covering their mouth just awaiting death...so sad.

Our last stop in Rome was to Vatican City. We saw the museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Square, and St. Peter's Basilica. Everything was amazing.

Paris...

Our first stop in Paris was to visit the Sacre-Couer Basilica.

Then of course, on to the Eiffel Tower.

The next day, we went to the Palace of Versailles...

...and then to the Louvre Museum.

We also went up the Eiffel Tower and saw some amazing views.

The Notre Dame Cathedral was really neat to see as well.

Where has the time gone??

Yes, I know it's been awhile since my last post, but in between that post and this one a lot has happened. I was in charge of prom this year, so I had a busy spring, but it came and went without a hitch. The students loved it and had a great time. We held it at the Peoria Zoo Zambezi River Lodge, and I would definitely go back there if I had to help plan another prom. I also finished up with grad school a week after prom, so I am officially done with classes! Jason finished up with grad school last December, and he just got his graduation present...

It's soooo tall!! He and Matt are off on his first ride this morning.

Also this spring, my camera decided to start putting lines through all my pictures. (Alas, why you haven't really seen any pictures until now...) Therefore, my graduation present was a new camera. I decided on a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55. I've only used it to take the pictures above, so I'm not sure if I'll like it, but so far it's not a bad little camera.

School is almost out for this year, and has gone by faster than the previous 3 years. I'm really looking forward to the end of the year because If you haven't heard already, Jason and I are taking a trip to Paris, Rome, Athens, and Cairo this summer. We're really excited and can't wait to go, so be looking forward to those pictures! Ta-ta for now!

Backsplash Complete

Woohoo...the receipt from Menard's said we bought our tile and grout in August of last year. In March, it's done. Enjoy the pictures!

Almost there...

Jason finished up the tiling a week or so ago...

...and as I type he's working on the grout. Looking good!

Backsplash!

Project underway!

First tile! Super exciting!

Looking awesome! So proud of Jason for taking on this project!

Funny side note: After I posted this I looked back at what I wrote and I only used exclamation points. Not on purpose...but I'm totally dedicating this post to Jason due to the quantity of exclamation points!!

What are those noises??

So...I came home from work today and heard sounds coming from the fireplace area. I thought maybe the wind was blowing hard causing the noises. Jason came home from work and of course, no sounds. We were upstairs making supper, and we both heard something sound like it was banging around in the chimney. At this point, we wondered if the noises were coming from a bird that got stuck, so Jason went up on the roof to investigate, but to no avail, he couldn't see anything. During supper, we concluded that there was definitely some sort of animal in distress inside the chimney. So Jason went back up on the attic with a more powerful flashlight and some twine with a metal piece on the end. I heard a couple struggles and nails scratching against the tin. Jason came back inside and reveled that we have a squirrel inside our chimney. Joy!

He thought about how to get it out and put a really long piece of trim down inside the chimney. After he came back inside we thought we heard the squirrel climbing up, but as I type this I just heard a loud thud on the baffle (is that what you call it?)...so he fell. Well, let's hope that he gets out (or dies) because all these noises are driving me crazy.

Any ideas on getting animals out of a chimney??

26!

Happy Birthday Jason!

Love,

Your Wife

Yay for insulation!

Jason and his dad were hard at work this weekend in the garage. Despite the below average temperatures, they were able to get all the insulation in the garage and attic, as well as install a few more electrical outlets. They'll be back at it in a few weeks putting up the drywall.

My oh my...

Project time! Jason's done with school and his list is a mile long. :) First on the list... insulating the garage. It's an ice bucket in the winter and the walls sweat with condensation which then drips off the ceiling onto everything, including tools. So...Jason started taking down the drywall on one of the coldest weeks we've had this winter. It's around 5 to 10 degrees outside. He claims his new coat kept him warm.

Photo Art

Love it! All the photos were taken by my mom except the dandelion puff (thanks Kim!). It's so cool to have something like this where the pictures actually mean something. The C is a chair in my mom's office. The L is the door handle on my parent's kitchen door. The O was a random puff ball found in Kim's yard in winter. The W is a wrought iron chair on Mary's (my parent's neighbor) back porch. And my dad wrote the Est. 2006 in a sand pile at his shop. Very cool and it was a really great surprise. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Jason graduated!

So most of you know that Jason has been working on his master's degree from U of I since the fall of 2006. It's been a hard journey for him and we were sweating it for awhile, but he finally graduated! Since he didn't go to the real graduation ceremony, I dug out my old graduation regalia and we made do with what we had.

We've had a great 2009, and we're looking forward to what 2010 will bring us. Have a safe and prosperous new year!