Last Day of 2008-- spent on the slopes.

Scott and Chance skied at Heavenly on the Nevada side. (Boulder)  It is much quieter there then the popular downtown Tahoe areas.  

Chance had regressed in his skiing abilities and we reluctantly paid for another skiing lesson-- just to help him find his confidence and remember his skills.  (this is where we could really use a skiing pal for Chance-- it would save us a bundle)   By the end I was pleased that he was doing better.  However, I was not happy that they took the kids back 45 min. before pick-up.  I asked the instructor if I could just check him out at the 'magic carpet' and keep him skiing.  She would not let me-- I was not happy with that!  We unfortunately have had lots of experience with ski lessons due to our stubborn son and his ability to manipulate the instructors into thinking he has a stomach ache.  (the last ski lesson(s) 2 years ago, he found he could just hang out at the lodge drinking hot chocolate!)  So since he was skiing and having fun- that is were I wanted him to stay- not back at the lodge having hot chocolate before the parents come to pick-up.  Anyway, enough of that!  It is making my blood boil.   

Chance doing the wedge

Looking Good

 

A few runs on the sledding hill-- as I promised if he would be a brave skier!

The look of pure happiness

For New Years Eve Dinner we ate at the Tahoe Pizza (something).  This is the boys while we wait for the food!

Pepperoni Pizza and Garden Vegetable Pizza on whole wheat crust.  (green in the middle is avocado)   It was delicious-- highly recommended!    Chance recommends it enthusiastically.

Dig in-- we saved you a few slices!

Email from Jordan- Day 5

After Jordan sent the picture of the Windsor Castle,  Scott replied with "Cool, how are things?"

Jordan replied back   

"Really good .... Breakfast is always really good, I had the best fish and chips yesterday. I also saw the royal jewels (the crown, solid gold china sets and really big diamonds)"

Sounds like he is not starving!  The Royal Jewels had to be an eye popper.

Happy Birthday Tyler!

Tyler means 'tiler of roofs'

An occupational surname in Old English.

Tyler is my nephew.  Son of Lori and Coeby (my brother).  Tyler is such a good boy.  I am always amazed at how obedient he is.  Such a contrast from my kids. 

Tyler turns 7 today!  That would be 3 nephews that have turned 7 in the last 5 weeks.  Tyler finishes out the year with the New Years Eve Birthday.  (However, I have one to catch up on when I get word on my sister Erica's baby- word is she was being induced on the 30th)

This is Tyler in the baseball hat.  He is jumping on the trampline at Brenda's with his cousins. 

July 2007

Tyler with cousin Dallin- Aug 2008

Making a really good scary face with his cousins.  July 2007

Happy Birthday Tyler!  Have a really good one-- what a special day for you and everyone around the world celebrating this Day!   And I will be thinking of you as we celebrate the last day of 2008.   Tyler you are so full of love, thanks for accepting me as your Aunt.  Love You!   With lots of hugs,  Aunt Karalene

Tour of Stratford and Oxford- Day 5

Sunny/Cool

40/29

The weather has been great in London-- no rain-- which is typical for this time of year. 

Today the band will depart the hotel at 8 am for Stratford.  

From 10 am- 1pm they visit Stratford on Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace, and visit the shops in the town.  They will have lunch in Stratford.

From 2pm to 4:30pm they will be in Oxford, known as the 'city of dreaming spires'.  The guide will walk them down the most famous streets and will include entrance to one of the colleges.

 

They will return to the hotel for dinner at 7:00 pm in the Plaza suite of the hotel.   At 8:30 pm they will be treated to a New Years Eve Party in the the Plaza suite.  At midnight-- the party is over and it is time to go to bed.... for the BIG day is tomorrow!

How to see Jordan march in the London New Years Day Parade... can you believe that we have not been able to get any local TV stations to broadcast it!!    This is watching info from our band contact--

London NEW YEAR'S DAY PARADE WILL BE BROADCAST LIVE

January 1  4:00 a.m. (PST)  Channel 21 on Time Warner
 GO TO THIS LINK:  Channel 21

Click on "21 TV Live"

You may need RealPlayer (add or upgrade) so try this out now to be sure it works on your computer.  I did it today and everything worked.

 Yes, you will be watching this on your computer, unless you are savvy enough to hook it up to your large screen TV.

 

This station broadcasts the parade since their hometown marching band - Lincoln East -  is also in the parade.  (See, learn more about their band at

Lincoln East High School Marching Band )  The station will also rebroadcast it, although the rebroadcast will be edited to focus on their band.

What could be more fun then Snow!

Because I could hardly stand any more of this...

This....

or this!

And Scott could not sit still for the week at home-- we left all the mess and ...

We went here-- South Lake Tahoe  (picture from the truck)

Snow camping in our Airstream.   

We drove up Monday.  Tuesday went sledding for an hour in the morning.  That was a thrill enough for me-- zooming down an icy hill!  (Sorry no pics--did not have the camera!)

Chance spent the rest of the day until 5:00 playing in the snow at the campground-- and even at that we had to force him to come inside.

Someone else's snowmen-- too cute, needed a picture.

Rolling in the snow.

Snow Angel

Watch out!

Did he get you?

I played "snowball fight" with him for awhile-- we each had snowplowed forts.  Scott played "snowball fight" with him and pulled him around on the sleigh.  Turns out that snow is the best playground for Chance!

Picture from Jordan- Day 4

We have not received any emails from Jordan since Sunday.  We did get this picture today, with only the words... 'Windsor Castle'!

He is missing in the picture... hoping he is getting some of himself.  But this is a cool picture none the less!

Windsor Tour- Day 4

Sunny/Cold

40/29

Departing at 9:00 am Jordan will spend the morning in Windsor.  They will tour the Windsor Castle, entrance includes a visit inside of the Royal Apartments.   The rest of the time will be spend walking and exploring the town.   They will return by bus at 12:30 pm.

They will arrive at the Tower of London at 1:15 pm.  Eat lunch at leisure.  The afternoon will be spent at the Tower of London.  They have a guided tour with a resident Beefeater who guards the tower for the Queen.   He will see the Bloody Tower, Traitors Gate, and the Jewel house- where the Crown Jewels are on display.

They will return back to the hotel by underground.   He has vouchers for Dinner that can be used at many restaurants in London.  

Tonight they will see the hit musical "We Will Rock You" at the Dominion Theatre.  A musical centered around the music from Queen.

Another full day!

London Tour- Day 3

Hopefully Jordan has had a good nights sleep!  Continental Breakfast is served at 7:00 am.   He will have a guided four hour bus tour starting at 9:00 am and ending at 1:00 pm.   His tour will include London's most famous landmarks,  Westminster Abbey, Two houses of Parliament, Palace of Westminster, and the Tower of London.  He will not get to tour the landmarks themselves, but will get to stop for pictures.   

Big Ben, Westminster Abbey-- note the London Eye at the end of the street.

There are two afternoons and all day Friday that are free time.  We had a group of parents come up with a lot of choices for the kids to do according to their budget and interests.  Today is one of those afternoons.   Jordan will either be going to the London Eye or Natural Science Museum.  We will say it is the London Eye.   

The London Eye is the largest Ferris Wheel in Europe.  It gives spectacular views of London.  It contains 35 capsules, holding up to 28 people.   Jordan will be using 13 GBP to pay for his ride.  That is the equivalent of $23.   

Dinner will be at 5:30 pm.  They will take a "luxury" coach to Pub Restaurant.  Hope he likes the English food!

In the evening the Wind Ensemble will be performing at "Music for London" Gala Concert.   Jordan is not in Wind Ensemble,  I do not know if they are attending the concert or if they have down time the rest of the evening.

Happy Birthday Jaidyn!

Jaidyn means Thankful

Jaidyn is my niece.  Daughter of Kristen and my brother, Nielson.   She turned 13 today!  She has beautiful dark hair and olive skin that highlights her beautiful smile.    And we are so thankful to have her in our family. 

This is Jaidyn helping Kristen with her tree.  (love the "joy" signs)

A picture I took of Jaidyn in August-- just for this post.  Nothing like being put on the spot.

I love this picture of Jaidyn.  Taken July 2007 at Deer Creek.

Happy Birthday Jaidyn.  I hope it has been a good one.  I love your sweet smile.  And I am still waiting for you to accept me as a friend on facebook!    Love you,  Aunt Karalene

Happy Birthday Easton!

Easton is of Old English origins and means East Town

Easton is my nephew, son of my sister Marlo and her husband Jared.  Easton turned 7 today!     This is Chance and Easton in October.  Easton is trying to get the infamous hot chocolate packet away from Chance.

It was a fun game!

This is Easton with sister Brianne and Chance-- it is the silly pose and he hams it up!

Courtesy of my sister's blog-- Easton and baby brother Jace.  Easton is telling Jace about Christmas and asking him if he is excited to open his present.  What a sweet big brother!

Easton's birthday present-- he likes transformers.

Happy Birthday Easton!  I got to read all about your day on your mom's blog-- I was glad she shared your special celebration.  In her post Mom said she was not able to make your cake like she planned, but you were was easy to please and loved it.   "Easy to Please"-- that is such a great trait to have.    When I visit you have big, big hugs for me.  I wish I could give you a big hug for your birthday.   Thanks for being such a sweetheart for you mom and family.   I love you,  Aunt Karalene

Emails from Jordan-Day 2

Jordan is able to send emails from the hotel's WiFi.  Yipee-- we can hear from him and get bits of news.

"Just landed in London... it's cold."

"We are the last performing group in the New Years Day Parade and it is a real honor."

The Hotel in London- Day 2

Sunny/Cold   41 degree high

Jordan's plane arrives in Heathrow at 1:30 am our time, 9:30 am London time.  I actually am writing this around the  time he should be arriving, I am still up-just getting back from Safe Rides.

From Heathrow they will board "luxury" buses that will take them to their hotel,  the Park Plaza Riverbank, click here for a tour.  I like the exterior view.  I did not see his type of room in the tour.  This impressive hotel is perfectly situated on the south bank of the River Thames, opposite the Tate Britain art gallery and close to Westminster, Waterloo and Vauxhall rail and underground station. Park Plaza Riverbank London is within walking distance of some of London's most visited attractions, including the London Eye, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, the Tate Modern art gallery, Buckingham Palace and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Jordan shares his room with his friend Chris.   They each have a twin bed and there is a full bathroom in the room.   Mr Grantham chose this hotel because of it's more Americanized amenities. They have one US plug- so Jordan brought a recommended power strip. He will get his room and key and have about 10 minutes in the room before he needs to report back.  Mr. Grantham (band director) said that they are not to take a nap, they will need to stay awake until it is time for bed London time.

Jordan will then eat lunch and spend the day getting familiar with his surroundings.  They will purchase tickets for the tube- underground transportation system and various other things they need to see or do to get out of the way and be ready for their week. 

Dinner will be served in the hotel @ 6:30 pm.   They will have rehearsal at 7:30 pm in the Ballroom.  At this time the RA's will unpack the uniform boxes.  When rehearsal is done Jordan will grab his uniform and head to his room.   Bedtime is 10:00 pm.  I am thinking he will not have any trouble falling asleep.    He has just spent his first 12 hours in London!

London Bound- Day 1

The day has finally come!  Jordan is off to London with his HS marching band.  I will be posting his daily activities for each day.  I have the London time in the sidebar so you know what time it is for him.

At 11:00 am I dropped him off at the school.  I got a nice picture of him,  thanks Jordan for letting your Mama take a picture.

11:15 am  Band Room-- there is excitement in the air.

Getting instructions- he is about middle to the right a bit.

Jordan is assigned a London family, however this is his travel family.   London Family are his friends he signed up to be with, travel family are assigned alphabetically-- these are the R's that are near his name.  They have a RA- responsible adult (parent) who is assigned to them-- she is also an R.

Jordan's family heading to the buses-- 179 students are going to London.

The charter bus taking them to the SFO.  Jordan and 3 other boys are assigned luggage duty for bus 2.

12:00 pm  Bon voyage!

These are the text messages Jordan sent.

12:24 pm- Just passed airport

1:01 pm- Checking in

2:32 pm- Through security...Getting food

3:01 pm- Flight number, BA284.  Eating Pizza

3:53 pm- On plane...Love you

And that is the last we will be hearing from Jordan for a week.  (unless it is an emergency)

He will be on the plane for 9-10 hours, arriving in London Sunday morning @ 10:00 am.  Right now he should be settling down for a long nap-- 

To track his flight-- click here-- it is pretty cool.

Happy Birthday Duane!

Duane means "Swarthy"

So it seems swarthy is the word of the month.  Do you remember what it means?  Well it does not necessarily describe my brother  He has a light brown hair and blue eyes.   But you could say that his name is prophetic.  Swarthy - beautiful dark skin, dark hair - would describe his family.

Duane is my brother, the 3rd of four boys.  He is 35 today!   Nielson and Duane are 11 months apart; born in the same year.   Yes, my Mama gave birth to 2 boys in the same year, one in January, the other in December.  They were often mistaken for twins. 

Family Picture from 1975.  Marlo is the baby (this is like one of two baby pictures of her).  Duane is on the end near my dad, Nielson is on the the other end.

So about Duane... he is pretty quiet.   Hayden, his oldest son, reminds me of Duane growing up, smart and athletic and quiet.    I tell Shana, Duane's wife, and she says they are not quiet at home... I would like to see that. 

I kept my first checkbook register from HS, in there I have a few checks written out to Duane. They were for doing the dishes,  $5.00.   In my teens I was pretty busy with work, school, and extra-curricular activities--- I paid my siblings to do my chores.   Duane obviously was available and up for the job. 

Duane comes up to my vicinity for work and when he can he drives over for a visit.  I am always in awe over his calmness,  unpretentiousness, and sincerity.   We got to spend the 4th of July with him and his family (and Marlo's family too) at El Capitan State Beach and at the parade in Solvang.    Here he is with Aisha, his daughter.   Duane liked boogie boarding, I also read that him and his family like snow skiing!  We will have to get together for that, not because I like to ski, but my family does.

Now Duane,  since Coeby was forced to do the Elf dance,  it would only be fair that you do the same.   And it is just like you to do it with a smile on your face!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Duane!  I hope you have a fantastic day and that it does not feel like the day after Christmas, but your own special day!  If you were in Canada, Great Britain or South Africa, you would have to share it with Boxing Day!  See a silver lining after all!  

 Love you,  Karalene