Those Were the Days...

I borrowed a high quality slide scanner from a photographer friend to scan in a couple hundred old slides that my Aunt Jill had. Although a long process, it's a rewarding one. The slides come to life in nice big photos. I loved looking at the photos and feeling like I was there for the moment. In today's world of cell phones, computers and constant interruption, it's so nice to look back to simpler times. The photos made me happy and sad. Sad to no longer have my Grandparents but happy to see them when they were young and full of life with family. Please click on the photos to see a more detailed and larger view. I think some of the expression gets lost with the template sized photos.


Here's my Mom on graduation day (from High School). People always say I look just like her. This photo might have convinced me. I can only imagine how proud my Grandparents were. I'm a bit like my Mom as I'm not one to "shine" for the camera. Keep those things away from me! However, my Mom showed a sincere smile for this photo and it definitely made her shine.


Wow! I really love this photo. I'm not sure who was taking the photo. I suspect it might have been my Grandfather. I'm not sure that the double exposure was on purpose, but what a perfect mistake. Look how the baby's eyes (cousin Chris) are closed and in the double exposure they're open. It's as if the baby is dreaming about it surroundings. Look how the mother (Aunt Julie) is looking at her baby. One can only imagine all the thoughts... excitement, joy and worry of being a new Mom.


My Grandmother and my Uncle Tom. Grandmother was a great Mom and it just shows in the beaming face of Tom. I love how beautiful, young and vibrant my Grandmother looks. She was such a soft hearted person and I can't help but feel happiness when I see photos of her like this.


By the hammer on the deck of the raft, I suspect my Grandfather just completed this raft on Portage Lake where their cabin was. As a child, I spent a lot of time at their cabin as well as jumping off that raft. He built it to last like everything he built (including the cabin). Our family spent lots of time doing water activities in the summer. On the raft from left (in the striped t-shirt with short sleeves) are Aunt Julie, my Mom (Joan--in the large stripe 3/4 length striped shirt), Aunt Jill, Grandfather, Grandma, neighbors at lake, Isabel Snyder (lady in green sweater) and Irene and Dick Dressel (Dick is leaning over a boat motor and Irene is in the blue sweater).



The beach scene. See we really are a family that likes to be near water... even if it's freezing. I'm sure my Aunt Jill has the story. If she fills me in I'll update the caption. I thought it was a cool photo because I know my Grandfather was taking the photo with my cousin Tim in his arms. I'm sure the others were wondering why the baby wasn't in photo. From left to right, my Grandma, Aunt Jill, her little brother and my Uncle Tom, and Uncle Steve. Clearly, there were no such things as beach shoes.

The Spare Bathroom Completed

I admit it... it took me FOREVER to finish the spare bathroom. I think I gutted it over a year ago and then procrastinated for a very long time. I found it useful to use for a closet. I'm not sure my house guest in February would find that convenient so I started working on it in December.


I cut down the floor stone to make the shower border. If you buy the border separately, it's quite pricey. I saved big bucks by taking the extra time to cut the sheets of rock.


The new toilet is a Toto. I've never been into toilets but I have to admit this one is really cool. I love the half and full flush option (like in Europe) and it has a soft close seat. It's not super compact but the shape and design opened up the space a little.


We put in a mirror that can be tilted up or down. This is nice for personal preference and height differences. The towel bar on the pedestal is really nice. I put hooks on the back of the door and the "invisible" towel holder on the wall. That eliminated the need for a towel bar.

Exciting Day in The Valley of the Sun

Wow! Has this weekend been action-packed. First, the Cardinals are actually going to the Super Bowl. Matt went to the game, so I'm sure I'll hear all about the craziness when he gets home.

Then the East Valley (Phoenix, Tempe & Scottsdale) saw record numbers of runners for PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll Marathon & Half Marathon. Being amongst the crowd of runners, I can say that this event is just a little too big. Did it, got the shirt and I'm done. Before I even started, my heels got stepped on about 5 times. I think that was a sign of things to come. The water areas were slow and slippery. When I realized I wasn't going to meet my time goal (2 hours) I checked out mentally around mile 8 or 9. I decided not to beat myself up. I probably shouldn't have attempted a half marathon only 6 weeks after doing a full. I finished in 2:15 (unofficial--that's what my Garmin said). Considering my time was 2:08 at the halfway point of The Tucson Marathon (which I ran the full or 26.2 miles), it was not a good time for me.

The best part of the event was participating with some of my boot camp buddies. We had some good laughs. I'm happy the run is over and looking forward to getting the Cardinals game review from Matt over a nice dinner and a glass of wine.

Next up is the Ragnar Del Sol. I'm really looking forward to that event as it will be relatively short (but challenging) runs. My legs are a total of 18.2 miles.

Glorious Day...

The nice thing about being a pet in our household is every day is like Christmas. We spoil our pets rotten. Luckily, pets are pretty easy to please. Kobi is quite content this morning after having his Christmas egg and sausage for breakfast. It's rainy and cold today so he also got a dose of his prescription medication for arthritis. I can always tell when he is a little lame. He's doing pretty good for a 14 year old dog. He has no issues eating and he still sprints to the door if he thinks Matt is bringing him steak from Durant's.

The cats are happy to have a nice fleecy blanket to cuddle on when it's cold (Chili and Pepper).

Sparky lives up to his name each and every day. Here he is modeling Matt's snowboard.


Merry Christmas! May your holiday be filled with small comforts and great happiness.

I DID it! Check another thing off the list...

Last Sunday my running buddy, Heidi and I completed the Tucson Marathon. It was my first marathon and for Heidi it was her 5th.

First, I just want to say that it's an incredible feeling to have finished my first marathon and it was so nice to have Heidi there with me all the way. We finished together in 4:31 and a few seconds. I'm totally happy with that.

The day started out with a traffic jam of runners trying to get to the buses that took us to the starting line. Heidi and I had to bail out of the car (Matt was driving us to the buses) and walk to the buses for fear we weren't going to make it on time (they said the LAST buses would leave at 6 a.m. and it was 5:50 with traffic not moving). Luckily, we didn't have to walk too far and the buses were waiting because lots of participants were stuck in the jam. Then our bus driver wanted to drop us off at the half marathon starting point. Everyone on the bus was doing the full marathon and so the bus driver figured it out after people started freaking out. We made it to the start in Oracle 40 minutes before. We had enough time to stand in the porta john line and stretch out. We started on time at 7:30 a.m. It wasn't that cold so I took off all my throw-a-way layers right from the start. The weather was really nice for the marathon. A little overcast so we didn't have to worry about heat later in the day but warm enough that we weren't freezing at the start.

Then we ran down, down, down then up, up, up... down, up, down, up for awhile. Finally it flattened out between mile 6-11 until we did the Biosphere loop. That was mostly up with a little down. We were relieved to get done with that and I think that our best running was between mile 13 and 18.

Matt was a trooper and was at mile 18 (they didn't let spectators go to the start and there were no spectator spots until mile 18) with a nice sugary Coke for me. He also saw us at mile 20 and 22. I think we still looked ok then but our bodies were screaming bloody murder!

I took a peek at our times at certain checkpoints and we were running a 10 minute and under pace for the first 18 miles. In fact at the 15 mile we were running a 9:39 pace. However, that last 6 miles is everything it's rumored to be... We really started to slow down as our bodies were starting to really hurt and break down. We started stopping at every water break (They were our savor towards the end). Still with all that, there were lot's of positives. We passed people carrying batons (so we were passing the relay teams) and we really ran the whole marathon comfortably until the last 6 miles.

We learned that the Tucson marathon had as much uphill as it did downhill. My personal opinion (probably Heidi's as well) is that one cannot call the Tucson marathon a "downhill" marathon anymore.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! Now I know what to expect and how to prepare. Maybe there will be another marathon for me sometime in 2009.

Now my focus will be to recover and focus on the PF Chang's half marathon. My goal is to work on building some speed and getting the half done under 2 hours. During the marathon, I took note of our time at the 13 mile mark and Heidi and I were at 2:08. We were running conservatively so I think my half marathon goal is pretty reasonable.

Here's a few photos taken by Matt in between mile 18 and 22 and one at the finish.


While Heidi and I were getting started, Matt took a nice photo from our hotel room balcony. As you can see it was a nice overcast day and the perfect temperature for running a marathon.


Geesh... we look pretty happy here. I think we saw the water station! Matt took these photos so we had already run at least 18 miles.


The last part of the marathon we ran in a lane blocked off on the highway. It was kind of nice seeing all the people waving and honking in their cars. Towards the end of the marathon, any encouragement is greatly appreciated.


Just after we went through the finish line together. Huge smiles of relief. Please forgive my disheveled look and forgetting to take my goofy sunglasses off... after all, I did just run a MARATHON!

Home Improvement Update

After gutting our spare bathroom a year or more ago (I can't even remember when I did it... kinda scary.), I decided to get the ball rolling. My goal is to have it done by Matt's birthday (December 17) as he has suffered long enough sharing a bathroom with me.

My goal for this project is to make a tiny bathroom appear a bit more roomy. It previously had a vanity that took up one whole corner, a not-so-nice looking tub and fixtures that were a bit ugly. There's no natural light to this bathroom and we got a "no can do" from the Solatube representative. Apparently, because of how our roof is and the location of air conditioner there wasn't a way to feed tubes through and get direct light. Without natural light, the room is needing some light colors and fixtures that help brighten. To help make the room feel bigger we're opting for a pedestal sink and a more compact toilet.

That being said, in between all my other weekend activities, I've been taking a few moments to work on tiling the shower.
I did some grouting today and the results are below. Next up is tiling the floor and walls with perhaps a wall project (also below).


The border tile is actually my floor tile as well. Cutting down my floor tile saved me quite a bit of money and it will tie in nicely. I'm also waiting on an order of bullnose from the tile store. I can trim out the top and the sides a little. The tile looks a little darker in the photos than it is.


Here's a photo towards the back of the tub. My brother, Alan, made a box for me to insert into the green (or in my case, purple) board. It was very nice of him, as my carpentry skills are lacking. However, it was a bit tricky because how I had intended it to fit was not how it ended up fitting. I had already done the other walls and gone half way up to where I wanted the recessed box but I had extra inches because of the thickness of the box base and top. I decided to continue with my brick pattern and just cut out around the box. Framing it with one inch pieces would have looked awkward as some of the frame would have been thinner than other parts and I'd have 2 grout lines right next to each other. I put the soap box at the back so it wouldn't get wet and gooey. It also keeps shampoo bottles and soap off the tops of the tub. Plus a recess box doesn't take away room by sticking out.

And yes... I do realize there is an area on the side of the tub not tiled. That will be later when I tile the floor and the walls.


Sorting through my home project idea book (I clip out things I like and stick them in a home improvement file) I found this recessed shelving unit. I'm thinking this would look really nice in the wall. Instead of the glass shelves (which would require more cleaning), I'm more likely to put in a towel bar above the toilet paper holder and reading rack. I'm good at cutting out holes in the wall, so I think I may give it a go. I may even attempt to do the carpentry myself this time.

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

This morning I ran the Anthem Turkey Trot with a few of my boot camp buddies (5K and 10K—half of us did the 10K and the other half the 5K). It was fun albeit a little trying for me today. I really need to stretch more... especially when the beginning of the race starts uphill. Nonetheless, we had a good time and only got rained on in the final 1.5 miles. It's also my Birthday today and I can't think of anything better than going out for a run to forget that I'm OLDER. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I will definitely be eating dessert this year!


Here we are all nice and wet and happy to be done with our run. From left, Jamee Hubler, Kim Rodgers, Me, Nikki Kuretich, Bridget McCormick and Claire Baud.

What's Next...

Just thought I would mention that I'm STILL running. I'm only 3 weeks away from the BIG ONE (marathon). Yikes! I get more and more nervous the closer it gets. This weekend is my last super long run before I start giving my body a little rest by cutting my mileage back. However, I don't want to totally slack off and so I'm doing a Thanksgiving/Birthday morning run. I'm signed up for the Anthem Turkey Trot 10K. My marathon training schedule says I should be doing 4-6 miles that day anyway. So I'll do 6.2 miles and practice running around people before my marathon. I have a few gals from boot camp that will be joining me and perhaps making me run a little quicker. It will be a nice way to spend my B-day morning AND not feel guilty about a big helping of mashed potatoes later.

One week after the Turkey Trot I'll be doing the Tucson Marathon. We start in Oracle (4000 ft altitude) and end up in Tucson (2000 ft). There's a lot of downhill and I've been told that it's a "fast" marathon. There will be lots of people trying for their Boston marathon qualifying time. Certainly, I will NOT be one of them. I've got a running buddy and we will be pushing each other to the finish. I suspect if we run like we have in training that we will have a respectable finish and one we will both either be proud of or want to improve on. I'll fill you all in when my epic day is over.

I could quit there but I figure I should just keep going and sign up for the PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll marathon 6 weeks later. I'll bypass the full marathon (that would be insane) and do a "short" run. (a.k.a the half marathon).

No stopping there... February 27-28, I'm signed up to run and co-captain on Adventure Boot Camp Dos' Ragnar Del Sol Relay . It's a team run from Wickenburg to Mesa, Arizona for a total of 187 miles. Luckily I only have to run 3 legs for a total of 15-18 miles. However, I will have to force my body to run 3 times within 24 hours and sometimes at an awkward time (middle of the night) without much sleep and there will be some evil hills to run up. We've got a good team and I think we are all competitive and will want to finish towards the top. Last year, there were 152 teams signed up so that will give you an idea of the competition.

In between all that, I will find a day or two during the week to re-bond with my scull. My boat has been neglected and I miss my quiet time on Tempe Town Lake. I think rowing will help my body actively recover after the marathon. It's going to be interesting to see how my boat handles sans the 20 lbs I no longer carry and I'll be bringing a renewed sense of confidence with me. There's always Desert Sprints (regatta) in March. Perhaps I'll "test the waters" again.

High Hopes...

Regardless of who you voted for, one can't help but feel proud of the reaction around the world upon the news of Barack Obama's win. It's pretty apparent that Barack Obama has given hope of peace all around the globe. Here's to the next fours year. It's time to start the healing...

World Reaction

Trip to Burgundy

Last week Matt and I went with his parents and Aunt and Uncle to the Bourgogne a.k.a Burgundy area of France. We stayed at the same place that we were two years ago near Macon (the closest large town with a supermarket). I really love this area with vineyards all around, rolling hills and farm country. The wines from the Burgundy region are wonderful and inexpensive and sans the extra sulfites that get added to the imported wines. Needless to say, we enjoyed a bottle or two and sometimes three every evening. The fun is the "degustation" or tasting at a Caveau (cellar) or driving up to small vineyards where the family winemakers let you taste.

I also got to experience running down the narrow country roads as I needed to get in some marathon training runs. I was a bit worried as my only recourse would be to jump in a very deep ditch if a driver didn't see me. After the first day, I learned that the French drivers are WAY more courteous than American drivers. They actually would turn on their signal to let me know they were moving over to the next lane and in the early morning, when it was still a little dark, they would give me a quick flick of their lights to acknowledge that they see me. I felt very safe and managed to get in a couple of shorter runs and a long run. The driveway to the condo we stayed in was a run in itself. A half mile all uphill which I did several times for the a good "buns of steel" workout.


Friendly, fat and happy French Cows. We met them on a walk to a chapel being restored close to our condo.


Jonni and Roger having a taste at a wine Caveau in Beaujeu with several wines from the Beaujeu area.


Matt and a view looking down on the town of Cluny.


Brouilly wines are hard to come by in the United States. They are in my opinion the best of the French Reds. Mont Brouilly is close to Beaujeu and we drove up to this small vineyard. Our hostess (behind the bottles) was very nice and we really enjoyed this vineyard and their Brouilly.


Matt Sr. and Wanda trying to decide what Brouillys to buy. This wine shop had all Brouilly wines. If only we were so lucky to have this selection in the U.S.!

Quick "e" Update

Every now and then, I'm reminded how lax I've been on my blog. Apparently, people are keeping tabs on me—which is kinda scary. But who am I to disappoint? So here's a few quickie comments on what's happening on the home front.

Arizona Weather
Still HOT! Although, we are enjoying cool mornings and now some cool evenings.

Running
It's official. I've actually paid money to run in the Tucson Marathon on December 7th. Now I'm going to be totally paranoid about getting injured. My longest training run so far has been 13 miles. At least I know I can complete a half marathon! October is the month where the training really gets ramped up. I'll be adding quite a bit more mileage. Who would have thought I could even run as far and as much as I have.

Travel
I just got back on Friday from a week in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I was cat sitting for my Aunt and Uncle. Good weather and a nice little hang out. The leaves were just starting to change when I left. Bummer.

Next trip is at the end of October to Burgundy, France. I'm looking forward to that. My marathon training will get me down some long country roads and fall should be in full swing. I'll make sure I get some photos to post.

Home Improvements
I'm finally tackling the "closet" or what is really the spare bathroom that's become a closet. It will be a bathroom again. Hopefully, I'll be able to eek out enough days between training and traveling to get some tile on walls and floors. We had a new tub installed last week. A new sink, toilet, lights and accessories will be installed after I get the tiling out of the way. My goal is to have it done before the holidays if not sooner.

We also got a new roof 3 weeks ago. We're quite happy with the roofing company and the roofers. They did A+ work!

A Job Change
Matt is now on day 2 of his new job at DDCI. He got recruited to help DDCI take a product they bought from Honeywell (that he formerly worked on) to the market. He'll have a couple more of his former Honeywell pals join him next week. Matt's always wanted to work on useful things. This will be his opportunity to finish something started and work for a company not afraid to get it to the market.

The Economy
Oh geesh... I made the mistake of taking a look at my portfolio yesterday. Yikes! The economy is in a freaky state. However, I'm not worried about it—the market will come back and I'm only losing if I'm selling. I'm slightly torqued that the government is attempting to bail out the banks and sub prime lenders. I can go on about that forever.

So my friends that's my quick "e" update. Lots of exciting stuff coming up for the last few months of 2008. I should have some nice photos of France, the holidays and maybe Matt can get a shot of me as I throw up at mile 20 in the marathon.

I'm Still in Awe

...of Lance Armstrong. He is arguably one of the greatest athletes of our time. I admire the determination he takes with the Cancer cause and how he uses his athletic abilities to keep the focus on what's important.

Gals... if you haven't been into cycling or the Tour De France—perhaps the Vanity Fair article and photo will make you want to watch next year. I know I am!

Labor Day Weekend at Zion National Park

Over Labor Day weekend we took a hike in Zion National Park. It was an EPIC hike to say the least. Almost 10 miles of pure uphill with some spectacular views. We camped over on Saturday night and hiked back on Sunday. There's so many more hikes to do and I think Matt and I will go back for another adventure for sure. We had a group of seven organized by Matt's co-worker, Jeff Getzlaff (a.k.a. Happy "G"). Also in our group were Andy, Suzanne, Quan and Larry who are college buddies of Happy "G". For all the photos check out my Web Gallery.


Larry coming up the switchbacks on our way to Angel's Landing.

On the way back from the hike, Matt takes a short break. His legs were really sore from the uphill climb the day before.

Matt on Grotto trail. We're still going up on our way to our campsite.

Quan and Matt crash and burn after reaching our campsite. It took us almost 7 hours to get there.

Because I Can...

Like most people, I have a list of things I'd like to do in my lifetime. Some of those things are personal challenges that I feel I need to mentally and sometimes physically conquer. Back in April I was feeling tired and bored with my routine. Rowing wasn't really helping me keep off the unwanted pounds that kept creeping on. It was getting harder to invest the 4 hours per day I needed for sculling (driving, rowing and boat maintenance).

One morning, while walking the dog I was lamenting how I had let myself go. I got home and was just about to pitch the flyer on my front door in the trash—and then I saw it— "Cave Creek Adventure Boot Camp for Women". I thought to myself "Man do I NEED boot camp". So I looked up the website and the next thing I know I'm heading to 4 weeks of 5:30 a.m. workouts. That very first day I realized that although I thought I was in shape... I really wasn't. What I learned over the course of the first 4 weeks was that I am capable of doing more than I ever thought I could and the physical improvement in just four weeks was amazing.

Four months later I'm still going to boot camp 3 mornings a week and have found a fellow boot camper, Heidi, to run with 2 days out of the week. We're now training to for the Tucson Marathon on December 7.

It will be my first marathon and for Heidi it will be her 5th marathon. We'll also be accompanied by a two boot camp relay teams. The relay teams split the course amongst 4 people. Some of these gals, including Jodi—our boot camp trainer—are using the Tucson marathon as prep for the PF Chang's marathon in January. Heidi and I have a jump on the training so we should be ready in December to go the full distance. We'll have the benefit of having some other boot campers there to help cheer us through the last grueling miles.

From time to time, I'll blog about how training is going. I'll have a "shoe" follow up as I test my 3rd pair of running shoes on a couple runs this week. We did a 10 mile run last weekend and I'm learning a thing or two about the right gear.

And for those of you that haven't seen me for a few months...I can tell you that boot camp really changed me. Both physically and mentally. I'm quite a bit lighter and my muscles are taking shapes that are pleasing. Mentally, I feel tougher and I try never to say "I can't do that". Instead I plagiarize the Nike saying "Just Do It".

Kobi's New Bed

Kobi has been sleeping on the hard floor because the cats keep taking over his stuffed bed and I think its just too hot. I wanted him to have a cool place to lay down that still supported his joints. I found this Coolaroo bed online. It's just high enough to get him off the floor and give him support as well as make it easy for him to get on and off. I think he likes it!

Farm Life

Going back to the family farm for vacation is not all rest and relaxation. However, it can turn out to be a gratifying experience. Not only did I get fresh vegetables from my Mom's garden, I also got a nice farm work out by helping my Dad unload wagons of hay. My brother Alan was also home for the 4th of July holiday and he got to partake as well.

Here's how it works. My dad drives the tractor with the baler that shoots the bales into the back of the wagon. My brother walked along side picking up the bales that get over shot or under shot. Once the wagon was full, I threw the bales out of the wagon and my Dad picked them with his little bulldozer like tractor and took them into the barn where Alan stacked them. I have to say that my job was a bit "easier" than Alan's as I wasn't inside the dark enclosed barn. He also got to do a couple extra wagons while I was visiting friends.






You can see a bale being "shot" into the wagon in this photo.


The hay before it's cut and dried.

Kobi's Not So Great Day...

My dog Kobi has always acted younger than his age. He's 13.5 (He may be 14 but I think 13.5 sounds better) and for a bigger dog that's getting up there. He's has a pretty pampered life and still loves his walks, herding his cats and running out to scare off a bunny or squirrel in the yard. I'm optimistic that he has at least a couple of quality years left...so at the advice of my vet, I had his teeth cleaned—and while they were doing that—they removed 4 lumps that were in his armpit area. Eventually those lumps were going to be an issue with movement. Not to mention, it was important to know exactly what those lumps were.

The verdict was no cancer. The lumps were lipomas, which are common in older dogs. That's good news. I was also lucky that he had no tooth fractures, infections or dental issues other than a nice coat of tartar that got removed. His teeth are now all shiny and white. He has the teeth of a puppy now.

That being said, the bad part is that it's just harder for an old dog to bounce back from anesthesia and drugs. He was pretty pathetic when I brought him home yesterday. He would cry and whimper when Matt or I were not in immediate proximity to him and he couldn't stand on his own—letting out big yelps when we tried to move him. We finally got him to the bedroom and on a thick rug so he wasn't laying on the hard floor. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. when I heard his collar shake and looked over to see him sitting up and then he rearranged himself to be more comfortable. This morning he got up on his own and is now walking around pretty good. He took a nice drink from the his water dish (I put ice cubes in his water—he loves that) and snarfed down a little doggy sausage. That's always a good sign. He follows me from room to room and lies down somewhere between where Matt is and where I am, so he can watch his people.

I know I'm going to be quite pathetic when I have to say good-bye to my buddy... but that won't be for a few years now.

Below are a few photos to show his "war wounds". He's on the mend and he'll be back to his daily routine soon.

Lake Tahoe Regatta

Last weekend I rowed with Dave Goldner in the Tahoe Regatta. We rowed a double on the short course (3.75 nautical miles). Last year I did the long course (8.75 nm) in my single and I have to say—that this year the race was a bit more relaxed and enjoyable. Dave and I really didn't have any competition as we were the only flat water double. We had a nice little workout row in one of our favorite places to row.


Meeting before the race.


All the singles heading out to the start for the long course.


Getting ready to head to the start.




My new water shoes that I LOVE. They are so light, comfy, fun and happy. You can get them at Glagla. Never mind the goose bumps on my legs--it was kinda chilly in the a.m.

Bad, Bad, Bad Blogger and more Ireland

Geesh.... I've totally been a bad blog girl. I think I left you all hanging on my last post when I said I was going to post some more photos of Ireland. Well here's a couple more photos of our bus trip to Northern Ireland. Specifically to Giant's Causeway and the coast area we visited. You can read about that by CLICKING HERE

Rope bridge we all had fun crossing to get to more amazing views.


Giant's Causeway