Flying Planes

 

We took Nathan, Amy, Eric, and Paul with us to Mackay. We were taking carpet for the carpet layers to get busy with on the cabin. After delivering the carpet, we went flying Nathan's remote control planes. He is so good at it! He started making and flying them in high school. It was fun to see them go in circles, upside- down and all over the place.

Our First Snow

We measured 6 inches this morning. New snow is so pretty.
I hurried and picked the veggies and a few flowers before the
frost hit. We will miss the fresh veggies.

"I" tag

Tonya tagged me with these questions, I still owe Julie a tag, but I haven't imported pictures from the web yet. I'll get there.
I am: Just a regular person.
I know: A little about many things. The world is so interesting and has so much to learn.
I want: My family to be happy!
I have: Wonderful kids, grandkids, and a sweet husband. What more could anyone want to have.
I dislike: Mean people, who hurt others.
I miss: Tyler being home from the war.
I feel: Like I'm getting older. Unfortunately, more aches and pains come with age.
I hear: All the cars going by my house. We live by a busy street.
I smell: Good foods cooking, pretty flowers in my kitchen, and the kitty box in the garage ( it needs changing)
I crave: Lemons and anything with lemons.
I cry: At sad or happy movies and most anything that touches my heart.
I search: Right now - for pretty rocks in Mackay for a rock garden. Family history records are always a great search item.
I wonder: What everyone is doing? Let me know often what you are doing, because I am always wondering.
I regret: The sadness in my children's lives. I know you are better because of it, but it makes me sad.
I love: Huge subject! My family, the church, birds, flowers, and anything that is happy or kind.
I care: About everyone.
I worry: Hmmm, you know the rocking chair on the porch (worry is like that), it gets you no where. I spend a lot of time in the chair : )
I remember: Not very well. I usually forget if it isn't written down.
I believe: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and my testimony is strong. That is the most important knowledge in life to me.
I dance: In the kitchen when I am happy.
I don't: Get everything done when I want it to be. (Does anyone else have this problem?)
I argue: When I don't feel well - poor Dave. He is so patient with me.
I write: Lists. These help me get things done and see what I have done in the day. I, also, forget if it isn't written down.
I win: When I really try at something.
I lose: Weight very slowly. It is working though. In another year I will be where I want to be. Yeah!
I wish: My family and friends were closer. I miss you all so much! I wish I could give you everything to make you happy.
I listen: To easy listening music and the TV. I am used to noise in my life and quiet is hard.
I can usually be found: Running around with Dave. He keeps me busy with all his projects.
I am scared: Of those high over passes. I really don't like the feeling of being on them.
I need: Nothing. I have everything. Perhaps, to have my feet not hurting would be good though..
I forget: Just about everything. I call it brain clutter. I have lots of it, and it's hard to find the info in there.
I am happy: When my kids need me, when I am in the outdoors with mountains and streams, when I feel good, when I see and hear birds, when my garden is blooming, just to be a part of life makes me happy!

I love all your tags because I learn something about you all. Kelly and Amy haven't done this yet. Love to hear from you.

Some pictures of the area around Mackay

Some old homes in one of the ghost towns.
A view of Mackay from up on the mountain.
The spillway below the dam. We saw a river otter, heron, and lots of
big fish here.
Remnants of a factory on the hillside.

A better picture of our mountain place

We have spent several days working on our little place in Mackay. It is coming along with 3 double beds and 4 twin beds. We have a couch and recliner, table and chairs. The carpet is coming next week. By next spring it will be looking pretty good.

Adventure of the Seas

The highly decorated midnight buffett was pretty
The main street.
Our room. We would return at night to find chocolate on our pillows,
folded towel critters and this night, hats as well as the next day's
itinerary

Pedro, from India, was our waiter. He would help us order

whatever we wanted on the menus.

The last day this Coast Guard boat bounced on the waves

around our ship. He was fun to watch.

The ship was really nice. We could stay there and never get off the ship and have a great time. The food was great and actually healthy. We had shrimp, lobster, prime rib, salads and everything was made Caribbean style. The entertainment is non-stop. We went to art shows, musicals, and just walked around. Dave was chosen to be onstage the last night. He did a good job. Sometimes we were just tired and watched a movie in our cabin.

St. Thomas

Blackbeard was 6'4" and over 300 lbs. His tower is
in the background. His castle is to the right. There are
99 steps to get down to the beach level. We actually went
down them with a guide who showed us plants, houses, and
shared the history of the area.

Lots of small island inhabited and not around the main island.

This island is a USA territory. They would like to a state,

but are too small. They cannot vote.

The best beach is Megen's beach and we spent half a day there.
At the beach, Dave is walking the shore. We played in the

water until we wrinkled. It is slightly warm and nice.
This is a picture with our ship in the background.

This was a pretty island, but very commercialized. We spent the day touring Blackbeard's castle, shopping(but it rained so much, this was out) and at the beach because it wasn't raining there.

St. Maarten

We are on the beach with our ship in the background. We
had fun walking in the water along the shore on a Dutch beach.

A picture of part of the island.
Some sea critters. The brown one is a sand dollar. They felt

funny crawling on my hand. The white one was really prickly.

A turtle that I got to hold. This is a small one. Notice that

we were in the rain most of the day.

A spectacled owl, he is beautiful, but I didn't get a good picture

in the rain.

This was my favorite island. Half of the island is owned by the French and half by the Dutch. It was lush and not as commercial. It had lots of beaches and animals. Stay away from the French beaches - they are nude ones. The Dutch side is not.

Curacao

Everything is painted in beautiful colors. The chime went off from the bell tower on the quarter hour. We had lunch in Iquana Joes at the right.


Dave looking at the city, while we waited for the floating bridge to allow a ship to go through.
Cemeteries are few and because the ground is rock, people are buried on top of each other in families. The boxes are painted like the homes they had lived in.














Our guide at the herb garden's, showed us how people used to brush their teeth. The plant behind his ear is a toothbrush plant. This is how they were carried.
This is a house that was used in the 19th century. The walls were made of twigs and plastered with mud and dung. This kept the unwanted insects out of the home. (I think it might have kept me out, too.)



This was Dave's favorite island. It was pretty with it's colored buildings. It is owned by the Dutch and definitely looks it. I had a problem with asthma, so I didn't get to see it all. There are a lot of refineries here that help with the economy.

Aruba

Dave is standing by the California lighthouse on Aruba.
This is a garden. You can see the cactus plants. Some are used for building fences and homes, others are used to make soup. We didn't see many flowers here, but lots of lizards.
We went on a Sea and See tour and this is a picture out my window of a world war II sunken ship. Some nice fish were swimming by. The ships are now sunk there on purpose to build up the reefs. Lots of fish and coral live here.
This is a natural bridge on the ocean shore. Usually, the surf here is huge, but on the day we were there the weather was unusual because of the storm.














This is the boat we went on for our tour. Windows are under the water.




I was surprised at Aruba. I thought it would be a fancy island. It was very desert like and very depressed financially. There are no domestic animals on the island. Everything is brought in from Venezuela. People live on fish and iguana - there are lots of those. No trees, only bushes and cactus.

San Juan

San Juan from our room at the Marriott.
Dave by some cannon balls at Fort Del Morro. Me by a wall inside the Fort. It's huge.
The pigeons on a street in San Juan.
This is the rose that I kept the whole cruise.

We flew to San Juan for our cruise to the Southern Caribbean. We had a half day to run around and see the area. It is a pretty place and easy to travel around. The buses and trolley's are free and go everywhere. We went to old town and saw the cobblestone streets, which are very narrow. We loved the forts and cemetery. A guy came over and gave me a rose while I was sitting, waiting for a trolley. He said it was for peace and caring in the world. I took it on the cruise and it was still beautiful when we left the ship. It was raining while we were there and got worse right after we left. It was named Kyle, and we traveled in it for two days at sea.