Cruise Photo Extravaganza!!!

(This is my favorite picture of the entire trip, we are at our first stop in Copenhagen, Denmark. The photo includes (from left to right) my cousins: Sam, Shelly, Emily, and myself, in front is our Grandmother. )

Okay, so I decided to switch things up a bit. Rather than go through and give all the stories from my trip I decided to put together a collage of my favorite snapshots from everyones camera that include all the places we went (except Amsterdam, I couldn't find any pictures from Amsterdam.) You will see friends we made on the cruise in some of them, but mostly you will see the pictures of my family and I as we made our way around Northern Europe on a ship known as the Splendor. This trip will not soon be forgot by any who went, either for the stress of family, and financial strain, or because it is a time that we will look back on and talk about for the rest of our lives. The time on that ship spent with my family was so amazing. I feel absolutely blessed that seven of us were able to take time out of our lives and spend it together in Europe for 2 weeks. We visited 7 countries in 15 days and faced challenges in ourselves. Did we always get along, no. Did I want to jump overboard a couple times, maybe. Do I love them all unconditionally, absolutely! If you have any questions about the photos don't hesitate to ask, and please feel free to leave comments.

Enjoy!

McSwimmy

Saw this on YouTube!! Found it hilarious and thought I would share. The new Grey's Anatomy character, Dr. McSwimmy

Top 10 favorite things about Fall....

Welcome to Fall. I love this season! The morning after I got home I could feel it in the air, the brisk cold air, the leaves were just starting to turn colors, I couldn't believe how excited I was. Then I walked into my local Starbucks and to my astonishment they were already offering their Pumpkin Spice Lattes apparently they are just as excited for Fall as I am! This has been the most gradual, smooth transition into Fall that we have had in Oregon for awhile. Usually we are just thrown into cold frosty mornings and rain, but it has been great this year...

I decided to put together a list of my top ten favorite things about Fall, hopefully you will agree with some of them and it will make you excited for the season as well.....


10.) Rain, I am an Oregonian and I do love my rain (until January, cause I know we will have at least 3 more months of solid rain after that.)

9.) The fresh, clean feeling and smell in the air.

8) The cold air in the morning that jolts you awake and lets you know change is coming.

7.) Candles, it is that time of year when all the cinnamon, pumpkin, vanilla candles start to get put all around my house and smells themselves are so warming.

6.) Nothing says Fall more than the deep orange, red, and purples of all the leaves as they start to change colors and eventually drop to the ground decorating streets, and yards.

5.) New season means new decorations, it is time to put out all the warm colors of Fall and the Halloween decorations will be out soon too, followed by the Thanksgiving decoration rounding out the Fall decorating season...

4.) OK lets be honest, one of my very favorite (read:vain) things about fall is the new Fall wardrobe options!! (Sweaters, long sleeved shirts, and scarves, oh my.)

3.) Pumpkin!!! I probably don't need to say much more, but I love all the pumpkin flavored drinks, and the pumpkin breads, muffins, and scones!!

2.)Hot Meals, Hot Drinks!! There is nothing like coming home from a long day at work to smell the deliciousness brewing in a crock pot!! All the soups, and stews. The hearty meals are bountiful this time of year at my house!! It is perfect for all the fresh corn and tomatoes that our all over the farmers markets right now!! All the hot coffee's and Apple Cider, they warm you up from the inside out!!!!

1.) My favorite thing of all is.......The combination of my list all together!!!!

** Side Note: Generally us West Coasters refer to the Fall as Fall not as Autumn. I would have thrown Autumn in there to switch things up, but I have a great friend named Autumn whom I also love very much but didn't want anyone to get confused (yes I am mostly referring to myself getting confused!!!)

Oktoberfest

I am approx 3/4 German in heritage, so I take it upon myself to fulfill my duty as a German-American to not only go to the Oktoberfest whenever possible but to support the different organizations by eating my way through the entire festival!! My family and I attended the Mt. Angel Oktoberfest. We had a feast of bratwurst, cabbage rolls, corn on the cob, pickles, BEER, elephant ears, and fresh strawberry shortcake, and yes we ate it all!!! Of course we shared it amongst ourselves (except for the brats!) It was so delicious and it was a beautiful day, which is really saying something because normally it is raining for our Oktoberfest, but this year it was perfect for timing, because fall officially hit the weekend after. Next year my new niece will be tagging along with us and I can start to show her all my favorite traditions!!

5 whole hours to myself!!!

So ever since I have arrived back home from my trip I have pretty much been thrown into a whirlwind of various situations that have kept me from being able to be home and catching up on the life it seems like I have now left behind. Well not any more! This weekend (Sunday to be more specific) I reclaimed my home from the myriad of dogs that I have been watching, I fought back against the evil doers of laundry, and the dreaded particle size attackers that I loathe, also known as dust!!!! I decided to come home right after my kickball game and give my house and my dog a little TLC. You should have seen it I was like the Tasmanian devil of cleaning, I was dusting, vacuuming, folding and loading laundry. I was a force to be reckoned with and when I wasn't cleaning I was petting my very neglected but still very loving dog, Salvador!!! I cannot tell you how wonderful those 5 hours were.

Lets get our facts straight..

So I watched Gov. Sarah Palin speech last night at the RNC. I was trying to get a feel for her and who she was, and what she is all about. I am a Barack Obama supporter, and even though I missed the DNC (I was out of the country) I heard it was moving and just what a lot of people needed to see and hear, but I don't necessarily dislike John McCain. There are things I really like and respect about him. His choice for Vice President is not one of them... So I thought I would post this article.
It just straightens out a few of the misguided perceptions being put out there about Sen. Obama.

Thats a big ship!

Well our first day on the ship was amazing!! What a huge ship the Carnival Splendor is!! It took me about 3 days to stop gawking at the size of our ship every time I was on land, or looking over the side of our balcony. I couldn't believe it! My Grandmother, cousins and I enjoyed the luxury of the "wrap around balcony suite" as well as the room and balcony next door, which increased the size of our already enormous balcony to gigantic proportions!! Our first day on the ship was so educational. I learned that the balconies can be VERY windy (see pictures below). I learned that on a cruise ship you are expected to eat your body weight in food per day, and they judge you if you don't. I also learned why you should not get a room at the back of the ship (because it rattles and shakes loudly and violently every time you back into or out of ports!!!) We were rudely awakened on many different occasions by this discovery and truly believed at least twice the boat was literally breaking in half, however the other 90% of the time it was without a doubt the best rooms on the ship, which was proven every time I went into other peoples rooms!!

It was a little windy!

Having the escape of the balcony was actually one of the reasons I am sure we could all maintain our sanity on a trip with family!! It gave a great escape and release every time you could step out and stare out into the great blue yonder and realize how minuscule we are and how life just keeps going with or with out us, so make the best of it.......

I didn't take many pictures in Copenhagen, Denmark. (The family did and I will be getting the disc with pictures soon, and will add them accordingly.) Here is one of the ones I did take right as we got off the ship. This was one of our few days we spent all together. It was memorable to say the least. The people of Denmark are SO beautiful. You had to look very hard to find someone that wasn't attractive and in shape. They lead some very healthy lives in Copenhagen and it shows. We had one bad experience with a bus driver, but other than that it was a very nice afternoon. The local food was delicious!!! I hope to go back and visit Denmark again one day...

In the beginning...

Well, this trip was a whirlwind to say the least!! At times it seemed to go so fast, and there were times I was wondering when it would all end. Truth be told it was an amazing trip, and it was so special to have my family around me the whole time! I was reminded how are differences however great or small bring us together and make us even better friends. I have decided to blog about the trip in a couple different blogs just so I can share more pictures and more stories also.....

So we begin in London.......

We had a great time mastering the underground, and walking all over London. The girls (seen above) and I enjoyed the local street entertainment and all beautiful parks they have....
They may look like just birds to you, but these two birds (Joey and Jenny) are great fortune tellers!! All my cousins are going to get married and have kids and live wonderful lives and then there's me, I will be happy.... at the end of my life!!! haha, Thanks birds!!














Here is Emily and I on the Millenium Bridge. This was one of my stops I requested to see..














The whole family went out to dinner the night before we embarked on our cruise. Sam, Emily and I all had so much fun we decided to stay out at the pub and continue our conversation. As the pub started to close, Emily decided to call it a night and headed back to our hotel. Sam and I however decided to stay out and hang with the bartenders from the pub we were at. We closed down two pubs and re-opened another!! It was so much fun and we made it home just before sunrise, and just in time to get ready for our 3 hour drive to Dover, England!! The pictures above and below are from our night out!!! Truly a memorable evening....
















One of our beer buyers from our night out!!

















Who need to double fist when you can roll 5 deep!!!